OT: Restored combat hardened WWII PT boat returns to water.

[TN Lion]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/1...pt-boat-makes-triumphant-return-to-water.html

Pretty cool. Surprised me that they as big and fast as they are. Didn't know they were armed with torpedoes used in surprise attacks on enemy boats. Nice to see this boat preserved.

 

[UncleRoyBiggins]

Very cool.

 

[Nitt1300]

Imagine being in that and going after a Japanese destroyer that had equal speed and 5" guns. Brave men.

 

[Ranger Dan]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/1...pt-boat-makes-triumphant-return-to-water.html

Pretty cool. Surprised me that they as big and fast as they are. Didn't know they were armed with torpedoes used in surprise attacks on enemy boats. Nice to see this boat preserved.

it seems like you didn't grow up watching McHales Navy, PT 109, and They were Expendable like I did...

 

[androcles]

...for years there was a converted PT boat in Ocean City, NJ , that was used for tourist rides along the beach in the ocean...
...I believe it was owned by Chris' Restaurant...
...I remember taking my wife and kids for a ride... when we left the bay and were out in the ocean the pilot opened it up and it was quite a thrill...

 

[kgilbert78]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/1...pt-boat-makes-triumphant-return-to-water.html

Pretty cool. Surprised me that they as big and fast as they are. Didn't know they were armed with torpedoes used in surprise attacks on enemy boats. Nice to see this boat preserved.

All they had was torpedoes, essentially. As close to suicide boats as it gets for an American.

 

[RickinDayton]

All they had was torpedoes, essentially. As close to suicide boats as it gets for an American.

I believe they also had 50 cal machine guns set @ bow and stern. They might have also had a small cache of small depth charges (have to verify that). Not that that was anything compared to working against a destroyer. Not a duty for the faint of heart.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/03/1...pt-boat-makes-triumphant-return-to-water.html

Pretty cool. Surprised me that they as big and fast as they are. Didn't know they were armed with torpedoes used in surprise attacks on enemy boats. Nice to see this boat preserved.

PT stood for Patrol Torpedo boat.

 

[ILLINOISLION]

I believe they also had 50 cal machine guns set @ bow and stern. They might have also had a small cache of small depth charges (have to verify that). Not that that was anything compared to working against a destroyer. Not a duty for the faint of heart.

Over the years they had a wide variety of different machine guns.....and yes they also usually carried a small quantity of depth charges.

 

[Manxome_Lion]

IIRC they were wooden hull (plywood even?) so that probably explains the 100,000 hours of restoration. I didn't know they were active in the European combat theatre.

 

[WestSideLion]

Imagine being in that and going after a Japanese destroyer that had equal speed and 5" guns. Brave men.

This kind of talk piqued my curiosity. How can a huge enemy ship effectively engage with such a small, maneuverable craft? Some quick research shows that while dangerous, it wasn't quite the suicide vehicle some make it seem.

Of 531 PT boats put into action in WW2, only 26 (~5%) were lost due to enemy action. Of an estimated 60,000 men to have served on PT boats, only 331 (0.5%) were killed in action. I wonder how many other "front line" war vehicles have such small loss and fatality rates for WW2.

These boats were too fast and maneuverable for enemy destroyers and big guns to efficiently target. It came down to machine gun fire and often an enemy vessel ramming PT boats to sink them.

 

[delcoLion]

...for years there was a converted PT boat in Ocean City, NJ , that was used for tourist rides along the beach in the ocean...
...I remember taking my wife and kids for a ride... when we left the bay and were out in the ocean the pilot opened it up and it was quite a thrill...

I saw that boat off the Wildwood beach when I was a kid. Never got a ride on it but it was fast.

 

[sluggo72]

I saw that boat off the Wildwood beach when I was a kid. Never got a ride on it but it was fast.

I remember there were 2. 1) PT 109 2) it was retro fitted with like sea horses kinda of captain Nemo theme. Yes they were made of plywood. My Dad ship in WWII was to get them and repair them Very fast. IIRC they had 4 big diesels in them

 

[Nitt1300]

This kind of talk piqued my curiosity. How can a huge enemy ship effectively engage with such a small, maneuverable craft? Some quick research shows that while dangerous, it wasn't quite the suicide vehicle some make it seem.

Of 531 PT boats put into action in WW2, only 26 (~5%) were lost due to enemy action. Of an estimated 60,000 men to have served on PT boats, only 331 (0.5%) were killed in action. I wonder how many other "front line" war vehicles have such small loss and fatality rates for WW2.

These boats were too fast and maneuverable for enemy destroyers and big guns to efficiently target. It came down to machine gun fire and often an enemy vessel ramming PT boats to sink them.

I think this is why the PT boats primarily attacked at night. The Japanese didn't have terribly effective fire control, they still aimed and fired from the gun mounts, and that made them a lot less accurate, expecially at night. Nonetheless, attacking a larger, far more powerful vessel in a balsawood speedboat required a courage that fills me with admiration.

 

[TheGLOV]