And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
admittedly colorized b&w photography, but look at the sea surface. Imagine yourself in a one man raft-yellow showing-down in all that blue. they look like about 5,000 feet altitude. like standing thirty feet away from a penny with lights flashing from reflections from a lot of 1/2" glitter. what would you call the odds of them seeing you? anyhow, hell of a machine. grunt its way thru the sky for miles and miles and miles. a flying gas tank able to spew oil on the surface of the ocean with ease. not a bad torpedo bomber either. even the USAAF had a few.
My grandfather was a mechanic for these during WWII. He didn't talk much about things but one of the things he told me was that he was on the flight from California to Hawaii on Dec 7th and ran into the Japanese. There is a book (I'll link at the end) written about the Blue Catalina's in which my grandfather (James Scott of 44-P-5) is listed off and on. He was a very accomplished photographer and took pictures throughout the war for personal and military use. I was told all of his negatives went to the bon fire after he passed, including a negative of the signing of surrender by the Japanese on the Missouri.
Bloody Beautiful.
ReplyDeleteadmittedly colorized b&w photography, but look at the sea surface. Imagine yourself in a one man raft-yellow showing-down in all that blue. they look like about 5,000 feet altitude. like standing thirty feet away from a penny with lights flashing from reflections from a lot of 1/2" glitter. what would you call the odds of them seeing you? anyhow, hell of a machine. grunt its way thru the sky for miles and miles and miles. a flying gas tank able to spew oil on the surface of the ocean with ease. not a bad torpedo bomber either. even the USAAF had a few.
ReplyDeleteIt was an airplane of its time, multi-role, reliable, very long legs, not great against a zero or two, but they often flew at night.
ReplyDeleteKnown in Brit and Canadian service as Canso. Used in Canada for years as water bombers also, equipped with larger engines as Super Cats.
ReplyDeleteI recently saw an old 50-60s era photo spread from a company that turned these into flying motorhomes. Cool as hell.
ReplyDeleteFound a link to the article! Enjoy.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.messynessychic.com/2014/04/24/all-aboard-the-flying-yacht-circa-1950/
My grandfather was a mechanic for these during WWII. He didn't talk much about things but one of the things he told me was that he was on the flight from California to Hawaii on Dec 7th and ran into the Japanese. There is a book (I'll link at the end) written about the Blue Catalina's in which my grandfather (James Scott of 44-P-5) is listed off and on. He was a very accomplished photographer and took pictures throughout the war for personal and military use. I was told all of his negatives went to the bon fire after he passed, including a negative of the signing of surrender by the Japanese on the Missouri.
ReplyDeletehttps://smile.amazon.com/Blue-Catalinas-World-War-II/dp/0897451902/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=blue+catalinas+of+world+war+II&qid=1579237824&sr=8-2