These included the B-17 Flying Fortress, P-47 Thunderbolt, B-29 Superfortress and Corsair. While hardly obscure, we’ve chosen a collection of 10 aeroplanes that are suitable for the more discerning connoisseur of aviation during the war:
The United States created many famous and formidable warplanes in the second world war.
10: Consolidated PBY Catalina
First flying in 1935 the Consolidated PBY was a flying boat designed for the US Navy to patrol the Pacific in the face of rising Japanese power. To minimise drag and keep it clear of spray the wing was mounted above the fuselage on a pylon. For improved aerodynamic efficiency the wing-tip floats were retractable.
Built for endurance, the PBY was neither fast, nor especially glamourous, it did though have an impressive range of over 2000 nautical miles allowing the crew of eight to cover a vast area in a single sortie. It could also carry up to 4,000lb of bombs, depth charges, or torpedoes.
The PBY first saw combat with the RAF, who named it Catalina, where aside from hunting U-Boats, it would also locate the battleship Bismarck on 26 May 1941, allowing the Royal Navy to destroy it before it could reach Brest in France.
In US service, a Catalina would score the US Navy’s first air-to-air kill of the war, shooting down a Zero over the Philippines. At the important Battle of Midway, Catalinas would locate the approaching Japanese fleet, and conduct the only successful torpedo attack of the Battle, sinking an oil tanker. Meanwhile, black-painted aircraft would engage in night bombing and strafing attacks throughout the Pacific Theatre.
