PBY-5A Catalina

PBY-5A Catalina

PBY-5 Catalina

PBM-1 "Mariner"

PBY-5A Catalina

PBY-5 Catalina

PBM-1 "Mariner"

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.7	1.7	2.0

Class:

Bomber

Hydroplane

Torpedo bomber

Research:3 000

Purchase:6 300

This page is about the aircraft PBY-5A Catalina. For other uses, see PBY-5 (Disambiguation)

Description

The PBY-5A Catalina is a Rank I American bomber with a battle rating of 1.7 (AB/RB) and 2.0 (SB).

General info

Flight Performance

Characteristics
Stock
Max Speed (km/h at 2,135 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
259	249	4420	31.3	32.0	2.6	2.6	364
Upgraded
Max Speed (km/h at ?,000 m)		Max altitude (meters)	Turn time (seconds)		Rate of climb (meters/second)		Take-off run (meters)
AB	RB		AB	RB	AB	RB
?	?	4420	??.?	??.?	??.?	??.?	???

Details

Features
Combat flap	Take-off flap	Landing flap	Air brakes	Arrestor gear
X	X	X	X	X

Limits
Wing-break speed (km/h)	Gear limit (km/h)	Combat flap (km/h)	Max Static G
			+	-
0	450	N/A	~1	~1

Optimal velocities
Ailerons (km/h)	Rudder (km/h)	Elevators (km/h)	Radiator (km/h)
< 220	< 220	< 230	> 200

Compressor (RB/SB)
Setting 1
Optimal altitude	100% Engine power	WEP Engine power
1,886 m	2,100 hp	2,982 hp

Survivability and armour

Armour plates

• 9.5 mm steel pilot seats
• 6.35 mm steel behind tail gunner
• 6.35 mm and 4.7 mm steel plates inside the structural pylon

Critical component protection

• 2 self-sealing fuel tanks in the wings

Armaments

Suspended armament

The PBY-5A Catalina is able to be equipped with:

• 16 x 100 lb AN-M30A1 bombs
• 4 x 500 lb AN-M64A1 bombs
• 4 x 1000 lb AN-M65A1 bombs
• 2 x 2,216 lb Mk.13 torpedoes
• 2 x 2,216 lb Mk.13/44 torpedoes

Defensive armament

The PBY-5A Catalina is defended with:

• 1 x 7.62 mm Browning machine gun, nose turret (1,000 rpg)
• 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, 2 x beam turret (400 rpg = 800 total)
• 1 x 12.7 mm M2 Browning machine gun, ventral turret (500 rpg)

Usage in the battles

Although technically a medium bomber, the PBY-5's strategies are much like that of heavy bombers in higher tiers such as the B-17. It is best to fly high, as flying low will make you an easy target for fighters and AA. The best tactic for fending off enemy fighters is to use the rudders to direct one of the side gunners towards the attacking plane. It is also smart to use the guns manually in this situation, as the AI is often very inaccurate and will refuse to fire beyond a certain distance. In the worst case scenarios, a dive can be used to greatly increase the plane's speed to get to attack a ground target before a pursuing enemy fighter shoots it down.

Although the PBY-5a Catalina is slow and clunky, it offers a heavy payload that is sure to be a game changer if used properly. It also has a very good defensive armament for its tier, which can occasionally be a savior against an enemy fighter.

The plane is quite unmanuaverable, and its wings are very weak, being able to snap just by turning just a little too tight at higher speeds in a realistic battle. Unlike its predecessor, this version has landing gear, Allowing it to land on airfields as well as in water, allowing it to repair and respawn at airfields in Realistic Mode without belly landing, and enabling it to capture bases in Airfield Domination mode in Arcade Battles.

Manual Engine Control

MEC elements
Mixer	Pitch	Radiator			Supercharger	Turbocharger
		Oil	Water	Type
Not controllable	Controllable Has automatic pitch	Not controllable	Controllable	Separate	Not controllable	Not controllable

Modules

Tier	Flight performance		Survivability	Weaponry
I	Fuselage Repair	Radiator		Turret 7.62 mm belts	MBC-5
II		Compressor	Airframe	New 7.62 mm MGs (turret)	LTC-5
III	Wings Repair	Engine		Turret 12.7 mm belts	Improved torpedo
IV		Engine Injection	Cover	New 12.7 mm MGs (turret)	LBC-5

The bomb load upgrades allow an increase in total bomb load, from 1600 lb through 2000 lb to 4000 lb so they are a priority, especially that the bigger bombs also allow destroying ships or tanks.

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good bomb load
• Good defensive weaponry.
• Can land on airfields compared to other flying boats.
• Can land on water.
• Has wheel so can land on land

Cons:

• Very slow, not a plane for the impatient.
• Humble engine power and bad rate of climb.
• Poor energy retention.
• Susceptible to ripping wings.
• Poor downward facing armament.

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the aircraft in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ historical reference" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/Name-vehicles/historical reference) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to include links to sources at the end of the article.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

Read also

• PBY-5 Catalina

Sources

• [Forum] PBY-5 Catalina, Official Thread