The Catalina Flying Boat 'Frigate Bird II' on display in the museum is the one that Sir Patrick Gordon Taylor flew on the first flight from Australia to South America in which he brought home 29 soldiers from New Guinea in 1945. It is the largest suspended plane in any museum in the world, and an example of the most successful flying boat ever introduced and one that was important in connecting Australia by air with the rest of the world after World War II. After involvement in the air-sea rescue squadron, the Museum's specimen flew from the Rose Bay flying boat base across the Pacific Ocean on the first uncharted air route between Sydney and Valparaiso, Chile. The use of Catalina flying boats by Qantas Empire Airways after World War II was significant in the development of Australia's commercial air services.