Old pilots like to describe the Catalina's performance as "climb at 90 knots, cruise at 90 knots and land at 90 knots". Fast and sleek it wasn't, but able to cruise hours on end and cover vast territories was its greatest strength. Of the more than 3,200 Catalinas produced from 1935 until 1944, over 100 of the tough old birds are still flying today!
The result of a design competition between Douglas and Consolidated, the Consolidated design won out because of its low price, just $90,000 per plane, but that was big money in 1935. The order for 200 PBY-2 Catalinas was the biggest airplane order placed with a manufacturer since the end of the first World War. Soon, ordered in quantity by England and other Allied countries, the Catalina earned high marks for its durability, ability to land and take off from fairly rough seas and tremendous range.