The Consolidated PBY Catalina, also known as the Canso in Canadian service, was an American flying boat, and later an amphibious aircraft of the 1930s and 1940s produced by Consolidated Aircraft. It was one of the most widely used seaplanes of World War II. Catalinas served with every branch of the United States Armed Forces and in the air forces and navies of many other nations.
Manufacturer: Consolidated Aircraft Type: Maritime patrol aircraft. Introduced: Oct 1936 Maiden flight: 28 Mar 1935 Maximum speed: 315.40 km/h (195.98 mph) Retired: Jan 1957
General characteristics Crew: 10 — pilot, co-pilot, bow turret gunner, flight engineer, radio operator, navigator, radar operator, two waist gunners, ventral gunner Length: 63 ft 10 7/16 in (19.46 m) Wingspan: 104 ft 0 in (31.70 m) Height: 21 ft 1 in (6.15 m) Wing area: 1,400 ft² (130 m²) Empty weight: 20,910 lb (9,485 kg) Max. takeoff weight: 35,420 lb (16,066 kg) Zero-lift drag coefficient: 0.0309 Drag area: 43.26 ft² (4.02 m²) Aspect ratio: 7.73 Powerplant: 2 × Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 Twin Wasp radial engines, 1,200 hp (895 kW) each
Performance Maximum speed: 196 mph (314 km/h) Cruise speed: 125 mph (201 km/h) Range: 2,520 mi (4,030 km) Service ceiling: 15,800 ft (4,000 m) Rate of climb: 1,000 ft/min (5.1 m/s) Wing loading: 25.3 lb/ft² (123.6 kg/m²) Power/mass: 0.034 hp/lb (0.056 kW/kg) Lift-to-drag ratio: 11.9
Armament 3 .30 cal (7.62 mm) machine guns (two in nose turret, one in ventral hatch at tail) 2 .50 cal (12.7 mm) machine guns (one in each waist blister) 4,000 lb (1,814 kg) of bombs or depth charges; torpedo racks were also available
Role: Maritime patrol and search-and-rescue seaplane Manufacturer: Consolidated Aircraft First flight: 28 March 1935 Introduction: October 1936, United States Navy Retired: January 1957 (United States Navy Reserve) 1979 (Brazilian Air Force) Primary users: United States Navy United States Army Air Forces Royal Air Force Royal Canadian Air Force Produced: 1936–1945 Number built: 3,305 (2,661 US-built, 620 Canadian-built, 24 Soviet-built) Unit cost: US$90,000 (as of 1935) Adjusted for inflation: US$1572160 Variants: Bird Innovator
