Restoration
A dedicated group of PT Boat veterans formed the organization Save the PT Boat, Inc., a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The group restored PT-658 to her original 1945 configuration between 1995 and 2005. PT-658 is now fully functional and afloat, the only restored US Navy PT Boat that is operational today.
PT-658's restoration included a full armament of four Mark 13 Torpedoes, two twin .50 caliber Browning M2 machine guns, a 40 mm Bofors cannon, two 20 mm Oerlikon cannon, two eight-cell Mark 50 Spin Stabilized 5 inch Rocket Launchers, and two Mark 6 300 lb (140 kg) TNT depth charges. She has three working 1,850 hp (1,380 kW) Packard Model 5M-2500 V12 gasoline engines.
PT-658 is located in Portland, Oregon at the Swan Island Navy Operational Support Center Pier. PT-658 is open to the public on Mondays and Thursdays almost every week when the crew is there for maintenance. She has been moved into the new boathouse and the group continues to raise money for ongoing projects such as deck replacement, charthouse repair, and bottom replacement. Money is also being raised for final boathouse improvements and to build a PT-658 Heritage and Education Center. In May 2010, replacement of the deck was completed in time for various summer festivals and shows.
Funding raised for additional restoration work included a $14,000 grant from the Oregon Cultural Trust, awarded in July 2010.
When originally launched in 1945, PT-658 wore a camouflage paint scheme, and this was restored in early 2011. In July 2011, two Mark 50 eight-cell rocket launcher mounts were added to the port and starboard bow. In May 2012, an original SOA Radar mast (obtained on loan from PT Boats Inc. of Germantown, Tennessee) was installed along with an appropriately sized radar dome, signal generator and waveguide. Simultaneously, the 40mm Bofors cannon mount was improved with the addition of a ammunition clip holder/loader handrail to the rear of the mount, along with adjustable seats and authentic aerial spider type gunsights.
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Read more about this topic: Motor Torpedo Boat PT-658
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