| The Consolidated twin-engine Catalina first took to the
skies on March, 1935. It was, therefore, old when W.W.II began. It was
also slow and fairly uncomfortable. While it was a deadly adversary to
enemy submarines or warships, it was better known as the angel of mercy
that achieved thousands of rescues throughout the war. Used by virtually
all of the allied nations during WWII, the PBY flew more hours on combat
patrols than any other American warplane of the period. The U.S. Navy's
VP-11F was the first unit to receive the new floatplane in October of
1936 as the PBY-1. By mid-1938 14 squadrons were operating PBYs, with
many more scheduled to receive them. Further improvements to the engine
specs resulted in new variants entering service over the next four
years, with the PBY-5A finally introducing the tricycle undercarriage to
the Catalina. The final wartime production model was the PBY-6A, which
was designated as the OA-10B in USAAF service. The Catalina remained in
military service well into the 1970s.
The Catalina was so slow, that critics joked that its navigator
needed a calendar rather than a stopwatch! The Catalina operated in
every theater of the Pacific war, from the southern waters to the
Aleutians.
It excelled at long-range patrols, and ranged outward at great
distance to stalk the enemy's fleet or to attack its submarines. On long
missions, pilots might be expected to occupy the flight deck for up to
20 hours at a time!
The basic crew consisted of eight. The observer/bombardier in the
front nose section, behind which sat the two pilots. Behind the pilots
sat the radio operator and navigator. The flight engineer sat near the
center of the aircraft beneath the wing. In the aft cabin section sat
the two gunners/observers. The observation blisters on each side of the
rear fuselage could mount heavy machine guns.
It was a Catalina that first spotted the Japanese fleet during the
Battle of Midway, which marked the changing tide of the war. The
"Black Cats" squadron hunted Japanese ships at night. In
addition to bombs and depth charges, they also dropped empty beer
bottles which made an eerie whistling descent.
- First Flight Date: 21 March 1935
- Type: Seven/nine-seat long-range twin-engine high-wing maritime
patrol bomber, amphibian and flying boat.
- Powerplant: Two 1,200 Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp
radial piston engines.
- Max Speed: 179 m.p.h. at 6,500 ft.
- Ceiling: 18,100 ft.
- Range: 2,545 miles.
- Weights: Empty 20,910 lbs; Max (Take-off) 35,420 lbs.
- Weapons: Three 0.30 cal. (7.62 mm) machine guns, two in bow and
one firing aft from the hull step, two 0.50 cal (12.7 mm) machine
guns in beam position; and up to 4,000 lbs of bombs or depth
charges.
- Dimensions:
- Span: 104 ft 0 inches
- Wing Area: Approx. 1,400 sq.ft.
- Lenght: 63 ft. 10.5 in.
- Height: 20 ft. 2 in.
Additional References: 1) Jane's Historic Military
Aircraft 2) Aircraft of the World
|
