WARBIRDS WARBIRDS INTERNATIONAL WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS WARBIRDS XP4Y-1 Corregidor. In my opinion, only the Arguably, the most historic wartime Martin JRM Mars of 1942 was comparable record of any surviving WWII US Navy in terms of design execution and utility, aircraft is that PBY-5A BuNo 2459. On although it’s a massive and very differ- the line at the time of the Pearl Harbor ent flying machine. raid, she was almost immediately sent The PBY-5A was the amphibious to replace her flying boat sisters that version of Consolidated’s super long were valiantly trying to guard the RETURNING THE COLLINGS range/endurance flying boat. She car- convoys from the eastern seaboard FOUNDATION’S CONSOLIDATED ried 4000-pounds of ordinance and through Greenland to Iceland. PBY-5A CATALINA BACK TO THE USA could stay aloft over 20-hours in Operating with VP-73 in one of the extreme situations. The four-engine most difficult parts of the world, the British Short Sunderland and Japan’s squadron was savaged by winter PART ONE BY JOE SCHEIL H6K Mavis were both capable of 24-hour storms packing wind gusts of 120-knots ne of World War Two aviation’s most incorrect History and records aside, NO aircraft design exceeded missions, but with a war load the Squadron insignia and this resulted in the destruction of six statements — and one that is oft reprinted and the PBY’s capabilities for persistence, durability, and utili- Sunderland’s endurance was reduced to 14- for VP-27. PBY-5s at their moorings. During January perpetuated by “historians” — is a “quote” about ty. The Cat was nearly perfect from day one. The PBY-1 hours, and that took a stunning 3037-gallons of fuel. 1942, the first ten or so PBY-5As off the pro- the Consolidated PBY Catalina. The phrase, was a 1935 airplane that was — except for turrets and The PBY could do the 20-hours on 1750-gallons, beating all duction line were sent to Iceland so that VP-73 could O amphibious landing gear —almost the same as the late-war other contenders due to the efficient twin-engine design. continue vital patrols under the most adverse of condi- “The PBY was obsolescent before WWII started” is at best misleading and, at worst, dead wrong. Perhaps the PBY-5A. It is rather amazing to It is correct to say that the PBY Catalina is the world’s tions. PBY-5A BuNo 2459 was the fourth example off the Catalina’s vital importance to the war effort and the fact think that no most successful and historic amphibious aircraft. Also, the line, flew with two VP squadrons, and sank an amazing that the factory was near the coastline and vulnerable to other type has had an outstanding civilian career that is still very total of three U-Boats. She made one of the first FIDO Japanese attack was a thought, but truly that’s not the country much on-going. From Pearl Harbor to Midway and spot- (Fog Investigation and Dispersal Operation) attacks and case. What is true is that Adm. Ernest King and the US made a fly- ting the Japanese fleet (PBY-5A BuNo 04975) to damaged a fourth U-Boat. Navy had little idea what type of war the service would be ing boat/am- finding the battleship Bismarck (RAF serial After military service, she was sold surplus and, amaz- asked to fight phibious aircraft AH545), the PBY’s record is one of ingly, became a passenger airliner flying between Burbank, before the sn- as successful as the achievement — especially during California, and Catalina Island. Then, she went on to fly eak attack of 7 PBY, and the several those most desperate and darkest the Canadian bush before becoming a fire-bomber! December. designs meant to replace periods of WWII. Tough, beautiful, and — lucky for me — this was There was the Cat were just not quite the PBY I dreamed of touching and/or flying my a basic as good. How good was the whole life. Five-weeks after plan — PBY against these other my first meeting and flight “War designs? Only the with PH-PBY (the Dutch civil Martin PBM registration for the aircraft) on Mariner was 29 May 2019, I was going to successful in quan- fly her a second time — tity, with good num- and this time from Holland bers of the PBY-3 and PBM-5 arriving in the combat to Iceland and America! zones during 1943/44. Departing the Delta A330 flight at Ams- terdam’s historic Plan Orange” — Schiphol Airport, I that was developed pre-war was in travel and implemented, but the superlative qualities of the PBY added to that plan and creat- ed new opportunities for USN anti-submarine and patrol squadrons to come into their own. Only 21 PBM-1s The PBY Catalina family of flying boats and amphib- were built during 1941 but ians occupies a brief 15-year span of Naval Aviation. the basic design lead directly However, unlike other aircraft, the Catalina’s individual to the combat-ready PBM-3 tactical successes translated to clear strategic advantage on and Martin, working three shifts, con- several battlefields and during important engagements. structed 677 PBM-3s that were delivered into 1943. Currently, the USN is accepting the new Boeing P-8A Ultimately, 1367 Mariners were built and, today, it is almost Poseidon patrol aircraft based on the 737-800 airliner and, a completely overlooked aircraft. Other patrol bombers that The departure of while this new platform is very different from the Catalina never made it to large scale production but attempted to bet- Catalina PH-PBY was (I kind of get to fly both of them), the mission is the same ter the Catalina were the Consolidated PB2Y Coronado a trying time for the Dutch vintage and one that the PBY proved to be absolutely vital to overall (three times the cost of a PBY) and the competing Sikorsky veteran aircraft WWII strategy. XPBS-1, Boeing XPBB-1 Ranger, and the Consolidated community. 22 WARBIRDS INTERNATIONAL/October-November 2019 warbirdsintlnow.com 23.