Are there any Elco PT boats left?

Motor torpedo boat PT-617, also known as Dragon Lady, “is the sole surviving 80′ Elco type PT boat on display and represents the United States’s most heavily used, highly favored, and combat-tested PT boat type in World War II.” PT-617 is a PT-103-class Elco motor torpedo boat of the same type as the famous PT-109 …

What happened to all the PT boats after WW2?

After the war, most of the remaining PT boats were destroyed by the US Navy because they were too expensive for a peacetime Navy. Each boat had three Packard 3A-2500, V-12 aircraft engines with as much as 1,850 hp each, which consumed vast quantities of high-octane gasoline.

Where were Elco PT boats built?

Bayonne, New Jersey
Eventually Elco (Elco Motor Yachts) with a factory located in Bayonne, New Jersey and Higgins Industries in New Orleans, Louisiana were the dominant two builders with Elco producing the largest number. In the later years of the war the U.S. Navy standardized the design and construction of the PT boat.

How many Elco PT boats were made?

By war’s end, more of the Elco boats were built (326 in all) than any other type of motor torpedo boat.

How many PT boats still exist?

four
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. An operational PT-305 promises to become one of The National WWII Museum’s most exciting artifacts and teaching tools.

How thick was the plywood on a PT boat?

(25 mm)
Though often said to be made of plywood, they were actually made of two diagonal layered 1 in (25 mm) thick mahogany planks, with a glue-impregnated layer of canvas in between. Holding all this together were thousands of bronze screws and copper rivets.

How fast were PT boats in World War II?

29 to 31 mph
They displaced up to 300 tons and the top speed was 25 to 27 kn (29 to 31 mph; 46 to 50 km/h). The PT boats used in World War II were built using the planing-type hull form developed for racing boats. They were much smaller (30–75 tons) and faster (35–40 knots).

Is any of McHale’s Navy still alive?

As of 2021, Yoda and Bobby Wright are the last surviving cast members from the McHale’s Navy television series.

Did PT boats sink any ships in WW2?

By the last patrol on the night of April 28, 1945, American PT boats had been fighting in the coastal waters of North Africa, Italy, and France for two years. During that period, they fired 354 torpedoes, claiming 38 vessels totaling 23,700 tons sunk.