catalina

United Air Lines Douglas DST-A-207A (DC-3), NC18145 (c/n 1977) Mainliner Nebraska.

PBY Catalina at San Diego!

Developed as a naval patrol aircraft, the Consolidated PBY Catalina was a widely exported flying boat during World War II. Over the course of the conflict, it served a number of different nations in a variety of roles. In the Royal Australian Air Force, PBYs and PB2Bs (a variant built by Boeing in Canada) served as multi-role bombers and scouts, the type eventually earning great renown among Australian aircrews.[2][3][4][5][6] The motto of the Catalina squadrons was "The First and Furthest." Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consolidated_PBY_Catalina_in_Austra...

The WAAAF was the first military organisation in Australia for women which focused on skills other than tending the sick or injured. The establishment of the WAAAF paved the way for similar organisations in Navy and Army. Some women joined the WAAAF because they saw it as their patriotic duty, others to see the world and some to escape the social confines of life at home with the men away. Critics viewed the new organisation as a radical move and at least one national leader, the Minister for Defence, Harold C. Thorby, (right) opposed it. 'Aviation takes women out of their natural environment, the home and the training of the family,' he said. These fabric workers knew to an inch the amount of material required to cover their aircraft. It's no exaggeration to say that military life came as shock to some women: they had trouble adjusting. The WAAAF was designed and run as an efficient military organisation. In all areas, except pay and entitlements, women were treated the same as men in the Royal Australian Air Force. Pay and conditions were vastly different to men, women were only paid a percentage of the equivalent male wage and married women were not allowed to remain in the WAAAF. Source: www.radschool.org.au/magazines/Vol75/Page15.htm