Hows this for coincidence, last week I was looking at a Catalina (as above), then yesterday my daughter in Broome said they had a very low tide so walked out to look at the wreck of a Catalina destroyed at anchor in Roebuck Bay Broome by a Japanese Zero during WW2. A little known fact, most Aussies knew about Darwin being attacked.
Exert from Clubmarine web site.
"At 9:30 am on March 3, 1942, nine Japanese Zero fighter aircraft (from their newly occupied base in Timor) attacked the pearling town without warning. Lasting less than an hour, the attack was devastating. Some 25 American, British, Dutch and Australian aircraft were destroyed. Of the well over 40 official casualties, many were Dutch women and children, who were packed aboard 16 flying boats - Catalinas, Short Empires and Dorniers - anchored in what was believed to be the safe haven of Roebuck Bay. At the time they were either waiting to be unloaded and ferried ashore or being readied to fly further south."