If the hull was thrown up I doubt it was a PT boat. They were built of Plywood, I believe. I doubt plywood would have stayed intact this long.
Once the reels of saltwater drag racing are out of the way (PT 109 wins the race, but smashes into the dock when Cowboy Kennedy slams the engines into reverse at high speed and conks them out), the film takes on a measure of verve and dash. Best scene is the nighttime patrol when, running without lights, Kennedy’s PT suddenly comes under the prow of a blacked-out Japanese destroyer and PT 109’s plywood hull is sliced through like an orange crate. There is a moment of silence, then a crackling as the sea becomes molten with flaming fuel, and in the night come the terrified cries of men calling out to their buddies.
Time Magazine, Friday, Jun. 28, 1963
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,874997,00.html
I think youre right.The bottom of subic bay is littered with PT boats.After the war the navy tied most of the remaining boats together and set the match to them. A lowdown dirty damn shame.
Or rusted, for that matter.
Kaiser Aluminum also made Aluminum hulled PT boats
I was just about to post the same thing. Plywood wouldn’t last that long.