Those had to be some harsh conditions back in those days. Malaria, the heat, long hours, and the threat of constant air attack. I served two wespac tours aboard a modern naval supply ship in the South Pacific with AC, good food, and clean sheets. I can only imagine what it was like back then.
davegeisler Those big bad Packards were M2500's.....2500 cu in of supercharged av gas engines 1200 to 1500 ,most common version, and finally 1850 HP..the heart of the PT Boat engines
Looks like they were replacing the blackpowder torpedo tubes with the simple roll off racks. The tubes were prone to misfire and they also would flash and give away your position.
Michael Edwards modern tubes are launched with compressed air. The old PT boat tubes used a powder charge which, as mentioned above, was visible at night. It also had the habit of occasionally ignoring the lubricating grease used in the tubes which released copious amounts of black smoke. Not ideal when you’re trying to be sneaky. The roll off racks solved these problems.
My Uncle was on PT 479, a Higgins 78ft assigned to MTB Ron 32. He went to the Solomons in August 1944, then was based in Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in early 1945 and finally based in Okinawa. My Uncle has passed, and I have many questions, like was RON 32 based at Rendova when they were in the Solomons? After training in Melville, RI, it appears he went to New Orleans and maybe picked up the boat from Higgins, then sailed to Miami, then to a confidential location. Were the PT boats loaded on larger ships for the trip to the Solomons? Did the crew travel with their boats from Miami? Would love to get more info!
Those had to be some harsh conditions back in those days. Malaria, the heat, long hours, and the threat of constant air attack. I served two wespac tours aboard a modern naval supply ship in the South Pacific with AC, good food, and clean sheets. I can only imagine what it was like back then.
Cool footage of Motor Macs installing one of those big bad Packard V12s
davegeisler Those big bad Packards were M2500's.....2500 cu in of supercharged av gas engines 1200 to 1500 ,most common version, and finally 1850 HP..the heart of the PT Boat engines
The film at 5:13-5:20 is of PT183 (left) and PT180 (right). My wife's late uncle was a gunner's mate on PT180 from 1943-44.
Looks like they were replacing the blackpowder torpedo tubes with the simple roll off racks. The tubes were prone to misfire and they also would flash and give away your position.
They were launched with compressed air, not black powder.
Michael Edwards modern tubes are launched with compressed air. The old PT boat tubes used a powder charge which, as mentioned above, was visible at night. It also had the habit of occasionally ignoring the lubricating grease used in the tubes which released copious amounts of black smoke. Not ideal when you’re trying to be sneaky. The roll off racks solved these problems.
Awesome footage !
My Uncle was on PT 479, a Higgins 78ft assigned to MTB Ron 32. He went to the Solomons in August 1944, then was based in Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides in early 1945 and finally based in Okinawa. My Uncle has passed, and I have many questions, like was RON 32 based at Rendova when they were in the Solomons?
After training in Melville, RI, it appears he went to New Orleans and maybe picked up the boat from Higgins, then sailed to Miami, then to a confidential location. Were the PT boats loaded on larger ships for the trip to the Solomons? Did the crew travel with their boats from Miami? Would love to get more info!
My Dad was on PT boat 224 Squadron 16. If any info. out there we would appreciate it. They were in New Gunea, Borneo,Philippines, Leyte etc.
Wow, just wow.