I think I know the answer to this one but you’ll have to bear with me!! First, despite the caption written on the prints, I think the original negs have been printed back to front. If you increase the size of the pictures to say 400% then use something like Microsoft Office Picture Manager and use the ‘Flip Horizintally’ option, this alters the image so that the Catalina is pointing the other way. I then suggest that what can be seen on the fin and rudder is not a USAAF serial but the Philippine registration PI-C224 which is a known PBY registration although, unfortunately, its previous identities and contstruction number are not known (to me at any rate). This theory matches the captions on the photos inasmuch as PI-C224 was operated by Insular Airways and seized by the Dutch authorities whilst being operated on behalf of the Republicans during the Indonesian Independence crisis – gun running in other words. It was impressed by the Dutch MLD at Tandjok Priok although did not fly operationally with them. I heard it was turned into some sort of ‘office’ or similar.

One possible reason for it being on beaching gear is undercarriage retraction testing. We do this with our Duxford based Cat’ in tha hangar each winter.

Mark – I agree that you were not suggesting that the two Catalinas were one and the same aircraft. I was merely adding a tad more detail about N5593V which had most certainly been a Croydon resident in 1959, pre-closure. So, it seems as if, from your recall, G-APZA must have gone to Croydon although the 1959 date does not seem to tally. Fascinating stuff.

Well the Catalina in the above web link (N5593V) is not G-APZA but N5593V was a Croydon resident for a time and is the one now well known for being abandoned in Saudi Arabia after being shot up by horsemen whilst part-way through a world tour. It is still there! During the time it was in Europe it was used in the filming of The Guns of Navarone and it sustained some bow damage which was patched up in the UK. It was one of the last, but not the last, aircraft out of Croydon before closure on 30th September when it departed for Gatwick. But, as I say, this was not G-APZA but it was parked at Croydon in such a way that it was widely photographed. I would love to know if G-APZA really was at Croydon – what I do know (from its FAA file when it was N94574) is that it flew from New Guinea to Holland in September 1959, was not registered as G-APZA until 14/1/1960 and did not get delivered to Southend (from Rotterdam) until 17/2/1960.

I do not have any firm info but it is owned by Christy Keane who has a number of other historic aircraft on site at Weston and whose intention is I believe to establish a museum there. I doubt that ‘PS will fly again and I think it is to be restored to static condition although I am not aware of much progress to date. Would welcome an update from anyone local to Weston. I think the Cat could be made airworthy again but money would be the obvious and usual issue!

The one at Lee is PBY-5A N423RS, at one time operated by Greepeace. As the earlier poster correctly points out, the former Plane Sailing ‘Super Cat’ moved to Eire (Weston) some time ago and was registered in Bermuda, not Australia, as VR-BPS and then later as VP-BPS.

The monthly Air Classics, published by Challenge Publications, has a sister title called Warbirds International which is published ten times a year and concentrates mainly on the contemporary warbirds scene with many colour air-to-airs. I think that the two other magazines mentioned in an earlier post (Wings and Airpower) have actually ceased publication and I’m pretty sure that the back issue stock was taken up by Challenge.

I’d not seen this old post before but was interested in the comment some way back that HG had flown Catalina G-APZA into Croydon. A number of Catalinas visited Croydon in the 1950s (four to my knowledge) but I was not aware that ‘ZA was one of them. I had thought that G-APZA was delivered into Southend ex-Rotterdam and never flew again. Was HG involved in that flight perhaps and reference to Croydon is an error? If Croydon is correct, I should be really interested to hear more.

Some years ago, I talked to Anthony Hutton of the The Squadron and he mentioned that at some point there was a plan to use the orange PBY-6A that spent some years at North Weald (before departing en route to Israel) in some sort of TV travel programme in which Hughie Green was to be involved. It came to naught.

Additional info – N101CS was a New Orleans built PBY-6A, originally BuAer64071 then NC48129/N6475C/N48129 and N101CS. The accident occurred on the River Tagus , Lisbon. The thoughts at the time were that the Catalina had hit a submerged sand bar causing the catastrophic nose over that killed Phillipe Cousteau. Some spare parts were acquired by Avalon Aviation and flown to Norway via Southend aboard their own PBY-6A C-FHNH, later to become a well-known UK resident at various locations before departing to Israel a few years ago, a flight that only got as far as Beauvais. It recently left there on a truck and was last reported at Antwerp docks although may have moved on by now. Other parts of N101CS (an engine?) were reported at the Alverca museum – confirmation welcomed.