Consolidated P2Y-3 Ranger

The Consolidated P2Y was an American twin-engine maritime patrol flying boat of the 1930s, configured as a sesquiplane with a broad parasol upper wing and a much smaller lower stub wing carrying the floats. Designed by Consolidated for the U.S. Navy, it offered long range and good ocean-going qualities for its day. The definitive P2Y-3 variant introduced cowled, wing-mounted Wright R-1820 Cyclone engines of about 700 hp each in place of the earlier nacelle arrangement.

Carrying a crew of five, the Ranger proved rugged and dependable and was capable of long over-water flights; P2Ys famously flew record-setting mass formation cruises, including a non-stop flight from California to Hawaii in 1934. The type formed the backbone of the Navy's patrol squadrons in the mid-1930s before being supplanted by the Consolidated PBY Catalina, which it directly influenced.