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Patrol aircraft, the “P-boats” of the old Navy, rarely achieved the public acclaim of the contemporary carrier-based fighters, dive-bombers, and torpedo planes. Mission assignments of the patrol squadrons, principally offshore search and antisubmarine warfare, provided few opportunities for actions likely to produce comment and recognition in communiques. One exception was the U.S. Navy- developed Consolidated PBY. For example, it was mentioned in the rowdy World War II pseudospiritual “I Ain’t A’Gonna Grieve . . .” which warns: “Oh, you can’t get to heaven in a PBY/’Cause a PBY don’t fly that high. ...”
The plane was officially dubbed “Catalina” by the British on receipt of their first ones in November
1940. Produced in greater numbers than any other patrol seaplane and operated by all the Allies, the PBY served with distinction in every World War II combat theater. The airplane could go anywhere and do anything. Long-range maritime patrol and convoy escort were the norm, but PBY squadrons were also expected to—and did—perform such widely diversified missions as high- and low-altitude bombing, torpedo attacks, search and rescue, logistic support, photo reconnaissance, and gunfire spotting. Critics complained that another airplane could do a particular task more effectively or faster, but the record shows that PBY did whatever was required of it, earning in the process the absolute confidence of pilots and crewmen that it could not only do the job but
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PETER M. BOWERS
GENERAL DYNAMICS/CONVAIR
GENERAL DYNAMICs/cONVAIR
would also get them safely home again. The plane’s performance might be compared to baseball executive Branch Rickey’s description of infielder Eddie Stanky: “He cannot hit, he cannot throw, and he cannot outrun his grandmother. But if there is a way to beat the other team, he’ll find it.”
Design and Production: The PBY owed its performance and versatility to the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation engineering team—headed by Isaac M. (“Mac”) Laddon—which earned its stripes by developing and producing a very successful series of patrol seaplanes. First in this line of PBY ancestors was the 1927 Navy-designed XPY-1. Consolidated won the contract to build the prototype but lost the production contract when underbid by the Martin company. Undaunted, Consolidated revised and improved the design and offered the Navy the XP2Y-1 in mid- 1931- The outstanding performance of the prototype, which easily met and exceeded the design requirements, resulted in a production contract for the P2Y-1 and, subsequently, for modified versions designated P2Y-2 and P2Y-3.
With P2Y production under way, the Navy announced a new patrol plane design competition in 1932, with requirements for a 3,000-mile range at 100 mph at a maximum gross weight of 25,000 pounds. Consolidated’s proposed XP3Y-1, prototype for the thousands of PBYs and Catalinas to follow, was similar to the P2Ys in that it was a high-wing
monoplane of all-metal construction. It differed in several important respects. The maze of drag- producing struts of the earlier models was replaced by a clean pylon and only four neatly faired struts between the wing and the hull. Even mpre important to drag reduction was the revolutionary concept of retracting the stabilizing floats into the wing tips. The Navy liked what it saw and signed the contract for the experimental model on 28 October 1933.
Consolidated built this first PBY, which started life as the XP3Y, at its Buffalo, New York, plant. On completion early in 1935, the airplane was shipped by rail to Naval Air Station Norfolk and assembled there for the company flight test program. The first flight, with Consolidated pilot Bill Wheatley at the controls, was made on 21 March 1935. The Navy was so impressed with the airplane’s performance that a contract for 60 production aircraft—at a cost of $90,000 each—was awarded to Consolidated on 29 June 1935. The designation change, from P3Y to PBY, was made during production to more accurately describe the new plane's capabilities as a patrol bomber. In the interim, the company had relocated to San Diego, and deliveries of the new PBY-Is were made there, starting in September 1936. Patrol Squadron 6 (VP-6), based at North Island, was the first Navy squadron to receive the new planes.
A share of the credit for the success of the PBY must go to the Navy uniformed and civilian personnel who had reviewed and analyzed reports through
BOEING COMPANY
GENERAL DYNAMICs/cONVAIR
PUBLIC ARCHIVES OF CANADA
the years, establishing the requirements which eventually produced the plane. PBY/Catalina design features which reflect some of these fleet requirements include offensive and defensive armament. A manually operated bow turret with a .30-caliber machine gun, a similar gun mounted in a “tunnel” hatch aft under the tail, and a .50-caliber machine gun in each °f the waist positions provided protection against hostile aircraft attacks from every quarter. These gun positions remained unchanged from the first through the final version of the plane, except for a change to twin guns in the bow turret and the addition of the Plexiglas blisters to the waist positions. Armor was added to later models, including protection for the pilots, fuel valves and sumps, shields on the waist guns, and plating aft to protect the gunners. Selfsealing liners were provided for the fuel tanks in the wing center section and, in later models, dump valves and lines were installed to permit quick release of excess fuel in emergencies.
Offensive armament consisted of four under-wing bomb stations, each of which could accommodate a single bomb of up to 1,000 pounds. Adapters were available which allowed up to six 100-pound bombs on each wing. A torpedo adapter allowed a standard Mkl3 aircraft torpedo to be carried under each wing. Bombs and torpedoes were armed and released electrically by the bombardier or by the pilots. A manual
in'
1 u. s. ««Y
1. VP-52 was the first PBY squadron to arrive at Argentia,
Newfoundland, in May 1941 for Neutrality Patrol duty after the famous destroyers-for-bases deal. The tender is probably the USS Albemarle (AV-5).
2. & 3. The tender, probably AV-5, provided major maintenance for Neutrality Patrol aircraft at Argentia. All other servicing was done from boats at mooring buoys. These PBYs of VP-12 are shown in late 1941. One is at start of its takeoff run, going “over the hump” to start planing and reach liftoff speed.
4. The first operational radar on a U.S. Navy plane is shown 9 June 1941 at NAS Anacostia. One of the antennas is shown strung on spikes on the port side of the fuselage.
5. Ten planes of VP-8 flying in left echelon formation around 1940. PBY was sometimes known as “battleship of the air.”
6. One of the many PBY roles was towing target sleeves for gunnery practice.
7. Before World War 11, support came from old DDs and “bird”-class minecraft. In this picture from about 1940, a PBY-2 of VP-31 is about to refuel from a “bird”-class ship. Bamboo poles with padded ends are used as fenders, while the first steadying line is being thrown to the man on the wing.
8. This PBY-1 of VP-12 bears the two-star flag of Rear Admiral Ernest J. King, who is seated front row center.
emergency jettison release was also provided. All PBYs were equipped with the Norden Mk 15 bombsight, coupled to a Navy-developed autopilot which permitted the bombardier to control the plane on bomb runs. The bombsight was aimed through a bow window, protected by a roll-up shutter on landing and takeoff. After catastrophic losses during attempted high-altitude bombing attacks by Patrol Wing 10 PBYs in the Philippines early in World War II, such attacks were rarely made.
With the clearly demonstrated superiority of the PBY design, Consolidated dominated the patrol aircraft production scene during the balance of the 1930s, and contracts for the PBY-2, the PBY-3, and
the PBY-4 followed. The basic design remained unchanged until the end of the PBY-4 contract. Then, to improve stability and control, a revised design for the vertical tail was installed on the last few airplanes. To enhance defensive fire from the waist guns, the familiar plexiglas blisters of all subsequent models were also incorporated for testing. These changes plus a new version of the Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp engine proved successful and were incorporated in the next model, the PBY-5.
In December 1939, the Navy ordered 200 PBY-5S, the largest aircraft order since World War I. And, as a result of the success of the amphibian tests using a tricycle landing gear, the last 33 of these were to be
delivered as PBY-5As. With no other maritime patrol aircraft design available, the British, French, and Dutch joined the U.S. Navy in competing for Consolidated’s production. By late 1940, Catalinas were coming off the assembly line in San Diego and being ferried overseas and into action in Europe and the Netherlands East Indies. The aircraft were, with the exception of internal equipment, identical to the U.S. Navy’s PBY-5s.
Production of the PBY/Catalina continued through the war years with as many as six facilities delivering aircraft in the United States, Canada, and Russia. By the end of hostilities, about 3,400 had been produced and gone into service. The U.S. Navy reached a wartime peak of 29 PBY squadrons, with many more planes operating at air stations and test facilities. The Army Air Forces had many (designated OA-10) in service with the Air Sea Rescue Service in both the Atlantic and Pacific. During the closing days of the war, PBYs were being phased out in favor of later model seaplanes and land-based patrol planes. By war’s end, there were only nine Navy squadrons.
Operations: The U.S. Navy operated the PBY with a crew of eight or nine men, usually consisting of a patrol plane commander, a copilot, a navigator (usually also a pilot), a plane captain (crew chief/flight engineer), two radio/radar operators, and two gun-
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PBY-5 instrument panel and flight controls. The horizontal “yoke" provided elevator control and carried two wheels for aileron control. Toggle switches in the center above the yoke were communication system between the pilots and the flight engineer who was in the pylon between wing and hull. The bombardier’s station in the bow is visible beneath the rolled-up curtain in lower center.
The navigator’s station was located aft of the cockpit on the port side of the hull.
An electric stove was provided so that hot meals were available on long patrol flights.
This photo was made looking aft, through the bunk compartment which was used primarily by crews at anchor or when moored to buoys overnight.
Waist gun position with .50-caliber gun trained out to firing station.
A radioman mans his station in the navigation compartment.
Interior view of waist gun position.
Looking forward in mechanic’s compartment. The bottom of the flight engineer’s seat is at the top center.
ners. Patrol flights usually averaged 10-12 hours in duration, with a predawn launch and an after-dark return. Seaplanes operating from forward area seadromes were supported by tenders. Crews of the amphibians in combat zones did not enjoy the comfort of living on board a ship but were compensated somewhat by being independent of the problems associated with mooring at a buoy, then waiting interminably for a boat to get to the tender.
Despite all its other sterling qualities, the PBY was neither comfortable nor particularly easy to handle—in flight or on the water. A total absence of soundproofing and insulation made the airplane one of the noisiest ever. With no heaters (until late in the war), it was miserably cold in the Arctic and was uncomfortably hot in the tropics. In either case, trying to keep the crew alert and maintaining an effective visual search was almost an impossibility. Flying the PBY required good training, much practice, and plenty of muscle! Water takeoffs, in particular, demanded good judgment and the exercise of very precise control techniques to avoid porpoising. This condition, if not promptly corrected, could quickly produce a disastrous series of bounces and, finally, a crash. Open-sea operations, as required for missions to rescue survivors, were especially demanding on experience and technique. The addition of jet assistance takeoffs late in the war appreciably improved
the probability of success in open-sea operations. Control forces in all three axes were high, and an announcement by the crew chief that the autopilot was inoperative for a patrol flight was sure to produce a groan of dismay from even the most enthusiastic pilots. Twelve or more hours manhandling the yoke and rudder pedals guaranteed equal time at the controls to all pilots on board.
During World War II, PBYs operated around the world, from 1940 until hostilities ceased in 1945. Catalinas of the British Royal Air Force Coastal Command proved their worth in May 1941 when they participated in the search for the Bismarck when that German. battleship evaded her pursuers and headed for the open Atlantic. A Catalina of No. 209 squadron, with a U.S. naval aviator on board as observer, located the Bismarck and maintained the contact. A subsequent torpedo attack by carrier-based Swordfish aircraft crippled the battleship and left her vulnerable to the surface forces which finally destroyed her.
Patrol Wing Ten, operating PBY-4s in the Philippines at the outbreak of hostilities with the Japanese fought a losing battle from the beginning, overwhelmed by superior forces both in numbers and in the quality of the opposition. Attempts to stop the invading forces by high-altitude bombing of ships were disastrous to the PBYs. At their first trial, the
2. This 1942 picture shows, better than any words could, what conditions were like for patrol squadrons operating in Alaska and the Aleutians during World War II.
1. Sailors struggle to push a damaged PBY at NAS Kaneohe on 7 December 1941. Notice the damaged trailing edge of the wing.
7. A crash ambulance crew races to the scene as a PBY splashes down on a muddy Aleutian runway where pontoons might have been more useful than wheels.
6. A French pilot gets instructions from the control tower of the British base at Gibraltar. Note the Cross of Lorraine on the fuselage.
5. Aviation ordnancemen in the Aleutians attach a bomb to an under-u ing rack while maintenance men make preparations to start the engines.
4. Members of Patrol Bombing Squadron 63 service a Catalina in the European theater. The roll-up door in the nose covered the bombsight.
Another frosty clime during the war was Greenland where Coast Guardsmen are working on a PBY engine.
prewar tactics so long on the books were proved worthless. At Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, a PBY from Patrol Squadron 14 made the first attack delivered by U.S. naval aviation in the war when it dropped depth bombs on a Japanese submarine off the harbor entrance at about 0645.
PBYs of Patrol Squadron 44 made the initial contact with the approaching Japanese forces at Midway early on 3 June 1942 and maintained the contact during the day. That evening, four PBYs loaded with torpedoes took off from the island to attempt a night attack on the enemy force. Three of the planes reached the target and dropped their torpedoes—the first such attack in U.S. naval aviation history. For
days after the battle, PBYs from Midway searched the combat area and made dozens of rescue landings.
In the Aleutians, PBYs repeatedly demonstrated their go-anywhere, do-anything capability. Long range gave them the ability to proceed to an alternate location when weather precluded a return to base. And, if need be, a landing could be made at sea in the lee of an island to wait out the weather. Slow speed at low altitude gave them the option of a radar approach to an island, with time to turn away if things got too sticky. During the period immediately after the Japanese occupation of Kiska, the PBYs were the only available force with an offensive capability. During one four-day period, the planes
bombed the island until all available fuel and bombs Were exhausted. The Aleutian PBYs were the first Navy forces to attack the Japanese home islands. Strikes against installations in the Kuriles were made continuously from 1942 until the last months of the War. These attacks required flights of 12-14 hours, through some of the worst weather in the world. Forecasts, both for the target and for the return, were at best only guesses because of a lack of data. Not infrequently, crews made the long flight only to find a solid overcast over the target. With radar, an approach could be made and bombs dropped, but the odds were that no significant target would be hit.
At the other end of the Pacific, the PBYs carried
the load, too. In the Solomons, the P-boats quickly demonstrated their capability to complete any task assigned. Tender-based seaplanes and land-based amphibians flew sector searches to guard against surprise attacks. Supply missions to the Australian coastwatchers behind the enemy lines were flown, with and without fighter escort. Rescue missions were frequent, either to pick up downed survivors or to be on station during an attack, ready to go in after the unlucky pilots and crews. Gunfire spotting for bombarding ships and night harassment of enemy installations were routine assignments. When the Japanese resorted to night operations to supply bypassed garrisons, the P-boat squadrons developed
2. After World War II, magnetic airborne detector (MAD) gear which had been used for spotting enemy submarines was converted for use in exploring for hidden mineral deposits.
3. The famed “Black Cats” were Catalina patrol bombers painted black for night prowling. These planes ofVPB-50 were based at Los Negros, Admiralty Islands, in 1945.
4. A PBY of Patrol Bombing Squadron 63 flies past a Navy blimp while returning to its base at Port Lyautey, North Africa, after a Mediterranean patrol during World War II.
5. Two crewmen of a PBY abandon their doomed craft and board a U. S. submarine during World War 11 action.
6. & 7. These pictures, taken in September 1949 at the Coast Guard Air Station, Miami, Florida, illustrate a system known as Jet-assisted takeoff (JATO) which provided an added boost in getting off the water.
Black Cat tactics which were phenomenally successful throughout the Southwest Pacific. In the Atlantic, the principal PBY mission was antisubmarine warfare. Operating out of bases from the Arctic to South America, they escorted many transatlantic convoys and were credited with killing 20 U-boats.
The Postwar Era: Immediately after World War II, the demand for cargo- and passenger-carrying aircraft was probably at an all-time high. Veterans with service-acquired skills in aircraft operations were returning to civilian life in great numbers, anxious to establish themselves in the aviation field where their training and experience could pay immediate divi
dends. Many of them, and especially those with PBY operational experience, recognized the potential of this versatile airplane and its amphibious Capability- Hundreds of PBYs, surplus to the needs of the armed services, became available and were sold to this eagerly waiting public. Unlike the fate of most contemporary military aircraft, few PBYs were broken up for the smelters. This rugged plane, with its tremendous load-carrying ability, was made to order for support operations in the backwoods of the world.
Removal of guns, armor, radar, and radio equipment added thousands of pounds to the payload. Deletion of the waist gun blisters and the nose turret reduced drag and increased cruise speed. Reworking
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the interior provided decks and tie-downs for cargo and plenty of room for passengers who were more than ready to exchange a few hours of noisy discomfort for a trek that could take days on foot or horseback to reach a wilderness mine or well-drilling site. Engine and fuel controls were moved to the cockpit for pilot control, eliminating the need for a flight engineer and his station under the wing. Fly- lng overland on most flights, pilots relied on maps ar>d landmarks, eliminating the need for a navigator ar»d his equipment.
By rhe early 1950s, the U.S. Navy had stricken che last of the PBYs, but many of the airplanes found a new life in the service of the smaller nations and continued in operation until the 1970s. At this writing, the Brazilian Air Force still supports operations along the Amazon River with a squadron of PBYs, and the Danes have only recently withdrawn the last of their Catalinas from Greenland. In this country and abroad, a number of the PBY/Catalinas serve well in various civilian roles. Many are used for geological survey work, with a variety of detection devices mounted on wings and the hull. A number of the P-boats have been converted into luxurious “air yachts” which can take a party of sportsmen into otherwise inaccessible backwoods areas and provide all the comforts of home for extended hunting and fishing expeditions.
FIELD AVIATION COMPANY, LTD-
. The addition of two Lycoming engines and more fuel tanks gives this PBY a 4,000-mile range at a cruise speed of 200 mph. Luxury accommodations for up to 16 passengers include a galley, air conditioning, and hot showers.
. This PBY-5A Canso is from the Danish Air Force, one of the world’ s last services to operate Catalinas. The last three Danish PBYs were retired on 13 November 1970, following years of faithful service in Greenland.
The record of the PBY Catalina, in war and peace, assures its place in aviation history. Arctic or tropics, fair weather or foul, the plane and its crews were always ready to try any task assigned. When its capabilities were understood, it never failed to deliver all that was requested and more. Tasks that were never conceived by the team that designed and produced the plane were taken in stride by the PBY. Today, more than 40 years after the first flight of the XP3Y-1 at Norfolk, the PBY continues to serve as it did when it earned its reputation as the Navy’s workhorse. There are probably fewer than 100 of the grand old P-boats still flying, but you can be sure that the people who operate them are quietly confident that it can go anywhere (short of heaven) and do anything—if it can be done by an airplane.
Captain Scarborough had some 2,000 pilot hours in PBYs before, during, and after World War II. He enlisted in the Navy in 1935 and was selected for enlisted flight training in 1938. Upon graduation the following year, he was a pilot and third class petty officer. He reported to Patrol Squadron 14 (VP-14) at Norfolk, flying the last P2Y-2s in squadron service. VP-14, by then redesignated VP-52, received its first PBY-5s in March 1941 and spent the remainder of the year in Neutrality Patrol operations ranging from Puerto Rico to Newfoundland and Iceland. The squadron was redesignated VP-72 in 1941, and the next year Captain Scarborough was selected for a temporary commission as lieutenant (junior grade). During the war, he operated PBYs from New Caledonia during the Coral Sea Battle, from Hawaii and Midway during the Midway Battle, and in the Southwest Pacific during the Solomons campaign. He had a subsequent combat tour in the Lockheed/Vega Ventura (PV-1). After the war, he was selected for a regular commission and served on active duty until retiring in 1964. He retired from Grumman Aerospace Corporation in 1977 and is now at work on a book about the PBY/Catalina.
PERFORMANCE AND CHARACTERISTICS
| Gross Weight | @ Altitude | Service Ceiling | Patrol Range |
| |
Model | (lbs) | (mph) | (ft) | (miles) |
| Climb ft/min |
XPBY-1 | 20,226 | 184.0/8,000 | 24,000 | 2,110 |
| 5,000/4.6 |
PBY-l | 20,671 | 183.8/8,000 | 23,600 | 2,115 |
| 840/1 |
PBY-2 | 21,779 | 175.5/8,000 | 20,900 | 2,131 |
| 860/1 |
PBY-3 | 22,078 | 184.6/12,000 | 23,100 | 2,175 |
| 930/1 |
PBY-4 | 22,295 | 198.0/12,000 | 25,400 | 2,070 |
| 870/1 |
PBY-5 (Early) | 26,200 | 189.7/7,000 | 21,600 | 1,965 |
| 990/1 |
PBY-5A | 33,975 | 179.6/7,000 | 14,700 | 2,545 |
| 10,000/19.3 |
PfiN-1 | 36,353 | 186.0/7,000 | 15,100 | 2,590 |
| ? |
PBY-6A | 34,550 | 178.0/7,000 | 16,200 | 2,535 |
| 630/1 |
PB2B-1 | 33,133 | 187.0/7,000 | 15,800 | 2,690 |
| 660/1 |
PRINCIPAL DIMENSIONS, ALL MODELS: |
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^ing Span— 104 ft | Wing Area— 1,400 sc | ] ft Fuel Capacity- | — 1,750 U.S. gallons (unprotected) All models except PBN, | |||
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| which had additional wing tanks. |
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length—65'6" (PBY-l, | -2,-3, some -4), 63'10" | (PBY-5,-5A), 64’8" | (PBN) |
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Height—18'6" (PBY-l, | -2,-3, some -4), 18'11" | (PBY-5, PB2B-1), 20'2" (PBY-5A), 22'4" (PBY-6A) |
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| POWER PLANTS |
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| PRATT & WHITNEY TWIN WASP R-1830* |
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Engine Modification | -58 | -64 | -66 | -72 | -82** | -92 |
| XP3Y-1 | XPBY-l | PBY-3 | PBY-4 | PBY-5 | PBY-5A & |
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| PBY-1,-2 |
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| later mods |
PlP @ Sea Level for | 800 | 900*** | 1,050 | 1,050 | 1,200 | 1,200 |
Takeoff @ RPM | 2,400 | 2,500 | 2,700 | 2,700 | 2,700 | 2,700 |
PIP—Normal @ | 800 | 850 | 900 | 900 | 1,050 | 1,050 |
Rated altitude (ft) | SL | 8,000 | 10,000 | 10,000 | 7,500 | 7,500 |
@RPM | 2,400 | 2,450 | 2,550 | 2,550 | 2,550 | 2,550 |
NOTES:
* All PBY models except the Russian Cargo-Mail Boats were equipped with the P & W Twin Wasp engines. The Russian aircraft were powered by bright Cyclone R-1820-G3 engines. The U.S. civil models had the civilian P&W R-1830-S1C3.
**The -82 was the first engine of the series adapted for the use of 100 octane fuel and the Stromberg pressure carburetor.
Max Speed
An i
modification of the -64 engine increased HP to 1,000 @ 2,600 RPM for takeoff.
PROPELLERS: Hamilton Standard constant speed full-feathering, Model 3E50, were installed on all PBYs from the XP3Y-1 through the PBY-4, except for 14 PBY-2s which were equipped with the Curtiss Electric Model C-532-DEA. The PBY-5, -5A, and other late production models all had the Hamilton Standard Hydromatic.
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| DEFENSIVE ARMAMENT GUN STATION |
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| Aircraft Model | Bow Waist | Tunnel |
pBY-l,-2,-3,-4,-5& early-5A,OA-10, -10A
One . 30 cal Browning M2
One .30 cal Browning M2 Two .50 cal Browning M2
(or .30 cal)
(Ammo for .30 cal in 100-round magazines at each station) (Ammo for .50 cal in 50-round magazines at each station)
tate-5A, OA-10B, PBY-6A, PB2B-1, PB2B-2
One .30 cal Browning M2 A service change added a ball & socket mount for additional .30 some aircraft.
Twin .30 cal Browning M2 Two .50 cal Browning M2
(All ammo was continuous feed from a central magazine at each station)
PBN-1 One .50 cal M2 in Two. 50 cal M2 One. 30 cal M2
power turret
Batalina, Canso & Canso A
One .30 cal
Two .30 cal each side One. 30 cal
in a twin mount
(All ammo continuous feed)
(Late model Catalinas and Cansos had two twin . 30 cal bow guns and . 50 cal waist guns, as on PBYs)
ARMOR: Neither armor nor self-sealing tanks were installed on the early PBY models. Late PBY-5s and all subsequent variants had an armor shield aft of the tunnel gun station, armor shields on the waist guns, armor on the fuel tank sumps under the wing center section, provisions for Self-sealing fuel tanks and dump valves for unprotected tanks, and armored pilot seats.