Higgins PT Boat (Patrol Torpedo)

Higgins PT Ship History (Patrol Torpedoes)

The American side of the PT ("Patrol Torpedo") ship battles in WWII, mainly because of the exploits of those who ruled their ELCO PT system against the mighty Japanese naval ships. However, the US Navy has two main designs as their standard PT ships, which include the ELCO 80ft and Higgins 78ft.

While ELCOs represent the bulk of the PT ships produced for the U.S. Navy -- 326 in service -- New Orleans-based Higgins Industries is a close second with a total of 199.

A third manufacturer - Harkens Yachting - manages just 18, and these are mostly used for crew training and active patrolling in Hawaiian waters or around the Panar Canal Zone - never in combat like their sisters appeared. As a result, ELCO and Higgins ships bear the brunt of PT ship battles wherever they are needed - and they operate all over the world - from the Mediterranean to the English Channel and across the Pacific.

The PT boat is a unique combat boat designed to counter large ships with firepower and speed. The main weapon is her torpedo, which can be fired from a distance. Cannon, rocket, mortar or machine gun attacks can then be carried out as needed. Their shallow draft allows them to reach places that other larger, deeper warships cannot.

Also, these smaller ships are harder to spot on the horizon and against the backdrop of the deep blue sea. PT boats - built from wood - have great firepower and are generally much cheaper to build than their larger steel siblings.

The U.S. Navy did not deploy PT squadrons prior to the U.S. involvement in WWII. It was not until the late 1930s that the USN launched an initiative to select a special PT boat design and began working with the ELCO. The resulting design was adequate, but lacked most of the US Navy's requirements for its official PT squadron. Both Higgins and Huckins are already working on their own designs, but these are private businesses crafted with each company's own resources.

The U.S. Navy then responded with an open competition to select the new PT ships it needed. Seven boats were reported, three of which were from Higgins - one 70ft, one 76ft and one 81ft.

The competition will test all of these ships off the coast of New London in one week in July 1941 and will include the all-important test of high seas sailing capabilities. Although the PT boat was constructed of mahogany, the event went down in history as the "Plywood Derby".

Finally, USN is sold on board all three manufacturers (ELCO, Higgins, and Huckins), providing defense contracts for all three. The selected Higgins design became an 82.5' formwork (based on the Sparkman & Stevens design) that was eventually shortened to 78' at USN's request, and was no less than three PT-71, PT-235 and PT-625 grade. What's notable about Higgins' design is that it retains the same engine, internal working parts, cabin space, displacement and beams as her ELCO sister.

In fact, all American PT ships in the war were powered by the same Packard 2500 series 3 x 12 cylinder gasoline engines, which were progressively improved from the original 3M-2500 to the 4M-2500 and finally the 5M-2500. The engines are reminiscent of the Liberty bombers of the U.S. Army, but of course also modified for Navy service.

Early Higgins ships were sent overseas to fulfill Lend-Lease obligations to Britain and the Soviet Union. As such, the ELCO was the primary PT ship in the early American wars.

All selected PT boat designs will also use the same armament, which includes providing 4 x 533mm torpedo launchers and 4 x .50 caliber Browning heavy machine guns for defense - the latter armament is two separate , Outdoor, trainable twin mounts (turrets) mounted on both sides of the cockpit superstructure. Under ideal conditions, top speed is around 40 knots, although this is largely controlled by the environment. A typical 1943 Higgins crew consists of 11 personnel, including 2 officers.

By 1945, this had grown to a staff of 17, including 3 officers. The 1943 Higgins boat was equipped with 3 x 1,350 hp engines and a displacement of 43 tons. Until 1945, the series was divided into 3 x 1,500 hp engines and 48 ton displacement.

Notably, the boat's top speed remains at 40 knots, with all other measurements remaining the same. Surprisingly, the Higgins and ELCO boat lines did not undergo any major changes throughout the war - a testament to their excellent original design.

The U.S. Navy ordered 24 78-foot Higgins for immediate use and commissioned in late 1942. However, the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, plunged the U.S. Navy into open war in early 1942only the ELCO ships remained the earliest PT participants.

Twenty-four Higgins ships were converted into two squadrons, although some early production ships were sent overseas - six to the Royal Navy and four to the Soviet Navy.

In terms of design, the Higgins boat adopts a more traditional look and layout. Higgins boats are often confused with the ELCO and Huckins boats with which they compete and operate, and feature a cockpit superstructure very forward, aft of a short forecastle. Weapons are located on the starboard, midship and stern of the cockpit structure.

Four torpedo tubes were placed along the sides of the ship and sloped outward from the centerline of the ship. A small liferaft was carried forward of the cockpit and moved to port. Various hatches allow crew access from almost any area of ??the upper deck.

Like their ELCO brethren, the Higgins' weapons are always being modified "in the field" according to mission requirements - even standard US Navy weapons have been modified as a result of the success of the makeshift weapons arrangement.

The

Higgins PT crew's first combat action in the United States took place near Alaska in the oft-forgotten battle of the Battle of the Aleutian Islands. Japan invaded the island chain to divert the attention of the U.S.

Navy from Midway, but U.S. code-breaking skills suggest the move was little more than a strategic trick. As a result, the operation to retake the islands received little attention, and a joint Canadian-US military operation eventually took back control of the island chain from Japan - albeit at an inexcusable loss of life and equipment in the process a part of. world.

Other Higgins crews operated their 78-foot ships in the Mediterranean, which proved very effective in controlling waterways vital to the Axis. Supply lines from southern Europe to North Africa were vital to the success of the Axis powers on the continent, and Allied control of these waterways would come into play if Allied forces recaptured these strategic areas on the way to a final assault on Italy and Germany Equally important is the role correct. The main adversaries in these waters are the German Navy's E-Boot and S-Boot class ships, which are built in a similar range. The Higgins ship was also active in northern France on the morning of the Allied invasion on D-Day.

These ships were used to protect potential German naval presences from landing forces and provide adequate protection for the entirety of amphibious operations.

In the Pacific, however, the Higgins and ELCO PT ships left their legacy - especially in the battles that made up the Solomon Islands and Philippines campaigns. The PT ships proved successful in containing the remaining enemy forces cut off from the main force. Furthermore, the night raids proved that the PT ships were a ferocious adversary, so the Japanese considered them to be torpedo-firing monsters that could even threaten their capital-class ships. Due to the shallow draft, PT ships can also use Japanese shallow draft barges on a large scale or support Allied amphibious landings or beach evacuations.

PT ships excel in a variety of other mission types, including reconnaissance, surveillance, raids, harassment, minelaying, mine clearance, and laying smoke screens.

Later in the war, the variable nature of PT ship armament normalized firepower to consist of a bow-mounted 20mm Oerlikon gun and a stern-mounted 40mm Bofors gun. Defense is provided by up to 5 x .50 caliber Browning air-cooled heavy machine guns. Some ships abandoned torpedo weapons in favor of more surface guns, rocket launchers, deck mortars, etc., and became dedicated "gunboats".

Surprisingly, the firepower of the PT ships late in the war was comparable to the larger and heavier steel-hulled USN destroyers.

Like ELCO boats, Higgins boats are beautifully crafted machines, built around "double mahogany" planks, fastened with glue, canvas, rivets and screws. This resulted in a fairly light but strong vessel that could both provide great firepower and maintain excellent open water speeds. Additionally, the hulls of American PT boats are designed to facilitate a fairly shallow draft, starting with a traditional cut-off "V" at the bow and ending with a shallow bottom near the stern.

The use of wood along the longer sections of the hull surface also ensures that the type is resilient if damaged in combat or rough seas, and also makes field repairs relatively easy.

The greatest threat to the Higgins and all other PT ships lies in the enemy's skilled use of seaplanes and destroyers. Seaplanes have excellent vantage points for precision attacks using depth charges and conventionally dropped bombs, while Higgins boats must defend themselves at dangerous close quarters with machine gun weapons. Destroyers can track torpedo boats to some extent and launch devastating cannon salvos, or even attack with their own torpedoes.

Regardless, the training of the Higgins crew and the skills of their PT boat could mean the difference between life and death in minutes (as JF Kennedy reports on the dire situation on this PT-109 ELCO boat).

As previously stated, 199 Higgins 78ft ships were eventually built, including designations PT-71 to PT-94, PT-197 to PT-254, PT-265 to PT-313, PT-450 to PT-485, PT-564 and PT-625 to PT-660. The PT-564 was a purely experimental development, while the PT-657 to PT-660 were cancelled at the end of the war in September 1945. The U.S.

Navy alone used 146, while the Soviet Union used 46. Seven were given to the Royal Navy.

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