Story Of The Black Cats

[@AhnkoCheeOutdoors]

My Dad flew with the Black Cats in the SW Pacific during WWII. On one mission they were so shot up by the Japanese during a raid that they limped home on one engine, and no radio. I forget all the details. He told me about it so long ago, and he passed away in 2007. RIP Dad.

[@jonathansparks3386]

God bless your father

[@CONNELL19511216]

With no radio they ran the risk of being shot down by friendly fire - though signal flares could have been used if still functioning

[@safiremorningstar]

At least he made it home to tell the tale, number 5 is mentioned in the film did not make it you have to wonder who told his family any tales.

[@Miltypooh2001]

Bless your father mate my grandfather flew with the black cats sadly he died in the plane as it was landing into the sea to save other soldiers

[@colinlandwehr7913]

​@@Miltypooh2001 😢

[@sergeigen1]

i love these old war films, they were actally really well made

[@Axgoodofdunemaul]

As an Army kid, I grew up on them in the 1950s.

[@JTA1961]

Damn straight

[@nomadmarauder-dw9re]

​@@AxgoodofdunemaulThe Big Picture! LOL, when I was in Basic and AIT they showed us some of those. I'd already seen them. A couple had the kid who played Mark McCain on The Rifleman. But they weren't Big Picture features. Official training films.

[@wintonhudelson2252]

My father was in VP-71 Squadron in the South Pacific, in a PBY5A. VP-71 covered 13 months of service instead of the usual 6 months. They were supposed to be replaced with the first Squadron of PBMs, but they weren't ready for deployment.

[@babuzzard6470]

No mention of the Australian RAAF black cats, they mined a lot of Japanese held harbours and rescued coast watchers, there’s a great book in them, well worth reading.

[@dank2985]

What’s the book?

[@robharris5467]

RNZAF flew Catalinas in Pacific also. Note these aircraft are seaplanes not amphibs. Wheels bolted on to retrieve plane onto land. Removed after relaunch.

[@selwyn500]

U.S Navy had Cats stationed at Wallaby Point on GREAT PALM ISLAND NORTH QUEENSLAND. SOME WRECKAGE STILL THERE AND CONCRETE SLABS WHERE THE WORK SHOPS ETC STOOD IN 1943. MY UNCLE'S USED TO GO UP THERE EVERY SATURDAY TO HANG OUT WITH THE MEN AND GET RATIONS AND COCA COLA..

[@robharris5467]

@@selwyn500 Great anecdote Selwyn.

[@marcusher4979]

The book is RAAF BLACK CATS by Robert Cleworth & John Suter Linton. 2019 Allen & Unwin publishers 🇦🇺 (RAAF-Royal Australian Air Force) also operated Catalinas as night raiders, with four squadrons Nos. 11, 20, 42, and 43 laying mines from 23 April 1943 until July 1945 in the southwest Pacific deep in Japanese-held waters, bottling up ports and shipping routes and forcing ships into deeper waters to become targets for U.S. submarines; they tied up the major strategic ports such as Balikpapan which shipped 80% of Japanese oil supplies. In late 1944, their mining missions sometimes exceeded 20 hours in duration and were carried out from as low as 200 ft (61 m) in the dark. Operations included trapping the Japanese fleet in Manila Bay in assistance of General Douglas MacArthur's landing at Mindoro in the Philippines. Australian Catalinas also operated out of Jinamoc in the Leyte Gulf, and mined ports on the Chinese coast from Hong Kong to as far north as Wenzhou. Both USN and RAAF Catalinas regularly mounted nuisance night bombing raids on Japanese bases, with the RAAF claiming the slogan "The First and the Furthest". Targets of these raids included a major base at Rabaul. -Wikipedia

[@markbowles2382]

My grandfather learned to fly in a PBY and was taught by a man named Laurie Young , he said the first time he landed a plane on a real runway it must have bounced 10 ft in the air. He was so good to me. I never see a pic of one that I dont think of him and remember how he laughed when he told about landing on that runway and it scaring him to death.

[@Soul_Alpha]

You were so blessed, God bless you and your grandfather

[@drmodestoesq]

A brilliant exposition on the importance of combined operations.

[@benkanobe7500]

I had no idea the PBY was used offensively during the war. I am glad they were! My Dad was a Marine Raider and started hoping islands from the Canal to Iwo.

[@johnshields6852]

Great flying boat, they were so versatile, rescue alone is worth it. Land and takeoff on water is such an asset.

[@skyviewflier]

Love the PBY Cats. They played a role in just about every theater...I would love to see more of them flying...

[@CrossOfBayonne]

Ever played COD WAW, Black Cats was an awesome mission

[@geoben1810]

As a proud U.S. NAVY veteran I salute the brave crews of the flying boats and the Black Cats. PO3 '73>'77 PATRON TWO FOUR, (Batmen) P3C Orians NAS JAX FLA. Yeah, The NAVY does it ALL, and does it all at ONCE! 💙✌🇺🇸

[@Callsign_Hammer]

Take out those fucking pt boats

[@captaineastonsstarwarsandm4375]

Hahaha

[@rikatoziv2520]

@GUARDSMAN They're our biggest threat right now!

[@durandol]

Tell me we did not just lose our gunner!

[@michellelebumfacil6352]

@@durandol he's okay! What the fuck are merchant ships doing with that much firepower?!

[@kuyakyel324]

@@michellelebumfacil6352 that’s must be some pretty important cargo they’re carrying

[@rtqii]

I have been watching the The Unauthorized History of the Pacific War Podcast. I cannot recommend this series highly enough, and it is free on KZbin.

[@denvan3143]

I’ve been watching the unauthorized history of the Pacific also. Great information, stuff I haven’t heard anywhere else.

[@michaelwalker7700]

Thanks for the recommendation! Just subbed. Excellent podcast

[@Retiredjourneyman]

My grandmothers brother test piloted for Consolidated and he was the test pilot for the PBY and the B-24

[@glennquagmire1747]

I couldn't think of anything more scarer then doing nite missions in pacific ocean, these men are true heroes

[@nofrackingzone7479]

Dad flew in Catalina’s to pickup downed airmen. He said they stunk of gasoline (he said they leaked constantly) and each crewman had to search the other to make sure no one had cigarettes and would blow the plane up mid flight if someone fired up a smoke.

[@JTA1961]

Not a good 'high"... didn't know that was a problem.

[@dennismason3740]

The Constellation, the Catalina, the 262 - three most beautiful airplanes in existence.

[@tomjones9935]

I know Jimmy Buffet owns several of these old flying boats and flies them all over the Caribbean. There is an airline that flies out of Ft Lauderdale with service all over the Caribbean as well- Chalks Airline

[@dennismason3740]

@@tomjones9935 - excellent. I am so glad that some folk are taking care of these birds. I will check it out, thank you.

[@TechnikMeister2]

Pretty painful US propaganda film, but they were very useful in the Pacific campaign and as anti submarine aircraft in the Atlantic. My dad was an Australian Coast Watcher on Bougainville and then on New Britain and the PBYs were the lifeline for supplies and rescues. He himself was rescued from New Britain by one after his position was betrayed by natives who had been bribed by the Japanese. His radio operator was killed. He had to swim 2 miles offshore beyond the reef to be picked in the middle of the night. It was a miracle. He remained in touch with the US Navy pilot of the PBY who came from St Louis, until his death in 1992.

[@denvan3143]

Thanks for posting the video, it’s a really good movie about the superlative PBY, the Cat in the sky.

[@stratman2k]

VPB-33 Deadly to Japanese shipping.

[@siggyretburns7523]

🙏 God bless our soldiers, past and present. 🇺🇸

[@xeutoniumnyborg1192]

Watching them load the torpedo on the port wing, my first thought was how many of those pilots asked if they could exchange the torpedo for more bombs as they were more reliable.

[@tunahxushi4669]

Not so, by the time the US was in the Pacific island hopping the all new Mark 13 torpedoes were excellent...many US torpedoes were useless at the beginning of WW2, but at the end they worked superbly...

[@setSCEtoAUX]

My stepdad spent time as a waistgunner in PBYs early in the Pacific war. I'm still trying to piece together his service history. He died in '85 when I was only 13 so I have so many unanswerable questions. He loved these planes!

[@dennismason3740]

The editing in this film has me howling.

[@dennismason3740]

When I was a child my brother and I would scream in excitement when the red and white Coast Guard Cats would fly by, so slow they seemed to hang in the air - the 1950s, Southern California. Do you want to know what the Catalina is saying with its looks? I'm a good girl, just don't eff with me.

[@donaldelfreth553]

Note that not a word in this documentary mentions the Cat's airborne radar.

[@JTA1961]

I see what they "didn't "do there...

[@Miltypooh2001]

My grandfather used to tell me stories about how him and his friends took down a pt boat at the cost of having their black cat fall into the water due to a failed engine being shot to hell, he said the weather was so bad they were caught by surprise and before they knew what was going on they found themselves being rescued by another fleet luckily no one in his unit died. Unfortunately he passed away in 2012

[@markrossow6303]

Seattle still has single-engine floatplanes, flying to the San Juan Islands and Victoria BC -- but the c00Ler twin engine flying boats did not come back after The Plague Years :'-( In 1964, my Mom got to Okinawa on an island-hopping flying boat

[@gregwarner3753]

It is what you don't know that gets you. These were the first of the "stealth" bombers.

[@keithlawrence5605]

Shame there's nothing mentioned about the raaf Catalinas doing the same thing

[@dreamdiction]

Aussies should make their own films.

[@jkorshak]

This was US navy. The royal navy had their own films.

[@johnschmit998]

Excellent! Thanks for posting!

[@autumnberend828]

That moment when you learn many ships the cats would sink were not just Japanese ships, but also carrying tons of Allied POWs. like American soldiers. Not that they knew at the time, but really changed how this was narrated and thought of.

[@tracyedwards5400]

From the old Victory at Sea series!

[@irish89055]

Nope

[@raymondyee2008]

VPB-54 can thank “COD WAW” for being recognized.

[@Clone_of_Darth_Revan]

Exactly

[@damndirtyrandy7721]

Funny, myself and several others with the ability to read have known about the Black Cats and several other really interesting unique scenarios in the wartime US military. Sadly, too many people only know this because they play video games and they only know as much as the game tells them.

[@offdeadeye88]

@@damndirtyrandy7721like it or not, and you should absolutely like it, because without video games all this will be lost to the newer generations due to lack of interest. Games have informed a generation and made them interested in history they wouldn’t even know about otherwise, given the modern school system, history is brief and without detail in the classroom

[@NuggetWorkshop]

What is a cod waw? I'm assuming another KZbin channel?

[@blacksquirrel4008]

@@NuggetWorkshopCall of Duty world at war?

[@stevemcelmury4618]

I've seen some great war documentaries in my time... this beats 'em all. Well done, Navy camera and editing crews... My dad was a Marine First Sergeant on Okinawa in June '45. At the time, few knew about the A-bomb in production, & America was preparing to invade the home islands of Japan. Marine NCOs with serious combat experience were sent home (on a Catalina), given two weeks leave (when he married my mom), & sent to Officer Candidate School (Cherry Point, NC). Halfway through the course, we dropped the bombs on Hiroshima & Nagasaki, the war ended, & the OCS candidates were given the choice of finishing the course & being commissioned, returning to their previous enlisted rank, or getting out of the service. Semper Fi...

[@ic6605]

My Dad was a gunner on a PBY in the SW Pacific just before the invasion of Japan, dangerous times for all.

[@WizzRacing]

They used these in North Atlantic for submarines. They would drop hedge hogs and that Sub was toast...

[@davidneale6950]

The "hedgehog" was a shipborne defensive weapon. PBY's used depth charges.

[@WizzRacing]

@@davidneale6950 They all used hedgehogs..It all depended on what they had at the time.. You can go lookup the history of the hedgehogs well. As it tells you where they were used..

[@davidneale6950]

The Hedgehog (also known as an Anti-Submarine Projector) was a forward-throwing anti-submarine weapon that was used primarily during the Second World War. The device, which was developed by the Royal Navy, fired up to 24 spigot mortars ahead of a ship when attacking a U-boat.[2] It was deployed on convoy escort warships such as destroyers and corvettes to supplement the depth charges. I've never seen, or heard of, the hedgehog being mounted on anything other than a ship/vessel. Where have you got your information from?

[@WizzRacing]

@@davidneale6950 USN Mark 4 and the Mark VII was used off racks of planes..The smaller Y-K were use din Mortars... Read the history.

[@dfmcintyre129]

I think there’s a bit of confusion in the original post. They didn’t use Hedgehogs on the Cat’s but rather the mortar round that the Hedgehog launched.

[@blaskoxx4954]

I saw the beat up one in ANchorGE - but man is that my fav...So cool!

[@jkorshak]

I believe the PBY "secret base" is at Tulagi and the harbor reconned for the convoy they are hunting in the story - at 16:17 they show a map which appears to be New Britain/Rabaul.

[@frisk151]

OUtside of some of the bomb run edited footage, great to see this video! Thanks!

[@stephensowell9578]

Another unknown story to me is upping admiration for the PBY. Thanks, NV.

[@JTA1961]

Same here

[@jackthunderbolt4307]

all the hate on the cats are completely idiotic and unfounded

[@Clone_of_Darth_Revan]

What?

[@christopherburnham1612]

Do you really hate all pussys😮

[@blueycarlton]

Some of the footage of the convoy attack shown here is from Damien Parer's "Bismark Convoy Smashed", 1943 film. He flew in a RAAF Beaufighter standing behind the pilot to shoot the footage.

[@derekcoleman8985]

All young men there, lives in front of them. Eighty years ago now.

[@casedoumasr656]

To all past and present military thank you for are freedom 🏆🇺🇸👍

[@tonyfranks9551]

Superb....thank you.

[@repenney]

Love the "stowaway" at 8:13. Glad they didn't take it along.....

[@thatfeeble-mindedboy]

The scripts for the narration done for these war-time documentaries gets funnier and funnier as time goes by …. Reminds me more and more of “Dragnet” … like they all went to the Jack Webb school of narration… so serious at times, other times so overly dramatic and they just LOVE throwing around that slang around.. just to remind you how hip they are, and how much you aren’t. Aren’t you really intimidated when they say something like “another tin fish for the starboard side” ? And apparently they were told to try to be witty … I guess witty for 1943 was more about the censors and less about… well, wit, as it were …

[@JTA1961]

Interesting observation... 👍

[@geraldmoore46]

Buddy of mine flew em said you couldn't smoke because of the gas fumes

[@philipgould4438]

RAAF 20 SQN got the job done 🏴

[@darrellborland119]

Not much of a "Super Plane"...never designed for dive bombing during those night missions...was supposedly obsolete by 1941....amazing what they did with it...and radar, to-boot. ..😀

[@billbright1755]

That salt water must have been murder on components. Black of night in cloud very easy to become lost. Choppy sea makes landing a difficult task.

[@jaeseonsong6605]

미국해군같은데..... 실전인지..... 잘모르겠지만 생활과 전투를 엮어나가는 장면에서 많이배웠읍니다 감사합니다

[@kennethkeith5570]

My fatger was a Pharmacists Mate, flew with Black Cats at New Guinea and Philipines

[@dumpmuch]

Where drum beat?

[@celsorostom2717]

Aeronaves deste modelo também aturaram contra submarinos alemães nos mares da América do Sul. 🇧🇷

[@DJRickyLester]

@Celso rostom, na verdade, atuaram! Creio que foi um pequeno erro de digitação. Meu pai fez parte de um esquadrão de Catalinas PBY com base no Rio de Janeiro entre 1942 até o fim da guerra.

[@peterroberts505]

cats of steel.

[@bill2066]

I didnt know frank Zappa was in WWII

[@stephenfarthing3819]

Hmm ! Interesting. Someone should tell Wolfpack 345, J76ny and Darthvegan of this.

[@marcdemmon208]

Why don't we have these flying boat s today would still work able

[@joshuamillar5157]

They do mostly for tourism and firefighting

[@marcfitzhenry7581]

My mum was a pilot for the Black Cats. She was in secret transition so nobody knew she was a chick. Anyways, she hit a iceberg and the rest is history.

[@su8pack13]

Started in P2V, then P3A, jez.

[@CrossOfBayonne]

World At War vibes here

[@nicholascollora6709]

Thx my dad communication..get the survivors no Treasury no treason care 4 each other camera

[@motoalchemy]

My favorite

[@abinadabgoncalves6184]

Catalina

[@stephenbrightstar286]

Yea , Torpedoes! Makes alot of since to drop Torpedo 2000 yards and pel off then fly over them and take fire.

[@zillsburyy1]

TAIWAN # 1 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@jvcyt298]

The things that the narrator says can be so corny, I doubt that people really talked like that back then.

[@bill2066]

NOt in real life conversations, no. Its Hollywood

[@nicholascollora6709]

Rivkotes ricochet love i lift weights not gravity

[@kyliedepaterson7524]

Miller Barbara Wilson Brenda Thompson Joseph

[@DtdtycgfyvugucggubTfxfvhugbibi]

Lewis Edward Wilson Cynthia Moore Margaret

[@drbobsnightmare2521]

Pigboat

[@SpenserHiram-f7t]

Lee Anna Anderson Timothy Jones Michael

[@Vasher-The-Destroyer]

War thunder plane

[@LiveOlsen-r9i]

Taylor Charles Johnson Donald Thompson Barbara

[@nicholascollora6709]

Billions 🇺🇸 blood a b ab o. - + rh good documentary

[@nicholascollora6709]

The $$$$$$$'$ u unfortunately

[@duanepayne1805]

This isn't historical.