PBY Aircraft

[sockmonkey]

Does anyone know of a PBY on display anywhere? My dad was a radio operator on PBYs in WW2. I have always wanted to see one up close and personal. Dad was on PBYs mainly, then later, Corsair or P2V? I made a model of a PBY Catalina when I was a kid and Dad said He was not lucky enough to fly on a Catalina! Apparently the Catalina was a little nicer than the ones he was on!

[Warbirdnerd]

Wiki has a list of Pig Boats on Display:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_su ... #Survivors

[TAdan]

Hi sockmonkey, welcome to WIX. Fortunately there are quite a few PBY's preserved and on display in museums (and several still flying). Where are you located? That would help narrow down your search.

[sockmonkey]

I live near Indianapolis, IN

[JohnB]

Try the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton.
Easy 90 minute drive from Indy.
Try their public affairs dept.

[RareBear]

There's a very nice PBY-5A at the Naval Aviation Museum on NAS Pensacola, Florida. Along side it is a cut-away PBY showing the crew positions and the interior structure. Woud be great for someone who flew in them to show others their crew station.

Walt

[Taigh Ramey]

Walt is right on the money with Pensacola as the best place for you to see the crew positions as they were. They have a cut away fuselage below a fully intact PBY-5 that still has all of the original gear that has been beautifully restored. Story I heard is that it was used in a local school at PEN and had always been kept in its original configuration. I have a hard time thinking of any PBY that is still original inside let alone one that you can get in to.

Here are a few shots of the display including the radio ops position:












Here are two wartime shots of the radio operators position

[Scooby]

Try the National Museum of the Air Force in Dayton.
Easy 90 minute drive from Indy.
Try their public affairs dept.

They definitely have one on display in their WWII hanger and he will be able to get close and personal with it.

If you bring your dad you can arrange a cockpit tour for him. Make sure you arrange this in advance, it is available for all veterans.

[Speedy]

That cutaway PBY was actually built into the side of the survival school building on base. The finished side was on the outside of the building and the cutaway side was part of the inner wall. I can remember spending a lot of time 'admiring' that fuselage while stationed at P-cola.

http://www.navalaviationmuseum.org/hist ... y-cutaway/

Last year I went to the National Naval Aviation Museum for the first time in 20+ years and was really surprised at how nicely they restored that fuselage for display.

[sockmonkey]

I can't thank you enough! Those picts brought tears. Dad passed away in 1999. The stories he told I cherish. Some were scary, most were funny. Again, thanks for the info and especially the photos!!!

[Taigh Ramey]

You are most welcome. I miss my Dad too

[armyjunk2]

Is there a PBY in Bloomington IN? Some reason I thought there was one..Anyone know anything about this plane??

[Warbirdnerd]

N206M is registered to Black Cat Aviation in Indianapolis.
http://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry ... ertxt=206M