PBY Catalina and Combat Examples

[johndallman]

Originally Posted by RogerBW

1. Cast loose the magician in the rotor kite, crash dive, and try to explain it to their superiors when they got home
2. Stay on the surface and hope for the best, against a depth-charge-armed Catalina

I'm not at all sure which of those is safer.

To a truly dedicated naval officer, option 1 saves his boat and crew for further service. Option 2 probably loses them. It also means the fact that the enemy have figured out this operation goes unreported, which is likely to cost more boats and crews. This should be enough to avoid the captain being executed for taking option 1, although he'll probably be punished.