Flying boats of WWII

100 Pages·2015·16.995 MB·English

by  Martyn Chorlton

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INTRODUCTION 3
Flying boats of World War 2
T
he golden era of the fl ying boat was at its zenith when the fi rst shots survive. With faster land-based aircraft taking over their roles, gradually the fl ying
of World War 2 echoed out around Europe. The inter-war period had boat was removed from the front-line, the smaller types re-inventing themselves
established a vogue for the fl ying boat, driven by the colonial powers as as air-sea rescue platforms, while the long-range giants were put to good use as
they sought to unite their scattered empires in timescales of days rather transports. But it was all too late. The fi nal chapter had already been written and
than months. The military also saw an exciting future for these leviathans of the the epic rise and fall of the fl ying boat empire was complete.
air and embraced the technology, pushing the manufacturers to produce bigger Today we view these machines and their crews with the reverent nostalgia
and better machines. Ultimately, range ruled. Maritime reconnaissance became that they deserve. Wartime fl ying boats came in all shapes and sizes, from the
paramount and the fl ying boat was the perfect machine, able to patrol the world’s compact amphibious gem of the Grumman Goose, to the undoubted heavyweight
oceans for hours at end. After all, what other type of aircraft could operate across a champion of them all, the Martin Mars. But if asked to name but two fl ying boats
staggering 70% of the world’s surface without the need for securing long runways. from this era, the answer will always be the same… the Short Sunderland and
There is no denying that fl ying boats helped shape the course of the war, for Consolidated Catalina. History has granted these machines near mythical status,
without their ‘eyes in the sky’ attacking fl eets would have struck at will, U-boats but in truth the same could be said for this entire genre of aircraft. This publication
would have roamed with impunity and the lives of many sailors and downed pays tribute to them all. Allan Burney
airmen would have been lost. However, confi ned to monotonous patrols, the fl ying
boat became enveloped in an aura of anonymity, a lack of glamour if you like, that Photographers and artists
was at odds with their vital importance. But there was another more deadly enemy Much of the work featured within this publication is drawn from The Aeroplane
within. Advances in wartime technology quickly rendered the fl ying boat virtually archives, supplemented by other sources, credited where known.
obsolete. What had once been the sole domain of these far-ranging machines We are also greatly indebted to the artists: Andy Hay (www.fl yingart.
became a hunting ground. If caught out in the open, the lumbering fl ying boats co.uk), Rolando Ugolini (airlinerart), Atsuo Nagai (nags-gallery.com) and Mark
were vulnerable and helpless, their crews often battling against the odds to Postlethwaite (www.posart.com).
Aviation Archive Series
Flying boats of World War 2
(cid:127) Editor: Allan Burney (cid:127) Design: Paul Sander (cid:127) Credits/Bibliography: William Green (War planes of the Second World War); The Aeroplane; & Flight magazine (cid:127) Publisher and Managing Director: Adrian Cox
(cid:127) Executive Chairman Richard Cox (cid:127) Commercial Director Ann Saundry (cid:127) Distribution Seymour Distribution Ltd [phone] (cid:127) Printing Warners (Midlands) PLC, The Maltings, Manor Lane, Bourne, Lincs PE10 9PH.
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this publication. Published by Key Publishing Ltd, PO Box 100, Stamford, Lincs PE19 1XQ. Tel: [phone]. Fax: [phone]. Website: www.keypublishing.com ISBN: 978 1909786 110
Flying boats of World War 2
FRANCE 14 BLOHM & VOSS BV222 WIKING
The gargantuan BV222 Wiking (Viking) was remarkable for being
6 BREGUET 521 BIZERTE
one of the very few aircraft of its era with six engines
Evolved from the proven Short Calcutta, the Bizerte was an aging
design quickly overtaken by technological advances. However, it 21 DORNIER DO 18
still provided valuable reconnaissance and was even ordered by Already obsolete when the conflict began, the Dornier was slow
the Luftwaffe and vulnerable, but only a few years earlier it had been a record-
setting ground breaker
8 LATÉCOÈRE 521-523
France’s long flying boat legacy has resulted in many innovative 26 DORNIER DO 24
aircraft, but the Latécoère 521-523 seaplanes were undoubtedly The Do24 was one of only a few aircraft to serve operationally with
some of the most impressive both Allied and Axis forces during World War 2
10 LOIRE 130 30 DORNIER DO 26
Regarded by many as the most beautiful flying boat ever built
Even by flying boat standards, the small Loire could not be
considered graceful. Nevertheless it was probably the most widely
GREAT BRITAIN
used of French seaplanes in the war
34 SARO LONDON
11 POTEZ-CAMS 141
The product of another age, the biplane Saro A.27 London was still
Only one of these machines was eventually built, but that did not
in service at the outbreak of the conflict
stop it from flying long range patrols over the Atlantic and from
sinking a German U-boat 38 SARO LERWICK
The Lerwick looked the part, but this ‘baby Sunderland’ became an
GERMANY unmitigated failure
12 BLOHM & VOSS BV138 41 SHORT SINGAPORE III
One of the most unconventional designs to appear during World Though hopelessly outdated at the start of the war, the type
War 2, the BV138 was the Luftwaffe’s main long-range maritime soldiered on in service and some examples were still flying in 1945
patrol aircraft as trainers

44 SHORT EMPIRE CLASS long-range maritime reconnaissance flying boat was in front-line
When their country called, these graceful commercial flying boats service — the Kawanishi H6K
swapped their civilian clothing for a military uniform
72 KAWANISHI H8K ‘Emily’
48 SHORT SUNDERLAND Of all the long-range maritime-patrol flying-boats used during World
The iconic Sunderland represented perhaps the greatest evolution War 2, arguably none was better than the big Kawanishi H8K
in flying boat technology and became the most powerful and
widely used aircraft of its genre UNITED STATES
56 SUPERMARINE STRANRAER
74 CONSOLIDATED CATALINA
Not particularly graceful and with a performance to match, the
The most-recognisable and famous seaplane in the World, the
Stranraer was considered obsolete even before World War 2
Catalina was produced in more numbers than all the other flying
61 SUPERMARINE WALRUS boats of the war put together
Of all the biplane flying boats to see service in World War 2, the
81 CONSOLIDATED CORONADO
Walrus was by far the most successful
The big-brother of the Catalina did not emulate the success of its
67 SEA OTTER
illustrious sibling
The last biplane flying boat to be designed by Supermarine and the
88 GRUMMAN GOOSE
last biplane to enter service with the Royal Navy and the RAF
The compact little Grumman G-21A was not designed for military
ITALY service, but its versatility was quickly put to good use
68 CANT Z501 GABBIANO 90 MARTIN MARINER
Once a record-breaker, the CANT Z501 was way past its prime With its distinctive gull-wing and canted twin tail fins, the Martin
when war broke out and suffered heavy losses as a consequence Mariner was one of the most recognisable of the twin-engined
flying boats of World War 2
JAPAN
94 MARTIN MARS
70 KAWANISHI H6K ‘MAVIS’ The mighty Martin Mars was the largest flying boat ever to be put
When Japanese forces launched the Pacific War, only one type of into production and flown operationally
6 FRANCE
The Calcutta lineage of the Bizerte became less obvious with production aircraft that featured the revised nose section, incorporating extended
cockpit glazing and distinctive gun blisters.
Breguet 521 Bizerte
Evolved from the proven Short Calcutta, A total of 37 Bizertes were produced, which
BREGUET 521 BIZERTE
the Bizerte was an aging design quickly served with fi ve squadrons of the French Navy from
Type: Long-range maritime
overtaken by technological advances. 1935 until 1940. Two squadrons remained in service
reconnaissance
However, it was even ordered by the Luftwaff e with the Vichy Navy after the armistice, at Berre in
Crew: 8
and fl ew valuable long-range reconnaissance Southern France and Karouba in Tunisia, with six
Length: 67ft 2in
missions during the war. aircraft each. The German Luftwaff e purchased a
Wingspan: 115ft 4in
Built to meet a French Navy specification for number of Bizertes for its Seenotdienst (Air-Sea
Powerplants: 3 x Gnome-Rhone
a long-range flying boat issued in 1932, the Rescue) service in 1940, which it used to equip a
14Kirs1 (900hp)
Breguet S.8/2 was a licenced version of the squadron based at Brest on the French Atlantic
Loaded weight: 33,271lb
British Short Calcutta. The prototype first flew coast. When Vichy France was occupied by the
Max speed: 149mph
in September 1933 and was sent to Cherbourg Germans following the Allied invasion of North Africa
Armament: 5 x 7.5mm Darne
for operational evaluation. Production machines in November 1942, the remaining Vichy Bizertes
machine guns in two port and two
became the 521 Bizerte and embodied several were taken over by the Luftwaff e, allowing further
starboard lateral positions and tail
modifications, the principal of which were the Seenotdienst units to be established at Biscarrosse
position, plus four 165lb bombs in
elimination of the open bow gun position, the and Berre. Following the Allied Invasion of Southern
dorsal turret and 4 x 7.5mm guns
distinctive extension of the cockpit canopy and France in August 19 44, one of the Luftwaff e Bizertes
fi ring laterally through portholes,
the introduction of blister-type gun positions in was discovered by French forces and used for
plus 8 x 165lb bombs
the fuselage sides aft of the flight deck. communications duties until spares ran out.
BREGUET 521 BIZERTE 7
Breguet 521 Bizerte, E16, of the French Navy.
Andy Hay/www.flyingart.co.uk
One of the last biplane flying boats to be used during World War 2, the Bizerte was employed for air-sea rescue sorties by the Luftwaffe from
Lorient and Saint Mandrier. This example has lost its port float and has presumably been beached for repairs. Inset: The prototype Breguet Bizerte
undergoing tests at le Havre. Note the open bow gun position that was later replaced with the type’s distinctive nose glazing.
8 FRANCE
Latécoère 521-523
France’s long fl ying boat legacy has the engines were housed in the wing centre 521, the Ministry of Aviation ordered a second
produced many innovative aircraft, section in two tandem nacelles driving tractor Latécoère flying boat (the Laté 522) for the trans
but the Latécoère 521-523 series of and pusher propellers. The last two engines atlantic routes. Fitted with more powerful engines
seaplanes were undoubtedly some of the most were fitted in wing leading edge nacelles. The and a redesigned nose it made its fi rst fl ight on 20
impressive. Although only limited in number, Laté 521 made its first flight in January 1935. April 1939 carrying the civil registration F-ARAP and
these six-engined giants had a brief but Christened Lieutenant de Vaisseau Paris, it could the name Ville de Saint-Pierre. Again it was impressed
eventful career. carry 30 passengers on trans-Atlantic flights for use by the Aeronavale. Just like the Laté 521,
During 1930 Latécoère designed a four- and was put into service by Air France. However, it was damaged beyond repair in August 1944 by
engined trans-Atlantic flying boat for passenger in January 1936 it was hit by a hurricane and retreating German forces.
transport as the Laté 520 to be powered by. sunk in Pensacola bay. Salvaged and completely Meanwhile, the Aéronavale had ordered three
Hispano-Suiza HS18Sbr engines of 1,000hp rebuilt, it went on to establish world seaplane militarised versions as the Laté 523, the fi rst of
each. Unfortunately shortly after construction distance and load records, which began to which made its maiden fl ight on 20 January 1938.
had begun, Hispano Suiza terminated the attract the attention of the French Navy. At The three Laté 523’s were named Altair, Algol and
development of the engine and Latécoère was the outbreak of the war the Laté was put into Aldebaran. All three machines served at Escadrille
forced to redesign the aircraft to use six lower service by the Aéronavale at Escadrille E6 where E6 for maritime patrol duties in the Atlantic. Algol
rated engines. The new flying boat received it was used for Atlantic patrol missions until made a forced landing during a patrol mission on
the type designation 521 as an all-metal design August 1940. Later it was damaged beyond 18 September 1939 and had to be sunk by gunfi re.
with a large shoulder wing that was connected repair in August 1944 by retreating German The two remaining 523s were used operationally
with struts to low-placed sponsons. Four of troops. Based on the relative success of the Laté until they became unserviceable in 1942.
Main image: Laté 523 Algol was one of only three of the breed that was operated by the French Navy. While fl ying a patrol over the Atlantic on
18 September 1939, Algol made a forced landing and as towing was impossible it had to be sunk by gunfi re. Andy Hay/www.fl yingart.co.uk
Top right and right: The sole Laté 521 in its civil guise before being impressed into service in September 1939. The Laté 521 was demobilised
in August 1940 but it was damaged beyond repair (along with the Laté 522) in August 1944 when the retreating German forces dynamited the
hangars at Berre.
LATÉCOÈRE 521-523 9
LATÉCOÈRE 523
Type: Long-range maritime
reconnaissance
Crew: 14
Length: 103ft 9in
Wingspan: 161ft 9in
Powerplants: 6 x Hispano-Suiza
12Y-27 (900hp)
Loaded weight: 82,673lb
Max speed: 161mph
Armament: 1 x 7.5mm Darne
machine gun in dorsal turret and four
7.5mm guns firing laterally through
portholes, plus 8 x 165lb bombs
10 FRANCE
Loire 130
Even by fl ying boat standards, the small Of all-metal construction with fabric-covered progressively grounded, seemingly against the
Loire could not be considered graceful. mainplanes and tail surfaces, it had a pug- odds a number survived the conflict.
Nevertheless it was probably the most like appearance with a square cockpit above
widely used of French seaplanes in the war. which was the bow gun position. Behind this
Although appearing quite obsolete and having perched high on v-struts sat the engine. The LOIRE 130M
very marginal performance for their time, initial production order called for 40 Loire 130M
Type: 3-seat shipboard observation
quite a few Loire 130s survived the confl ict and (Métropole) and five Loire 130C (Colonial), the
or 7-seat communications fl ying
remained in post-war French service, especially latter featuring a larger radiator and a reinforced
boat
in French colonies until 1951. structure to permit shallow dive-bombing.
Crew: 3-7
The Loire 130 originated from a mid-1930s At the beginning of World War 2, ship-based
requirement from the French Navy for a Loire 130s served aboard the seaplane carrier Length: 37ft
reconnaissance seaplane or fl ying boat that could Commandant Teste and 20 cruisers, including Wingspan: 52ft 6in
also serve aboard French battleships and cruisers. the battleships Dunkerque and Strasbourg,
Powerplants: 1 x Hispano-Suiza
Chosen in 1936 against fi ve competitors (Bréguet while shore-based Loire 130s were stationed in
12X (720hp)
610, Gourdou-Leseurre GL-820 HY, Levasseur PL.200, Indochina, the West Indies, Dakar and Tripoli.
Potez CAMS 120), the Loire 130’s performance was After November 1942, all French warships Loaded weight: 7,187lb
deemed to be good and production orders for 150 were deprived of their catapults to make way Max speed: 137mph
of the machines were placed. The fi rst prototype for supplementary anti-aircraft guns and the
Armament: 2 x 7.5mm Darne
fl ew on 19 November and it entered production Loire 130s became shore-based, being used for
machine guns in bow and dorsal
in 1937 to replace most shipborne seaplanes and coastal patrol, training and communications
positions, plus 2 x 165lb bombs
fl ying boats already in service. duties. Although the flying boat was
Ungainly but eff ective, catapult-launched
Loire 130s provided the French fl eet with a
vital reconnaissance capability.