Consolidated PBY Catalina. Photo. Characteristics.
USA
A type: twin-engine maritime patrol bomber
Crew: seven to nine people
It is completely unlikely that the PBY Catalina record for the most massive flying boat in aviation history will ever be broken. Consolidated has collected (or licensed to build in Canada and the USSR) over 4000 twin-engine seaplane aircraft over a 10-year period starting in 1935. Used by nearly all of the Allies in World War II, the PBY flew more hours on combat patrols than any other American combat aircraft of its time. Unit VP-11F was the first unit to receive the new float seaplanes and take on the first PBY-1 in October.
1936 years. The pace of rearmament was so high that by the middle of 1938 the 14 squadron was operating PBY, it was supposed to re-equip other squadrons on them. Improvements for new engines led in the following 4 years to the emergence of new modifications, including the amphibian PBY-5A with a three-column chassis. The last combat option was a PBY-6A aircraft, which, during operation in the US Army Air Force, had the designation 0А-10В. After the war, "Catalina" remained in military service until the 1970-ies, at the same time in North America, a civilian aircraft was used to fight fires and was only decommissioned only recently. At present, five Catalina-ready airplanes are based in Europe and more than two dozen in North America.
Basic data
Dimensions:
- Length: 19,47 m
- Wingspan: 31,7 m
- Height: 6,5 m
Power point: two engines R-1830-92 «Twin Wasp" Company "Pratt- Whitney" (on the modification of PBY-5A) Power: 2400 l. from. (1790 kW) total
The weight:
- BLANK: 9485 kg
- Maximum take-off: 16 066 kg
Date of first flight:
- March 21, 1935
Aircraft performance characteristics:
- Maximum speed: 288 km / h
- Range: 4096 km
The surviving airworthy modifications:
- PBY-5A, PBY-6A, PBV-1A and 0A-10A