US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Atlantic War

100 Pages·2006·35.41 MB·English

by  Ragnar Ragnarsson

OSPREY COMBAT
RAGNARJ RAGNARSSON
hashadalife-longloveof
aviation.Hebrieflyworked
asacommercialDC-3pilot
andstillactivelyflieslight
aircrafttoday.Co-founder
ofIPMSIcelandandthe
IcelandicAviationHistorical
Society,hehasalsobeena
pastpresidentoftheIcelandic
AeroClub.Ragnarwasalso
involvedintherecoveryof
aFaireyBattlebomber,on
displayintheRAFMuseum
atHendon,andaNorthrop
N3PBfloatplane,displayedin
theNorwegianArmedForces
Museum.Asteamleaderof
thelatterrecovery,hewas
awardedtheOrderofStOlav,
Knight1stClass,bytheKing
ofNorwayin1981.Ragnar
hasalsospentmanyyears
researchingwartimemaritime
aviationintheAtlantic,and
haswrittenarticlesforboth
theIcelandicandforeign
specialistaviationpress,
aswellascontributingto
anumberofvolumeson
thesubject.Thisishis
firstbook.
JIMLAURIERisanativeof
NewEngland,havinggrown
upinNewHampshireand
Massachusetts.Hehasbeen
drawingsincehecouldhold
apencil,andthroughouthis
lifehehasworkedinmany
mediums,creatingartwork
onavarietyofsubjects.He
hasbeenakeycontributorto
theOspreyAviationlistsince
2000,andinthattimehehas
producedsomeofthefinest
artworkseeninthesevolumes.
OSPREY COMBAT AIRCRAFT • 65
I I
US NAVY PBY
CATALINA UNITS OF
THE ATLANTIC WAR

SERIES EDITOR: TONY HOLMES
I OSPREY COMBAT AIRCRAFT • 65
I
US NAVY PBY
CATALINA UNITS OF
THE ATLANTIC WAR
RAGNAR JRAGNARSSON
Frontcover FirstpublishedinGreatBritainin2006byOspreyPublishing
On5November1942,threePBY-5As MidlandHouse,WestWay, Botley,Oxford,0X2OPH
fromVP-84wereconductinganti
443ParkAvenueSouth,NewYork,NY, 10016,USA
submarinesweeps100milesoff
Iceland'snorthcoastwhenLtRobert © 2006OspreyPublishingLimited
CMillard,flyingBuNo7273/8,sighted
afullysurfacedU-boatfourmiles Allrightsreserved.Apartfromanyfairdealingforthepurposeofprivatestudy,
away.WithouthesitationMillard
research,criticismorreview,aspermittedundertheCopyright,Designand
flungthePBYintoa180-mphdiving
turnandattackedthesubmarine PatentsAct 1988,nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedina
head-on,droppingtwo325-lbMk17 retrievalsystem,ortransmittedinanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,electrical,
andtwo650-lbMk29depthcharges chemical,mechanical,optical,photocopying,recordingorotherwisewithout
insalvofromaheightof125ftashe
priorwrittenpermission.Allenquiriesshouldbeaddressedtothepublisher.
sweptovertheU-boatfrombowto
stern.ThelookoutsaboardU-408
ISBN 10: 1-84176-910-X
wereclearlytakenbysurprise,asthe
crewofthePBYspottedeightornine ISBN13:978-1-84176-910-3
menintheconningtowerasthe
EditedbyTonyHolmes
flying-boatpassedoverhead.
ThedepthchargesstraddledtheU PagedesignbyTony&StuartTruscott
boat,hittingthewaterabout40ft CoverArtworkbyMarkPostlethwaite
immediatelyaftoftheconningtower.
AircraftProfilesJimLaurier
Whentheyexploded,theseaerupted
ScaleDrawingsbyMarkStyling
inahugetowerofwaterthat
engulfedtheU-boatandwashedthe IndexbyAlanThatcher
menonthebridgeoverboard.Once OriginatedbyPPSGrasmere,Leeds,Uk
theexplosionhadsubsided,seven PrintedinChinathroughBookbuilders
sailorswereseenstrugglingamidst
thewreckageinalargepatchofoil 06 07 08 09 10 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
thatmarkedthespotwheretheU
boathadsunk. ForacatalogueofallbookspublishedbyOspreypleasecontact:
Millardcircledthesceneforalmost NORTHAMERICA
anhourbeforereturningtobase,but OspreyDirect,C/oRandomHouseDistributionCenter,
forreasonsnotexplainedinthe
400HahnRoad,Westminster,MD21157
crew'sreport,noattemptwasmade
E-mail:[email protected]
todropaliferaftoremergency
rationstothemeninthewater.By
ALLOTHERREGIONS
thetimethePBYleftthesceneofthe
OspreyDirectUK,P.O.Box140Wellingborough,Northants,NN82FA,UK
attack,thefewsurvivingsubmariners
E-mail:[email protected]
hadallperishedinthebitterlycold
sea. www.ospreypublishing.com
BobMillard'soutstandingattack
wasanexampleofunusualaccuracy. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Upuntilthisparticularaction,the Thecreationofthisbookwouldnothavebeenpossiblewithoutthegeneroushelpof
usualpracticeamongstPBYcrews thefollowingindividualstowhomIamindebted- MarkAldrich(USA),Jean-Pierre
wastoattacksubmarinesacrosstheir
Dubois(France),RomuloPFigueiredo,ColForfaAdreaBrasileira(Ret.),C'Herb'
lengthatanangle,droppingthe
Gilliland,CaptUSNR(Ret.),WynnumBGraham (Australia),Jean-MichelGuhl
depthchargesinastick.Thisallowed
thepilotalargerdegreeofaiming (France), JerryMason, Capt USN (Ret.), Axel Niestle (Germany), Gunther Ott
error,butresultedinatleasthalfthe (Germany), James C Sawruk (USA) and last, but by no means least, Eric
numberofdepthchargesfalling
Zimmerman (Canada), who tookthe time to read over the manuscriptand offer
beyondlethalrangeofthetarget.
However,Millardhadchosento numeroussuggestionsforitsimprovement.Ialsowishtothankthosewhogranted
attackU-408alongitslength, me permission to use their photographs, in particularMrsAudreySBalchen for
releasinghisdepthchargesinsalvo allowingmetouseimagerytakenbyherlatehusband,ColBerntBalchen.
tomaximisetheirdestructivepower.
Unfortunately, lackofspaceprohibitsmenamingthedozensofUS NavyPBY
Itwasamethodthatdemanded
exceptionalprecision,andallowed pilots and aircrewwho, over theyears, havesharedwith me theirrecollections of
virtuallynomarginoferror. flyinginthePBY.Manyhavesince'foldedtheirwings',anditwouldnotbefairto
Thefourdepthchargeswereseen nameonlyaselectfewandnotall.
tofallonandtoportoftheU-boat's
stern,andanyoneofthesewould depthchargesoveritsside,hecould deservedlyreceivedtheDistinguished
probablyhaverupturedtheboat's hardlyhaveplacedthemmore FlyingCrossandhiscrewtheAir
pressurehull.HadLtMillardstoodon accurately!Itwasindeedasuperb Medal(CoverartworkbyMark
theU-boat'sdeckandrolledhis attackforwhichBobMillard Postlethwaite)
CONTENTS
CHAPTER ONE
DEVELOPMENT 6
CHAPTER TWO
PRELUDE TO WAR 14
CHAPTER THREE
WESTERNATLANTIC 19
CHAPTER FOUR
NORTHATLANTIC 27
CHAPTER FIVE
SOUTHATLANTIC 54
CHAPTER SIX
EASTERNATLANTIC 62
CHAPTER SEVEN
SEARCHAND RESCUE 74
APPENDICES 84
COLOUR PLATES COMMENTARY 91
INDEX 96
DEVELOPMENT
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u SeveralaccountshavebeenpublishedonUSnavalpatrolaircraftin
WorldWar2,butnonedojusticetotheroleplayedbytheNavy's
patrol squadrons in what proved to be their longest and most
bitterlyfoughtcampaignofthewar- theBattleoftheAtlantic.Fromthe
ArctictotheSouthAtlantic,anti-submarineaircraftpatrolledbothsides
oftheAtlanticOceanalongsidetheirAlliedcounterparts, keepingopen
thesupplylinesfromtheUSAtoGreatBritainandtheMediterranean.
TherecanbenoquestionthatConsolidated'sPBYCatalinaisthemost
successful flying-boat ever designed. Builtin greater numbers than any
other seaplane in history, it served with the maritime air forces ofall
principal Allied nations throughout World War 2, as well as all four
branchesoftheUSmilitary.ExceptforafewMartinPBMMariners,the
PBYwastheonlylong-rangepatrolbomberintheUS Navy'sinventory
whentheUSAenteredWorldWar2inDecember1941.
Despite having been declared obsolescent by that time theJapanese
launched their surprise attack on the Pacific fleet in Pearl Harbor,
the PBYwould remain in production and serve in significant numbers
until war's end, and, in some instances well beyond. The PBY's total
contribution to victory over Germany can only be surmised, as the
number ofships and lives saved by their mere presence over merchant
convoyscanneverbeknown.However,thedestructionof20submarines ConsolidatedXPV-1 BuNoA-8011
canbedirectlyattributedtothePBY,withnumerousothersdamaged. isseenhereabouttoalightonthe
PotomacRiveratNASAnacostiain
ANCESTORS January1929.Thisphotographmay
verywellhavebeentakenduring
The PBY traces its origin to 1927, when the Consolidated Aircraft theaircraft'smaidenflighton10
Corporation (establishedfouryearsearlierbyMaj Reuben HollisFleet) January1929.Theflying-boatis
ofBuffalo, New York, decided to participate in a contest to build a beingescortedbyaVought02U,
whichisactingasachase-plane
prototypemulti-enginedlong-rangeflying-boatfortheUSNavy. Based
(SanDiegoAerospaceMuseum
ondesignsdevelopedbynavalengineers,itwasthecompany'sfirstforay Collection)
6
intoseaplaneconstruction- afield o
m
duly dominated by Consolidated <
m
formorethanadecade. or
Christened the Admiral by Maj -s0:
Fleet and designated the XPY-1 m
Z
by the Navy, the aeroplane first --I
tooktotheairon 10January1929.
Althoughtheprototypesuccessfully
met all ofits design requirements
during the flight test programme
that followed, Consolidated was
not to have the good fortune of
CommercialModel16-1 'parentingitschildfrominfancy'.Instead,acontractwasawardedtothe
CommodoreNC659Mheadsfor Glenn L Martin Company, which had underbid Consolidated by a
NewYorkCityon17December
significantmarginfortheconstructionofabatchofnineaeroplanes. No
1929.ThethirdCommodorebuilt,
PY-1 was ever built because of this, Martin instead constructing
thisaircraftwasdeliveredtoNYRBA
(NewYork,RioBuenosAiresLine) P3M-1/2s,bothofwhichfollowedConsolidated'sspecification.
on26November1929.NC659Mwas Bygood foresight, the XPY-1 had been designed so that it could be
transferredtoNYRBA'ssuccessor
convertedintoapassenger-carryingaircraftinthehopethatthecreation
PanAmericanAirwayson15
September1930,beforefinally ofthe latter might stimulate the development oflong distance airline
joiningthelatter'ssubsidiary routes. Consolidated's gifted aircraft engineer, and father ofthe PBY,
operatorPanairdoBrasilon5 Isaac Macklin 'Mac' Laddon, nowset about the taskofconvertingthe
August1935andbeingre-registered
XPY-1 design into a commercial flying-boat. The end result was the
asPP-PAO.Theveteranflying-boat
haditsregistrationcancelledinMay Commodore, 14ofwhichweredeliveredto theNewYork, Rio Buenos
1937(SanDiegoAerospaceMuseum AiresLine,anditssuccessor, PanAmericanAirways. Theseaircraftduly
Collection) pioneeredaluxuryairlineserviceto the Caribbean andSouthAmerica,
whichtheyservicedformanyyears.
DeterminednottoletMartindeprivethemofwhattheysawtobetheir
owndesign, andmarket, 'Mac'Laddon'sengineeringteamundertooka
major revision oftheXPY-1 to meetnewNavyrequirements. The end
resultoftheireffortswastheP2Y-1 Ranger. SoimpressedwastheNavy
withConsolidated'snewdesignthat23 aeroplaneswereorderedoffthe
drawingboardmonthsbeforetheprototypehadflown.
As soon as the P2Y-1 entered squadron service, its long range was
demonstratedthroughaseriesofspectacularnon-stopflightstoboththe
AP2Y-3ofVP-7FfliesoverSan
Panama Canal Zone and Hawaii. Further refinement of the design
DiegoCountyon4January1936
resulted in production ofthe P2Y-2/3, and these aircraft remained in
(SanDiegoAerospaceMuseum
Collection) serviceuntil 1941,whentheywererelegatedtotrainingsquadrons.
FIRSTPBY
The success ofthe P2Y led to the
designofConsolidated'sModel28,
whichwasaradicalnewflying-boat
that would be designated the PBY
(P for Patrol, Bfor Bomber andY
forConsolidated,astheletterChad
longsincebeenassignedto pioneer
aircraft manufacturer Curtiss) in
frontlineservice. Initially,however,
the aircraft was known as the
XP3Y-1 in prototype form, and it 7
LU waspoweredbytwo Pratt& Whit
Z
o ney R-1830-58 Twin Wasp, dou
c:
ble-row, 14-cylinder engines rated
LU
l
e.. at825hpfortake-off.
c::x::
Particular attention was given to
I
U reducing drag, even to the pointof
having the outboard wing floats
retractingintothewingstoformits
wingtips. The aeroplane was con
structed entirely ofmetal, bar the
controlsurfaces andthewingaftof
the rear spar, which were covered
withfabric.Thewingcentresection
embodiedintegralfueltanks,which
wasagreatinnovationatthetime,as
well as aconsiderableweight saver.
A unique feature ofthe design was
the mountingofthe parasolwing on asingle pylon over the hull, with XPBV-1 BuNo9459fliesoverSan
onlyapairofbracingstrutsoneachside.Thisarrangementdidawaywith Diego'sLindberghFieldafterhaving
setanewworldnon-stopdistance
the multitudeofwingstruts thathad been afeature ofits predecessors,
recordforseaplanes.Thenavalair
thusmakingtheXP3Y-1 oneofthecleanestflying-boatsyetdesigned.
stationatNorthIslandisvisible
Firstflown on21 March 1935, theXP3Y-1 was in competitionwith acrossthebay.BuNo9459entered
the DouglasXP3D-1 for the US Navycontract. Although theXP3Y-1 servicewithVP-11FinJuly1936and
wasstrickenon28June1944(USNn
exceededcontractperformancespecifications,thetwodesignsturnedout
tobesoevenlymatchedthattheNavyendedupmakingitsfinalselection PBV-1sofVP-12warmupon
basedonthepriceoftheindividualmachines. Consolidatedsuccessfully theflightlineatNorthIslandon
underbidDouglas,andinJune1935itreceivedanorderfor60P3Y-1s 10January1939,priortomaking
a3000-mileflighttothePanama
thelargestcontractforflying-boatsplacedsinceWorldWar1.
CanalZonetotakepartin
Capableofcarryingbombsandtorpedoesunderitswings,theP3Y-1's Caribbeanfleetmanoeuvres.
designationwasquicklychangedtoPBY-1,thusbetterreflectingitsrole InsteadofthenreturningtoSan
Diego,VP-12transferredtothe
as a bomber. By this time the design had undergone several changes,
AtlanticFleet'sPatWing5andwas
includingtheadoptionofanextendedhullandthefitmentofamodified
redesignatedVP-51 on1July1939
rudder to improve directional stability. More powerful 900 hp engines (MarkAldrichCollection)
hadalsobeenintroduced,andthese
offset theweight growth associated
with the inclusion of a rotatable
turret, housing a single 0.30-cal
machine gun, in the bow. The
XP3Y-1 was modified to incorpo
rate these latest changes and was
redesignatedtheXPBY-1.
The first production aircraft was
deliveredtotheNavyfromConsoli
dated's new plant at Lindbergh
Field, in San Diego, on 5 October
1936, andthe first patrolsquadron
to receive examples ofthe newfly
ing-boatwasVP-6F,home-basedat
Pearl Harbor, in Hawaii. PBY-1s
remained in frontline service until
8 November 1941, when the last