Production to Resume of Catalina PBY

Resuscitating a Classic

Technology August 8, 2023

A warbird is rising phoenix-like from the ashes. The lumbering yet graceful Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boat of World War II vintage is about to receive a full makeover and re-enter production and service.

Late last month, Catalina Aircraft of Florida announced the Next Generation Amphibious Aircraft (NGAA) based on the original, iconic, and timeless design from the early 1930s but now equipped with turboprop engines and modern avionics. The Catalina II will have multiple civilian and special use (military) versions.

According to company president Lawrence Reed, interest in the rebirth of the legendary amphibious plane has been ‘extraordinary’ with pre-orders already trickling in and a resumption of production, after a hiatus of 78 years, in the works.

Catalina Aircraft still holds the original 28-5ACF (PBY 5A) Catalina type certificate which attests to airworthiness of the design. The type certificate was renewed without reserves in 2009.

“The versatility and capability of the platform speak to the heritage of the Catalina product line. The Catalina is suited to a great many missions and possesses capabilities no other amphibian can provide,” says Mr Reed.

Sky Yacht

The Catalina II is targeted at civilian/commercial operators and government/military customers. There is even a ‘Sky Yacht’ version planned for oligarchs looking to impress their peers with something a bit more original than a big floating tub.

The Catalina NGAA will be the largest and fastest amphibious airplane with a western certification, also offering the highest payload in its class. The flying boat can operate from pretty much any surface: short runways, grass, dirt, lakes, rivers, bays, and open water up to sea state 3 (wave heights between 0.5 and 1.25 meters).

The civilian variant of the Catalina II has a 32,000 lbs maximum take-of-weight and can welcome up to 34 passengers aboard or 12,000 lbs of cargo. Its military twin can take a few extra tonnes of kit aloft.

Both versions are made from high-tech corrosion resistant material. Their assembly employs state-of-the-art techniques and machining to ensure optimised manufacturing efficiency and maximum operational availability. The plan’s logistics footprint is further reduced by emphasising component commonality with existing aerial platforms.

Warbird

Production of the original ‘patrol bomber’ started in 1936 and ended nine years later after some 4,050 airframes had been delivered. Of those, only 17 are still airworthy, mostly in heritage flights or owned by aviation museums. The flying boat was extensively deployed in anti-submarine warfare in the North Atlantic and Pacific theatres during World War II, escorting convoys and credited with the sinking no less than 40 U-boats.

*The Bismarck in happier times sailing down the Kiel Canal*

On 26 May 1941, a Catalina of the Royal Air Force Coastal Command spotted the German battleship Bismarck on its way to join the Kriegsmarine squadron in Brest, France. The sighting enabled the Ark Royal carrier to launch its Fairey Swordfish biplane torpedo bombers in an attack that crippled the Bismarck’s port rudder.

*Unsinkable Sam, survivor of three shipwrecks.*

With reduced manoeuvrability, the battleship suffered a barrage of torpedoes and heavy shells from the Royal Navy’s HMS Rodney and HMS George V battleships which destroyed the superstructure and knocked out her guns. Germany’s largest-ever warship was ultimately scuttled. Only 114 members of the more than 2,200-strong crew survived. However, Unsinkable Sam, the ship’s feline mascot, was rescued and went on to serve in the Royal Navy where it survived two more sinkings.

Other remarkable feats of the PBY Catalina flying boat include spotting the Japanese fleet as it approached Midway Island for a battle that was to turn the tide of war in the Pacific, and detecting a Japanese carrier force underway to Ceylon (present-day Sri Lanka) on a mission to destroy the British Eastern Fleet. However, that plan was foiled as the main body of the fleet managed to slip away to East Africa.

Afterlife

Post-war, surplus Catalinas found eager buyers the world over. From Sweden to the Soviet Union and from Nicaragua to New Zealand, the flying boats hauled cargo, carried passengers, doused wildfires, delivered mail, patrolled sea lanes, and mapped terrae incognita. Catalinas operated in 41 countries with 83 airlines. The last of the original Catalinas to be taken out of service was a PBY-6A, hull number 46643, which served in the Brazilian Air Force out of the Belém Air Base and was retired in 1982.

Without powered controls, flying a classic Catalina is akin to a strenuous physical exercise not unlike a gym workout. “In a Catalina, you move the controls with considerable force, then wait a bit, perhaps get a coffee refill, and eventually something will happen. It’s a large, heavy, and slow aeroplane with lots of inertia that demands pilots to anticipate their moves because decisions will take a while to be implemented,” explains chief ground instructor Jeff Boyling of Plane Sailing Air Displays in Cambridge (UK), one of only a few places in the world that offers type rating training for Catalinas, including water operations for a sea rating.

With modern turboprop engines, instead of massive 14-cylinder air-cooled radials, up-to-date avionics, and more responsive controls, piloting the Catalina NGAA should be a breeze. Its manufacturer hopes to fill a currently vacant niche between small float-converted land planes and oversized amphibious aircraft such as the ShinMaywa US-2 currently in use with the Japan Maritime Self Defence Force and the mission-specific Canadair CL-415 aerial firefighter. The Chinese AG600, an amphibious behemoth currently under development, is considered too big and uneconomical for many of the missions envisaged for the more versatile Catalina.

Bomber Longevity

Offering a single-asset solution capable of replacing several other types, Catalina Aircraft of Florida believes it can resuscitate one of the world’s most-recognised airplanes and find a ready market for a design that is almost 90 years old. That should come as no surprise.

Basler Turbo Conversions of Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has remanufactured close to 70 Douglas DC3 (‘Dakota’) airliners, a design also developed in the early 1930s. And then there is the B52 Stratofortress strategic bomber which hails from the late 1940s and is expected to serve in the US Air Force until at least 2050, making it the first and likely only aircraft ever with an active service life spanning a century.

Bombers are prone to longevity. The Tupolev Tu-95 Bear with its distinctive (and deafeningly loud) counterrotating propellers, first took the skies in November 1952 and is still probing NATO air defences on long range missions seven decades later.

On 5 December last year, two Tu-95s were irreparably damaged by explosions reportedly caused by a Ukrainian drone strike whilst parked at the Engels-2 strategic bomber airbase near Saratov, a major port on the Volga River some 900 km southeast of Moscow.