The Pby Catalina

[The Sailor]

I hope this cockpit shot is of interest to all. Just have a look at how primative it looks compared to today.
Click on the pic to open it.

The PBY Catalina was the primary flying boat operated by Allied forces in World War II, serving on all fronts around the world. It was used for long-range scouting and anti-submarine patrols, convoy escort, search and rescue missions, and bombing operations. It is the world’s most produced and most widely used seaplane. This Catalina is the only non-amphibious PBY-5 known to exist.
Mission durations of up to twenty hours were routine and could be extended to twenty-four hours and were limited only by crew fatigue. Engine and propeller controls were mounted overhead to provide the shortest cable routing to the engines.

Western Australia is very lucky to have a Catalina in the Bull Creek Aviation Museum. Great exhibit.
Not the seating position that I'd choose for a twenty hour flight.



Manufacturer: Consolidated
Type: Maritime Patrol/Rescue
Number Built: 3,281
First Flight: 21 March 1935 (XP3Y-1) 9 October 1936 (PBY-1)
In Service: 1936 – 1957 (Individual Catalinas are still being flown today.)
Notable: Catalina crews located the German battleship Bismarck after it disappeared in heavy fog in 1941 and the Japanese fleet prior to the Battle of Midway in 1942.

[The Sailor]

In 1939 the British RAF bought one PBY and soon placed large orders - it was the RAF which gave the aircraft its name 'Catalina'. This name was adopted in the United States in 1942.
In December 1939 came the PBY-5A (OA-10) with retractable landing gear, which was named the 'Canso' by the Canadian air force. Many hundreds of both the boat and the amphibian version were built by Canadian Vickers and Boeing Canada.

The British Air Ministry purchased a single aircraft for evaluation purposes, the Model 28-5. This was flown across the Atlantic Ocean to the Marine Aircraft Experimental Establishment, Felixstowe, in July 1939. With the outbreak of war anticipated, the trials were terminated prematurely, and an initial 50 aircraft were ordered under as "Catalina I"s. These aircraft were similar to the PBY-5, except for installation of British armament. The name Catalina had been used by Consolidated for their commercial sales prior to the British order, and was eventually adopted by the US Navy on October 1, 1941.

Initial deliveries of the Royal Air Force's Catalinas began in early 1941 and these entered service with No. 209 and No. 240 squadrons of Coastal Command. In all, nine squadrons of Coastal Command were equipped with the Catalina, as were an additional 12 squadrons overseas. The total acquisition was approximately 700
In British service, the Catalina was fitted with .303 machineguns, typically a Vickers K in the bow and [[Browning Model 1919 in the waist. Some received the Leigh light to aid anti-submarine warfare by night.

Between 1940 and 1945, seven former RAF examples were used by BOAC (two for a Poole to Lagos service) and Qantas (five for a Ceylon to Perth service).

[Commodore Armiger]

In 1948 a Catalina was the first recorded air hijack:

On 16 June, 1948, the first hijacking of a commercial aeroplane ended in tragedy. On a flight from Macau to Hong Kong, the Miss Macao, a Catalina seaplane owned by Cathay Pacific, was hijacked by four Chinese men. The pilot was ordered at gunpoint to hand over control of the plane, and, when he refused, was shot. The plane then dived into the sea, killing all but one of the 27 people on board. The survivor was Huang Yu, the leader of the hijackers. But, not only did Huang Yu escape death, he escaped a jail sentence, too. An argument over which jurisdiction he should be tried under led to his acquittal.

And On 27 July 1998 a restored Catalina crashed on landing in the Solent. Here's a link:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/258026.stm

I recall seeing video of the actual incident and thinking that the pilot might have tried to land with the wheels down. In fact it wasn't egregious pilot error, but a 54 year-old airframe showing its age.

Can anyone say whether the Catalina could actually land and take off from an airfield? Was it a true amphibian, or were the wheels merely a convenience primarily for maintenance? I remember seeing pictures of Catalinas, shot up on the tarmac at Pearl Harbo(u)r.

[The Sailor]

That was an interesting story, thanks.
See my post above in regard to the Canso version with an undercarriage