Coastal Command operated both 5's and 5a's from Castle Archedale In fact the USN gent who rode along with Bismark Briggs
ferried a 5 (Catalina 1) from Archedale to Belfast for maintenance -- and forgot he was in a 5 -- the lever for the floats in a Cat was apparently the same as the gear lever in the 5a -- so he managed to make a very short landing at Belfast
As to speed -- my father said it would cruise at 80 knots for anywhere up to 16 hours -- so no they weren't quick
Touching 113 knots IAS here, the fastest I've managed to wring out of her. Manifold pressure around 30", propeller revs 2050, mixture auto lean, and trimmed for level flight at around 6380 ft.
