No. 5. Squadron Song

DESCRIPTION: "You can talk about the Army And about their victories, You can brag about the Navy, but for baggin' subs, Our Cansos rule the seas." The singer describes the hunt for "Herr Hitler's submarines," and tells of the work of the various unit members
AUTHOR: unknown
EARLIEST DATE: 1949 (Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear)
KEYWORDS: soldier work technology flying | Hitler submarine
FOUND IN: Canada
REFERENCES (1 citation):
Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear, p. 41, "No. 5 Squadron Song" (1 text, tune referenced)
Roud #29414
CROSS-REFERENCES:
cf. "Macnamara's Band" (tune)
NOTES [835 words]: Hopkins-SongsFromTheFrontAndRear calls this song "optimistic" about the results obtained by the Number 5 squadron (which was one of only two long-range reconnaissance squadrons in eastern Canada; Sarty, p. 127; for the other, #116, see the notes to "The North Atlantic Squadron"). In one sense, Hopkins is right; the planes did not themselves sink many submarines. However, this rather misses the point. The "Canso" is the Canadian name for the Consolidated PBY flying boat, better known to the British and Americans as the "Catalina." (So named by the British, since it was made by Consolidated; the British had a tendency toward alliterative names, such as Hawker Hurricane, Supermarine Spitfire, Short Stirling, Fairey Fulmar, Consolidated Catalina; Creed, p. 246.) "One of the most famous and familiar aircraft of its time, the 'Cat' had a distinguished service record in many theatres of war with the U.S. and Allied forces. Having few equals for toughness and dependability, not to mention adaptability, the Catalina was noteworthy for its excellent range" (Munson, p. 45).
Wheal/Pope, p. 110, say that "The bulk of the 3,290 Catalinas of all types built in the US and Canada served the US Navy as bombers, torpedo carriers, convoy escorts, anti-submarine and air-sea rescue aircraft. Over 650 of various marks were eventually used by the RAF, while models in Canadian service were known as 'Cansos.'" (Creed, pp. 253-254, says that the Canadians had tried to buy Catalinas from Consolidated, but all available aircraft had already been allocated to other buyers, so Canadian firms were authorized to build their own; these Canadian-assembled PBYs were called "Cansos" to distinguish them from Consolidated's own machines. Creed, p. 253, says that when the Canadians decided to order the aircraft, they initially chose the name "Convoy" for the aircraft, "but, as it was easily confused with ship convoys, it was discarded in favor of 'Canso,' after the Strait of Canso between Cape Breton Island and the mainland of Nova Scotia.")
But although the Catalina/Canso occasionally served in combat roles, that really wasn't its purpose. A very slow plane (top speed 179 miles per hour, according to Munson, p. 45, with a crew of 8; Wheal/Pope, p. 110, say it had a top speed of 196 miles per hour, referring to a newer model), it was not well suited for attack -- even the typical biplane was faster. (Bercuson, p. 106, calls it "agonizingly slow; when German submarines spotted the lumbering Catalinas from the bridge of a surfaced U-boat, they usually had ample time for a crash dive before they were attacked.) Its chief attributes were the fact that, as a seaplane, it could be based anywhere with water (and come down on the water to pick up men or cargo) -- and its range of more than 3000 miles. It could go anywhere, and it could stay in the air for as much as 24 hours. This made it excellent as a search aircraft, and this was its primary role. Even in convoy escort, it often served best by spotting a submarine and calling in escort craft to sink it. As Creed says on p. 193, "Even though U.S. Navy PBYs in Iceland sank few U-boat, they did the next best thing: They stopped them from sinking Allied ships" -- simply by being around, they forced the submarines underwater, which made it harder for them to pursue convoys.
They also did yeoman service as marine rescue craft. No one knows how many people were rescued at sea by Catalinas, but it was many thousands -- one unit's rescue forces, the 5th Air Force ERS squadrons, saved more tan 1600 men from the sea all by itself (Creed, p. 243).
First placed in service in 1936 (Creed, p. 35), "the plane was obsolescent when World War II began; the prototype of an intended successor was already flying Even so, the Catalina was ready at the outbreak. It could be produced more quickly and in greater numbers than any other patrol plane, and it cold be used in many different ways. It became the Allies' most popular flying boat, largely because of its long range, its carrying capacity, its reliability, and its ability to land where there were no airfields, on any body of calm water. Many of those same qualities account for the fifty-year-old design continuing in civilian service today [1985]..." (Creed, p. 1).
That said, it was too slow to be a day bomber. It wasn't expected to attack! Thus, the fact that the Catalinas of Squadron 5 did not themselves sink many subs is no insult to its usefulness or to the crew's hard work.
As proof, I offer the fact that a Catalina was the first unit to spot the Japanese fleet at the Battle of Midway, allowing the American victory there (Lord, pp. 94-95); a Catalina was also the aircraft that spotted the Bismarck after she had eluded her pursuers, making it possible for the British to destroy her (Zetterling/Tamelander, pp. 229-232; Creed, p. 247).
Even so, according to Creed, p. 2, of the 55 Axis submarines sunk by aircraft in World War II, the Catalina was responsible for sinking twenty. - RBW
BibliographyLast updated in version 5.0
File: Hopk041

Go to the Ballad Search form
Go to the Ballad Index Song List

Go to the Ballad Index Instructions
Go to the Ballad Index Bibliography or Discography

The Ballad Index Copyright 2024 by Robert B. Waltz and David G. Engle.