Know your pt boat, july 1945, was created very near the end of ww ii to use as an introduction to pt boats for crews in training. The game will feature a realistic physics engine and let players take control of a variety of boats in one of three fleets. Engage in action in the solomon islands during the period that the actual pt109 skippered by then lieutenant jg john f. Commanding the patrol torpedo craft pt pt 109, lieutenant kennedy and his. Note well tatooed man handling 20mm magazine in center. Pt boat duty was very dangerous and the squadrons suffered an. There were four or five others scattered around the country, in museums and up on blocks here and there, but the vast majority of the hundreds of pt boats built for world war ii ended up dragged up on beaches and burned at the. Pt boats knights of the sea can take you into an action adventure game that youll surely enjoy. Pt 109 is a 1963 american technicolor biographical war film, filmed in panavision, which depicts the actions of john f. Folks, know your pt boat, july 1945, was created very near the end of ww ii to use as an introduction to pt boats for crews in training. In action on a ptboat s afterdeck, during training maneuvers off melville, rhode island, during world war ii. Engage in action in the solomon islands during the period that the actual pt 109 skippered by then lieutenant jg john f. Pt boat definition is a small fast patrol craft usually armed with torpedoes, machine guns, and depth charges called also pt.
Woodenhulled, 80 feet long with a 20foot, 8inch beam, the elco pt boats had three 12cylinder. The elco 80foot type pt class american navy boats were ultracritical to allied success in the pacific theater during world war 2. Ptboats torpedo boats are some of the most popular subjects when it comes to boat models. The mosquito boats of wwii these lists, generously provided by steve laroe, detail the famous pt boats of the wwii era. Offers 3 training missions and campaigns on both sides of the conflict axis and. Aug 14, 2015 this 80page volume chronicles the evolution, use, and eventual destruction of the u. Pt boats is dedicated to a small group of little known but perhaps some of the most daring naval combatants of world war ii. Torpedo boats were introduced into the worlds navies prior to the first world war. After guadalcanal was secured, the us navy began its march up the solomon islands. The sailors assigned to the pt tender ships were highly skilled machinists, cooks, and craftsmen who used their talents to. Sep 24, 2012 on the night of november 5, kennedy led three pt boats to moli point and choiseul bay, where they attacked japanese barges.
The film was adapted by vincent flaherty and howard sheehan from the book pt 109. The player must choose whether he decides to help the forces of sprzymierzonym, russia, or germany. One interesting thing about the patrol torpedo boats is the way they are constructed. In retrospect, the pt boats suffered early from a lack of numbers, lack of radar and faulty torpedoes. All results related to pt boat found on 80 scale modeling websites and the scalemates kit database. Captured japanese reports refer to the challenges presented to barge operations by the pt boats. I have since been collecting pt boat memorabilia, mostly books and photographs, and have done some of my own onagain, offagain research. Get your kindle here, or download a free kindle reading app. Oregon is home of worlds only world war iiera pt boat. The elco boats were the largest in size of the three types of pt boats built for u. Volunteers restore world war ii torpedo boat youtube. The japanese called them devil boats the original preworld war i torpedo boats were designed with displacement hulls. The pt boats were also needed for other missions, too. The main focus of fleet obsolete is to rescue and restore atrisk historic wwii era pt boats.
Jun 14, 2019 as mentioned, 199 total higgins 78foot boats were eventually built and these included designations pt 71 to pt 94, pt 197 to pt 254, pt 265 to pt 3, pt 450 to pt 485, pt 564 and pt 625 to pt 660. Bulkeley decommissioned 21,september 1945 lt joseph r. According to an afteraction report dated 12 december 1941 from the commanding officer of pt squadron one to the commander of the pacific fleet. Whether they could have sunk more ships will never be known. Made famous by kennedys pt109 service in wwii, these boats were high powered 3 packard v12s. Ellicott usnr mtb ron 31 commissioned 12, august 1941 lt john d. Much of this destruction 121 boats occurred at pt base 17, on samar, philippines, near bobon point. Out of 531 pt boats that were in service during world war ii, a total of 26 were lost because of enemy action. Pt boats giant killers part 2 of 3 by dick washichek. This in action gives a bit more text than usual it has to in order to cover the development of the pt boat.
Knights of the sea is a marine simulation, in which the player takes control of a war. Coverage includes elco, higgins, and huckins boats. They were used to stop all cargo ships going to the philippines to supply the japanese living there. Pt boat pt617 an elco pt boat at the battleship cove naval. Pt boat pt617 an elco pt boat at the battleship cove.
United states ptboats of world war ii in action frank d. Since the enemy consists of 12 different kinds of ships plus airplanes, if the action gets to be more than you can handle alone, radio for assistance from friendly pt boats or planes. Wargaming supremos battlefront have released some footage of akellas naval simulator, pt boats. This booklet was created months before the end of a deadly, bitterly fought war with imperial japan. Pt564 was strictly an experimental development while pt657 through pt660 were all cancelled for the war had ended in september of 1945. After a brief introduction to american pt boats, doyle covers the elco 70footer, their 80foot model, the 70foot higgins boats and the littleknown 78foot models built by the huckins yacht company. The pt boat forum has 564 registered users with 38737 messages, consisting of 4765 topics and 33972 replies. Your main objective in this game is to take command of a boat and control each crew member such as the captain, gunner or commander. After seeing actual pt boatsnot mockups or replicasin action, i was permanently bitten by the mosquito boat bug. Pt boats, torpedo boats world war 2 insightful essays. Pt boats torpedo boats are some of the most popular subjects when it comes to boat models. American patrol torpedo or pt boat crews served valiantly in every theater.
There are other, more expensive books out there american pt boats in ww2 by chun or pt boats at war by polmar, but this is an excellent choice for modelers, ww2 navy buffs. A pt boat was a motor torpedo boat used by the united states navy in world war ii. The game is supposedly a strategyaction hybrid in which you can control warboats from german, russian and allied forces in world war ii at both strategic and tactical levels. A world war ii torpedo boat that sank three enemy ships and took part in. The boats were on a barge hunting patrol led by lieutenant f. Pt109 stood at her station, one of fifteen pt boats patrol torpedo boats.
Known popularly as pt boats, world war iiera patroltorpedo boats were the american equivalent of german e boats and british motor torpedo boats. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war by ineffective torpedoes, limited armament, and comparatively fragile construction that limited some of the variants to coastal waters. 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. Eventually, the war moved out of the solomons and so did the fighting pt boats.
A pt boat short for patrol torpedo boat was a motor torpedo boat used by the united states navy in world war ii. But they are also the most vulnerable of all military vessels. Pt boats giant killers part 1 of 3 by dick washichek. The ships keel was laid 4 march 1942, as the seventh motor torpedo boat mtb of the 80footlong 24 mclass built by elco, and was launched on 20 june and delivered to the navy on 10 july 1942 to be fitted out in the new york naval shipyard in brooklyn. The destroyer was originally a torpedo boat destroyer, armed with. The demo includes three airplanes, 16 naval units, three tutorial. His actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of pt109 made him a war hero. Sometimes the pt boats were used on suicidal missions to.
Pt is the us hull classification symbol for patrol torpedo. Although often referred to as plywood boats and sometimes mosquito boats, the hulls of the pt boats were actually constructed of double planked mahogany. As mentioned, 199 total higgins 78foot boats were eventually built and these included designations pt71 to pt94, pt197 to pt254, pt265 to pt3, pt450 to pt485, pt564 and pt625 to pt660. Kennedys final action was on the night of november 16, when he took pt59 on an uneventful patrol.
During the next week and a half, pt59 would prowl off choiseul bay looking for barges. Specifically, it was the pt658 the only world war iiera pt boat still floating. It was featured in the pt boat publication, all hands and has been posted here with permission. Stenciled lettering on magazine indicates that this may be pt62, which was at melville in 194243. The boats also used a lot of high octane gasoline for their size, making them too expensive to operate for a peacetime navy.
Kennedy jfk as an officer of the united states navy in command of motor torpedo boat pt 109 in the pacific theater of world war ii. Pt109 s collision with a japanese destroyer contributed to kennedys longterm back problems and required months of. The pt boat squadrons were nicknamed the mosquito fleet. These ships are small, fast and agile, and extremely dangerous due to the onboard torpedo launchers.
Pt boat pt 658 deck and interior walkthrough sept 2012 18 minutes. On the night of november 5, kennedy led three pt boats to moli point and choiseul bay, where they attacked japanese barges. The german s100 is one of the largest scale plastic models ever made by a model company. Pt boats were a variety of torpedoarmed fast attack craft used by the united states navy in world war ii to attack larger surface ships. Pt boats giant killers part 3 of 3 by dick washichek. Sometimes the pt boats were used on suicidal missions to rescue a downed pilot in enemy territory with no cover. Knights of the sea is a naval action simulator that places gamers in charge of a mosquito fleet of the allied forces, russia or germany during the height of world war ii. Know your pt boat san francisco maritime national park. They were small, fast boats with a low silhouette and a main armament of two to four torpedoes, intended to attack warships at night or other conditions of low visibility. Although they were the smallest us combat vessels of the war, they were among the most famous and most interesting. Megagames founded in 1998, is a comprehensive hardcore gaming resource covering pc, xbox one, ps4, wii u, mobile games, news, trainers, mods, videos, fixes, patches. Prior to and during world war 2, the united states navy usn. Pt109 was a pt boat patrol torpedo boat last commanded by lieutenant junior grade john f. Pt boats, or patrol torpedo boats, were a secondary element in world war 2 navies, but an essential one.
Pt boats knights of the sea is a marine action simulator that challenges you to be in charge of a mosquito fleet of the allied forces, russia or germany during the height of the world war ii. Knights of the sea, and ive post it below for your inspection. Pt 564 was strictly an experimental development while pt 657 through pt 660 were all cancelled for the war had ended in september of 1945. Pt patrol, torpedo boats were small, fast, and expendable vessels for short range oceanic scouting, armed with torpedoes and machine guns for cutting enemy supply lines and harassing enemy forces. Pt 109 was one of the hundreds of motor torpedo boats pt of the pt 103 class completed between 1942 and 1945 by elco naval division of electric boat company at bayonne, new jersey. Pt tenders and base support the pt officers and crews had some of the best trained and dedicated support teams in the us navy. Line drawings and 2 pages of camouflage scheme round out the book. Pt 109 belonged to the pt 103 class, hundreds of which were completed between 1942 and 1945, by elco, in bayonne, new jersey. They were small, fast, woodenhulled, shallowdraft vessels that depended on surprise, speed, and maneuverability and thus did their best work in coastal waters. Surprisingly, 43 pt boats were lost due to accidents, friendly fire, or sea conditions. David doyles pt boats in action is a marvelous, 64page overview of the elco, higgins and huckins pt boats that saw service in world war ii. Kennedy jfk as an officer of the united states navy in command of motor torpedo boat pt109 in the pacific theater of world war ii. All us navy motor torpedo boats pt boats of world war ii. This 80page volume chronicles the evolution, use, and eventual destruction of the u.
For example, the same 37mm cannon used in the p39 was mounted on a pt boat, as were mortars and rockets. Reconstituted with pt 71,72, 199 for special oss missions in the english channel, carried out 20 between may and october of 1944 mtb ron 22 commissioned 23,march 1944 cdr john d. Pt boat fleet through photographs, many of them in color. Oct 26, 2011 pt tenders and base support the pt officers and crews had some of the best trained and dedicated support teams in the us navy.
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