ELCO PT Boat (Patrol Torpedo)

History of ELCO PT Ships (Patrol Torpedoes)

Before (and during) World War II, the United States Navy (USN) commissioned three major manufacturers to build "PT" motorboats (PT = "Patrol Torpedoes"). These surface ships are built for speed and should have enough firepower to deal with surface ships of the same class or higher. The three companies in question became Higgins Industries, Huckins Yacht Corporation, and Electric Launch Company (often abbreviated as "ELCO"), eventually forming PT-20, PT-71, PT-95, and PT-103 - each of which Differentiated by fuselage length and manufacturer. ELCO handles the 77-foot PT-20 and the 80-foot PT-103, the largest PT vessel in the United States, while Higgins handles the 78-foot PT-71 and Huckins' PT-95.

Surprisingly, the origins of the ELCO company were preserved until 1893, when they were commissioned to produce small naval vessels for the wars during the First World War. However, with the end of the world war, the demand for ELCO products also grew.

In the late 1930s, the world was once again on the brink of war as national militaries ramped up development and production during the Great Depression. Germany and Italy were active in Europe (with the bloody help of the Spanish Civil War), while Imperial Japan invaded China.

The US military initially developed three designs to meet the needs of its PT ships (further divided into 55-foot and 70-foot classes), eventually producing a total of eight ships under the designation "PT-1" until the "PT-1" -8" so far. Although the group is an operational naval vessel in its own right, the group lacks the performance and capabilities sought by the US Navy.

Following a visit to Europe, an ELCO representative has procured a high-speed vessel from British Powerboats. Based on a design by Hubert Scott-Paine, the vessel was originally designed as a private company around a state-of-the-art speedboat measuring 70 feet from bow to stern. ELCO used this design as the basis for its 40-ton PT submission, also known as the "Scott Paine Boat", and armed the type to USN specifications using 4 x 457mm British length torpedo launchers.

The USN assigned the designation "PT-9" to the ship and formally accepted the model on an experimental basis, ordering 10 examples of PT-10 to PT-19 and requiring 3 Packard Marine Gasoline Engines, each 1,200 hp as a modified crew compartment. The ships entered service with the U.S.

Navy in November 1940.

However, the US Navy was not entirely satisfied with these 70-foot PT boats, as they lacked the necessary space to mount 533mm torpedoes. In addition, the 70-foot hull length of the PT-9 class is proven to be compromised in harsh high seas environments. So the U.S. Navy went back to ELCOthis time with a series of improvements to its 70-foot designand commissioned 24 new ships, designated PT-20 through PT-44.

The most significant of these modifications was the increase in hull length from 70 feet to 77 feet to compensate for rough sea operations and longer USN 533mm torpedoes.

At this time, before the United States entered World War II, the Office of Inspection and Survey (of the United States Department of the Navy) conducted a new competitive attempt, held off the coast of New London during Midsummer Week in July 1941. During testing, ELCO, Higgins and Huckins submitted new boat designs. While USN retained early experience working with ELCO, both Higgins and Huckins began as private companies designing competitive PT boat systems. A final group of seven boats (including the ELCO PT-20) entered the competition, ranging in length from 70 feet to 81 feet, and were tested through various exercises including offshore operations.

This event was historically known as the "Plywood Derby" and would determine the true winner of the lucrative USN PT boat contract (the "Plywood" designation, even though the boats were not built with plywood at all).

Overall, USN officials believe the submissions from the three major manufacturers are worth developing. When the results were officially tallied, the ELCO design took the lead due to its inherent handling and speed, although it suffered in rough seas.

The Higgins 76ft and Harkens 72ft are admirable businesses in their own right, and as such, USN offered each of these three companies respective contracts for the development and production of their respective PT boat designs. Of the three, however, ELCO will remain the US Navy's largest manufacturer of PT boats during the coming war.

The USN also encouraged the ELCO to provide a longer 80-foot hull over the 77-foot design - which became the famous "PT-103" class of torpedo boats heavily used in the upcoming war.

All USN PT boats are powered by 3 x Packard 2500 Series V-12, centrifugal powered, 100 octane, gasoline powered, water cooled engines exhausted through six ports in the outer beam wall. These engines are based on an existing - albeit modified for Navy service - aircraft engine, the Packard 3A-2500 (which itself dates back to the 1925 American "Liberty" bomber engine). By this time, ELCO had modified the motors for marine use and used an "M" for marine propulsion, resulting in the 3M-2500 series of motors. The output of the series (as a whole) proved excellent for the class, although as expected the natural downsides were noise and high fuel consumption.

At constant full load, the engine can only provide a maximum of 6.3 hours of total range. In typical use, the single-engine PT Captain manages to save fuel while maintaining the element of surprise.

The Packard engine line was progressively improved with the introduction of the supercharged, water-cooled 4M-2500 (1,200 to 1,500 hp) and the final production 1,850 hp (3 x 1,850 = 5,550 hp) 5M-2500. While Packard was also contracted to produce the excellent Merlin aircraft engines that powered Britain's famous Supermarine Spitfire fighter jets, these were never actually used on ELCO PT ships - instead, they were reserved for British aircraft's needs overseas.

A standard 1943 ELCO PT boat with a displacement of between 38 and 51 tons, a barrel length of 80 feet, a beam of 20.75 feet, and a draft of only 5 feet - the latter has a real Tactical superiority requires targeting enemy torpedoes at a certain depth below the waterline. Under ideal conditions, the combine's engine outputs a maximum speed (based on a base 1,350 hp engine) of about 43 knots. Typical weapon loadout includes 4 x 533 mm (21 in) torpedo tubes and 4 x ready-to-fire torpedoes, 1 x 40 mm Bofors gun and 4 x .50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns.

A typical crew consists of 11 personnel, including two officers. By 1945, later versions of the ship weighed 61 tons and had a reduced top speed of 41 knots. The crew has grown to 14, including two officers. However, these systems were equipped with more flexible weapon arrangements, and radars eventually became widely used.

These devices are easily identified by the antenna mast in the midship (covered with a "drum"-like device).

On December 7, 1941, the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked the U.S. fleet at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into all-out war. In response, the ELCO PT ship in Hawaii was also dramatically pushed to war service.

However, these were still early versions with a 77ft hull and 457mm British length torpedoes. Regardless, ELCO's 77-foot PT boat was the first of its kind to see combat action in the war. A number of RON 1 ships were involved during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, with a total of 49 produced, designated PT-20 through PT-68. The U.S.

Navy used 39 and leased another 10 to Britain in 1942. The 77-foot version was manned by a crew of 10, including two officers, weighed 46 tons and had a speed of 42 knots with 3 x 1,200 hp engines installed.

Early in the war, reports of the sinking of Japanese warships were erroneously attributed to PT ships in action. However, they would demand their fair share of tonnage at the end of the war.

The construction of the ELCO hull revolves around the use of a "double diagonal" plank pattern of mahogany, along with glue and canvas. This allows for a relatively light yet strong hull design, further secured by traditional bolts and rivets.

The wooden construction provided relatively quick "on-the-spot" repairs for battle-damaged parts, and allowed the type to absorb significant penalties from regular use or direct combat action. Additionally, the unique hull design of PT boats sets them apart from other patrol types, as the bow begins with a sharply sculpted "V" at the bottom and evolves into a generally flat surface at the stern.

This method was not an evolution of the Navy as it was already widely used on yachts at the time. The hull also allows for shallow drafts, allowing the PT to handle waters that other warships cannot. Surprisingly, the ELCO ship survived the war without major changes to its original design, although the proposal was fruitless. A wide variety of camouflage schemes existed during service - from various blacks to blues, and from greens to greys.

Other color schemes were also tried, but never officially accepted for USN service, including a fancy black-and-white example of horizontal stripes designed to reduce the long-range contours of the eye-tracking.

As with any surface combatant, armament is the true core of the ELCO PT ship design and varies greatly depending on the needs of the war. As the war progressed, ELCO armor kits flourished and brought some pretty impressive outfits to the collection.

Standard armament includes torpedoes (four torpedoes mounted in pairs on the outer port and starboard tubes and fired at an angle away from the ship's centerline), transverse gun mounts (bow, mid or stern), general purpose and heavy machine guns (midship and offset to starboard or elsewhere) and mines and depth charges (on the stern distributor). The widely used torpedoes at the time were the Mark 8 class type, which was later replaced by the Mark 13 series. For close self-defense, the crew received two freely movable machine gun positions (turrets), each armed with 2 x .50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns (before Pearl Harbor, these were hydraulically operated turrets). ) and an optional .30 caliber Lewis machine gun can be mounted on the front. These can be used against lightly armored surface ships and low-flying aircraft.

Standardized large caliber armament includes the excellent Swedish 20mm Eerlikon series guns, with excellent fire range and inherently strong reliability. Depth charges (300lb or 600lb versions) can be used against enemy submarines or in pursuit of enemy surface ships (usually enemy destroyers), while mines can be dropped in a similar fashion.

A standalone "PT Gunboat" version appeared, these were ELCO boats, with the torpedo weapons removed and replaced by heavy surface guns.

Despite having such a powerful weapon, the value of PT boats far outweighed their offensive arrangements, as the series proved equally effective in laying mines to create dangerous floating minefields. These boats can also create their own smoke screens using generators mounted on the stern.

PT boats have also been used to rescue downed Navy pilots or other personnel and have been successfully used to evacuate desperate ground forces from collapsed beachheads. The specialized assignments of PT crews are the norm, and their value in "counter mine" operations is significant.

PT ships can also be used as specialized attacker or reconnaissance units.

The equipment of the PT boats soon exceeded the early standard equipment, and many boats were modified on the battlefield with a large number of impressive equipment arrangements. The ships were equipped with deck mortars and rocket launchers, as well as aircraft-type bolt-action and anti-field guns. 37mm M3/M9 automatic cannons (aircraft weapons or anti-tank gun versions from available Bell P-39 Airacobra stores) were used on the ELCO PT ships, later joined by the excellent 40mm Bofors guns.

When these temporary applications proved themselves in the field, the U.S. Navy immediately made them standard equipment. By the end of the war, the inherent firepower of PT boats was comparable to that of American destroyers.

A typical post-war ELCO PT can carry deck mortars, 8 5" rocket launchers, 40mm Bofors, 37mm, 2 x 20mm, 2 or 4 x 0.50 and 0.30 caliber machine gun torpedoes - a combination These are also quite a few in one boat. It cannot be ruled out that the PT ships were also found to be armed with weapons in the form of 23mm anti-tank guns captured from the Imperial Japanese Army.