My neighbor was an engineer on a PT boat oh the stories he told me. Before he died he gave me the blueprints of the boat and the cradle for dry docking boat. Burt Johansson was his name. A great and funny man.
My grandfather served in the mosquito fleet but he didn't ever talk about his service. Thank you for the insight into what his time on a PT boat was like.
I have found that most of those heroes to be extremely reticent to tell “war stories,” other than perhaps the men they served with… I saw the deep scars on their souls from their eyes - and declined to press any further… at least once I was old enough to know better. They truly were the Greatest Generation.
@@UnintendedConsequences, Every person that has ever served in the U.S. Armed Forces are the Greatest of their Generation! 🇺🇸 Vote Trump 2024 🇺🇸. Stop these never ending wars
About '1969 I met a retired Navy line officer living in the Caribbean. He had graduated from Annapolis in the late '20's and had gotten out of the Navy before the war. When war was declared he re-upped and ended up commanding a PT boat. He became a friend and a great teacher, as his knowledge of sailing and the sea was extensive. He told few if any stories, yet spoke always well of his fellow crew members on those boats. He was not very tall, never would stand out in a crowd, yet there was an edge, a toughness if you will underneath, like so many of his generation. Just before he passed, he gave me a piece of brass from his last boat. It was designed to hold a aviation 8 day clock against the bulkhead in his quarters. I have it today and it holds a clock from the cockpit of my first 4 engine command, just before it went to the scrapyard.
@@lawrencewiddis2447 As I remember, he said that after he did his required service after graduation the depression was in full force and the Navy didn't have much money or advancement. Because of his engineering degree, he was offered a job building skyscrapers in NYC which he took. When war clouds puffed up in '40 he went back in, retiring in '64 or '65.
@@maxpayne2574 I heard different, he talked about at the age of 17 signing up to fight for his country, he talked about not liking the war and the killing but he felt it was his duty.
Thank you for your service. My father was a WW2 veteran in the European Theater. I grew up around a bunch of great men just like Mr. Charles Brooking In this video. They were the impetus for my joining the US Army, and in large part, I can proudly declare that 4 of my 5 children decided to serve our great Nation.
Thank you. Defence force personnel are among the best of all of us. Daily demonstrating service for unknown others with honour and self discipline. Whether in conflict or in preparation to deal with it, the crews and troops are our best deterrence and committed answer when reluctantly needed. Former Aust. Defence Science civilian.
My Father was the skipper of PT 97. His squadron was tasked with Protecting both ends of the Panama Canal. To this day he holds the speed record for the fastest transit of the Canal. He had a collection of B&W Photos for his deployments. I sent them all to the PT Boat Museum in New Orleans. There is also a restored survivor boat in New Bedford mass
Thrilling!? Man, Oh Man. My father, a USN JG, was a fire director on a cruiser in the central Pacific. He never spoke much about his service, but I feel he, too, carried the ambiguity of soul that Mr. Brooking so obviously carries in his heart about killing 'the enemy'. My dad was VERY vocal about NEVER again eating coconut in any form or chipped beef on toast. He also never drank beer, and we knew why. The one story we all heard was about him crawling around some tiny island on leave and being so sick from drinking what he called 'green beer'.
My Uncle (my Dad's younger brother) was a MoMM1c on PT132 and later on PT116. He had a hell of a story about his experiences. His battle station was the starboard twin 50s. I really miss him.
I wish my Uncle Bill was still alive to tell his story. He was a POW of the Japanese for nearly three years. Captured on Corregidor Island in May 1942, Company M, 4th Marine Regiment. Held at Old Bilibid Prison, Manila. In February 1945 he was rescued by the 37th Infantry Division "Buckeye." He survived, barely. Malaria paralyzed him from the waist down, and ulcers rendered him virtually blind.
Thanks and a salute for your service. I rode on a PT boat which was switched from gas to diesel for safety reasons and what a beautiful boat and the ride was just beautiful. The fast turns and getting up on plane pretty quick is what made this a beautiful boat.
Great testimony. Makes me wish my Dad and his brothers were still around. All served in WW2. I miss this generation…. They were our teachers, cops, firemen and the ones in charge when I was a kid🇺🇸
Greatest generation and I don’t think it will ever be beat. these Men had more will and fight than most men today it’s sad seeing where our country has gone knowing how many of these Men fought and gave it all they had for our freedom thank you for your service Sir🇺🇸♥️
Nothing but respect for the WW2 generation but what about the thousands of men and women that have served in modern times. It seems disrespectful to dismiss the current generation. Life becomes much better when you turn off cable news.
Glad my 2 veteran grandfather's are not around to witness what the hell is going on in this country today , then again if they were around they wouldn't stand for all the open border , woke , BS nonsense taking place !!!.....😮
My stepfather's father flew torpedo bombers from the flight decks of aircraft carriers during the Pacific Ocean WW2 . He shipped over to the USAF when it was born and retired . My stepfather was a Boatswain's Mate in the brown water navy during the Vietnam War . I enlisted into the US Navy in 1985 . I was an Operations Specialist ( radarman) on a Guided Missile Destroyer for four years , a Military Policeman in Japan for two years , then sailed on a Ticonderoga class Guided Missile Cruiser for four years . I pray for all of my brothers and sisters in arms , past , present , and future .
This was great. What a guy!! I said it before on another episode, men like him is why we won the war!! More people need to see these videos! Good for you for showing them.
Another WWII Veteran from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Wilkes Barre. Just like Joe Toye and Harry Welsh from the Band of Brothers, this area of Pennsylvania delivered a large portion of its young men and women to serve, my Father and Uncle being two of a family of 7. These are the kind of people you would want with you in thick or thin circumstances.
My Father was a torpedoman on a PT in WWII. I know he saw to much action because when would try and talk about it he would lower his head with tears in his eyes.
Newport and Melville, Rhode Island, played a huge part with the development of P.T. Boats and their associated torpedoes as well during WW ll, a fact often overlooked by many ...
As a Rhode Islander I did not know that. I know the history of Newport. I'm excited to research this, and will give me a new respect everytime I drive through Newport and Melville district!!!
Armed with torpedoes that weren’t defective, the PT boats, as well as our submarines, would have made much more difference in the war. The defective magnetic exploders made many torpedoes detonate before ever reaching an enemy ship. Out of 14 torpedoes fired from one PT boat, 12 detonated prematurely. The other two were observed to hit solidly and didn’t explode. That was the firing pin issue. It wasn’t solved until after the PTs were no longer involved in heavy combat. The boat in question fired four torpedoes on one night, four on the next night and three on the next two nights. Due to a shortage of torpedoes, the PT boat wasn’t able to rearm and spent the rest of the campaign shooting up coastal barges.
Hey Richard, The story you are referring to was the SUBMARINE USS Tinosa, and on her first war patrol fired those Mark14 torpedoes at a very large Japanese Oil Tanker. Their Mark14 torpedoes were all duds due to defective Exploder mechanism which was designed by the US Navy Bureau of Ordnance and never tested. The torpedo would hit the target but the exploder mechanism (firing pin) would get jammed upon impact and fail to detonate. US PT Boats, on the other hand, were using either Mark 8 or later Mark 13 Torpedoes, neither of which were fitted with magnetic detonators, which was only used on Mark 14 submarine torpedoes. Oh, by the way, the early PT Boats were fitted with Mark 2 torpedo tubes, which could not fit a Mark 14 torpedo inside them. (Mark 14 torpedoes were too long to fit inside them) The main problem on the WW1 vintage Mark 8 torpedoes were the defective gyroscopes so they often went in a circle and never hit the target. I am a USN vet and I volunteer in operating the last operational WW2 PT boat in the world, the USS PT658 in Portland OR. I have a lot of experience in working on our torpedoes and discussions with WW2 PT boat veterans so I have a pretty good understanding of what actually happened.
My uncle was a PT boat skipper during the war. When peace was finally achieved, all the skippers of the boats in the squadron, beached their boats and burned them. They were scared that the Navy was going to make them drive those boats back to Hawaii.
My father was a destroyerman from 1937 to 1957. He served the entire Pacific War and got a few scars and two Purple Hearts. An uncle served on fleet tugs in the Pacific pulling damaged and disabled ships back from the war zone. Two other uncles were in the European theater. Both of them survived the war in the infantry with no battle injuries. One of them not returning from Korea I never got to meet. My father would be 104. Our greatest generation is all but gone.
My father started on a PT boat. He fell down a ladder and hurt his back. He transferred to a sub chaser 1086.. He finished the war.. He was very susceptible to sickness never got used to the rough ride in the Atlantic.
Our RCN nieghbour (so was my Dad) hung around with a veteran RN small boat bowswain during the Korean War. He ran a type of swift boat for navy divers and Royal Marines. He didnt move too fast because he killed a Chinaman that wounded him with a burp gun. Interested guy!
My Dad was a B-17 gunner in WW2. He said tracers were worthless. This is confirmed by other articles I read about tracers providing an inaccurate sight picture and eventually being phased out. Possibly this applied only to aerial gunnery for some reason.
I would love to just sit down on the front porch and listen to this gentlemans stories, i bet he has some great ones! We owe those men more than words ir money could ever say. And they sure DIDNT do it for the money. Lord knos they didnt earn very much from the military while they were in. I know i sure didn't but i didnt do it for the money either. Thank you sir and thank you to all our great Veterans from all the wars and just their time serving our country. Semper Fi from an old Marine
My Uncle Leo Piersall served aboard PT 532 launched October 1943 under the command of Ensign Stephens. He said they got the name Devil boats in November 1944 when they got the Five inch rocket launchers. He said these gave the boat real punch and were not too bad to reload either.
Interesting, even if know quite a lot about the war in the Pacific a'd the naval warfare, I never really heard about PT boats and their use. Maybe they don't get the same fame than BBs. But the concept of mothership and a swarm of little monster is very actual now
Later in the war, the PTs hulls were steam bent from single sheets of plywood. (I worked in the large buildings decades after their WWII use in East Rochester NY.) The boats were puts into a spur of the Erie Canal for fitting out in New Jersey. The Erie used to cross downtown Rochester but was moved south to cross the Genesee at grade. The spur remained in WWII (later filled in) and was put to use.
My father served in Korea, WW2 and Vietnam these boats were integral in providing support and occasionally picking up stores just off shore from larger vessels . Either way twin 50s will usually do the trick . Thank you for your service!
A problem with not sighting, and adjusting with tracers: A tracer projectile does not always have the smart trajectory path as the real bullets. Tracers weighs less, and are constantly losing more weight as the material burns. Tracers aren’t ballistically equal to real bullets. Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
A friend of mine at the American Legion post I belong to, had quad 50"s in Vietnam. He in the Army attached to the Marines on the DMZ, and was down in Kason for r.b.r when Tet happened
Great interview! Is there any way to put Mr Brookings Boat and Squadron (RON) number in his bio? I am sure it was a late war Elco Boat, but would really be interested in what his PT Boat number was. Also, when he was describing the hull construction, with the double diagonal Mahogany planks that are laminated and riveted together with Dolphinite bedding compound (glue) and #10 duck canvas between layers, yes, you could technically call that "plywood", but it is not like any plywood that you can find today. Elco and Higgins made their hulls in similar methods using the inner layer of 3/8 inch thick mahogany planks, and the outer plank of mahogany was about 3/4 inches thick. So if you "glue" those two planks together, is it properly called "plywood"? Also the hull planks were screwed down into mahogany frames every 12 inches. There was also a solid oak keel and pine and fir and other woods used in longitudinal beams and other hull structure. Thanks again for doing a great interview!
GM2/c Brookings is listed as being in Squadron (RON) 42 and arrived on board the PT Boat towards the end of the war. RON42 consisted of 10 PT boats PT613 to PT622
Thank You so much for your service and lovely dedications to Our Beautiful USA Dear Older American Sir You are My American Hero and Hero of all Americans. You will never be forgetten for us Americans.🥰😍🤗❤🤍💙💯🙏✝
My dad served on the USS Grayson DD 435 around Guadacanal for 9 mo. He steered the ship! Got pat on the back, job well done one dark night by fast steering and Full reverse like lightning fast. Thereby avoiding a collision with another destroyer! I have the ships printout for that action. Inside the book “Condition Red” written by the Captain of the ship. Bell last name. Frederick maybe first. Book is stored away somewhere. Rare and out of print.
The Imperial Japanese Army was sadistically brutal in their treatment of Allied prisoners and conquered peoples. I don’t think there would be many of their surviving veterans that would be willing to talk about that.
Those torpedos had many problems. Not only the contact detonator but the depth control sent the weapon on a sinusoidal depth. It was luck as to weather the torpedo went under the target or not. Going under should have been a good thing as they had a magnetic exploder. It was totally unreliable, setting of the weapon too early or not at all. The basic problem was that they had not been through a proper proving trial set.
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Sir, Yes Sir!🫡
My neighbor was an engineer on a PT boat oh the stories he told me. Before he died he gave me the blueprints of the boat and the cradle for dry docking boat. Burt Johansson was his name. A great and funny man.
My grandfather served in the mosquito fleet but he didn't ever talk about his service. Thank you for the insight into what his time on a PT boat was like.
I have found that most of those heroes to be extremely reticent to tell “war stories,” other than perhaps the men they served with… I saw the deep scars on their souls from their eyes - and declined to press any further… at least once I was old enough to know better. They truly were the Greatest Generation.
They really didn’t start talking about it until Saving Private Ryan came out. It was the same for Vietnam vets and Platoon.
@@UnintendedConsequences, Every person that has ever served in the U.S. Armed Forces are the Greatest of their Generation! 🇺🇸
Vote Trump 2024 🇺🇸. Stop these never ending wars
What squadron?
Another v
American veteran who represents the Greatest Generation...... Thank you so much.
From an era when our Navy had ships of wood and men of steel! Thanks for you service, Guns!!
What? Lmao makes no sense
@@ДушманКакдела To you maybe, but makes sense to me.
@@ДушманКакдела
It makes perfect sense…learn to think outside the box…or you can continue to laugh your ass off.
@sallyadams1762 Thanks, through this interaction I have learned to think. I have learned to think that you are a dunce and a twat.
About '1969 I met a retired Navy line officer living in the Caribbean. He had graduated from Annapolis in the late '20's and had gotten out of the Navy before the war. When war was declared he re-upped and ended up commanding a PT boat. He became a friend and a great teacher, as his knowledge of sailing and the sea was extensive. He told few if any stories, yet spoke always well of his fellow crew members on those boats. He was not very tall, never would stand out in a crowd, yet there was an edge, a toughness if you will underneath, like so many of his generation. Just before he passed, he gave me a piece of brass from his last boat. It was designed to hold a aviation 8 day clock against the bulkhead in his quarters. I have it today and it holds a clock from the cockpit of my first 4 engine command, just before it went to the scrapyard.
Beautiful story. You served his memory well.
Annapolis and a PT boat?
@@lawrencewiddis2447 As I remember, he said that after he did his required service after graduation the depression was in full force and the Navy didn't have much money or advancement. Because of his engineering degree, he was offered a job building skyscrapers in NYC which he took. When war clouds puffed up in '40 he went back in, retiring in '64 or '65.
Excellent narrative…this man is articulate, sharp, and informative…
yes
Why wouldn’t he be? Silly.
*Interview is from Nov 3, 2023*
🇺🇸 Thank you for your service sir & thank you both for this interview. 🇺🇸
These patriots are a blessing. That's why we have Veterans Day. May God continue to bless them,past present and future.
Freedom is not free!
Did you even listen to him this was no patriotic BS he never waved the flag once.
@@maxpayne2574 I heard different, he talked about at the age of 17 signing up to fight for his country, he talked about not liking the war and the killing but he felt it was his duty.
14:05 The man has humanity. Solid mindset. 🙏 God bless him.
God bless all the veterans and thank you all for your service and sacrifice ❤❤❤
Thank you for your service. My father was a WW2 veteran in the European Theater. I grew up around a bunch of great men just like Mr. Charles Brooking In this video.
They were the impetus for my joining the US Army, and in large part, I can proudly declare that 4 of my 5 children decided to serve our great Nation.
Thank you. Defence force personnel are among the best of all of us. Daily demonstrating service for unknown others with honour and self discipline. Whether in conflict or in preparation to deal with it, the crews and troops are our best deterrence and committed answer when reluctantly needed. Former Aust. Defence Science civilian.
My Father was the skipper of PT 97. His squadron was tasked with Protecting both ends of the Panama Canal. To this day he holds the speed record for the fastest transit of the Canal. He had a collection of B&W Photos for his deployments. I sent them all to the PT Boat Museum in New Orleans. There is also a restored survivor boat in New Bedford mass
Thrilling!? Man, Oh Man. My father, a USN JG, was a fire director on a cruiser in the central Pacific. He never spoke much about his service, but I feel he, too, carried the ambiguity of soul that Mr. Brooking so obviously carries in his heart about killing 'the enemy'. My dad was VERY vocal about NEVER again eating coconut in any form or chipped beef on toast. He also never drank beer, and we knew why. The one story we all heard was about him crawling around some tiny island on leave and being so sick from drinking what he called 'green beer'.
My Uncle (my Dad's younger brother) was a MoMM1c on PT132 and later on PT116. He had a hell of a story about his experiences. His battle station was the starboard twin 50s. I really miss him.
I wish my Uncle Bill was still alive to tell his story. He was a POW of the Japanese for nearly three years. Captured on Corregidor Island in May 1942, Company M, 4th Marine Regiment. Held at Old Bilibid Prison, Manila. In February 1945 he was rescued by the 37th Infantry Division "Buckeye." He survived, barely. Malaria paralyzed him from the waist down, and ulcers rendered him virtually blind.
I'm sorry for his suffering . May God rest his soul . Peace .
I could literally watch and listen to this man for a month. His stories are like reading a book but in as much detail as possible.
Thanks and a salute for your service. I rode on a PT boat which was switched from gas to diesel for safety reasons and what a beautiful boat and the ride was just beautiful. The fast turns and getting up on plane pretty quick is what made this a beautiful boat.
My dad skippered a PT in ‘Ron 7 (I think) and I am so grateful for your service and your story about your time serving. Thank you so much.
Thank you brother for your service. 🇺🇸💪🏼
As an Aussie I thank you sir and thank God for the US military who served in that damn war
@eglin32 Aussie's true friends and ally of America 🇺🇸
Charles Brooking, I thank you for your service and I thank you for sharing your experiences!
Great testimony. Makes me wish my Dad and his brothers were still around. All served in WW2. I miss this generation…. They were our teachers, cops, firemen and the ones in charge when I was a kid🇺🇸
My Dad was on a PT He and his 4 brothers served and all came home 🙏
Greatest generation and I don’t think it will ever be beat. these Men had more will and fight than most men today it’s sad seeing where our country has gone knowing how many of these Men fought and gave it all they had for our freedom thank you for your service Sir🇺🇸♥️
Nothing but respect for the WW2 generation but what about the thousands of men and women that have served in modern times. It seems disrespectful to dismiss the current generation. Life becomes much better when you turn off cable news.
Glad my 2 veteran grandfather's are not around to witness what the hell is going on in this country today , then again if they were around they wouldn't stand for all the open border , woke , BS nonsense taking place !!!.....😮
Mad respect for anyone who has served on a PT boat 🫡
Thank you for making and sharing your videos with us!
What struck me most profoundly about the interview was the display of the sense of duty and the humanity feeling toward the fighting enemy.
Charles, thank you for your service!
Thanks to all our Veterans who served. Semper Fi.
My stepfather's father flew torpedo bombers from the flight decks of aircraft carriers during the Pacific Ocean WW2 . He shipped over to the USAF when it was born and retired . My stepfather was a Boatswain's Mate in the brown water navy during the Vietnam War . I enlisted into the US Navy in 1985 . I was an Operations Specialist ( radarman) on a Guided Missile Destroyer for four years , a Military Policeman in Japan for two years , then sailed on a Ticonderoga class Guided Missile Cruiser for four years . I pray for all of my brothers and sisters in arms , past , present , and future .
Toe-to-toe surface combat in the Pacific, against vessels of all sizes, and aircraft, in a wooden boat. Outstanding !
Gunner's Mate 2nd Class Charles Brooking, thank you for sharing this, sir.
Awesomeness bro's legendary . God bless his family. Thnk u for your service.
Thanks for your service Sir, thanks to you I live in freedom
Thank You is..Not Enough. 🇺🇸❤️🔥💯
Thank you for your service!
Pleasure to hear you I live about 15 miles from you I plains right out of Wilkes barre you guys are the greatest
True legend; love this guy!
Thank you for your report.
This was great. What a guy!! I said it before on another episode, men like him is why we won the war!! More people need to see these videos! Good for you for showing them.
Another WWII Veteran from Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, Wilkes Barre. Just like Joe Toye and Harry Welsh from the Band of Brothers, this area of Pennsylvania delivered a large portion of its young men and women to serve, my Father and Uncle being two of a family of 7. These are the kind of people you would want with you in thick or thin circumstances.
Thank you for your service
My Father was a torpedoman on a PT in WWII. I know he saw to much action because when would try and talk about it he would lower his head with tears in his eyes.
Great interview, thank you.
great interview
Newport and Melville, Rhode Island, played a huge part with the development of P.T. Boats and their associated torpedoes as well during WW ll, a fact often overlooked by many ...
As a Rhode Islander I did not know that. I know the history of Newport. I'm excited to research this, and will give me a new respect everytime I drive through Newport and Melville district!!!
Thank you for your service ❤
God Bless you all, Sir...
Armed with torpedoes that weren’t defective, the PT boats, as well as our submarines, would have made much more difference in the war. The defective magnetic exploders made many torpedoes detonate before ever reaching an enemy ship. Out of 14 torpedoes fired from one PT boat, 12 detonated prematurely. The other two were observed to hit solidly and didn’t explode. That was the firing pin issue. It wasn’t solved until after the PTs were no longer involved in heavy combat. The boat in question fired four torpedoes on one night, four on the next night and three on the next two nights. Due to a shortage of torpedoes, the PT boat wasn’t able to rearm and spent the rest of the campaign shooting up coastal barges.
Hey Richard, The story you are referring to was the SUBMARINE USS Tinosa, and on her first war patrol fired those Mark14 torpedoes at a very large Japanese Oil Tanker. Their Mark14 torpedoes were all duds due to defective Exploder mechanism which was designed by the US Navy Bureau of Ordnance and never tested. The torpedo would hit the target but the exploder mechanism (firing pin) would get jammed upon impact and fail to detonate. US PT Boats, on the other hand, were using either Mark 8 or later Mark 13 Torpedoes, neither of which were fitted with magnetic detonators, which was only used on Mark 14 submarine torpedoes. Oh, by the way, the early PT Boats were fitted with Mark 2 torpedo tubes, which could not fit a Mark 14 torpedo inside them. (Mark 14 torpedoes were too long to fit inside them) The main problem on the WW1 vintage Mark 8 torpedoes were the defective gyroscopes so they often went in a circle and never hit the target. I am a USN vet and I volunteer in operating the last operational WW2 PT boat in the world, the USS PT658 in Portland OR. I have a lot of experience in working on our torpedoes and discussions with WW2 PT boat veterans so I have a pretty good understanding of what actually happened.
My uncle was a PT boat skipper during the war. When peace was finally achieved, all the skippers of the boats in the squadron, beached their boats and burned them. They were scared that the Navy was going to make them drive those boats back to Hawaii.
Thank you sir. PT boats are so cool I have watched and read a lot of things about them. Saw 2 PT's in Massachusetts at Battleship cove in Fall River.
My father was a destroyerman from 1937 to 1957. He served the entire Pacific War and got a few scars and two Purple Hearts. An uncle served on fleet tugs in the Pacific pulling damaged and disabled ships back from the war zone. Two other uncles were in the European theater. Both of them survived the war in the infantry with no battle injuries. One of them not returning from Korea I never got to meet.
My father would be 104. Our greatest generation is all but gone.
God Bless You Sir And Thank You For Your Service ❤️🇺🇸🙏
thank you
Great interview with a sharp man. Love to hear the stories of how they survived and what they had to go through.
Another great interview!
My father started on a PT boat. He fell down a ladder and hurt his back. He transferred to a sub chaser 1086.. He finished the war.. He was very susceptible to sickness never got used to the rough ride in the Atlantic.
I appreciate your service sir.
Just stumbled on this channel. I love hearing individual military member's experience. Subscribed.
My grandpa was a 35 year old with 5 kids when he served on PT boats. Five different boats because they kept getting shot up.
My Dad was on the 356 Ron 27 Squadron. Stationed in Balkapan.
Our RCN nieghbour (so was my Dad) hung around with a veteran RN small boat bowswain during the Korean War. He ran a type of swift boat for navy divers and Royal Marines. He didnt move too fast because he killed a Chinaman that wounded him with a burp gun. Interested guy!
Thnx sir for your service
my dad was on PT163 in the Pacific.
My Dad was a B-17 gunner in WW2. He said tracers were worthless. This is confirmed by other articles I read about tracers providing an inaccurate sight picture and eventually being phased out. Possibly this applied only to aerial gunnery for some reason.
My dad was on PT 382 in the pacific . he was was a first class motor machines mate.
I would love to just sit down on the front porch and listen to this gentlemans stories, i bet he has some great ones! We owe those men more than words ir money could ever say. And they sure DIDNT do it for the money. Lord knos they didnt earn very much from the military while they were in. I know i sure didn't but i didnt do it for the money either. Thank you sir and thank you to all our great Veterans from all the wars and just their time serving our country. Semper Fi from an old Marine
Damn. Those little boats were loaded. 37mm gun, 20mm gun ,4 torpedoes ,16 rockets, 40mm anti air, depth charges and smoke screen generator
My Uncle Leo Piersall served aboard PT 532 launched October 1943 under the command of Ensign Stephens. He said they got the name Devil boats in November 1944 when they got the Five inch rocket launchers. He said these gave the boat real punch and were not too bad to reload either.
Imagine fighting steel warships in a plywood boat, that folks is courage.
I was on a Quad 50 s in Vietnam that was 4 / 50 cals on a machine mount on the back of and 2 and half ton truck I loved my 50 s range about 5 miles
Loved the PT boats. Those crews were some of the bravest sailors we had.
Interesting, even if know quite a lot about the war in the Pacific a'd the naval warfare, I never really heard about PT boats and their use. Maybe they don't get the same fame than BBs. But the concept of mothership and a swarm of little monster is very actual now
Later in the war, the PTs hulls were steam bent from single sheets of plywood. (I worked in the large buildings decades after their WWII use in East Rochester NY.) The boats were puts into a spur of the Erie Canal for fitting out in New Jersey. The Erie used to cross downtown Rochester but was moved south to cross the Genesee at grade. The spur remained in WWII (later filled in) and was put to use.
Thank you buddy. I love ya
My father served in Korea, WW2 and Vietnam these boats were integral in providing support and occasionally picking up stores just off shore from larger vessels . Either way twin 50s will usually do the trick . Thank you for your service!
I use a paint can opener. Thanks, Pop.
My grandfather served on PT 155 Ron 9 and was also a gunners mate Robert Haskett
A problem with not sighting, and adjusting with tracers: A tracer projectile does not always have the smart trajectory path as the real bullets. Tracers weighs less, and are constantly losing more weight as the material burns. Tracers aren’t ballistically equal to real bullets.
Courtesy of Half Vast Flying
THE GREATEST GENERATION
You can see the greif he still carries
Grief--spelling!
I didn't realize that the PT boats kicked up a flourescent trail - that must have showed them in the night.
God Bless you and your service!!!!!!!
Just absolutely the Greatest Generation
A friend of mine at the American Legion post I belong to, had quad 50"s in Vietnam. He in the Army attached to the Marines on the DMZ, and was down in Kason for r.b.r when Tet happened
He still had that muscle memory to reach back
My grand father was on the 282 and 190 boats He was a motor mac Men of steel. Wooden boats
Great interview! Is there any way to put Mr Brookings Boat and Squadron (RON) number in his bio? I am sure it was a late war Elco Boat, but would really be interested in what his PT Boat number was. Also, when he was describing the hull construction, with the double diagonal Mahogany planks that are laminated and riveted together with Dolphinite bedding compound (glue) and #10 duck canvas between layers, yes, you could technically call that "plywood", but it is not like any plywood that you can find today. Elco and Higgins made their hulls in similar methods using the inner layer of 3/8 inch thick mahogany planks, and the outer plank of mahogany was about 3/4 inches thick. So if you "glue" those two planks together, is it properly called "plywood"? Also the hull planks were screwed down into mahogany frames every 12 inches. There was also a solid oak keel and pine and fir and other woods used in longitudinal beams and other hull structure. Thanks again for doing a great interview!
GM2/c Brookings is listed as being in Squadron (RON) 42 and arrived on board the PT Boat towards the end of the war. RON42 consisted of 10 PT boats PT613 to PT622
Respect
Thank You so much for your service and lovely dedications to Our Beautiful USA Dear Older American Sir You are My American Hero and Hero of all Americans. You will never be forgetten for us Americans.🥰😍🤗❤🤍💙💯🙏✝
True American heroes and patriots!
God Bless our remaining combat vets, especially our WW II guys!!!
Inspiring
My dad served on the USS Grayson DD 435 around Guadacanal for 9 mo. He steered the ship! Got pat on the back, job well done one dark night by fast steering and Full reverse like lightning fast. Thereby avoiding a collision with another destroyer! I have the ships printout for that action. Inside the book “Condition Red” written by the Captain of the ship. Bell last name. Frederick maybe first. Book is stored away somewhere. Rare and out of print.
3 squares, dry clothes and a rack is far more inticing than digging and living in a foxhole full of mud. The guns are bigger too.
No flag waving or fake glory. Just a human that didn't want to kill but knew he must.
Does anyone know if there's a Japanese version of this channel? I love that these experiences are being preserved!
The Imperial Japanese Army was sadistically brutal in their treatment of Allied prisoners and conquered peoples. I don’t think there would be many of their surviving veterans that would be willing to talk about that.
Those torpedos had many problems. Not only the contact detonator but the depth control sent the weapon on a sinusoidal depth. It was luck as to weather the torpedo went under the target or not. Going under should have been a good thing as they had a magnetic exploder. It was totally unreliable, setting of the weapon too early or not at all. The basic problem was that they had not been through a proper proving trial set.
Excellent
How close would an aircraft need to be before you would start shooting at it?
I've read that on aircraft the tracers were not helpful because they weren't cutting the same path as the actual bullets.
I never hear about how effective PT boats were against Japanese ships.