The Plywood Derby
The Board of Inspection and Survey decided to conduct comparative service tests. The following boats were tested off New London, 21 to 24 July 1941:
- PT-6: 81 ft (25 m) Higgins; 3 Packard 1,200-hp engines.
- PT-8: 81 ft (25 m) Philadelphia Navy Yard; aluminum hull; 2 Allison 2,000-hp engines, 1 Hall-Scott 550-hp engine.
- PT-20: 77 ft (23 m) Elco; 3 Packard 1,200-hp engines; equipped with special propellers; special strengthening added to hull framing and deck.
- PT-26, -30, -31, -33: Same as PT-20, except with standard propellers and without special strengthening.
- PT-69: 72 ft (22 m) Huckins; 4 Packard 1,200-hp engines.
- PT-70: 76 ft (23 m) Higgins; 3 Packard 1,200-hp engines.
- One 70 ft (21 m) boat built for Britain by Higgins; 3 Hall-Scott 900-hp engines.
The test included an open-sea run of 190 miles (310 km) at full throttle, forever after referred to by PT personnel as the "Plywood Derby." The course started around New York Harbor, at Sarah Ledge, then led around the eastern end of Block Island, then around Fire Island Lightship, finishing at Montauk Point Whistling Buoy.
This was a shakedown to see which company would be contracted to build the Navy PT boats. At the completion of the trials, the Navy considered all three designs. The Elco 77-footer (23 m) (PT-20) came in first with an average speed of 39.72 kn (45.71 mph), followed by the Huckins 72-foot (22 m) boat (PT-69) and the Higgins 76-footer (23 m) (PT-70). the Navy saw the merits of the other two boats and decided to offer all three companies contracts. Elco received the largest share of the contract with contracts for 350 boats, Higgins was awarded contracts for 199 boats, and Huckins was awarded a contract for 18 boats.
The Elco Company may have had an advantage owing to their experience in small-boat building, having built 550 80 ft (24 m) sub chasers for the Royal Navy during World War I. Additionally, in 1921, they introduced the famous 26 ft (7.9 m) "Cruisette", (a gasoline cabin cruiser). This success in small-boat building was followed in the 1930s with 30-ft to 57-ft "Veedettes" and "Flattops", which were gasoline-powered boats that set the highest standard in a golden era of boating. This small-boat experience helped Elco obtain a contract for 10 boats based on the 70-foot (21 m) Scott-Paine Model PT boat. These 70 ft (21 m) boats were tested and determined to be too light for open sea work, but Elco got a contract for 24 larger boats based on a lengthened 77 ft (23 m) design.