PT BOAT's
The Eighty Foot Elco -------- And
--------- A 72 Foot Huckins
The 78 Foot Higgins
Patrol Torpedo Boat's
Used By The U.S. Navy's Mosquito
Fleet
In All Theaters Of WWII
"PT" was the US Navy
Designation
For "Patrol Torpedo Boats" During
WWII too small to be
named, they were numbered.
Most Motor Torpedo Boats were
given fanciful unofficial nicknames
which were painted on by
artistic crew members.
Huckins, Higgins and Elco
manufactured
about 800 boats in 77, 78 and
80 foot lengths with an
average 21-foot beam, and 4
1/2 foot draft.
It's laminated mahogany hull
was held together with glue and 400,000
Screws. Fast and highly
maneuverable, they were elusive.
Powered by three Packard Marine
engines of 1500 or more
horsepower each, these boats,
with three
props and three rudders,
accelerated from eight to forty
knots in about eleven seconds.
Except for a few experimental
craft, production ceased at the war's
close.
Most boats were stripped
and burned
to prevent use by foreign powers
or smugglers. A few were
converted to
private yachts, although they were
designed to be expendable. Having
a
fuel tank capacity of 3000 gallons,
they consumed 185 gallons of
100 octain aviation gas per engine
hour at
flank speed. Fully war-loaded, PT's
could exceed 45 knots or with mufflers
closed, sneak in unobserved at
two or
three knots. Hulls were usually
camouflaged to blend with the
area of
operation. Weight about 55 tons
Two Post Cards With WWII
Dated Postmarks
PT Boats Inc.
Veterans Of The PT
Boat Navy
Modelers, History Buffs, Friends
And
Relatives Of Veterans
National Headquarters
Can Be Found At 1384
Cordova Cove
#2
Germantown, Tn. 38138
Email <PTBOATS@ptboats.org>
Phone
901-775-8440
Fax 901-751-0522
WEB
>www.ptboats.org<
When On The 'PT
Web
Page'
click 'PT Links'
and
Visit Several Web Pages
Hosted By Ex
PT Boat Sailors That Were
There When PT Boat
History Was Being Made.
BASE 16
CHAPEL....................................BASE 16
OUT-DOOR MOVIE
P.T. Base SIXTEEN
Base 16 Was
On The
Island Of Isabella About Twenty Miles
South
Of Zamboanga. FEMU Crane
Barge
#6 Was Stationed There For
Most Of The Time The Base
Was In Use. Here Are Two Pictures
Of A Part Of The Base.
FEMU
Crane Barge #6 In The Background.
You Say
WHAT THE HELL WAS F.E.M.U.
The 'Floating Equipment Maintenance Unit'
was a conglomeration of people and barges. There were pontoon
barges with a Quanset in the
middle, a ten ton crane on the bow, and a couple of pusher units using
eight
cylinder Chrysler Marine Engions Aft. At full RPM and no
tide, two knots could be attained. There were floating
dry-docks used to pick
PT Boats out of the water so they could dry out or get neccessary
repairs
below the water line. An assortment of fuel barges carrying from
80,000
to 100,000 gallons of high octain gasolene to fuel the MTB'S were also
included.
F.E.M.U. had 275, more or less, officers and
men
at any given time. The Unit was formed at PT Base 21 at Woendi
Island,
New Guinea in 1944 and was moved to a small island opposite PT Base 17
in
The Surigao Strait near Tacloban, Philipine Island. In 1945 it was
moved
with Base 17 to Samar, P.I. The Barges and attending
personel
traveled all over the Philippines either to other P.T. Bases or with
Tenders
escorting PT Squadrons on their various assignments.
The War over, The Barges and the PT Boats were scrapped,
the
personel re-assigned or sent home. F.E.M.U. was no more.
Al Moore F.E.M.U.
Crane Barge No. 6
_____________________________________________________________________________________________
P.T.
BASE SEVENTEEN
P.T.'s Had to have a Base or
Tender
Ship As Operational Headquarters
For Repair, Refueling And As A Place
To Stay
Between Patrols.
Base 17
At
SAMAR the PHILIPPINES
Was The Biggest In The World
If You Were Stationed There Or Want To
Know
Anything About The Base
Locate Personel Or Join The Roster Of
Base
Veterans
Email Vincent W. Alones
<pbase17@aol.com>
P.T. BOATER'S
REUNIONS
A WORLD WAR II REUNION
OF P.T. BOATERS
****TAKES PLACE****
ONCE EACH YEAR
SOMEPLACE IN
THE U.S.
CLICK PLACE AT THE BOTTOM
OF THIS PAGE AND
GO TO A GALLERY PAGE
SHOWING A FEW OF
THE HUNDREDS OF OLD MEN
THAT SHOW
UP
PT BOAT Museum
Visit Battle Ship Cove At
Fall River, Massachusetts.
This Is A Museum
Featuring Two Complete PT Boats,
Thousands Of Pictures And
Artifacts From All Over The World.
See What The PT Boat Navy
Did During WWII.
<http://www.battleshipcove.com/>
BULL SESSION'S
HAPPEN WHEN
When Ex-WWII P.T. Boat Sailors
Who Live In Areas Where
They Can Easily Get
Togather, Hold Small Informal
Meetings
Other Than The
Annual
Reunion, Where Hundreds
Of P.T.
Boaters From All Over The World
Have
A Four Or Five Day Extravaganza
Some
Place In The U.S.A.
"MID-AMERICA
MOSQUITO FLEET"
A
Few
P.T. Boaters Met In Omaha, Nebraska For
A
Bull Session.
Being In The Middle Of America,
What Better Title Than:
"MID AMERICA MOSQUITO FLEET"
Kansas, South Dakota, Minnesota, Iowa, And
Part Of Misouri
Joined With Nebraska To Hold
A Meeting
Once Each Year.
The First Weekend After Easter Was
Chosen
As The Time.
Bull Sessions Have Been Held At
Several
Locations With-in These Six States.
Anybody Interested In World War Two
Motor
Torpedo Boats
Can Visit Or Join.
############################################################
Here Are A Few Pictures Of The MID-AMERICA-MOSQUETO-FLEET
AT THE 2003 BULL SESSION AT
ARRORA<
NEBRASKA
AS CAN BE EXPECTED, TELLING SEA
STORIES
AND EATING
IS THE ORDER OF THE DAY
==================================
Questions,
Or
Critic, E-Mail Al Moore
<almor2@cox.net>
Pictures
Of Life In The F.E.M.U. <FEMU>
The History Of An F.E.M.U. Barge
<BARGE 6>
Pay A Visit To AL's Web
Page
<CLICK>