Spot Your Plane: the PBY Catalina

The PBY Catalina used two Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp engines, as did the Consolidated B-24 Liberator, Douglas’ C-47 and TBD Devastator, and the Grumman F4F Wildcat. Between 1932 and 1951, nearly 174,000 models were produced, making the Twin Wasp the most popular aviation engine of all-time. The Catalina was strictly a flying boat until 1939 when they tested an amphibious model with hydraulically operated, retractable wheels. That prototype led to the PBY-5A (designated OA-10 by the Army Air Force).