PBY Catalinas : images

There are couple of books we have in our collection, so you can find some drawings and photos of the basic PBY Catalina.

Additionally, NHC Naval Aviation History Branch http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg4.htm

has several photos of PBY Catalinas in their collection. The staff can't sort through those photos for you, but you are welcome to visit the branch to view the photos and scan them yourself. A scanner is available in the branch for your use.

Also, our Photographic Section very likely will have photos of some PBY-5s. We didn't see any in their Online Library of Selected Images

http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org11-2.htm

but they did have images of some other Consolidated aircraft posted.

So, they'll have a few images of Catalinas in their collection.
You'll need to contact the Photographic Section directly http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg11.htm

On the Naval Aviation History Branch website, you may want to look at the online publication "Dictionary of American Naval Aviation Squadrons, Volume II." http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/org4-23.htm

In it you'll find the squadron lineage as well as the insignia and nickname.

You may want to incorporate the insignia into your airplane model. Click on this link then scroll down

http://www.history.navy.mil/avh-vol2/chap4-3.pdf

If you haven't already, we recommend you contact the Emil Buehler Library http://naval.aviation.museum/archives.html
at the National Museum of Naval Aviation in Pensacola, Florida. T
hat library may have additional information and photographs for you.

Aircraft Color Guide

If you're looking for aircraft paint schemes, we recommend you consult the following book if you haven't already:

Elliott, Major John M, USMC. The Official Monogram US Navy & Marine Corps Aircraft Color Guide. (In four volumes: Volume 2 covers WWII). Sturbridge,
MA: Monogram Aviation Publications, 1993, ISBN 0-914144-32-4.

ship awards

We obtained the above information from the Navy and Marine Corps Awards Manual, NAVPERS 15,790 (Rev. 1953) and the Master List of US Navy Unit Awards & Campaign Medals, Cold War Era: Post Korean War to February 1994.

However, we are not officials on this topic, so we strongly encourage you to contact the Navy's Awards and Special Projects Branch at the Pentagon to confirm the information.

Contact information for that office is as follows:

Chief of Naval Operations
Awards and Special Projects Branch (Code N09B33)
2000 Navy Pentagon
Washington DC 20350-2000

You might also check for official confirmation with the Navy Department Awards Web Service https://backup.vworkgroup.com/awards/webbas01.nsf/(vwWebPage)/home.htm?OpenDocument

example: USS Sea Fox received awards


We checked our copies of the awards manuals and found that USS Sea Fox was eligible for these medals for her service in WWII, Korea and Vietnam:

Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal:
Iwo Jima Operation; engagement: Assault and occupation of Iwo Jima, specific dates of 14 - 16 Mar 45; one engagement star

Okinawa Gunto Operation; engagement: Assault and occupation of Okinawa Gunto, specific dates of 17 Mar 45 - 21 Jun 45; one engagement star

3d Fleet Operations Against Japan, specific dates of 10 - 19 Jul 45; one engagement star

Submarine War Patrols (Pacific), specific dates of 4 Oct 44 - 24 Nov 44 (one star was given for participation in each war patrol; these are the dates of Sea Fox's first war patrol)

Navy Occupation Medal: for service 11 - 30 Oct 49; entitled to wear Clasp A for service in "Asia"

China Service Medal: for service 26 - 29 Nov 49

Navy Occupation and China Service Medals - dual eligibility, 9 Jan - 5 Mar 1948

Korean Service Medal: for service 11 Sep 51 - 18 Feb 52

Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal: for service in Vietnam on 25 - 30 May 64 and 2 Jul - 2 Sep 64

Vietnam Service Medal: for service on 31 Jul - 28 Aug 65

Corona Naval Hospital

We suspect that the records from the Corona Naval Hospital that were marked for permanent retention most likely would have been transferred to the Regional Archives.

Corona falls under the Pacific Region http://www.archives.gov/pacific/ of the National Archives network and the nearest Regional Archives location would be Laguna Niguel http://www.archives.gov/pacific/laguna/

Records are maintained in Record Groups (RG) at the Archives.

Military base records usually are archived in Record Group 181, Records of Naval Districts and Shore Establishments http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html

The Corona Naval Hospital was in Naval District #11 http://www.archives.gov/research/guide-fed-records/groups/181.html#181.2.10

We recommend you consult a reference professional at the Archives for further assistance.
If the Regional Archives doesn't have any records, you might try the National Archives in College Park, MD. Maybe some or all of the records were transferred there. Contact information is below:
Modern Military Branch
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3510
1-866-272-6272
http://www.archives.gov/contact/
inquire@nara.gov

kapok lifejacket

We don't collect photos here at the NDL, but we do have a few books about life-saving equipment.

One book titled "Designed for Life: Lifejackets Through the Ages" by Dr. C.J. Brooks (Richmond, British Columbia: Mustang Engineered Technical Apparel Group, 1995)

includes some pictures of US Navy kapok life jackets.



Scanned two images from the book and attached in this blog.

The images aren't copyrighted since they are government photos.


Photographic Section here in the Naval Historical Center does collect photos. It has an impressive collection and has posted many of its photos online. I recommend you contact the Photographic Section about obtaining more images http://www.history.navy.mil/branches/nhcorg11.htm.



One of our Photographic Section's images online which includes a sailor wearing a kapok lifejacket

http://www.history.navy.mil/photos/images/g700000/g701627c.htm.



Also, the Still Picture Branch of the National Archives probably has many helpful photos. Contact information for the National Archives is as follows:
Still Picture Branch (NNSP)
National Archives and Records Administration
8601 Adelphi Road
College Park, MD 20740-6001
301-837-3530
1-866-272-6272
http://www.archives.gov/contact/
inquire@nara.gov


Also, the Coast Guard appears to have used some US Navy life jackets as you'll see in one of the images we scanned.



Contact information for the US Coast Guard Historian's Office can be found at http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g-cp/history/collect.html.