Consolidated Catalina

The Consolidated Model 28, more commonly known as the PBY Catalina (U.S. Navy designation), is an American flying boat and amphibious aircraft designed by Consolidated Aircraft in the 1930s and 1940s. In U.S. Army service, it was designated as the OA-10 and in Canadian service as the Canso, and it later received the NATO reporting name Mop.[4] It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations. The last military PBYs served until the 1980s.

The PBY was originally designed to be a patrol bomber, an aircraft with a long operational range intended to locate and attack enemy transport ships at sea to disrupt enemy supply lines.[5] With a mind to a potential conflict in the Pacific Ocean, where troops required resupply over great distances, the U.S. Navy invested millions of dollars in the 1930s developing long-range flying boats, which had the advantage of being able to land in any suitable waters.

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