Catalina Mk IIIa (Great Britain)

▄Catalina Mk IIIa

▄Catalina Mk IIIa

Britain

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.7	2.0

Class:

PREMIUM

Bomber

Hydroplane

Torpedo bomber

Purchase:880

Show in game

This page is about the British flying boat Catalina Mk IIIa (Great Britain). For other uses, see PBY-5 (Family).

Description

The ▄Catalina Mk IIIa is a rank I British flying boat with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/RB) and 2.0 (SB). This aircraft was initially introduced in Update 1.43 as the Catalina Mk IVa, however, it was changed to its current version in Update 1.57 "Battle March".

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 4,420 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
259	249	4420	31.3	31.9	2.6	2.6	364
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at 4,420 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
310	282	4420	28.9	30.0	10.8	5.1	364

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	X	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	450	N/A	~1	~1

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 220	< 220	< 230	> 200

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,886 m	2,100 hp	2,982 hp

Survivability and armour

• 9.5 mm Steel plate in the pilot's seat.
• 4.7 mm and 6.35 mm Steel plates in the
• 6.35 mm Steel plate in the tail in front of ventral gunner.

• No armour glazing
• Critical components located in the front and wings of aircraft (fuel, pilot, engine, controls)

Armaments

Suspended armament

The Catalina Mk IIIa (Great Britain) can be outfitted with the following ordinance"

• 16 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs
• 4 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs
• 4 x 1000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs
• 2 x 2,216 lb Mk.13 torpedoes
• 2 x 2,216 lb Mk.13/44 torpedoes

Defensive armament

The Catalina Mk IIIa (Great Britain) is defended by:

• 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, 2 x beam turret (400 rpg = 800 total)
• 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, tail turret (500 rpg)
• 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, nose turret (1,000 rpg)

Usage in the battles

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable	Not controllable	Controllable	Combined	Not controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator
II		Compressor	Airframe
III	Wings Repair	Engine
IV		Engine Injection	Cover

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good bomb load for its rank
• .50 cal side and rear sponsons
• Can land on water and hard surfaces

Cons:

• Slow

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.

In-game description

The Consolidated PBY Catalina was a twin engine, multi-role flying boat which was employed primarily as a maritime patrol aircraft. A development of Consolidated’s P2Y flying boat, the aircraft adopted the same parasol wing but in a far more streamlined design with less struts and bracing wires and retractable stabilizing floats. The prototype XP3Y-1 first flew on March 28th 1935 before carrying out a highly successful series of service trials with the US Navy. Impressed by its long range, the US Navy requested that Consolidated Aircraft make further modifications to increase the aircraft’s offensive capability. The original 825 hp engines were increased to 900 hp Pratt and Whitney R-1830-64 engines and the vertical fin was modified. The improved aircraft, now designated the X-PBY-1, broke records by carrying out the furthest nonstop distance flight of 3443 miles. The PBY entered service with the US Navy in October 1936.

By the time Britain’s Royal Air Force had shown a serious interest in the aircraft, it had gone further improvements, not least of which was the installation of two 1000 hp Twin Wasp engines. The British Air Ministry purchased a single aircraft for evaluation purposes in 1939, and ordered 50 shortly afterwards under the designation of Catalina I – a name which would later be adopted by the US Navy also. British and Commonwealth Catalinas differed from their American counterparts mainly by the replacement of American weapons with British ones. The Catalina I entered service with Nos.209 and 240 Squadrons of RAF Coastal Command in 1941. A popular and capable aircraft, orders were also secured for Canada, Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. In the hands of Coastal Command crews, the Catalina proved to be an effective and much feared U-boat killer.

The Catalina Mk.IVa was the British designation for the PBY-5 variant; powered by two 1200 hp Twin Wasps, this aircraft was capable of reaching speeds of up to 179 mph at 7000 feet and had a range of over 2500 miles. Armed with defensive machine guns in four positions, the Catalina Mk.IV’s main offensive capability lay with its 4000 lbs of bombs or depth charges. One of the most famous and effective maritime patrol aircraft of the entire war, the true testament to the Catalina lies in the fact that many are still in service with civilian agencies across the globe to this day.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example,

• reference to the series of the aircraft;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

Sources

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• page on aircraft encyclopedia;
• other literature.

Consolidated Aircraft Corporation
Bombers	PBY-5 Catalina · PBY-5A Catalina
	PB4Y-2
	B-24D-25-CO
Export	▄Catalina Mk IIIa · ▂PBY-5A Catalina · ▄PBY-5A Late · ␗PB4Y-2 · ▄PB4Y-2