How Many Crew Positions on a WW2 PBY Catalina? | History X

To learn about the crew positions on a WW2 PBY Catalina, I visited the Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron to see the two Consolidated PBY Catalinas they have on-hand, including a PBY Black Cat.
0:00 Intro
0:35 How many crew?
1:15 Exploring inside
1:46 Pilot and co-pilot
2:28 Bow gunner
2:45 Co-Pilot
3:38 Radio operator, navigator, and radar operator
4:19 Flight engineer
5:00 Waist gunners
5:50 Ventral (tail) gunner
7:45 How to support the Commemorative Air Force
Please consider supporting the Commemorative Air Force Lake Superior Squadron and their efforts to restore their amphibian PBY Catalina to flying condition.....
lakesuperiorsquadron.org/
Read about US Navy pilot Adrian Marks, who disobeyed orders and landed his PBY 5A Catalina flying boat in the open ocean to rescue 56 crewmen of the USS Indianapolis after it was sunk by Japanese torpedoes. Marks lashed the sailors to the wing and was later awarded the Air Medal. The book "In Harms Way" by Doug Stanton is available in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook formats...
amzn.to/3glEbZE
To learn more about the Commemorative Air Force, formerly known as the Confederate Air Force, and the amazing WW2 aircraft they maintain and fly, then please click on the following link....
commemorativeairforce.org/
Components used to create this video...
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Thank you for checking out HISTORY X!

[@1madcanuck]

Always thought it would be awesome to turn this into a flying rv and tour the world

[@davegrove795]

Like Jimmy Buffet did and does!

[@denniswarren3211]

Buffet has or had a Grumman not a PBY. The Cousteau's had a PBY which they operated and it eventually crashed and killed Phillipe Cousteau.

[@davidfoss4365]

That's genius!

[@da_poopoo_dealer3152]

They made one called the landseaire. You can find pictures of it

[@jillgcaceres]

@@da_poopoo_dealer3152 Yeah, then one got blown apart by machine guns.

[@jimharrison405]

My Father was an Aviation Radio Man in VP-92 from 1942 until 1945 when it was disbanded. He stayed in the Navy until mid 1946. The Radio Man station was on the Starboard Side. Usually a crew was closer to eight people. Pilot, Co-Pilot, Navigator ( also usually a pilot ), two Machinists Mates, two Radio Men, and 1 Ordinance Mate. Radiomen would take turns operating the radio and the radar if equipped. They also were the gunners when needed. Being in the Bow Turret was a pretty wild ride my Dad said, especially if the pilot was trying to take evasive action and get into the clouds to hide. In his logbooks there are flights over 12 hours. There was also a stove amidships for the crew to prepare food and there were bunks for them to take naps if the opportunity presented itself.

[@HistoryX]

This is all great information, Jim! Ok, so I was incorrect in saying the radio man was on the port side. It was the navigator on the port side. Thank you so much for the comment and the clarification!

[@nancyduncan9552]

@Jim Harrison. Small world! My grandfather was a Naval Airman Radioman @ Pearl Harbor and through the South Pacific. So, I curtsey to you and your father.

[@thebosscatman7]

One thing I love about these videos is there's always somebody in the comments that can fill in missing questions

[@schroderingerscat]

my grand father was also a radio operator on a PBY in the pacific , he never spoke much about it other than a story about not being able to take off being overloaded with wounded , would love to know more about him , are there any archives I can reference?

[@Mark-ki7ic]

Dad was a machinest Mate till a wound and promotion made him ground crew. Not sure the squadron, New Calidonia, Guam are two places he talked about

[@randydelrey7129]

My dad is a world war 2 navy veteran , and he was part of a crew that flew the P.B.Y Catalina in the pacific, as of October 13th 2021 he still alive and well at 97 years young , and some of the stories he has told us kids are unbelievable

[@kwd3109]

Amazing! God Bless that brave man

[@farazsiddiqui6689]

Awesome! Wow. Thanks for the comment. Would love to hear his stories!. God Bless always.

[@paulflowerkmp]

Крепкого здоровья твоему отцу.

[@pedrokkj-_-]

*Black Cats soundtrack intensifies*

[@randywetch9068]

My father was with VPB-34, Black Cat Squadron when they operated out of Port Moresby, New Guinea and Manus Island from ’43 to ’44. He was an Aviation Metalsmith. Patched up the bullet and shrapnel holes. Frequently had to straighten out and reshape the hulls when they were banged up by doing things like running over coral reefs. Had a few fascinating stories about some of the operations.

[@alfredjones2828]

My Dad Al "Homer" Jones was a Crew Chief and Flight engineer on a PBY during WW-2 stationed in Iceland Squadron VP-84. He had the best stories to tell about the crew and the many missions that were flown.The flight engineer had most of the instruments and gauges in his space between the wings and fuselage.

[@mightylonesome9426]

What were the flight engineers' responsibilities?

[@dfirth224]

@@mightylonesome9426 Flight engineer controlled carburetor and blade pitch settings, and other things on propeller planes. Jets do not have these and jet planes have no flight engineer. Watch the movie "Strategic Air Command" which has a scene of the flight engineer on a B-36 in the early 1950s. Also many KZbin videos including WWII training films.

[@mightylonesome9426]

@dfirth224 Thank you so much. I love vintage aircraft, and it helps getting educated on the subject.

[@GregWitt]

Thanks for putting this video together - My father was a navigator on a PBY Catalina. He was stationed in Corsica with the 1st and 7th Air Rescue Squadrons, where he flew 105 missions.

[@garrettelliott2565]

My great uncle was a B-25 pilot on Corsica starting in late 1944.

[@MrSabre23]

The flight crew had jobs to do on the ground as well. The flight engineer was the engine mechanic, one of the gunners was the airframe mechanic. The other was an ordnance man. The nose gunner was also the bombardier, the radio man doubled as an electrician. Everyone helped each other. If they operated from a remote island being resupplied by a small ship, they had to do everything. They loaded the torpedoes or bombs using hand powered winches, mounting them above the hardpoint and running the cable down through the wing. One of the crew was the cook, usually whoever could cook the best. They fueled and maintained it, they fixed the holes from rivets popping during water landings, they loaded the bombs and ammo, they did it all. One of the most versatile planes and some of the most versatile and adaptive crews the Navy ever had.

[@steveb6103]

My dad got one ride in a PBY. After taking damage over Truk. He had to ditch his F6F Hellcat and was picked up by one. He later started a business with the engineer of the plane. Who's stall alive at the age of 101. The take-off speed is 85 knots, the cruising speed is 85 knots , the landing speed is 85 knots.

[@marcsmith7037]

I have a small bag of safety wire Dad sent home from the South Pacific. He was an AP enlisted pilot with Black Cat Squadron VP-11. The wires were from fragmentation bombs they tossed out the blister hatches at enemy barges. He flew PBYs 42-44, decommissioned the worn out -5 and transitioned to PBMs. We still eat using the silverware from the galley of his last PBY. He participated in the Sepik River Rescue...and logged many 12+hr patrols. Never saw a single Zero...thankfully.

[@andrewtaylor940]

Since the Radar Operator was generally a retrofit upgrade, his seat was a flip down seat in the center of that electronics compartment that sat right behind and blocked the cockpit door. So he would be sitting in the center corridor facing starboard. Also for the nose gunner, while he would move up between the pilots in flight, his position was actually the easiest to get into when landed. He would have had his choice of two hatches. That section right on the front of the nose is a hatch, and the most common variant of the nose turret, the flat topped one had a hatch. For radar equipped PBY, s the radar was a big teardrop shaped hood ornament bolted onto the roof of the cockpit. Those blacked out windows in the flight engineers roost were unusual. He was up there in part as it let him see the engines. His seat didn’t have a floor, his feet dangled or rested on the climbing rungs. Rearward of the electronics compartment the planes were set up almost like a mobile home. There was a small galley, some bunks, an AV fuel powered cabin heater, potable water food supplies and other creature comforts. (The problem was dealing with the cold. The plane being to hot was mostly only a problem when landed.). The crew basically lived in the plane for extended periods, not unlike a PT boat crew and their boat. 6-8 hours was a short PBY mission. Remember these things could land on water and refuel from a ship as needed. So long as the ship or boat had an gas. They had an incredible range of 3500+ miles. So their missions were long.

[@lakesideview1181]

Great info, thanks !

[@NH2112]

I’ve read they cruised at 125 KIAS, maybe that was just while searching and they flew faster going to and coming from their search area. Nonetheless it made for a long flight, and if enemy fighters spotted them there wasn’t much to do other than hope there’s a cloud to duck into.

[@andrewtaylor940]

@@NH2112 The Catalina’s we’re generally fairly good at dodging Zero’s. Mostly by virtue of distance, altitude and better sensors. While they weren’t all that fast, they could generally spot the zeros first either visually or with radar, and since more often than not they were higher than the enemy, by the time the zero could climb to intercept the PBY could slip away.

[@ww2remembered983]

My late father trained as a radioman/gunner for PBY's. They had a high probability of being shot down, because of their size and importance. The war ended right before my old man was going to ship out to the Pacific. He dodged a bullet, married his sweetheart and had 6 sons! He had a lot of Navy air friends, but I think he was kinda bummed out he didn't see any action! lol I might not be writing this if he did. RIP and thank you to all the brave relatives of ours who fought against fascism in Europe and Asia!! Your efforts and sacrifices will never be forgotten! Democracy won out over that evil, cruel fanaticism!

[@nogoodnameleft]

The U.S. Asiatic Fleet had 44 PBYs stationed in the Philippines. 41 were shot down or destroyed on the ground within 90 days. They managed to shoot down only 4 Japanese planes. What all of those heroes went through in WWII was something else.

[@ianbertram7607]

My father was a Radio Operator/Air Gunner. He was assigned to RAAF Squadron 112 (Air Sea Rescue). Based in Darwin in September 1945. He mentioned a kitchen and very long flight times. Where would this have been located?

[@ww2remembered983]

@@ianbertram7607 Wow Ian, glad he made it! Imagine flying over the ocean in that huge plane for hours and hours with a enemy ready to strike at a moment's notice. I wonder if they brought along some good (non-military) comfort food??

[@ww2remembered983]

@@nogoodnameleftAmen, the bravest men I've ever met!

[@ianbertram7607]

@@ww2remembered983 He did say they were able to draw special rations.

[@iansands8607]

I got to board a PBY at Waddington in the late 90s, The Catalina has always been one of my favourite aircraft since I built the 1/72 Airfix kit in my teens during the 70s. Of course been a brit I always go with the RAF Coastal Command configuration.

[@DavidLee-xi1of]

1 of the most beautiful planes of WW2. Love them.

[@TomAllenBird]

My Dad was a PBY tail gunner. They were stationed at the Galápagos Islands for the duration of the war. I never knew how cramped it was. Thank you for sharing this view.

[@lewiswestcott4547]

Nice video...my father was a PBY gunner and navigator...most of his flying was ferrying high time planes from Kaneohe Hawaii to NAS Los Alamitos Cal for major overhaul, a 20 hour flight! Navigating with a sextant and plotting positions on charts while flying at 200 feet altitude the entire way to avoid being detected by Japanese radar.

[@woppysue]

My father was a naval aviation torpedo man in the Pacific and war war II. He told me about the black cats. He said they were painted black because they would do combat at night. They would fly at high altitude with 2 torpedos under their wings. Once they spotted an enemy ship they would cut their engines and silently glide down to the ship. . They would come in silently low and slow and just above the water. . They would drop their torpedo's start their engines, start strafing the gun emplacements on the ship as they got the heck out of Dodge. My father said they were very effective.

[@tomfee130]

My Dad was with VPB 151 Radio&Radar. Mainly flew off Tinian. Also he said there was cross training. Crew could do multiple jobs and fill each positions.

[@bobkoenig4687]

My father was a Flight Engineer with VP54. He flew in the South Pacific in 1944 and 1945. He told many stories of risky rescues, bombing runs and reconnaissance missions. There is a book out by the son of one of his pilots, "Sketches of a Black Cat" by Ron Miner. It is a good read. Ron attended a couple of their Squadron reunions and got interviews from many of them. The Black Cat reunions were great to attend, these guys had a bond that was tremendous. Bob Koenig

[@danielchurchill9004]

Ken thank you my Dad was flight engineer on the Catalina for a while then transitioned to b24 Privateer later in the war and is still to this day on the move!

[@bobk4438]

My dad served on PBYs in WWII. I'm not sure what they called the rating back then but he was something like an Aviation Gunners Mate. Serve in Puerto Rico and Hawaii. He never saw any action which I am eternally grateful for.

[@duncanjames914]

Hi Ken, I enjoyed your video walkthrough. My Dad served onboard a Canso Catalina (the Canadian version of a PBY) as a WAG during WWII. The crews were much smaller as he manned both waist turret positions plus acted as the radio operator.

[@kilo21swp]

Thanks for the look inside. My Uncle disappeared in a PBY-5 over the Taiwan Straights in 1958 F lying from Matsu. Second Taiwan Crisis. Always wanted to get a better interior view of the Cat. Thanks.

[@daveblevins3322]

Those men were obviously gritty. That whole generation was incredible. My Dad was a Navy man on mostly destroyers in WWII and Korea. ❤️ Miss you Dad 😢

[@Absaalookemensch]

As a cadet in Civil Air Patrol, we did safety and guide at a few air shows. I once got a ride in a PBY-5. The pilot suggested I sit in the engineer's seat. It was a great view and flight.

[@wintonhudelson2252]

My father was an aviation ordnance instructor on North Island San Diego for the first part of the war. He shipped out in VP-71 as a bombardier/left blister machine gunner. VP-71 performed a 13 month tour culminating with the Barneo invasion.

[@rogersledz6793]

Thank you so much for sharing this with us. My father flew as a Co-Pilot in a Black Cat Squadron during WWII in the Pacific. His quick thinking and Instrument Flying skills enabled his PBY to SHOT DOWN a superior Japanese two man fighter, an almost unknown feat for a PBY! He won the DISTINGUISHED FLYING CROSS. His name was LT. JOHN M. SLEDZ.

[@HistoryX]

So glad you enjoyed the video, Roger. Thank you for sharing your father's experience as a Black Cat pilot.

[@mikepfister3542]

Glad I found this. My Uncle flew these in the Pacific in WW2. Thanks!

[@pauld6967]

My first flight instructor was a ventral gunner on PBYs. Later he went on to be a gunner on B-36 Peacemakers. He mentioned how he wore a strap/harness rig to ensure that he wouldn't drop out of the PBY in the event of turbulence or evasive manuevers. Prior to meeting him, I had not known that PBYs had a lower defensive gun position. I have been aboard a PBY once, so I appreciate how you have to squeeze in there. Men back in the 1940s were definitely smaller.

[@HistoryX]

You make a great point when you say men in the 1940's were smaller. While the average height of the US service man was 5' 9", the average weight was only 150 lbs. I have a pretty small frame at 5' 8" and 170 lbs and I often have a hard time moving around these planes!

[@pauld6967]

@@HistoryX We also have the fact that the body tends to not be as limber as we age. I have to admit that I don't get up & down ladders or through hatches as easily as I did 30 years ago. C'est la vie.

[@pjmoseley243]

My uncle joined the Royal Air Force in 1939 age 19 and was trained for over a year before he gained his qualifications. he had a crew from all over the world, This plane had the capability of staying in the air for 34 plus hours he had a crew of 8. He was trained in Canada. stationed in Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.

[@davidcreager1945]

My great uncle flew the Pby Catilina in WW 2. My dad told me he rescued downed pilots and recover dead Marines that had washed out to sea. He died before I was born , wish i could have met him ! Go Navy !

[@arnenelson4495]

The record aloft w/out refueling is 34 hours.

[@sheph7]

If it was hot in the Southern Pacific it was cold in the Aleutians. My father was a Naval Aviator flying PBYs in the Aleutians before transitioning to PB4Ys in the Southern Pacific. Said he did not miss water landings or sub hunting along the Aleutian chain in below zero weather.

[@stevebowers8936]

My eldest brother was a tail gunner in a Catalina in RAF Coastal Command in WW2. He was quite small, about 5'4" tall and slim. Now I know why he was chosen after seeing this! Excellent vid, thank you.

[@keithtonkin6959]

My dad was a "WAG" in an RNZAF Catalina based in Suva (Fiji) in WW2 WAG was Wireless Air Gunner so he doubled his role.

[@g.donuts3551]

My grandfather was a PBY radar operator during WWII, serving mostly around Burma/Indian ocean.

[@nogoodnameleft]

It is sad how the Pacific/Indian theater seems to only have a handful of battles according to Hollywood and documentaries: Pearl Harbor, Midway, Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, and Okinawa. They act like nothing else happened like Malaya, Burma, China, Bataan, New Guinea, Dutch East Indies, Solomon Islands post-Guadalcanal, fall of the Philippines, liberation of the Philippines (but they sure as hell make sure to tell us about Leyte Gulf but never Leyte Island and the rest of the Philippine Islands). I feel like USMC propaganda hijacks the story of the Pacific theater and that is such a shame.

[@seanhall8686]

The Black Cats have a fascinating story. They flew night missions against the "Tokyo Express" convoys running through New Georgia Sound to Guadalcanal. The PBY could carry two torpedoes so they packed quite a punch. I suggest looking them up for more information.

[@fg42t2]

I have a friend whose dad was in a PBY crew in the Pacific. His dad sent home several boxes of U.S.N. wooden pencils that his family used for many years. His Dad said there. were a couple of pencil sharpeners Mounted on walls inside of of the PBY and the crew had to have a supply of sharpened pencils on hand. Almost every time the PBY landed or took off a bunch of rivets would Pop out . The crews job was to Jam a pencil into each hole and break it off then resharpen it for the next useage. I thought that was a cool story

[@MitchellMaichak-ze7mr]

My father was an aviation radio operator with VP - 99 , before he advanced to aviation radio / radar operator on a PBM Mariner with VP - 201 . It's great to see video of this beautiful amphibious aircraft !

[@marcusbarbosa9452]

I was five year old (1948) when had the opportunity of flying in a Catalina, and water landing on the Rio Negro river, Amazonas region. It was a great adventure!

[@darrellborland119]

Pretty amazing...and they dive bombed with this craft...was not designed for that, and was obsolete by WW2, but acquitted itself quite well. Thanks.

[@CorePathway]

I disagree with your assertion it was obsolete by WWII. Obsolescence is only attained once there are superior competitive offerings. For the Pacific theater this beast was highly effective

[@nogoodnameleft]

There was nothing else as good as this in WWII. It could fly for 20-35 hours before refueling on the open sea!!! They didn't use these to dive bomb battleships or destroyers. They used it for dive bombing unarmed merchant ships. That this could even carry bombs was incredible.

[@UrosGavric]

Really awesome to see Catalina from the inside. Thanks a lot.

[@paulwoods682]

Nice video on the internals on a Catalina, a more typical mission in the Pacific was 15 hours!

[@allanegleston4931]

my late dad was radio officer and navigator on one.

[@alimtimm7355]

Wow!!! I thought those interiors were like smaller. Boy was I wrong. Edit: today I went in one. It was phenomenal. I can’t wait for next year’s air show.

[@kathypaul6757]

Thank you for this tour. I love the PBY and have dreamt of owning one

[@robharris5467]

This example is an amphib, whereas my understanding is that Blackcats were flying boats. My uncle was a flight engineer and if necessary he doubled as an airgunner. This was WW2 flying from Fiji, Solomons etc.

[@jackmackie986]

My step-father, Marvin Hart USN Captain (Ret), piloted many different aircraft during WWII. His last flights for the US was piloting C-47s in the Berlin Air Lift. During the Pacific campaign he was stationed in Adak Alaska where he piloted PBY-Catalina on patrol bombing, and search / rescue missions. When armed with 1000 lb bombs, Captain Hart was one of the few PBY pilots who turned them into dive bombers. He would laugh as he said we just rolled her over onto her top then dropped straight out of the sky on top of them. When he was later contacted by Consolidated Aircraft (manufacturer) engineers about the dive bombing, he was told the aircraft was not designed for that aerodynamic stress & that it should not be done. Captain Hart dutifully apologized, then laughed, again.

[@HistoryX]

Thanks for the comment, Jack. Great story about your step father turning the PBY into a dive bomber!!!

[@stevemahalko1146]

I’m building the Blackcat model kit right now. This video fits right in. Thanks

[@tjansson8481]

Nice piece about the PBY5A. My father, Lt. Lloyd Ludwig, piloted a Cat in Squadron VP83 from Natal, Brazil and was credited in sinking U-507 on Jan. 13, 1943, 330 miles off the coast. Dad was only 23, but was considered the "old man", since everyone else was younger. Dad recalled that he was flying between 7-8,000 feet when the waist gunner lying in the blister saw something on the surface. Dad looked down and declared "That's a sub." He cut power, dropped flaps and put the plane into a steep dive. He told his co-pilot to turn off the intervalometer (look it up) since he wanted to drop all four bombs at the same time and not rely on the delayed and somewhat unreliable timing device. The sub saw him and began to submerge, the decks were awash when Dad dropped all 4 bombs amidships, 2 on each side, crushing the U-boat. No longer having 4,000 lbs of bombs, the plane immediately zoomed into a climb. In post-action review, Naval Intelligence doubted the claim as there was no survivors, but after the war gave him and the crew credit for the kill. Interestingly, U-507 Captain Harro Schacht was primarily responsible for Brazil abandoning its neutrality through his indiscriminate sinking of civilian Brazilian ships in August, 1942. Brazil gave full Allied support and allowed US Navy planes to use its coastal airbases for convoy protection. My dad's logbook entry on that day merely said "Saw sub, sank same." The history of VP27 (final designation of VP83) in Wiki credits my father.

[@CaliforniaFly]

Great history! One little correction though, the PBY's had no flaps.

[@thomasslikkers253]

2/3 thru book “Thousand Mile War”. About WW2 battles with Japan in the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. They were constantly flying PBY’s there. You talk about the heat. This book describes low vis and COLD!! Imagine flying 6-8 hours up there with no heat? Huge respect!

[@butchgeagan9768]

Thanks, I enjoyed your tour of this less glamorous but no less important plane.

[@aureaphilos]

I've always thought the Catalina was one of the most beautiful planes. I fell in love with the Catalina that Jacques-Yves Cousteau converted for his research in the Pacific.

[@Historian1942]

Nice video !

[@AftStrut]

Boeing Canada produced 55 PBY-5A “Canso” amphibians for the RCAF and 300 PBY-5 and PBY-6 Catalina Flying Boats under the US Navy designation of PB2B-1 and PB2B-2 for the US Navy and the British Empire.

[@rockymountainlifeprospecti4423]

Awesome brother Ken, love those planes! All the best 🇺🇸

[@fw1421]

You want to see a much better example of a Catalina, go to the Pensacola Museum of Naval Aviation. They have a complete PBY Catalina and a cutaway fuselage that has everything it’s supposed to have and it’s a much better restored example than this one.

[@c123bthunderpig]

Black Cats, were the bomber variant used for bombing ships, submarines and land based operation. So your walk though will not exactly match other variants. The nose and tail guns were 30 cal, side 50. Due to their long sweep missions the navigator had a large table for charts and navigator faced forward towards pilots. They carried up to 4, 000 pounds of ordinance, in combination of depth charges, standard bombs and torpedoes. The fame is often recognized like spotting the Bismarck, and Japanese fleet during Midst. The most historical rescue was of the crew of USS Indianapolis. They landed and got as many sailors on board the aircraft and out if the water as soon as possible. This was standard practice for rescue operation with large number of crew. The tail was specially designed to briefly go underwater on take off. The most hazardous characteristic of design ( the high rectangular wing) was the fact flying close to the water the aircraft could get caught up in ground affect and lose lift and crash. A few crews of the Black Cats carried black cat mascots.

[@stevemahalko1146]

Yes sir…Navigator was on the Port side desk with a swing out chair. Radar and radio operators were on the Starboard side. Flight Engineer was in a retractable chair in the Parasol of the wing.

[@tomgluth4254]

New subscriber here. Excellent video, great tour and commentary! Hats off to you, great content and presentation of such !

[@HistoryX]

Wow, Tom. Thank you for taking the time to submit this comment. Truly appreciated!

[@leecundiff2166]

May grandfather’s brother (a great uncle to me) was the Flight Engineer on board a PBY prior to and during WWII. I now am the care taker to his log books.

[@mikedineen7857]

Hats off to the young ensign that landed that plane in the open ocean to rescue survivors of the USS Indy. He broke all the rules but saved many life’s.

[@robbybee70]

this is great, sadly the forward turret is the position I most want to learn about, anyone know of a video of a pby that still has one?

[@Jim-re3sr]

Great video

[@richsmith7769]

Inspired to score the 1/48 kit I saw on ebay...... I still remember how humongous the Mariners seemed when I was a kid. Miss the old days at NASNI.....

[@davidslosson7429]

Most PBYs books and pictures show the radio position on the starboard side and the navigator on the port side. The flight engineer sat in the turret between the wings and fuselage. Most refurbishments have moved the engineer's instruments to the cockpit area, whether in the rear or over the co-pilot's seat.

[@robharris5467]

The Catalina I looked over had had the Engineer position deleted and all the valves and levers transferred to the pilot function.

[@rogersledz6793]

Thank you so much for uploading this video. It is helping me get through the pandemic!

[@HistoryX]

We all need help getting through this pandemic!!!

[@windowcreek1798]

There is one of these air planes in a hanger in Gananoque Ontario Canada at the airport. Its been there since 1961. Very cool.

[@digimook]

We have one in process of restoration at teh American Air Power museum in NY. Cool to see it flightworthy

[@TwoStageTrigger]

One made an emergency landing in a lake near my home last year. It was on the boat parking area while they did repairs for a few months then then launched it back into the water and took off.

[@jord9308]

My father was a waist gunner on a PBY, but also a mechanic/ electrician. All the crew were required to know all the crew positions responsibilities so they could interchange if necessary. They spent long hours doing ASW , looking for U-boats up and down the east coast. They also shuttled VIPs to Africa. This required navigating by starlight and refueling by submarine for the return trip. Harrowing to look for a rendezvous at night with Nazi patrols nearby and to know if you couldn’t refuel, you were done for. The crew was 18-19 years old with a Senior pilot all of 22.

[@sirswerve2493]

The greatest Seaplane of them all. Responsible for more u-boat kills than any vehicle.

[@50buttfish]

They WERE GREAT water-drop aircraft too!

[@safetymikeengland]

good job

[@jerrycallender9352]

My dad was a Flight Engineer, serving onboard Catalinas from the Aleutians to Midway to Tinian.

[@lucienleech-larkin7544]

One Of The Best Examples Of A Catalina In Operation, Is In The Movie Musical: "South Pacific!" The Aircraft, And It's Crew Turn Up At The Beginning, And All Through The Movie, Which Was Shot In Very Sharp Focus; Looks Brilliant On Blu-Ray!! The Movie, Based On James Michener's "Tales Of The South Pacific," Is A Brilliant Movie, And Fairly Accurately Follows The Campaign In The Solomons!! Beautiful Music, And Well Worth A Look!!

[@sdingeswho]

I truly have fallen in love with Catalinas ❤ - they are just as sexy as fighters, but in a vastly different way. Strangely, weirdly capable, and with a shape like a starship 😁❤️! Did not know there was a place for the mechanic / flight engineer in the pylon 😮😁❤️!

[@oriolesfan61]

The bubbles make the iconic look

Very cool this video! You have gained another fan! Congratulations for the channel. I love WWII aviaton! Hugs from Sao Paulo, Brazil!!!

[@HistoryX]

Thank you for the great comment, Javier! I truly appreciate the kind words!

[@davidchristensen6908]

These are not a sexy fighter plane but I have to say I love the looks of these and they are so well built water or land, these plane are amazing.

[@Mark-ki7ic]

Dad didn't talk about his time in a PBY during WW2 until near the end and we traded military stories. Guess we finally found something to talk about

[@Allan_aka_RocKITEman]

Great video...👍 *EDIT:* I am NOT SURE I previously knew the _Catalina_ had a tail/ventral gunner.

[@ForeverBennett]

I loooove the Cat. One of my favourite WW2 planes.

[@wb6wsn]

I believe that the dorsal gunner's compartment also had a floor-mounted 5-gallon bucket for crew sanitation.

[@wb6wsn]

Oops, I have confused dorsal with ventral. The honey bucket was located in the aft-most compartment of the PBY. This would be the tunnel (or ventral) gunner's station. I wonder which of the ground crew had the bucket-dumping duty?

[@MrSabre23]

@@wb6wsn The most junior crew member usually had the honors. Same as a P-3 crew.

[@frederickmerle6412]

They did way longer than 6-8 hours I read of missions lasting up to 15 hours in the Atlantic followed by a bad weather night landing at night!

[@DragerPilot]

What a really great airplane.

[@thebosscatman7]

One of my favorite wwll planes

[@aliasdeputydog]

Surely that aircraft is a PBY 6a and not the 5a which had a forward turret. My understanding is the 6`s were built towards the end of the War and did not have the forward turret, so that aircraft you see there is a mock-up just painted black. Originally, the PBY 5 were the original `Black Cats` used on night-time ops and had to be pulled out of the water on special detachable wheels as were all earlier "Cats". When the 5a`s were built from about 1943 onwards, those were the ones fitted with the retractable landing gear as were the later PBY 6a`s.

[@davepowell3293]

It's a 5a, the difference is the tail, theycwhere all built with a front turret, most where removed post war, with either a full clipper bow or semi clipper

[@gilbertosilva4451]

Show!!! Parabéns.

[@Keys879]

Hah, i passed my IFR checkride with Bill Amorde nextdoor to the CAS and after i passed i wandered around that old defunct PBY. It will never fly again unfortunately, due to a wing spar issue; but they're building together another in the hangar.

[@patrickcamp8076]

Radio compartment. Navigator on port side. Had a large map table. Starboard side had radio operator aft of radar operator.

[@scottmccloud9029]

The gauges on the panel between the two yokes are the gauges that the engineer kept an eye on. Originally the yokes weren't tied together like that.

[@VTPSTTU]

I would think riding in the bubbles in the versions that had those would be fun.

[@HistoryX]

It definitely would be a great view for sure!

[@aussieandy67]

My Grandfather was Tail End Gunner or commonly known as Tail End Charlie and he served in New Guinea and then in Darwin when the Japanese Invaded..Mum told me he was a different man when he returned. He never collected his medals. We don't have much that I can find about the amazing crews of the Royal Flying Boat Squadrons that served for Australia. If anyone can direct me to any further info would be amazing. He died when I was 18mths old so I only had the family tales to go by.

[@mohanakrishnan1150]

Nice👍

[@gerrycarmichael1391]

I had the opportunity to crawl through a PBY. In it's original configuration the engineer would start the engines from that position. There were a series of switches in the cockpit that would illuminate signal lights of the engineer's panel that would direct him to start or shut down the engines. All the fuel lines ran over the engineer's head so that compartment always stank of gasoline. Can you imagine being stuck up there on a hot, turbulent south Pacific day? Don't know about you but I'd hurl!

[@coastalkev3776]

My pops was was with VP-71 My avatar is the squadron's patch.

[@SabotPottery]

The cramped conditions reminds me of the international space station.

[@majobis]

I live in MN. Many, many years ago they had a fully restored PBY right down to the military colors. That aircraft at the time was parked at Fleming Field in South Saint Paul and it flew a number of times Then one year a very big windstorm came in and flipped the PBY over. Since then it has been up at the Duluth location along with a red firefighting PBY And they have been in various states of restoration with pieces here and there and trying to find parts I do not know anything about that black one your in front of (possible the third PBY). By the way I have been up to where you are a few times for the big airshows

[@mrc6182]

Old guy here. My father was a PBY pilot based in Brazil on U-Boat patrol from 1942 to approximately 1944. He talked very little about it, which I've found is typical of WW2 veterans. One thing I'd like to add is that under the front gun turret and below the pilots in the very bow of the airplane there's a semi-triangular opening that during wartime housed opening shutters and a Norden bombsight.

[@maggieo]

My granduncle said the boats carried a bombardier up front for some missions, and for others he did double duty at the bobmbsight and the turret.

[@terrysteward6765]

In 1966 we moved to Ketchikan, AK. We had PBYs and Grumman Gooses and lots of smaller float planes. I never had the opportunity to fly on the PBY, but did several times on a Goose. It was so fun. We made water ladings and take offs at Ketchikan and runway landings and take offs at Annette Island, where the airport was located. The PBYs got phased out because of the maintenance costs. Much later the Gooses were phased out. Now they use Bevers and Otters.