PT-305 was looking good, with a lifeboat on her foredeck, jauntily tied fast over one-half of her charthouse. The hull shape of the Elco and Higgins PT boats were similar to the contoured "planing hull" found in pleasure boats of the time (and still in use today): a sharp V at the bow softening to a flat bottom at the stern. American PT Boats in World War II. Elco PT Boat Shaft and Rudder Detail. As a testament to the strength of this type of construction and watertight bulkheads, several PT boats withstood catastrophic battle damage and still remained afloat. The Board of Inspection and Survey, headed by Rear Admiral John W. Wilcox, Jr., conducted comparative service tests[9] off New London, 21 to 24 July 1941, using the following boats: Each member of the Board conducted an independent inspection of every boat class, evaluating them for structural sufficiency, habitability, access, arrangement for attack control, and communication facilities. [9], The average speed results from the 185nmi (343km; 213mi) course were: Elco 77-footer (PT-21), 27.5kn (50.9km/h; 31.6mph); Higgins 76-footer (PT-70), 27.2kn (50.4km/h; 31.3mph); Higgins MRB and Philadelphia Navy Yard boat (PT-8), 24.8kn (45.9km/h; 28.5mph). Structural weaknesses resulting in fracture of bilge stringers. Of the nearly 400 small, fast, versatile wooden Patrol Torpedo boats which were built around WWII, only a handful survive to this day. Its draft is seldom over 6 feet thus enabling it to maneuver in shallow water. PT-29 was assigned as a pace boat with PT-8 in order to generate a pounding comparison. During World War I Italy, the US, and UK developed the first high-performance gasoline-powered motor torpedo boats (often with top speeds over 40kn (74km/h)) and corresponding torpedo tactics, but these projects were all quickly disbanded after the Armistice. The business was later sold to Capt. Of the more than 500 small, fast, versatile wooden Patrol Torpedo boats which were built during WWII, only a handful survive today. The 80' Elco Patrol Torpedo boat was the last of the wartime PT boat development. It was subsequently upgraded in stages to 1,500hp (1,100kW), allowing a designed speed of 41 knots (76km/h). [9], Due to the problem with ingot loading, a 185nmi (343km; 213mi) trial with the PTs fully fitted out was conducted on 12 August 1941. She was surplused in 1947 and used for various purposes until being purchased as a museum ship in 1979, finally going on display in 1985 after restoration. Fuel consumption of any version of these engines was exceptionally heavy. Because of this boat's extensive combat history, having survived 22 months in the combat zone at Guadalcanal (more time in combat than any other surviving PT boat), a preservation group, "Fleet Obsolete" of Kingston, New York, acquired and transported it to Rondout Creek in 2009 for eventual repair. This conference, including representatives from BuShips, BuOrd, MTBRONs, Interior Control Board, and CNO, recommended a series of comparative tests to evaluate what turned out to be five new designs of motor torpedo boats. In 1938, the U.S. Navy renewed their investigation into the concept by requesting competitive bids for several different types of motor torpedo boats, but excluded Hickman's Sea Sled. As home to the National PT Boat Museum, Battleship Cove displays the world's largest collection of PT boat artifacts and memorabilia. U.S. Navy PT boats were organized into motor torpedo boat squadrons (MTBRONs). USN ELCO PT Boat Deck Stern Chocks (x2 per PT Boat). PT 48 is the only remaining 77' Elco PT-Boat and a member of the heroic WWII "Mosquito Fleet". The Japanese were initially cautious when operating their capital ships in areas known to have PT boats, knowing how dangerous their own Type 93 torpedoes were, and assumed the Americans had equally lethal weapons. (Price will increase as the work progresses) Originally conceived as anti-ship weapons, PT boats were publicly credited with sinking several Japanese warships during the period between December 1941 and the fall of the Philippines in May 1942[23] even though the Navy knew the claims were all false. Initially, only a few boats were issued primitive radar sets. The shallow depth meant Allied destroyers were unable to follow them due to the risk of running aground and the barges could be protected by an umbrella of shore batteries. Equipped armament for the smaller proposal was to be either two torpedoes and two depth charges, or .50-cal machine-guns and a smokescreen generator. Maneuverability unsatisfactory due to inability to reverse outboard engines with a large turning circle of 443 yards (405m). PT-728 was acquired by Fleet Obsolete and moved to Kingston. Perhaps the most effective use of PTs was as "barge busters." PT Boat PT-658 Deck Tour and Interior Tour shows details and closeups of all weapons and equipment on board. This conprehensive reference covers, for the first time, PT Boat tactics, formations and seamanship. They were also used during the D-Day landings on 6 June 1944. This contract for C-250 ended up going to Greenport Basin and Construction Company, of Greenport, NY. [5], By September 1938 the U.S. Navy had received a total of 24 design proposals for the small boat and 13 design proposals for the larger 70-footer. He named the boat Tarbaby VI, and used her through the 1950s. Full-load displacement late in the war was 56 tons. 251 (July/August 2016) includes an article on PT-658, a 78 Higgins motor torpedo boat built for the U.S. Navy during World War II. A Chief of Naval Operations (CNO) PT Boat Conference convened in May 1941 to discuss future PT characteristics. During World War II, PT boats engaged enemy warships, transports, tankers, barges, and sampans. The exaggerated claims by Bulkeley about the effectiveness of the PTs in combat against larger craft allowed him to recruit top talent, raise war bonds, and caused overconfidence among squadron commanders who continued to pit PTs against larger craft. They were assigned to specific outposts in the Panama Canal Zone, Miami, Florida, the Hawaiian Sea Frontier at Pearl Harbor and Midway, and a training center in Melville, Rhode Island. Motor torpedo boat PT-796, was laid down on 3 May 1945, launched on 23 June, and completed after the end of the war on 26 October as a 78-foot PT boat built by Higgins Industries of New Orleans, LA. Also, the PT Boat speed is nearly 66 knots. They were all to be approximately 50 tons, made of mahogany, and carry two .50-cal. Hundreds were built by Elco and other companies from 1942-'45, with most of them sent to the Pacific theater. Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 22, or RON22, was transported to the combat theater aboard the USS Merrimack. This resulted in severe conditions for several of the boats during the trial and accounted for the transverse failure in PT-70's deck and subsequent hull failure as the copper fell into the hull. Occasionally, some front line PT boats received ad hoc up-fits at forward bases, where they mounted such weapons as 37mm aircraft cannons, rocket launchers, or mortars. Nicknamed "the mosquito fleet" and "devil boats" by the Japanese, the PT boat squadrons were hailed for their daring and earned a durable place in the public imagination that remains strong into the 21st century. Structural weaknesses resulting in transverse fractures of deck planking. She was reclassified as a harbor patrol boat (YP 110) for the duration of the war. At the outbreak of war in August 1914, W. Albert Hickman devised the first procedures and tactics for employing fast maneuverable seaworthy torpedo motorboats against capital ships, and presented his proposal to Rear Admiral David W. Taylor, the Chief of the US Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair. That the ordnance installation of future motor torpedo boats consist of two torpedo tubes, machine guns and depth charges. They dominated a specific part of naval warfare, that of night warfare in coastal waters, but in that part they were essential because neither other vessels nor aircraft could perform as they did. PT-486, an 80-foot (24m) Elco boat, was placed in service on 2 December 1943. PT boats were a variety of torpedo-armed fast attack craft used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. Improvements upon Packard's World War I Liberty L-12 2A engine, the successive "M" for "marine" designated 3M-2500, 4M-2500, and 5M-2500 generations all featured slight changes and more power. George C. Sinn of Wildwood Crest, NJ on 9 October 1951 for $1,015.00. Many got up to four torpedo tubes and a 20mm anti-aircraft gun, while a few even got mortars or rockets. PT-615, an 80-foot (24m) Elco originally assigned to MTBRON 42, was commissioned after the war ended. These torpedoes and tubes were replaced in mid-1943 by four lightweight 22.5-inch-diameter (570mm) Mark 13 torpedoes, which weighed 2,216 pounds (1,005kg) and contained a 600-pound (270kg) Torpex-filled warhead. These torpedoes were carried on lightweight Mark 1 roll-off style torpedo launching racks. Although their primary mission continued to be attack on surface ships and craft, PT boats were also used effectively to lay mines and smoke screens, coordinate in air-sea rescue operations, rescue shipwreck survivors, destroy Japanese suicide boats, destroy floating mines, and carry out intelligence or raider operations. Most of my experience as an interior designer of ships for the Indonesian government, BUMN, and private boats. The discussion on rounded doors and my post with a couple of shots of a WWII PT interior got me thinking somebody might like to see a bit more of what* an Elco PT boat actually looked like inside.*. I'm studying English and Deutsch to become my second language. PT Boat Background Japanese Planning Pearl Harbor Patrol Torpedo boats were built during a war that changed the way of life for Americans virtually overnight. Along with PT-557, the vessel was purchased from BFM Industries (Brooklyn, NY) by Capt. After a lengthy restoration[34][35] PT-305 has been restored to a seaworthy, operational vessel. The Navy would provide engines, and Huckins would build a PT boat at their own expense, with the caveat that the boat (upon completion) would be offered to the Navy for a later sum. The overall result was an extremely light and strong hull which could be easily repaired at the front lines when battle damage was sustained. PT658 - Virtual Boat Tour PT658 VIRTUAL TOUR SEE - HOW TO USE - BENEATH THE TOUR WINDOW: This virtual tour was created and supplied by: Visiting Media, Portland, OR - (503) 427-9786 or visit their website: visitingmedia.com It has been released as PT 207 and PT 212 and maybe others. [23] The Mark 3 and Mark 4 exploders were not subject to the same problems as the Mark 6 exploders on U.S. submarines' Mark 14 torpedoes. Even though the Elco 77-footers posted the fastest speeds, all seven Elcos suffered from structural damage and severe pounding causing the Board to recommend a redesign to correct these deficiencies. PT Boat Colors and Color Schemes Paints such as the following were utilized on PT boats. PT-596 was one of the last built, entering service in May 1945. So here are a few more of my collection. Details on the boat's construction are given on page 357, MTB Manual, 1943. You are interested in: Pt boats interior photos. [4] The larger boat was used for experiments until 1930. They each had butterfly flap valves fitted in the main exhaust pipes after the muffler take off which were operated by a lever system to allow straight through exhaust at speed or to direct the exhaust down through the mufflers to silence the boat at low speed. The larger punch of the 37mm round was desirable, but the crews looked for something that could fire faster than the single-shot army anti-tank weapon. PT 48 is the only remaining 77' Elco PT Boat and a member of the heroic WWII "Mosquito Fleet". A common characteristic of this type of contoured hull is the "rooster tail" in the wake. The resulting PT boat designs were the product of a small cadre of respected naval architects and the Navy. Wooden-hulled, 80 feet long with a 20-foot, 8-inch beam, the Elco PT boats had three 12-cylinder Packard gasoline engines generating a total of 4,500 horsepower for a designed speed of 41. Plans are for restoring the vessel to recreate the World War II appearance. The make-up of a typical section of the boats hull consists of the following layers: 5/8' Mahogany exterior hull planking Glue-impregnated canvas for waterproofing 1/2 " mahogany strips on the interior PT BOAT BUILDERS Three companies built PT boats for the U.S. Navy. Starting in mid-1943, the old Mark 18 torpedo tubes and Mark 8 torpedoes began to be replaced. PT-109 was an 80' Elco PT boat (patrol torpedo boat) last commanded by Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future United States president, in the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific theater during World War II.Kennedy's actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer made him a war hero. PT-617's specifications are: Length:80 feet Beam:19 feet 11 inches Draught:4 feet Crew:2 officers and 9 crewmen Displacement:51 tons fully loaded Max Speed: 41kts (46mph) Fuel Capacity:3,000 gallons of 100 octane avgas Range:358 miles at 35kts, 1050 miles on one engine, 11 knots Oil Capacity:30 gallons Armament: 4 21" Torpedoes During the war, Navy PT boats went against the enemy's barges, tankers, sampans, and warships. When it eventually was delivered and tested in the summer of 1917, it was not deemed a success, so a second boat (C-378) of the sea sled design was ordered from Hickman in either late 1917 or early 1918 (conflicting dates). The larger boat proposal was not to exceed 80 feet and was to carry at least two 21-inch torpedoes, four depth charges, and two .50-cal machine-guns. 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