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B1495 Aircraft, flying boat, Catalina, PB2B-2, 'Frigate Bird II', VH-ASA, metal / fabric / glass / bakelite, made by Boeing Aircraft of Canada Limited, Vancouver, Canada, 1944, flown on pioneering flight Australia-Chile, by P G Taylor, 1951. Click to enlarge.

Catalina flying boat 'Frigate Bird II'

By 1951 the final ocean to be traversed for air travel was the South Pacific between Australia and South America. In this aircraft, famous Australian pilot P.G. Taylor pioneered an air route by island hopping across the Pacific from Sydney to Valparaiso. The Catalina flying boat, with its ability to land and take off in calm water, and its great endurance over long distances, was the ideal aircraft to accomplish the final aviation link around the world.

The PBY Catalina was the most …

Summary

Object No.

B1495

Object Statement

Aircraft, flying boat, Catalina, PB2B-2, 'Frigate Bird II', VH-ASA, metal / fabric / glass / bakelite, made by Boeing Aircraft of Canada Limited, Vancouver, Canada, 1944, flown on pioneering flight Australia-Chile, by P G Taylor, 1951

Physical Description

Aircraft, flying boat, Catalina, PB2B-2, 'Frigate Bird II', VH-ASA, metal / fabric / glass / bakelite, made by Boeing Aircraft of Canada Limited, Vancouver, Canada, 1944, flown on pioneering flight Australia-Chile, by P G Taylor, 1951

The Catalina is a twin-engined high-winged monoplane flying boat with retractable wing tip floats. It features an almost cantilevered wing mounted above a shallow but broad hull on a central pylon housing the flight engineer. The wing has a rectangular centre section and tapered outer panels, all of stressed-skin all-metal construction, though the ailerons and trailing edges are fabric-skinned. A unique feature is the wing-tip floats, which are mounted on pivoted frames that can be retracted electrically so that in flight the floats form the wingtips. The hull is also all-metal, with a broad semicircular upper surface.

The bow has a mooring compartment and transparent sighting window, with a roller blind giving seawater protection. A turret all-round window is fitted in the upper bow. The two pilots sit side-by-side in a wide cockpit with large windows all round. Left and right gunner stations have blister windows on the waist of the hull behind the wing. The tail is of a tall design, with the horizontal tail mounted well up the single fin. The power plant comprises a pair of two-row Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp engines neatly cowled on the centre section with cooling gills. The engines drive Hamilton variable-pitch propellers.

The interior of the aircraft, including cockpit instruments, is incomplete, having been stripped from the aircraft years before it was given to the Museum. Remaining items were removed and stored to allow for restoration and exhibition.

Specifications

Maker: Boeing Aircraft of Canada Limited, Vancouver, Canada, under licence from Consolidated Aircraft (later Convair) of San Diego, California, USA.
Date of manufacture: 1944
Type: PB2B-2
Airframe identification No.: A21-61
Contract No.: A(S) 782
Drawing No.: 28B6000-4
Manufacturer's serial No.: A21-61
Constructor's number: 61154
US Navy Serial No.: 44248
British Serial No.: JX 630
RAAF Serial No.: A24-385
Civil Registration: VH-ASA
Wingspan: 31.7 m (104 feet)
Length: 19.5 m (64 feet)
Height: 5.5 m (18 feet)
Weight: 8.52 tonnes (8.39 tons) empty
Engines: Two Pratt and Whitney Twin Wasp Type R1830-92 radial air-cooled
Cylinders: 14 radial, twin row
Power: 895 kW (1200 horsepower)
Maximum speed: 314 km/h (170 knots)
Range: 23 hours (32 with auxiliary tanks)

Marks

National flags of Chile and Australia on either side of the bow. Registration letters 'VH-ASA' on either side of the vertical stabiliser below the horizontal stabiliser. National flag of Australia on either side of the vertical stabiliser above horizontal stabiliser. Registration letters 'VH-ASA' on starboard and port outer wing panels. Dzus fastener alignment marks.

Dimensions

Height

6400 mm

Width

31700 mm

Weight

6300 kg

Source

Credit Line

Gift of Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor GC MC, 1962

Acquisition Date

20 June 1962

Cite this Object

Harvard

Catalina flying boat 'Frigate Bird II' 2023, Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, accessed 29 March 2023, <https://ma.as/207900>

Wikipedia

{{cite web |url=https://ma.as/207900 |title=Catalina flying boat 'Frigate Bird II' |author=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences |access-date=29 March 2023 |publisher=Museum of Applied Arts & Sciences, Australia}}