Hi Guys,
A couple of Consolidated PBY Flying Boats (better known to us Brits as “The Catalina”) just flew into Hong Kong yesterday…
Both aircraft are in typical WW2 Royal Air Force Colour Schemes…
#88 is in mid to late war predominantly white whereas “
WQZ” is in the markings of the aircraft that first spotted the German battleship “BISMARK” after it sank “HMS HOOD”.
Hope you like them…
Best wishes and happy collecting!
Andy C.
P.S.
A little extra background… On May 26, 1941 a Catalina of No.209 squadron R.A.F. Coastal Command flown by US Navy Ensign “Tuck” Smith attached to the RAF spotted the German battleship together with its escort “
Prinz Eugen”. What makes this so interesting was that the U.S. was not even in the war at this point… Pearl Harbor was almost seven months away!!!
The US Navy awarded Smith the Distinguished Flying Cross for finding the Bismark. He was ordered to keep quiet about how and why he was awarded the medal. Only years later did the story come out. He died in 2006 aged 90.[/QUOTE
The PBY is a beautiful aircraft..the Air Force Museum at Bull Creek in Perth WA has one...wonderfull to be able to walk around it and see the beautiful seaplane lines....Cats used to fly from the Swan river here in perth to India during the war...they were pilots in those days...I dont think the Cat had auto pilot...not sure..I do know it did not have flaps...too slow to need them,,,TomB