Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina BuNo 2419 was flown by Ensign William Tanner of VP-14 on 7 December 1941. Tanner had been warned “to be alert during this period of great tension”. A few hours before the Japanese air raid, Tanner spotted a Japanese midget submarine trying to penetrate the harbor and destroyed it with the assistance of the destroyer USS Ward. Consolidated PBY-5 Catalina BuNo 2419...
VP-44 played a major role in the battle of Midway, notably by detecting the Japanese invasion fleet while it was still 700 miles from the American atoll. Ensign Jack Reid and his crew were the first to detect the Japanese ships on 3 June 1942. VP-44 played a major role in the...