PT boats in line astern.

PT-105 in a hurry.

A PT boat was a motor torpedo boat (hull classification symbol "PT", for "Patrol Torpedo"), a small, fast vessel used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet". From [1] PT Boat training operations in Narragansett Bay, which took place on a nearly round-the-clock basis from 1941 to 1945. ... From [1] PT Boat training operations in Narragansett Bay, which took place on a nearly round-the-clock basis from 1941 to 1945. ... Image File history File links USS_PT-105. ... Image File history File links USS_PT-105. ... A torpedo boat is a relatively small and fast naval ship designed to launch torpedoes at larger surface ships. ... The United States Navy uses hull classification symbols (sometimes called hull codes) to identify the types of its ships. ... The United States Navy (also known as USN or the U.S. Navy) is a branch of the United States armed forces responsible for conducting naval operations. ... Combatants Allied powers: China France Great Britain Soviet Union United States and others Axis powers: Germany Italy Japan and others Commanders Chiang Kai-shek Charles de Gaulle Winston Churchill Joseph Stalin Franklin Roosevelt Adolf Hitler Benito Mussolini Hideki Tōjō Casualties Military dead: 17,000,000 Civilian dead: 33,000... A surface ship is any type of naval ship that is confined to the surface of the sea. ...

Torpedo boats were first developed in the early 20th century as an inexpensive way to deliver torpedoes which could destroy ships as heavy as battleships without the massive weight necessary for large caliber guns. By WWII, the initial mission of the American PT boats was to battle destroyers, which themselves were a shortened name for "torpedo boat destroyers". Though many would question the military effectiveness of the boats in this role, their psychological impact in deterring Japanese attacks would be just as important. The Navy was short on larger ships as they were just starting the manufacturing of a massive naval fleet which would come later in the war, and wood construction made strategic materials such as steel available for other uses. Later in the war, the boats were much more effective as gunboats against targets their own size, such as armored barges that the Japanese used to shuttle troops and supplies between islands.

Among the famous PT boats, was PT-109, commanded by future United States President John F. Kennedy, an Elco PT-103 class torpedo boat. Another was PT-41, a 77 foot Elco boat commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, who rescued General Douglas MacArthur from certain capture by the Japanese in a daring escape from Corregidor Island, Philippines, and was awarded the Medal of Honor for his exploits. This story inspired both a book, They Were Expendable, and a movie of the same name. This story of the diminutive PT boats beating overwhelming odds went a long way to prop up sagging American morale in the dark days after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Lt. ... The presidential seal was first used by President Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th president of the United States. ... Motor Torpedo Boat PT-41 was a PT-20 (Elco 77-Foot) Class Patrol torpedo boat, built at Elco and commissioned on 23 July 1941. ... Vice Adm. ... Douglas MacArthur (January 26, 1880 - April 5, 1964), was an American general who played a prominent role in the Pacific theater of World War II. He was poised to command the invasion of Japan in November 1945 but was instead instructed to accept their surrender on September 2, 1945. ... Corregidor is an island in the entrance of the Philippines Manila Bay. ... The Medal of Honor is the highest military decoration awarded by the United States. ... They Were Expendable is a war film released in 1945. ... Combatants United States Empire of Japan Commanders Husband Kimmel (USN), Walter Short (USA) Chuichi Nagumo (IJN), Mitsuo Fuchida (IJNAS), Shigekazu Shimazaki (IJNAS) Strength 8 battleships, 8 cruisers, 29 destroyers, 9 submarines, ~50 other ships, ~390 planes 6 aircraft carriers, 9 destroyers, 2 battleships, 2 heavy cruisers, 1 light cruiser, 8...

Class history

The US Navy requested a competitive bid for several different concepts of torpedo boats. This competition led to eight prototype boats built to compete in the 2 different classes. The first class was to be for 55 foot boats, and the second class to be for 70 foot boats. The resulting PT boat designs were the product of a small cadre of respected naval architects and the Navy. Henry R Sutphen of Elco and his Elco designers Irwin Chase, Bill Fleming and Glenville Tremaine, visited the UK to see their Motor Torpedo Boat designs. While visiting the British Power Boat Company they purchased a 70-foot design (PV70) (later renamed PT-9 during the competition), designed by Hubert Scott-Paine. Other entries in the competition were 2 boats (PT-7 and PT-8) built by Andrew Jackson Higgins of Higgins Industries of New Orleans, and designers at the Huckins Yacht Company also came up with competing 70 foot boat class designs. The US Navy at the Philadelphia Navy Yard, came up with other designs (PT-1 to PT-6). The results of the competition found that none of the boats, as built, were up to the necessary performance specifications identified by the US Navy. The British Power Boat Company was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-Paine bought and renamed the Hythe Shipyard with the intention of transforming it into one of the most modern mass production boat building yards in the country. ... Hubert Scott-Paine 1891 - 1954 Hubert Scott-Paine (11 March 1891 – 14 April 1954) was a British aircraft and boat designer, record-breaking power boat racer, entrepeneur, inventor, and sponsor of the winning entry in the 1922 Schneider Trophy. ... Higgins Industries was the company owned by Andrew Higgins based out of New Orleans, Louisiana. ...

Representatives of Elco (Electric Launch Corporation) had substantial small boat building experience, having built during WW I 550 eighty-foot sub chasers for the British Admiralty. Additionally in 1921, they introduced the famous 26-foot "Cruisette", (a gasoline cabin cruiser). This success in small boat building was followed in the 1930s with 30′ to 57′ "Veedettes" and "Flattops", gasoline powered boats that set the highest standard in a golden era of boating. This small boat experience helped Elco obtain a contract for 10 boats based on the 70 foot Scott-Paine Model PT Boat. These 70 foot boats were tested and determined to be too light for open sea work but Elco got a contract for 24 larger boats based on a lengthened 77 foot design. Combatants Allied Powers: Russian Empire France British Empire Italy United States Central Powers: Austria-Hungary German Empire Ottoman Empire Bulgaria Commanders Nicholas II Aleksei Brusilov Georges Clemenceau Joseph Joffre Ferdinand Foch Robert Nivelle Herbert Henry Asquith Sir Douglas Haig Sir John Jellicoe Victor Emmanuel III Luigi Cadorna Armando Diaz Woodrow... An example of a cabin cruiser A cabin cruiser is a type of boat that allows extra storage or camping space. ...

The design competition and seaworthiness trials for the PT boat was nicknamed "The Plywood Derby" and took place prior to the United States entering the war, in early 1941. The Navy Department held these competition trials around New York Harbor. This was a shakedown to see which company would be contracted to build the Navy PT boats. At the completion of the trials the Navy was impressed with all three designs, with the Elco 77 footer coming out on top, followed by the Higgins 76 footer and Huckins 72 foot boat. Although Elco came in first, the Navy saw the merits of the other two boats and decided to offer all three companies contracts. Elco received the lion's share of the contract (385 boats by the end of the war), Higgins was second (199 boats by the end of the war) and Huckins with the smallest contract (18 boats by the end of the war, none of which would see combat, being assigned to home defense squadrons in the Panama Canal Zone, Miami, Florida and in Hawaii at Pearl Harbor). Huckins was a tiny yacht-building company in Jacksonville, Florida and was unable to build the number of boats needed by the Navy. Although they built a few 78-foot (24 m) boats of the PT-95 class, the 80-foot (24.4 m) Elco boats, and the 78-foot (24 m) Higgins boats became the standard American motor torpedo boats of World War II. Even though more 80-foot Elco boats were built than any other type of motor torpedo boat (326 of their 80-foot boats were built) Elco also produced 49 of their 77-foot boats and ten 70-foot boats. The Panama Canal Zone (Spanish: ), was a 553 square mile (1,432 km²) territory inside of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area generally extending 5 miles (8. ... Miami redirects here. ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ... Satellite image of Pearl Harbor. ... Motto: Where Florida Begins Location in the state of Florida Coordinates: Country United States State Florida County Duval  - Mayor John Peyton (R) Area    - City  885 sq mi (2,264. ...

Elco

The Elco boats were the largest in size of the three types of PT boats built for US Navy used during World War II. The 80 foot (24.4 m) long wooden-hulled were classified as boats in comparison with much larger steel hulled destroyers, but were comparable in size to many wooden sailing ships in history. They had a 20 ft 8 in (6.3 m) beam. Though often said to be made of plywood, they were actually made of two-inch thick planks of mahogany, and the PT-109 was strong enough that airtight compartments kept the forward hull afloat even after being run down by a destroyer. Further, the Argo Boat Company also subcontracted to build some of the ELCO boats. Lt. ... A hull is the body or frame of a ship or boat. ... Beam may refer to: Look up beam in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Toy constructed from plywood. ... Mahogany The name mahogany is used for numerous varieties of dark-colored wood. ... Argo Boat is a dealer of boats and outboard motors. ...

They were powered by three 12-cylinder gasoline fueled engines. These were Packard built, a modified design of the 3A-2500 V-12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine. The 3A was an improved version of the 2A engine used on the Huff-Daland Keystone LB-1 Liberty bomber of World War One vintage. Packard modified them for marine use in PTs, hence the "M" designation instead of "A". (ie 3A-2500 then 4M-2500). Their aircraft roots gave them many features of aircraft engines such as supercharger, intercooler, dual magnetos, two spark plugs per cylinder, and so on. Packard built the Rolls Royce Merlin aero engine under license alongside the 4M-2500, but with the exception of the PT-9 prototype boat brought from England for Elco to examine and copy, the Merlin was never used in PTs. The 4M-2500s initially generated 1200 hp (895 kW) each, together roughly the same power as a Boeing B-17 bomber. They were subsequently upgraded in stages to 1500 hp (1,150 kW) each for a designed speed of 41 knots (76 km/h). Increases in the weight of the boats during the war meant that the top speed did not go up as the engine power increased. Fuel consumption of these engines was phenomenal - a PT carried 3000 gallons (11,360 liters) of 100 octane avgas. A normal patrol for these boats would last a maximum of 12 hours. The consumption rate for each engine at a cruising speed of 23 knots was about 66 gallons (250 l) per hour (200 gallons (760 l) per hour for all 3 engines). However, when going at top speed the gasoline consumption increased to 166 gallons (250 l) per hour per engine (or 500 gallons [1,890 l] per hour for all 3 engines). At the top speed of 41+ knots, the 3,000 gallons (11,360 l) of gas would be used in only about 6 hours. Look up cylinder in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Gasoline is a petroleum-derived liquid mixture consisting mostly of hydrocarbons and enhanced with benzene or iso-octane to increase octane ratings, used as fuel in internal combustion engines. ... An internal combustion engine is an engine that is powered by the expansion of hot combustion products of fuel directly acting within an engine. ... Packard red hexagon symbol made its debut in 1905, with the color red added in 1913 Packard was a United States based brand of luxury automobile built by the Packard Motors Company of Detroit,Michigan, and later by the Studebaker-Packard Corporation of South Bend, Indiana. ... General characteristics Layout V-12 Cooling water Cylinders 12 Valve type Displacement 27 litres Rotation rate 1700 rpm Power 400 hp Power (300 kW Weight 383kg The Liberty L-12 was a 27 litre water-cooled 45 degree V-12 aircraft engine of 400 horsepower (300 kW). ... Keystone Aircraft Corporation was an early pioneer in airplane manufacturing. ... A supercharger (also known as a blower) is an air compressor used to force more air (and hence more oxygen) into the combustion chamber(s) of an internal combustion engine than can be achieved at ambient atmospheric pressure. ... It has been suggested that Front mounted intercooler, Top mounted intercooler and Charge cooler be merged into this article or section. ... This article is about magneto, the engine component. ... This article or section should include material from Spark gap A spark plug is an electrical device that fits into the cylinder head of some internal combustion engines and ignites compressed aerosol gasoline by means of an electric spark. ... The Merlin is an aircraft engine built during World War II by Rolls-Royce. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... The kilowatt (symbol: kW) is a unit for measuring power, equal to one thousand watts. ... A B_17 nicknamed Sally B in England in 2001 The B_17 Flying Fortress was the first mass_produced, four_engine heavy bomber. ... The horsepower (hp) is the name of several non-metric units of power. ... A knot is a unit of speed, abbreviated kt or kn. ... R-phrases , , , , S-phrases , , , , , , , Flash point 13 °C Autoignition temperature 220 °C Explosive limits 1. ... // Avgas is a high-octane fuel used for aircraft and, in the past, racing cars. ...

With accommodations for 3 officers and 14 men, the crew varied from 12 to 14, though the PT-59 took on forty to fifty marines from a foundering landing craft. Full-load displacement late in the war was 56 tons. An officer is a member of a military service who holds a position of responsibility. ...

Early Elco boats had one 20mm Oerlikon cannon mounted at the stern, and two twin M2 .50 inch (12.7mm) or .30 inch (7.6mm) Lewis machine guns mounted in open rotating turrets designed by the same company that would make the Tucker automobile. The primary anti-ship armament was two or four 21 inch (533 mm) torpedo tubes launching Mark 8 torpedoes which weighed about one ton each. Some carried two to four US Navy Mark 6 depth charges in roll off stern racks, or mine racks. Later boats mounted one 40mm Bofors gun aft and four 22.5 inch diameter Mark 13 torpedo launching racks, two along each side. Some PTs later received two eight-cell five inch (127mm) spin stabilized flat trajectory rocket launchers, giving them 16 rockets and as much firepower for a short time as a destroyer mounting five inch guns. By war's end the PT boat had more firepower-per-ton than any other vessel in the U.S. Navy. One other addition US Navy PTs had was Raytheon SO type radar, with about a 25 nm range. Since PTs operated mainly at night, having radar gave them an advantage over the enemy in being able to locate and engage them even in zero visibility. Although radar is not specifically a weapon, its use by the PT boats made the other weapons much more effective. The design of the Oerlikon 20mm cannon, by Reinhold Becker dates back to 1914, and is still in use today, after having been used extensively during the Second World War. ... This article is about the . ... The Lewis Gun is a pre-World War I era squad automatic weapon/machine gun of American design that was most widely used by the forces of the British Empire. ... A machine gun is a fully-automatic firearm that is capable of firing bullets in rapid succession. ... Look up Tucker, tucker in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Torpedo tubes of the French SNLE Redoutable A torpedo tube is a device for launching torpedoes in a horizontal direction. ... // By country Europe DCN BlackShark 533 mm torpedo (Modern) EuroTorp A244 324 mm torpedo (Modern) EuroTorp MU90 Impact 324 mm torpedo (Modern) France DCN F17 533 mm torpedo (Modern) Germany G7a torpedo (WWII, wet heater) G7e torpedo (WWII, electric, some versions with passive homing) G7es torpedo (WWII, electric, dedicated passive... A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... Depth Charge used by U.S. Navy later in World War II The depth charge is the oldest anti-submarine weapon. ... Polish wz. ... Bofors 40mm/L60. ... BM-13 Katyusha RM-70 of the Polish Army A multiple rocket launcher is a type of unguided rocket artillery system, in use since the Second World War. ... Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) is a major United States military contractor based in Waltham, Massachusetts. ... This long range Radar antenna, known as ALTAIR, is used to detect and track space objects in conjunction with ABM testing at the Ronald Reagan Test Site on the Kwajalein atoll[1]. Radar is a system that uses radio waves to determine and map the location, direction, and/or speed... A nautical mile or sea mile is a unit of length. ...

In addition, many boats received ad hoc outfits at advanced bases, mounting such weapons as 37mm aircraft cannon and even captured Japanese 23mm guns. One famous example was Kennedy's PT-109 which was equipped with a 37mm single shot anti-tank cannon her crew had commandeered and bolted to the fore deck. Another similar type of weapon that gained widespread use as the war progressed was the 37mm Oldsmobile M4 and M9 aircraft automatic cannon. Originally cannibalized from crashed P-39 Airacobra fighter planes on Guadalcanal, and then later manufactured and installed at the boat's Elco and Higgins factories, the M4/M9 cannon had a relatively high rate of fire (125 rounds per minute) and large magazine (30 rounds), making it highly desirable due to the PT boat's ever increasing need for a larger "punch" to deal effectively with the Japanese daihatsu barges, which were immune to torpedoes due to their shallow draft. By the war's end, most PTs had these weapons. Ad hoc is a Latin phrase which means for this [purpose]. It generally signifies a solution that has been tailored to a specific purpose, such as a tailor-made suit, a handcrafted network protocol, and specific-purpose equation and things like that. ... Oldsmobile was a brand of automobile produced for most of its existence by General Motors. ... The Bell P-39 Airacobra was one of the principal American fighter aircraft in service at the start of World War II. Although innovative, the P-39 design was handicapped by the lack of an efficient turbo-supercharger, limiting it to low-altitude work, although the type was utilized with... Guadalcanal, position (inset) and main towns Guadalcanal is a 2,510 square mile (6 500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... The draft of a ships hull is the vertical distance from the bottom of the hull to the waterline. ...

Higgins

Higgins produced 199 78-foot boats. The Higgins boats, built by Higgins Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana, were 78-foot (24 m) boats of the PT-71 class. The Higgins boats had the same beam, full load displacement, engine, generators, shaft power, trial speed, armament, and crew accommodations as the 80-foot (24 m) Elco boats. Numerous Higgins boats were sent to the USSR and Great Britain at the beginning of the war, so many of the lower squadrons in the USN were made up exclusively of Elcos. The first Higgins boats for the US Navy were used in the Battle for the Aleutian Islands (Attu and Kiska) as part of Squadron 13, and others in the Mediterranean against the Germans. A somewhat odd footnote is that even though only half as many Higgins boats were produced, far more survive (six hulls, 2 of which have been restored to their WW2 configuration), as do the more numerously built ELCO boats of which only two hulls (one restored) are know to exist at this time. Nickname: The Crescent City, The Big Easy, The City That Care Forgot, NOLA (acronym for New Orleans, LA) Location in the State of Louisiana and the United States Coordinates: Country United States State Louisiana Parish Orleans Founded 1718 Government  - Mayor Ray Nagin (D) Area    - City  350. ... Aleutians seen from space The Aleutian Islands (possibly from Chukchi aliat, island) are a chain of more than 300 small volcanic islands forming an island arc in the Northern Pacific Ocean, occupying an area of 6,821 sq mi (17,666 km²) and extending about 1,200 mi (1,900... The Mediterranean Sea is an intercontinental sea positioned between Europe to the north, Africa to the south and Asia to the east, covering an approximate area of 2. ...

Others

The Canadian Power Boat Company produced five PT boats for the US Navy. The Canadian Power Boat Company built MTBs and similar craft in Canada during World War II. From 1937 Hubert Scott-Paine had been planning an overseas factory modelled on his British Power Boat Company of Hythe, Hampshire, England as he was certain that war was coming and that his factory...

The British-designed 70 foot (21 m) Vosper boats, 146 of which were built for Lend Lease, carried 18-inch (457 mm) torpedoes. Oddly very few (approx 50) were used by the Royal Navy, and most were passed to other countries. Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the US and Royal Navies. ... Wikisource has original text related to this article: Lend-Lease This article is about the World War II program. ... A millimetre (American spelling: millimeter), symbol mm is an SI unit of length that is equal to one thousandth of a metre. ... The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ...

Service

The deck houses of PT boats were protected against small arms fire and splinter. Direct hits from Japanese guns could and did result in catastrophic explosions with near-total crew loss. PTs would attack under the cover of night. They feared attack by Japanese seaplanes, which were hard to detect even with radar, but which could spot the phosphorescent wake left by PT propellers from the air. Bombing attacks killed and wounded crews even with near misses. Initially, only a few boats were issued primitive radar sets. In some early battles, they were the first to leave after expending their weapons, leaving the remaining boats without radar. The boats would have to sneak close to torpedo range, but once their position was given away by the torpedo launch, they would have to lay down a cloud of smoke from stern-mounted smoke generators to escape from searchlights, or seaplane-dropped flares which illuminated their locations for large caliber gunfire, which PTs lacked. Depth charges were sometimes used as a last ditch confusion weapon to scare off pursuing destroyers. Gunboat versions mounted extra armor, though tests showed this were not very effective. A small life raft was normally mounted on the forward deck, though it was occasionally displaced by guns.

PT boats lacked the refrigerators with meat, milk, butter and eggs of larger ships. PT crewmen were cross-trained to do many tasks, and they depended on the ingenuity of their cook, who might also be quartermaster and signalman, and what he could do with Spam, Vienna sausage, and beans. Crews would trade with other ships for supplies, or sometimes even fish by aiming rifles or tossing grenades into schools of fish. Look up spam, SPAM in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Originally conceived as anti-ship weapons, PT boats were publicly, but erroneously, credited with sinking several Japanese warships during the period between December 1941 and the fall of the Philippines in March 1942. Attacking at night, PT crews often failed to note torpedo failures. PT boats also were to trade fire with friendly aircraft, a situation also familiar to U.S. submariners. The effectiveness of PT Boats in the Solomon Islands campaign, where there were numerous engagements between PTs and capital ships, was substantially undermined by defective torpedoes. The Japanese were initially cautious when operating their capital ships in areas known to have PT Boats, since they knew how dangerous their own Type 93s were, and assumed the Americans had equally lethal weapons. In several engagements, the mere presence of PTs was sufficient to disrupt heavily escorted Japanese resupply activities at Guadalcanal, but this tactical advantage did not last long. USS Port Royal (CG-73), a Ticonderoga class cruiser. ... A modern torpedo, historically called a locomotive torpedo, is a self-propelled projectile that (after being launched above or below the water surface) operates underwater and is designed to detonate on contact or in proximity to a target. ... The capital ships of a navy are its important warships; the ones with the heaviest firepower and armor. ... The Type 93 was a 610 mm (24 inch) diameter torpedo of the Imperial Japanese Navy. ... Guadalcanal, position (inset) and main towns Guadalcanal is a 2,510 square mile (6 500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. ...

PT boats fought in the long Solomon Islands campaign, which was the first allied ground offensive of island hopping towards Japan. They operated at night and at times of low visibility against Japanese shipborne resupply efforts dubbed by Admiral William Halsey as "The Tokyo Express" in "the Slot", a narrow seaward channel linking the Japanese stronghold at Bougainville to Guadalcanal. Throughout World War II, PTs operated in the southern, western, and northern Pacific, as well as in the Mediterranean Sea and the English Channel. Some served during the Battle of Normandy. During the D-Day invasion, PTs patrolled the "Mason Line", forming a barrier against the German S-boats attacking the Allied landing forces. They also performed lifesaving and anti-shipping mine destruction missions during the invasion. Admiral is the rank, or part of the name of the ranks, of the highest naval officers. ... William Frederick Bull Halsey, Jr. ... The Tokyo Express was the nickname given by United States sailors and marines to the Japanese attempts to reinforce and resupply their forces during the battle of Guadalcanal and subsequent operations in the Solomon Islands in World War II. Airplanes from Henderson Field on Guadalcanal made it too dangerous for... Categories: Oceania geography stubs | Solomon Islands ... Location of North Solomons (Bougainville) Province in Papua New Guinea This article is about the island; Bougainville is also the name of a commune in the Somme département of France. ... Guadalcanal, position (inset) and main towns Guadalcanal is a 2,510 square mile (6 500 km²) island in the Pacific Ocean and a province of the Solomon Islands. ... For other meanings of Pacific, see Pacific (disambiguation). ... Composite satellite image of the Mediterranean Sea. ... Satellite view of the English Channel The English Channel (French: La Manche (IPA: ), the sleeve) is the part of the Atlantic Ocean that separates the island of Great Britain from northern France and joins the North Sea to the Atlantic. ... |image= |caption=Assault landing One of the first waves at Omaha Beach. ... Historically, E-boat was the British and American term for the World War II German Schnellboot (S-Boot), a small fast torpedo boat of approximately double the size of an American PT boat and the British MTB. It is believed that the E stood for Enemy [1][2]. Compared to...

Perhaps the most effective use of PTs was as "Barge Busters". Since both the Japanese in the New Guinea area and the Germans in the Mediterranean had lost numerous resupply vessels to Allied airpower during daylight hours, each attempted to resupply their troop concentrations by using shallow draft barges at night in very shallow waters. 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. PTs had sufficiently shallow draft to follow them inshore and sink them. Using torpedoes was ineffective against these sometimes heavily armed barges, since the minimum depth setting of the torpedo was about ten feet (3m) and the barges only drew five (1.5m). To accomplish the task, PTs (and RN and RCN MTBs in the Med) installed more and heavier guns which were able to sink the barges. One captured Japanese soldier's diary described their fear of PT boats by describing them as "the monster that roars, flaps it wings, and shoots torpedoes in all directions". The Royal Navy of the United Kingdom is the oldest of the British armed services (and is therefore the Senior Service). ... The Royal Canadian Navy (RCN) was the navy of Canada from 1911 until 1968 when the three branches of the Canadian military were merged into the Canadian Armed Forces. ... MTB could refer to: The British designation for Motor Torpedo Boat; Magandang Tanghali Bayan, a variety show in the Philippines; Mountain Bike. ...

Though their primary mission continued to be seen as attack of surface ships and craft, PT boats were also used effectively to lay mines and smoke screens, to rescue downed aviators, and to carry out intelligence or raider operations.

In 1943 in the Solomon Islands, three 77-foot (23 m) PT boats, PT-59, PT-60, and PT-61, were even converted into gunboats by stripping the boat of all original armament except for the two twin .50 inch (12.7mm) gun mounts, and then adding two 40mms and four twin .50 inch (12.7mm) mounts. Lt. John F. Kennedy was the first commanding officer of PT-59 after the conversion, and participated in evacuating many Marines from Choiseul. 1943 (MCMXLIII) was a common year starting on Friday (the link is to a full 1943 calendar). ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th president of the United States. ... The United States Marine Corps (USMC) is a branch of the U.S. military responsible for providing power projection from the sea,[1] utilizing the mobility of the U.S. Navy to rapidly deliver combined-arms task forces to global crises. ... Choiseul can refer to: Etienne Francois, Duke of Choiseul Choiseul, Haute-Marne, a commune in the Haute-Marne département in France Choiseul province, Solomon Islands, a province of the Solomon Islands Choiseul, Saint Lucia This is a disambiguation page — a navigational aid which lists other pages that might...

PT-109

See main article PT-109.

Lieutenant Jack Kennedy (right) with his PT-109 crew.

The most famous incident in this campaign was when Lt. Kennedy's PT-109 was sent into Blackett Strait to intercept the Tokyo Express. In what National Geographic called a "poorly planned and badly coordinated" attack, 15 boats with 60 torpedoes attacked, but not a single hit was scored. Patrolling after the action, PT-109 was run down on a dark moonless night by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri, returning from the supply mission; she never even noticed PT-109. The boat had her engines at idle to hide her wake from seaplanes, and so could not complete a torpedo shot. The survivors were remarkably found by two Solomon Islanders, dispatched in a traditional dugout canoe by an Australian coastwatcher. Only a few days later, a force composed mostly of destroyers would be successful in putting an end to the Japanese supply convoys. Though his boat was sunk, Kennedy would be awarded a medal, and the incident would become a folk legend in the form of magazine articles, models, toys, hardback and comic books, a hit record, a major motion picture; it also inspired several television shows, starting with McHale's Navy. The wreck was found in 2002 by Robert Ballard who had also found the wreck of the Titanic. PT-109 redirects here. ... Description: Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, USNR, (standing at right) with other crewmen on board PT-109, 1943. ... Description: Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, USNR, (standing at right) with other crewmen on board PT-109, 1943. ... Lt. ... Captain Martin Clemens, Australian Coastwatcher on Guadalcanal, rendered services to Allied forces during the battle for the island (August, 1942-February, 1943). ... Dr. Robert D. Ballard Robert Duane Ballard Ph. ...

PT boats today

At the end of the war, almost all surviving US PT boats were disposed of shortly after V-J Day. Hundreds of boats were deliberately stripped of all useful equipment and then dragged up on the beach and burned. This was done to minimize the amount of upkeep the US Navy would have to do, since wooden boats require much continuous maintenance, and were not considered worth the effort. The level of gasoline consumption relative to the boat's small size also made their operational expense impracticable for a peacetime navy. Much of this destruction activity occurred at PT Base 17 located on the island of Samar, Philippines, near Bobon Point. A total of nine PT boat hulls still survive to this day. Two of these nine PT boats that survive in World War II configuration are on static display in Battleship Cove, Massachusetts: An 80 foot Elco boat PT-617 and PT-796, a 78-foot Higgins. The two are exhibited at the PT Boat Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts.^[1] Both of these boats are located inside, protected from the weather and up on blocks. Both are also available for public viewing. The Elco boat, PT-617, has a portion of the hull cut away to display the cramped interior of the crew's quarters. An interesting side note is this Higgins boat, PT-796, was used during President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade to represent PT-109, with the PT-109 hull number painted on the bow. These boats, owned by PT Boats, Inc., a WWII PT veterans organization headquartered in Germantown Tennessee (a suburb of Memphis, Tennessee) are both non-operational and configured as museum displays. 15 August 1945 marked Victory over Japan or VJ Day, taking a name similar to Victory in Europe Day, which was generally known as VE Day. ... Samar, formerly Western Samar, is a province of the Philippines located in the Eastern Visayas region. ... Located in Fall River, Massachusetts, Battleship Cove is a nonprofit maritime museum and war memorial that traces its origins to the wartime crew of the World War II battleship U.S.S. Massachusetts. ... The Fall River skyline, as seen from Somerset. ... For other uses, see Memphis (disambiguation). ...

There is also another surviving 78 foot Higgins PT Boat, the USS PT-658, which has been completely restored to its original 1945 configuration during the years 1995 to 2005. PT-658 is now fully functional and afloat. It is the only 100% authentically restored US Navy PT Boat that is operational today in the world. The USS PT-658 is located in Portland, Oregon at the Swan Island Naval Reserve Center Pier. She is afloat and has 3 working 1,850 hp Packard Model 5M-2500 V12 gasoline engines. A dedicated group of PT Boat veterans formed the organization Save the PT Boat, Inc.,^[2] and then restored the boat, to include a full armament of 4 Mark 13 Torpedoes, 2 twin .50 inch Browning M2 machine guns, a 40 mm Bofors cannon, two 20 mm Oerlikon cannons, and 2 Mark 6 300 pound TNT depth charges. There is also another non-operational restored 78 foot Higgins PT Boat, the USS PT-309, located at the Nimitz Museum of the Pacific War^[3] in Fredericksburg, Texas, which was restored by The Defenders of America.^[4] The USS PT-309 is currently inside a static diorama display without engines installed. Its external restoration was completed by the Texas group in 2002, and is to a high standard. Nickname: City of Roses, Stumptown, Bridgetown, PDX Location in Multnomah County and the state of Oregon Coordinates: Country United States State Oregon County Multnomah County Incorporated February 8, 1851 Government  - Mayor Tom Potter Area    - City  145. ... A . ... This article is about the . ... Bofors 40mm/L60. ... The design of the Oerlikon 20mm cannon, by Reinhold Becker dates back to 1914, and is still in use today, after having been used extensively during the Second World War. ... R-phrases S-phrases Related Compounds Related compounds picric acid hexanitrobenzene Except where noted otherwise, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 Â°C, 100 kPa) Infobox disclaimer and references Trinitrotoluene (TNT) is a chemical compound with the formula C6H2(NO2)3CH3. ... Depth Charge used by U.S. Navy later in World War II The depth charge is the oldest anti-submarine weapon. ... Fredericksburg is a city in Gillespie County, Texas, United States. ...

Five more former USN PT boat hulls have recently been located in the United States. One is the PT-48, a 77 foot Elco, located in Leesburg Florida near Orlando and in need of major restoration, after having been cut down to 59 feet and used as a dinner cruise boat. Another is the USS PT-305, a 78 foot Higgins which has been obtained by the Defenders of America organization and is located in Clear Lake City, Texas. The PT-305 is currently undergoing restoration, after having been cut down to 65 feet. Also, there is the PT-659, a 78 foot Higgins, located in Vancouver, Washington, and is awaiting final disposition for possible restoration. The ex-PT-657, is another 78 foot Higgins, has been converted into a charter fishing boat. The ex-PT-657 is located in San Diego, California and renamed as the "Malahini". All of these boats could possibly one day again be restored as a PT boat configuration, although much work remains to be done. Sadly, an Elco 80 foot boat, PT-761, was originally scheduled for restoration by the Defenders of America group, but was destroyed at the storage facility Feb 2006.^[5] Recently, in Feb 2002, another 80 foot Elco boat ex-PT486 now called "Schumann Sails Big Blue" was discovered operating as a sightseeing boat out of Ottens Harbor, in Wildwood, NJ. Official language(s) English Capital Tallahassee Largest city Jacksonville Largest metro area Miami Area  Ranked 22nd  - Total 65,795[1] sq mi (170,304[1] km²)  - Width 361 miles (582 km)  - Length 447 miles (721 km)  - % water 17. ... Nickname: The City Beautiful, O-Town, 407 Location in Orange County and the state of Florida. ... Clear Lake City is a master plan community in Houston, Texas that was originally developed by the Friendswood Development Company on land sold to Humble Oil and Refining Company (later Exxon Company) by James Marion West in 1938. ... Nickname: Vancouver USA, The Couve Motto: A colorful past, a bright future Location in Washington Coordinates: Country United States State Washington County Clark County Founded 1825 Incorporated 1857 Mayor Royce Pollard Area    - City 119. ... Nickname: Americas Finest City Location of San Diego within San Diego County Coordinates: Country United States State California County San Diego Founded July 16, 1769 Incorporated March 27, 1850 Government  - Mayor Jerry Sanders  - City Attorney Michael Aguirre  - City Council Scott Peters Kevin Faulconer Toni Atkins Tony Young Brian Maienschein...

Two of the 70 ft Vospers boats exist today; one is in fairly good condition at the Royal Navy Base in Portsmouth, England. The other is in private hands floating on a canal north of London and being used as a private residence, though it is remarkably intact in its WW2 configuration.

The 1963 movie PT-109 used what appear to be a small fleet of 3 or 4 Elco boats. The engine telegraph even shows the Elco name, but some believe the boats were converted from other craft. The rounded transom suggests that these were converted Coast Guard boats.

In the 1970s, the US Navy experimented with hydrofoil gunboats such as Boeing's Tucumcari, roughly the size of the PT boats, and even put into service the Pegasus class of hydrofoils, but these would be retired in favor of larger ships in a Navy with fewer vessels.

Notable PT boats

Some examples of famous PT boats:

• PT-41 - Flagship of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three (RON 3), based in the Philippine Islands 1941 - 1942 (PTs 41,31,32,33,34,35). Commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley USN
• PT-34 - Part of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three
• PT-109 - Commanded by Lieutenant John F. Kennedy USNR
• PT-59 – Commanded by Kennedy after PT-109

Motor Torpedo Boat PT-41 was a PT-20 (Elco 77-Foot) Class Patrol torpedo boat, built at Elco and commissioned on 23 July 1941. ... Flagship pennant of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, flown on PT 41 Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three was a U.S. Navy squadron based at Cavite, Philippines, in late 1941. ... The Philippine islands is a commonly mistaken description for the Philippines. ... Vice Adm. ... PT 34 was a PT 20 (Elco 77-Foot) Class PT boat, commissioned on 12 July 1941. ... Lt. ... John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also referred to as John F. Kennedy, JFK, John Kennedy or Jack Kennedy, was the 35th president of the United States. ... Motor Torpedo Boat PT 59 was a PT boat that served with the US Navy in World War II. She is noted for firing a torpedo that ran straight and true — into a friendly supply ship, causing injuries, but no deaths. ...

Cultural impact

• The story of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three in the retreat from the Philippines early in World War II was documented in the book They Were Expendable by W.L. White, ISBN 1-55750-948-4, originally published in 1942 soon after the events depicted. Later, in 1945 John Ford made it into a notable war film starring John Wayne. One of the most famous PT boats, PT-41, was part of this squadron.
• The JFK story is told in PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII by Robert J. Donovan, published in 1961, ISBN 0-07-137643-7. PT 109 was also a 1963 film starring Cliff Robertson. While he was President, JFK handed out PT-109 tie clasps to favored guests and associates.
• Robert Ballard found the wreck of the PT 109 in 2002, as documented by a National Geographic television special and video, along with the meeting of the two natives who found Kennedy's crew.
• The TV situation comedy, and later films, McHale's Navy was set in a PT boat squadron. The pilot was based on a shipwrecked PT-boat crew, evidently inspired by Kennedy's adventure. A feature length movie loosely based on the old TV series was also released.
• The iconic television series Gilligan's Island would appear the year after the movie PT 109 was released. It was based on the tale of a shipwrecked small boat led by a veteran skipper and his first mate, but with civilian passengers on a tour cruise. A novel would be written which incorporated both Gilligan's skipper and John F. Kennedy as PT boat skippers.
• James Michener wrote Tales of the South Pacific, a Pulitzer Prize winning collection of short stories in 1946 based upon his observations while stationed as a lieutenant commander in the US Navy on the island of Espiritu Santo in the New Hebrides islands (now known as Vanuatu). He would write "I have become damned sick and tired of the eyewash written about PT boats ... It was just dirty work, thumping, hammering, kidney-wrecking work, even for the strong guys".^[6] The skipper of PT-105 met Michener while stationed at a PT boat base in the Solomon Islands. The musical play South Pacific opened on Broadway on April 7, 1949 by Rodgers and Hammerstein, based on these stories.
• In the 1980s, a video game simulation called PT-109 was popular on early personal computers.
• Rei Hiroe's manga Black Lagoon and the anime adaptation features a crew of pirates/mercenaries composed of foreign nationals (including an ex-Japanese salary man) operating from a refurbished PT boat codenamed Black Lagoon.

Flagship pennant of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, flown on PT 41 Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three was a U.S. Navy squadron based at Cavite, Philippines, in late 1941. ... Year 1942 (MCMXLII) was a common year starting on Thursday (the link is to a full 1942 calendar). ... 1945 (MCMXLV) was a common year starting on Monday. ... John Ford (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973) was an American film director famous for westerns such as Stagecoach and The Searchers and adaptations of such classic 20th century American novels as The Grapes of Wrath. ... The war film is a film genre that has to do with warfare, usually focusing on naval, air, or land battles, but sometimes focusing instead on prisoners of war, covert operations, military training, or other related subjects. ... John Wayne (May 26, 1907 – June 11, 1979), born Marion Robert Morrison (ref. ... 1961 (MCMLXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (the link is to a full 1961 calendar). ... 1963 (MCMLXIII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (the link is to a full 1963 calendar). ... Cliff Robertson. ... Dr. Robert D. Ballard Robert Duane Ballard Ph. ... For other uses, see Television (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Film is a term that encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. ... McHales Navy was an American television sitcom series. ... For the NES video game, see Gilligans Island (video game). ... James Albert Michener (February 3, 1907? - October 16, 1997) was the American author of such books as Tales of the South Pacific (for which he won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1948), Hawaii, The Drifters, Centennial, The Source, The Fires of Spring, Chesapeake, Caribbean, Caravans, Alaska, Texas and Poland. ... Tales of the South Pacific is a collection of Pulitzer Prize winning short stories written by James A. Michener in 1946. ... Rodgers (left) and Hammerstein (right), with Irving Berlin (middle) and Helen Tamiris, watching auditions at the St. ... The 1980s refers to the years of 1980 to 1989. ... Namcos Pac-Man was a hit, and became a cultural phenomenon. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article may require cleanup. ... Rei Hiroe (Kanji: 礼威 広江/Hiragana: ひろえ れい) is a Japanese manga artist who was recently known for his latest manga comic, Black Lagoon. ... Serialized in Sunday GX Original run 19 April 2002 – ongoing No. ...

See also

Other WW2 torpedo boats:

• Motor Torpedo Boat British MTBs
• British Power Boat Company Producer of the PT Boat prototype
• E-boat German Schnellboote

Motor Torpedo Boats (MTB) was the name given to fast torpedo boats by the US and Royal Navies. ... The British Power Boat Company was formed on 30 September 1927 when Hubert Scott-Paine bought and renamed the Hythe Shipyard with the intention of transforming it into one of the most modern mass production boat building yards in the country. ... E-boat is the British and American name for the German Schnellboot (S-boot), a small, fast torpedo boat a little larger than the American PT boat and the British MTB. Specification Length - 34. ...

General printed references

• Angus Konstam, PT-Boat Squadrons - US Navy Torpedo Boats (Ian Allan Publishing, June 2005)
• Breuer, William (1987). Devil Boats: The PT War Against Japan. Novato, California, U.S.A.: Presidio Press. ISBN 0-89141-586-6. 
• Robert J. Bulkley, At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy (Naval Institute Press; 1st Naval edition, 2003)
• Victor Chun, American PT Boats in World War II: A Pictorial History (Schiffer Publishing, 1997)
• T. Garth Connelly, Don Greer, Tom Tullis, Joe Sewell, Pt Boats in Action (Warships, No 7) (Squadron/Signal Publications, Inc., 1994)
• Michael Green, PT Boats (Land and Sea) (Capstone Press, 1999)
• An excellent compendium of information about the Elco PT Boats can be found in "Allied Coastal Forces of World War II" Volume II by John Lambert and Al Ross. ISBN 1-55750-035-5. This book has a detailed history of the development of the various Elco boats, with numerous drawings and photos. It also has sections on PT Boat construction, as well as chapters on the Packard engines and typical weaponry used aboard PT Boats.

PT-109 story printed references

• Robert J. Donovan, PT 109: John F. Kennedy in WWII (1961) ISBN 0-07-137643-7
• Richard Tregaskis, John F. Kennedy and PT-109 (American Printing House for the Blind, 1966) ASIN: B0007HSN7S
• Robert D. Ballard, Collision With History: The Search for John F. Kennedy's PT 109 (National Geographic, 2002)
• Haruyoshi Kimmatsu, The night We sank John Kennedy's PT 109 appeared in Argosy Magazine December 1970 Vol 371 # 6
• Tameichi Hara, Japanese Destroyer Captain (Ballantine Books, 1978) ISBN 0-345-27894-1
• Duane T. Hove, American Warriors: Five Presidents in the Pacific Theater of World War II, Burd Street Press, (2003) ISBN 1-57249-307-0

Argosy (originally meaning a large cargo ship) may refer to: American pulp magazine Argosy Magazine a 1920s British airliner, the Armstrong Whitworth Argosy a 1960s British military transport aircraft, the Armstrong Whitworth AW.660 Argosy the Space Navy of the Systems Commonwealth from the science fiction television series Andromeda. ...

Notes

1. ^ http://www.ptboats.org/07-0-05-museum.html
2. ^ http://www.savetheptboatinc.com/index.htm
3. ^ http://www.wintertexans.com/nimitzmuseum.htm
4. ^ http://www.defendersofamerica.org
5. ^ http://www.defendersofamerica.org/DOANM_PT761Restoration.cfm
6. ^ Donovan, PT-109

External links

• An example of daily life aboard a PT boat, recorded in the deck logs
• PT Boat Museum website
• Save the PT Boat USS PT-658 website
• PT-617 Photos of the Elco PT Boat PT-617 in Fall River, MA
• PT-796 Photos of the Higgins PT Boat PT-796 in Fall River, MA
• PT-235 Photos of life on board a PT Boat in the Pacific in WWII by PT Boat Veteran Milt Donadt of PT-235
• Electric Launch Corp records
• Website dedicated to PT Boats