National PT Boat Memorial and Museum

08/17/2024

Crew of a USN PT Boat firing at Japanese positions on Biak - August 17, 1944

Note the bow mounted 20mm and improvised twin .50 cal MG mount.

NARA 80-G-256496 and thanks to our friends at World War Pictures for sending to us!

07/08/2024

Greetings all.
This is going to be the last push to raise funds for the PT 796 shelter replacement. I’m going to shut down the GOFUNDME page at the end of July. We have had some donation and I thank all of you that have donated. But I know we can do better. There is still time for the rest of you to jump on the bandwagon. As I mentioned before, if 1000 people donated $10, that is $10,000. Now is the time to show your support for this worthy cause.
You can donate two ways.
1. Through GoFundMe at https://gofund.me/0b6bd082
2. Directly send check to:
PT Boats Inc
PO Box 38005
Germantown, TN 38183-005
Thank-you in advance for your support.

Charlie Jones
President
PT Boats, Inc

04/05/2024

The Quonset hut that housed the Higgins PT Boat, PT-796, at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts was first damaged by falling shipping containers from the pier next door and heavy storms and snows further damaged the hut pushing it to the brink of collapse.
The hut was taken down so that it wouldn’t collapse and crush the boat. Unfortunately, because of the asbestos insulation, it cost twice as much to take down as anticipated and what the insurance paid.
We need to put shelter up to protect the boat and reopen it for visitors to see. We are in the process of erecting a steel framed fabric covered structure of the same type used by industry and military for many years. Battleship Cove erected one last year to house their Vietnam era Helos. Our plan is to have the structure up this summer.
The structure may cost between $150,000 and $200,000. As such, we are starting a fund raising campaign to help offset the costs. This is a joint venture between PT Boats, Inc and Battleship Cove. We need to protect this valuable artifact from the weather and to be able to open it so the public can see this boat. This boat was used in President Kennedy’s Inaugural parade painted as PT 109. Please donate as much as you can to help protect this valuable historic boat.

https://gofund.me/0b6bd082

Thank you.
Charlie Jones
President
PT Boats, Inc.

The Quonset hut that housed the Higgins PT Boat, PT-796, at Battleship Cove in Fall River… Charles Jones needs your support for PT 796 Quonset Hut replacement

06/28/2023

New Historic Film Footage:

PT Boats PT-167 and PT-174 Operating off Rendova, Solomon Islands in 1944

PT Boats PT-167 and PT-174 Operating off Rendova, Solomon Islands in 1944To support BIG MAMIE and Battleship Cove, please follow us on Social Media and cons...

03/11/2022

11 March 1942:

Lt John Bulkeley , Commander of Motor Torpedo Boat 3, supports the escape from the Philippines of General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and staff to Australia. General Douglas MacArthur and members of his family and staff left the Philippine island of Corregidor which was surrounded by the Japanese. They traveled in PT boats through stormy seas patrolled by Japanese warships and reached Mindanao two days later.

Buckeley, on PT-41, had General Douglas MacArthur, Jean MacArthur, Arthur MacArthur IV, Ah Cheu, Major General Richard K. Sutherland, Captain Herbert J. Ray, Lieutenant Colonel Sidney L. Huff, and Major Charles H. Morhous as passengers.

PTs 33, 34, and 35 carried the remaining staff.

The staff that MacArthur brought with him from Corregidor formed the nucleus of General Headquarters (GHQ) Southwest Pacific Area (SWPA). MacArthur eventually kept his promise, and returned to the Philippines.

Symbolically, They returned to Corregidor in March 1945 on four PT boats.

03/03/2022

PT's know how to make waves! Check out the tracks of this Motor Torpedo Boat at high speed.

02/20/2022

02/14/2022

Light conversation on the stern of a PT at high speed near Calvertville, the Tulagi PT base.

Photo: Life Photograph of April 1943 by Photographer Scherschel

02/09/2022

Elco PT-124 believed to be at Calvertville, the Tulagi PT base.

Photo: Life Photograph of April 1943 by Photographer Scherschel

02/05/2022

Elco PT-361 leading another PT Boat and other vessels into Manila Harbor - March 1945

LIFE Magazine Archives - Carl Mydans Photographer

Thanks to our friend Peter DeForest for his work to detail Life Magazine images for our use.

01/27/2022

Calvertville, the Tulagi PT base, named for Commander Allen P. Calvert, Commander Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla I.

Photo: Life Photograph of April 1943 by Photographer Scherschel

01/26/2022

PT-374 in Manila Harbor - March 1945

PT-374 was built by ELCO and launched in July 1943, assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 27 (PTR0n 27), her nickname was "Torpedo Truk"

PT-374 was in action several times in the South Pacific, placed out of service in October 1945, sold in 1946, her final fate is unknown

LIFE Magazine Archives - Carl Mydans Photographer

01/17/2022

Our latest film from the archives is closer to home for us at the museum.

This film shows our Higgins PT-796 dressed up as PT-109 during President John F. Kennedy's Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 1961. Survivors of PT-109 and their families were present and aboard PT-796 in the parade to surprise President Kennedy. He was very happy to see them all.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4b2B2ULI800

Higgins PT 796 dressed up as PT 109 during President John F Kennedy's Presidential Inauguration on January 20, 1961. Survivors of PT-109 and their families...

01/11/2022

78' Higgins PT Boat PT-74 under construction as seen in August 1942. Photo by Higgins Industries.

01/03/2022

Another great PT Film from our archives!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c4FHgFHAT4U

United Newsreel: PT Boat Maneuvers Off Panana CanalTo support BIG MAMIE and Battleship Cove, please follow us on Social Media and consider donating to our ef...

12/27/2021

National PT Memorial Series:

27 December 1943:

PT-190 (Lt(jg) Edward I. Farley) with PT-191 (Ensign Ewing) departed Dreger Harbor PT Boat Base after a night looking for Japanese barges of the coast of West New Britain. Returning from the patrol, 25 miles northwest of Arawe, the boats were attacked by an overwhelming formation of 15 Val dive bombers escorted by an estimated 38 Zeros that were originally on a mission to Cape Gloucester but due to bad weather diverted to Arawe.

Spotting the pair of PT Boats, the Japanese aircraft attacked. Immediately, the PT Boats called for fighter cover, but had difficulty transmitting the message, and it was 40 minutes before a flight of P-47's arrived from Finschhafen. To evade the attacks, the pair split up and began evasive zig-zagging and attempted to reach cloud cover 12 miles away.

The 191 boat took the heaviest part of the attack. Ensign Ewing was wounded in the lung early in the action, and his second officer, Ens. Fred Calhoun, USNR, took charge of the boat. Himself hit in the thigh by a machine-gun bullet, Calhoun stuck to the wheel, watching each bomb drop and twisting the PT out of its path. Bomb fragments ricocheted from the 20mm. magazine, putting the gun out of action and severely wounding Thomas H. Dean, CMoMM, USNR, the gunner, and August Sciutto, MoMM2c, the loader. Other near-misses blew an 18-inch hole in the portside and peppered the entire boat with fragments.

On the third and fourth run, the port and starboard engine water jackets were hit, and jets of hot water spurted through the engineroom. The starboard intake manifold also was hit, and the supercharger forced gasoline fumes into the engineroom. Victor A. Bloom, MoMM1c, USNR, despite bomb splinters and bullets, fumes and spraying hot water, swiftly taped and stuffed the leaks, keeping the engines running. Then, fearing that the fumes might explode, he closed off the fuel tank compartment and pulled the release valve to smother it with carbon dioxide. Finally, when he had brought order to his engineroom, he went to work to give first aid to the wounded.

The action was far from one sided, however. The gunners on both boats met every attacking plane with a withering blast of fire. Four Japanese planes crashed into the sea near the boats. "Toward the end of the attack," Lieutenant Farley of the 190 boat reported, "the enemy became more and more inaccurate and less willing to close us. It is possible that we may have knocked down the squadron leader as the planes milled about in considerable confusion, as if lacking leadership."

The remaining planes were routed by our P-47's, which shot down at least one more of the enemy. One P-47, hit by an enemy plane, made a belly landing half a mile from the 190. The pilot, though badly cut in the head and wounded in the arm, freed himself just before his plane sank. The 190 sped to him, and crewmembers dove into the water and towed him to the PT.

The 190 was undamaged. The 191, thanks to the accuracy of her gunners, the skillful boat handling of Ensign Calhoun, and the remarkable performance of Bloom, was able to return to base under her own power.

"This action," Commander Mumma reported, "is believed to be one of the outstanding fights between PT boats and aircraft. It has shown that the automatic weapon armament is most effective. It has demonstrated that ably handled PT's can in daylight withstand heavy air attack, however not without disabling damage."

12/21/2021

Our latest film from the archives
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Carosk5eums

Views of PT Boat activities and a night action off New Guinea in 1943.To support BIG MAMIE and Battleship Cove, please follow us on Social Media and consider...

12/16/2021

Which way am I going? Elco photo of PT-170

12/09/2021

9 December 1942

Lt. (j.g.) John M. Searles USNR, in the PT-59, patrolling with PT-44 at Kamimbo Bay, sighted an enemy barge. As the PT-boats opened fire on the barge, Searles saw a surfaced submarine. He quickly fired two torpedoes, one of which struck it amidships. A geyser of water spouted high in the air, followed by tremendous explosions and a huge oil slick that spread for an hour and a half. The second torpedo passes under the PT-44.

It was confirmed that Searles had sunk the submarine I-3, a vessel 320 feet long, of 1,955 tons standard surface displacement. LTJG Searles was awarded the Navy Cross for this action.

Later in September of 1943, PT-59 would be commanded by Lt. (j.g.) John F. Kennedy as his second combat boat.

The remains of PT-59 are on display at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA

12/02/2021

11/24/2021

May all of you have a Happy Thanksgiving!

06/18/2020

HNNow

We are proud to preserve the major remains PT-59 as part of the National PT Boat Museum.

“We’re trying to do something positive,” said Rich Angelini, vice-president of the board at Battleship Cove. “They (NYC MTA) contacted us and said, ‘We think you guys would benefit most’” from the PT-59 remnants.

06/18/2020

Our Higgins PT-796 nicknamed Tail Ender due to her being the last of the type to be constructed is all smiles.

06/18/2020

Battleship Cove

We have shared some information about our efforts to recover the major remaining pieces of 77' Elco PT-59. However, we feel some of the information below would be helpful for our supporters.

1. PT-59 was the second boat of President John F. Kennedy in WW2 and he commanded 59 after the loss of PT-109. JFK saw combat aboard PT-59 including attacking Japanese barges trying to reinforce their forces and rescuing US Marines stranded under heavy Japanese gunfire on Choiseul Island.

Even before JFK even saw PT-59, 59 was heavily involved in combat in the South Pacific as one of the first boats on station and she sank Japanese submarine , I-3. As you can see, PT-59 was quite the boat!

2. Eventually Navy and local paperwork show that 59 was sold a few times and eventually left to sink. Because the 59 was thought to be the former PT-95, a 78-foot Huckins PT boat of very different design, no efforts were made to save or salvage her. The actual PT-95 had been destroyed in Newport, Rhode Island, after her services were no longer needed, in September 1945. When the actual identity of the fishing boat was discovered, James "Boat" Newberry, founder of PT Boats Inc., attempted to obtain her; however, her ownership was tangled up in NYC probate court. After an unexpected fire, the boat sunk at its mooring, beside the 207th St. Bridge over the Harlem River, around 1976.

3. Battleship Cove was contacted by NY MTA regarding the possible salvaging of a PT boat. We sent a team of volunteers to identify and remove items from PT-59s remains to save as much as we could for display and preservation in our extensive PT Boat exhibit. For the most part, all that remained of PT-59 in 2020 was the very lower portions of the engine room and lazarette areas. Some of the wood even at this lower level presents burn marks from the fire.

The enclosed circle in red shows the main sections of the boat that we have recovered for preservation. It is only a small section of the 77' boat but also a original section as she was built. We are still working this project with more hull section recovery planned.

We feel this completely volunteer led project is worthwhile. To save historic items from a very early combat veteran PT Boat is of great importance. Add to it that President JFK turned the helm to move the rudders and shafts that are being recovered is a bonus for history.

06/18/2020

National PT Boat Memorial and Museum

06/18/2020

National PT Boat Memorial and Museum's cover photo