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Catalina Takeoff

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Description

A Consolidated PBY-5A Catalina flying boat throws water vapour off of it's propellers while taking off at the Shoreham Airshow, United Kingdom.
Image size
3823x2150px 5.03 MB
Make
Panasonic
Model
DMC-GH1
Shutter Speed
1/320 second
Aperture
F/6.3
Focal Length
100 mm
ISO Speed
100
Date Taken
Sep 1, 2012, 1:29:04 PM
Comments15
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 I see that the plane is named "Miss Pick Up". I suspect that several Catalina's have been painted up like this. My Father C/MSgt. William Henry York USAF Retired, was crew chief of a PBY-5A. That plane, operating out of England during WW2, was a Canadian built Catalina with USAAF markings and a RAF Coastal Command livery. It was used by the Air Force for ASR ops, and worked in conjunction with an RAF Air-Sea Rescue launch (the Thornycroft 67' Whale-back I think). The plane picked up airman from both sides of the war. If memory serves, the rescue launch was radio call signed Eagle, while the Catalina was Albatross. I have several pictures of it including one taken by her relief crew from the life rafts as she was sinking in the far North Atlantic Ocean after ditching. He paid a fellow airman two bottles of scotch whiskey to paint a Vargas-esque reclining blond, with the name "Miss Pick Up" on the nose. I also have a picture of him and his crew squatting around a map in front of the nose art. (A typical official photographer posing of air crews at the time) You would not happen to know whom this plane belongs to, would you. I would be most grateful for any information.