(Photo courtesy of the USAF Museum)

Seldom publicized except as a sub hunter the famed Catalina flying boat was capable of doing a lot more than just dropping depth charges… When naming Army Air Force planes of WWII one automatically recalls "Mustang" and "Thunderbolt" fighters, "Flying Fortress" and "Liberator" heavy bombers, or "Mitchell" or "Marauder" mediums but what about "Catalinas"? Navy planes you say. Yes, but Army Air Forces too. They were part of a little known and seldom remembered AAF component - the Emergency Rescue Squadrons. They served with distinction saving lives in the Pacific and out of England also. These Vickers OA-10A Catalinas, Canadian built versions of the Consolidated PBY-5A, were not just there they were in the heart of the action. Throughout operations it was the wonderful Catalinas of the Army Air Force that did the yeomen work. Attached to the 5^th Air Force, the cats of the 3^rd and 6^th ERS’s did just as much. There were also four other Emergency Rescue Squadrons – the 4^th stationed at Iwo Jima to serve the 20^th Air Force, and the 5^th serving with the 8^th Air Force in England.

The 1st ERS in the Mediterranean and the 7th ERS that operated in the CBI (China-Burma-India) theatre. Fighter and bomber crews were plucked from the endless waters of the South Pacific, from atolls and from island beaches and returned safely to their units. In all, during the war, the Army Cats saved the lives of almost one thousand men. Yet amazingly, not one of these magnificent squadrons is listed in the official book of the USAAF combat squadrons! They have really been forgotten – except by those men who owe their lives to the Army Cats and their crews. Known as the “Snafu Snatchers” this squadron was the first AAF unit of its kind in the Pacific. In July 1944, it was assigned to the 5^th AF from which it was assigned to the 13^th Air Force in September 1944. Using their OA-10A’s the 2^nd Emergency  retrieved close to 700 airmen from death or capture during its tenure in the Pacific. See their plaque at the U.S. Air Force Museum!

 HISTORY - The prototype Catalina first flew on March 28, 1935. It was produced by Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in both seaplane and amphibious versions. Catalinas were also produced by Canadian Vickers, LTD. and the Naval Aircraft Factory. Eventually nearly 2,500 Catalina derivatives were built for the Navy. Approximately 380 were transferred to the AAF as OA-10s, OA-10A's, and OA-10B's or in some cases, with their original Navy designations. Catalinas also were flown by a number of allied nations during and after WWII.

From its introduction to U.S. Naval service in 1936, through its continued international military use into the 1970's, to the recent retirement of the last civilian fire-bomber, the Consolidated PBY Catalina has served a distinguished career as one of the most rugged and versatile aircraft in U.S. history. It was created in response to the U.S. Navy's 1933 request for a prototype to replace the Consolidated P2Y and the Martin P3M with a new patrol-bomber flying boat with extended range and greater load capacity.
The Catalina was created under the guidance of the brilliant aero-engineer Isaac Macklin Laddon. The new design introduced internal wing bracing, which greatly reduced the need for drag-producing struts and bracing wires. A significant improvement over its predecessors, it had a range of 2,545 miles, and a maximum take-off weight of 35,420 lbs. In 1939 the Navy considered discontinuing its use in favor of proposed replacements. The Catalina remained in production, however, because of massive orders placed by Britain, Canada, Australia, France, and the Netherlands. These countries desperately needed reliable patrol planes in their eleventh-hour preparations for WW II. Far from replacing the PBY, the Navy placed its largest single order since WW I for an aircraft. Over the years, numerous improvements were made to the design. An amphibious version, the PBY-5A, was developed in 1939,

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