Here is a link to an interesting site about a PBY squadron that had 742 rescues during the war.

www.pbyrescue.com/

There are many mission reports on the site along with some other interesting info on the aircraft.

It is a ugly plane, but I always liked it.

It's also one of those few planes that was effectively operating from start to finish of the conflict.  

I don't know how it would have fared if the Japanese or Germans had possessed something like the P-38 in adequate numbers for coastal patrol, but the PBY seems to have been effective and useful from start to finish, which is unusual.  


I would like to find out information on PBY encounters with Axis patrol aircraft like the Ju 88 or Fw200.   Would have made for an interesting scrap.  

Probably could have played Woodie Allen music to gun camera footage of that!

If [i]I[/i] were in a JU88, I would attack a PBY, if [i]I[/i] were in an FW200, I would blow by him real fast and wave before giving him something to rescue.

I don't know of any encounters between these aircraft.  Honestly, I know little of their deployment to the ETO.

Hmm, ETO?  

I was thinking that there surely would have been encounters in the North Atlantic by FAA-operated Cats.  My memory seems to think that it was a British-operated Catlina that first spotted the Bismarck after the Hood was sunk.

I am stretching back a few years, but I think Cats might have also located the Altmark   the notorious "HELL SHIP" :)  ...

The only indigenous long range flying boat that I can recall the Brits used was the Sunderland. I think the Cat would have been much more economical to operate, being smaller in all respects.  

Whoops I am wrong about the Altmark-- Think it was a Hudson or a Neptune.  

People don't think of Cats as an offensive weapon other than against subs but......

PBY's were the first aircraft to attack the Jap fleet at Midway.  Actually they attacked the invasion force the night before the big show and actually put a fish into a transport.

Great plane, My father flew one in the war and I had a chance to take a ride in one several years ago.  Great view from those blisters!

PBY pilots will tell you when you ask about their performance......"Take off at 90 knots, cruise at 90 and land at 90".  Easy to remember that!

I agree that the PBY was probably used in the ETO, I just have not seen much about it. It was too good of a plane not to use.

There had to be encounters with German aircraft on similar duties.  Many times when you hear of these from the pilots though, they would simply wave at eachother and keep on going.

I talked with a Mosquito pilot who told me that every day he would fly the same recon route in Europe. Every day he would pass a German recon aircraft heading the other direction. He told me they started flying closer as time when on, and ended up saluting eachother everyday.

I would guess in an aircraft like this you would have similar encounters.

Wow, those are two cool posts.  I be pretty pleased to be a passenger on a PBY, and that's pretty cool that the two pilots both came to the conclusion that they'd rather not set up some sort of ambush for the other.  

Kind of improves my cynical perception of humanity.

I guess there was still honor amoung gentilemen, even during war.  Have heard / read of several cases of incidents like this.