During World War II, PBYs were used in anti-submarine warfare, patrol bombing, convoy escort, search and rescue missions (especially air-sea rescue), and cargo transport. The type operated in nearly all operational theatres of World War II.

The PBY was involved in almost every major operation in World War II, and figured significantly in defeating the U-boat menace in the Atlantic.

Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina A long-range patrol aircraft designed in the mid-1930s, the PBY became one of the most important aircraft of the war. From spotting the German battleship Bismarck, to locating the Japanese fleet off Midway, to its vital roles in air-sea rescue and sinking enemy submarines, the PBY was the war’s most successful ...

The List of WWII and post WWII Countries and their Air Forces that have operated the Consolidated PBY Catalina:

2019年8月31日 · Consolidated PBY-5 patrol bombers fly in formation in the Hawaiian area, circa November 1941. These planes, from Patrol Squadron 14 (VP-14), arrived on Oahu on 23 November 1941.

PBY “STRAWBERRY 5” WAS THE PLANE THAT FOUND THE JAPANESE CARRIERS AT THE BATTLE OF MIDWAY WHICH BECAME THE TURNING POINT IN THE PACIFIC THEATER OF WWII. BEAUTIFULLY DONE. The story of PBY-5A CATALINA (Strawberry 5) discovery and restoration for the US Navy museum in San Diego .

2020年10月25日 · The PBY-5 was piloted by Ensign Leonard B. “Tuck” Smith of the U.S. Navy, on loan with the RAF to help train British pilots to fly the aircraft. Smith sighted the Bismarck and a contact report was disseminated. The sighting directly resulted in the destruction of the infamous battleship by the Royal Navy.

The PBY Catalina was capable of excellent endurance (15-20 hours) over the hostile North Atlantic. It began to protect convoys before the advent of aircraft carriers and the evolution of surface ship technology were able to assist them. PBY type aircraft destroyed 38 German U-Boats during the war.

Today, satellites are the battle fleet's keenest eyes but during World War II, crews aboard lumbering flying boats provided distant, early warning of enemy ships and aircraft at sea. The Consolidated PBY Catalina was the U. S. Navy's most successful patrol flying boat of the war but naval aviators also used the PBY to attack ships at night, and ...

The “Cats” were employed in World War II as patrol aircraft and bombers, and performed torpedo, antisubmarine, search-and-rescue, and transport roles. Radar-equipped PBYs— painted black and known as “Black Cats”—carried out nighttime …