Consolidated PBY Catalina
The PBY Catalina, powered by two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radials, could patrol for up to 20 hours over roughly 2,500 miles, endurance that let a Catalina relocate the German battleship Bismarck in May 1941 and let PBYs flying out of Midway spot the approaching Japanese carrier fleet in June 1942. More than 3,300 were built, more than any other flying boat, with licensed production in the Soviet Union as the GST and in Canada as the Canso. Beyond patrol and anti-submarine work, Catalinas flew air-sea rescue throughout the Pacific and Atlantic.
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Did you know?
A twin-engine flying boat whose long over-water endurance let it relocate the battleship Bismarck and spot the Japanese fleet before Midway.
Specifications
| Length | 19.5 m (64 ft) |
|---|---|
| Wingspan | 31.7 m (104 ft) |
| Height | 6.2 m (20 ft) |
| Maximum passengers | 10 |
| Persons on board | 8 |
| Crew | 8 |
| Maximum take-off weight | 16 t |
| Range | 2,520 NM (4,667 km) |
| Maximum speed | 179 kt (332 km/h) |
| Stall speed | 58 kt (107 km/h) |
| Service ceiling | 15,800 ft (4,816 m) |
| Optimum ceiling | 15,000 ft (4,572 m) |
| Rate of climb | 610 ft/min (3.1 m/s) |
| Take-off distance | 533 m (1,749 ft) |
| Engines | 2x Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 |
| Units built | 380 |
Curated by CatchFlights from manufacturer documents, ICAO Doc 8643 and reference works; values are left out where no source could confirm them. Sources are listed on our credits page.
In CatchFlights
In CatchFlights the Consolidated PBY Catalina starts as a Legendary catch. The tier is an editorial judgement of how special a sighting of this type is. The more often you catch it, the closer it moves to Common for you. The first catch of a legendary type pays a bonus of its own.
A catch counts for the manufacturer Consolidated, the PBY Catalina family and the model in your collection, and the daily Type Rating quiz asks about the types of each family.
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