Catalina Dreaming by Andrew McMillan (Book)

Here is a personal history of the RAAF Catalina Flying boats based in Cairns, Karumba, Darwin and Melville Bay during World War II, and the men who flew and looked after them. This is the story of men from southern Australia thrown into a hostile landscape, and their confrontations with tropical conditions, Aboriginal people, Americans, air raids on Darwin, boredom and terror, sharks and of course the Japanese. Andrew McMillan has visited the bases, consulted the archives, and talked to many of the men involved.