High speed, floats retracted, and almost leaving the water on take-off from the Hoornsche Hop off Hoorn, on one of several pleasure flights. Photo taken from a RIB (rigid-inflatable boat). Unfortunately this magnificent aircraft was sold to the Collins Foundation on 11 Oct 2018. It left Dutch waters forever on delivery to the USA on 29 May 2019.

Ex RAAF A24-378. Bought by Qantas for use on services to Lord Howe Island, Noumea and Suva. Sunk by a bomb placed in the cockpit while -EAW moored in Rose Bay August 27, 1949. Rival flying boat operator charged but acquitted. Crime remains unsolved. Photo from: Hudson Fysh Collection/State Library of New South Wales

Stored at Nanaimo since the mid 1990s. Acquired by the Evergreen Aviation Museum on 31 July 2010 and restored to flying condition. Became N249SB and flown to McMinnville, OR on delivery to the museum on 6 August 2011. Placed on display by July 2012 in fictitious US Navy markings as BuNo 04982, even though it never flew with the US Navy. It is in fact ex RCAF 9815.

Flying over East Java during the Dutch attempts to regain control. Following the Japanese conquest of the Netherlands East Indies, surviving and newly delivered Dutch Catalinas equipped No 321 (Dutch) Sqn, RAF, in Ceylon (Sri Lanka). This amphibious PBY-5A, original serial Y-75, entered service on 9 September 1942, but hit a rock on arrival at RAF China Bay and sank. It was salvaged and repaired as a transport aircraft. It served until 1952 when it was broken up at Biak, Netherlands New Guinea. Photo from: Nationaal Archief (Netherlands)

Hamilton Reach was Brisbane's water airport until replaced by one at Redland Bay that could better handle Sandringhams. Barrier Reef Airways base was on the southern side of the Brisbane River at Colmsie. VH-BRA was withdrawn from use at Colmsie in Oct 1951 and scrapped a few years later. Photo from: State Library of Queensland

Operated by Great Lakes Paper Company from 1967 to 1973.

At the Avalon Airshow 2013, Day Five

NC777 on its second visit to Rose Bay (the first was in November 1938). Qantas installed extra fuel tanks so the aircraft, owned by Dr Richard Archbold, could be used to survey an Indian Ocean air route for the Australian government. In June it island hopped from Port Hedland to Mombasa in Kenya. Guba returned to the US where it was sold to the British Puchasing Commission for use by BOAC. Sunk at its moorings at Pwellheli, Wales, in 1945. The hangar in the photo was for Qantas and completed in October 1939. Demolished after flying boat operations ended at Rose Bay in the 1970s.

A24-88 became a survivor after it was converted to a house boat on the Murray River.

NC777 was a pre-war civil version the military Catalina. This was the second Consolidated Model 28 to be registered NC777 and called Guba. The first went to the Soviet Union to search for a missing aviator and stayed. Zoologist Dr Richard Archbold took another aircraft. This Guba was used to explore what was then Dutch New Guinea, now the Indonesian province of Papua. NC777 surveyed an Indian Ocean crossing under contract to the Australian government. Later sold to the UK government and became G-AGBJ with BOAC.

Built for US Navy as 48406. Operated as N5590V 1956-1986. Exhibited in the museum since that date wearing USN colours.

Built for the USN as a PBV-1A and transferred to the USAAF as an OA-10A. After World War II sold to Cathay Pacific as VR-HDH. Transferred to subsidiary Macau Air Transport. TAA bought it as a replacement for VH-WWC which had sunk. Undercarriage removed to increase payload. Withdrawn from use in January 1966. Patair bought -SBV for its engines. Plans to preserve the airframe in Papua New Guinea did not eventuate and it was shipped to the Museum of Transport & Technology in New Zealand. TAA photo.

VH-WWC was operated by World Wide Air Services in Papua New Guinea on behalf of Australasian Petroleum for oil exploration. In 1961 it was sold to Trans Australia Airlines for use on airline services . It struck a submerged object and sank at Daru on April 26, 1962. The seaplane base at Port Moresby operated from 1939 to 1966. In 1967 it became a patrol boat base, for the Australian Navy and today the Papua New Guinea Defence Force. Photo from Trans Australia Airlines.

Built for US Navy as PBY-5A Catalina BuAer 46590. Made a promotional tour of Australia in 1981 painted as "A24-387". Deteriorated at Harlingen and later used for spares recovery and scrapped.

Ex BuAer 33968 and N5582V. Taken during the early stages of a protracted overhaul. Aircraft is now at Whidbey Island NAS WA.

The Catalina hiding behind Piper PA-22 N7124D is N84857 ex BuNo 33968. While taxiing for take-off at Lewistown, MT on 9 May 1985, this aircraft's brakes failed. It ended up in a gully, its nose section completely crushed. The aircraft remained stored at Lewiston until it was repaired in the 1990s (see here) using the nose section of RCAF 11029 c/n CV-311. In Sep 2000 the Catalina was dismantled and trucked to here for further restoration, and by Sep 2005 it had been reassembled as seen in this photo. On 25 June 2010 a Boeing Vertol 234 helicopter airlifted it to NAS Whidbey Island, Oak Harbor, WA for static display. Sorry for the obtrusive fence!

Carrying display reg JV928. Owned at that time by Plane Sailing and seen here at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.