Consolidated PBY Catalina - In The Movies 

“Take out those fucking PT boats!”

I've always wondered why the Catalina was discontinued even though it seems to be very versatile aircraft, I understand that there are better aircraft for some of the roles that the Catalina filled but there has to be some niches it can fill.

i always like the Jaws monologue where Quinn says a one of those rescues planes "big fat PBY"

The Catalina was also used for night time bombing raids in the pacific. Painted black, the 'Black Cats', a nickname, would fly to Japanese held islands. They would cut the engines, the big wing being great for gliding, drop bombs from low altitude, glide past, restart their engines and fly off. The Japanese would be caught off guard as they wouldn't hear the planes' cut off engines. By the time they got the lights and firing AAA in random directions, the PBYs would have been gone.

I'm glad to see Sink the Bismarck! get some credit. It focuses mainly on the decision makers behind the scenes and the stress they were under. Obviously the men on the ground (or floating in the ocean in this case) deserve our utmost appreciation, this movie shows how hard it was even if you weren't in the action. I'd also recommend Dawn Patrol for a similar take on the subject.

Frickin LOVE the Catalina. I'm infected by too much bias to see anything wrong with it. Rose tinted welding goggles are a go!

Dude this plane was used by the US Navy Black Cats and it was also Depicted in the Mission Black Cats from Call of Duty World At War and TBH that is my Favorite mission in that Game

In WW2 there was an interesting shift in tactics by the U Boats in 1943 (I think) when they were ordered to stand and fight air attacks rather than crash dive. They’d up gunned their close range weapons (quad 20mm cannons) but often neither plane nor sub were ever heard from again. Great doc about a Brit/Commonwealth crewed Cat that attacked a uboat in the Northern Norwegian Sea. Caught the sub cold but the D.Cs failed to drop so they had to around again and go blasted to bits by the U boats AAA. The Cat got the sub but several of the crew were hit including the captain but they struggled home. Pilot got a VC for his efforts.

1:10 From what I’ve read, seaplanes could rarely land in open water because the waves are usually too high for them to land without being damaged. The water has to be very calm for them to land. That’s why most seaplane bases are in bays. Also the reason why they developed amphibious versions of the PBY.

As a Brit, my main problem with the movie "U571" isn't the seizing of an Enigma machine from a U Boat by Americans as you might expect , but the PBY that spots our heroes ' lifeboat carrying US markings. Being in the Western approaches the Catalina would almost certainly have been a British Coastal Command aircraft, like the one in "Greyhound". A detail I was glad to see acknowledged in the Tom Hanks movie.

I had a Black Cat model of one when I was a kid. Loved it. Great planes.

I finally got to see one of these beauties fly in 2020 and I was only disappointed it didn't hang around for longer.

At the Military Aviation Museum here in Virginia Beach Virginia, we have a restored PBY-5A that flies wonderfully. The history of the aircraft is amazing. My father on a fleet tug in the Pacific in WWII. The PBYs were often what brought them their mail.

I have mixed feelings about this aircraft. My grandmother's cousin flew Sunderland and Catalina aircraft on anti-submarine patrols over the North Atlantic with 422 RCAF squadron in 1942-43. He was transferred to RAF Killadeas in Northern Ireland for a captain's course with 131 Operational Training Unit and was killed during a training flight on 16 October 1943 when the Catalina aircraft he was in crashed (he was a passenger, not the pilot). He was 20 years old. Rest in peace, Uncle Frank.

We had three, serviceable, Cats on our tarmac in 1962 at RCAF Station Vancouver. They were only used for public events, such as strapping 4 JATO bottles to one to take off from English Bay in the middle of Vancouver.

One of the pieces of equipment that helped the allies win ww2 , unglamorous but tough and reliable .

In Chile during the 80s, this plane was used for firefighting. I saw it many times as it landed on a nearby lagoon to load water. We used to stand on the lagoon's shore right in the landing path to see the plane skim over our heads. It was such a spectacle. We used to call it "El avión Canso" (the Canso airplane). Apparently, Canso is some Canadian codename.

Catalinas were designed and built here in San Diego where I live. The airport has a large mural depicting Catalinas forming the letters SAN.

During the 50's and 60's my uncle ran Sonora Flying Service out of Columbia, CA. He had several ex-military planes used to drop fire retardant, including a PBY and a TBM.... as a little kid I used to crawl around inside them and really fell in love with the PBY...

I have loved this aircraft since building the model kit of Jacques Cousteau's.

Great mention of, Sink The Bismarck, there was a Catalina in, 'The Great War Of Archimedes', in the beginning, when Yamato was under attack, the crew saw a downed pilot, when a Catalina, picks the pilot up, I thought that would be impossible, with all of the combat going around, the Catalina pilots wouldn't want to be shot down. Dauntless The Battle Of Midway, also had a Catalina, though, not an actual one, but it was nice to see. I own Squadron/Signals 'In action' book on the iconic Catalina. Take care, and all the best.

Yes indeed a great plane this PBY Catalina. In Holland they had a flying copy, but due to lack of money the foundation had to sell it 2 years ago. Nice video Johnny!👍🧔‍♀

here in the Netherlands we had a flying Catalina up until about 3 years ago. You could take a trip flying in it for about 80 euro's and it would even land on water. I never flew in it, but was able to step inside of it. It is an amazing aircraft and I would have loved to come fly in it, but they sold it to an organization/museum in Texas I believe.

There was a Catalina base at Crawley, I think on Swan River Western Australia during ww2. Quite a bit of amazing history in this along with submarine base at Fremantle. Always loved the Catalina. Built one when I was a kid. Great work, man. You can't just pull good videos out of your arse.

I loveee you Catalina. The luxury yacht conversions after the war are also an interesting footnote.

Awesome video!! One of my most favorite aircraft ever built - would love to have been able to fly in one of them. Anyway, during the rescue of the crew of USS Indianapolis, the Catalina that landed against orders in the Pacific to rescue as many survivors as possible, actually ruptured/popped some rivets, thus making it non-flyable. It was supposed to be against orders/common practice to land in the open ocean because of the possibility of damage to the aircraft caused from waves, rough seas, and such. According to the book "INDIANAPOLIS" by Lynn Vincent & Sara Vladic, the damage to the Catalina was so extensive, that the crew was barely able to keep afloat by using pumps, stuffing pencils and cotton into the burst rivet holes, buckets, and by other means until additional rescue units arrived on site. The Catalina was then sunk by naval gunfire once as much of the crew(s) (ship & aircraft) were rescued as possible.

You forgot the one scene from "The Wackiest Ship in the Army." Best war movie ever made :P

US- and Brazilian-operated Catalinas hunting Uboats in the South Atlantic are portrayed in the book THE SECRET HORIZON by Jack Mason.

Here's a high five from Brazil!!

Ample 'Black Cats' from World at War representation. Well done

The opening scene (the very first image!) inds the original "South Pacific" takes place in a Cat deliveing Lt. Cable to an island in the South Pacific. The remake starts with;, as aI recall a Widgeon.

The RAAF had Catalina squadrons too. Five squadrons and another 8 flights for communications, air-sea rescue and training.

My dad is a military history buff, but was also a fire fighter for the National Forest Service in the 80's. We've lived in different states since I finished school but we still send each videos on our mutual interests. He said that this was a really great trip down memory lane and instantly subscribed to your channel. Thanks man 🙂

Catalinas can also be converted to amazing flying yachts. It has been done by at least one private owner.

One of the first models I built as a kid was a 1/72 Catalina molded in blue, a Monogram kit I think. I've always loved the way they look.

Don't forget the 'Black Cat' squadrons. They were ideally situated to leverage their range/loiter time to seriously impede Japanese shipping in the southwest Pacific. The ability to go from point A to point B is one thing, but to reach point B and then zig-zag between two islands all night searching for shipping is quite another. Also, the 'PT Co-op' work they did is largely forgotten. Upon spotting a Japanese supply convoy, a Cat tasked with 'co-op' duty would shadow the ships while sending a brief radio message in morse, typically the letters 'M...O', [modus operandi, one must assume], repeating the message periodically to vector the PT boats from the lagoons and inlets where they were waiting to the convoy. Once all the players were in position, I'm sure you can see the difficult position this put the convoy in.

My granddad was an intelligence officer in an RAAF Black Cat squadron in far north Queensland, Australia from 1942-44 (he was a lawyer in civilian life). They did bombing, mine-laying, recon and rescue. His role was in debriefing/aircraft identification. When he came home on leave to Melbourne it was by train (about 2000 miles each way), even though the RAAF had a Catalina repair base fairly nearby.

What a firepower of the Black Cat PBY a twin auto cannon and twin M2s 2 side M2 machine and a button tail end machine gun

That was awesome man! The mission in World At War is a must have. That’s one of the best COD missions in my opinion, a classic.

Although not widely publicised the pilot of the Cat that found the Bismarck was a US pilot flying with the RAF. He was not one of the many volunteers but a serving US officer. This was a closely guarded secret until recently as the US at that point was still neutral. Roosevelt wanted personnel to gain experience as he sought to aid the Allies in every way short of declaring war.

a little fun fact is that the RAF squadron that found the Bismarck, 209, was also credited for shooting down the red baron in WW1, as seen in the squadron logo

Very cool plane, a flying home and beacon of hope that saved many stranded sailors and pilots.

Such a shame they lost a PBY filming that movie. You don't hear much about them being used in the Atlantic Theater of Operations, but they served a crucial role in the Pacific.

I love just how much you use CoD World at Wars mission. Such an iconic level. "TAKE OUT THOSE D**N P.T. BOATS!!!" Is something I will always remember.

Interesting omission to this list of PYB's on film, is 1973's "Steelyard Blues" with Jane Fonda, Donald Sutherland, Peter Boyle. I suppose it's an understandable miss, as it's quite the oddball movie. Set in the 70's "a bunch of misfits" restore a scrapyard Catalina to be a flying hippy bus. Does have a lot of PBY content though.

One of the coolest planes of the war.

Every time I see a PBY Catalina I think of Jacque Cousteau. Loved watching his documentaries.

1:03 I will never forget the song from that COD 5 “black cats” level. 🎶dum dum dum dun dum dun🎶 such a classic

during the rescue of the crew of the USS Indianapolis, two PBYs landed, but only one was able to pick up more than 1 survivor. The same catalina that picked up more than 1 person was too heavily damaged to take back off again, while the other had suffered less damage upon landing and was able to take off.

One of my favourite seaplanes along with the Short Sunderland

There was also sea plane tender ships that could refuel, rearm,and repair the pby.My father served on one in the pacific.His ship was the USS Pocomoke.

What a lady. A queen of the air and sea.

One of my great-uncles was a pilot on a black cat during the war. He died before I got to know him, but his service was a point of pride in the family.

I grew up in the 1970s and my dad, a WW2 USMC vet knew a lot of veterans. One was a PBY pilot in the Solomons. His squadron would conduct nite attacks on Japanese shipping. He gave me some photos back then. Amazing plane. They were all over in California back then flying tours even

The Catalina is one of the under-appreciated but highly important aircraft of WW2. By the way, did you know that the British Catalina that spotted the German Battleship Bismarck had a US Navy officer aboard? He was there to help train the British crew in the aircraft and was on an operational mission even though the US was not yet at war with Germany.

Bo Time Gaming representing. I love watching his War Thunder content.

Great work!

My dad was a crew member in pathfinder helicopter, and did some forest fire fighting. His company was hired to create the fires we see in Always, and he constantly brings it up to me because of how proud he is of it. I’m currently in pilot school and have landed multiple times at the airport that Always was filmed. To make it better, there is a PBY that is being worked on at the airport that I am taking flying lessons at. It’s fun to look at.

Another great video, Johnny! May I add some comments. It was called a Canso in RCAF service, A VC was won by a Canadian, David Hornell, RCAF, for sinking a U boat and another Canadian, Leonard Birchall RCAF warned Ceylon of an imminent attack by the Japanese.

"It's the fuckin Catalina Patrol Bomber!"

My late grandfather was one of the U.S. Navy aviators stationed in Brazil on U-Boat patrol in the early years of WW2. Also, you showed a scene from the movie "Always" (1989) where a PBY water bomber is replenishing its tanks and heading straight for two fishermen. I saw that movie when it was in theaters and said something to him about that scene. He was surprised PBY's were being used in that capacity as the plane was "so small."

The Catalina is a true dream plane for me to get to fly! I'd give anything to be in the cockpit of one some day. Edit: The role it has played as a Warrior & Life Saver through out it's years of service will always have my respect!

This video makes me love the plane even more than I already did !

Catalina's a nice name, cool looking plane too

There's an air worthy Catalina in New Zealand and it has the registration code ZK-PBY, nice touch 🙂🙂

The PBY Catalina is my favorite World War 2 plane with the Grumann F6F Hellcat and B-29

the cats also flew The Double Sunrise service was formed in 1943 to re-establish the Australia-England air link that had been cut due to the fall of Singapore in 1942. The service initially operated from its base in Nedlands, Western Australia near Perth,[1] to the Royal Air Force base at Lake Koggala near Galle in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka). It was later extended to Karachi in British India (now part of Pakistan), which was the terminus for the BOAC service from England. The name of the service was derived from the crew and passengers observing two sunrises on each flight.

All the movies with PBYs always had a dramatic moment of pilot reaching for the throttles. "We're going in" then reaches up.

PBY and B24 Liberator is my Favorite WW2 Bomber

The Catalina wasn't destroyed in the accident during the filming of uss Indianapolis men of courage, it's undergoing restoration right now in my friends hanger in iowa

Got a video suggestion - Rearguards/Last Stand. There's always war movies that portray famous rearguard actions or from novels turned into film. Some are well known as The Alamo and 300 or others less well known as Samuel Fuller's Fixed Bayonets.

Yo! I watch Bo Time, I love the whole TBLF crew

When I see this plane I have this warm, fuzzy feeling. It remind me the Sea Duck from TaleSpin. Or something from Porco Rosso.

Another great video! One thought on your videos about vehicles and aircraft. Why not add some information whether there are any originals left in working order? You mentioned the Catalina wrecked but it made me think how many are left flying or in this case still in service? Mark Felton has a couple of videos about WWII vehicles still in service today!

One of the most underrated aircraft of WW2.

Way cool 😎 wish it was longer. Great plane

"Always", one of my favorite airplane movies and I'll forever remember it as Audrey Hepburn's last movie. The original, "A Man Named Joe", is one of the few P-38 movies, for when you get to the Lightning 🤓

sunk the bismarck is a totally awesome movie and is a must see

Nice

They are one tough plane and i will be very happy to be having a squadron full of them water rescue mission and fire patrol calls as well

The Catalina Is my Favorite aircraft ever (next to the A10) its such an amazing aircraft so much so that its till used to day

Irving Katz, a member of our family, was a navigator in a PBY flying the Pacific during WW2.

The 'Cat' - a true classic

there was going to be a jet version of the PBY catilina, it was the P6M seamaster, when the XP6M test aircraft was used,it was found that the engine was mounted too close to the fuselage and would scorch it if the afterburners we're used, the first prototype (XP-1) disinigrated at 5000 feet, the XP-2 also crashed. after the P6M-1 was found that it had unreliable engines (J71), the P6M-2 was bulit, it had a refueling probe, and the more reliable J75 engine. by the summer of 59' the program was cancelled. PS : this is all from wikipedia. i just typed it all, sorry for any grammar or spelling mistakes, or if any of it's wrong.

There used to be one at Manchester Airport .It was rebuilt by Dan Air apprentices ,I often wondered what happened to it ,

The PBY Catalina and the P-40 Warhawk are the unsung heroes of World War 2. They held the line against both Japan and Germany until more modernized planes could be produced and even then still pulled some great feats, like the Catalina Black Cats.

Did I mention I also fucking love the Catalina

I always loved that plane

"TAKE OUT THOSE FUCKING PT BOATS!!!!"

They have got one of these at raf cosford. If anyone goes it has a lot of what I would call rare airplanes.

My maths teacher was a navigator in a pby' off the west coast of England during WW2.

It's a wonderful plane. I wish some day I can actually visit one.

I never knew on downing a Japanese Zero nor on successful torpedo attack at The Battle of Midway. Bullseye on putting this together with your research and entertainment. Looking forward to seeing the next one! 🍻

My sophomore year history teacher flew on of these during WWII.

Tragically referred to as "The pig boat", personally, I don't think there is a plane more beautiful. A friend, who volunteers at a local air museum, let me walk through their PBY on a slow day. It was rather cramped for my 6'3, 330 lbs frame, but, still very cool!

Its the fucking Catalina wine mixer.

I was hoping for more on the Black Cats. I had a record as a kid taking about the Catalinas that hunted at night

Glad you added War Thunder footage.

The first flying boat I knows is the PBY Catalina I am so fasinated on this plane until now imagine a flying boat when I was a kid

4:23 that’s a surprise seeing myself on a RU-vid video, but brings back some great memories flying off the Essex and Suffolk coast. In close formation with a camera helicopter filming the bottle throwing scene in the film below. An experience I will never forget and all done 2000ft up without a safety harness I don’t think health and safety would let you do that nowadays 😄