The FReeper Foxhole Remembers the Mosquito Fleet (PT Boats)

PT Boat Trivia
PT Boat History

Motor Torpedo Boat development had its beginning in the early 1900's culminating with actual combat use in the first world war. It was the British, French and Italian navies who led the way in development and deployment of this specialized craft. However it wasn't until the late 1930's that the U.S. Navy seriously took on the challenge to create their own Patrol Torpedo Boat program.

The United States originally developed three designs, two from distinguished naval architects and one from the navy. Eight boats (PT's 1 through 8) were built from these designs. Unfortunately, by the time most of these boats were built and readied for testing, their design and performance was found to be inadequate.

In the mean time the Electric Boat Company (ELCO) purchased a British 70 foot boat, designed by Hubert Scott-Paine. This boat was subsequently shipped to the United States and numbered PT 9 by the Navy. During preliminary testing the Navy was impressed enough to award ELCO a contract to build 10 PT boats (PT 10 through 19) based on the PT 9 design. The contract specified some minor to moderate changes however, which included changes to upper deck structures and replacing the engines with the newly designed 1200 h.p. Packard Marine engines.

Upon completion of these boats, Navy test trials revealed that these new boats were too lightly constructed to withstand the rigors of open seas. It was also realized that the boat's designed length was not sufficient to utilize the longer U.S. torpedo versus the shorter British torpedo. Not withstanding the short comings of these initial 70 foot boats, the Navy was convinced that they had a real need for this type of small attack craft. It was recommended that the overall length be increased to accommodate the standard U.S. torpedo and the hull structure be re-engineered to strengthen it for heavier seas.

More and more Elco PT's are sliding off the ways, and just look at that bow number to prove it!
Rudder 11/42 & 2/43
Yachting 2/43

ELCO was again awarded a contract to build 24 new boats (PT 20 through 44) with the recommended modifications which increased the length to 77 feet. Unbeknownst to anyone at that time, some of these new PT boats would actually become the first U.S. PT boats to see action in World War II (Pearl Harbor & the Philippines).

During the time ELCO was building the new boats, two other companies involved in boat building were developing PT boats at there own expense, to compete with ELCO. These two companies were Higgins Industries and Huckins Yacht Works. Higgins was working on a 76 foot design (PT 70) and Huckins was developing a 72 foot boat (PT 69). Eventually all three companies would build PT boats for the war effort. However, just prior to the start of the war, the Navy Department held competition trials known as the "Plywood Derby". 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 share (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).

Happened Feb. 1, 1943 in the Slot; PT's 37, 111, 123 were lost.
Yachting/Rudder 7/43

With contracts awarded, the U.S. Navy's PT Boat program was in full swing. However Higgins increased its boat length to 78 feet and Huckins added six feet to its boat length also resulting in a 78 footer. ELCO would build another 24 boats at 77 feet, and by Navy request, designed a larger boat of 80 feet in length with a larger capacity to carry more armament. Thus the ELCO 80 foot PT boat was born and destined to become the most numerous in service.

Throughout the Second World War the PT boats would see many transformations enabling the original designs to be modified to fit the mission they would be called upon to perform. It appears most of the ELCO designed boats served in the Pacific theater, with a small number used in the English Channel and Mediterranean Sea. Approximately half of the Higgins designed boats served in the Mediterranean Sea and English Channel with the other half serving in the Pacific and Aleutians. Huckins designed boats were assigned to the training squadron, in Melville Rhode Island, the Panama Canal zone and Hawaii.

WANT TO BUY A P.T. BOAT ?

PT Boats, Inc., has attempted to keep up with these boats; but they have changed hands many times in over fifty years. At one time headquarters had reports of over 40 boats that we believed were different hulls, In 1996-97 three were known to be for sale. Prices ranged from $90,000 to $200,000.

Bulkeley's PT-41 & 34 take on a cruiser.
Yachting/Rudder 6/42 & 7/42

Any one looking for a PT should not expect to find one that looks like it did during the war. These boats have been heavily converted. Essentially, one would be purchasing a hull and many of the hulls have been cut down to 65 feet.

For comparison, PT Boats, Inc., completed the restoration of Elco 617 in 1985 at a cost of $700,000. These 1987 dollars put the boat on static display. Putting a PT back in the water would cost even more.

Building your own PT replica is possible. PT Boats, Inc., has a collection of factory blueprints and microfilm reproductions. Copies can be purchased. The list is available by regular mail, not email.

WHERE ARE THE PT's TODAY?

Today roughly 18 US PTs have been located. These boats are in various states of repair and disrepair. PTs 617 and 796 are on static display in Newberry Hall, the PT Boats Inc. museum at Battleship Cove. Restoration of 617 cost over $700,000 and was completed in 1985. 796 restoration was finished in 1975 at a lesser cost. These two boats are on the National Historic Landmark Registry.

This photo shows a 77 foot Elco boat, PT68, in 1943 on the Morobe River in New Guinea.
She carries 2 torpedo tubes, 2 twin 50s and single 50 cal. at the bow. The unusual paint scheme consisted of various shades of green and had been applied by the crew.
She was lost on 20 Sept. 1943

PT 309 was bought by the Admiral Nimitz Museum, Fredericksburg Texas in 1995 and is currently cradled near the battleship Texas outside Houston.

PT 658 was given to a group in Oregon in 1994; they are working to restore the boat.

A Vosper, PT 728, has been reconfigured to look like an Elco and is currently in Key West where it is operational. A few others are on the market.

Many PTs were auctioned and otherwise disposed of after the war and have been greatly modified. Many have been chopped to 65 feet. Some have had their deck lowered; most have had the original charthouse/bridge removed. Packard engines were replaced with diesels except in museum restorations.

PT BOAT BUILDERS

US Navy PTs were predominately built by Elco Navy Division of Electric Boat Company, Bayonne, New Jersey, Higgins Industries in New Orleans and Huckins Yacht Corp in Jacksonville, Florida. Other builders include, Canadian Power Boat, which built 4 Scott-Paine design boats. Harbor Boat Building, Robert Jacob Yard, Annapolis Yacht Yard and Herreschoff also built (Assembled) PT's from Elco kits and others. The Elco Navy Division manufactured more USN PTs than the other seven. It was later absorbed by General Dynamics, which is still building USN vessels (currently a sub.) Huckins is still building yachts. Higgins went out of business many years ago. Higgins is best remembered for building landing craft.

WHO ARE PT BOAT VETERANS

Crew of PT-109

All men who served with and supported PTs are considered PT Boat veterans. This includes those serving in one unofficial tender or mother ship and 19 official tenders plus thousands who were assigned to Base Forces and other support units. There were roughly 80 shore bases for PTs around the world.

PT BOAT AREAS OF OPERATIONS (WWII)

Theaters of operations for PT boats: Atlantic, Mediterranean, English Channel, Caribbean, Aleutians, Pacific.

Training: Melville (Portsmouth), Rhode Island.

Supplementary training: Taboga, Panama.

PT BOATERS RECEIVING THE MEDAL OF HONOR

Two PT men were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor: John D. Bulkeley and Murray Preston. Bulkeley retired in 1988 as Vice Admiral after 59 years active duty.

Preston's award was for the rescue of a downed pilot in Wasile Bay, Halmahera Islands, Pacific Theater, while in Ron 33. Previously he had been in Ron 1. He died January 7, 1968.

Smoke generators were carried on the stern. The stuff was titanium tetrachloride, TiCl4, which combines with water or humidity to make titanium dioxide (white pigment = smoke) and HCl- hydrochloric acid!
Yachting/Rudder 5/44

Bulkeley received his award from President Roosevelt for "Breakout from Corregidor," the operation that took MacArthur, his family and Philippine officials out of the Philippines as the islands fell to the Japanese. Bulkeley carefully does not refer to this operation as a rescue. At that time he was in Ron 3, the squadron known as "The Expendables." In 1945 the movie, "They Were Expendable," based on White's book, was released. Actual PTs were used in the filming. Those boats came from Ron 4.

PT BOATERS KILLED IN ACTION (WWII)

Killed in Action PT men are counted at 331. A plaque in their memory can be seen in the reception area of Newberry Hall (PT Boats, Inc. Museum and Library.) KIAs are actual death in combat. Accidental deaths aren't counted.

HOW MANY PT BOATERS - SERVED IN WWII

PT Boats Transom mufflers

Total thought to have served in all aspects of PT service: 60,000-64,000. It's impossible to determine number of replacements. Everyone didn't go through Melville MTBSTC and MTBRTU. Oft-published statements that PT men were all volunteers are untrue.

PT BOAT LOSSES IN WWII

Out of 531 PTs placed in US Navy service, 69 were lost: 5 - destroyed by enemy surface ship gunfire; 1 - rammed by enemy ship; 1 - rammed an enemy ship; 1 - enemy aircraft strafing; 4 - enemy bombings; 2 - kamikaze attacks; 5 - enemy shore batteries; 4 - enemy mines; 1 - damaged by enemy fire then destroyed; 2 - lost in transit, tanker torpedoed by enemy. Total: 26 lost by enemy action.

Additional losses: 18 - grounded in enemy waters and destroyed to prevent capture; 3 - destroyed to prevent capture; 3 - destroyed by US aircraft; 2 - destroyed by Australian aircraft; 2 - destroyed by US ships; 1 - destroyed by enemy shore fire or wild shot from US warship; 5 - grounded/destroyed outside enemy waters or in storms; 6 - fire or explosion in port; 3 - collisions. Total: 43 lost by accidents, friendly fire or sea conditions.

Above figures do not include fates of Lend-Lease boats.

Well Known Veterans of PT Boat Service and Famous People Who Were Associated with PTs
Information from: WW II PT Boats, Bases and Tenders Museum and Archives

Most men serving in PTs shortened "squadron" to "Ron." We continue the practice. Some ranks and rates will be the ones held at retirement and some will be those held during WW II service. Unfortunately, our information isn't always clear.

Anthony B. Akers, (Deceased) Ambassador to New Zealand, Ron 3

Lt. J. Paul Austin, (Deceased) Chairman of the board Coca Cola, Ron 25

Ens. Howard Baker, White House Chief of Staff, Reagan Administration; former Tennessee Senator; Ambassador to Japan. Ron 44, MTBSTC

CO William C. Battle, former Ambassador to Australia, Democratic nominee for governor Virginia 1969, President Fieldcrest Mills, Inc. Rons 10, 9, 5, 39; PTs 580, 166, 171; Staff Southwest Pacific Operations

Lt. Charles A. Black, husband of actress Shirley Temple Black, Ron 21

Lt. John D. Bulkeley USN Ret, (deceased) President of the Navy's Board of Inspection and Survey (INSURV), most decorated military man in US history, recipient of the Medal of Honor for the breakout from Corregidor which took MacArthur and party out of the Philippines. Bulkeley cut the water line to the Guantanamo Naval Base when Castro accused the base of stealing water. Rons 1, 2(2), 3, 7, 34 PT 41. Retired as Vice Admiral in 1988 after 59 years active duty in many ships and stations including PTs. In December 2001, a guided missile destroyer, DDG 84, commissioned bearing his name. The USS John D. Bulkeley’s first CO is Carlos Del Torro who was born in Cuba but raised in Hell’s Kitchen, New York City.

Lt. jg Michael Burke, (deceased) CBS Sports, Yankees, Knicks and Rangers executive; author Outrageous Good Fortune. OSS; Ron 15; PT 209

MoMM Harold E. Christensen, (deceased) National AAU Middleweight Boxing Champion; Rons 4, 22; PT 312; PT Raiders

LCDR John H. Clagett, author of 15 books, Rons 1, 2, 5, 6, 7, 3(2); PTs 111, 11, 40, 47, 37

Lt. Bernard A. Crimmins, (deceased)all-American Notre Dame 1941; Rons 8, 21, 25; PT 321

Lt. Cleveland E. Dodge Jr., Dodge Fibers, Seal Pak Teflon gasket process patent; Rons 26, 4; PT 262, 261

LCDR Douglas Fairbanks, Jr. (deceased) in charge of small boats in the invasion of Southern France; he was USNR, but his "flag boat" was a British riverboat in TG 80.4. He also was part of the Beach Jumpers who operated with PTs in the Med.

Lt. Paul B. "Red" Fay, former Undersecretary of the Navy, JFK administration; author, The Pleasure of His Company; Ron 10; PT 167

LCDR John Harllee, Chairman Federal Maritime Commission 1963-69; author; Ron 1, 2, 12, Chief Staff Officer MTBRons 7th Fleet; PTs 16, 20, 190; MTBSTC. Retired as Rear Admiral.

Andrew Jackson Higgins Sr. (deceased) owner Higgins Industries, built PTs and landing craft.

Lt. Michael J. Holovak, football coach of PT Raiders and general manager for Houston Oilers. Rons 7, 8

Frank Huckins, (deceased) Huckins Yacht Corp., built 18 PTs for the US Navy.

Lt. jg John F. Kennedy, (deceased) 35th president of the United States; Rons 2, 4; PTs 59, 109, 10; MTBSTC

Lt. William A. Klopman, Klopman Mills--became division of Burlington Industries, President of Burlington Industries; Rons 29, 11; PTs 556, 555, 179

Joe Kuharick, All-star football player Notre Dame, Washington Redskins Head Coach, MTBSTC

Lt. Cdr. Elgar "Gar" Laux, (deceased) retired vice chairman New Chrysler Corp., Ford Motor Co. executive; Ron 22, PT 313

Lt. Walter H. "Wally" Lemm, (deceased) former Houston Oilers head coach; Ron 8; PT 114; PT Raiders

Lt. William F. "Bud" Liebenow, skipper of PT 157, the boat that rescued the crew of PT 109; Rons 9, 2(2)’ PTs 157, 199; Special OSS Europe

Lt. Henry Loeb, (deceased) Mayor of Memphis, TN, Loeb Enterprises; Ron 29 PT 553

Lt. Carl Maddox, (deceased) football coach LSU, Mississippi State Athletic Director; Ron 28; PT 383

Lt. Clinton "Red" McClain, NY Giants, SMU football coach; Ron 9; PTs 155-159

Lt. Torbert H. MacDonald, (deceased) US House of Representatives Congressman (D-Mass.), Chairman Subcommittee on Communications, JFK roommate at Harvard, Ron 12; PTs 194, 193, 190

Lt. Richard W. McEwen, former Chairman of the Board, Burdines Department Stores; Ron 18; PTs 370, 371

Cdr. J. Alex Michaud USN (Ret.), owner Michaud Motor Coaches, Commander Philippine Sea Frontier; AGPs 2, 6, 13; Bases 5, 17, 21; FEMU (Floating Equipment Maintenance Unit); commanding officer Task Unit 93.4.60.

Lt. jg John N. Mitchell, (deceased) Attorney General of the United States, Nixon Administration, convicted in Watergate aftermath; Ron 37; PTs 536, 541

Capt. Robert Montgomery, (deceased) First President of Screen Actors Guild; played the part of Lt. John D. Bulkeley (changed to Brickley in movie) in "They Were Expendable;" Rons 5 and 4. XO PTs 107, PT 68 and XO PT 114. Division Commander of PTs at Panama. Bronze Star. Also light cruiser USS Columbia CL 56 and USS Barton DD 772 at Normandy.

CBM James Madden "Boats" Newberry, (deceased), Founder of PT Boats, Inc.; Principal Organizer of Petroleum Equipment Institute formerly the National Association of Oil Equipment Jobbers; owner Newberry Manufacturing Co.; President Gas and Oil Equipment Co., JMN and Associates, Inc. and Fences Inc.; held controlling interest Southland Chemical and was a partner in Oilman’s Equipment Co. USS Texas BB 35; USS New York BB 3; USS Osborne DD 295 (these ships 1926-1929); Ron 9’s Chief Boatswain’s Mate; PT 155 et al; Chief Master-at-Arms for the Repair Training Unit of the Melville Rhode Island PT training base (MTBRTU).

Cdr. Henry Ringling North, (deceased) Ringling Circus; Ron 15

Lt. Jack B. Olson, Lt. Gov. of Wisconsin; Retired Ambassador to the Commonwealth of the Bahamas; Ron 4; PT Raiders

Cdr. Paul T. Rennell, (deceased) First Executive VP of Pan Am; Commanding Officer of Ron 21

S1/c Don Rickles, Actor and comedian; USS Cyrene AGP 13, a PT tender.

Lt. jg Raymond P. Shafer, Governor of Pennsylvania 1967-71; Ron 27; PT 359

Preston L. Sutphen, Sr., (deceased) Vice President Electric Boat Company, builder of PTs

Lt. Preston L. Sutphen, Jr., (deceased) son of Sutphen Sr.; Rons 29 and 36

Harold Thorkilsen, (deceased) retired as CEO of Ocean Spray Cranberries, units unknown

LCDR Malcolm Toon, former ambassador to several countries including the former USSR; NBC News consultant on Russian affairs; Ron 9; PT 155

Lt. Alfred Gwynne Vanderbilt, (deceased) millionaire. Rons 12, 1; PTs 192, 196

Lt. George Vanderbilt, (deceased) millionaire. Intelligence Officer, Ron 12; PT 196

Lt. Byron White, (deceased) Supreme Court Justice, retired 1993; Intelligence Officer Ron 10

Additional Sources:

www.ptboats.org
www.history.navy.mil
www.oldgloryprints.com
www.electriclaunch.com
www.warship.org
www.nationalgeographic.com
mcmsoftware.tripod.com
www.pt171.org
annika.mu.nu
www.skylighters.org
www.military-graphics.com

Among those who rode as passengers aboard PTs: Numerous admirals, generals, senators and other politicians as well as the King of England.

Frances Langford Evinrude, USO singer entertained PT men. While at Green Island in the Solomons she was aboard a PT. Hosted regional PT meeting known as a bull session about 1970 at her restaurant in Florida.

Gen. and Mrs. Douglas MacArthur and son; Presidents of the Philippines Quezon and Osmeña; Gen. Dwight Eisenhower, Col. John Eisenhower, Adm. Chester Nimitz, King George VI of England.

Gen Roy Stanley Geiger, USMC, 1st Marine Air Wing at Guadalcanal, First Marine Amphib Corps at Bougainville, Guam, Peleliu and Okinawa, Command of 10th Army.

Actors Ward Bond, Ray Milland, Robert Montgomery, Tyrone Power, John Wayne. Moviemaker John Ford. Secretary of the Navy James Forrestal.

Eleanor Roosevelt, Eddie Rickenbacker (rescued by PT); Col. Charles Lindberg.

USO Show entertainers at PT bases in the Pacific: Patty Thomas, Bob Hope, Frances Langford, Joe E. Brown, Jerry Colona, Martha Raye; Ray Milland, Tyrone Power; Candy Jones; Jack Benny.

Randolf Scott, actor, visited seven PT sailors in hospital at Tulagi January 1944

Showcasing America's finest, and those who betray them!

Please click on the banner above and check out this newly created (and still under construction) website created by FReeper Coop!

Veterans for Constitution Restoration is a non-profit, non-partisan educational and grassroots activist organization. The primary area of concern to all VetsCoR members is that our national and local educational systems fall short in teaching students and all American citizens the history and underlying principles on which our Constitutional republic-based system of self-government was founded. VetsCoR members are also very concerned that the Federal government long ago over-stepped its limited authority as clearly specified in the United States Constitution, as well as the Founding Fathers' supporting letters, essays, and other public documents.

Actively seeking volunteers to provide this valuable service to Veterans and their families.

We here at Blue Stars For A Safe Return are working hard to honor all of our military, past and present, and their families. Inlcuding the veterans, and POW/MIA's. I feel that not enough is done to recognize the past efforts of the veterans, and remember those who have never been found.

I realized that our Veterans have no "official" seal, so we created one as part of that recognition. To see what it looks like and the Star that we have dedicated to you, the Veteran, please check out our site.

Veterans Wall of Honor

Blue Stars for a Safe Return

UPDATED THROUGH APRIL 2004

The FReeper Foxhole. America's History. America's Soul

Click on Hagar for
"The FReeper Foxhole Compiled List of Daily Threads"

LINK TO FOXHOLE THREADS INDEXED by PAR35

"FALL IN" to the FReeper Foxhole!

Good Monday Morning Everyone.

If you want to be added to our ping list, let us know.

Happy Monday, all.

Right click on the images below to view the images full size. Click on the Arizona picture to take a virtual tour of the Arizona Republic. :)

The BEAUTY of Arizona is reflected in this picture!

The BEAUTY of the RIBS that come off my grill!!!!! :)

Hiya Kids, I now have over 1200 pictures of our FANTASTIC country! Arizona, New Mexico and Wyoming are now represented on my website. We are so blessed to live in this GREAT land!! BTW ... you kids are still doing a FANTASTIC job on these threads!!!! I could use one of these boats here in LHC ... it would go GREAT on the lake .... :)

±

"The Era of Osama lasted about an hour, from the time the first plane hit the tower to the moment the General Militia of Flight 93 reported for duty."
Toward FREEDOM

A little later in history. But still much of the same mission. A still very interesting sight.

RiverVet - Don Blankenship's site about River Boats in Vietnam
http://www.rivervet.com/

Good morning Snippy.

For those of you chomping at the bit (including your always humble editor) to take issue with the word "plywood," consider this; words often take on different meanings for succeeding generations. The rudimentary "computers" used about U.S. Navy vessels during World War II served an entirely different function than those aboard ship today. Today's plywood is composed of thin sheets of wood (of various dimensions), joined together by the generous use of glue. PT boat hulls were composed of double planked 1" mahogany fastened with monel (copper-nickel alloy, very salt water resistant, really quite expensive - ed.) screws. Sandwiched between the layers of mahogany planks was a layer (or ply) of canvas. Every other wooden feature on the PT boat was traditional plywood. If the hull had been plywood, as some mistakenly believe, the boat would have disintegrated from the pounding that the hull underwent while underway.

PT boats used three 12-cylinder Packard Marine Engines, 4M-2500, which burned one-hundred octane gasoline. These liquid-cooled power plants could generate anywhere from 1,200 to 1,500-hundred horsepower depending on conditions at the front and the period of construction. The Packards were lightweight, dependable, and situated two engines forward in the engine room, one port and one starboard, and the third engine farther aft on the centerline. This made service of the engines in the relatively cramped confines of the engine room possible. Yes, the boats were fast; perhaps 40-knots under favorable conditions with the boats graceful bow jutting proudly above the water's surface. On occasion a good third of the boat's hull would come free of the water as she maneuvered across the water. In ideal conditions a PT boat was a most formidable weapon.

Conditions in the Pacific Theater were rarely ideal. Distances, living conditions, diseases, and lack of resources (the boat's engines should have been changed out every one-thousand hours of operation), all combined to severely impact the capabilities of boats and crews. Many photographs of PT boat crewmen from the forward areas of the Pacific show a lean bunch of bearded men, scantily clad, standing on the cluttered decks of what, to the untutored eye, must surely have been a barge. As the sailors had undergone a change (their training at Newport, Rhode Island could hardly have prepared them for the primitive living conditions that they encountered), so had the trim lines of the PT boats. They were boats that would become lethal instruments of war.

All torpedo boats had been designed as a means to deploy torpedoes against enemy vessels. What better way to disable or sink an capital ship than by the use of a fast, difficult to see and hit boat with a low silhouette? They became all the rage in the navies of the early 20th Century. Torpedo boats and their nemesis torpedo boat destroyers (yes, that's how these predators who later chased undersea quarry were born) began to share the oceans with traditional vessels.

When World War II began the Patrol-Torpedo, or PT boats of the American navy was viewed as a customary extension of that concept -- little, fast boats to launch torpedoes at slow, big ships. But as the war progressed in the South Pacific, the needs of the warrior changed. The ideals of high sea's encounters that so many naval strategists had dragged into the war were quickly shattered by aircraft carriers. Vessels often didn't see one another and there was certainly no role for the diminutive PT boat in single combat covering hundreds of square miles of open water.

But there were other battlegrounds for the Higgins or Elco boats. Every island in the South Pacific had the potential of harboring the enemy and there thousands of islands scattered about these vast distances. General Douglas MacArthur's strategy of island hopping reduced the number of islands that were to be invaded to a manageable level, but that number was still in the hundreds. There were islands to be by-passed, invested, subdued, ignored or contained. Islands surrounded by shallow water -- water perfect for the PT's modest draft.

PT boats were soon hunting Japanese supply and troop barges, Japanese coastal vessels, and Japanese submarines. They were sent out to rescue downed pilots, or take scouts close to shore, or rendezvous with coast watchers. PT boats were targeted by shore batteries on virtually every mission, so they relied on three attributes. The boats were (despite the abominable condition of the boats and engines), still very fast and maneuverable; crews coveted their speed and worked miracles to keep the engines in shape. PT boats were stealthy; despite their 80-foot length and 40-ton displacement (both varying from boat to boat), they could close their mufflers and ease on the quarry -- the throaty roar of the powerful engines reduced to a whimper as long as they maintained a speed of no more than ten-knots. Anything more than that and the force of the exhaust would blow the mufflers off the vessel.

There was a third element on which the PT boats of the South Pacific depended, one that at first glance might raise an eyebrow of a chair-bound naval traditionalist of the period; these little guys were armed to the teeth.

The first ten PT boats delivered to the United States from the Elco yards in Bayonne, New Jersey carried four MK-VII torpedoes, and two-twin mount .50 caliber machine gun turret with Plexiglas canopies; similar to the turrets on bombers. The boats also had an assortment of weapons that included, hand grenades, .03 Springfields, and Colt .45 caliber semi-automatic pistols, and bow mounts for two Lewis guns.

Well before PT boat crews found themselves skirting in and out of shallow waters looking for mischief, the armament aboard PT boats began to change. First to go was the Dewandre Plexiglas turret; the darn thing fogged up and made visibility nearly impossible. Then some bright young officers eyed the four torpedo tubes, which housed the torpedoes. Besides the weight of the tube, torpedoes exiting their containers sometimes created a bright, but short-lived fire in the tube -- usually sparked by grease. There was no danger from the fire itself, but advertising your position in the face of the enemy is not advisable. So the tubes were gone, replaced by a simple device that dropped the torpedo over the side. And anyway, as the island war continued there weren't that many targets against which torpedoes would be effective. The Japanese barges, often heavily armed with shallow drafts, traveled at night. These barges stayed very close to shore, following the contours of the shoreline. It fell on PT boats to hunt out and sink these barges and so they began to arm themselves for the task

Americans are great scavengers and one creative band of PT boatmen salvaged a 37mm automatic cannon out of the wreck of a P-39. While the aircraft never found favor with Americans, its cannon enjoyed a great deal of popularity on the bow of a PT boat. Soon, these cannons became standard on the boats. To keep pesky Japanese aircraft at bay as well as worry the Japanese barges, some inventive types began installing 20mm cannons on the bow and amidships. These guns had a range of 5,500 yards and a rate of fire of 450 rounds per minute. Elco engineers even came up with the Thunderbolt system consisting of four MK 20mm cannons on a single mount. By this time the ambitious PT boat crews had apparently decided that it would be handy to have a 40mm cannon on board as well. These were soon installed on a number of PT boats with twin rocket launchers, each housing 8 5-inch rockets. Of course I won't mention the additional single or twin mount .50 caliber machineguns that kept sprouting up from the deck. Or the Thompson submachine guns, M-1 rifles, M-1 carbines, Colt .45 semiautomatic pistols, and Browning Automatic Rifles. I won't even take the time to mention the 2.36-inch rocket launchers (commonly called the Bazooka), and .60mm mortars that some boats carried. It's a wonder that the 40-ton boats didn't sink under the weight of all of that iron.

The contest between the barges and the PT boats was a confusing, close-quarter engagement in almost total darkness with the superior firepower and speed of the PT boats usually resulting in an American win. It was dangerous, deadly work but gradually the Japanese, who had been denied the opportunity to move reinforcements and supplies by superior Allied airpower, found that even their intricate barge-network could not withstand the assaults of the PT boats. Nipponese outposts withered on the vine, effectively pruned to extinction by torpedo boats transformed into heavily armed gunboats

The needs of combat changed radically throughout the island battlefields of the South Pacific. On the great ocean gray-clad fleets ranged over the watery landscape throwing up clouds of aircraft in a desperate attempt to annihilate one another and the destruction that was rendered on a grand scale was monumental. But around the shallow waters of nameless islands, and in the lagoons and bays that would eventually become rusty with the carcasses of unlucky ships, low-slung shadows moved ominously, looking for prey. These PT boats were, pound-for-pound, the most heavily armed warships afloat. They became gun platforms because it was necessary for them to go heavily armed. Americans, a naturally creative and inventive lot, turned their sleek PT boats into deadly instruments of war; vicious little predators who waited along the dark shores of distant islands for the enemy.

http://www.military.com/NewContent/0,13190,Wilson_032805,00.html

Some technical details corrected.

The hulls were not plywood, but mahogany in layers, like one boat hull inside another boat hull, with the wood grain direction of these two layers at perhaps sixty degrees (educated guess). Under way the hulls flexed under the pounding, so a waterproof layer was built between them.

There was a certain PT skipper who received orders to intercept a Japanese convoy at a certain spot that the convoy was certain to pass that night. The boat arrived at the correct location without incident. However, when the convoy arrived they found all of the crew asleep but one, maybe. A Japanese destroyer saw the waiting PT and rammed it. The crew apparently did not notice any of this until the destroyer was a few hundred yards away, and did not even give the idling engines the gas. This is clearly the responsibility of the commanding officer, who was certainly asleep.

"The idling PT boat was rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri on August 2, 1943 in the Blackett Strait between Kolombangara and Arundel in the Solomon Islands, cutting it in half and killing two men."

The story, as I understand it, is that this unnamed PT skipper had a very influential father, a very heavy contributor to the Democrat Party, a big enough contributor to have been the United States Ambassador to The Court of Saint James. Great Britain, folks. A most plum job, reserved for the most generous.

I know no reader here will need to be told this clown's name.

Anyway, he was not court martialed. Daddies in high places beats malfeaseance in the face of the enemy, hey. Especially during that administration.

Good morning, Snippy and everyone at the Freeper Foxhole.

Good Monday morning everyone.

Good morning every one.

August 22, 2005

Keep The Goal In View

Read:
1 Timothy 4:1-11

Reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. —1 Timothy 4:7

Bible In One Year: 1 Chronicles 1-3

cover Bible scholar William Barclay tells of his walks through the meadow with his bull terrier Rusty. Whenever his dog came to a shallow creek, he jumped in and started removing stones, one by one, dropping them haphazardly on the shore. This pointless activity would go on for hours.

Barclay says that Rusty's strange behavior reminds him of some self-proclaimed experts on the Bible. They expend enormous energy and countless hours trying to interpret obscure passages, but all their effort does nothing to edify themselves or others.

Through the years I have received long letters from people like that. Some show me how to know exactly who the Antichrist will be. Others claim to have found the key to certain Bible mysteries by studying the meaning of names in the lists of genealogies.

Apparently there were some teachers in Ephesus who were trying to impress the believers by weaving myths and fables into their interpretation of the Bible. But what they taught did nothing to promote godliness. It was therefore as pointless as Rusty's stone removal project.

Paul said to Timothy, "Exercise yourself toward godliness." That's the most important goal to keep in view as we study the Bible. —Herb Vander Lugt

Oh, grant us grace, Almighty Lord!
To read and mark Thy holy Word,
Its truths with meekness to receive,
And by its holy precepts live. —Boddome

Don't study the Bible to be able to quote it; study it to obey it.

FOR FURTHER STUDY
Knowing God Through The Whole Bible

It's a Monday morning wake up bump, and if that don't wake you up....hmmm

Regards

alfa6 ;.}

On This Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on August 22:
1647 Denis Papin, inventor of the pressure cooker,
1827 Ezra B. Eddy, Matchmaker to the world
1836 Archibald M Willard US, artist (Spirit of '76)
1862 Claude Debussy St Germain-en-Laye, composer (La Mer, Clair de lune)
1893 Dorothy Parker US, short story writer (1958 Marjorie Peabody Award)
1895 Paul White Bangor Maine, composer (Adante & Rondo for Cello)
1900 Elizabeth Bergner Vienna Austria, actress (Catherine the Great)
1904 Deng Xiaoping Chinese leader (1976-1983)
1908 Henri Cartier-Bresson, photographer.
1909 Mel Hein NFL center (NY Giants)
1917 John Lee Hooker Mississippi, blues musician (Boom Boom Boom)
1920 Dr Denton Cooley heart surgeon (1st artifical heart transplant)
1920 Ray Bradbury Ill, sci-fi author (Fahrenheit 451, Illustrated Man, The Martian Chronicles)
1926 Honor Blackman London, actress (Pussy Galore-Goldfinger)
1928 John Lupton Highland Park Ill, actor (Tom-Broken Arrow)
1932 Gerald P Carr Denver Colorado, Col USMC/astronaut (Skylab 4)
1933 Sylvia Koscina actress (Jessica, Hercules)
1934 Diana Sands actress (Raisin in the Sun, Doctor's Wife)
1934 Norman Schwartzkopf NJ, US General (Liberated Kuwait from Iraq)
1935 Morton Dean Fall River Mass, TV newscaster (CBS, ABC)
1939 Carl Yastrzemski NY, Boston Red Sox great (1967 AL MVP, Hall of Fame)
1940 George Reinholt Phila, (Another World, One Life to Live)
1940 Valerie Harper Sufferin NY, (Mary Tyler Moore Show, Rhoda, Valerie)
1942 Kathy Lennon Santa Monica Calif, singer (Lennon Sisters)
1945 Ron Dante Staten Island NY, rocker (Archies-Sugar, Sugar)
1947 Cindy Williams Van Nuys Calif, actress (Shirley-Laverne & Shirley)
1959 Juan Croucier heavy metal rocker (Ratt-Round & Round)
1961 Roland Orzabal singer (Tears for Fears-Shout, Head over Heels)
1963 Terry Catledge NBA star (Orlando Magic)
1964 Mats Wilander Sweden, tennis player (1988 US Open)
1966 Mark Michaels heavy metal guitarist (Teach Yourself Rhythm Guitar)

Deaths which occurred on August 22:
0408 Flavius Stilicho, West Roman field leader
0634 Abd Allah Abu Bekr, Arabic merchant/1st caliph of Islam, dies
1485 Richard III, king of England (1483-85), killed in battle at 32
1818 Warren Hastings 1st governor-general of India (1773-84), dies at 85
1799 Pope Pius VI dies
1922 Michael Collins Sinn Fein leader, killed by rebels
1926 Charles William Elliot Pres of Harvard (1869-1909), dies at 92
1977 Sebastian Cabot actor (Mr French-Family Affair), dies at 59
1978 Jomo Kenyatta president of Kenya, dies at 83
1989 Black Panther co-founder Huey P. Newton was shot to death in Oakland, Calif.
1992 Vicki Weaver, murdered by an FBI sharpshooter, Lon Horiuchi.
1991 Colleen Dewhurst actress (Murphy Brown), dies of cancer at 67

Take A Moment To Remember
GWOT Casualties

Iraq
22-Aug-2004 2 | US: 2 | UK: 0 | Other: 0
US Corporal Christopher Belchik Al Anbar Province Hostile - hostile fire
US 2nd Lieutenant Matthew R. Stovall Mosul (western part) - Ninawa Hostile - hostile fire - IED attack

Afghanistan
A GOOD DAY

http://icasualties.org/oif/
Data research by Pat Kneisler
Designed and maintained by Michael White
//////////
Go here and I'll stop nagging.
http://www.taps.org/
(subtle hint SEND MONEY)

On this day...
0565 St Columba reported seeing monster in Loch Ness
1138 English defeat Scots at Cowton Moor -- Banners of various saints were carried into battle which led to it being called Battle of the Standard
1350 John II, also known as John the Good, succeeds Philip VI as king of France.
1454 Jews are expelled from Brunn Moravia by order of King Ladislaus
1485 Richard III slain at Bosworth Field-last of Plantagenets. End of the "War Of The Roses" between the house of York & the house of Tudor.
1559 Spanish archbishop Bartholome de Carranza was arrested as a heretic.
1642 Civil war in England begins as Charles I declares war on Parliament at Nottingham.
1762 1st female (Ann Franklin) US newspaper editor, Newport RI, Mercury

1775 King George III proclaims colonies to be in open rebellion

1777 General Benedict Arnold captures Fort Stanwix.
1787 John Fitch's steamboat completes its tests, years before Fulton
1791 Haitian Revolution begins
1846 US annexes New Mexico
1851 Gold fields discovered in Australia
1851 Yacht "America" wins 1st Royal Yacht Squadron Cup (America's Cup)
1864 Geneva Convention signed, by 12 nations
1902 Pres Teddy Roosevelt became 1st US chief executive to ride in a car
1906 1st Victor Victrola manufactured
1910 Japan annexes Korea
1911 Mona Lisa stolen from Louvre
1911 President William Taft vetos a joint resolution of Congress granting statehood to Arizona. A provision in the state constitution authorizing the recall of judges.
1917 Pitts Pirates play 4th straight extra inning game, Carson Bigbee sets record of 11 at-bats, they lose in 22 innings to Dodgers
1927 Babe Ruth hits 40th of 60 homers
1932 BBS begins experimental regular TV broadcasts
1944 Last transport of French Jews departes to Nazi Germany
1945 Conflict in Vietnam begins when a group of Free French parachute into southern Indochina, in repsonse to a successful coup by communist guerilla Ho Chi Minh.
1947 1st college team to beat an NFL team (All Stars-16, Bears-0)
1950 Althea Gibson becomes 1st black competetor in natl tennis competition
1951 Harlem Globetrotters play in Olympic Stadium, Berlin before 75,052
1956 Pres Eisenhower & VP Nixon renominated by Rep convention in SF
1959 Cin Red Frank Robinson hits 3 consecutive HRs
1960 Gil Hodges set NL righty HR record with #352
1961 Maris hits his 50th of 61 homers
1963 NASA civilian test pilot Joe Walker in X-15 reaches 67 miles
1965 SF Giant pitcher Juan Marachal hits LA Dodger catcher John Roseboro on the head with his bat causing a 14 minute brawl
1968 1st papal visit to Latin America (Pope Paul VI arrives in Bogota)
1968 Cynthia Lennon sues John Lennon for divorce on adultry
1969 Hurricane Camille strikes U.S. Gulf Coast kills 255
1982 Gen Ariel Sharon urges Palestinians to discuss peaceful coexistence (and here we are today.)
1984 Evelyn Ashford of US ties world women's mark for 100 m, 10.76 sec
1984 Met pitcher Dwight Gooden becomes the 11th rookie to strikeout 200
1984 Rep convention in Dallas renominates Pres Reagan & VP Bush
1988 Australia unveils 1st platinum coin (Koala)
1988 NBC premieres "Later" with Bob Costas (1st guest Linda Ellerbee)
1989 1st complete ring around Neptune discovered
1989 Nolan Ryan strikes out his 5,000th batter
1990 Pres Bush calls up military reserves
1995 Congressman Mel Reynolds (D. Ill.) convicted in Chicago of sexual misconduct involving an underage campaign volunteer
1998 President Clinton, announces he had signed an executive order putting Osama bin Laden's Islamic Army on a list of terrorist groups
2003 Oslo, Norway, is ranked the world's most expensive city by Swiss banking giant UBS. It was followed by New York, Zurich, Switzerland; Copenhagen, Denmark; London; Basel, Switzerland; Chicago; and Geneva

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
American Rebellion Day
Be an Angel Day
Tooth Fairy Day
National Religious Software Week Begins
National Golf Month

Religious Observances
RC : Memorial of the Queenship of Mary (Immaculate Heart)
RC Timotheus, martyr to Rome
Zen-Kamakura Japan Foundation ceremonies at Kenchoji

Religious History
1670 In Massachusetts, English-born colonial missionary John Eliot, 66, founded an Indian church at Martha's Vineyard, with educated Indians Hiacoomes and Tackanash appointed pastor and teacher, respectively.
1800 Birth of Edward B. Pusey, English biblical scholar and Tractarian spokesman. A devoted church leader all his life, Pusey worked to establish religious orders in Anglicanism, founding in 1845 the first Anglican sisterhood.
1831 Birth of William H. Cummings, English musicologist. In 1855 he adapted a theme from Mendelssohn's "Festgesang," which afterward became the melody of the Christmas carol, "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing."
1948 The Amsterdam Assembly of the World Council of Churches convened (through Sept 4) to ratify the Constitution for this newly-formed experiment in organizational and global Christian unity.
1968 Pope Paul VI arrived in Colombia, making his the first-ever papal visit to South America.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Wal-Mart Charges $175 for 'Stolen' Manure

BROWNSVILLE, Ore. (AP) - It could have happened to anyone: Charles Gastorf and his wife, Cheryl, forgot to pay the $10 tab for 10 bags of steer manure during a recent shopping trip to their local Wal-Mart.
The two say that in the confusion of shopping on that March day they simply forgot to add in the cost of the manure. When the Gastorfs explained their forgetfulness to Lebanon City Attorney Tom McHill, he dropped shoplifting charges against them.

That could have been the end of the story - except for the letter from the world's largest retailer that soon arrived in their mailbox, demanding $175 in civil damages.
That's when the Gastorfs learned about a little-known Oregon law that allows retailers to pursue civil penalties regardless of whether a person is found guilty or innocent of theft.

The Gastorfs - who live in a manufactured home and are retired - spoke to an attorney, who told them that challenging the action in court could cost them several thousand dollars, much more than the $175 civil claim.
So the Gastorfs paid Wal-Mart the money.

"We wouldn't want to embark on a life of crime at our ages and become manure thieves. I mean, if you were going to steal something, would you steal manure?" Gastorf said.
But Shardon Weber, a spokeswoman for Bentonville, Ark.-based Wal-Mart, told The Albany Democrat Herald that the company has decided to refund the Gastorfs' $175.
"It simply seems like the right thing to do," she said.

Thought for the day :
"You don't always make an out. Sometimes the pitcher gets you out."
Carl Yastrzemski

MORNING GLORY FOLKS!

I can't believe you did this thread WITHOUT mentioning the most famous PT boat in the history of WWII! I refer of course the the PT 73.

Introduction
McHale's Navy is the 1960's comedy featuring Ernest Borgnine as Lt. Cdr. Quinton McHale. McHale's Navy was produced by Edward Montagne and Si Rose in black and white. It originally ran on the ABC Network, and in recent years has occasionally been seen on the TV Land cable network.

Synopsis
Lt. Commander McHale, his executive officer Ens. Charles Parker (played by Tim Conway), and his PT-boat crew are stationed in the South Pacific during World War II. The men of PT 73, while being the most efficient crew in the entire fleet, are also efficient gamblers and bootleggers.

McHale's relaxed nature and the crew's ignorance of the rules clashes with their spoilsport commanding officer, Capt. Wallace "Leadbottom" Binghamton (played by Joe Flynn). As a result, they are in a continuous struggle not only against the Japanese, but also trying to outwit Capt. Binghamton, whose ultimate goal in life is to send McHale's entire crew to the Aleutians.

"McHale's Navy" (1962) [TV-Series 1962-1966]
Directed by
Norman Abbott
Charles Barton

Writing credits
Ray Brenner
George Carleton Brown

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ernest Borgnine .... Lt. Cmdr. Quinton McHale (1962-1966)
Joe Flynn .... Capt. Wallace B. Binghamton (1962-1966)
Tim Conway .... Ensign Charles Parker (1962-1966)
Carl Ballantine .... Lester Gruber (1962-1966)
Gary Vinson .... George "Christy" Christopher (1962-1966)
Billy Sands .... Harrison "Tinker" Bell (1962-1966)
Edson Stroll .... Virgil Edwards (1962-1966)
Jane Dulo .... Nurse Molly Turner (1962-1964)
Gavin MacLeod .... Joseph "Happy" Haines (1962-1964)
John Wright .... Willy Moss (1964-1966)
Yoshio Yoda .... Fuji Kobiaji (1962-1966)
Bob Hastings .... Lt. Elroy Carpenter (1962-1966)
Henry Beckman .... Col. Douglas Harrigan (1965-1966)
Simon Scott .... Gen. Bronson (1965-1966)
Dick Wilson .... Dino Baroni (1965-1966)

Regular guests:
Herbert Lytton .... Admiral Reynolds (11 episodes)
Syl Lamont .... Yeoman Tate / Smitty / ... (9 episodes)
Lloyd Kino .... Japanese Sentry / Nisei Sergeant / ... (7 episodes)
Mako .... Captain Uzaki / First Japanese / ... (7 episodes)
John Fujioka .... The Japanese Officer / The Japanese Captain / ... (7 episodes)

I wonder who you could be talking about. Give us a hint, did he ever run for political office?

Today's successor to the PT boat:

http://www.specwarnet.com/vehicles/mkV.htm

Keep The Goal In View

Read:1 Timothy 4:1-11

Reject profane and old wives' fables, and exercise yourself toward godliness. —1 Timothy 4:7

Bible In One Year: 1 Chronicles 1-3

Read:
1 Timothy 4:1-11