Catalina A24-88 was delivered to the RAAF in March 1944 as a PBY-5A, and served with 42 Squadron as RK-A from August 1944 through to July 1945 in the South East Pacific operations as a Black Cat on sea mining missions.

A24-88 most famous mission was to take part in the longest Black Cat mining mission of the War, to mine Manila Harbour in December 1944 to bottle up the Japanese fleet ahead of the landings in the Philippines by General MacArthur.

A24-88 was transferred to 11 Squadron on August 1st 1945 and remained with that squadron to the end of the war. On January 10th 1946 A24-88 was allocated to 1 Flying Boat Repair Depot at Lake Boga, Victoria for storage and disposal.

January 1948 the hulk of A24-88 was sold for scrap but instead was stripped of it s engines, wings, and tail and converted to a house boat on the Murray River where it served for over 30 years in the Echuca area.

Catalina PBY A24-88 (RK A) hulk was acquired by the Australian National Aviation Museum in Moorabbin Victoria and is currently awaiting restoration.

A24-88 is the last surviving RAAF Black Cat, the sole surviving RAAF PBY-5A model of 46 delivered, and the only survivor of the 29 locally modified PBY-5A (M) aircraft converted from Amphibian to Flying Boat.

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