Catalina at a once secret RAAF base - now preserved

[Liberator]

Down in northern Victoria at a former secret WW2 RAAF seaplane base at Lake Boga, is a partially restored WW2 era Catalina flying boat.

The museum building is a recent addition, as the plane sat outside for many many years but via community hard work, a roof was built over it and now is attracting up to 15,000 visitors a year.

The aircraft will remain for the moment unrestored inside.
Many RAAF WW2 exhibits line the walls of the museum building and a communication bunker underneath nearby house more displays.

It is well worth the trip to see such a well designed museum honouring the Catalina, Mariner and Sunderland crews who flew from the Lake during WW2.

A new webpage is in the making i have been told by the President of the operation to help attract more visitors.

Here is a photo from my recent trip - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... t=1&ref=nf

A review of the museum will be seen in a future edition of the Australian Pilot magazine.

[SaxMan]

Wow...a genuine PBY-5 seaplane, not the 5A Amphibian. How many "straight" 5s are still out there? Can't be that many,

[David Legg]

Wow...a genuine PBY-5 seaplane, not the 5A Amphibian. How many "straight" 5s are still out there? Can't be that many,

Widening the query slightly so that it covers all flying boat variants (not just PBY-5s) as opposed to amphibians...

Complete airframes:

VH-ASA - PB2B-2 Catalina at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
BuAer08317 - PBY-5 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida, USA
A24-30 - 'PBY-5 Catalina' actually a composite of a number of aircraft at Lake Boga, N Victoria, Australia

Partially complete airtframes:

A24-46 - PBY-5 stored away from public view at Whaleworld, Albany, Western Australia
VA718 - Catalina II wrecked but partially complete at Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean
FP216 - PBY-5B sectioned hull on display below BuAer08317 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida, USA

Back in the 1990s, the hull of RAAF A24-19 was at Wallan, Victoria, Australia but I believe it was damaged by winds. Can any reader provide an up-to-date status report?

[Ozter]

There was nothing secret about the Lake Boga operation. It was considered a safe and secure place to service the RAAF's flying boats, and without tides and all the problems that come with coastal operations, Lake Boga made a lot of sense. What makes you think it was ever secret, I would love to know.

[PinecastleAAF]

What makes you think it was ever secret, I would love to know.

Maybe that's a secret too. I wish that flying chicken was still secret.

[baldrick]

There was nothing secret about the Lake Boga operation. It was considered a safe and secure place to service the RAAF's flying boats, and without tides and all the problems that come with coastal operations, Lake Boga made a lot of sense. What makes you think it was ever secret, I would love to know.

I`ve always heard it described as a "secret repair facility". When I was down there with the HARS team fitting the blisters and painting the Cat, all the locals said it was top secret during the war.
http://www.murrayriver.com.au/lake-boga ... useum-980/
http://regimental-books.com.au/lake-bog ... -1413.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Boga,_Victoria
Simmo

[Ozter]

I`ve always heard it described as a "secret repair facility". When I was down there with the HARS team fitting the blisters and painting the Cat, all the locals said it was top secret during the war.
Simmo[/quote]

I think the intention to make it secret is correct, but plenty of evidence that it was anything but secret. The movement of large, water-based aircraft heading a long way inland would indicate something surely, to anyone at the time who was the slightest bit interested. From what I have read, the locals valued the presence of the RAAF facility and the income it generated in the local economy, but Catalinas and Dorniers flying low, down the main street of the township would hardly make for a "secret repair facility", especially as it's 300km from the nearest coast.

[BAJ]

I`ve always heard it described as a "secret repair facility". When I was down there with the HARS team fitting the blisters and painting the Cat, all the locals said it was top secret during the war.
Simmo

I think the intention to make it secret is correct, but plenty of evidence that it was anything but secret. The movement of large, water-based aircraft heading a long way inland would indicate something surely, to anyone at the time who was the slightest bit interested. From what I have read, the locals valued the presence of the RAAF facility and the income it generated in the local economy, but Catalinas and Dorniers flying low, down the main street of the township would hardly make for a "secret repair facility", especially as it's 300km from the nearest coast.[/quote]

I guess its a matter of degrees. Perhaps you are a purest and "secret" means big hanger doors opening up to reveal a hidden hangar like in Thunderbirds or James Bond.

Not so. Lake Boga was officially classified as SECRET until the later stages of WW11.

It was never acknowledged officially or allowed to be discussed in the media.

Its site was selected for its isolation to the broader population of Australia, and its distance from the ocean to negate any potential carrier based aircraft attack.

Here are some photos to the joint HARS and Lake Boga Museum painting the aircraft and re-installing the blisters on the Cat late last year.

http://s1247.photobucket.com/albums/gg634/baj10/Lake%20Boga%20Painting/

[Liberator]

Recalling my WW2 knowledge, there wasnt any other "secret" RAAF base in Australia bar Truscott, so this shows how important the Catalina base at lake Boga really was.... up there on the priority list......

This is why the HARS Catalina and the CFML Catalina need to be flown, so they can educate people about the RAAF war role at places such as Rathmines and lake Boga.

[JDK]

The aircraft will remain for the moment unrestored inside.

What is your source for your statement that the aircraft is 'unrestored'? Certainly it will continue to receive care and no doubt further items will be added, but the aircraft has been restored, and is in good condition, - from my visit to the museum and talking to the staff. It's not a matter of semantics as what was 'restored' was a collection of parts to make a complete aircraft, not an extant Catalina needing refurbishment, as per David's listing:

A24-30 - 'PBY-5 Catalina' actually a composite of a number of aircraft at Lake Boga, N Victoria, Australia

Regarding David's query:

Back in the 1990s, the hull of RAAF A24-19 was at Wallan, Victoria, Australia but I believe it was damaged by winds. Can any reader provide an up-to-date status report?

I don't have any info on that, Mark Pilkington probably has, but I'll ask around as well.

Regards,

[Mark_Pilkington]

Wow...a genuine PBY-5 seaplane, not the 5A Amphibian. How many "straight" 5s are still out there? Can't be that many,

Widening the query slightly so that it covers all flying boat variants (not just PBY-5s) as opposed to amphibians...

Complete airframes:

VH-ASA - PB2B-2 Catalina at the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney, NSW, Australia
BuAer08317 - PBY-5 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida, USA
A24-30 - 'PBY-5 Catalina' actually a composite of a number of aircraft at Lake Boga, N Victoria, Australia

Partially complete airtframes:

A24-46 - PBY-5 stored away from public view at Whaleworld, Albany, Western Australia
VA718 - Catalina II wrecked but partially complete at Diego Garcia, Indian Ocean
FP216 - PBY-5B sectioned hull on display below BuAer08317 at the National Museum of Naval Aviation, Pensacola, Florida, USA

Back in the 1990s, the hull of RAAF A24-19 was at Wallan, Victoria, Australia but I believe it was damaged by winds. Can any reader provide an up-to-date status report?

Two PBY-5A's survive converted back to pure Flying Boat configurations.

A24-88 is one of 46 PBY-5A's received for service by the RAAF, and is one of 29 (more than 1/2 of those received) modified back to pure flying boat configuration by the RAAF (at Lake Boga) in a field modification to increase its payload and range for service as a "Black Cat" and replace older PBY-5 aircraft.

It is the sole surviving combat veteran Black Cat in the world, having served operationally with RAAF 42 Sqn in 1944/45 and participated in the mining of Manila Harbour to support General MacArthurs landings, it is now in the collection of the Australian National Aviation Museum at Moorabbin for eventual restoration in its wartime "Flying Boat" configuration.
(It is however also the only survivor from the 49 PBY-5A's that served with the RAAF)

http://www.aarg.com.au/Catalina.htm


VH-SBV is a former USAAF Amphibian OA-10A, serial 44-34081, operated in New Guinea as a post war airliner with TAA, and eventually modified back to pure flying boat configuration as its PNG operations were all water based and the increased payload and range were again important benefits, it is now in the collection of the RNZAF museum, being restored as an RNZAF PBY-5.



Not really a flying boat anymore, but the worlds only surviving PBY-4 (Former A29-29) still exists in the form of a hull of a houseboat on the Murray River named Paddle Cat, unfortunately only the hull survives with the fuselage superstructure cut to the water line and replaced with slab sided aluminium house boat structure.


I saw A24-19 up close when it was found sitting in a paddock sitting further north in the Nurmurkah area, and it was a complete hull but with much of the superstructure cut down other than bulkhead positions, I also later saw it from a distance at the Wallan site.

I also heard this was damaged by wind and disappeared after that, - but I do suspect John Bell of Whaleworld acquired it and consumed it into the composite reconstruction of A28-46 - as that airframe was only a nose section and rear fuselage when I saw them stored at the Warbirds of Mildura museum, and many other bits came from the leftovers of the Lake Boga project.

Regards

Mark Pilkington

[BAJ]

The aircraft will remain for the moment unrestored inside.

What is your source for your statement that the aircraft is 'unrestored'? Certainly it will continue to receive care and no doubt further items will be added, but the aircraft has been restored, and is in good condition, - from my visit to the museum and talking to the staff. It's not a matter of semantics as what was 'restored' was a collection of parts to make a complete aircraft, not an extant Catalina needing refurbishment, as per David's listing:

A24-30 - 'PBY-5 Catalina' actually a composite of a number of aircraft at Lake Boga, N Victoria, Australia

Regarding David's query:

Back in the 1990s, the hull of RAAF A24-19 was at Wallan, Victoria, Australia but I believe it was damaged by winds. Can any reader provide an up-to-date status report?

I don't have any info on that, Mark Pilkington probably has, but I'll ask around as well.

Regards,

James again....like my post for Ozter its a matter of degrees. The Lake Boga cat is UNRESTORED inside. That was the statement by Liberator and it is 100% correct. He didn't claim anything else.

Externally the museum has done a wonderful job but their priority was to get the Cat under cover and externally finished.

Internal restoration is a future priority as able.

[cwmc]

Thanks for the thread and the picture, Liberator. Neat airplane and one you don't often see without the amphib retractable gear, so without nit-picking, I say thanks!
Chris...

[JDK]

And the word for today would be 'ambivalent'.

The aircraft will remain for the moment unrestored inside.

Was what was actually said, and can be read (as I did) that now it's inside it'll remain unrestored, as well as what was intended (but not clear).

Having had a look at the interior, I'd also suggest that unless it has corrosion or damage (neither being particularly evident; but I'm not claiming special knowledge there) a better description would be that it was to be 'refurbished' or 'fitted out'.

Does it matter? Like 'secret' - precision can be used to communicate a specific meaning, for the reader as well as the writer, so I'd say yes.

Regards,

[CDF]

"Lake Boga; This is a PBY-5 of sorts. This plane is Patrol Wing TEN's former #46 - a hybrid put together during the last days on Java from the good wing and engines of the Wing's #12 - (PBY-5 BuNo. 2305, ex-22-P-12) and the still intact hull of the discarded as irreparable Dutch Y 72. This assembly was made by mechanics of the Wing, possibly with some Dutch assistance and flown out to Australia. It remained serviceable and was later transferred to the RAAF for overhaul and further service, and reserialed A24-30."

http://www.catalina.demon.nl/pby/survivors_other.htm
via
http://www.oldcmp.net/lake_boga.html