Consolidated PBY Catalina in New Zealand service
It was armed with four machine guns, two of which were carried in the forward turret, and one each in starboard and port gunner positions in the rear portion of the fuselage.
[1][2] The engines of the Catalina were very reliable but the aircraft itself was not particularly fast nor maneuverable and its main fuel tank, mounted in the wing, was vulnerable to enemy gunfire.
[3] Following the entry of the Empire of Japan into the Second World War in December 1941, and its rapid advance through the Pacific during the first half of the following year, there were major fears that New Zealand would be invaded.
Unable to source new aircraft as the British and Americans prioritised their own needs for the time being, the RNZAF's initial focus was therefore defensive arrangements.
Towards the end of 1942, the invasion risk had receded and the RNZAF developed plans to field up to twenty squadrons, many intended for offensive operations.
For this, the RNZAF was reliant on the United States to update its obsolete inventory as British aircraft output was heavily stretched with its commitments to Europe and North Africa.
5 Squadron had been based at Suva in Fiji since November 1941, operating antiquated Short Singapore flying boats on anti-submarine patrols.
[8] By August 1942, it had been reduced to a flight, operating a pair of Singapores from the newly established RNZAF station at Laucala Bay.
Some personnel were sent to the United States Navy facilities at Segond Channel, at Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides, where they began to familiarise themselves with the Catalinas that equipped the American squadrons there.
By the time the last of initial batch of 22 aircraft had been delivered, the plans to raise the second flying boat squadron were put on hold as the remaining Catalinas would not be provided until mid-1944.
[Note 2] For delivery of the subsequent aircraft, RNZAF personnel were flown to San Diego, from where they would fly their Catalina to Honolulu, then proceed onto Palmyra Atoll and Canton Island before going onto Laucala.
6 (Flying Boat) Squadron was officially formed; it was led by Wing Commander G. Stead, a New Zealander on loan from the RAF.
[16] The first loss of a RNZAF Catalina was on 5 June, when an aircraft flying to New Zealand crashed into the sea about 50 miles (80 km) from Laucala Bay.
[17] By this time, the threat posed by Japanese surface warships in the South Pacific had largely receded so patrols focused more on submarine detection which were deemed to be the more realistic risk to Fiji.
Its last Dumbo operation was on 9 August 1945, when a Catalina picked up a fighter pilot of the RNZAF whose Vought F4U Corsair aircraft had been hit by Japanese anti-aircraft fire as it passed over Kerevat, in the northeast of New Britain.
By this time, most of the squadron's surviving complement of PBY-5 Catalinas had been placed in storage at the RNZAF base at Hobsonville in New Zealand, worn out from their service and it was now using the later PB2B-1s.
[23] However one final Dumbo mission was carried out on 19 September, rescuing a RNZAF pilot whose Corsair had ditched on its ferry flight to Espiritu Santo.
[24] The second batch of Catalinas, these being the PB2B-1 type, began to arrive in Fiji from April 1944[25] and soon there were sufficient numbers to raise a second squadron of flying boats at Laucala Bay.
The initial focus was training, but the squadron attended to travel flights for RNZAF personnel and any emergencies deemed necessary for the defence of Fiji.
The aircraft and crew were rotated every two weeks but in January 1945 the detachment was increased to include another five Catalinas, their aircrew, and maintenance personnel.
Some Catalinas were briefly loaned to a civilian operator, Tasman Empire Airways Limited; one was used for training of aircrew in 1947 while another was used in 1950 for surveying a route to Tahiti for the airline's flying boats.
[35] Search and rescue remained a key focus, and the Catalinas were often called upon when canoes and small coastal vessels went missing.
[38] Another Catalina was lost in October 1952 during a training accident south of Suva; a bad landing saw the hull breached and the aircraft sank with all crew and passengers taking to life rafts and rescued.
6 Squadron was reformed at Hobsonville, as part of the Territorial Air Force (TAF), and it was initially equipped with two Catalinas brought out of storage.
[36] It was increasingly apparent that the Catalinas were inadequate to carry out New Zealand's defence treaty obligations to surveil the South West Pacific region, as required under the ANZUS Pact signed in 1951.
