Consolidated Catalina

Maritime patrol · Consolidated Aircraft · United States

Consolidated Catalina
ⓘ licence & creditFilipe Sousa (via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain)
Typical crew8
Engines2 × Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp
First flight1935
Number built3,305

Photographs

ⓘ licence & creditUnknown authorUnknown author or not provided / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:African-American_mechanics_work_on_PBY_at_NAS_Seattle,_WA,_Alvin_V._Morrison,_AMM_3-c,_doing_overhaul,_04-27-1944_-_NARA_-_520648_restored.jpgView source & full licence →
Title: A sailor mechanic refueling a plane at the Naval Air Base, Corpus Christi, Texas
ⓘ licence & creditHoward R. Hollem / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_sailor_mechanic_refueling_a_plane_at_the_Naval_Air_Base,_Corpus_Christi,1a34918v.jpgView source & full licence →
80-G-475740 (TR-5292): Aleutian Islands Campaign, June 1942 - August 1943. Repair crew pumps water out of bilge of Consolidated PBY “Catalina” that hit reef while landing at Attu, Aleutian Islands. Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, July 1943. U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (2015/11/17).
ⓘ licence & creditNational Museum of the U.S. Navy / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:80-G-475740_(TR-5292)_(22698126207).jpgView source & full licence →
80-G-475738 (TR-5244): Aleutian Islands Campaign, June 1942 - August 1943. Gunner passes time reading in blister of a Consolidated PBY “Catalina” in Attu Harbor in Aleutians. At that time, there was a gale, necessitating a full crew onboard in case a buoy anchor should drag. Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, July 1943. U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (2015/11/17).
ⓘ licence & creditNational Museum of the U.S. Navy / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:80-G-475738_(TR-5244)_(23116501015).jpgView source & full licence →
80-G-475734 (TR-5228): Aleutian Islands Campaign, June 1942 - August 1943. Consolidated PBY “Catalina” aircraft comes in for landing near seaplane tender in Attu Harbor in Aleutians Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, July 1943. U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (2015/11/17).
ⓘ licence & creditNational Museum of the U.S. Navy / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:80-G-475734_(TR-5228)_(22698133007).jpgView source & full licence →
80-G-475733 (TR-5224): Aleutian Islands Campaign, June 1942 - August 1943. Consolidated PBY “Catalina” aircraft anchored near seaplane tender in Attu Harbor in Aleutians Photographed by Lieutenant Horace Bristol, July 1943. U.S. Navy photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives. (2015/11/17).
ⓘ licence & creditNational Museum of the U.S. Navy / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:80-G-475733_(TR-5224)_(23116508745).jpgView source & full licence →
80-G-19974: Crew of Pacific Fleet patrol seaplane (VP-44) Squadron which first sighted Japanese fleet approaching Midway Island. Back row, left to right: AMM2C R. J. Derouin; ACRM Francis Musser; Ensign Hardeman, USNR, co-pilot; Ensign J.H. Reid, USNR, pilot; Ensign R.A. Swan, USNR, navigator. Front row, left to right: AMM1C J.P. Gammell, NAP; AMMC3 J. Goovers; AMM3 F.A. Fitzpatrick. Photographed circa 1942. (4/7/2015).
ⓘ licence & creditU.S. Navy / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:80-G-19974_(16892127579).jpgView source & full licence →
88784224 :Piction ID--Consolidated PBY Catalina concept art
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:23_0074640_Convair_Negative_Image_-_Consolidated_PBY_Catalina_concept_art_(54283587575).jpgView source & full licence →
87544878 :Piction ID--Consolidated PBY Catalina Illustration--
ⓘ licence & creditSan Diego Air & Space Museum Archives / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:23_0042843_Convair_Negative_Image_-_Consolidated_PBY_Catalina_Illustration_(53753108835).jpgView source & full licence →
ⓘ licence & creditUnknown authorUnknown author or not provided / Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons — https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:%22African-American_mechanics_work_on_PBY_at_NAS_Seattle,_WA,_Alvin_V._Morrison,_AMM_3-c,_doing_overhaul.%22,_04-27-1944_-_NARA_-_520648.jpgView source & full licence →

About

The Consolidated Catalina was the long-legged American flying boat that helped the RAF win the Battle of the Atlantic. Around 700 served with Coastal Command from early 1941, first equipping Nos. 209 and 240 Squadrons; slow but immensely enduring, a Catalina could stay airborne for the better part of a day, shadowing convoys far out into the ocean.

Its most celebrated moment came on 26 May 1941, when a No. 209 Squadron Catalina relocated the battleship Bismarck after the Royal Navy had lost contact, allowing the warships to close in. Working alongside the Short Sunderland and the very-long-range Consolidated Liberator, Catalinas were credited with destroying around forty U-boats during the war — and on 7 May 1945 a No. 210 Squadron Catalina sank the last U-boat claimed by Coastal Command. The type also flew tirelessly on air-sea rescue, plucking downed aircrew from the water.

Sources: This page was compiled from publicly available historical sources, including Consolidated Catalina in British Service — historyofwar.org and Consolidated PBY Catalina — Wikipedia. The text is original and has been written from factual source material; no source text has been copied unless specifically quoted and attributed.

Airframes in this database

SerialCodeSquadronFate
9754 P — Lost on operations
JV928 DA-Y — Survived the war