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Catalina dreaming

rescues, exciting missions and other stories

 Andrew McMillan

Here is a personal history of the RAAF Catalina flying boats based in Cairns, Karumba, Darwin and Melville Bay during World War II, and the men who flew and looked after them. The Catalina was the ugly duckling of combat aircraft, with a top speed less than that of a modern automobile. Yet it could carry enormous weights and remain in the air for up to 32 hours. From their bases on the north coast, Australians were able to carry out bombing raids and rescue missions as far away as the coast of China.

This is the story of men from southern Australia thrown into a hostile landscape, and their confrontations with tropical conditions, Aboriginal tribesmen, Yanks, air raids on Darwin, boredom and terror, sharks, and of course the Japanese. Andrew McMillan has visited the bases, consulted the archives, and talked to many of the men involved. With affection he has told their story, and the story of the aircraft they often came to love.