Consolidated PBY Catalina

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The most famous flying boat of WW II, the PBY Catalina was built in large numbers, and some are still in use today. While it was slow by contemporary standards, the PBY more than made up for its lack of speed with its reliability and great range, as well as the fact that as a flying boat it could land on the water for rescue missions. Its long range made it an excellent reconnaissance aircraft over the world's oceans. It could be used as a bomber when other aircraft were unavailable, and Catalinas attacked targets at sea with bombs, depth charges, and even torpedoes. Speaking of which, I've developed a website about the Black Cat PBY Catalinas. If you're interested in PBYs, you really should check it out!

For additional data and history on the PBY, click here for Jack McKillop's article on Microworks.net.
For additional photos of this aircraft, check the Weblinks page of my Blackcat PBY website.)
For more photos, history, and info on this aircraft, see the PBY webpage at vpnavy.com
Additional information on this aircraft can be found at Wikipedia here.
(updated February 2009)
 

Type:           Amphibious Patrol Bomber (Flying Boat)
Crew:           seven
Armament:       two .50 cal machine guns
                three .30 cal machine guns
                up to 4,000 lbs. of bombs or depth charges

Specifications:
        Length:         63' 10.5" (19.47 m)
        Height:         20' 2" (6.5 m)
        Wingspan:       104' (31.70 m)
        Weight:         35420 lb maximum at takeoff

Propulsion:
        No. of Engines: 2
        Powerplant:     Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp
        Horsepower:     1200 hp each

Performance:
        Range:          2545 miles (4096 km)
        Cruise Speed:   117 mph (188 km/h) long range
        Max Speed:      179 mph (288 km/h)
        Ceiling:        14700 ft (4480 m)