PB2Y Coronado

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Consolidated PB2Y Coronado
An early PB2Y-2 in flight.
Type Maritime patrol bomber
Manufacturer Consolidated Aircraft
Maiden flight December 1937
Status Retired
Primary users United States Navy
Royal Air Force

The PB2Y Coronado was a large flying boat patrol bomber designed by Consolidated Aircraft. After deliveries of the PBY Catalina, also a Consolidated aircraft, began in 1935, the United States Navy began planning for the next generation of patrol bombers. Orders for two prototypes, the XPB2Y-1 and the Sikorsky XPBS-1, were placed in 1936; the prototype Coronado first flew in December of 1937.[1]

One Coronado remains, as of 2005, at the Pensacola, Florida National Museum of Naval Aviation.

Contents

[edit] Development

After trials with the XPB2Y-1 prototype revealed some stability issues, the design was finalized as the PB2Y-2, with a large cantilever wing, twin tail, and four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines. The two inner engines were fitted with four-bladed reversible pitch propellers; the outer engines had standard three-bladed feathering props.[2] Like the PBY Catalina before it, the PB2Y’s wingtip floats retracted to reduce drag and increase range.

A Coronado moored at NAS Jacksonville during the war.
A Coronado moored at NAS Jacksonville during the war.

Development continued throughout the war. The PB2Y-3, featuring self-sealing fuel tanks and additional armor, entered service just after the attack on Pearl Harbor and formed most of the early-war Coronado fleet. The prototype XPB2Y-4 was powered by four Wright R-2600 radials and offered improved performance, but the increases were not enough to justify a full fleet update. However, most PB2Y-3 models were converted to the PB2Y-5 standard, with the R-1830 engines replaced with single-stage R-1830-92 models. As most existing P2BY-3s were used as transports, flying low to avoid combat, removing the excess weight of unneeded superchargers allowed an increased payload without harming low-altitude performance.

Coronados served in combat in the Pacific, in both bombing and anti-submarine roles. Transport and hospital aircraft were the most common, however; the aircraft used by the British under Lend-Lease were outfitted purely as transports.

[edit] Operators

[edit] Specifications (PB2Y-5)

Orthographically projected diagram of the PB2Y-5 Coronado.

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II[2]

General characteristics

Performance

Armament

  • Guns:
    • 6× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in three powered turrets
    • 2× .50 in M2 Browning machine guns in waist mounts
  • Bombs:

[edit] References

  1. ^ Andrews, Hal (November-December 1989). "PB2Y Coronado". Naval Aviation News 72 (No. 1): 22-23. ISSN 0028-1417. 
  2. ^ a b Jane, Fred T. “The Consolidated Vultee Model 29 Coronado.” Jane’s Fighting Aircraft of World War II. London: Studio, 1946. p. 218-219. ISBN 1 85170 493 0.

[edit] Related content

Related development

Comparable aircraft

Designation sequence

  • Consolidated: 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 -
 32 (B-24)
32 (PB4Y)

Related lists

v • d • e
Lists relating to aviation

Timeline of aviation
Aircraft · Aircraft manufacturers · Aircraft engines · Aircraft engine manufacturers · Airports · Airlines
Air forces · Aircraft weapons · Missiles · Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) · Experimental aircraft
Notable military accidents and incidents · Notable airline accidents and incidents · Famous aviation-related deaths
Flight airspeed record · Flight distance record · Flight altitude record · Flight endurance record · Most produced aircraft

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org../../../p/b/2/PB2Y_Coronado_fa15.html"
In other languages