Catalina were Australia's long-range bombers

August 5, 2025

Robert Cockburn is quite correct about the role of the Catalina flying boat as Australia’s long-range bombers in the Pacific. However, and with respect, some of his descriptions are rather more colourful than factual.

They were not “saved from the scrapyard”, nor were they antiques.

Their wings were not canvas - only the control surfaces (ailerons and flaps) were bagged, the rest was conventional aluminium construction.

But their exploits he has well covered and I recommend strongly Sir Richard Kingsland’s autobiography Into the Midst of Things for much more authentic information. Sir Richard flew the very first Catalina from the US to Australi via Hawaii, landing in Hawaii with less than 30 minutes of fuel left. He was the one who hit the docks at Rabaul with mines. Twice he evacuated 59 people ahead of the Japanese advance. The second time, the Cat was so heavy, it would not fly out of ground effect so he had to fly Rabaul to Sydney at around 20-30 feet above the water the whole way.

I agree with Cockburn that theirs is a war history that should never be forgotten.