Pby-5 catalina

[Guest]

Hello all,

I'm currently building a PBY-5 Catalina in 1:48 scale and want to do it in the colours of a PBY flown by Flt Lt John Cruickshank VC of 210 Sqn.

Due to having to take early retirement due to ill health at 44, all those models I've bought over the years are now getting built - However its proving difficult finding RAF colour schemes for this aircraft so if anyone can offer any assistance, I'd appreciate it.

Regards,

Mr. Grumpy

[Guest]

Hello all,I'm currently building a PBY-5 Catalina in 1:48 scale and want to do it in the colours of a PBY flown by Flt Lt John Cruickshank VC of 210 Sqn.

Due to having to take early retirement due to ill health at 44, all those models I've bought over the years are now getting built - However its proving difficult finding RAF colour schemes for this aircraft so if anyone can offer any assistance, I'd appreciate it.

Regards,

Mr. Grumpy

This web site may help you contact someone who can advise on colours. Good luck in your research.

Catalina

[stona]

Hi and welcome. British maritime schemes are not my thing but I'll give you the benefit of my (very) limited knowledge. As I understand it these machines would have been in Extra Dark Sea Grey/Slate Grey(which is actually green) over Sky the demarcation line being low on the fuselage side. I think the demarcation changed several times. I'm sure I've seen a profile of a late war scheme in which the entire fuselage,engine nacelles and lower plane surfaces are white whilst the top of the main plane and horizontal stabilisers are still in an EDSG/Slate grey scheme. Didn't Cruickshank win his VC in 1944?

If noone else with more knowledge chips in I'll try to get in touch with a colleague who knows about these things, hopefully.

Best of luck

Steve

[Guest]

Hi and welcome. British maritime schemes are not my thing but I'll give you the benefit of my (very) limited knowledge. As I understand it these machines would have been in Extra Dark Sea Grey/Slate Grey(which is actually green) over Sky the demarcation line being low on the fuselage side. I think the demarcation changed several times. I'm sure I've seen a profile of a late war scheme in which the entire fuselage,engine nacelles and lower plane surfaces are white whilst the top of the main plane and horizontal stabilisers are still in an EDSG/Slate grey scheme. Didn't Cruickshank win his VC in 1944?If noone else with more knowledge chips in I'll try to get in touch with a colleague who knows about these things, hopefully.

Best of luck

Steve

Hello Steve,

Yes indeed, John Cruickshank did win his VC in 1944 - Here is a piece from a book I have about recipients of the Victoria Cross;

Flying Officer Cruickshank was twenty-four years old when he piloted a Consolidated Catalina anti-submarine flying boat of No. 210 Sqn from Sullom Voe on 17 July 1944 on a patrol north into the Atlantic. There the "Cat" found a German Type VIIC U-boat on the surface.

At this point in the war the aerial threat to the U-boats meant that they were fitted with anti-aircraft guns and Cruickshank had to fly the Catalina into the hail of flak put up by the U-boat. On that first pass his depth charges did not release. Despite this he brought the aircraft back round for a second pass and this time straddled the U-boat with his charges sinking it with all hands. Cruickshank's VC citation refers to the U-Boat as U-347, although its now known that it was actually U-361 and that it went down with all 52 crew members.

The German flak however had been deadly accurate, killing the Catalina's navigator and injuring four crew members including the second pilot Flight Sergeant Jack Garnett and Cruickshank himself. Cruickshank had been hit in seventy-two places, with two serious wounds to his lungs and ten penetrating wounds to his lower limbs. Despite this he refused medical attention until be was sure that the appropriate radio signals had been sent and the aircraft was on course for its home base. Even then he refused morphine aware that it would cloud his judgement. Flying through the night it took the damaged Catalina five and a half hours to return to Sullom Voe with the injured Garnett at the controls and Cruickshank lapsing in and out of consciousness in the back.

Once there Cruickshank returned to the cockpit and took command of the aircraft again. Deciding that the light and the sea conditions for a water landing were too risky for the inexperienced Garnett to safely put the aircraft down, he kept the flying boat in the air circling for an extra hour until he considered it safer and they landed the Catalina on the water and taxied it to an area where it could be safely beached.

When the RAF medical officer boarded the aircraft he had to give Cruickshank a blood transfusion before he was considered stable enough to be transferred to hospital. John Cruickshank's injuries were such that he never flew in command of an aircraft again and after the war he returned to his pre-war job of banking. For his actions in sinking the U-Boat and saving his crew he received the Victoria Cross while Flight Sergeant Jack Garnett received the Distinguished Flying Medal.

Anyway guys, thank you for your help thus far, and I will keep hunting, so to speak.

Regards

Dallas

aka Mr Grumpy

[stona]

Hi again. I am informed provisionally by mate,who is away from home/references, that as of 1943 the most likely scheme was EDSG upper surfaces over white fuselage/undersides.

Steve

[Guest]

Hello all,I'm currently building a PBY-5 Catalina in 1:48 scale and want to do it in the colours of a PBY flown by Flt Lt John Cruickshank VC of 210 Sqn.

Due to having to take early retirement due to ill health at 44, all those models I've bought over the years are now getting built - However its proving difficult finding RAF colour schemes for this aircraft so if anyone can offer any assistance, I'd appreciate it.

Regards,

Mr. Grumpy

Hi Mr Grumpy,

Am I correct in thinking the serial number for this plane was JV 928..??

If so just do a google image search on JV 928 and you will come up with some very nice colour photo's of a Cat restored to represent that very aircraft - hopefully these will help you out.

Here's 5 pics to start with on this one link alone:

Photo Search Results | Airliners.net

Regards........Mark

[stona]

Hi again. There is some debate about the colour of this aircraft! (what's new). Most likely is EDSG/Slate grey over white as per this restoration:

http://www.tug.eu.com/eghf/eghfweb/catalina.htm

It represents your aircraft and I'm sure they have done their research.

A minority have the upper surfaces in EDSG alone.I'd go for the two colours,when heavily weathered there is little contrast in the scheme, particularly in B+W images and this may have led to confusion.

We have a similar debate about Luftwaffe fighters in the early RLM 70/71 uppers.

When all's said and done it's your model so you should do what you feel is best, I certainly won't be arguing about it!!!!

Cheers

Steve