World War II for the flying boats started sooner than many. PBY Catalinas and PBM Mariners,a newer flying boat built to complement the PBY, were sent to Iceland, or Newfoundland,Bermuda, and other bases as piece of the Neutrality Patrol where they searched for German U-Boats. In May of 1941, or Lieutenant Leonard Smith was helping train RAF pilots in PBY operations when he took piece in a mission that spotted the German battleship Bismarck,which led to its sinking. The seaplanes escorted the Marine contingent to Iceland in July of the same year.[1] When hostilities commenced, the seaplanes were there.... Read the rest of this entry ยป
Source: navalhistory.org