This section is for discussion of all things military, past or present, that are related to active duty. Armor, Infantry, Navy stuff all welcome here. In service images and stories welcome here.
Fri Mar 25, 2011 5:13 pm
Not a warbird but a great video about PT Boat 658 and the vets who restored her.
http://videos2view.net/PT658.htm
Fri Mar 25, 2011 8:57 pm
A great restoraion along with living history. I enjoyed the video.
While PT Boats would have been commiting suicide to go against capitol ships they certainly played a great (and oft under appreciated) role in the island hopping campaigns. Tough little guys for sure!
Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:28 pm
Pat Carry wrote:Not a warbird...
Yes, but basically powered by 3 warbird engines (V-12 gasoline-fed Packard 5M-2500s)
And quite popular around here, if the "thread drift" seen earlier is any indication ...
http://warbirdinformationexchange.org/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=39797I'd say it's about time the PTs got their own subject heading!
Fri Mar 25, 2011 9:42 pm
Warboat Information Exchange ?
Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:45 am
there is or was an elco pt boat docked at sawmill creek resort marina on lake erie in sandusky ohio, privately owned, pimped out to luxury yacht status. i live a 1/2 hour from their & have never took the time to see her which i regret.
Sat Mar 26, 2011 5:52 am
tom d. friedman wrote:there is or was an elco pt boat docked at sawmill creek resort marina on lake erie in sandusky ohio, privately owned, pimped out to luxury yacht status. i live a 1/2 hour from their & have never took the time to see her which i regret.
I never heard that!
Is it still there?
Sat Mar 26, 2011 7:15 am
When I was in Coast Guard basics, There was a PT at Cape May NJ. they would take out on weekends. I think it was privately owned. It would cruse up and down the beach.
Steve
Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:29 am
oscardeuce wrote:tom d. friedman wrote:there is or was an elco pt boat docked at sawmill creek resort marina on lake erie in sandusky ohio, privately owned, pimped out to luxury yacht status. i live a 1/2 hour from their & have never took the time to see her which i regret.
I never heard that!
Is it still there?

tom, as of 10 years ago i would say yes. otherwise call the marina. with spring coming i'll take a cruise up there with you if it is.
Sat Mar 26, 2011 12:40 pm
tom d. friedman wrote:there is or was an elco pt boat docked at sawmill creek resort marina on lake erie in sandusky ohio, privately owned, pimped out to luxury yacht status.
Yep, I'd like to see that too, Tom. An expert told me they all rotted away by 1980. But on that note, I wouldn't have given a dollar for the remains of PT-658 before her resto...truly sad sack.
Sound on the video link didn't work for me, but more stuff as well as thorough resto history here...
http://www.savetheptboatinc.com
Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:47 pm
There's another in storage at th guard base in Clackamas, OR. Thought there
was one running in FL.
Sat Mar 26, 2011 1:49 pm
PT Boats In Museums and Survivors
Of the nearly four hundred PT boats which were built just prior to and during the Second World War, only a handful survive to this day. They are:
PT-3 - Privately owned in Pennsylvania as of the late 1990s.
PT-8 - Privately owned in Texas.
PT-48 - Acquired by Fleet Obsolete in Kingston, NY, awaiting restoration.
PT-305 - Acquired by the National World War II in New Orleans, LA, undergoing restoration.
PT-309 - Acquired by the Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, TX, on static display.
PT-459 - Acquired by Fleet Obsolete in Kingston, NY, awaiting restoration.
PT-486 - Privately owned in New Jersey, restored to look like PT-109.
PT-615 - Acquired by Fleet Obsolete in Kingston, NY, awaiting restoration.\
PT-617 - Owned by PT Boats, Inc., and is on display at Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA.
PT-658 - Owned by Save The PT in Portland, OR.
PT-728* - Owned and operated by Fleet Obsolete in Kingston, NY. Restored by a previous owner in Florida to resemble an eighty-foot Elco PT boat. Available for charter.
PT-796 - Owned by PT Boats, Inc., and is on display at Battleship Cove, Fall River, MA.
Sat Mar 26, 2011 2:52 pm
I believe that this story does have a place on this site. How many of our airman were saved by the stout hearted crews of those plywood wonders.
Sat Mar 26, 2011 3:41 pm
Several years ago I was sitting with Jeff Ethell and aviation photographer Dan Patterson discussing the merits of doing a photo essay on PT Boats.
Dan didn't think there would be a market for it.
Jeff brought him up short saying, "Dan, PT Boats are the P-51's of the Navy!"
Sat Mar 26, 2011 9:07 pm
tom d. friedman wrote:oscardeuce wrote:tom d. friedman wrote:there is or was an elco pt boat docked at sawmill creek resort marina on lake erie in sandusky ohio, privately owned, pimped out to luxury yacht status. i live a 1/2 hour from their & have never took the time to see her which i regret.
I never heard that!
Is it still there?

tom, as of 10 years ago i would say yes. otherwise call the marina. with spring coming i'll take a cruise up there with you if it is.
A DUKW looking for a PT? That would turn heads!
Sat Mar 26, 2011 10:11 pm
From the other side,and a lot rarer..
http://www.s130.co.uk/
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