Return of the Catalina

In 1942, Singapore fell to the Japanese and with it, the vital air route that delivered top secret communications between Britain and Australia. It was of paramount importance that this air route be re-established, and a group of brave aviators from Australia proposed to do just that. By flying unarmed PBY Catalina flying boats for up to 32 hours across enemy territory. These crews also had to shed any excess weight from their aircraft in order to make the strenuous journey, and this included their guns. These top secret flights were called The Double Sunrise Flights, because the crews would see two sunrises on their flight. These few brave men achieved the impossible and reconnected an empire on the brink of collapse. Yet despite all this, the crews were never recognized for their brave efforts, and these unsung war heroes have since been forgotten to history. But today one ambitious museum in Outback Australia hopes to change all of this. By restoring and flying a seventy year old Ca