What color were PT boats?
Pacific Theater PT Boats were almost always painted camouflage (greens) or some form of green with red below the water line. The reason being, the boats were harder to see against the backdrop of the islands.
Are there any Elco PT boats left?
Today there are just two fully restored and operational Patrol Torpedo boats, or PT boats, left in the world, and only one of them saw service in World War II.
What color was PT 109?
Navy gray
In the film, PT 109 is Navy gray in color, but the real boat was actually painted dark green when JFK commanded her – to camouflage it when moored along the bushes of the shoreline during daylight.
Did PT boats have depth charges?
PT 109 was one of the hundreds of motor torpedo boats (PT) of the PT 103 class completed between 1942 and 1945 by Elco Naval Division of Electric Boat Company at Bayonne, New Jersey. 50-caliber machine guns, and two or four 21-inch torpedo tubes. Some of them carried depth charges or mine racks.
How big is a PT boat?
80 ft
Patrol torpedo boat PT-109
| History | |
|---|---|
| United States | |
| Displacement | 56 long tons (57 t) (full load) |
| Length | 80 ft (24 m) overall |
| Beam | 20 ft 8 in (6.30 m) |
Did JFK see PT-109?
After seeing the film, President Kennedy called PT 109 a “good product,” but he worried about the length of the film at 2 hours and 20 minutes. He said, “It’s just a question of whether there’s too much of it”.
What happened to Kennedy’s coconut?
After the crash of his PT 109 boat, Lt. Kennedy gave the coconut to two natives to deliver to PT base at Rendova so he and his crew would be rescued. His father later had the coconut shell encased in plastic on a wood base and President Kennedy used it as a paperweight on his desk in the Oval Office.
Was the PT 109 ever found?
The wreckage of PT-109 was located in May 2002, at a depth of 1,200 feet (370 m), when a National Geographic Society expedition headed by Robert Ballard found a torpedo tube from wreckage matching the description and location of Kennedy’s vessel.
Are any of the PT 109 crew still alive?
Gerard Zinser, the last surviving crewman from the sinking of John F. Kennedy’s PT 109 in the South Pacific in World War II, died on Aug. 21 at a hospital in Orange Park, Fla. Zinser, who lived in Orange Park, had Alzheimer’s disease, The Associated Press reported.
How true is the movie PT 109?
Overall, PT-109 does a good job with keeping things accurate. However, they altered one significant part of the story with the sole purpose of writing ethnic minorities out of history. In real life, two native islanders played a pivotal role in rescuing the crew of PT-109.
What is an Elco 80 PT boat?
The Elco 80 PT Boats were built of wood using laminated spruce, white oak and mahogany and covered with fir plywood. They were considered expendable and 260 were built serving in most parts of WW11. They were powered by 3 Supercharged Packard 12 cylinder engines of 1500hp each giving the boats a top speed of 41 to 43 knots.
What is the pitch and diameter of an Elco propeller?
The following pitch and diameter information is based on PT historian Andy Small’s research. His research shows that Elco 80′ boats were equipped with 28″ diameter propellers until PT 613 (direct drive boats) which used 29″ diameter propellers. Pitch = inches traveled per revolution (with no slip) and relates to the blades angle to the hub.
What is the length of an Elco ship?
Per the Navy build manual: Length overall, extreme: 80′ 3″ (963″) Per Elco drawings: 80′ (960″) to outside of planking from forward point to the aftermost point (with the transom angle, deck centerline would be an additional .5″). Rear guard at the transom extended out an additional 6″.
How did Elco patrol boats help WW1?
Fairly bristling with weaponry, Elco patrol boats provided fire support for troop landings, laid and destroyed mines, carried out rescues, disrupted supply lines and even accounted for a few large enemy ships. (Illustration by Gregory Proch)
