While it may have been the U.S. Army Air Force B-17 and B-24 bombers that received all the glory during the Second World War, it was aircraft such as the Consolidated PBY Catalina that played a major role in the war effort. Developed in the 1930s, the prototype Catalina first flew in 1935. The aircraft served with every branch of the United States military during the war.
Designated “PBY”—PB for “Patrol Bomber” while the Y was the code assigned to Consolidated—by the U.S. Navy, the twin-engine, parasol-mounted monoplane was equipped with a flying boat hull as well as retractable tricycle landing gear and retractable wing-tip floats. Originally designed as a patrol bomber thanks to its long operational range, it was intended to locate and attack enemy transport ships at sea.
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