Why did every country have a flying boat ?

• Jul 18, 2022

• #21

buffnut453

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Many a downed aircrew was grateful to see the ugly Shagbat approaching:

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #22

WARSPITER

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Why did every country have a flying boat ? Because a floating plane would have been just silly.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #23

DerAdlerIstGelandet

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How about this?

Because they have need and requirement for one.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #24

WARSPITER

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DerAdlerIstGelandet said:

How about this?

Because they have need and requirement for one.

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Yeah... i didn't think of that.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #25

vikingBerserker

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I think in the Pacific it was key crittical to have one due to the distances and lack of land mass for runways. A wonderful benefit is they could land on the water and refuel from a ship, boat or another plane.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #26

GrauGeist

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Well, in all fairness, the Fw200 *could* land on water.

Once...

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #27

DerAdlerIstGelandet

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WARSPITER said:

Yeah... i didn't think of that.

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I have no doubt you understand and know that.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #28

WARSPITER

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DerAdlerIstGelandet said:

I have no doubt you understand and know that.

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Well I certainly do now.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• Thread starter
• #29

V

VA5124

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DerAdlerIstGelandet said:

But not as pretty as the Do 24.

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Correction if we are picking a cute flying boat it has to go to the H8K

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #30

Capt. Vick

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Boeing Sea Ranger all the way!

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #31

SaparotRob

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Saunders-Roe Lerwick.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #32

Viking1066

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Flying boats are awesome! The Kawanishi H8K2 is one of the best most overlooked flying boats of WW2.

 

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• Jul 18, 2022

• #33

E

EwenS

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Nah. Got to be the Saro Princess (even if it never got beyond the prototype stage).

Saunders-Roe Princess - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

Or the Seamaster

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #34

GrauGeist

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My pick is the BV238 for the beast category and the BV222 for functionality (and the world's largest gunfighter).

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #35

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Spindash64

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Oct 21, 2021

Naw. PBY is the PBJ of flying boats: not exactly a unique pick, but there's a reason for that.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #36

Capt. Vick

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Postwar would be Martin P6M Seamaster, hands down

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #37

muskeg13

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To expand a bit on points already made, flying boats were indispensable in the Pacific to provide long range heavy transport to small islands and atolls. These often had small airstrips but lacked sufficient land area to construct runways long enough to operate heavily loaded land-based aircraft with similar capacity as flying boats. Flying boats were a perfect match for use in/out of atolls with a large lagoon that protected the landing and take-off area from the open seas.

Although this is in "What If" territory, I believe the outcome of the Battle of Wake Island could have been much different if the USN either had a small dedicated fleet of Boeing 314 or Martin M130s based out of Hawaii in 1941 to service the outpost islands and atolls, or if the USN had acted more quickly to commandeer the Pan Am Clippers already in Hawaii in the days immediately after the Pearl Harbor attack. A few more men and critical materiel, like additional fire control equipment for coastal and antiaircraft artillery could have made the difference.

 

Last edited: Jul 18, 2022

• Jul 18, 2022

• #38

Thumpalumpacus

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EwenS said:

Nah. Got to be the Saro Princess (even if it never got beyond the prototype stage).

Saunders-Roe Princess - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

View attachment 678213


Or the Seamaster

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That's not an airplane, that's a flying food processor. "Salad for eighteen hundred, you say? Right-o, we can do that."

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #39

Howard Gibson

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VA5124 said:

What was the point of flying boats they were slow lumbering weekly armed aircraft , If you need patrol aircraft use a medium bomber or if your greman use the condor. same answer applies to search and rescue . I dont understand the worlds affinty with flying boats someone please help

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Kawanishi H8K "Emily"
Look this one up. 290mph and five 20mm cannons.

 

• Jul 18, 2022

• #40

DerAdlerIstGelandet

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Besides if they had not had flying boats what the hell would I have flown while assigned to anti U-Boot patrols in the Caribbean?