On December 7th, 1941, the Imperial Navy of the Japanese Empire attacked the US fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, throwing the United States into full scale war. In response, ELCO PT boats based at Hawaii were also dramatically pushed into wartime service. These were still, however, the early-form versions with their 77-foot hulls and their British-length 457mm torpedoes. Regardless, the ELCO 77-foot PT boats became the first of their type to see combat action in the war. Some vessels of RON 1 were set into action during the Japanese Pearl Harbor attack itself and a total of 49 of the type were produced in all with designations PT-20 through PT-68. 39 were used by the USN while a further 10 were delivered to Britain via Lend-Lease in 1942. 77-foot versions were crewed by 10 personnel including two officers, weighed in at 46 tons and managed 42 knots from their 3 x 1,200 horsepower engine installations. In the early phases of the war, reports of sunken Japanese warships were mistakenly attributed to PT boats in action. They would, however, eventually claim their fair share of tonnage by war's end.
Construction of ELCO boat hulls revolved around use of mahogany in a "double-diagonal" planking pattern while glue and canvas were also utilized. This made for a relatively light yet robust hull design that was further held in place by conventional screws and riveting. The wood construction made for relatively quick repairs of battle damaged sections "in-the-field" and allowed the type to absorb great levels of punishment through either regular use or direct combat action. Additionally, it was the unique hull design of PT boats that separated them from other patrol types for the underside bow began as a sharply-formed "Vee" shape and evolved into a largely flat surface by the stern. This approach was not a naval evolution of any sort for it already saw widespread use in yatch vessels of the time. The hull also allowed for a shallow draught allowing PTs to manage waters that other warships could not. Amazingly, ELCO boats survived the length of the war without many major modifications to their original design despite suggestions that fell to naught. A variety of camouflage schemes existed throughout their operational service - from various blacks to blues and greens to greys. Additional paint schemes were also experimented with but never formally accepted into USN service including an outlandish black-and-white horizontally striped example designed to lessen the long range profile to tracking eyes.
As with any surface warship, armament was the true heart of the ELCO PT boat design and varied highly based on wartime need. It was such that the ELCO armament suite blossomed as the war progressed leading to some very impressive outfits for the series. Standardized armament included torpedoes (numbering four, held as inline pairs at outboard port and starboard side launch tubes, angled to fire away from the vessel's centerline), traversing cannon mounts (found at either the bow, amidships or stern), general purpose and heavy machine guns (amidships and offset starboard or elsewhere) and naval mines and depth charges (at stern dispensers). Widely used torpedoes of the time were the Mark 8 class type which were later replaced by the Mark 13 series. For close-in self-defense, the crew was afforded a pair of traversing, open-air machine gun positions (turrets) each fitting 2 x 0.50 caliber heavy Browning machine guns (prior to Pearl Harbor, these were hydraulically-operated turrets) and an optional Lewis 0.30 caliber machine gun could be mounted at the front. These could be used against both lightly-armored surface vessels or low-flying aircraft. Standardized heavy caliber weaponry included the excellent Swedish 20mm Oerlikon cannon series provided with excellent fields-of-fire and inherently strong reliability. Depth charges (300lb or 600lb versions) could be used against enemy submarines or pursuing enemy surface ships (usually enemy destroyers) while, similarly, naval mines could be dispensed in a similar fashion. A distinct "PT Gunboat" version appeared and these were ELCO boats stripped of their torpedo armament and instead completed with heavy caliber surface-minded cannon.
Despite these impressive armament loadouts, PT boat value went far beyond their offensive arrangements for the series proved equally effective in laying down swathes of naval mines to create perilous floating mine fields. The boats could also self-manufacture smoke screens through stern-mounted generators. PT boats also served in rescuing downed naval airmen or other personnel and were used to good effect in evacuating desperate ground forces from collapsing beachheads. Specialized missions for PT boat crews were a norm and its value in "counter-mine" operations was also notable. PT boats could further be assigned as dedicated raiders or reconnaissance elements.
PT boat armament soon went beyond the early standard-issue weaponry for many boats were modified in-the-field with a plethora of impressive armament arrangements. Boats were being fitted with deck mortars and rocket projectors as well as aircraft-type repeating cannons and field anti-tank guns. 37mm M3/M9 autocannons (aircraft-based weapons taken from available Bell P-39 Airacobra stores or field anti-tank gun versions) were being deployed on ELCO PT boats and, later, the excellent 40mm Bofors naval cannon was added to the mix. When these makeshift applications proved their worth in direct action, the USN made them standard fittings out of the gate. By the end of the war, the inherent firepower of PT boats was such that they rivaled the firepower of USN destroyers. A typical late-war ELCO PT could field deck mortars, 8-shot 5" rocket projectors, a Bofors 40mm cannon, an 37mm cannon, 2 x 20mm cannons, 2 or 4 x torpedoes 0.50 and 0.30 caliber machine guns - combinations of these on a single boat no less. It was not out of scope to find PT boats also fitted with captured Imperial Japanese Army ordnance in the form of 23mm anti-tank guns.
In operational service, PT boats were put through some very heavy paces, operating in rough waters and under intense danger and stresses. They were active during the massive Allied D-Day landings of Northern France where they were used to screen amphibious forces from marauding German vessels and further keep the English Channel free of enemy patrol/attack vessels. Control of Mediterranean waters was also key in the Allied advance on Italy and North Africa and PT boats were used to control shipping in the region - often clashing with German "E" and "S" boots (boats). However, records show that the PT was most active and in greatest numbers in the Pacific Theater where the series made such a name for itself against the Japanese Navy. It became such that IJN personnel feared attacks from these "small" warships to the point that they nicknamed American PT boats "Devil Boats". With the element of surprise in check, PT boats could engage nearly any enemy surface warship at range with torpedoes and close in for a timely kill with cannon if need be.
The biggest threat to PT crews lay in the patrolling enemy destroyers (equally well-armed vessels) and enemy seaplanes, the latter mostly active during the day and armed with depth charges and bombs. Such threats forced the PT to operate mostly at dusk, nighttime and early morning hours where natural lighting was at its minimum, relying on the prowess and training of the crew for ultimate success. It was not until later in the war that widespread use of radar aboard PT boats made night attacks ferociously effective and garnered the "Mosquito Fleet" an even greater reputation.
Of course no write up of PT boats would be complete without mention of one of the most famous boats of the class - this being the PT-109 which included then-sailor and future American president John F. Kennedy. PT-109 was severed by a Japanese warship with remaining portion of the vessel managing to stay afloat over 12 hours. The surviving crew eventually made their way to an uninhabited island, avoiding prowling sharks and Japanese patrols in the process. They were eventually recovered by allied Solomon Island scouts and made Kennedy are war hero. Of course not often mention of the attack was the death of crewmen Seaman Andrew Kirksey and Seaman Harold Marney and the injuries suffered by two others - all were heroes of the day.
PT-41 (a 77-foot ELCO) of RON 3 was used to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur along with family and staff from the falling Philippines Front - the action awarded Commander John D. Bulkeley (1911-1996) with the Medal of Honor, becoming one of the first PT servicemen to be honored as such. Today, less than a dozen PT boats are known to survive as most were destroyed by the US Navy immediately after the Japanese surrender. Despite the lack of PTs in existence and the stories of PT boat crews remaining largely overshadowed by other war stories, there is nothing to take away from the sheer courage and accomplishments earned by this group of fighting men.
ELCO of Bayonne, New Jersey, would go on to produce 326 PT boats of 80-foot length (total PT boat production of varying lengths by ELCO was approximately 385) during the span from 1942 through 1945. 296 are known to have served under the banner of the USN while a further 30 were delivered to the Soviet Union under Lend-Lease. A further 31 ELCO boats were contracted by the USN but never produced due to the end of the war - these contracts being cancelled in full. The ELCO 80-footer remained the most produced of all American PT boats of the war.
While the Huckins Yacht Company contributed some PT boat production in the war effort, the ELCO and Higgins PT boats became the standard PT boats of the US Navy during World War 2. The ELCO and Higgins boats shared some visual similarities but closer observation quickly revealed their differences - in particular a cockpit held well-forward behind a shorter bow (the ELCO had a cockpit closer to amidships, exposing more bow deck surface area). Higgins boats were also of the 78-foot PT-71 class though they displaced roughly the same as some of the ELCO boats. Both breeds, however, sported the same beam measurement and shared the Packard powerplants, internal systems, weapon fittings and cabin areas.
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