PT Boat - Remaining WWII PT Boats

Remaining WWII PT Boats

At the end of the war, almost all surviving U.S. PT boats were disposed of shortly after V-J Day. Hundreds of boats were deliberately stripped of all useful equipment and then dragged up on the beach and burned. This was done to minimize the amount of upkeep the Navy would have to do, since wooden boats require much continuous maintenance, and they were not considered worth the effort. The boats also used a lot of high octane gasoline for their size, making them too expensive to operate for a peacetime navy. Much of this destruction (121 boats) occurred at PT Base 17, on Samar, Philippines, near Bobon Point.

A total of 11 PT boats, and 2 experimental PT boat hulls in various states of repair, survive today in the U.S.:

• PT-48

PT-48 is possibly the last surviving 77-foot (23 m) Elco PT boat. In July 1942, PT-48 (nicknamed "Prep Tom" and "Deuce") was assigned to MTB RON 3. This second Squadron 3 was the first to arrive in the Solomons and saw heavy engagement with the "Tokyo Express". PT 48 was one of the first 4 boats to arrive at Tulagi, on 12 October 1942. On the night of 13/14 October 1942, PT-48 engaged a Japanese destroyer at 200 yards (180 m). This Squadron saw action in the Solomon Islands, Guadalcanal, and Funafuti. PT-48 is today in need of major restoration, after having been cut down to 59 feet (18 m) and used as a dinner cruise boat. Because of this boat's extensive combat history, having survived 22 months in the combat zone at Guadalcanal (more time in combat than any other surviving PT boat), a preservation group, “Fleet Obsolete” of Kingston, New York, acquired and transported it to Rondout Creek in 2008 for eventual repair.

• PT-305

PT-305 ("Half Hitch","Barfly", "USS Sudden Jerk") is a Higgins 78-foot (24 m) boat, assigned during the war to RON22, and saw action against the Germans in the Mediterranean Sea. Squadron 22 was operating with the British Coastal Forces, and saw action along the northwest cost of Italy and southern coast of France. In June 1945 the squadron was shipped to the U.S. for refitting and transfer to the Pacific, but the war ended while still in New York. The PT-305 was cut down to 65 feet (20 m) for use as an oyster seed boat in Crisfield, Maryland. PT-305 was acquired by the Defenders of America Naval Museum (DOANM), and then sold in May 2007 to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans. PT-305 is undergoing restoration (as of 2012) to become a permanent display in the new expansion of the museum.

• PT-309

A 78-foot (24 m) Higgins, PT-309 ("Oh Frankie!") was assigned during the war to RON22, and saw action against the Germans in the Mediterranean Sea. The squadron was operating under the British Coastal Forces, and saw action along the northwest cost of Italy and southern coast of France. In April 1945 the squadron was shipped to the U.S. for refitting and transfer to the Pacific, but the war ended while still in New York. Coincidentally, the PT-309 ("Oh Frankie!"), was named in honor of Frank Sinatra, with whom the boats' Commanding Officer met at a nightclub shortly before MTBRON22 left New York for the Mediterranean Theatre. PT-309 is located at the National Museum of the Pacific War / Admiral Nimitz Museum in Fredericksburg, Texas, which was restored by the (now defunct) Defenders of America Naval Museum (DOANM). PT-309 is restored (but non-operational) in a static diorama display without engines installed. Her external restoration was completed by the Texas group in 2002, and is to a high standard.

• PT-459

PT-459 ("MAHOGANY MENACE") a Higgins 78-foot (24 m) boat, was assigned to MTBRON 30 on 15 February 1944 under the command of LCDR Robert L. Searles. MTBRON 30 saw action in the English Channel as part of the Invasion of Normandy. In late June 1945 the squadron was shipped to the U.S. for refitting and transfer to the Pacific, but the war ended while still in New York. After the war, the ex-PT459 was cut down to 65 feet (20 m) and highly modified into a sightseeing boat and fishing trawler. She was acquired by Fleet Obsolete in June 2008 and moved to Kingston, New York for possible restoration.

• PT-486

PT-486, an 80-foot (24 m) Elco boat, was place in service on 2 December 1943. It was used in the training squadron (MTBRON)4 in Melville, Rhode Island during World War II until it was placed out of service 16 January 1946. Along with PT-557, the vessel was purchased from BFM Industries (Brooklyn, NY) by Capt. George C. Sinn of Wildwood Crest, NJ on 9 October 1951 for $1,015.00. The vessel was sold in 1952 to Otto Stocker who operated the "Sightseer" as an excursion vessel from Otten's Harbor in Wildwood, New Jersey. The business was later sold to Capt. Charles Schumann in the 1980s. He named the vessel Schumann's "Big Blue" and ran the business until 2002. Remarkably, the PT486 was sold to the son of the original owner, Capt. Ronald G. Sinn, who is currently restoring the vessel to recreate the World War II appearance of PT-109, for which the PT-486 was renamed.

• PT-615

PT-615, an 80-foot (24 m) Elco originally assigned to RON 42, was commissioned after the war ended. PT-615 was returned to Elco after being sold and was heavily modified into a yacht, which was leased to actor Clark Gable. He named the boat Tarbaby VI, and used her through the 1950s. The boat was serviced and stored by Elco. She was sold several times, and moved to Kingston for possible restoration.

• PT-617

PT-617 is an 80-foot (24 m) Elco boat located in Battleship Cove Naval Museum in Massachusetts. She was obtained from the backwaters of Florida and moved to its current location by JM "Boats" Newberry, the founder of PT Boats Inc. "Boats" along with the team at Battleship Cove Museum restored her during 1984–89, inside and out, at a cost of US$1 million. The boat is owned by PT Boats, Inc., a World War II PT veterans organization headquartered in Germantown, Tennessee. The quality of the restoration was extremely high, and the boat is on display inside a weatherproof building, on blocks out of the water. She is available for public viewing, and has portions of her hull cut away to display the cramped interior of the crew's quarters. General visitors are not allowed inside the boat in order to help preserve her historic integrity.

• PT-619

Served in the South Pacific as a downed pilot rescue boat. Now being restored by Randy Cunnigham in Vancouver B.C.

• PT-657

PT-657, a Higgins 78-foot (24 m) boat, has been converted into a charter fishing boat. She is located in San Diego and is now named Malahini.

• PT-658

Perhaps the best example of a surviving Higgins 78-foot (24 m) boat is PT-658, which was completely restored to her original 1945 configuration from 1995 to 2005. PT-658 is now fully functional and afloat, using the three original Packard V12 5M-2500 gas engines. It is the only 100% authentically restored U.S. Navy PT boat actually operational today. PT-658 is located in Portland, Oregon, at Navy Operational Support Center Portland's Swan Island Pier. The group wishes to maintain the boat as a living, breathing artifact dedicated to the history of the PT force of the Second World War. PT-658 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.

• PT-728

PT-728, a surviving Vosper boat built under license at the Annapolis Boat Yard in Maryland, was restored by in Key West, Florida. Her deck house was reconfigured to partially resemble an 80-foot (24 m) Elco instead of its original Vosper 70-foot (21 m) configuration. PT-728 was acquired by Fleet Obsolete and moved to Kingston. There PT-728 allows up to 49 tourists the chance to ride on a "PT boat". This boat is the only U.S. Coast Guard regulation-approved PT boat licensed to take passengers for hire, and the only surviving U.S.-built Vosper design. As of 7 Feb. 2012, PT-728 is for sale via the Hammacher Schlemmer catalog for $1 million.

• PT-796

PT-796 ("Tail Ender") is a 78-foot (24 m) Higgins. After the war ended PT-796 was used in the Key West/Miami area for experimental purposes. She was retired from service in the late 1950s. Shortly after her retirement from service, the PT-796 was used as a float during President John F. Kennedy's inaugural parade to represent PT-109, with the PT-109 hull number painted on the bow, and several of PT-109's surviving crew members manning the boat. Today, PT-796 is located at the Battleship Cove Naval Museum in Fall River, Massachusetts in a Quonset hut-style building, protected from the weather, and up on blocks. The boat is owned by PT Boats, Inc., a World War II PT veterans organization headquartered in Germantown, Tennessee.