Bring Back the Seaplane
David Alman
July 1, 2020
On December 8, 1941, Japan attacked the Philippines and destroyed nearly half of the U.S. Army Air Corps’ bombers along with a third of its fighters on the ground. Yet, 43 of 45 Navy patrol aircraft survived the day. The reason for such a stark difference in survival is simple: In accordance with pre-war plans, the 45 aircraft of Patrol Wing 10 had dispersed to various lakes, beaches, rivers, and bays throughout the Philippines. The aircraft — PBY Catalina seaplanes — continued the fight from their ever-changing sea bases. Japan was left hunting for small groups of seaplanes over thousands of square miles of water and coastline. While the seaplanes alone were unable to change the course of the battle, and ultimately suffered grievous losses later in the campaign when pressed into action as bombers without fighter escort, their initial survival demonstrated a unique capability that should be considered today.
As the National Defense Strategy demands, the Marine Corps is currently demonstrating, and the new Air Force chief of staff has discussed, the challenges posed by an increasingly capable Chinese military demand innovation and disruptive thinking in the Pentagon. Innovation requires strategists to consider all options on the table. Moreover, it requires all options to be placed on the table in the first place. One option noticeably absent from most debates on future operations in the Pacific Ocean is the seaplane.
https://warontherocks.com/2020/07/bring-back-the-seaplane/
