A CATALINA flying boat, the seaplane credited with playing a key role in winning the war in the Pacific, will land at Rathmines tomorrow for only the second time since the end of World War II.
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The site of this weekend’s Catalina Festival is the former RAAF seaplane base at Rathmines, once the largest flying boat base in the South Pacific and key to Australia’s war effort.
Festival founder Mike Usher said there were 3000 personnel stationed at Rathmines at the height of the war.
Of the Catalinas based there, 32 went down in combat, with 332 lives lost.
The annual festival raises money towards plans for a hangar and museum at Rathmines that will display artefacts from the base, including, one day, a Catalina.
The arrival of the WWII seaplane tomorrow is tipped to attract thousands to the events.
Rathmines Catalina Memorial Park Trust registrar Penny Furner said the last time a Catalina had landed at Rathmines was in 1981.
A Catalina flew past during a ceremony when the base was listed on the state heritage register in 2005, but did not land.
Mrs Furner said 16 former personnel from the base, many in their 90s and some of whom were pilots, planned to attend tomorrow’s festival.
‘‘It will probably be the last time they see a Catalina fly and land,’’ she said.
She said the plane, usually housed at Albion Park, would be on display, before flying out at 3pm.
The public will be able to go inside the plane for a small fee.
Organiser Nicole Charlesworth said it would be the biggest festival in its six-year history.
‘‘The event commemorates the significance of the former RAAF base during WWII and pays respect to those who served at the base and lost their lives through the war effort,’’ she said.
Mrs Furner said Catalinas were crucial for Australia in the war.
‘‘They saved the Pacific,’’ she said.
‘‘[But] after the war, most of the Catalinas were sold for scrap.’’
Mrs Furner’s father, Group Captain Attie Wearne, was head of the base during two stints in the 1940s and ’50s.
Students from 13 schools were attending Rathmines Recreation Hall yesterday to see memorabilia from the old base.
Catalinas
Nicknamed black cats
Maximum crew: 10
Maximum speed: 286km/h at 2134m
Length: 19.35m
Wingspan: 31.69m
Maximum weight: 15,626 kilos
Famous for laying mines in enemy waters and harbours
Found Japanese ships by radar at night
Collected Allied survivors from ships and aircraft
WHAT’S ON
9.30am Microlights
10.15am Catalina flying boat fly past
10.30am Catalina flying boat lands
11.30am Wirraway Warbird
12.30pm Tiger Moth
2pm seaplanes
3pm Catalina departs
Other attractions includes RAAF hot air balloon, vintage and classic cars, military vehicles, market stalls, a farm, camel rides, classic boats
Entry: $5, children under 12 free
Details: catalinafestival.com.au
