Would you have gone on one of these WWII boats?

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 18:50:17 -0400

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTuyA84QXKs

"Wooden Craft manned by iron men"

WW2: US Navy Patrol Torpedo Boat (PT Boat)

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Oct 26 at 2015 6:57 PM

LTC Stephen F. — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 18:57:51 -0400

Probably not PO3 Steven Sherrill I was never fond of being in open water. I always prefered to fight on ground or perhaps in a swamp or marsh but never from a wooden boat like JFK and the other PT boat sailors did.

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Oct 26 at 2015 7:02 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 19:02:12 -0400

Most definitely PO3 Steven Sherrill!

Response by LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow made Oct 26 at 2015 7:08 PM

LCDR Rabbah Rona Matlow — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 19:08:00 -0400

Not if I could have avoided it. I've never been a fan of small craft on big seas...

Response by SN Greg Wright made Oct 26 at 2015 7:16 PM

SN Greg Wright — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 19:16:13 -0400

PO3 Steven Sherrill My father was on the Vietnam version. Myself, I prefer a little more mass, myself.

And by little more, I mean, tens of thousands of tons lol.

Response by PO2 Wesley Wilson made Oct 26 at 2015 8:29 PM

PO2 Wesley Wilson — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 20:29:18 -0400

These boats were pretty incredible they were between 70 and 81 feet long and average displacement was around 40 tons. They could go 45 knots. Average cost each was around 250k.
They had 3 packard V-12 water cooled aircraft engines. Most were made of plywood however some were made of aluminum or a mixture of materials. While there was a standard no two were alike. Unfortunately very few survive.

The PT boat most of us remember from McHales Navy was in fact a real PT boat hull. IT was destroyed in the early 70s filming an Episode of Emergency however there is a rumor that enough survived and it has benn found and is being restored.
The big problem was the Mark VIII torpedo was very prone to failure , so even when they scored a hit more often than not the torpedo failed to detonate.

They were armed with 50 cal for and after and many had a bow mounted 20mm.

I would have been happy to serve on one. The crews were tight groups and cross trained.

Response by PO1 Matthew Murdock made Oct 26 at 2015 8:50 PM

PO1 Matthew Murdock — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 20:50:19 -0400

Oh yea... Small boats only way to go.

Response by CMDCM Private RallyPoint Member made Oct 26 at 2015 9:35 PM

CMDCM Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 26 Oct 2015 21:35:57 -0400

Indeed today we use the term "real navy" loosely but those shipmates were the real Navy!

Response by PO2 William Smith made Oct 27 at 2015 10:45 AM

PO2 William Smith — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:45:34 -0400

Definitely. I love speed and power.

Response by PO3 Sherry Thornburg made Oct 27 at 2015 10:48 AM

PO3 Sherry Thornburg — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 10:48:40 -0400

PT boats were awesome. Fast little sharks harassing bigger ships.

My husband did wooden ships during his years. 1986-1997 on mine-sweepers in the Persian Gulf (before the war). Bigger wooden boats. Pictures is the Esteem, his ship, the Enhance and the Conquest. He also served on the Excel.

Response by PO3 John Jeter made Oct 27 at 2015 1:55 PM

PO3 John Jeter — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 13:55:48 -0400

In a heartbeat! As a GMG (Gunners Mate, Guns) these things were awesome! They really developed the concept of concentrated firepower on a small platform. I've often wondered if the idea helped to inspire things like "Puff" for the Air Force......

Response by PO3 John Jeter made Oct 27 at 2015 8:13 PM

PO3 John Jeter — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:13:36 -0400

I just remembered an incident from 1978..... My ship, (USS Monticello LSD 35) was entering San Diego harbor after several days of operations off the coast near Camp Pendleton. Being a beautiful Sunday morning, the channel was choked with all sorts of different pleasure craft and the Captain had extra lookouts posted for safety as we slowly picked our way through the mess. I heard something through the marine VHF radio on the bridge about "hey! Slower traffic should stay in the right lane!" The next thing I knew, the USS Pegasus (PHM 1) passed us like a bolt of lightning and sped through the traffic dodging and weaving like a Ferrari in a bus race! The thing that struck me most besides the high speed, was the fact that there was a roostertail of spray behind her at least 30 to 40 feet, but virtually no wake wave. She passed within yards of many boats, but they barely rocked at all. My gun mount would train and elevate at 15 degrees per second but once the Pegasus got closer than 1500 yards I couldn't keep her in my sights. I'm told that the Captain got chewed out for the display, but it gave me an idea of how the targets of the PT boats must have felt.

Response by PO3 Rod Arnold made Oct 27 at 2015 8:50 PM

PO3 Rod Arnold — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 20:50:29 -0400

Without a doubt, I would have volunteered!!!

Response by PO2 Peter Klein made Oct 27 at 2015 10:40 PM

PO2 Peter Klein — Tue, 27 Oct 2015 22:40:59 -0400

I would have gone where I was ordered to go.