PBY/Catalina 05003 Action Photos

Flight: 12.6 hours. "Hit by Japanese Twin Engine Bomber off Wake Is., several injuries".

Patrolled within sector 200d to 020d, 700 miles out from Midway.

At 0940, a twin-engine Japanese bomber made a surprise attack from the port quarter. Only the PBY's bow gun was able to return fire on that pass. The bomber then got above the PBY and dropped its bombs, but all missed. During the next 11 passes, the bomber discovered the PBY's port .50-caliber had malfunctioned and began to attack from that side. The PBY's crew moved the .30-caliber tunnel gun into the port blister and returned fire. The bomber broke off after the 12th pass and PPC Lyons escaped into cloud cover. The PBY had fired approximately 300 rounds. Sea2c Grove, who volunteered as a gunner for this patrol, received a minor shrapnel wound in the stomach when a 7.7mm round from the bomber hit and exploded the CO₂ bottle in his life vest.

Plane s/n	05003		Factory	Consolidated - San Diego			Ordered	____-___-__
			Model	_________	RAF Model	_________	Finished	____-___-__
			USN Model	PBY-5A	USAF Model	_________	Destroyed	____-___-__
From	To	Owner			Site		Country		s/n
1942-Mar-10	____-___-__	United States Navy			Washington D.C		United States		05003
From	To	Unit	Base		Site		Country		Unit s/n
1942-May-22	____-___-__	VP-44	NAS Midway		Midway Island		US Territory		44-P-6
From	To	Action/Location			Site From/To		Country
1942-Jun-01	1942-Jun-01	Flight: 12.6 hours. "Hit by Japanese Twin Engine Bomber off Wake Is., several injuries". Patrolled within sector 200d to 020d, 700 miles out from Midway. At 0940, a twin-engine Japanese bomber made a surprise attack from the port quarter. Only the PBY's bow gun was able to return fire on that pass. The bomber then got above the PBY and dropped its bombs, but all missed. During the next 11 passes, the bomber discovered the PBY's port .50-caliber had malfunctioned and began to attack from that side. The PBY's crew moved the .30-caliber tunnel gun into the port blister and returned fire. The bomber broke off after the 12th pass and PPC Lyons escaped into cloud cover. The PBY had fired approximately 300 rounds. Sea2c Grove, who volunteered as a gunner for this patrol, received a minor shrapnel wound in the stomach when a 7.7mm round from the bomber hit and exploded the CO₂ bottle in his life vest.			Midway Island		US Territory
Monday	Monday	________________________________			Midway Island		US Territory
Service	Rate/Rank	Name			Post		Country
USN	ARM2c	Leo G. Black			_________________________		United States
USN	AMM2c	Charles F. Buchanan			_________________________		United States
USN	AMM1c	Dean A. Ferbrache			_________________________		United States
USN	Sea2c	George W. Grove			_________________________		United States
USNR	Ensign	George W. Hanthorn			Pilot		United States
USN	Ensign	Frank H. Jarrel			_________________________		United States
USNR	Ensign	Jarlath J. Lyons			Pilot (PPC)		United States
USN	Ensign	Frederick S. Panetto			_________________________		United States
USN	AMM2c	Richard G. Watson			_________________________		United States
USN	AMM2c	Zygmunt F. Zydak			_________________________		United States