Northrop N-3PB

Northrop N-3PB

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06/30/2008. Derived from the Gamma 2, the N-3PB three-seat patrol-bomber seaplane was designed for the Norwegian Government and twenty-four aircraft were ordered on March 12, 1940, only two months before Norway was invaded by Germany. The first N-3PB flew in December 1940 from Lake Elsinor, California, USA.

On April 25, 1941, RAF Coastal Command Squadron No. 330 was formed from Norwegian personnel who had escaped Norway and were trained in Canada. Based at Reykjavik in Iceland, the squadron received their first N-3PB in late May and the first operation took place on June 23, 1941. In August 1943 the type was relegated to the training role. No. 330 Squadron moved to Norway in May 1945 and was subsequently taken over by the RNorAF.

The pictured aircraft was carrying the RNorAF s/n 20 and the squadron code GS-U when it crash-landed in the Thjorsa River, Iceland in 1943. It was located in the seventies, salvaged in 1979 and restored by Northrop in 1980. Presently the sole surviving N-3PB is preserved in RAF markings at Norway's Forsvarets Flysamling (Armed Forces Aircraft Collection) at Gardermoen.


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06/30/2008. Derived from the Gamma 2, the N-3PB three-seat patrol-bomber seaplane was designed for the Norwegian Government and twenty-four aircraft were ordered on March 12, 1940, only two months before Norway was invaded by Germany. The first N-3PB flew in December 1940 from Lake Elsinor, California, USA. On April 25, 1941, RAF Coastal Command Squadron No. 330 was formed from Norwegian personnel who had escaped Norway and were trained in Canada. Based at Reykjavik in Iceland, the squadron received their first N-3PB in late May and the first operation took place on June 23, 1941. In August 1943 the type was relegated to the training role. No. 330 Squadron moved to Norway in May 1945 and was subsequently taken over by the RNorAF. The pictured aircraft was carrying the RNorAF s/n 20 and the squadron code GS-U when it crash-landed in the Thjorsa River, Iceland in 1943. It was located in the seventies, salvaged in 1979 and restored by Northrop in 1980. Presently the sole surviving N-3PB is preserved in RAF markings at Norway's Forsvarets Flysamling (Armed Forces Aircraft Collection) at Gardermoen.