Biggest / Fastest Amphibious Aircraft WWII

[kitplane01]

What's the biggest and what's the fastest fixed wing amphibious aircraft of WWII? To be amphibious it must be capable of landing and takeoff on both land and water! So for example, the Martin Mars might be huge but it cannot land on a hard runway (not if you want to take off again).

Axis and Japanese aircraft count. Prototypes are OK too.

Was there anything bigger than a Catalina? There must have been something faster than a Catalina.

(The Hindenburg probably doesn't count. It's huge, but I don't think it can land on water. Also, I mean fixed wing aircraft.)

 

[GrauGeist]

Just to clarify, Japan was a member of the Axis.
Also, the PBY Catalina was strictly a flying boat until the PBY-5A variant provided landing gear.

 

[Admiral Beez]

Tupolev MTB-2

 

[Schweik]

I LOVE flying boats and seaplanes. And that is a neat and lovely one. But...

I'm pretty sure the fastest large flying boat, and really I believe the undisputed 'queen' of this class of aircraft would be the large (124' wingspan) and impressive Kawanishi H8K, which could make a reported 290 miles per hour, and was also very heavily armed with 5 x 20mm cannon plus 5 x 7.7 mgs. It had a range of 4,400 miles and could carry two torpedoes or 2000 lbs of bombs / depth charges ... and had ASV radar.

All the more impressive since it appeared (though perhaps not quite in the above form) in 1942. They did well as recon planes. However they didn't seem to cope well with Allied fighters, or sometimes bombers (SBDs and once a B-24 IIRC).

If the H8K is the 'queen' of this class, maybe the the six engined, slightly frightening German Blohm & Voss BV 222 is the king. also quite impressive, being bigger (150 ft wingspan, 121ft length) and (arguably) even more heavily armed (3x 20mm and 5 x 13mm mg) and probably much better armored and protected, but not as fast (top speed 242 mph) or as long ranged. They only made a handful of them but they were quite tough, used as an armed transport over the Med these beasts fought off numerous attacks, and one of them seems to have shot down a PB4Y (B-24) in a magnificent duel of giants. B&V also made the even bigger (197' wingspan) BV 238 which would have had impressive armament and capabilities but wasn't produced in time to be actually used.

The slightly smaller but always impressive Short Sunderland was in the running, though not quite as potent as either of the above, however, they made a variant called the Seaford (aka Sunderland Mk IV) which certainly was, with an armament of 2 x 20mm, 6 x 12.7mm, and 2 x (fixed) .303 guns, a range of 3,100 miles, and a bomb capacity of (allegedly) almost 5,000 lbs. They only made 10 of these but they were formidable warlike flying boats.

The American PBY was smaller and not as capable as any of these, but due to ubiquity and a certain suitability to warfare it probably had the greatest effect on the war, inflicting many casualties on Axis shipping and submarines. The closest thing the Americans had to one of the big flying "battle boats" was the PB2Y-5 Coronado, but it lacked the speed or range of the others listed above. The gigantic (200' wingspan) Martin JRM Mars had impressive range of 4,900 miles and would have been in the running of the big ones above but it was barely in the war and only used as a transport.

I'd also give honorable mention to the Japanese H6K, predecessor to the H8K (and roughly equivalent to a PBY) and the German Dornier Do 24, also in a similar niche to the PBY, but a very elegant design used by both Axis and Allies during the war (for a variety of convoluted reasons) and continuing to have a long life post-war.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9c/Saro_Princess_G-ALUN_Farnborough_1953.jpg

My favorite though just for weirdness alone is the incredible Saunders-Roe Princess, a kind of flying cruise ship, with a superb bizarre art-deco / mid century science fiction appearance. Sadly by the time it was finished a long development process we were well into the jet age and they gave up. Somewhere in an alternative universe people are traveling to tropical vacations in these though, I'm sure of it.

 

[GrauGeist]

How many of those are amphibeous? (PBY-5 excluded)

 

[Schweik]

Ah... I missed that nuance. I believe the Sunderland series had some kind of detatchable wheels though that was probably just for beaching. I don't know if they ever landed one on a runway. Same for H8K. I don't believe the BV 222 could takeoff or land from an airstrip.

I'll just be quiet now lol....

 

[Admiral Beez]

Ah... I missed that nuance. I'll just be quiet now lol....

I do wish people would read the tin first.

Free Reading Comprehension Worksheets

 

[Admiral Beez]

Just to clarify, Japan was a member of the Axis.
Also, the PBY Catalina was strictly a flying boat until the PBY-5A variant provided landing gear.

What about the Martin Mariner PBM?

It looks like it could give it a go in a pinch,

 

[J_P_C]

PBM-5A version has been delivered after war, all WWII participants of this type were pure flying boats

 

[cammerjeff]

For Fastest Amphibian I think the Grumman goose would be in the running with a top speed listed at 201mph. Slightly faster than a Catalina PBY-5A

 

[J4F-2]

Beat me to it. The Goose was the fastest, but not the largest.

 

[Big Jake]

The Catalina would do 200 mph heading straight down in a vertical dive (maybe…)

 

[MiTasol]

Tupolev MTB-2

View attachment 638487

View attachment 638488

That is the ugliest landing gear on an otherwise reasonable looking aircraft

 

[Admiral Beez]

It's a shame that the 260 mph WW2-designed Supermarine Seagull did not enter service sooner to be considered here.

 

[MiTasol]

The Catalina would do 200 mph heading straight down in a vertical dive (maybe…)

at full power and overweight maybe

I always heard the Catalina took off at 90, climbed at 90, cruised at 90, stalled at 90, landed at 90 and dived at 90.