Originally Posted by
ExAscoteer2
My Maternal Uncle trained at Pensacola as part of the 'Towers Scheme', having done BFTS at Grosse Ile near Detroit. At Pensacola he flew both the PBY-5 and the PBY-5A.
The non-amphibians were flown out of Perido Bay to the west of Pensacola itself. If you look on Google maps you can see the remains of the beaching area (it's now a car park and part of the Blue Angel Recreation Park, Battleship Row). Just to the east you can see the remains of the original NAS Pensacola from where the 5As operated.
My uncle told me that with the non-amphibians, they would taxy in towards the beach, then the groundcrew would attach the external beaching gear such that the aircraft could now taxy out of the water. Unsurpisngly the guys going into the water were all black.
My father also trained at Gross Iles