General info for Catalina Mk IIIa

• Country Britain
• Vehicle role Frontline Bomber / Flying Boat / Medium Bomber / Torpedo-Bomber
• Rank 1

• Battle rating in
  • arcade battles 2
  • realistic battles 1.7
  • simulator battles 2

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Wiki info about Catalina Mk IIIa

Official War Thunder wiki

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was a twin engine, multi-role flying boat which was employed primarily as a maritime patrol aircraft. A development of Consolidated’s P2Y flying boat, the aircraft adopted the same parasol wing but in a far more streamlined design with less struts and bracing wires and retractable stabilizing floats. The prototype XP3Y-1 first flew on March 28th 1935 before carrying out a highly successful series of service trials with the US Navy. Impressed by its long range, the US Navy requested that Consolidated Aircraft make further modifications to increase the aircraft’s offensive capability. The original 825 hp engines were increased to 900 hp Pratt and Whitney R-1830-64 engines and the vertical fin was modified. The improved aircraft, now designated the X-PBY-1, broke records by carrying out the furthest nonstop distance flight of 3443 miles. The PBY entered service with the US Navy in October 1936. By the time Britain’s Royal Air Force had shown a serious interest in the aircraft, it had gone further improvements, not least of which was the installation of two 1000 hp Twin Wasp engines. The British Air Ministry purchased a single aircraft for evaluation purposes in 1939, and ordered 50 shortly afterwards under the designation of Catalina I – a name which would later be adopted by the US Navy also. British and Commonwealth Catalinas differed from their American counterparts mainly by the replacement of American weapons with British ones. The Catalina I entered service with Nos.209 and 240 Squadrons of RAF Coastal Command in 1941. A popular and capable aircraft, orders were also secured for Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. In the hands of Coastal Command crews, the Catalina proved to be an effective and much feared U-boat killer. The Catalina Mk.IVa was the British designation for the PBY-5 variant; powered by two 1200 hp Twin Wasps, this aircraft was capable of reaching speeds of up to 179 mph at 7000 feet and had a range of over 2500 miles. Armed with defensive machine guns in four positions, the Catalina Mk.IV’s main offensive capability lay with its 4000 lbs of bombs or depth charges. One of the most famous and effective maritime patrol aircraft of the entire war, the true testament to the Catalina lies in the fact that many are still in service with civilian agencies across the globe to this day.