Consolidated PBY Catalina - History, Specs & Review
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- Опубликовано: 3 июн 2024
- Consolidated PBY Catalina was one of the most used flying boats in the world! Now, you can find it in the military aviation museum too. In this military aviation history documentary, we talk about the Consolidated Aircraft Company and many planes they built before the consolidated pby-5a catalina. Catalina excelled in various missions, from long range patrol to becoming the most successful submarine hunter of World War. But PBY Catalina was popular even after the war, when it became a Landseaire, a luxury flying yacht, we do a deep dive into the specs of this amazing plane, talk about the pby catalina crew, catalina interior and how these big pratt and whitney engines helped it to achieve such a long range of flight!
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:52 Consolidated Aircraft History
03:19 Design & Development Of PBY Catalina
04:38 Military PBY-5A Catalina Missions
06:25 Specs of PBY Catalina
08:18 Civillian Catalina & Landseaire
10:05 Current Day Catalinas
Thumbnail photo courtesy of Heath Moffatt Photography
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As a child in the 1950s I flew on them several times as they were being used in SE Alaska as passenger planes by Alaska Coastal and I think Ellis Airlines. They became Coastal-Ellis and were eventually bought out by Alaska Airlines. Their mainstay workhorse(s) during the 1950s was the Grumman Goose.
Between bootcamp and 'A' school in San Diego during 1966, I was assigned to the seaplane tender USS Currituck AV-7 for 6 months, we did a training cruise along the California coast and down Baja while onboard. The tenders and seaplanes were decommissioned the following year, I've always been thankful to have had that time watching those beautiful Martin P5M 'Marlins" in operation at the end of their era.
In 1941, a U.S. Navy-piloted PBY Catalina played a pivotal role in the sinking of the Bismarck battleship by sighting the German warship while on "neutral" patrol duty over the North Atlantic and relaying the information to the Royal Navy. Fine video!
My dad was in the 'sweep' looking for the Japanese fleet headed to Midway and was starboard the first plane to spot the Japanese and confirmed the sighting.
Ensign Smith was an American pilot , one of three pilots seconded by President Roosevelt against the wishes of the isolationist group in USA.
This was before lend lease and could have caused considerable difficulties for the President. Ensign Smith was helping train British pilots on the Catalina. They were on routine patrol when they were called in to help with the search. If Congress discovered he had also sent pilots to Britain, Roosevelt said, “I will be impeached.” So the pilots’ presence was a secret. Smith was assigned to the RAF’s 209 Squadron, part of Coastal Command and based in Loch Erne, Northern Ireland.
Bismarck Catalina
This is the Catalina of RAF Coastal Command No. 209 Squadron, flown by Ensign Leonard “Tuck” Smith, that spotted the Bismarck. Imperial War Museum photo
At the early morning briefing on May 26, 1941, Smith discovered the squadron’s mission that day was to find the Bismarck, which had eluded the ships and aircraft shadowing it. Normally for reconnaissance missions, the Catalinas’ anti-submarine loads of four depth charges were removed. But time was of the essence. The depth charges stayed on.
The weather was foul, with a ceiling as low as 100 feet when, at 0325, Smith’s PBY-5 No. AH545 lifted off the waters of Loch Erne and, along with the rest of the squadron’s Catalinas, headed west in search of the Bismarck. Officially RAF Pilot Officer Dennis Briggs was the pilot and Smith was the co-pilot.
Smith’s Catalina reached its assigned sector about six hours later and commenced searching. In his report of what happened next, Smith said, “[A]t 1010 I sighted what was first believed to be Bismarck. . . . I immediately took control from ‘George’ [the automatic pilot]; started slow climbing turn to starboard, keeping ship sited to port, while the British officer went aft to prepare [the] contact report. My plan was to take cover in the clouds, get close to the ship as possible; making definite recognition and then shadow the ship from best point of vantage. Upon reaching 2,000 feet we broke out of a cloud formation and were met by a terrific anti-aircraft barrage from our starboard quarter.”
Buffeted by anti-aircraft bursts that damaged the Catalina, Smith jettisoned the depth charges and conducted violent evasive action as additional contact information, including confirmation that the ship was the Bismarck, was transmitted. Smith and the crew later lost contact with the battleship, but their messages had been received. Air and surface forces converged on an intercept course. Smith’s Catalina landed 18 hours later, at 2130. The next morning the Bismarck was at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. As a proud and loyal Englishmen I wish to thank all American service men and women for their sacrifices during this war and all since.
John, Thank you for this detail and Jerry - THANK YOU for sharing your Father’s experience. My appreciation!
nutual😂
very good I like the mix of near 90 year old history and the possible future developments. Yes for more seaplanes. I love things that fly and float.
Japan has an amazing seaplane (us1 I believe) but it's up to 160 million apiece. Now that we're back in the Philippines , we're gonna need some seaplanes again.
I watched a Catalina take of a few years ago in the Netherlands. Elegant design! 🏆
About 10 years ago I've seen one flying a few times over the "ijsselmeer" in the Netherlands. It was stationed at the airport of Lelystad. It was a sight to behold with its navy blue livery but unfortunately the plane has moved now or has been grounded, haven't seen it since. Beautiful piece of aviation history.
I served in the USCG in the early 1980’s. The HC16 Albatross was still being used. Though I never served at a base that had one, I did receive training on the aircraft as an aircraft mechanic. The history of service with the USCG was impressive.
I was born in 1950 in the West Fjords of Iceland, and the Catalina has a special place in my heart as it was the only aircraft connecting my remote town to the capital until I turned eleven. Funny enough, I ended my airline pilot career flying similar-spec aircraft - only they were physically smaller tuboprops that cruised 230% faster at twice the altitude, carrying 19 passengers (regulation-limited due to cabin crew requirements) vs. 13 pax for the Catalina.
I have always dreamed of handling the Catalina for at least 1 cycle -1 takeoff & 1 landing. It will have to remain a dream...
I enjoyed this video and hope you do more historic aircraft. The Catalina was widely used by many other nations and was very important in winning the crucial Battle of the Atlantic. These facts were not mentioned in your video. They were replaced by facts i didn't know, so I'm happy about that.
It was before I was ten years old around 1967, on a day when our family was boating on Lake Mead. There came huge black rubber rafts loaded with oarsmen. They had been on a river adventure. As we saw them plodding along, my dad who had been a Navy man pointed to a PBY coming out of the blue. It landed in the drink settling near the oarsmen of thise rafts. Most if those adventurers climbed into that PBY and flew away. Within a short time they would have made it back to their homes in LA.
Thank you for addressing a question no one has addressed in videos about the Catalina: where Consolidated came from.
You see it everywhere in other videos but creators assume you know .
Hey, I appreciate the no nonsense recital of pertinent information. I’ve read a little about Catalina and it’s even in an episode of McHales Navy!
Thanks a lot man! Really glad you enjoyed the vid as much as I did when researching all the facts about the Cat! Truly unique aircraft and it sure made a mark in the history!
Family member joined RAAF in WW2, trained as a navigator, and moved on to Qantas to crew Catalinas on the Perth:Bombay route, vital to British Empire communication. No passengers, They filled the fuselage with barrels of fuel linked by piping. Lost one en route. Believed to have blown up.
I flew in a number of PBYs in Alaska of the 1959 era. They were used by Ellis Airlines, a forerunner to Alaska Airlines, on routes in SE Alaska from Ketchikan to Juneau and beyond. They were marvelous birds, particularly when I scored a seat in a bay window. When the PBY could not reach a dock, we had to swim or row to gain access to a forward hatch.
The "Canso" firefighting version of the Catalina was famous in Chile during the 80s. Today we have a very big wildfire problem so an upgraded Catalina seems like a great idea. A Chilean company planed to buy the Russian Beriev jet seaplane, but the current geopolitical reality makes it imposible. The idea was to use them for passenger transport to Juan Fernández archipielago and firefighting. There is also an Australian company that plans to make a new version of the Gruman sea plane. With so many countries with wildfires it's incredible that the only western seaplane in production is the Canadair and that so few are built today. I hope to see seaplanes make a return to Chile. The need is great.
Someone told me that if you do the math, the efficiency of beriev is highly debatable when compared to something like Cats and Geese, mainly because of the costs to operate vs. firefighting abilities (i know that beriev can hold more water), but i don't sign for that, its just something i heard. But Id agree that we need the new catalina much more than another "ultralight" amphibian for half a million dollars.
@@bigmetalbirds yes that's the problem with aviation, you have to get your math right! I guess at this point the Canadians have the advantage: at least they can sell a plane now that is known to work. I suppose you just need the whole package: a new plane and the support infraestructure in country. The wildfires cost a lot more than any plane. I hope we get something, anything, cropdusters and helos are all we got.
I would love to have one. I live in South America there is water enough. Even Miami is within reach, fantastic. NB: Of course with todays cutting edge electronics available.
I always find the Catalina PBY a formidabile seaplane for its time capable of flying 15 hours, that was considered standard in the Pacific! It really was a versatile airplane but in my opinion it saved quite a few downed pilots and crewmembers! I find it a great shame that in USA or Canada are not producing seaplanes and I believe that only Japan is producing the ShinMaywa US-2 amphibious aircraft. Now apparently the US Navy would purchase some units. Good job 👍 👍👍
Great Video...Thank you for shring!
Bring them back .....................they are still needed . Modern version would be interesting .
Here's hoping that Consolidated Aviation will help the PBY Catalina become a 21st Century 'Phoenix' and it will successfully 'rise' from its ashes of history.
i would love to see the return of flying boats, how about a holiday on an Empire class flying boat, galley, dining room and bedrooms with stops at specialy built hotels in places like Lake Como.
Thus the phrase those fabulous guys in their pbys
There is one currently at the Victoria Bc Airport here on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It looks fully in tact and perhaps even fly able. I drive by it often, it can be seen from the road, just over a chain link fence. I have often wondered what it was. Now I know
Great video, one of my favorite WWII planes.
Keep up the good work
Great Video!!! Many thanks for sharing!!! Just two comments: My uncle use to be a captain of a Catalina that used to be from a Brazilian Air company called Panair do Brasil, I have a picture of him, sat on her wing on the Amazon River; I used to watch Jacques Cousteau documentaries on TV and he used to have one Catalina!!!!
really good video... love historic aircraft like this!!!
Glad you enjoyed it mate!
Hey! I really love your videos. They are well made and very interesting. Keep up the good work!🔥✈️
Thanks so much Thomas! Truly glad to hear it, i put lots of effort into making these, so reading your comment is really heartwarming!
First video for me from this channel. I love the channel name. Good video too !
Enjoyed the video and info.
Glad to hear it!
Excellent, thanks.
Glad you liked it!!
Bravo.thenks
Beautiful aircraft/yacht 😉
very nice
My preferred bass boat 😎
PBY -5A is My Favorite Seaplane Flying Boat.
It'd be pretty exciting to see a 21st century Catalina.
Difficult to watch ,pictures switch to quick,pity.
Once had a flight in one long long ago quite a memory
In 2014 dollars, it would cost over $12,000 to fill the large fuel tanks of the PBY.
We had a squadron of these based at Red Hills near Madras and two in Ceylon.
I've seen two of these flying, and I always thought it would one of the best planes to own. you always think wow I would like to have a WW2 fighter, really what would you do fly it 2 maybe 3 times a year, but a PBY now that is something anyone could use. and I bet its cheaper to fly than a Piper Malibu.
CoooooL
I would actually feel safe flying in one of those, as long as we were over water!
..
Almost Certainly the Most Versatile Aircraft ever built .
Good video, but you might have mentioned Jacques Cousteau because I believe he used a PBY
My dad was Catalina Flight Engineer serving from the Aleutians to Midway to Tinian.
His plane was taken down by a Corsair from the USS Wasp.
Friendly fire?
my dad was radio operator ferrying from NJ to ireland
Mama never spoke on what happened and it wasn't 'til cancer took her that I was able to 'explore' what happened and finally, in 2018, the NOB Norfolk Community Affairs Officer found and sent me the official investigation report.
Seems the Corsair had radio difficulty and was making an emergency landing, was above my dad's plane, contacting the starboard wing as my dad's plane was 100' or so from touch down.
The Corsair exploded on contact and the PBY went belly-up into the swamp at the end of the runway. The tail gunner was the sole survivor.
One week before Christmas.@@mikefougere
I’m surprised you didn’t mention Jaques Costou’s legendary Catalina
Nearly the same, PBM would be fun.
Tell about the Fokker G 1 war plane
You didn’t mention the “Double Sunrise” Catalina flights operated by Qantas between Perth and Colombo in WWII - a 32 hour flight carrying 3 or 4 military and government VIPs, linking Australia with Britain’s BOAC flights from the UK, via Egypt, to India and Ceylon (Colombo) (Kym in Darwin).
I've mentioned it at 8:28, but thanks for the additional info about the route!
I was going to mention those as well, the interesting thing was because the engines were comparatively closer to each other they used to rotate engine performance by shutting one engine down at a time for a few hours each during flight, to save fuel and extend the range, and because the flights were so slow that is why they were called "double sunrise flights", you'd leave Perth before sunrise and during the flight you'd experience another one somewhere over the Indian Ocean, or vice versa from Colombo. It wasn't the most comfortable of flights, but deemed essential for Australia at that time. The criminal thing was because they were part of the "Lend-Lease" program they couldn't be given back to the US, so they were all towed out to sea past Rottnest Island and sunk, or so the story goes.
@@bushranger51 yup, and it's not a story it's true :). Along with a vasamount of other material... Tanks, jeeps etc. My dad watched them flying down the Swan and then hopping over Cottesloe, barely making it. They also brought back jelly fish
Can I get one with coaxial propellers?
It's the Perfect RV.
one flies to loch ness the bloody engines make a bloody racket its like hearing a chinook heli
Bom
You state that PB stands for Patrol Boat. Shouldn’t that be Patrol Bomber?
There is no god but engineers
To ME, a flying home is the ultimate luxury. Especially if it could be designed for aerial refueling.
Be so rich you never have to land.
Love the Catalina but would hate to have been the flight engineer. HIs position was up in the pylon right between those noisy engines. I'm glad the 4 engine version didn't catch on, it spoils the look of the Cat.
yeah and literally sitting in a swing haha
How did “Mac” Laddon fit into the development of the PBY
A few video clips of Short Sunderland flying boats, but no reference in the voice over. Very disappointing.
Do some proof editing of your content since you don’t show the Shorts product. Remember your viewers are well versed. Otherwise you have a great video
and learn how to pronounce fuselage.
i find it hard to believe they had more range than a boeing 314
'The war' has been over for years and now that old contraption should be in a museum. Why do flying egos always want to fly them until they crash.
Old war birds, are OLD and not airworthy.
Why a British Sunderland?
Yeah, i thought the same
Catalina Island is west of Los Angeles, not San Diego.
:)
Probably Spitfire, Lacaster, Mosquito, Beaufighter...
PB means Patrol BOMBER
It wasn’t a bomber it was a reconnaissance platform.
It was definitely a bomber, as well as a torpedo plane, submarine hunter, rescue aircraft and transport.
Catalina Island is 19 miles south of San Pedro, not San Diego and has a long history of anfibious flying boats.
Catalina is not a bomber!
Observation & scout
plane, maybe rescue.
BLACK CATS
Wow, clearly the US was the only one making aircraft during WWII.
Who the hell is this and what have you done with BMB?
haha! i captured his channel!! alrighty jokes aside, Mike’s on vacation, so its Chris our editor if you talking about the voice :)
@@bigmetalbirds hehe yea i was :p
I’m sorry. But Catalina island is no where near San Diego! Try outside Los Angeles.
Error of reporting. The Catalina had from the very beginning retractable landing gear. My father purchased a single engine Catalina which I do not see that you show it-- must have been an early model, used in WWII. single engine. All the same features but his plane was smaller than the single engine model you show in this film.
There was never a single-engine Catalina. There were many single-engine floatplanes, but that doesn't make them Catalinas. It would be like calling all sports cars Corvette.
Additionally, the early Catalina models were pure flying boats without retractable landing gear. They used special, bolt-on "beaching gear" when the aircraft had to come out of the water for heavy maintenance or moving into a hanger in case of severe weather. Cats with retractable landing gear didn't appear until 1939, four years after the type's first flight.
My father purchased a single engine Catalina with his bonus $$$ fluing the F4U Corsair as a Matine corp fighter pilot Lieuteant VMF 113. The family took pictures of it as they hauled it through Portland , wongs removed, to store it at his elder brothers property. He planned to restore it and use it in his aviation life.
As the photos show the landing gear is retractable and the swhit paint and red stripe line still visible but my fathers airplane was heavily used and needing overhaul. He must have got it cheap. But he had his A & E LICENSE
so he knew how to rebuild engines and fabric a plane .... he did several in our backyard over the years. I have looked for photos of his plane but not found any but our family pix are very clear . It is a Catalina Catalina Island is only about 20 miles out from our house he built in the bluff above west back bay NEW Port beach.
He wanted his airplane to be up to his standards , like a Marine --- land sea and air.
If it was a Catalina and only had one engine, the other was missing. I'm sorry, but there is no way these points can be argued. The Catalina always had two engines. Early ones did not have landing gear, only later did an amphibian version appear. These are established facts.
I have photos to prove my claims. Happy to send to anyone via email.
15 secounds in and I know this video is American 😂
30 gal/hr? Don't think so.....
What a lot of bull try the Hurricane, Spitfire,Lancaster,Mosquito,Beaufighter Sunderland.these aircraft's were there from day one not three years after the war started,That's why yanks were called rainbows.
Lol, the Catalina was outdated even before WW2. They were NOT the most successful submarine hunters of the war, just the Pacific. They were also withdrawn after 1943. The most successful submarine hunter in WW2 was the B-24 Liberator, which first saw service in that role with the RAF Coastal Command in 1940/41. It was the most successful submarine hunter in the Atlantic. In US service, the PB4Y-1 Liberator was the 2nd-most successful submarine hunter in the Pacific
🙄😁👏👏👏 since I was a child 😱 living in the south of Johannesburg South Africa 😁 I was so awestruck by the Catalina's amazing engine sound and looks 👁️👁️ that I would sycle 30 km's to the Rand airport just to watch it take off and land 😁 I remember it being painted black and red 🧐 must have been a type 5 with retractable landing gear because there's no dam/waterway large enough for it to take off and 😬land 😜 {water} on 🤣🤣🙌👍
I truly hope that it WILL once again become a bird in the sky once again in South African skies and the rest of the world 🌍💯%⁉️🙈😁👌💪