Posted on 03/11/2017 3:43:33 AM PST by ARGLOCKGUY
Senior Captain George Benedetto pushes the throttle forward, and PT-305 – the only combat-hardened World War II boat of its kind to be sailing today – rumbles even faster through the waters of Louisiana’s Lake Ponchartrain, bobbing up and down as wind hits the captain’s helm with an intensity enough to make one’s eyes squint. “We’re setting a speed record for this millennium!” gushes Mark Masor, a naval architect, holding up a phone app indicating that the 73-year-old boat is pushing 30 knots (around 34 mph), the fastest it has gone since the completion of its restoration. pt-305 WWII boat 1 WWII ship PT-305 returns to the water THE WEEK IN PICTURES The exhilarating moment onboard the Higgins Industries Patrol-Torpedo boat was just one of many as Fox News got an early ride on the finished product of a multi-year project at the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. “It’s going to be a fabulous ambassador for the museum. It’s going to give kids and people a chance to actually feel and be on a World War II vessel and feel in a sense what the servicemen felt at that time riding on the same type of boat,” Jerry Strahan, a volunteer and author, told Fox News. “Seldom do you get a chance to really ride or take a vessel like this.” The boat operated in the Mediterranean along the coasts of southern France and Northern Italy during World War II, conducting more than 77 offensive patrols and operations. PT-305 fought in 11 separate actions and sank three German ships during its 14-month deployment. After WWII, PT-305 acted as a civilian tour boat in New York Harbor and a fishing charter, while falling into disrepair.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I visited the WWII museum and took a tour of that boat while under reconstruction.
Packard V-16 engines, IIRC.
I thought they were faster than 30 knots.
BTW to the other poster, those were three Packard V-12s, not V-16s.
I looked it up. They were rated for 37 knots. I guess they are going easy on the old girl.
Me too.
Har! Har! Har!
Another great boat by Higgins!!
Mind you, a WW2 battleship, all sides, all specs combined, topped out at 34 knots.
How cool is that? Thats a lot of AVGAS per hour and worth every penny of it.
Why not forward this as a suggestion that they have one of each?? IIRC, the Higgins design originated in Louisiana, so that may be why they chose that one for a New Orleans based museum.
After all that work,and it was extensive,on that boat over the years I understand why they are taking it easy on her.But just once to open her up would be such a thrill getting her up on the step.
Ping
> I thought they were faster than 30 knots. <
Only with hydrofoils.
I saw one doing north of 70 knots once, but it had hydrofoils.
Pretty sure there is one in Wash state
Seem to recall one on the Hudson in NY also
Just remember to ventilate below deck!!!
I once saw color footage of Elco’s burning on the beach following the Jap surrender after being stripped of everything useful.
Those boats would otherwise have been used for smuggling or piracy, lucrative trades in the postwar Pacific & south China Sea.
Just don’t let anyone named Kennedy drive the thing.
“The Higgins’ were dandy, I guess but fewer in number and mainly the European theater. The Elco was the main combatant in the Pacific and (in my view) far more elegant in its lines.”
The Elco had the lower swept sides toward the stern?
He and I drove together to Arizona from Slidell, LA last October, to go to our fiftieth high school reunion. We had a blast the whole trip there and back reminiscing about the good old days.
But the highlight of the trip for me was the day we left for the trip to Arizona. We stopped at the building in New Orleans where the renovation of PT-305 was almost complete. It was photo day for all the volunteers before the job was completed.
My friend had hired the photographer for the shoot and he and I helped carry all the camera equipment, lighting screens, etc. into the building and hauled it all up on deck for the official photo at the front of the boat. The boat was two weeks away from completion and it was a beauty.
I told my friend when it was finally seaworthy and ready to take-on paying customers, I would return to visit and take a ride on PT-305. He emailed me a copy of this article yesterday. I will probably wait until this fall, but I for sure am traveling back to New Orleans to catch a ride on this beautiful restoration.
Regarding PT boat speed - Remember this rebuilt boat is probably using its original but rebuilt Packard motors, thus not maxing out the original speed makes sense. the RAF’s Battle of Britain flight does not fly its original/rebuilt Spitfires and Hurricanes at full throttle as it rule to ensure the preservation of the planes and the Rolls Royce Merlin engines. Those engines have been rebuilt multiple times over the decades.
Imagine this: each PT boat was powered by FOUR Packard 4m-2500 turbo charged engines.
2500 cu in v-12 each. 1,500 HP each.
The PT boat would top out at 41 knots. And a hell of a loud rumble of 41 knots.
http://www.pt-boat.com/packard/packard.html
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