Introduced in 1936, the Catalina would become one of the best known and widely used scout seaplanes of World War II.   Most of the early PBYs went to the US Navy, but explorers with connections to Army or Navy Intelligence would be able to lay their hands on one with a Bureaucracy (Military) +Connections or Rank 4.

While the stats presented here are for the PBY-5A (the most common of the variants), the variations of the engines, etc. would provide little change in performance, but the weaponry would change from model to model.  (Changes made — the Catalina is in the Secrets of the Surface World book.  While I brought the Defense rating in line with that, the other ratings on crew and passengers are more appropriate.)

CONSOLIDATED AIRCRAFT PBY-5A “CATALINA”

Size: 8   Def: 6   Struc: 18   Spd: 195 mph   Rng: 2520 mi   Ceiling: 15,800′   Han: -2   Crew: 8 (3 civilian)   Passenger: 3 (10 civilian)   Cost: $90,000 (new)

Standard Armament:  2 M1919 .30 in forward turret, 2 M2 .50 machineguns in side bubbles, 1 M1919 .30 in aft hatch, 4000 lbs. of bombs, torpedos, etc.  On civilian Catalinas, that gives you 2 tons of storage.

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Standard crew positions:  pilot & co-pilot, bow gunner, flight mechanic, radioman, navigator, and two waist gunners.

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