About the book: 2004 / It’s unlikely that anyone can dispute the fact that PBY Catalina was the most successful flying boat ever built. Produced continuously for ten years, it became the most popular seaplane in the world - in fact, as many of these machines were built as all the others combined. It is interesting that PBY might not have been born if Consolidated had not outbid Douglas when the US Navy asked them for data on the cost of producing a batch of patrol seaplanes based on the Consolidated XP3Y-1 and Douglas XP3D-1 prototypes. Both competing vehicles were successfully tested and fully met the technical requirements of the fleet. Their flight characteristics were almost identical and the decisive factor influencing the choice of military sailors was the price - Consolidated asked $90,000 for its seaplane, and Douglas $110,000 and lost the competition.