US Navy PBY Catalina Units of the Atlantic War

(Paperback)

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Description

Several books have been written about US naval patrol aviation in World War 2, but none do full justice to the role played by patrol squadrons of the US Navy in the longest, most bitterly fought campaign of the war - the Battle of the Atlantic. From the Arctic to the Equator, anti-submarine aircraft of the US Navy patrolled both sides of the stormy Atlantic alongside their allied counterparts, escorting merchant shipping through submarine-infested waters - the crucial lifeline from the United States to Great Britain and the Mediterranean, and staging troops and supplies for the ultimate liberation of North Africa and Europe. This book details the PBY Catalina, without contest the most successful flying boat ever designed, and a key element in the success of the Atlantic War.

Reviews

"The author has compiled an excellent reference on these units as well as coast guard squadrons that operated from the North Atlantic bases after the Navy pulled out of those missions in 1943. There are quality period photos as well as a goodly number of fine profiles to get the creative juices flowing for modelers. In all, a superb book on a part of WWII that gets very little press. A book I can justifiably recommend to you." --Scott Van Aken, modelingmadness.com (December 2007)

"Osprey has now published two books covering both the Atlantic and Pacific theaters. Units of the Atlantic War has 32 color plane drawings, Units of the Pacific War has 31 ... The combat history of the PBY Catalina in every theater of the war is more interesting than one would consider. The PBY books revealed information that I had not considered about the valuable contribution these planes made toward defeating Germany and Japan." --Michael Koznarsky, Historical Miniature Gamer (Issue 10)

"Besides providing a history of the development of seagoing aircraft, the author describes many of the combat actions in which the PBYs were involve, and the wealth of photos and color illustrations depict the unit markings and other features in fine detail." --WWII History Magazine (August/September 2008)

"Although several books have been written about WWII USN patrol aviation, none do full justice to the role played by USN patrol squadrons in the longest, most bitterly fought campaign of the war - the Battle of the Atlantic - [until now.]" --George Hulett, Warbirds International

Author Bio

Ragnar J. Ragnarsson was born 1945 in the USA, but has lived most his life in Iceland. He was co-founder and past vice president of IPMS Iceland, co-founder and past president of the Icelandic Aviation Historical Society and past president of the Icelandic Aero Club. Ragnar has spent many years researching wartime maritime aviation in the Atlantic and has written articles for both the Icelandic and foreign specialist aviation press, as well as contributing to a number of books on the subject. Jim Laurier is a native of New England. He attended Paier School of Art in Hamden, Connecticut from 1974-1978. A long time aviation enthusiast and pilot, one of his favourite subjects is aircraft. He combines his love of history with his flying experiences to create some of the most realistic and historically accurate aviation paintings seen today.