Armed Polite Society
Main Forums => The Roundtable => Topic started by: BobR on February 07, 2015, 05:19:19 PM
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I would doubt this is the last PBY flying, but it may well be the only one that has been restored to original condition. But I could be wrong.
A well produced 7 minute video.
http://www.nxtbook.com/fx/media/ooyala/index.php?w=640&h=360&embedCode=l5cnRrbjoBGoU3i9mNk2WnlSwfvifrlA#ooi
And for some more PBY history:
Japanese force approaching Midway is spotted and attacked by PBYs - 1942
June 3, 1942. The Japanese force approaching Midway is spotted by the crew of a VP-23 PBY-5A Catalina on patrol.
From USNHC: Forewarned by Pacific Fleet codebreaking, Midway's patrol planes searched out hundreds of miles along probable Japanese approach routes. First contact was made with a pair of minesweepers some 470 miles to the west southwest at about 0900 on 3 June 1942. Within a half-hour, another PBY spotted the enemy's transport group, heading east about 700 miles west of Midway. Later that day, six Army B-17s bombed the transports, the Battle of Midway's first combat action, but only achieved near-misses. The Japanese were undeterred.
During the evening, four PBY-5A amphibians took off to make a night torpedo strike. Encountering the Japanese transport force in the early hours of 4 June, the slow patrol planes hit the oiler Akebono Maru with one torpedo, the only successful U.S. aerial torpedo attack of the entire battle. However, the damaged Japanese ship was able to keep up as the formation continued on.
http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/OnlineLibrary/photos/images/g10000/g19974.jpg
Photo #: 80-G-19974 (Complete Caption). Battle of Midway, June 1942. Crew of the Patrol Squadron 23 (VP-23) PBY-5A "Catalina" patrol bomber that found the approaching Japanese fleet's Midway Occupation Force on the morning of 3 June 1942. Those present are (standing, left to right): Aviation Machinist's Mate 2nd Class R.J. Derouin; Chief Aviation Radioman Francis Musser; Ensign Hardeman (Copilot); Ensign J. H. Reid (Pilot)--on wheel—and Ensign R.A. Swan (Navigator). Kneeling are (left to right): Aviation Machinist's Mate 1st Class J.F. Gammell (Naval Aviation Pilot); Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class J. Goovers and Aviation Machinist's Mate 3rd Class P.A. Fitzpatrick. Names are as given on the original photographic mount card, in the custody of the National Archives. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the U.S. National Archives.
PBYs at Corpus Christi - August of 1942
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsac/1a34000/1a34800/1a34894v.jpg
Aviation Ordnanceman Jesse R. Waller installing a 30-calibre machine gun in a PBY Catalina, August of 1942. (Library of Congress LC-USW36-85)
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsac/1a34000/1a34900/1a34916v.jpg
http://memory.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsac/1a34000/1a34900/1a34926r.jpg
Sailors checking PBY Cat, August of 1942. (Library of Congress LC-USW36-970, LC-USW36-1086
http://cdn.loc.gov/service/pnp/fsac/1a34000/1a34900/1a34914v.jpg
Launching (Recovering?) PBY at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas, August 1942. (Library of Congress LC-USW36-968,)
Sinking U-Boats in 1942
August 20, 1942. PBY-5A (VP 73) sinks German submarine U-464, North Atlantic Area, 61°25'N, 14°40'W. Later HMS Castleton (ex-USS Aaron Ward, DD-132) and another former American destroyer HMS Newark (ex-USS Ringgold, DD-89) took custody of 51 of the U-464’s 53-man crew who had been picked up by an Icelandic trawler. Details at http://www.uboat.net/boats/u464.htm.
August 28, 1942. PBY (VP 92) and Canadian corvette HMCS Oakville sink German submarine U-94 at 17°54'N, 74°36'W. Destroyer Lea (DD-118) and Oakville pick up survivors. Details and photos at http://www.uboatarchive.net/U-94.htm
Cuban Navy in 1957
Cuban Navy was still operating the PBYs during the late 50s.
From a Foreign Service Dispatch, American Embassy, Habana, 3 April 1957
(UNCLASSIFIED) CUBAN PBY LOST. On 1 April 1957 a Cuban Navy PBY crashed into the sea near Cabanas, Pinar del Rio Province. The aircraft took off from the Naval Air Station, Mariel, at 1515 on a routine patrol flight and reportedly fell at 1530. The reason for the accident is not known at this time. Of the crew of seven, only one enlisted man survived. He was picked up by a fishing vessel. The Cuban navy has dispatched vessels and aircraft to search for the wreckage and other survivors but as of this date the search has not been successful. The aircraft which was lost was a PBY-5A No. 70. This aircraft was the best of the four PBY's belonging to the Cuban Naval Air Arm. Under MAP this aircraft was provided in August 1956 from U. S. Navy "mothball" storage to replace a Cuban PBY that was beyond economic repair.
Hope you enjoyed the rainy day interlude. :)
bob
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I would doubt this is the last PBY flying, but it may well be the only one that has been restored to original condition. But I could be wrong.
Several PBY Catalinas are flying.
That is a very well done one though.
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I used to work with a guy who flew PBYs during WW2.
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Walked around a PBY that overnighted at Falcon Field in Mesa, AZ back in '86 or so. That bird was a thing of beauty, perfectly maintained and nearly stock save for no armament. No N-number anywhere on it, but the BuNo was still on the tail. We wondered if it was still in Naval service as a recruiting tool or something.
Got to walk through another CAF PBY at Falcon back in the day. They are neat birds, one I never had the opportunity to fly in but I would give one of my unmentionable body parts to get a ride.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_Consolidated_PBY_Catalinas
Seems to be at least half a dozen airworthy ones.
Me, I'm a fan of the Albatross. I want one, and I'm sure I won the powerball on last nights draw, so I'm in the market. :rofl:
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There is a PBY at the air and space museum in San Diego. I was pretty impressed with it.
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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_surviving_Consolidated_PBY_Catalinas
Seems to be at least half a dozen airworthy ones.
Me, I'm a fan of the Albatross. I want one, and I'm sure I won the powerball on last nights draw, so I'm in the market. :rofl:
There was an Albatross in the corner of the hangar in Adak the few times I deployed there. Used to belong to the Coast Guard, had no idea who it belonged to then. Over the course of several years it never moved. Very pretty lines. This one wasn't so pretty, but a ton of man hours performing corrosion control would have helped a lot.
bob
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There was an Albatross in the corner of the hangar in Adak the few times I deployed there. Used to belong to the Coast Guard, had no idea who it belonged to then. Over the course of several years it never moved. Very pretty lines. This one wasn't so pretty, but a ton of man hours performing corrosion control would have helped a lot.
bob
(https://armedpolitesociety.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fimg.planespotters.net%2Fphoto%2F288000%2Foriginal%2FN98TP-Private-_PlanespottersNet_288586.jpg&hash=b880b6c7c05b76fc1c8d07cc7c405b411972f517)
That one came through my airport like 2 years ago. I have dreams about landing that thing in clear waters off some Cay, getting in a kayak and heading out to some remote flat to whip up some bonefish on the fly.
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I have dreams about landing that thing in clear waters off some Cay, getting in a kayak and heading out to some remote flat to whip up some bonefish on the fly.
Did similar in a (much) smaller amphib. :)
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8564/15852893924_f55302b55a_z.jpg)
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Did similar in a (much) smaller amphib. :)
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8564/15852893924_f55302b55a_z.jpg)
NOAA has all kinds of neat toys.
Right now they have one of their P3s surfing the atmospheric rivers off of the CA coast.
bob
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NOAA has all kinds of neat toys.
Right now they have one of their P3s surfing the atmospheric rivers off of the CA coast.
bob
Sadly, that one's gone. It and one other were "custom builds" on the SEAWOLF platform ordered by SORDAC in the early 90's. They gave them to us for a while, then we stripped one and sold it privately and SORDAC took the one I flew in back a few years ago. I just looked for kicks and they've apparently sold it to a state.gov.
The P3s might be going away last I heard, just because of age and parts.
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The P3s might be going away last I heard, just because of age and parts.
I thought NOAA was rewinging them?
That is how a lot of foreign governments are getting to extend the life of their P3s.
https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=9e8cadfaeb04e0010283d07c1fcb9ab5&tab=core&_cview=0
I expect to see P3s in the air until I die.
bob
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I thought NOAA was rewinging them?
That is how a lot of foreign governments are getting to extend the life of their P3s.
https://www.fbo.gov/?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=9e8cadfaeb04e0010283d07c1fcb9ab5&tab=core&_cview=0
I expect to see P3s in the air until I die.
bob
They might be. That was one of the options. It wasn't looking that way a few years ago, but they might have gotten a money influx from Hurricane Sandy. Otherwise they were going to potentially look at C-130s, or just dropping the program and letting the Air Force do the work.
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Did similar in a (much) smaller amphib. :)
(https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8564/15852893924_f55302b55a_z.jpg)
Jimmy Buffet almost killed himself in one of those.
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Speaking of PBY's, there are two great reads describing them in action in WWII. I shall return.
Ah. Here's a great one: http://www.amazon.com/Hands-Fate-Patrol-December-Bluejacket-ebook/dp/B009SC1JDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423434642&sr=8-1&keywords=Patrol+wing+10 (http://www.amazon.com/Hands-Fate-Patrol-December-Bluejacket-ebook/dp/B009SC1JDI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423434642&sr=8-1&keywords=Patrol+wing+10)
Keep in mind that the (non-self-sealing) 'avgas tanks are in the wing above what amounts to a boat hull. A few 7.7's thru them had gas pouring down and thru the pedestal on which the wing was mounted, which would conveniently pool in the hull, in case anybody wanted to start a fire on board.
And again...
http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cats-Dumbos-Fighting-PBYs/dp/0971290105 (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cats-Dumbos-Fighting-PBYs/dp/0971290105)
For the TL;DR crowd: PBY's would be painted black and sent on night bombing raids, attempting to interdict ships that were themselves trying to re supply stranded Japanese units on the islands that had been bypassed. Climb to altitude, and throttle Waaaay back or even glide an approach to an unsuspecting vessel. The balls on those guys...
eta: fixed so the linkys work.
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I used to work with a guy who flew PBYs during WW2.
One of my bosses was a gunner on one of them. To my great regret, I never sat down and "interviewed" him on his experiences.
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http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cats-Dumbos-Fighting-PBYs/dp/0971290105 (http://www.amazon.com/Black-Cats-Dumbos-Fighting-PBYs/dp/0971290105)
For the TL;DR crowd: PBY's would be painted black and sent on night bombing raids, attempting to interdict ships that were themselves trying to re supply stranded Japanese units on the islands that had been bypassed. Climb to altitude, and throttle Waaaay back or even glide an approach to an unsuspecting vessel. The balls on those guys...
eta: fixed so the linkys work.
My grandfather was a gunner in one of those squadrons. VP-12, IIRC.
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Thanks !
Things I didn't know before this thread...
A. Wingtips were the pontoons. Up to now I never really thought about there not being pontoons in the airborne photos.
B. Pilot's instruments and gauges were minimal, most of the engineering control being done by an engineer in the pylon.
C. That it contained a galley + bunks. (Nobody ever talks about human waste provisions... humph !)
Interesting history from Glenn Curtis' first boat with wings, showing lots of tech details in the PBY and the amphibious ones:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p4GiyDOGdpM
Tidbits I learned from this movie:
A. The plane carried its own scaffolding for inspections and repairs in the cover of the jungles.
B. For the "black cat" night patrolling, they turned the red hot exhaust pipes up over the wings in order to hide the glow from the enemy.
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Human waste was probably a hole in the side....
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Several decades ago while was stationed in Groton CT one of the dads in the BSA. troop I volunteered with was a private pilot. One weekend he took the kids in the troop all for a ride in his Cessna. At the small airstrip where his plane lived there was a PBY rotting down off in one corner. It was sad..
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Passenger excursion in English with inside video on a PBY (Nederlands) and water touchdown.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fifvp38DDGo
Great view out of those bubbles. The lady sure enjoyed it.
Terry