The first civilian Catalina, NC777 Guba (I), seen at North Beach, NY after flying non-stop from San Diego in 17 hours. The flying boat had been purchased by the American Museum of Natural History for use by naturalist Richard Archbold, but was sold to the USSR in August 1937 to participate in the search for URSS-N209 of Sigizmund Levanevsky. Archbold got another NC777 Guba, c/n C-3. Photo from: Life

NC777 on its second visit to Rose Bay (the first was in November 1938). Qantas installed extra fuel tanks so the aircraft, owned by Dr Richard Archbold, could be used to survey an Indian Ocean air route for the Australian government. In June it island hopped from Port Hedland to Mombasa in Kenya. Guba returned to the US where it was sold to the British Puchasing Commission for use by BOAC. Sunk at its moorings at Pwellheli, Wales, in 1945. The hangar in the photo was for Qantas and completed in October 1939. Demolished after flying boat operations ended at Rose Bay in the 1970s.

NC777 was a pre-war civil version the military Catalina. This was the second Consolidated Model 28 to be registered NC777 and called Guba. The first went to the Soviet Union to search for a missing aviator and stayed. Zoologist Dr Richard Archbold took another aircraft. This Guba was used to explore what was then Dutch New Guinea, now the Indonesian province of Papua. NC777 surveyed an Indian Ocean crossing under contract to the Australian government. Later sold to the UK government and became G-AGBJ with BOAC.