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Secret mission Catalina touches down at Flying Boat Centre 

John Fountain of the Pembrokeshire Scale
Modellers shows his Catalina model to the
Flying Boat Centre’s Steve Fletcher (right).

A new arrival among the model fleet at the Flying Boat Centre, Pembroke Dock, recalls a forgotten wartime story involving the very first Catalina to operate in RAF colours.
The exquisite model, made by John Fountain, Secretary and founder of the Pembrokeshire Scale Modellers, depicts Catalina P9630 which was evaluated by the RAF in 1939 before large scale purchases of the type.
Soon after the outbreak of World War II in September 1939 P9630 flew from Pembroke Dock on a secret mission.
With a crew from the resident 228 Squadron the long range Catalina flew to Scotland and then on to Iceland to reconnoitre the fjords for German vessels. Bad weather forced the crew to land in territorial waters and the neutral Icelanders wanted the aircraft and crew to be interned.
In better weather the crew flew back to the UK, sparking a diplomatic incident which led to the captain of the aircraft, Wing Commander Kelly Barnes, returning to Iceland to be interned. The RAF kept the Catalina and the remaining crew.
“This is yet another of the fascinating stories associated with RAF Pembroke Dock” said John Fountain, “and I am delighted to have made the model for display at the Centre. Photographs from the Sunderland Trust’s archive were essential in the research to ensure the accuracy of this unique aircraft’s equipment and markings, as all subsequent RAF Catalinas were later versions.”
Centre volunteer Steve Fletcher added: “The Catalina is a special addition to our growing collection of scale models of local aircraft. Over 600 Catalinas flew in RAF colours but ‘PD’ can claim to have operated the very first.”
* The model can be seen at the Flying Boat Centre in Pembroke Dock’s historic former Royal Dockyard. The Centre is open daily, Tuesdays to Saturdays inclusive, 10 am to 4 pm.

 


Catalina P9630 pictured at Pembroke Dock before World War II.

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