Pacific Wrecks - PBV-1A Canso Constructors Number CV369

Missing In Action (MIA)

Prisoners Of War (POW)

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO)

Chronology

PBV-1A Canso Constructors Number CV369

RCAF

Justin Taylan 2000

Daniel Leahy 2001

Peter Flahavin 2004

Aircraft History
Built by Canadian Vickers Limited in Montreal, Canada as the Model CL-1 a license built version of Consolidated Aircraft Corporation Model 28-5A. Constructor Number CV369. Assigned to the Royal Canadian Air Force (RCAF) as PBV-1A Canso. Postwar, stricken off charge and offered for sale.

Postwar
Purchased by a private company and used as an airborne mineral survey aircraft. Registered in the United States as N609FF. Later, registered in Australia as VH-EXG. This aicraft was flown in Australia, Indonesia and South Africa. This aircraft was flying until at least 1993 until it was cost prohibative to keep airworthy and was grounded.

Restoration
During 1993, aquired by the RAAF Museum acquired the aircraft and it was transported to Australia. The fuselage was restored at RAAF Amberley Museum & Restoration Facility.

Under restoration as Catalina A24-104 with tail code NR-H of the 113th ASRF (Air-Sea Rescue Flight). inParts from other Catalina wrecks were used in the restoration, including: exhaust stacks were recovered from Catalina A24-1. Also, parts from Catalina A24-381 and the gun platform from Palm Island Seaplane Base.

Dennis Doggett describes the restoration on July 21, 2000:
"The restoration will return the plane to its World War II RAAF configuration of search and rescue. We have managed to scrounge about three-fourths of the parts we need for the restoration. For the rest, we have to get creative. This map table was created from photographs. Our replica is exactly like the original, which just does not exists anywhere. You do get a lot of satisfaction in restoring stuff like this! The gun platforms came off a wrecked PBY from Palm Island. Sure, its been there 50 -70 feet from the salt water, in the open air. There's allot of corrosion on it, but there are a lot of parts, about 70% are mint. If you could, you could hop in, and fly it! The ammo box we had to make up from photos and diagrams. The right side feed chute was given to us on loan. We copied it, then reversed it and made the left hand side chute. We have one floor panel, but we don't have one for the other side. We will have to make a copy from the one we do have, but that will be a very difficult part to make."

During September 2001, the wings were removed for the Amberley Airshow (cancelled due to 9/11/01). Later, the RAAF cutting funding to restoration because it was taking too long and RAAF Amberley Museum & Restoration Facility was closed to visitors.

In early 2002, this Catalina was moved to RAAF Museum at Point Cook, where it is stored in the storage facility.

References
Thanks to Dennis Doggett for additional information
Australian Aviation January / February 2002 Issue

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Last Updated
June 12, 2020

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