Consolidated 28-5A PBY-5A Catalina

Consolidated 28-5A PBY-5A Catalina

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08/15/2008. Delivered to the USN in 1944, with s/n 48373. After WWI it was sold and converted by Remmert Werner of St. Louis, Missouri to an executive aircraft. It came on the civil registry as N10018, registered to the Beldex Corporation, later it was reregistered N95R.

In 1959 it was converted, again by Remmert Werner, to airline passenger configuration. On October 10 it was registered to Ansett Transport Industries as VH-BRI and used to fly tourists from Queensland out to islands on the Great Barrier Reef, the first service was flown on November 12, 1959. It was painted all-over gloss white with turquoise, gold and black trim.

On July 8, 1962, it made a hard landing at Hayman Island, and due to some loosen rivets the aircraft had sunk by the following morning. Struck from the register that day and it was sold for scrap. However, the hull was converted in a house boat that also could be move by road as it still had the operational retractable landing gear.


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08/15/2008. Delivered to the USN in 1944, with s/n 48373. After WWI it was sold and converted by Remmert Werner of St. Louis, Missouri to an executive aircraft. It came on the civil registry as N10018, registered to the Beldex Corporation, later it was reregistered N95R. In 1959 it was converted, again by Remmert Werner, to airline passenger configuration. On October 10 it was registered to Ansett Transport Industries as VH-BRI and used to fly tourists from Queensland out to islands on the Great Barrier Reef, the first service was flown on November 12, 1959. It was painted all-over gloss white with turquoise, gold and black trim. On July 8, 1962, it made a hard landing at Hayman Island, and due to some loosen rivets the aircraft had sunk by the following morning. Struck from the register that day and it was sold for scrap. However, the hull was converted in a house boat that also could be move by road as it still had the operational retractable landing gear.