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When Hollywood Ruled The Skies - Volumes 1 through 4 by Bruce Oriss


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PostPosted: Tue Jan 15, 2019 4:29 pm 
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Some interesting reading from the link below:
https://www.cansofunds.com/the-canso-an ... e-r-c-a-f/



The origins of the Canso go back to 28 October 1933. On this day, the U.S. Navy awarded the Consolidated Aircraft Corp., at Buffalo, N.Y., an order to build one experimental patrol aircraft designated XP3Y-1. This aircraft was first flown on 21 March 1935, at Hampton Roads, Va. Powered by two Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasps of 825 hp each, it was an all-metal monoplane with the wing mounted on top of the hull by a pylon which contained the flight engineer’s quarters, plus two sets of streamlined lift struts running from the waterline to the wing panel/centre section joint. The floats retracted outwards to form ‘wingtips’, which became a standard feature of all PBYs.

After further flight tests at Norfolk, Va., it was returned to the factory and fitted with 850 hp Twin Wasps and re-designated XPBY-1. During testing, this aircraft performed a couple of spectacular long-distance flights. The first flight was from Norfolk to Coco Solo, Canal Zone, non-stop, and then from Coco Solo to San Francisco Bay, again non-stop, on 15 October 1935. A new international record for seaplanes was thus created with a distance of 3,281.402 statute miles.

During these flights a problem was discovered. This was due to the design of the rudder which made it difficult for the aircraft to get off the water with a full fuel load. When the pilot attempted to ‘get on the step’, the aircraft would drop its tail in the water; the tail, then acting as a water rudder, caused the pilot to temporarily lose control, forcing him to shut his engines off immediately. The rudder was modified by adding additional area to the trailing edge thereby eliminating the problem.

The U.S. Navy, impressed by the spectacular performance of the XP3Y-1, ordered 60 P3Y-1s, later designated PBY-1, on 29 June 1935. Eleven were delivered in 1936 and forty-nine in 1937. The first squadron to receive the PBY-1 was VP-11F in October 1936. These production aircraft were built at Consolidated’s new plant in San Diego, Calif. Shortly another order for 50 machines was placed; these were the PBY-2s with minor changes. Of this order, 36 were delivered in 1937 and the remainder in 1938.

In 1938 the PBY was released for export and immediately Russian bought three and obtained a manufacturing licence. In Russia it was designated GST and several hundred were built for the Russian Naval Air Arm and remained in service until the mid-fifties. During November 1936, 66 aircraft with 900 hp Twin Wasps were ordered by the U.S. Navy as PBY-3s, these going into service in late 1937. On December 1937, 33 PBY-4s with the more powerful 1050 hp Twin Wasps were ordered. The first one was delivered in 1938 with the standard sliding beam hatches, but the following 32 featured the new waist ‘blisters’, which became standard for all PBYs. By June 1938, thirteen Navy squadrons were equipped with PBYs and more were to be formed. Armament consisted of one .50 cal Browning machine gun in each blister, one .30 cal gun in the nose turret and another .30 cal gun in a ventral tunnel.

Some time in April 1939, a PBY-4 was returned to the factory to be modified as an amphibian aircraft fitted with a retractable undercarriage and nosewheel. This PBY-4 after conversion became the XPBY-5A and 33 PBY-5s under construction were then modified as PBY-5As. Another order for 134 additional PBY-5As was placed on 25 November 1940, and deliveries began in December 1941.

The PBY-5 and -5A were powered with 1200 hp Twin Wasp R-1830-82 engines and, instead of the rounded trailing edge on the rudder, they featured a straight trailing edge. A special version was the APBY-5A Catalina and was used for administrative duties; this model had five additional windows on the fuselage sides just aft of the cockpit.

After the United States entered the war, contracts were placed for more Catalinas during 1941 and 1942 – 586 PBY-5 flying boats, 627 PBY-5A amphibians and 225 PBY-5B flying boats (for the RAF under Lend-Lease). During this time the Naval Aircraft Factory undertook modification of the Catalina and this version produced by the NAF was designated PBN-1 ‘Nomad’, 156 being built. The last PBYs produced were the PBY-6As which were based on the PBN Nomad and the first of these was delivered during 1945. The main differences in the PBY-6As were a radome mounted above the pilot’s cockpit, a twin-gun ball turret mounting two .50 cl machine guns fitted in the nose, and .30 cal guns located in the other positions. Consolidated–Vultee, as the company was now known, built a number of PBYs at their New Orleans plant. There 75 aircraft were manufactured, 48 of which were supplied to Russia under Lend-Lease.

In the U.S. Navy, the Catalina, also nicknamed ‘Dumbo’, was used by at least 26 squadrons serving at various locations all over the world during the war. The USAAF also used the PBYs designated OA-10, -10A and -10B in the search-and-rescue role. The U.S. Coast Guard also operated the PBYs in their patrolling and search-and-rescue work. Production of the Catalina totaled 1196 flying boats and 944 amphibians including production in Canada. (It is not known how many were built in Russia.)

The Catalina served with the U.S. Forces until the 1950s and many surplus PBYs were supplied to the air forces of many other countries, some of these being Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Denmark, Dominica, Ecuador, Indonesia, Israel, Mexico, Norway, the Netherlands, and Peru. As late as 1970, there were at least 100 still flying with various civilian operators, used as water bombers, cargo transports and airliners.

IN RCAF SERVICE

After the RAF, the RCAF was the next biggest user of the PBYs, operating thirteen squadrons; five on the Canadian west coast, six on the east coast and two overseas. In the RCAF, the Catalina first went into service in Eastern Air Command with No. 116 Squadron at Dartmouth on 28 June 1941. These first aircraft were ten Catalina Mk. Is diverted from an RAF contract to fulfill a request from the AOC, A/C A.E. Godfrey, to obtain long-range aircraft to equip the anti-submarine squadrons. The Digbys. Bolingbrokes, Hudsons, and Stranraers had insufficient range to cope with the marauding U-boats, and the Catalinas were the first really long-range aircraft to be used by the EAC. Overseas, the first Catalina squadron was No. 413, formed 1 July 1941 and later moved to Ceylon.

Later Catalinas ordered by the RCAF and built to RCAF specifications were called Cansos. At first the aircraft were supplied from Consolidated-Vultee through RAF contracts and Canadian orders. Besides the Catalinas mentioned earlier, another eight were obtained from an RAF order in 1942 and another 12 with modified armament were delivered to fill an RCAF order in early 1942. At the start of 1942, the RCAF had only 32 of these aircraft on strength. However, later in the year the Air Force began receiving Canadian built Cansos to replace the aging Stranraers in Western Air Command and to form new squadrons in Eastern Air Command. The two squadrons overseas were supplied by the RAF.

During early 1941, under an agreement between the U.S. and Canadian government, Canadian Vickers Ltd., at Cartierville, Que., and Boeing Aircraft of Canada at Vancouver, B.C., began production of the PBY-5 and PBY-5A. During early 1942 Canadian Vickers began delivery of its first batch of Canso flying boats for the RCAF. However the first 36 aircraft were to go to the RAF as Catalina IIAs to replace Catalinas the RCAF had received earlier from RAF contracts. Of these 36 aircraft, only 29 were actually delivered, the rest going to the RCAF. The first PBY-5A Canso A was completed on 3 April 1943. When production ceased on 19 May 1945, Canadian Vickers had built 369 aircraft of this type. The RCAF received 139 aircraft from Vickers and the USAAF took delivery of 230, designated OA-10A. Of these, 183 were to have gone to the U.S. Navy as the PBV-1A, but none were delivered to that service. In the USAAF the OA-10A was used mostly for search-and-rescue, although some saw service in North Africa as bombers.

At Vancouver, the Boeing plant on Sea Island produced 240 Catalinas designated PB2B-1, entirely for Lend-Lease. Of these, 193 went to the RAF as Catalina Mk. IVBs, 41 to the RVZAF and 6 to the RAAF, the first of these having flown on 12 May 1943. Later the company produced the PB2B-2 (based on the Naval Aircraft Factory’s PBN-1 Nomad), of which 50 were built and supplied to the RAF as the Catalina Mk. VI. Also produced by Boeing were 17 flying boat and 55 amphibious Cansos for the RCAF to bring total production to 362 aircraft. During the peak of production, the two plants were producing 50 aircraft per month. Canadian Vickers also produced 119 hulls and 172 wing centre-sections for the Consolidated-Vultee plant in New Orleans.

In Canada a total of 254 Catalinas and Cansos were used by the RCAF units in the Home War Establishment. They served in both EAC and WAC and one squadron operated overseas for about a year-and-a-half from bases in Iceland and Scotland.

After the war, all the Catalinas and most of the Cansos were struck off strength, only about 40 Canso remaining active. These saw service with the search-and-rescue flights and few others were used in heavy transport duties. The last Canso, RCAF 11089, was retired from service on 29 November 1962 and went into civilian service as CF-PQO. Another Canso was retired to National Aircraft Collection. This was RCAF 11087, but it is restored in markings of No. 162 Squadron as the aircraft flown by F/L Hornell, V.C. A large number of these surplus aircraft were sold to civilian operators and to foreign air forces. Sweden obtained three Cansos, redesignated Tp. 47, to serve in its Air Force Rescue Service which were numbered 47001, 47002, and 47003.

No. 162(BR) Squadron was formed with Cansos at Yarmouth, N.S. on 19 May 1942 under the command of W/C C.W.G. Chapman. During 1942 and ’43, the Squadron served at various stations in Newfoundland, Labrador and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. On 4 January 1944, the squadron began moving to their new base at Reykjavik, Iceland. The first Canso to arrive was flown by F/O A. Hildebrand who landed at Reykjavik on the 6th, two days after taking off from Dartmouth. Two more arrived the next day and the remainder at intervals up to the end of the month. The first patrol was carried out by F/O C.W. Leech and crew on 24 January.

F/O C.C. Cunningham and crew made the first sighting and attack on a U-boat from this new base but could only claim it as damaged. On 17 April 1944, F/O T.C. Cooke and crew, in 9767 ‘S’, attacked and sank U-342. During May the squadron was moved temporarily to Wick, in northeastern Scotland, to intercept enemy submarines moving out from Norvegian ports during the first days of the Normandy invasion. On 3 June 1944, F/L R.E. McBride and crew, in Canso 9816 ‘T’, sank the U-477; on 11 June, F/O L. Sherman and crew, in Canso 9842 ‘B’, sank the U-980; on 13 June, W/C Chapman and crew, Canso 9816 ‘T’, sank the U-715. Also on this day, F/O Sherman sighted and attacked a U-boat but was shot down; on 24 June, F/L D.E. Hornell and crew, in Canso 9745 ‘P’, sank the U-1225, and on 30 June, F/L McBride, in Canso 9841, sighted and attacked U-478 but the depth charges failed to release. A Liberator was called in and sank the sub. After this action several sightings were made, but only two attacks were carried out. No definite results were obtained. One of these attacks was made by F/O W.O. Marshall and crew, in Canso 9759 ‘W’, on 4 August, slightly damaging the U-300.

Later in the summer the squadron returned to ‘Camp Maple Leaf’ in Iceland where they remained until the end of the war. In this period only five sightings were made and three attacks carried out. F/L D.J. Orr made an attack on 3 November with no results; on 5 November, P/O M.A. Palmer and crew returned from patrol with the same results. Not until 21 April 1945 was another attack made, this time by F/L J.K. Guttormson and crew, again with no results. On 26 April, F/O N.A. Chubb and crew sighted a U-boat but lost it in a rain squall before an attack could be made.

After the war, on 10 May, F/L R.L. Clarke and crew sighted a U-boat and exchanged signals and on 31 May the squadron carried out their last patrol from Iceland. In June 1945, No. 162 left Reykjavik after nearly eighteen months and flew back to Canada. The squadron was disbanded at Sydney on 7 August 1945.

Serial numbers of the squadron’s aircraft are: –

Canso A, S/N 9746, 9754 ’P’, 9759 ‘W’, 9766, 9767 ‘S’, 9779, 9791, 9816 ‘T’,

9837, 9841 ‘A’, 9842 ‘B’, 11039, 11056, 11061, 11066, 11076, 11089, 11090, 11091, 11094, 11096.

Image
11089 Consolidated Canadian Vickers, Montreal Canso A/2F CV 427

First date: 3 June 1944 - Taken on strength at Eastern air command

Delivered new to storage. Served with No. 162 (BR) Squadron, in Iceland, coded "C", from 27 September 1944. To storage with EAC on 21 September 1945, reported serviceable on that date. Out of storage 2 February 1946, issued to RCAF Station Dartmouth, NS on 1 May 1946. With No. 435 (T) Squadron, RCAF Station Edmonton, Alberta, in August 1946. Picked up crew of RCAF Vessel Beaver on 22 August 1946, after it had run aground near Cape Jones, Hudson's Bay. Reported on 29 December 1947 as "TSN 1331:30, condition fair, fitment Air Sea Rescue. Reported on 15 November 1948 as 1426:15 airframe time. Reported on 31 March 1949 as 1720:00 airframe time. To de Havilland Canada 14 May to 26 September 1949 for modifications, returned to NWAC. Assigned to RCAF Station Sea Island, BC on 13 June 1950. To Canadian Pacific Airlines on 3 July 1951 for centre section change. To Aircraft Industries Limited from 15 June 1953 to 7 June 1954 for reconditioning. With No. 121 (CR) Flight at Sea Island May 1956 to October 1961. To RCAF Station Lincoln Park, Alberta for storage on 26 November 1961. Later stored at Dunnsville, Ontario by No. 6 RD. Available for disposal from August 1962. Sold to Quebec Department of Transportation and Communications. Still with them in 1976, as CF-PQO. Was C-FPQO by 1992, when the aircraft was sold to Pro Air Aviation of Bonsecours, PQ. Registered to G. Belanger of Bonsecours by 1995. To Antares Air Services of Oshawa, Ontario on 6 August 1999. This registration cancelled in 2001.

Last date: 29 November 1962 - Struck off, to Crown Assets Disposal Corporation for sale.

Image

And today it has been PISSED AWAY as N427CV to COLORADO SPRINGS, CO as shown in photos below.

Below three links with plenty of info on 11089/N427CV
https://flightaware.com/resources/registration/N427CV
http://warbirdsnews.com/warbirds-news/c ... diego.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_s ... _Catalinas

Image

Image

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 9:46 am 
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Some thoughts regarding the data above and also the sections not included above but within the link at the start of the piece.

I've not gone through it all line by line but here are some comments ...

The Russians did not build "several hundred for the Russian Naval Air Arm". In addition to the Model 28-1 Guba, and the three Model 28-2 'Mailplanes' that were supplied by Consolidated as kits (one was first flown in the USA), they built just 24 GSTs. To be fair, until comparatively recently, the number was not known and other sources have in the past quoted varying numbers. The Soviet Union did also receive PBN-1s and PBY-6As under Lend-Lease.

it is not correct that "32 PBY-4s featured the new waist blisters which became standard for all PBYs". Only three PBY-4s had blisters initially - BuNos 1241 to 1243 inclusive. The blister became standard from the PBY-5 onwards, not on all PBYs as is implied. The PBY-4 that became the prototype XPBY-5A (BuNo 1245) was not returned to the factory to have its undercarriage mod - it was modified from the production line. The later reference to the "APBY-5A Catalina" that was used for administrative duties is a bit of a mystery but I would guess it refers to the aforementioned BuNo 1245 which was later modified as a transport with no bow turret but with blisters (ironically, it did not have blisters when first flown as an amphib'. In its admin role it was known as the sole PBY-5R and was named Sea Mare.

Re the PBN-1 Nomad, the text above states 156 built which is not strictly true. There were 156 US Navy serials but one of the 155 aircraft originally ordered was rebuilt with a new serial after fire damage.

As I read the text above, my interpretation is that there were 75 aircraft built at the New Orleans plant. This is understated - there were in fact 1 x PBY-5, 59 x PBY-5A and 175 x PBY-6A.

It is an exaggeration to say that "the PBY-6A was based on the PBN-1 Nomad". The two models shared the taller vertical tail/rudder and full-span elevators but the re-designed hull, bow turret and wingtip floats pf the Nomad were not shared with the '-6A.

Total Catalina production is quoted as 1196 flying boats and 944 amphibians including Canadian production, ie: 2,140. This is massively understated. The grand total was 3,281 in N America and 24 in the Soviet Union making 3,305.

Re Canadian production, the article states that the first 36 aircraft for the RCAF (of which some went to the RAF) were built by Canadian Vickers - not so, they were built by Consolidated at San Diego.

A minor point but "the first PBY received (by the RAF) in July 1938" was not strictly speaking a PBY at all. It was built for the British Air Ministry on a commercial contract and was a Model 28-5.

In the section that lists RCAF serial numbers, 9701 to 9736 are shown as Canso As but were in fact Cansos when Canada adopted the name ie: they were not amphibians and did not have the 'A' suffix.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 1:57 pm 
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Thx for the corrections. Goes to show you that anyone can write a book, article etc. and fill the pages with almost whatever they wish. Not too many folks still around to verify what's fact from fiction. It seems to get worse the further away from the time when it actually happened. Future Generations will really start to become clueless about history. Shame.

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[Thread title is ridiculous btw]


Last edited by Mark Allen M on Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:05 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:02 pm 
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The 'Catalina' in all its various guises has suffered a lot from inaccurate publishing in the past- I'm not blameless!

Great photos of 11089 by the way.

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PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 2:38 pm 
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On another note the co pilot of 9816 T, which was the RCAF Canso flying out of Iceland ,with Chapman at the controls ,Mr Jim McRae is still with us at the age of 101,and living in Yarmouth N.S.


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 16, 2019 11:44 pm 
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1000+ Posts!
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Mark Allen M wrote:
Thx for the corrections. Goes to show you that anyone can write a book, article etc. and fill the pages with almost whatever they wish. Not too many folks still around to verify what's fact from fiction. It seems to get worse the further away from the time when it actually happened. Future Generations will really start to become clueless about history. Shame.


They can watch Air Strike on Netflix.... :P

Phil

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