Black Cats

"Okay people. The fleet still needs our help. Anyone wanna back out...didn't think so."

- Booth

Black Cats is a level in Call of Duty: World at War. It is the 11th level of the campaign. This is the most unique level in the game, as you are the gunner of a PBY Catalina, or a Black Cat. The player will start off fighting enemy merchant ships resupplying the enemy on Okinawa until the radio operator gets a distress call that the fleet has been hit by a massive kamikaze attack.

Walkthrough
The mission starts as two PBY Catalina planes, codenamed Hammerhead and Manta Ray, discover a Japanese merchant fleet, and receive orders to open fire. Once within range, Petty Officer Locke opens fire upon the merchant fleet, and after several passes, the fleet is sinking. Manta Ray's radio officier, Booth, informs the crew that the US Fleet has been attacked en route to Okinawa. The two planes start towards the reported location of the fleet, but are ambushed by Japanese Zeros, and, Hammerhead is shot down. From here the Catalina continues towards the fleet, and lands in the water. Fighting against both PT Boats and Zeros, Locke also must rescue the sailors floating in the water. Once the PT Boats are destroyed and as many saliors have rescued as possible, the Catalina prepares for takeoff, although is under heavy fire from Zeros. Locke and his fellow gunner try shooting as many down as they can, although the are running low on ammo. By the time they are about to take off, there is a trio of Zeros coming at the Catalina head on at 12 o' clock. Locke opens fire, and mere moments later, a trio of F4U Corsairs fly overhead, shooting down the inbound Zeros, just as the gun runs out of ammo. From here the battered Catalina takes off, and the mission ends.

Tips

 * When fighting with the fleet, destroy the PT Boats before shooting at the Zeroes, as the Zeroes do not pay attention to you usually, as they will try to slam into your boats.
 * On harder difficulties, it wouldn't be beneficial to rescue the survivors when under attack, as PT Boats may appear while Locke is pulling someone in, and can cause disorientation to their location, and eventually death.
 * When Booth tells you where the Zeros are coming in from, listen to him because it is very beneficial to know where the Zeros are coming in from.

Xbox 360 and PS3 Trophies/Achievements

 * One Bad Gato is achieved when you finish the level on Veteran difficulty, worth 30G on the Xbox.
 * The Sum of All Zeros is achieved when you down 45 Japanese Zeros in 'Black Cats', worth 15G on the Xbox.
 * Lights Out! is achieved when you destroy all the spotlights in the cargo convoy, worth 10G on the Xbox.

Trivia

 * When you are moving from one gun to the other inside the PBY Catalina you can see a few real American World War II propaganda posters on the walls.
 * This mission is not available on co-op.
 * When you are on the right turret, if you look at the far right, you can see Laughlin on the back turret. But when you change to left turret he suddenly pops to the left turret area.
 * "Gato" is the Spanish and Portuguese word for "cat" in reference to the PBY's being known as Black Cats.
 * There is a rare glitch when you rescue a sailor, your view changes so that you are looking down the doorways to the cockpit. You will still rescue the sailor but you can't see him or anything else interesting.
 * In Little Resistance, after you destroy the tanks you should see a troop/patrol of marines running with a tank. If you aim at one marine, his name is Pvt. Locke (the marine you are in this level). In Hard Landing, Locke reappears, but is next to the plane when it explodes, and dies. It is possible to take his M1A1 Carbine.
 * This level isn't available for the Wii version of the game, and neither is Nacht der Untoten.