The ingenious design of the PBY Catalina

[eriktruchinskas]

She must have looked like the most beautiful thing in the world to naval personnel being rescued

[Dallas-Nyberg]

Back when I was in Primary school (middle school), the school principal taught maths. however, we found out he flew Catalinas during the war. All we had to do was mention it in class and he would put up a map and spend the whole lesson talking about his experiences flying them.
Thank you, Mr Riding - RIP

[rpierwit]

My dad a WWII veteran loved this plane.

[blueeyeswhitedragon]

I've seen one converted into a flying camper.
A husband/wife pilot combo used it as a retirement project.

[ronaldheit]

I absolutely love the look of PBY's.
I'm a Coast Guard Aviation Machinist Mate Flight Mechanic Veteran who flew on Grumman HU16e Albatross seaplanes so pretty much all seaplanes are a delight to see and especially watching them land and take off from water.

[waynelovejr.]

I worked with a guy that flew in these during WWII. He had several interesting stories about patrols, chasing subs and rescuing downed pilots. They were quite deadly to our enemys, even though slow. They ocuppy a unique place in history.

[AS-yhfj]

One of the most beautiful pieces of Engineering.

[jonny-b]

I always wanted one as a portable house

[keithnoneya]

Totally laughed at the "Point Three and Point Five" comment. In the US we call it .30 Caliber and and .50 Caliber. Love the PBY's. When I was in the US Navy in the 80's I was stationed at NAS Whidbey Island and used to love to go over to the Navy Seaplane Base in Oak Harbor. Unfortunately all the planes were gone, but the Sea Plane Ramps were still there. Thanks for sharing. Keith Noneya.

[robertward]

In the mid 80's, I got to fly between Long Beach and Catalina many times. The pilot had been in the Flying Tigers. Hell of a man.

[aSpyIntheHaus]

Beautiful aeroplane. Absolutely gorgeous.

[stevekirby]

My dad, Stan Kirby, was a crew member on one of these at the end of WW2 in Adak, Alaska. Love and miss you dad.

[russell]

Fighter's be dammed the catalina is a gorgeous simple and efficient design. Such an undersung hero of the era

[sc]

One of the best aircraft ever produced

[phillipdeburgh]

I am obsessed with this aircraft. Hands down this is one of the greatest planes ever constructed and I would give my right ear for a chance to fly in one. Amazing !!!

[ronaldlebeck]

I met the original test pilot for the PBYs in San Diego, CA when I was stationed there in 1979-1981. I can't remember his name now, though he was a Chief Petty Officer at the time, and went on to be the personal pilot for Admiral Halsey, flying his modified PBY.

[dassemultor]

God above, there's no other aircraft quite as beautiful as the Catalina. Perhaps, the Boeing 747, but she's in a separate class. What an absolutely gorgeous plane, and a warfighter to boot.

God rest the souls of the people who designed the PBY Catalina.

[nealenewton]

As a boy living in Sydney in the mid '60's, I can remember the Catalina's and Sunderland's landing and taking off in the harbour, Rushcutters Bay etc.
Also, I can recall all sorts of other planes at the airport in Mascott. DC3's, 4's, Viscounts, Fokker F27 Friendships, along with various bigger jets...DC8, 727, and the iconic 707.
Those were the days, and thanks for the upload 😁👍

[Hoschikuz]

I have loved the Catalina since I was a child, it's such a beautifully quirky design. I'm 38 now and I still want to live in one.

[rf]

The first "Cat" was built in Buffalo NY and tested on Lake Erie in the '30s. Then Consolidated owner Ruben Fleet moved the company to San Diego because the Navy would become his main customer. His general plant manager, Lawrence Bell stayed in Buffalo and started Bell Aircraft with 3 employees.