Catalinas at Lisbon Portugal 1939 1943

[geof]

Any body know what company or country flew catalinas out of Lisbon before January 1943?
The pilots may also have beeen able to fly the Short Sunderland based there by Emiper Air.

[pigboat]

I'd have to look it up, but American Export Lines ran a couple of flights from New York to Marseille via Lisbon, Botwood and the Azores using a Consolidated 28-4. I think this was in 1938 though. (The 28-4 was a civilian version of the PBY-4. It was probably the only version built.)

[ICT_SLB]

Geof,
Slight thread drift but the only linkage I know of between a Catalina and Lisbon was that that was where Phillippe Cousteau was killed when the Society aircraft attempted a landing in the Tagus estuary but hit a sandbar.

[renfrew]

In 1941-2 BOAC flew 2 Catalinas on routes from UK-Lagos and UK-Malta and would have been using Lisbon on these services.

[Wynnum]

Geof

The West Africa Service

01Feb41 – “Guba” G-AGBJ[i] (http://www.pprune.org/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=3746353&noquote=1#_edn1) was put into service on the Poole-Lisbon route.
15Feb41 – “Guba” began flying the full service, Poole, Lisbon, Bathurst, Freetown, Lagos.
05Apr43 – “Guba” flew its last BOAC operational service, to West Africa – then return to RAF.

Jun41 – To supplement “Guba” on the West Africa run, BOAC obtained Catalina Mk I AH563 from allocation [25May41] to 240 Sqn, diverted to BOAC as G-AGDA, delivered 22Jun41. It served on the West Africa Service, also did runs Lisbon-Gibraltar-Malta-Cairo. Last Service flight was Lagos-Poole in Mar43, after which it crashed during a training flight 23Mar43.

01Oct42 – Two Catalina, FP221 and FP244, were allocated to BOAC on a two-month temporary loan.
27Oct42 – Now with BOAC after mods etc, FP221 became G-AGFL, FP244 became G-AGFM. In Nov42, they began flying from Hythe to Lagos. The loan was extended to 01Jun43, but the two Catalinas were returned to RAF service 15Mar43 under their original serials. (Sunderlands were now being used on the West Africa Service). These two Catalinas soon move on to Ceylon, for the Ceylon-Australia service.

[i] (http://www.pprune.org/forums/newreply.php?do=newreply&p=3746353&noquote=1#_ednref1) This “Guba” was the second Consolidated flying boat to carry the name “Guba” and registration NC777. The British Purchasing Commission took over this plane in Sep40; it flew from Botwood, Newfoundland via Stranraer to Pembroke Dock on 25-27Oct40 as AM258 (an incorrect issue of serial number, same number already issued to a Liberator). It was allocated to BOAC and registered as G-AGBJ. Later, after return to RAF, it was serialed as SM706.


Cheers, Wynnum

[Gunjiyubin]

To Wynnum,

Your information is exceptional. I wrote a paper on "Guba" and her wartime service to West Africa but have never seen such detail from any other source. Would like to know how you accessed the West African movements because I have been banging my head against the brick wall that exists in the BA Museum archivist. I know the records are there but he won't respond to enquiries.

Ex RAF. 47 and 53 Sqdn Beverleys, prior 216 Sqdn Comet 2 (Brilliant aircraft and never an accident.

[A30yoyo]

Catalinas G-AGFL and G-AGFM supplemented G-AGBJ and G-AGDA on the Poole-Lagos services from November 1942 before being transferred to the Qantas operation to Ceylon in 1943
G-AGFM off Ceylon coast from the Imperial War Museum (embedded from IWM site)
url=http://www.iwm.org.uk//collections/item/object/205210680]http://media.iwm.org.uk/iwm/mediaLib/53/media-53648/large.jpg?action=e[/url]
AMERICAN AIRCRAFT IN ROYAL AIR FORCE SERVICE 1939-1945: CONSOLIDATED MODEL 28 CATALINA.. © IWM (CH 14924) (http://www.iwm.org.uk//collections/item/object/205210680)IWM Non Commercial Licence (http://www.iwm.org.uk/corporate/privacy-copyright/licence)

Has anybody progressed in their researches on the Lagos flights, in particular any photos turned up?

[A30yoyo]

From the SDASM on flickr
American Export Lines
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4052/4588000298_6269ac211f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4588000298/)
Consolidated : PBY (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4588000298/) by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives (http://www.flickr.com/people/sdasmarchives/), on Flickr


Guba (II?) NC777
http://farm5.staticflickr.com/4064/4588000346_af920ca3d8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4588000346/)
Consolidated : PBY (http://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/4588000346/) by San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives (http://www.flickr.com/people/sdasmarchives/), on Flickr

and GubaII in Australia 1939...(+goes to fullscreen)
85/112-41 Photograph, b&w, the Catalina flying boat 'Guba', paper, photographer unknown, Rose Bay, New South Wales, Australia, 1939 - Powerhouse Museum Collection (http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=416320&search=Travel&images=&c=&s=1)

[barit1]

Most interesting!

Re: "Guba" - My boss 1978-1980 was Ronald G. Carter, a British expat who had been FE on several BOAC types before emigrating. Among the ships he crewed was Guba.

And I believe Guba was unique in that it had Wright Cyclone 9s (R-1820) as opposed to P&W's on all other Cats.

EDIT: Well, not so unique after all. The Cats sold to (& assembled in) Russia had M-62 engines - license-built Wrights.

[A30yoyo]

The Catalina Chronicles page ( Chronicles Volume I (http://www.pbycat.org/chronp1.htm) ) has the following version of the Russian purchases...It seems Guba (which went to Russia) and Guba II(which went to Britain) had Twin Wasp engines but the 3 US built Model 28s for Russia did have Wright Cyclones (one a/c delivered complete, 2 in parts as production start-up examples). The Russians apparently only built 27 'GSTs' with their license originally fitting the M-87 a 14 cylinder 2-row engine which was later replaced with M-62 9 cylinder (Cyclone based engine).Apparently one GST was flown to Cyprus by a Russian sailor (defecting? lost?) in November 1941 where it was acquired by the RAF as HK850 but never used, wrecked in a gale in Egypt February 1943. I suspect no photos exist of Guba II as G-AGBJ with BOAC. Russia was additionally supplied with Lend-Lease Catalinas