PT-305, Restoration Under Way

USS PT-105 running at high speed, during
exercises off the U.S. east coast, with
other units of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron
Five, 12 July 1942.
www.history.navy.mil/photos/sh-usn/usnsh-p/pt105.htm

Okay, everybody knows what a PT boat is, right? You did see the movie "PT-109" with Cliff Robertson, yes? Or certainly "They Were Expendable" with John Wayne? If not go get those classic movies today. The "PT" stands for "Patrol Torpedo." Pretty straightforward, it's a patrol boat that is armed with torpedoes. The PT boats were designed similar to pre-WWII motor racing boats, so they were fast. But they were made out of wood, so they were vulnerable. PT boats were used in every theater of WWII, but are particularly well known for their work in the Pacific.

An article in the Times-Picayune came up on my radar this morning about the project to restore PT-305 at the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. Apparently this project has been ongoing for more than a year. The article has a great video embedded that is certainly worth viewing. The dedication of the skilled volunteers who are putting in their time and effort to extend the life of this boat is amazing. I was so impressed by the article, that I wanted to know more. I found a video on YouTube that has some shots of the boat when it was brought it to the museum. Contrast that image with the shots in the video in the Times article. Those volunteers have come a long way in a year.

PT-305 has basically been in service since it was built at the Higgins Industries shipyard in New Orleans in 1943. The video gives the boats service history, so rather than tell you, I thought it would be easier to just show you:


An amazing project, isn't it? Of course, PT-305 is not the last or only PT boat to be restored. The restoration of PT-658 has already been completed in Portland, Oregon. But once the boats are brought back to their original condition, they have to be maintained, hence there will always be a need for volunteers and donations. Help save our history where you can, when you can, and however you can.

In The News: Wreck of German Submarine Found off Massachusetts

I've been doing some reading on U.S. Navy destroyers in WWII recently. So when I saw this item come up in the news, it really got my attention.  Marine archaeologists recently found the German submarine U-550 on the bottom of the Atlantic ocean, about 70 miles south of Nantucket Island.

On April 16, 1944, while on its first deployment, U-550 attacked the tanker ship SS Pan-Pennsylvania. The Pan-Pennsylvania was at that time the largest tanker in the world, carrying a cargo of 140,000 barrels of aviation gasoline. The tanker had fallen behind the rest of her convoy that was making its way from New York to Great Britain, making her an inviting target. The torpedo attack set the cargo on fire, killed 25 of the Pan-Pennsylvania's  crew of 81, and eventually sink the huge tanker.  While the escort destroyers USS Joyce (DE-317), USS Gandy (DE-764), and USS Peterson (DE-152) went to work rescuing the surviving crew, U-550 hid under the mayhem.

As the Joyce was about to withdraw, the German submarine moved from its hiding place and was picked up by sonar above.  Joyce laid a spread of 13 depth charges that drove U-550 to the surface. The crew of the U-boat meant to fight it out and began to fire its deck gun at the American ships.  All three escort destroyers returned fire, with Gandy moving to ram the soft target of U-550's conning tower. The German sub's attempt to move out of the way caused Gandy to strike about 30 feet from the stern. Meanwhile, Peterson dropped two more depth charges that exploded near the submarines hull. The U-boat's guns were silenced. Joyce hailed the Germans, demanding they abandon ship. With his vessel doomed, the German commander chose to scuttle his boat rather than let it fall into American hands. Another explosion was heard, only this time from within the hull of the German submarine. Only 40 minutes after the Joyce had first detected her, U-550 was sunk. The USS Joyce was only able to find 13 surviving Germans, one of whom died while in route to England.

A little over 68 years later, on July 23, 2012, the wreck of U-550 was found by a private group of shipwreck hunters funded by Joseph Mazraani, a successful attorney from New Jersey. Some of the members of this group have been searching for this wreck for two decades. They are currently working on a project to document the wreckage of ships from the Battle of the Atlantic.  To see some great pictures taken of this engagement during WWII and some links to videos, visit the Discovery Channel page for this event.  If you are not familiar with this part of WWII naval history, I've picked out an excellent video (10 minutes, in color!) for you, courtesy of YouTube: