The Most Underrated US Combat Plane Of WW2 

While delivering mail one day I delivered a package to a open front door then seeing a model PBY on a table. I walked to the back yard and saw the homeowner about 85-90 years old. "Did you fly that PBY", I asked. "You recognize the PBY", he asked "Yes sir" I replied. He was very happy to have been remembered , in small way for his WW2 service. I was working on a route which wasn't mine so I never saw him again.

My grandfather. Douglas T Kelley, was the first person to ever fly the plane that was later called the PBY. He donated several hundred personal photos to the San Diego Museum of Flight that can be viewed on line. Most of the photos are of his time at PSA Airlines [ he was one of the three founders ] There is one photo of him in the pilots seat, on a lake, in front of his mothers house. He only shows up in one photo at PSA because he was the photographer. Thank you Greg for doing such a great job. Douglas E Kelley

Greg, thank you so much for this video. I will show it to my Mom, age 97, when I visit her in June in Atlanta. You see, my Dad was the Flight Engineer on a Catalina at Dutch Harbor. He attended a training program in Chicago earlier in 1941. That’s where he met Mom. Mom was an 18 year old bank teller at a large Chicago Downtown bank. Dad was cashing his paycheck and picked the prettiest teller. While she was cashing his check, he asked her for a date. Since he was a sailor, she said no. During his entire training, he kept cashing his paychecks at her window and kept asking her out. After a few months, she finally accepted. Dad was a Southern boy from Louisiana and a Methodist. Her family was German Catholic. It took a while for Dad to win them over. A few months before the attack on Pearl, he graduated and became a Flight Engineer on Cats. Half his class went to Pearl. Half went to Dutch Harbor. Dad went to Dutch Harbor. Mom and Dad were already talking marriage. Dad said he would convert to Catholicism to satisfy her family. He started taking lessons from a Catholic Navy Chaplain. Well, I believe it was June 2, 1942. Admiral Nimitz had all the Catalinas at Dutch Harbor, Midway and Pearl looking for the Japanese. All the Dutch Harbor Cats were notified by Dutch Harbor that the base was being heavily attacked by Japanese Carrier planes. The Cats were told not to return to base. They were on their own. They did not have the fuel to reach any other Navy base. They decided to keep looking for the Japanese knowing full well they would end their mission in the North Pacific waters. As they exhausted their fuel, they radioed their final position and landed in the rough seas. They almost immediately floundered but were all able to make it into a life raft. They rode the waves for three days. Fortunately, a Tin Can found them before the Japanese did. They all had to spend time in the hospital for exposure. I don’t believe all the Dutch Harbor Catalina crews returned safely. The crew eventually received Survivors’ Leave. When Dad made it to Seattle, he called Mom. He officially asked for her hand in marriage. She said yes. He said he would arrive in three days by train. They agreed to marry the day after he arrived in Chicago. The women at Mom’s church organized a wedding in those three days. The Catholic Church waved the religious requirements for men returning to combat. The City of Elmhurst waived the blood test and issued a quick Marriage License for men returning to combat. Mom already had her wedding dress. It was in her Hope Chest. Like most Moms, her Mother had made her a beautiful wedding dress several years earlier and placed it Mom’s hope chest. After a beautiful wedding and reception(in the church hall), they spent a week at a fancy Downtown Hotel. Hotels were giving combat veterans incredible deals on hotel rooms. Then Dad said goodbye to Mom and boarded a train heading west. Back to Dutch Harbor. Back to the war. Dad passed in 2013 at the age of 93. 27 years in the Navy. 20 years with McDonnell Douglas building F-4s and F-15s. Mom and Dad were married for 71 years. 5 kids. Mom’s still going strong at 97 and living in their home outside Atlanta. One tough Navy wife. What a magnificent generation. We are all so lucky. Greg, thank you so much for your video. I will also show it to my son next week when I visit him in Florida. Like his Grandfather, he is also in military aviation. Today, he is on the team designing and building the nation’s next stealth bomber, the B-21 Raider. I’m sure he’ll enjoy your video.

The PBY-5 Catalina is the most 'colorful' plane of WWII, one of the most ever in my opinion. They have such an organic look to them, tons of character. And the utilitarian service they provided was second to none.

Dad was on a PBY crew doing SAR based out of New Caledonia and Guam. Dad trained at Pensacola NAS, the pilot landed hard and the plane dug into the wave. It submerged up to the blisters then breached. Dad said the pilot was a great officer but was kidded afterward for trying to go Sub service.

Very informative video. I thank you for archiving this information. My father served on the USS John Rodgers DD-574 during the war as a 17 year old and said the PBY’s were invaluable as rescues during battles. He also said they were collateral damage more than downed by enemy fire. His destroyer rescued quite a few crews downed by friendly fire. The John Rodgers was sold to Mexico and was the last active Fletcher class boat. When my father joined the Navy, he’d never been out of a three county area around Madison Florida. He retired in 1964 and led an honorable life as a marine instructor for HVAC systems. Smartest man I ever knew.

i had just moved to tucson in the 80s and the old guy next door introduced himself over the fence and invited me to come by , get acquainted. he had coffee table books on aircraft and i commented he seemed interested in aviation. he said he should, he was an aircraft engineer for years. rather flippantly i asked "anything i may have heard of?" the pby....ah, yeah. and stunned i asked "anything else?" the B-24....ah, yeah..... the B-36....ah, yeah..... then he got his photo album out . him and churchill, fdr, truman, arnold, lemay, ike.....omg. he was either on the team or in charge of these programs. fascinating old boy. an uncle was a radio op on a b-24. told him i met the guy who designed the plane. he would have liked to have met him. ah, no. he wouldn't. like to have frozen his anatomy off up those things :) his speciality seems to have been planes that flew real far and real slow. but rugged.

I'm proud to say my dad was a part time flight engineer in a PBY while in the Navy during WWII in Pensacola Fl. He was about 18 or 19 years old near the end of the war. His main job was an aircraft mechanic who installed engines on airplanes at the base. But his skipper would need him occasionally as a flight engineer to do practice sub hunts off the coast of Florida. One day, my dad and his buddy decided to put in for sea duty in the Pacific. It was toward the end of the war and his CO told my dad and his buddy: "Are you guys crazy? You're going to stay right here in Florida and put airplanes and engines together". All I can say to his CO is, Thank you sir.

The Catalina and the Sunderland made a big contribution in the battle of the Atlantic and their crews performed heroically. Its a shame people aren’t more aware of their role in WW2

I had the opportunity to take a short hop in a PBY in the early 2000s in New Zealand of all places. I was surprised at how small it was compared to modern aircraft. I'll forever be grateful to have had that opportunity to fly in such a classic aircraft. It truly punched above its weight, as they say.

One often overlooked point about the Catalina's war on Japanese shipping is that their impact goes beyond simply toting up the tonnage that they sank. Their minelaying efforts in inshore waters would often force Japanese ships to go out into deep water to avoid the minefields, which in turn made them more vulnerable to US submarines. So in that sense the Catalina nicely complimented the efforts of the submarines.

I was a Naval Aviator flying the UH-2 during the Vietnam era. Search and Rescue was our bread and butter task. Had I been a Naval Aviator during WWII, I would most likely have tried to get into the Cats. Truly a great boat...that also flew.

my grandfather was a machinist and made some replacement parts for one in the 70s and scored a ride for me just around the field for 5 min or so for my 16th birthday.

I wish all the other RU-vid channels’ authors could speak as clearly as Greg. His voice is pleasant to listen to, like a professional announcer or master of ceremonies. His narratives are exceptionally well written and organized. Well done, Greg!

My uncle was in the area when we dropped the first atomic bomb on Japan. He was on a air-sea rescue flight in a pby/ Catalina just in case the Enola Gay ran into trouble. His generation were made of steel. A quietly devote Christians big guy. They mustered out in Florida so he bought a new harly when the war ended in 45 and rode it home to Northern California. He was a role model extraordinaire

The only confirmed sinking of an Axis submarine in brazilian waters, U-boat U-199, was scored by a PBY Catalina. The pilot flying it, Alberto Martins Torres, was awarded an US Distinguished Flying Cross for his deeds.

I truly enjoyed watching this. My father was a pilot in the RAF during WW2 and his log books include some stints in Catalinas/PBY5s. He would never describe his experiences other than happy times and on occasions would wake my mother during nightmares, so this history lesson is invaluable for me. VERY MANY THANKS!

I always loved how the wing floats fold up to become the wingtips, seemed like a great way to eliminate drag.

As a kid The first time I saw a Catalina was at a friends home, a model his stepfather made. It always struck me as a true adventurers plane.

As a young boy playing with airplanes, the Catalina was always a favorite of mine because of the uniqueness.

Forty years ago I was interviewing for a desperately needed law enforcement job and it was not going well. The older Detective had a Kingfisher on his desk and after racking my brain for the name I finally commented he had a nice Kingfisher model. He looked shocked and asked "How the Hell do you know what that is?" Yes I got the job.

My Father flew the PBY Catalina in World War II. Thanks for the video.

The PBY, will forever be immortalized by Strawberry 5, the Cat piloted by Howard Andy, that found the Japanese carriers at the Battle of Midway.

Thanks so much for this video. My Great-Grandfather was a flight engineer on a PBY during the war. I never really got to understand what his role actually entailed and this really helped me with that. Love your vids - Amazing detail.

Greg was spot on with the Bristol Beaufighter

Such a wonderful doc. My father was a port gunner on a pby in the west pacific. He used to tell me that one of his tasks was to cook breakfast for the crew. He said they would land in a lagoon . He would lift what he called a “blister” throw over a hand grenade and scoop up wonderful fish. When I asked what did you do in ww2 said “cook”. Thank you for a wonderful description of how my dad did in these awful times.

The Royal Netherlands Navy Air Service in teEast Indies (INdonesia) operated 78 PBY's during WW2. On oneoccasion a Cat rescued 78 survivors from a torpedoed destroyer. With the survivors on board the crew managed to fly to Darwin using the ground effect cushion to keep the plane aloft

I'm a first time viewer. May I also say that this channel owner is a pleasure to listen to. As a retired classical singer and teacher, I appreciate such a lovely speaking voice and perfect enunciation.

"which I'll talk about in a minute" - Greg you are a legend. There's much understatement about past technologies and you are helping people discover how advanced our engineering was close to 100 years back, still relevant to our ICE modern systems. Once an Engineer, always an Engineer. Oorah!

"It should be obvious that this plane isn't going to set any speed records. For one thing, it's fuselage is a boat" took me out

I have always loved Catalina's.They are unsung hero's. There is a good book that gives the account of a PBY"s in WW II. It's called "Black Cats and Dumbos" by Mel Crocker. If you like PBY's it's a must read. Also there is a PBY on display at the air museum in Norfolk Virgina. Incredible plane.

An excellent book on both PBYs and PT boats is "Expendable" by John Floyd. It is the story of Charles Beckner who served with PBY squadrons in the Philippines before and after Pearl Harbor. After the planes were destroyed he joined a PT boat squadron which participated in Dugout Doug's dash to Australia. Very interesting tale with lots of action on land, in the air, and at sea. Beckner retired as a CW04 after 31 years as the senior ranking USN NCO. Quite a career for a guy that started as a pharmacists mate.

There is a romance about Catalinas that is overlooked. They were phenomenal machines and so versatile.

The Catalina Flying Boat is the most elegant flying boat ever designed. It was a wonderful aircraft!

I flew in several PBY's in Alaska while working immediately after the earthquake. They flew low and slow but we always got there and landing on the ocean was always just lain fun. During one flight we chased mountain goats and some bears around on Kodiak Island. The passenger seats were in the gun blisters so you could look all around. A great plane.

You are better than the history channel. You always do a DEEP DIVE into whatever subject you tackle. Us nerds love that! Thanks!

As a small boy I flew in a BOAC Boeing 14 from Bermnuda to Baltimore early in 1944. Mumaid it took 5 hours for the 700 miles. I only regret that I was too young to remember it. One bit of Catalina lore was that BOAC had some civilianised Cats in WW2 which were used for high-priority passengers between Western Australia and Ceylon taking 20 hours non-stop thanks to the planes' long range. The passengers sat on their life-vests and were supplied with a thermos of soup.

As a Brit, love the Catalina. The backbone of Coastal command alongside our Sunderlands in the battle of the Atlantic.

My uncle flew the PBY in WW2. He used to talk about how early in the war they had to turn the planes around very fast to give the japanese the idea there were more of them around than there actually were. It was extremely robust and the pilots, such as he, were very confident flying it.

I saw the Cousteau PBY-5A at General Lyman Field in Hilo Hawaii, not too long before it crashed killing Phillipe Cousteau. Amazing aircraft.

I'm not sure that the PBY qualifies as underrated at least by those that know any WWII history. Not only was it famous for finding the Bismark and the Japanese fleet at Midway at the beginning of the war through saving so many lives from the Indianapolis at the end of the war, but it was also most famous for saving downed pilots. The PBY was also featured prominently in the major movie musical South Pacific. The one area where it was underrated, as this video points out, was as a bomber. The fact that it was active from before WWII until after the war says a lot. Definitely, the PBY punched above it weight in terms of looks and speed.

Loved the flight engineer stuff! My dad was a FE for TWA from 1946 till about 1990. He was one of the last FE's that didn't require a pilots license. I flew in Navy P-3's from the mid 70's till I retired in 2000, with lots of stories to tell. Navy air crews were assigned a specific airplane, and were required to perform routine maintenance on their airplane. Because of this, the crews were made up of all the separate maintenance fields. So a crew would have an engine mechanic , radio man, airframe mech, ordinance man, electrician , etc. During maintenance , the expert, would supervise the other crew members to perform the required task. Generally speaking, the FE's were the senior member, and were responsible for ensuring all tasks were completed. Hope this helps to "flesh" out how the crews were organized .

They sure weren't underrated by the Australian flyers. They were amazing. Coastal Command of the RAF thought pretty well of them. The amazing range and durability was factor. After the war, Australian flyer P G Taylor pioneered long distance aviation in the Pacific. His Catalina is in the Powerhouse Museum in Sydney.

My great uncle flew these for the RAAF in the war north of Darwin. One mission he was shot down behind enemy lines and was picked up by the US navy. He kept one of the small wooden paddles he and his crew used in the life raft, and it remains in our family to this day. By all accounts a very tough and reliable aircraft being shotup regularly by Japanese small arms, AA, fighters and surface vessels.

I’m going for the F4F Wildcat because I think Greg mentioned it in an earlier video. He said something along the lines of it being under-appreciated and over-shadowed but it being there in the early days of the war when we were designing and producing planes like the F4U and such.

“The Most Underrated US Combat Planes of WW2 Historian” - my vote is for Greg.

My Grandfather flew the Catalina in the Solomons for the RNZAF. He would tell me about sitting on the beach at night watching the Japanese warships come up the slot.

Thank you for this! My late father flew PBY's out of a base in Brazil during WW2.

Well, now, Sir, Thank you, Thank you, Thank you ! I had never known much about this aircraft, BUT I did know a bit about data collection, preparation, image review and research, documentation, writing, presentation, editing, and so on. You get my vote for the most underrated RU-vidr ! An absolutely REMARKABLE job.

I never realised this plane was considered underrated. It didn’t even cross my mind as an option for this video at first

I love getting into the dusty corners of WWII. 56 and still learning. Excellent presentation. Thanks.

Re: C5 "those things go all over the world, and they break down all the time, so you get to spend some time there." ROLFL!! No truer words were spoken!

I'm Australian. My uncle flew PBYs out of Darwin, in northern Australia during WWII. He said they where a great kite to fly.

When I was a kid, the local library used to have lots of books about aeronautical history.. now, no more. (Thanks, Greg.. for taking me back!)

My dad flew PBY-5a's in the Aleutians. Getting into one, preferably for a flight, is very, very high on my bucket list.

Thanks for this great video about a truly underrated, versatile plane. Approximately 3,300 PBYs were built. Their missions included, but were not limited to, naval interdiction and night attacks, search and rescue, ASW, and marine patrol. They certainly weren't the fastest, most maneuverable, or highest-flying planes. However, the PBYs saved many lives and engaged in many significant missions that helped win WW-2.

It would never have entered my mind that the PBY would be that underappreciated. It's a shoo-in for one of my top five favs!

Am reading about the 'Black Cats'. They used Cats' as night-time stealth bombers in the Pacific.

My Dad flew the PBY and later the PBM out of Guantanamo looking for U-boats in WWII. He really liked the PBY. God bless you, Dad.

My father was a flight engineer with VP-81 in 1943, and it's nice to see some light shed on this aspect of naval aviation.

Frank Talman and Paul Mantz. Aviators extraordinaire for cinema. Pencil sharpener. Am I old enough?

We have a PBY-5A here in VA Beach’s Military Aviation Museum. I love watching her fly.

My uncle Paul flew on the flight crew of a PBY in WWII in the Pacific; so this was a wonderful history video to come across. Thank you

Bonus points to me! I have one of those units screwed onto my garage workshop wall. Nice to be able to dial-in various diameters.

The FE had a pencil sharpener as shown by the circled item, Greg questioned if someone would recognize it.

When I was 2 years old I flew with my mother in a Mars Seaplane. It was 1955 from Honolulu Hawaii to San Fransisco.

Thank you for this excellent video! The PBYs were definitely very underrated. My dad served in the South Pacific as an ordinance-man for the Cats. He really understood what great planes they were and how valuable they were as night raiders against the Japanese shipping. He told one story of “hitchhiking” on a Cat to a different island base where he needed to be. His ride was fully loaded with a very large number of cases of beer for the service men. I don’t remember how many, but he said there was no room to walk around the plane and that the ocean was lapping mere inches from the plane's side blisters. He knew it would never get off the “ground” but having miles of open ocean as a “strip” it eventually lifted off!

My grandpa was a flight engineer on a black cat. There were missions they flew that were classified he couldn't talk about so the success of these planes is even more than is known. Great vid, glad to see someone talking about them my grandpa would of loved to see this as he always talked about how underated these cats were and how they played a big part that is seldom talked about. Thank you for honoring this legacy

As for the Cats' super long range capability: On 24 May 1943, Lt. Vonk and crew of 321 Squadron RAF (which was a Netherlands Naval Air Service unit) flew their PBY-5A amphibian on a mission that lasted 18 hours and 49 minutes, during which an attack was made on U-178 off the South African coast. In the same area, South African Air Force No.25 Squadron, operating Catalina Mk.Ibs (PBY-5) flying boats, regularly flew missions of up to 21 and a 1/2 hours into the Southern Ocean. 25 Squadron SAAF is credited with 2 U-boats sunk and 1 damaged.

My first “gut” reaction is the P-40

First fell in love with the Cat after reading ,"The Sky Beyond" by Sir Gordon Taylor. His navigation and long range flying in the Cat is exhilarating reading.

My father was in the Navy during WW2. He served on a Seaplane tender.

Australia’s Catalina flying boat base during WWII was at Lake Boga near Swan Hill in Northern Victoria. There is now a Cat in a small museum there. HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) has a flying Catalina at its base at Albion Park in New SouthWales.

PBY defends, attacks but most importantly It snatches snafus.

My father was a US Marine in the Pacific Theater during WWII. He flew in PBY’s from time to time when they were assigned to pick up downed fliers. He said the PBY’s he was in smelled of aviation fuel and that each crew members to search the other to make sure there were no matches or lighters because the planes could catch fire easily. He said they had to keep the bubble open to vent the fumes as it would make the sick in the rear section. They picked up many fliers including a few Japanese from time to time.

My grandfather was logistics boss for Australian Catalina base.

There's an "A" version owned by one our local vintage aircraft buffs, and it is flown into events all over NZ....

Hey, it was an aside in the overall story but when you talked about the float plane racers I wanted to add that one of the major reasons they were held on the water is that the constant speed prop had not been invented yet. The props were pitched for the top end of their speed range so the prop just cavitated at low airspeed. So take-off acceleration was VERY low. I once read the Supermarine racer the Merlin engine was developed in took 5 miles to break water.

Great video Greg. Thanks for shedding some light on, what was for me, a great career as a Flight Engineer. I started in 1977 at age 24, as a Flight Engineer on the Canadair CL44. Then went on to the Boeing 720B, 707, L1011 and retired from flying in 2013 after 15 years on the Airbus A300B4. Managed to get around most of the world and I cannot remember one day where I thought, "God, I don't want to go to work today". Best job in the world. Really like your videos, great to see serious research and some much needed myth busting. Please keep it up.

My uncle flew with Greg Boyington in Burma with the Flying tigers P-40 and then USMC VMF-214 Chance/Vought F4U4 Corsair. He loved the Corsair. Later on, he worked for Flying Tigers, then returned to the Marines in Korea and flew the Corsair again. Eventually he flew the F-4 in Vietnam where he was shot down over the South China Sea. He retired from the Marines in 71, 32 years, a Full bird Colonel.

There was a PBY undergoing restoration at the airport in Brady Texas in 2019. AT the time I seen it, the "Cat" was disassembled and being stripped of paint. Great video

I like the tale of Bob Hope taking the controls for a bit while going on to another island show. The pilots got comfortable in the back with the showgirls and left Hope happily flying until on engine gave out and they ran to the rescue.

"....not the most modern flying boat in the war..."., but possibly the most elegant..... Very good presentation, Greg...

Then there was the Cat that acted as a “ski” plane (on its belly) rescuing downed crew on ferry runs in Greenland.

The PBY is like an icon of WWII. How could it possibly be underrated?

And the Cat was such a pretty plane as well

Actually worked on these aircraft. The Canadian versions were called the Canso. The government of Quebec used a number of these as waterbombers. In the late 70s they underwent major overhaul including changing belly skins and replacement of the bolts that attached the wing to the fuselage mast. This was a huge and amazing aircraft. Not as sleek as the Bombardier Global aircraft that I have the privilege of being involved with.

I've always thought the PBY was a real beauty.

Don't forget the C-5's breakdown rate is even higher in places with good beaches.

My engine instructor for my FAA A & P license was a retired CPO & FE on Cats in WW2. I loved that man & was honored to be taught by him. RIP Chief ! 🫡 🇺🇸

Growing up on Vancouver Island in the 1970s to 1980s seeing the Martin Mars was regular thing. Very impressive.

I lived in Inglewood in the fifties and we went to the beach a lot. I saw several Cats in white and red serving the Coast Guard. One beautiful plane.

That Japanese flying boat has some really cool boundary layer technology that helps it to lift more faster. And probably deserves a video.

My father flew Cats @ the start of WW2 then, PBMs. He always said he enjoyed flying the Cats much more. Each person onboard had 2 jobs and Dads other job besides flying the “boat” was to photograph everything, torpedoed ships burning, submarines, a/c down on the water etc. The plane captain did not fly the a/c. He was flight engineer and do it all guy. Pilots were considered plane commanders. In’42 his crew was tasked among other things, to pick up rum for the officers club @Norfolk. Looking @ shot of him and buddies sitting @ Hermans Store in Havana. Best souvenir is silk map of S. Pacific. Bye Dad

One of the models I made as a kid in the 50s was the PBY.

The 1976 movie "Midway" has the PBY in several key scenes, also Kenneth More namedrops the Catalina when mentioning the search for Bismarck, in Sink the Bismarck, which also had several scenes filmed inside HMS Vanguard right before the ship was sold and broken up.

Thank you for this. My father was a flight engineer in a Canso (Canadian Catalina) squadron with the RCAF. All he would tell me about his duties was "I made a lot of coffee." Now I know better.

My dad was a PBY Chief Petty Officer engineer in the Aleutians. Thank you for your videos. He made a photo album of his time up there.

Yes more Greg. We are being spoiled by his recent output. Another fascinating rundown with some great Greg philosophy on actual usefulness vs myths!! I think the Catalina is a very handsome plane! I would love to have one for non military uses. Great for family outings, wanderlust or magnificent groovy picnics where ever you want to be! I would love to live in that during the summer here in Sweden. I think I'm in love!

My cousin (same last name) flew a Mars in sea air rescue in the South Pacific in the late 50's up to the middle 60's. He dove in to save someone and did but got a massive infection from Fire Coral. He died 2 years later in severe pain back in the US. I don't know how many lives he saved and how many babies delivered on the way to a hospital. Nice man he was. RIP Eastburn.