Best PBY Catalina books
 

What are the best books that preferably concentrate on development and tech stuff, not service chronologies.

Re: Best PBY Catalina books
 

Hi Jukka,

Do you mean books other than the Scale & Detail and the Squadron Signal type technical development works?

Not sure there's that much in the way which separates techie stuff from squadron history.
- Andrew Hendrie's "Flying Cats", has Chapter 1 titles "The Machine" on the pre-service development, and the other 19 chapters are a mixture of new version introduction and service histories.
- Roscoe Creed's "PBY, The Catalina Flying Boat" has chapters 1-5 (pp 4-63) on pre-war military and commercial development. Chapters 6-18 covers service history and post-war.
- William Wagner's "Reuben Fleet and the Story of Consolidated Aircraft" does a creditable coverage of the flying boats preceding the PBY, and also the decision making leading to and the development of the PBY prototype. It is interspersed in with the general history of Consolidated - and also covers the Liberator and the Coronado along the way. (Surprisingly good, but not PBY specific.)

If you had to buy only one book with best coverage of technical development - then perhaps Roscoe Creed's book would be my preference (but then I like techie plus history), with Wagner's as a close second.

...geoff

Re: Best PBY Catalina books
 

I have read the old Catalina in action by William Scarborough. I wonder how good is the nee revised version by David Doyle?

Which of those books have information on its handling characteristics? And on how good "seaboat" it was?

Re: Best PBY Catalina books
 

I don't have any "new" SSP volume on the PBY, so can't comment on new-v-old book comparisons.

Having a quick look at Roscoe Creed's book on the PBY, there is a reasonable amount of Chp.3 (PBY Design & Development) on the flight and water tests of the original prototye XP3Y-1. There is additional writing in Chp.4 (Navy PBYs in the Pre-War Years) on USN service testing in the air and on the water, including a short discussion on the original beaching gear and the desirabiity of amphibious operating gear.

...geoff

Re: Best PBY Catalina books
 

Well, there's:
PBY Catalina Flying Boat Pilot's Flight Operating Manual


https://www.amazon.com/Catalina-Flyi...+catalina+book



Usual disclaimer,
Ed

Re: Best PBY Catalina books
 

Terve!

http://www.seawings.co.uk/

has following downloadable manuals (pdf) in FLYING BOAT MANUALS GALLERY:

Consolidated Catalina Pilots Notes - Mks. I, Ia, II, IV, IVa, IVb,& V
Consolidated Catalina PBY-6A Pilots Handbook
Catalina PBY-5 and PBY-5A Handbook of Erection and Maintenance
Consolidated Catalina PBY 5 - PBY-5A - PBY-6A & OA-10 Handbook of Structural Repair

Cheers,
Kari

Re: Best PBY Catalina books
 

Thanks Kari!