Warbird Information Exchange

A USAAF Consolidated OA-10A Catalina (USAAF designation of the PBY) landing off Keesler Field , Mississippi (today Keesler Air Force Base), during a training exercise with U.S. Marine Corps rescue boat crews in 1944. USAF PHOTO
==========================================================

_________________
Fly Fast Make Noise!

I didn't know that the PBY served with the Air Corps during W.W. II. I had always thought it was a post war duty. Does anyone know if any of these OA-10's served in combat zones during W.W.II while with the USAAF? Were any combat rescues undertaken?

Cool picture, thanks.

The 5th Emergency Rescue Squadron, 8th AF, operarated OA-10A's on combat rescue missions from Halesworth, Suffolk in 1945. The Plane Sailing Cat at Duxford is painted to represent one of these birds (44-33915), which was unable to take off after a rescue mission, and was subsequently straffed by two Me-262's. The crew spent several days adrift before being picked up. Flypast June 2008 did an excellent article on this.

P.S. The story is here. Hope this is of help.

http://www.catalina.org.uk/history-of-44-33915

_________________
If the first casualty of war is innocence, the second is sobriety - Hawkeye.
Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws - Plato.
Lies get halfway round the world before the truth has a chance to get it's pants on - Churchill
If you are going through he11 - keep going - Churchill

Article reads "two Me210s", Then is later corrected to read 2 262s. Didn't know of any 262's doing marine patrol work. That is getting out from base a bit. Hmmmmm, but I see it was the USAAF flyboys deep and close to the Luftwaffe base.

_________________

Aviation Illustration Website
http://shepartstudio.com/illustration/

If you look at the glass memorial panels leading to the American Air Museum at Duxford, 2-3 OA-10s are showing...indicating operational losses out of the UK in WWII.

_________________
Remember the vets, the wonderful planes they flew and their sacrifices for a future many of them did not live to see.

The nmusaf in Dayton also has a OA-10/PBY representing Snafu Snatchers of the same group. This aircraft is displayed with some mods that were made in combat like extra guns

_________________
Chris Henry
EAA Aviation Museum Manager