In 1943, a few brave men reconnected an empire. They flew Consolidated PBY Catalina flying boats non stop for 32 hours across enemy territory, breaking the Japanese air blockade of Australia. Despite their brave efforts, the crews of the Double Sunrise Flights were never recognised for what they did. Today a few brave men hope to change that as they resurrect a 70 year old Catalina flying boat, and fly it half way across the world from Spain to Australia in order to preserve the memory of the Double Sunrise Flights. Their epic journey from 2011 will inspire you to persevere and to never give up hope. A feature-length documentary film covering this momentous feat is in the final stages of production. Called ‘The Return of the Catalina’, it will be available in both DVD and Digital Download on July 17th of this year.
A YouTube Trailer to the film can be seen HERE!
For those interested in keeping tabs on the documentary, the following links are available:
Website: www.returnofthecatalina.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/returnofthecatalina
Twitter: www.twitter.com/catalinareturns
In addition, there is currently a promotion on offer for a related documentary by the same producer called ‘The Double Sunrise Flights’.which retells the tale of those daring RAAF personnel who flew the Catalina re-supply missions into blockaded Australia during the early, dark days of the Pacific war. Those interested in seeing the film can download it for just $6.95 (RRP $14.95), but if they type in the promo code: “catalina” they will get an extra $2.00 off the price bringing it to $4.95. Please click HERE to download the film.
Richard Mallory Allnutt's aviation passion ignited at the 1974 Farnborough Airshow. Raised in 1970s Britain, he was immersed in WWII aviation lore. Moving to Washington DC, he frequented the Smithsonian’s National Air & Space Museum, meeting aviation legends.
After grad school, Richard worked for Lockheed-Martin but stayed devoted to aviation, volunteering at museums and honing his photography skills. In 2013, he became the founding editor of Warbirds News, now Vintage Aviation News. With around 800 articles written, he focuses on supporting grassroots aviation groups.
Richard values the connections made in the aviation community and is proud to help grow Vintage Aviation News.
I would like to buy a copy that I could play on the computer’
May I have your permission to re-blog this article to my site? I have done a number of articles on Catalinas and I am sure my followers would be interested in this story. Also, fyi, HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) is nearby, and we look forward to seeing this documentary soon.(https://garrulousgwendoline.wordpress.com/?s=catalina)
(https://garrulousgwendoline.wordpress.com/page/2/?s=catalina)
regards Gwen Wilson
Many thanks for the request Gwen… please do feel free to do so, but please also give full credit and a link to our sight if you could.
Cheers!
Apologies it took so long for me to do this article. I had hoped to go to the Premiere event at HARS (Historical Aircraft Restoration Society) Albion Park, NSW. However, I had a prior engagement. So I have turned the article into a DVD review instead.
I heard Daniel Bunker on bay FM today talking about the Catalinas and found it very interesting. I was wondering if he would come to our Victoria Pont National Seniors group to talk to us about the Catalinas in Redland Bay. We have sixty to seventy at our meetings and I am sure they would enjoy listening to Daniel. We have a vacancy in November if it can be arranged.. Thank you. Shirley
Where/When can I buy a copy of the DVD/Movie?
Where can I buy a copy of the DVD
Regards and Thanks
Is there a list of men who were involved with these flights please? My father was based at Rathmines in N.S.W. in the Airforce where the Catalinas were also. His records don’t tell me much. Regards, Dee Smith.
Hi , My father flew these at the end of the war on search and rescue missions. His birthday is in 3 weeks , how can I get a copy of this amazing story.
Thank you
How can I buy a copy of the DVD for my Dad, and how long does it take to get one?
Where can I purchase the Top Secret Double Pack.
The DVD pack contains two separate DVD’.
Return of the Catalina.
WW2 documentary of the Double Sunrise Catalina from Fremantle to Ceylon.
Have tried email site, http://www.returnofthecatalina.com
as advertised in Flighpath FEB- APRIL 2016
Coming up acts an invalid site.
want to buy both films in DVD format, how much and where do i do the deal?
Fantastic to see this being made. I often walk past the memorial at Pelican Point in Matilda Bay on the Swan River in Perth where they took off from. Extraordinary effort!