Gerral’s Girl finally got an escort through downtown Oak Harbor.

The PBY Catalina, affectionately named after former base commanding officer Gerral David, made the short but painstaking journey late night Saturday from the Seaplane Base to it’s new home on Pioneer Way.

“Everyone is excited to have it downtown,” said Wil Shellenberger, president of the PBY Memorial Foundation, Monday. “We’ve had a lot of feedback right away from people who want to see it and go inside.”

The move, while smoother than expected, was far from a cake walk.

Maneuvers over lamp posts, under power lines and in between trees and planters had to be made carefully to prevent any damage to the nearly 70-year-old aircraft. The move, which started just before midnight, was completed at about 3 a.m., two hours ahead of schedule.

“The move went better than expected,” said Shellenberger. “Basically none of the obstacles took as long as we thought it might.”

The PBY was towed by a small but powerful tractor through a fence opening on Seaplane Base, down through the pedestrian walkway on Skagit Valley College, along Pioneer Way and left on Bayshore Drive, and then through the Wells Fargo parking lot and around to its new home next door to People’s Bank.

Early on, the volunteer crew fashioned a temporary bridge out of wood planks to raise one tire, and one wing, to clear a lamp post on the college’s campus.

“A hard landing would be worse than that,” joked crew leader and PBY Memorial volunteer George Love.

Gerral’s Girl, a nickname shortened to GiGi over the years, was one of the PBYs stationed at Whidbey Island Naval Air Station in 1945, first returned in June of 2010 by helicopter. Volunteer research later discovered that the aircraft’s nickname during the war was originally Radar Rachel, and had a “very fetching young lady painted on the nose,” Shellenberger said.

Oak Harbor’s PBY Catalina was one of the first of its kind to be equipped with radar used to detect metal objects in the ocean, including submarines.

Oak Harbor resident John Hughes’ father, Jack, flew the PBYs around the Atlantic during World War II when they would go on patrol for 12 hours at a time. Before his death, Jack Hughes shared memories about the two years he flew the aircraft in combat.

Jack Hughes was a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

That’s what led John Hughes to become a PBY Museum volunteer a few years ago. He observed the various stages of the aircraft transfer on Saturday.

“It’s a small museum but it’s amazing how much its grown,” he said.

The move of the PBY Catalina marks the completion of the memorial’s transition off base allowing greater accessibility to the public.

The aircraft is part of a larger collection housed across Pioneer Way in the former Whidbey Furniture building. The museum includes historical items from all U.S. wars in addition to flight simulators.

Patty Henry also watched the PBY’s move Saturday, mostly because the museum has had an important influence on her son, Alejandro, 16, who also volunteers there.

Describing her son as formerly “troubled and shy,” Henry said the museum, its volunteers and veterans have accepted him in as one of their own.

“It’s a great community thing they have going there,” Henry said. “The men and ladies are just amazing.”

Shellenberger said the organization continues seek volunteers, both to help within the museum and to help restore and maintain the PBY Catalina and other artifacts that will join her in the outdoor display.