WW II VP question

All,
Doing a little research for a friend of mine who is looking to get a
print customized for his father. His father was a first class PO in
1944 as a radar instructor in PBY's at NAS Jax. Any thoughts as to what
squadron this might be and if they would have any different markings
than the typical blue/gray of that era? From what I found it looks like
VPB-2 was the biggest at the time but that looked to be an OTU. Would a
basic training squadron have even had radar equiped planes at that time
and what model Catalina would it have been, I would assume a 5 or 5A.
Thanks for the help

Pugs
Catonsville, MD