The story of the demise of a PBY Catalina... in Saudi Arabia

Dave

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The aircraft is a PBY-5A Catalina Flying Boat from the 1930s and was bought from the US Navy by Thomas W Kendall, a retired businessman who converted it to a luxury flying yacht. In the spring of 1960 Mr Kendall took a pleasure trip around the world with his wife and children together with his secretary and her son.

On the 22nd March 1960 they landed at the Strait of Tirana and anchored the aircraft a short distance from the shore to spend the night there. They heard someone shouting but did not pay any attention. In the afternoon of the following day they were attacked with machine guns and automatic firearms from a headland nearby.

The children were able to swim back to the aircraft. Mr Kendall and his secretary were wounded while trying to start the Catalina but moved it about 800 metres, unfortunately it ran aground on a coral reef. The firing lasted 30 to 40 minutes and no fewer than 300 shots hit the aircraft. The fuel tanks were perforated and 4000 litres of fuel poured from the holes but miraculously the aircraft did not catch fire.

The sea was only about 1.5 metres deep and all aboard managed to leave the aircraft and reach the shore. On the beach they were captured by a group of Bedouin attached to the Saudi Arabian army, who had taken them to be Israeli commandos.

They were eventually taken to Jeddah, interrogated and finally set free with the help of the American Ambassador. The Ambassador protested to the Saudi Arabian government but they refused to accept any liability for the attack and consequent loss of the aircraft.

The plane remains stranded on the beach to this day, a monument to one man’s dream retirement holiday turned nightmare. You can even see it on Google Maps by following this link…
https://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&so....609466&spn=0.002267,0.006866&z=18&iwloc=near

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More cool stories here:
http://notesfromthebartender.wordpr...doned-seaplane-when-dreams-become-nightmares/

 
I remember reading this story before... it's always cool to have stories behind abandoned gear. Sad to see it left for dead. I've always loved the design of the PBY Catalina.
 
Yeah, too bad we abandoned the "sea plane" concept. Just think how these could have evolved.
 
Yeah, too bad we abandoned the "sea plane" concept. Just think how these could have evolved.

Lockheed had a conceptual drawing for a C-130 with floats about a decade ago. It became serious ready-room fodder in Marine KC-130 squadrons. I remember someone writing "accepting transition packages now" on the poster. LOL!
 
PBY has always been a favorite multirole plane of mine... Sad to see one like this and read this story
 
So you like seaplanes... how about this Martin Mars. They built 9 of these for the US Navy before the end off WWII and contracts were cancelled. Only 2 survive now in Port Alberni, BC, Canada.

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So you like seaplanes... how about this Martin Mars. They built 9 of these for the US Navy before the end off WWII and contracts were cancelled. Only 2 survive now in Port Alberni, BC, Canada.

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If I'm not mistaken, one exists at Pima Air & Space Museum, in Tucson, AZ as well.

Edit: Just took a look, I was thinking about its predecessor, the Martin PBM-5A of which it is the only surviving example.
 
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I'd like to add that of all the aviation museums that I've been to in North America, Pima Air & Space Museum is one of the best in terms of unique and diverse collections. It's one of the few as well where you can approach, touch, and in some cases even poke your head in an open hatch or service area. Add Davis-Monthan AFB and the 309th AMRG right across the road and you've got quite a collection to view.

You all in the West have some superior collections to view (envy).
 
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