Catalina

[3toes]

Was at Duxford air museum last month. While there the Catalina was readied and then departed. Managed to take some video on the camera which am attempting to put up here. A picture to start with.

227.jpg

[Bearman]

Was at Duxford air museum last month. While there the Catalina was readied and then departed. Managed to take some video on the camera which am attempting to put up here. A picture to start with.

227.jpg

Consolidated PB6Y Catalina - many an allied airman in the Pacific war owe their lives to these aircraft and their gallant crews after ditching in the sea.

[VladTepes]

Lovely old boats those cats !

Lovely old planes too !

[clean32]

"you cant go to heaven in a PBY
cos a PBY cant fligh that high"

"potholing along as the sausages sizzle
blister yells OFF the port quarter Skipper

Stick and rudder in the same corner
Sausages crackle as the 50s chatter

charges armed as the wings flutter
a gush of wind and its Davie Jones locker"

The first one is self explanatory

the second one is a RNZAF ditty from WW2 when 14 hour plus patrols were common. sausage and egg seemed to be the crews diet which was cooked onboard during flight.
stick and rudder in the same cnr is reference to a maneuver where literally the control wheel was pushed forward and to the right as well as right foot was pushed down, this produced a wing over tail high which was a natural maneuver for the carbed aircraft to get away from a 109. unfortunately the RNZAF had a few pilots who came back from the UK to fligh in the pacific. because of the difference in theaters they were regarded as being not up to scratch for front line duties hence they ended up in the PBYs ( with a navigator). the didy was to remind the pilots who needed to lose altitude fast to be able to attack, say a sub before it went under that a wing over maneuver usually resulted in ripping the wing off. a well known problem in the PBY

[cartm58]

used to a cat regularly parked at Essendon Airport in Melbourne which had never touched down in water was used for mineral exploration survey worked had large bee stinger in tail for downward facing radar to survey the ground below for deposits did get stuck in mud during rainy season at katherine one year was painted two tone blue belly and silver uppers from memory have some photos somewhere of it, apparently still flying in Australia but now l am in livnig Perth don't get to see it

[Bearman]

used to a cat regularly parked at Essendon Airport in Melbourne which had never touched down in water was used for mineral exploration survey worked had large bee stinger in tail for downward facing radar to survey the ground below for deposits did get stuck in mud during rainy season at katherine one year was painted two tone blue belly and silver uppers from memory have some photos somewhere of it, apparently still flying in Australia but now l am in livnig Perth don't get to see it

That one was owned by a mob called Geoterrex. Used to go all over north Australia doing magnetometer surveys. Was a regular visitor to MT.ISA when I lived there back in the 70's and 80's. Had later model more powerful Wright engines fitted. Was a magnificent sound hearing it start and warm up. the lower pots in the radials used to leak a bit of oil into the combustion chambers overnight and it would be a few minutes before they cleared the oil and fired. I have had a good look through it and often wonder what happened to it.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Consolidated PB6Y Catalina - many an allied airman in the Pacific war owe their lives to these aircraft and their gallant crews after ditching in the sea.

Now I'm not an expert on differentiating the variants but I'm sure they were classified :"PB" (patrol bomber) "Y" being the type and then the variant. Given that the one depicted is an amphibian it would be suffixed "A" making it either PBY-5A or PBY-6A

AFAIK the PB2Y and PB4Y were later aircraft and I don't think there was a PB6Y.

Great looking aircraft, there is a PBY-6A in the collection of HARS at Albion Park south of Sydney. It is restored to the markings of the RAAF PBY "Black Cats" (although when is service during WWII they were not amphibians). It often flies low and slow (as they usually do) over our farm as they approach HMAS Albatross for the regular naval aviation airshow.

[Bearman]

Now I'm not an expert on differentiating the variants but I'm sure they were classified :"PB" (patrol bomber) "Y" being the type and then the variant. Given that the one depicted is an amphibian it would be suffixed "A" making it either PBY-5A or PBY-6A

AFAIK the PB2Y and PB4Y were later aircraft and I don't think there was a PB6Y.

Great looking aircraft, there is a PBY-6A in the collection of HARS at Albion Park south of Sydney. It is restored to the markings of the RAAF PBY "Black Cats" (although when is service during WWII they were not amphibians). It often flies low and slow (as they usually do) over our farm as they approach HMAS Albatross for the regular naval aviation airshow.

Thats a typing error on my part shud have been PBY6 referring to the aircraft mentioned by 3toes. With regards to the amphibious bit I was referring to the Catalinas in general not a specific model.

[Lotz-A-Landies]

Thats a typing error on my part shud have been PBY6 referring to the aircraft mentioned by 3toes. With regards to the amphibious bit I was referring to the Catalinas in general not a specific model.

Right you are, but the Catalina's had 26 different designations with 2 pre-production types. The "PBY" with the variants 1 through 5 and also 5A and 6A were only the US Navy designation.

With pedantic me about it could be said that only those six variants delivered to the RAF and RAAF were designated Catalina! And not the PBY-?A or OA-10? in the image.

I guess what I'm trying to say is it's like the P3, the P38a, the P5a, the P5b, the P6b, and the L322. They are all Rovers but each one different to the other!

[cartm58]

Photos of that Catalina parked on ground at Tennant Creek Airport NT 1986
Tenant Creek 19860005.jpg

Tenant Creek 19860003.jpg