Nothing to add re Catalinas, sorry! Just wanted to add that my uncle Don Atkins followed the Moncton-Gross Isle-Pensacola route of the Towers Scheme. He received his wings there in ‘43 but then ended up on Stirlings at HCU. He did all but one of his 36 ops with 148 (Special Duties) Sqdn flying Halifaxes out of Brindisi; the other (his first) was with 624 (SD) Sqdn at Blida.