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Consolidated PB2Y Coronado
An early PB2Y-2 in flight.
Type	Maritime patrol bomber
Manufacturer	Consolidated Aircraft
Maiden flight	December 1937
Status	Retired
Primary users	United States Navy Royal Air Force

The PB2Y Coronado was a large flying boat patrol bomber designed by Consolidated Aircraft. After deliveries of the PBY Catalina, also a Consolidated aircraft, began in 1935, the United States Navy began planning for the next generation of patrol bombers. Orders for two prototypes, the XPB2Y-1 and the Sikorsky XPBS-1, were placed in 1936; the prototype Coronado first flew in December of 1937.^[1]

One Coronado remains, as of 2005, at the Pensacola, Florida National Museum of Naval Aviation.

Contents 1 Development 2 Operators 3 Specifications (PB2Y-5) 4 References 5 Related content

After trials with the XPB2Y-1 prototype revealed some stability issues, the design was finalized as the PB2Y-2, with a large cantilever wing, twin tail, and four Pratt & Whitney R-1830 radial engines. The two inner engines were fitted with four-bladed reversible pitch propellers; the outer engines had standard three-bladed feathering props.^[2] Like the PBY Catalina before it, the PB2Y’s wingtip floats retracted to reduce drag and increase range.

Development continued throughout the war. The PB2Y-3, featuring self-sealing fuel tanks and additional armor, entered service just after the attack on Pearl Harbor and formed most of the early-war Coronado fleet. The prototype XPB2Y-4 was powered by four Wright R-2600 radials and offered improved performance, but the increases were not enough to justify a full fleet update. However, most PB2Y-3 models were converted to the PB2Y-5 standard, with the R-1830 engines replaced with single-stage R-1830-92 models. As most existing P2BY-3s were used as transports, flying low to avoid combat, removing the excess weight of unneeded superchargers allowed an increased payload without harming low-altitude performance.

Coronados served in combat in the Pacific, in both bombing and anti-submarine roles. Transport and hospital aircraft were the most common, however; the aircraft used by the British under Lend-Lease were outfitted purely as transports.

• Royal Air Force
• United States Navy

Data from Jane's Fighting Aircraft of World War II^[2]

General characteristics

• Crew: 10
• Length: 79 ft 3 in (24.2 m)
• Wingspan: 115 ft 0 in (35 m)
• Height: 27 ft 6 in (8.4 m)
• Wing area: 1,780 ft² (165 m²)
• Empty weight: 40,850 lb (18,530 kg)
• Max takeoff weight: 66,000 lb (30,000 kg)
• Powerplant: 4× Pratt & Whitney R-1830-92 radial engines, 1,200 hp (900 kW) each

Performance

• Maximum speed: 194 mph (168 knots, 310 km/h)
• Cruise speed: 170 mph (148 knots, 272 km/h)
• Range: 1,070 mi (930 nm, 1,720 km) at 131 mph (210 km/h)
• Service ceiling: 20,500 ft (6,250 m)

Armament

• Guns:
  
  • 6× .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning machine guns in three powered turrets
  • 2× .50 in M2 Browning machine guns in waist mounts
• Bombs:
  
  • 2× Mark 13 torpedoes or
  • Up to 12,000 lb of bombs, housed in the wings

Related development

• PBY Catalina

Comparable aircraft

• Kawanishi H8K
• PBM Mariner
• PB2M Mars
• Short Sunderland
• B-24 Liberator

Designation sequence

• Military: PBY - PB2Y - PB3Y - PB4Y

Consolidated: 26 - 27 - 28 - 29 - 30 - 31 -	32 (B-24)
	32 (PB4Y)

Related lists

• List of military aircraft of the United States