World War II Database

Contributor: C. Peter Chen

ww2dbasePB2Y Coronado flying boats were designed as the successor to the PBY Catalina flying boats. Orders for two prototype aircraft were placed in 1936, and the maiden flight took place in Dec 1937. After fixing stability issues with the prototype aircraft, the production design was designated PB2Y-2. PB2Y-3 variant design was completed shortly after the start of the Pacific War, which featured additional armor and self-sealing fuel tanks. In US Navy service, they saw both combat (bombing and anti-submarine warfare) and non-combat (transport and ambulance) roles, though the latter was much more commonplace. Ten PB2Y Coronado aircraft were also sent to the United Kingdom via the Lend Lease program; the British used them purely as transports, flying trans-Atlantic routes. Later in the war, despite engine upgrade and increased fuel capacity (PB2Y-5), the US Navy also relegated them to transport roles only. They were all scrapped shortly after WW2. During the design's production life, 217 examples were built.

PB2Y Coronado Timeline

SPECIFICATIONS

PB2Y-5

Machinery	Four Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 radial engines rated at 1,200hp each
Armament	3x2x12.7mm M2 Browning machine guns in 3 turrets (nose, dorsal, tail), 2x12.7mm M2 Browning machine guns in waist mounts, 2 Mark 13 torpedoes or up to 5,400kg of bombs
Crew	10
Span	35.00 m
Length	24.20 m
Height	8.40 m
Wing Area	165.00 m²
Weight, Empty	18,530 kg
Weight, Maximum	30,000 kg
Speed, Maximum	310 km/h
Speed, Cruising	272 km/h
Service Ceiling	6,250 m
Range, Normal	1,720 km

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