Any fan of World War Two warbirds knows the Consolidated PBY Catalina/Canso--the ungainly-looking, high wing flying boat/amphibian patrol aircraft. Well, I made the acquaintance of a few of these aircraft in my career, the first of which was a Boeing-Canada built PBY-5A Canso that the company I worked for acquired back in 1989 or 1990. She wasn't much to look at--after the war, she had been modified to what was known as 28-5ACF and was to have been used as a freight hauler or firebomber. During that change, she had her waist gun blisters replaced with cargo doors, and she had the later "clipper" nose fitted that eliminated the gun turret and window--these modifications removed a lot of the character that made a PBY a PBY. But I got to do a little avionics work on her, and other than reminding yourself that there are lots of places to bang your shins or whack your head in this old girl (and there are two kinds of people who work around flying boats--those that have knocked their head or shins on something, and those who will!), it was more or less a joy. Yes, there was oil all around, too--any radial-engined airplane will have a film of oil covering most of the airplane after too long, and this PBY was no exception.
Doing some research, it seems that my first PBY was a bit of a celebrity. She was born as Construction Number 22022 and went to the Royal Canadian Air Force as RCAF9793 sometime in 1943. After the war, she kicked around a bit--she carried, at one time or another, the following registrations: YV-P-APE, OB-LDM-349, HK-996X, HP-289, HR-236, N6108, and TG-BIV. I knew her as November Five Four Zero Four Juliet.
One of her claims-to-fame? She was used by Southern Air Transport for a while, and while under their employ she served as a communications relay aircraft during the ill-fated Bay of Pigs invasion. To top that, she was also supposedly used in the Pearl Harbor attack movie "Tora Tora Tora!". To put the cherry on top of her career, she was used for a time by oceanographer Jacques Cousteau...
(Do a Google search on "N5404J" and you will get dozens of hits. Really. I could post the information here, but I've been working one of those weeks of half-days--seven days, twelve hour shifts. I'm feeling a bit lazy this Sunday...)
Zero-Four Juliet stayed with us for a year or so. I'm not sure what we did to the airplane up until 1990, but there came a time where the maintenance guys went to work doing some sheet metal work. They were adding seat rails and a passenger floor to the airplane. They were also re-routing all of the overhead fluid lines--we were told that she was to be ferried to New Zealand, where she would haul passengers, and you can't have volatile liquids (read: 100 Low Lead Aviation Gasoline, aka 100LL AVGAS). As it turned out, she was actually going to be brought to New Zealand to be used as a flying museum. Unfortunately, it would not come to pass--at least, not for Zero Four Juliet. The airplane left our facility sometime in late 1993. I heard little about her until a friend told me that she crashed in January 1994 while en route from Hilo, HI to Papeete in French Polynesia. She sank in the Pacific. Fortunately, the occupants were rescued.
A post from The Warbird Information Exchange, which came from The Catalina Group of New Zealand's website:
The History of “NJ”, Catalina N5404J
N5404J, serial number 22022, was built by Boeing of Canada and had the RCAF Serial 9793. It was originally a Canso A (PBY-5A) but at the war's end was modified in Costa Rica to 28-5ACF status. Its blister windows and nose turret were removed, the former replaced with flush hatches; the latter with a "clipper" nose. Registrations have included: YV-P-APE, OB-LDM-349, HK-996X, HP-289, HR-236, N6108, TG-BIV, N5404J.
It took part in the ill-fated "Bay of Pigs" operation in Cuba during which, while circling the invasion area and operating with the code name "Swan Island", its mission was to act as a communications relay aircraft. It was also used in making of the film Tora, Tora, Tora, flying in pre-war US Navy colours both as 24-P-4 and 24-P9 representing PBYs from VP-24 based on Ford Island, Pearl Harbour. It was hired at one time by renown marine biologist Jacques Cousteau on one of his ventures (Jacques Cousteau’s son, Philippe was killed in PBY-6A Catalina N101CS –"Flying Calypso" in a water landing accident).
N5404J's last registered owner was The Catalina Company (NZ) Ltd under which the registration ZK-PBY was reserved but never taken up as the aircraft forced landed and sank in mid-Pacific early on January 14, 1994 during a ferry flight to New Zealand. For the whole fascinating story order a copy of Catalina Dreaming from this site today!
My second encounter with a Catalina happened about the same time--it was the airplane now known as N4NC, and maybe I'll tell you about it (and other hangar stories) some time...for as Zero Four Juliet was a workhorse, Four November Charlie was a flying yacht.
There was yet another Catalina I knew, too--N7179Y, a PBY-6A--and (as of September of 2009) she resides in the restoration facility of the Minnesota Wing of the Commemorative Air Force. She was flipped on her back during a storm some 12 years ago. It is a shame, too--Seven Niner Yankee lived through Hurricane Andrew in 1991 with nary a scratch. It appears as if they will combine the best parts from Seven Niner Yankee and another PBY-6A. I haven't been able to dig up anything more current...
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As I hinted at above, work has been more than hectic these past three weeks. I haven't had much time to do anything, so forgive me on the lack of updates lately.
Thanks for reading, and, as always, I bid you Peace.
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