The greatest of all flying boats, the PBY Catalina was one of the most versatile aircraft ever built. This definitive study pulls together in a single volume all the PBY`s fascinating facts. Breathing new life into its story, Roscoe Creed skillfully weaves details of the aircraft`s design, production, and development as a military and civilian aircraft with thrilling descriptions of its varied missions in World War II, when it served all the Allies in both oceans. The author carefully analyzes the PBY`s dual use in the war as a plane of mercy and as a bomber, and he chronicles the flying boat`s contributions in peacetime, adding a compelling human-interest angle to the story. He examines the aircraft`s strengths and weaknesses through the examples of PBY pilots who describe their personal experiences. Modelers and others seeking explicit details on the PBY`s design will especially appreciate the wealth of technical data and line drawings in the appendixes. First published in 1985, this generously illustrated work is now back in print to reach a new audience of admirers of the sea plane.