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A message from the UK. My father served in the Royal Navy during WW2 and in particular LCAs (landing craft assault). He did commando raids, was at Dieppe as well as Operations Torch and Husky. He said that the LCAs with Packard engines were not as reliable as those fitted with Rolls Royce. It may have been national bias or experience; both packards in his LCA failed at Dieppe at a crucial moment!

The burning question I have is who was the SOB that okayed the Torpedoes that failed so many times in WW2. Whoever that was needs to be identified and vilified as many men would have made it out alive had they worked well! I grew up during JFKs time and the thrilling saga of PT109.

Love the scenes of building the boats

I wish someone would mention about the Pacard Diesels. V16 used on US NAVY MINE SWEEPERS MSO’s. Aluminum block.

My grandfather was on the USS Southard. Never heard of her? There was a book and movie based on her and her exploits. The book was written by Herman Wouk and the movie stared Humphrey Bogart. It was called The Cain Mutiny. Like PT73 it's fiction based on fact.

And not a single bathroom on board!

Hi Les, great video! I am a crew on PT658 here in Portland OR. The purpose of the 5M-2500 engine aftercooler was placed on the engine in order to boost the horsepower up to 1850hp. Coupled with the larger diameter of the supercharger wheel and the higher speed of the supercharger give the increase in horsepower. The 4M-2500 has only 1500hp by comparison. One interesting problem that we have discovered with these engines is that we have inadvertently "snapped" 4 of these supercharger drive shafts. They are 1 inch diameter hardened steel splined shafts. What we found out was that when you either slow down or speed up the engine too quickly, the momentum of the supercharger in relation to the crankshaft is too high and the shaft can break very easily. So our new operating method is to slowly accelerate or decelerate when we go fast. We are taking the boat out here on 5-6-7 June 2024 for Portland Rose Festival Fleet Week, so it should be a lot of fun! All of your PT Boat related videos are very well researched and I am a fan. Thanks for these series of excellent videos! Jerry

I purchassd an old mitsubishi it says i have a 4dr5 engin tho i have a turbo alrady there.. how doni know if its the 4dr5t?

Good engine

I've been on small craft along the SE of Alaska many times in the late 60s. It was considered foolish to run anything short of a proven trawler west of Cook Inlet and insane west of Kodiak. These were some stout naval men.

Elco, Huckins and Higgins all used different hull bottom shapes and Elco in particular modified their hulls as the war progressed. They did not reproduce the Scott Paine boat shape. Moreover, these types of hulls had been made in the U.S. particularly since before the first world war. William Hand Jr. was very well known for them as was George Crouch and John Hacker among others These men, particularly William Hand heavily influenced planing powerboat development in Britain in the early pre first world war period. Hand was considered the progenitor of the planing V-bottom. Huckins made fast planing cruisers throughout the 30's with what they called a Quadraconic hull. To this day I think Huckins would have won if they used only three engines and had strengthened their hull more. They no doubt had the softest ride. But four engines is more trouble and expense and likely weight than the three larger engines. By the way the turning radius was tightest with boats that had two rudders versus three, one for each engine. Huckins used only two rudders for the four engines. Higgins also used two rudders versus three, and Elco used three, thus their poorer turning radius. There were companies in the U.S. that DID build the British MTB to exact specifications, however. But these were made for the Royal Navy by American companies during WWII. Among them were Ventnor of New Jersey, a yard in Annapolis, Maryland, and one in San Diego, California. C.P. Leek of New Jersey among others also made 75 ft sub chasers for the Royal Navy as well as other American Companies.

Do these come with locking differentials?

I spent some time in the engine space aboard PT-658 while underway. It was every bit as awe inspiring as you could imagine. The throttle plates were just barely cracked open, as we were only doing about 15 knots. Conversation in the engine space was impossible, we just stood there with big stupid grins on our faces.

Was awesome. Living on a small boat.

I enjoyed your entire series. My wife is from Dumaguette, so I have been to several WWII sites there, including the trees in town where the Japanese executed many locals. My father-in-law and his gang of local kids used to sneak into the Japanese camp to steal rice and other rations. Interestingly, a relative of a friend of mine here in California was one of the 11 suvivors from the fire trenches at Puerto Princesa, last name Pacheco.

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Everyone knows MacArthur pulled his forces out too late, he got out, 20,000 left behind to suffer in Japanese marches and death camps. That's why i liked the navy , command goes down with his ship.

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Unfortunate fantastic war history **** four star

The incident changed the outcome of Formosa history forever. Sequalo TV series has vivid descriptions.

Read The Expendable by John Floyd. It’s the story of a USN Independent Duty Corpsman serving in this squadron. Compelling reading.

Thank you for posting such an interesting and historical video. This is the best posting I have seen of the PT boats. PT-109 and Cliff Roberson was great Hollywood but this is the brutal reality. What a tribute to the men serving in the Aleutian Theater.

Interesting point that PT6 was said to have 2 Allison 2,000 hp engines....they were the V24 twin V1710 engines, that was being developed but a draw back was they had no transmission for reverse !!!

My dad was a WW2 PT Boat machinist in the Pacific. He served in the same squadron as Kennedy. The most hazardous naval duty in the war. He had three boats he served on sunk. On one, he was the only survivor. Needless to say, he suffered with PTSD. PT boaters are all heroes.

When I was a young boy in the late 60s early 70s they had old PT boats in NJ that they would give you rides on, very fast and you would be drenched after you were done!

The Monkeys have no tail in Zamboanga..... i know that song well my Father was there MBS 611.... and taught me that song....Semper Fi Dad..........

I was a commercial fisherman. Years earlier an older friend bought a PT right after the war for tuna jig fishing. When he first got the boat he put a few hundred gallons in the tanks and went joy riding with family and friends. In a few hours the engines started missing and then stopping. The Coast Guard towed him back. One of the coasties had been on PTs during the war and told him the engines burned 50 gallons per hour per engine at speed. He pulled the gas engines and put in 3 war surplus Detroit Diesels.

I knew a retired Colonel who was MacArthur' s communication officer. He had nothing complimentary about " Dugout Doug MacArthur".

With all 3 at wfo 500 gallons an hour

Hollywood did "make a movie about" PT Boats. It starred John Wayne and Robert Montgomery (Elizabeth's dad, he got top billing), called They Were Expendable, released in 1945, 3 1/2 months after the end of the war. The film was based on the 1942 book by William Lindsay White, based on the exploits of John D Bulkeley, a MoH winner and PT Boat Squadron Three commander, and his exec, Robert Kelly. Montgomery would go on to be one of only two major Hollywood stars who would "name names" in the "Blacklist" hearings. The other was Ronnie Reagan.

45 degree V12. A little odd choice for interbank angle - 60 or 120 degrees would be more ideal for balanced running. The Merlin had 60 degrees. Also, the V10s used in F1 in the 2000s had a 72 degree angle and most auto V8s are 90 degrees.

Why does every PT boat story always use clips from They were Expendable?

My father worked at Packard machining harmonic balancers for these engines before he went into the Army in WWII.

OUTSTANDING video, but dude, at 10:35 "you can see from the service manual... " flashes service manual for 1 (one) second. xD

The only thing that ever stopped a P12 was a fueling station

Fabulous history lesson and film clips ! Thank you !

very one sided view of the PT boat development, just like all the other films on this subject brushes aside the real story like it did not happen. just another arse kissing exercise.

Probably can get a yamaha outboard motor that makes more power than that😂

My uncle Mike served on the USS Canopus in the late 60's early70's in Bremerton for refit.

This stuff tickles my fancy way cool I'm 43 and I just love this knowledge!!!!

I have a little semi- inside information. Many of the Rolls-Royce/Packard Merlin aircraft engines were built by the GM. Chevrolet engine plant in Flint. My grandfather was a machinist turned inspector. When the Packard inspectors visited they were astonished by how fast and accurate Chevy was. They got better piston - cylinder interchabilityvthan Packard could. Even though Chevrolet was a cheep production line car and Packard a hand made luxury car. My grandfather told them that that was why. Packard could afford to hand fit each piston and cylinder so there was very little interchangability. Chevrolet had less margin and couldn't afford to hand fit that many cylinders. The machininy had to be much more precise to keep down costs. There was a secret assembly line hidden between two other lines at the Flint plant. No one not working on it or supervising it knew what it made. Rumer said Norden bomb sights but my Grandfather never knew and either will I.

"Ask the man who owns one."

Interesting. In my younger years as a Sea Scout, we had a 1942 Chris Craft Army J boat. At 42 feet, she had anti-aircraft guns on the fore and aft decks. Supposedly, the motor was a left-over Liberty V-12, and after watching this video, I wonder if it was actually a Packard. The semi-planning hull boat was stationed in San Francisco Bay, had six 220-gallon gas tanks, a 23-inch left hand propeller, twin water-cooled brass exhausts tubes, and accommodated 12 sailors. By the time I was affiliated with it, four gas tanks were removed, the motor replaced with a Detroit Diesel 6-71 with a battle governor, and one of the exhaust tubes plugged though still remained. Even with its diesel and 120 mm injectors, she was quite a fast 8-ton boat in Humboldt Bay where she remained until rotted to the point of destruction. I miss those days growing up on the water!