TP or PT cruisers ??
Many years ago infact during the WWII (1941-45),there were a British Designed speed boat used in the Pearl Habour defence, infact i think one of your future presidents was saved by one..The boat was a wood construction/ ply , 3 huge v12 motors ,held 2 torpedo launchers a huge front gun & a machine gunner at the rear, the savior of the Pacific im told,for speed, agility & winning the philleppines back from the Japs, im sureit was called the PT cruiser.
Did any of you guys board one?? what did ya think??
Did any of you guys board one?? what did ya think??
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It was the PT boat. Former US President John F. Kennedy skippered one, the PT-109, in the Solomon Islands, and it was rammed by a Japanese destroyer and cut in two. They played havoc with the Tokyo Express coming down The Slot in the Solomons campaign and in the Phillipines. 0 -
I kinda like the E-Boats better, cleaner lines and a metal hull. 0 -
As you said, it was a British design. The Royal Navy called them MTBs for Motor Torpedo Boat.
If anyone wants to see the two US versions (ELCO and Higgins), go visit "Battleship Cove" at Fall River Mass. You can also tour the USS Massachusetts.0 -
Thanks for the info..[:)] Grandad used to build replica model boats & gallions when i was a snapper, he built one of those PT's for me about 24" long,just a smaller version, i love that boat. i dug it outa the attic at my parents , that's what brought this topic about.
He told me about some guy he met that wilst in the red cross medical team, showing him the construction, & that was it he never stopped building them boats..[:)]0 -
The PT Cruiser is a retro Daimler-Chrysler product. 0 -
There were a number of PT boat designs and sub-designs.
I have a book about them around here somewhere but I do believe that you are correct that the early US PT design came from the UK.
During the war we had 4 varieties: 77ft Elco, 80ft Elco (PT-109 was of this type), 77ft Higgins and 78ft Huckins.
The basic layout was the same 3 Packard engines, 4 torpedo tubes, 2 .50cal "turrets" and an Oerlikon (20mm) on the stern.
It became clear in the Solomons that more often than not the PT boats were sent against Japanese landing craft and small cargo vessels, rather than large warships. Many were beefed up in theater by crews salvaging 37mm nose cannons from P-39 Aircobra fighters, extra machineguns, 37mm anti-tank guns (PT-109 mounted this when she was destroyed), mortar, etc.
Some were converted to gunboats by removing two or all torpedo tubes and adding one or two 40mm Bofors (single mounts). When Bofors were in short supply crews again turned to mounting anything they could get their hands on: 37mm aerial cannons, machinesguns, 20mm Oerlikons.
Eventually the old torpedo tubes we know from "In Harm's Way" and "They Were Expendable" were replaced by the aerial torpedoes carried by Avengers (Mk-XIII I think) which were dropped overboard like a depth charge. The weight savings allowed boats to carry both torpedoes and a 40mm Bofors.
I've seen a version in literature that mounted two 8-barrel 5" rocket launchers for combatting destroyers.0
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