Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was the most numerous float plane of the Second World War with over 3,300 aircraft built. The PB stood for Patrol Boat and Y for Consolidated, the main manufacturer – other manufacturers' aircraft had different designations. The name Catalina was given to the type by Royal Air Force Coastal Command and was later adopted by the US Navy. Produced in various variants from 1936 to 1945 the Catalina was finally retired from military service in 1982 by Brazil. Heavily used as a rescue aircraft for downed or sunken crews, the Catalina in RAF service was perhaps most famous for its role as an anti-submarine aircraft protecting convoys and for its role in the sinking of the Bismark.

Plane Sailing currently operate Catalina G-PBYA as a flying memorial and the only flying Catalina in Europe. The aircraft is a Canadian Vickers Canso A (a Canadian built and operated PBY-5A Catalina) which was built in 1943 and following military service was used as a waterbomber. Following restoration and carrying the registration C-FNJF, Plane Sailing ferried the aircraft from Canada to the UK in March 2004 where it appeared on the display circuit that year in its striking yellow paint scheme. The aircraft is now painted in the markings of ‘Miss Pick Up’, a USAAF OA-10A Catalina of the 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron which was based at Halesworth in Suffolk. The group hope to keep ‘Miss Pick Up’ flying until at least 2050.

The Catalina with its two bulbous side windows is a true eye in the sky and will be available for closer inspection on static display at RIAT25 in support of our main theme.

To learn more about Catalina G-PBYA, Plane Sailing and the Catalina Society, please visit their website at www.catalina.org.uk

Photo Credit: Tony Osborne