TYPE: Long-range reconnaissance aircraft boat
AMOUNT IN NORWEGIAN SERVICE: 6
ARMAMENT
8x 7.69mm Machineguns
900 kg various bombs, mines and depth charges internally, winched out under the wings through hatches in the fuselage sides
2x extra machineguns added by Norwegian 330 Squadron and taken from Northrop N-3 PB most likely 7.62mm Colt machineguns ( in the nose under the turret and one on each side of the fuselage)
TECHNICAL DATA
Wingspan: 34.1m
Lenght: 26.0m
Eigne: 4x 1.065 Hp Bristol Pegasus XVIII
Top-speed: 330 Km/h
Cruise speed: 210 Km/h
Range: 4.505 Km
NORWEGIAN MODIFICATIONS
2x 7.62mm Colt machineguns from N-3PB
SERIAL NUMBERS - times in service and fates
HISTORY
In 1943, the planes also got 4 permanently mounted machine guns in the front that the pilot could operate most likely 7.69mm
On 5 November 1942, Coastal Command decided that No 330 squadron should convert to flying boats. The Sunderland was the largest aircraft in the RAF at the time. negotiations had been conducted prior to this, but the decision came unexpectedly both at the squadron and at the Air Force’s Joint Command in London, which immediately tried to get it done. These were expensive aircraft that Norway had to pay for in the initial budget, and with crews of 9-11 men, it would swallow all access to new crews for a long time. eventually it was agreed that the British should pay for the planes, while Norway took the operating costs. however, efforts were made to change this arrangement throughout the rest of the war. Norway wanted smaller machines that could also be used in a future Norwegian air force
Oban on the Scottish west coast became the new base from January 1943. it was initially thought that the department would be set up with Sunderland Mk.III and on 29 April the force was up to 9 Sunderland Mk III and one Mk II. Most of the planes had been in poor condition when received, and it had required a lot of work to get them ready for use. The department had become operational around 20 April when word came that 6 Mk.IIIs were to be returned in exchange for more or less serviceable Mk.IIs. A storm of protests arose, but the status at the end of May was still 6 Mk.II and four Mk.III. On 5 June, the only fatal Mk.II accident occurred when D/W6052 disappeared en route from Oban to Sullom Voe. The crew on this trip were British with one exception, and a distress signal was heard from the aircraft near the Hebrides, but nothing was found despite a search for several days. In mid-June, the entire squadron was moved to Sullom Voe in Shetland. this station was closer to the squadron’s area of operations, but was deserted, 40 km north of Lerwick
All of the Mk.IIs that No 330 squadron received were old and well-used aircraft that required a lot of maintenance in relation to what one got back from operational flight time. By comparison, over an eight-month period all Mk.IIs flew only 31 operational hours more than Sunderland Mk.III V/JM667 alone, despite this aircraft being overhauled for two months. O/T9083 was built as a Mk.I in autumn 1941 and became the prototype for the Mk.II when it was rebuilt in 1942. It lacked a dorsal turret and had an unreliable fuel system so it could be used for training. A significant difference between the Mk.II and Mk.III was the fuel capacity. The Mk.III could take 2,500 gallons of gasoline versus 2,000 in the Mk.II. this amounted to 4 hours of flying time. Many of the engines were also tired and caused a lot of problems. However, the Sunderland was well equipped and German aircrews respected it. It added three hydraulically driven turrets with a total of 8 machine gunners. In addition, the departments often increased the armament, as when No 330 squadron mounted 2 extra machine guns from Northrop in the nose under the turret and one on each side of the fuselage. in 1943, the planes also got 4 permanently mounted machine guns in the front that the pilot could operate. This was done because many German submarines were equipped with anti-aircraft guns and chose to take up the fight with the planes. The bomb load was normally 8 syncmines. The Germans called Sunderland “Das fliegende stachelschwein” (the flying hedgehog)
all remaining Mk.II machines were returned to the RAF in winter/spring 1944
PICTURES
Spoiler
SOURCES
Spoiler
Norske militærfly - Sverre Mo, Ole Bjørn Sælensminde - innbundet(9788271286873) | Adlibris Bokhandel](Norske militærfly - Sverre Mo, Ole Bjørn Sælensminde - innbundet(9788271286873) | Adlibris Bokhandel)
https://www.norli.no/boker/dokumentar-og-fakta/historie-og-dokumentar/krig-og-historie/luftforsvarets-historie-fortalt-gjennom-75-gjenstander?
Redirecting...
https://flyblader.com/onewebmedia/Nr 9 Catalina.pdf
https://www.instagram.com/p/ClrtFmTjQCo/ (my own instagram copy paste)
- Yes
- No