Did PT-109 have radar?
It is important to note that even though many ships were equipped with radar by this time, PT-109 was not one of them, so Kennedy and his crew were steaming blind as they patrolled Blackett Strait.
Did PT boats have sonar?
PT's weren't designed for anti-sub warfare so as far as I know they didn't have sonar. They were equipped with radar, and couple that with their high speed & shallow draft they were very effective against supply barges.
What weapons were on PT boats?
PT (Patrol, Torpedo) boats were small, fast, and expendable vessels for short range oceanic scouting, armed with torpedoes and machine guns for cutting enemy supply lines and harassing enemy forces.
Did PT boats have anchors?
Anchor. -The anchor provided to PT boats are light weight (50 pounds) and are designed to have far greater holding power than the old style anchor. However, to get the highest holding power of the anchor you must pay out enough line to do the job.
Are any PT-109 survivors still alive?
Zinser, Motor Machinist's Mate 1/c (MM1) (Belleville, Illinois). Erroneously called "Gerald" in many publications, Zinser remained in the Navy for a career following the end of World War II, eventually retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. The last living survivor of PT-109, he died in Florida in 2001.
Did ww2 ships have radar?
This 200-MHz (1.5-m) system used a "flying bedspring" antenna and had a PPI. With 200-kW peak-power output, it could detect aircraft at ranges up to 100 miles, and ships at 30 miles. The SK remained the standard early-warning radar for large U.S. vessels throughout the war.
Do any PT boats still exist?
A few (one 80' Elco, one 72' Vosper, and three 78' Higgins) were cut up and destroyed between 1998 and 2008, leaving (a known) total of 12 PT boats, and 2 experimental PT boat hulls in various states of repair, surviving today in the U.S.: PT-48. PT-48 is possibly the last surviving 77-foot (23 m) Elco PT boat.
Was PT 73 a real PT boat?
The real PT-73 was a 78-foot Higgins boat assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 13, which saw service in the Aleutians and in the Southwest Pacific theater. On 15 January, 1945 it ran aground, and was destroyed to prevent it falling into enemy hands.
Is the story of PT-109 true?
On August 1, 1943, a Japanese destroyer rams an American PT (patrol torpedo) boat, No. 109, slicing it in two. The destruction is so massive other American PT boats in the area assume the crew is dead. Two crewmen were, in fact, killed, but 11 survived, including Lt.
Could a PT boat sink a battleship?
No capital ship was sunk in WW2 by a motor torpedo boat/PT boat but one Dreadnought Battleship was sunk by an Italian motor torpedo boat in WW1. SMS Svent Istavan of the Austro Hungarian Navy a Dreadnought of 21000 tons was torpedoed and sunk by the 30 ton torpedo boat MAS-15 the sinking was filmed.
Did a PT boat ever sink a submarine?
How many ships did PT boats sink in WW2? PT-59 (more on her later) is credited with sinking Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) submarine I-3 on December 9, 1942 near Guadalcanal. PT-37 and PT-40 sank destroyer IJN Teruzuki on the night of 11–12 December, barely three months after the Japanese had put her into service.
Did PT boats sink any Japanese ships?
Though few PTs sank major Japanese ships, they enjoyed more success in other operations, including reconnaissance and search and rescue. The boats often harassed and broke up Japanese barge traffic, earning the nickname “devil boats” among the enemy.
Was the PT-109 ever found?
The wreck of PT-109 was found by Robert Ballard in 2002 in 1,300 feet of water in Blackett Strait between Gizo and Kolombongara Islands in the Solomons, not far from where it was rammed by the Japanese destroyer IJN Amagiri at about 02:27 on August 2, 1943.
Were PT boats effective?
PT boats were able to challenge much larger capital ships, defend merchant shipping, attack convoys, perform scouting and reconnaissance missions, and infiltrate or exfiltrate small units and key leaders from enemy-controlled areas - all in the effort to contest sea control.
Did PT boats have beds?
Yes, they did. Below is a diagram of a typical PT boat. The right hand diagram shows the action stations of most of the crew while the left diagram is the interior of the boat showing the action stations of the radio operator and engineer. Note the rest beds for 4 crew and one for the skipper.
Was JFK on PT-109?
Kennedy, commander of the PT-109, led his crew members to a nearby set of islands. JFK swam miles in enemy waters to try to find help. Days later, he encountered two native coastwatchers who carried a message to the Allies.
How did PT-109 get rammed?
In the early hours on August 2, 1943, PT-109 was patrolling Blackett Strait, on the southern side of Kolombangara Island, when her starboard side was rammed, cut, and severely disabled by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri.
Can you buy a PT boat?
Specialized yacht brokers, dealers, and brokerages on YachtWorld have a diverse selection of PT models for sale, with listings spanning from 1979 year models to 1986.
Why didn t Japan have radar?
The primary reason the Japanese didn't have radar on their ships pre and early WW2 is because they were convinced that human eyes were more reliable and superior to a machine, They were wrong of course.
Did Russia have radar in WW2?
The Soviet Union also started working on radar during the 1930s. At the time of the German attack on their country in June 1941, the Soviets had developed several different types of radars and had in production an aircraft-detection radar that operated at 75 MHz (in the very-high-frequency [VHF] band).
Why did Japan not have radar?
Japanese inferiority in radar technology was the result of Japan's lack of depth in its technical base and of neglect by the military and naval leadership.
Did the Germans have PT boats?
The German torpedo boats of World War II were armed principally, if not exclusively, with torpedoes and varied widely in size. They were not small schnellboote (known to the Allies as E-boats) but small seagoing vessels, the larger of which were comparable to destroyers.
Were PT boats used in Europe?
Built in New Orleans by Higgins Industries, the patrol-torpedo (PT) boat PT-305 was a critical asset for the US Navy during World War II, serving in European waters from 1944 to the end ofthe war.
What replaced the PT boat?
Their role was replaced in the U.S. Navy by fast attack craft.
Were PT boats wooden?
One of the most notable types of wooden crafts was the PT or Motor Torpedo Boat. This small, fast craft would race at the enemy to launch torpedoes before making a hasty retreat. The complex curves of the boat's hull would have been very difficult to manufacture from steel.
Were PT boats used in Vietnam?
This is the inside story of Operation 34A and the Nasty Class PT Boats – and the crews that manned them during the Vietnam War. Most Americans consider that our involvement in the Vietnamese War began with the Tonkin Gulf incident.
Did PT boats have torpedoes?
The Higgins and Elco Boat companies built a majority of Unites States PT Boats. Designs varied, but these boats were generally 80' in length and carried a beam (width) of 20'. Typical armaments included four torpedoes and an assortment of 40 mm, 37 mm, 20 mm, and .
Where did PT-109 sink?
PT-59's legacy has long been overshadowed by the Kennedy's first wartime boat, PT-109. Sunk off the coast of the Solomon Islands in August 1943, the ship endures in popular imagination thanks to the then-25-year-old lieutenant's heroic efforts following the crash.
Where was PT-109 found?
Details. The wreckage of PT-109 was located in May 2002, when a National Geographic Society expedition, headed by Ballard, found a torpedo tube amongst wreckage that matched the description, and location, of Kennedy's vessel in the Solomon Islands.
How fast was PT-109?
Speed 41 kts. Propulsion: Three 3,600shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts. Lieutenant John F. Kennedy, USNR (standing at right) with other crewmen on board PT-109, 1943.
How fast could a PT boat go?
Wooden-hulled, 80 feet long with a 20-foot, 8-inch beam, the Elco PT boats had three 12-cylinder Packard gasoline engines generating a total of 4,500 horsepower for a designed speed of 41 knots. With accommodations for 3 officers and 14 men, the crew varied from 12 to 14.
Why do big ships don't sink?
A ship which has a large weight displace a large volume (thus large weight) of water. Hence the buoyancy force acting on the ship is much greater than the weight of the ship itself, making it to float on water. Thus ship do not sink in water.
How effective were PT boats in ww2?
PT Boats were arguably somewhat effective in the First World War era, actually sinking a couple of capital ships. By the Second World War they were utterly dependent on air cover to protect them since they had very limited anti aircraft capability and carried large quantities of gasoline.
What happened to PT-59?
PT-59 is not to be confused with PT-109. It was an 80-foot ship that Kennedy skippered after PT-109 sank. It was sold as surplus after the war and changed hands many times before it was abandoned and sank in the river's north cove.
What happens if a sailor dies on a submarine?
Even after the tide turned in the Pacific theater, PT boats were run hard and getting spares remained difficult. At the end of the war, with little need for all of them the determination was made that they were beyond economical repair. Those irreparable boats were destroyed as the best method of demilitarizing them.
What happened to all the PT boats after ww2?
Anchor. -The anchor provided to PT boats are light weight (50 pounds) and are designed to have far greater holding power than the old style anchor. However, to get the highest holding power of the anchor you must pay out enough line to do the job.
Did PT boats have anchors?
Nagato survived the battle, retreating to Japan to be refitted for coastal defense. She also escaped serious damage from an Allied air attack in July of 1945 and was the only Japanese battleship to survive the war.
Did any Japanese ships survive WWII?
The only remaining Imperial Japanese Navy battleship is the Mikasa, which was decommissioned before WW2 and became a memorial ship.
Do any WW2 Japanese ships still exist?
It is important to note that even though many ships were equipped with radar by this time, PT-109 was not one of them, so Kennedy and his crew were steaming blind as they patrolled Blackett Strait.
Did PT-109 have radar?
Zinser, Motor Machinist's Mate 1/c (MM1) (Belleville, Illinois). Erroneously called "Gerald" in many publications, Zinser remained in the Navy for a career following the end of World War II, eventually retiring as a Chief Petty Officer. The last living survivor of PT-109, he died in Florida in 2001.
Are any PT-109 survivors still alive?
Today, just four combat-veteran PT boats still exist in the United States; of those, only PT-305 is fully restored and operational, complete with original-model engines.
How many PT boats still exist?
With the exception of the experimental PT boats, all US PT boats were powered by three marine-modified derivations of the Packard 3A-2500 V-12 liquid-cooled, gasoline-fueled aircraft engine.
Were PT boats gas or diesel?
PT's weren't designed for anti-sub warfare so as far as I know they didn't have sonar. They were equipped with radar, and couple that with their high speed & shallow draft they were very effective against supply barges.
Did PT boats have sonar?
Most have been destroyed, sunk, scrapped, burned, rotted. But 12 are known to have survived with 2 more experimental hull in various states of repair in the US. PT-48, PT-305, PT-309, PT-459, PT-486, PT-615, PT-617, PT-657, PT-658, PT-724, PT-728, PT-766, PT-796 and experimental boat PT-3 and PT-8.
Are there any surviving PT boats?
There is a comfortable, open air, relatively private, small space between the torpedo and the depth charges located on either side of the boat at the rear of the boat that is used as the bathroom.
Did PT boats have bathroom?
By war's end, the American units' boats had fired 354 torpedoes and claimed to have sunk 38 vessels totaling 23,700 tons.
How many ships sunk by PT boats?
On August 1, 1943, a Japanese destroyer rams an American PT (patrol torpedo) boat, No. 109, slicing it in two. The destruction is so massive other American PT boats in the area assume the crew is dead. Two crewmen were, in fact, killed, but 11 survived, including Lt.
Is the PT-109 story true?
Now, Bob Ballard — the man who located the Titanic — has discovered the remains of PT 109, 1,200 feet down on the bottom of the Pacific. Leading an expedition funded by the National Geographic Society, Ballard, who grew up on Cape Cod where Kennedy often vacationed, found an old torpedo and its rusted launching tube.
Was PT-109 ever found?
Though few PTs sank major Japanese ships, they enjoyed more success in other operations, including reconnaissance and search and rescue. The boats often harassed and broke up Japanese barge traffic, earning the nickname “devil boats” among the enemy.
Did PT boats sink any Japanese ships?
John Kennedy's PT boat was cut in two by a Japanese warship. More than 1,000 people were part of the overflow crowd at the PT Boat Museum in Fall River's Battleship Cove to honor the two men who died during the PT-109 incident and all other crewmen of PT boats who didn't survive the war.
How many died on PT-109?
The real PT-73 was a 78-foot Higgins boat assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 13, which saw service in the Aleutians and in the Southwest Pacific theater. On 15 January, 1945 it ran aground, and was destroyed to prevent it falling into enemy hands.
Was the PT 73 a real PT boat?
The speed/ course of the launching ship was inputted into a mechanical computer, the probably speed/course of the target would also be entered and then settings for the gyroscopes would be generated and set for the torpedo. Usually, they would fire a salvo of torpedoes in case the target turned and to ensure a hit.
How did PT boats fire torpedoes?
In 1939 Germany possessed some of the worlds best and most enduring radar designs, as well as essential navigation and bombing aids. Englands Chain Home radar was a dead end technology with serious shortcomings, but was skillfully melded to an innovative command and control system.
Who had the best radar in WW2?
The Soviet Union also started working on radar during the 1930s. At the time of the German attack on their country in June 1941, the Soviets had developed several different types of radars and had in production an aircraft-detection radar that operated at 75 MHz (in the very-high-frequency [VHF] band).
Did Russia have radar in WW2?
Did Japanese ships have radar in WW2?
Did ww2 submarines have radar?
Why didn t Japan have radar in WW2?
Did the Soviets have radar in ww2?
Did Russia have radar in ww2?
The first prototype SJ was deployed in December 1941, but it was mid-1942 before they became common equipment. SJ radar was on all submarines by early 1943. The SJ was the second type of radar deployed on submarines during the war, representing a substantial improvement over the previous SD radar.
Is PT-109 movie accurate?
Although the RUS-2 and its derivatives were the most successful early warning radars designed by the Soviets during the Second World War, they were not the only ones to see service use. A number of unique proto- type radars were used, mainly in the Moscow and Leningrad region.