“GIANT KILLERS” WWII ELCO NAVAL DIVISION PT BOAT PROMO FILM ELECTRIC BOAT BAYONNE, NJ XD49334

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This late 1940s color film pays tribute to the Elco patrol torpedo boat (or PT boat), which helped secure Allied victory in World War II. A look behind the scenes at the Elco factory in Bayonne, New Jersey shows men and women at work in the production of a wood-bodied naval craft (TRT: 30:17).
Opening titles: “Electric Boat Company, Elco Naval Division Presents, Giant Killers, The Story of the Elco PT Boats, Photographed and Directed by Wallace Van Nostrand, Film Compiled and Edited by the Princeton Film Center, Narrated by Van Deventer” (0:06). An Elco PT Boat barrels toward the camera in a montage from several angles (0:45). Henry Sutman, Executive Vice President of Elco at a desk with model ships (1:18). PT-10 and PT-13, early 70-ft test models (1:36). Irwin Chase, Managing Constructor of Elco. A busy office of draftsmen and engineers (2:03). PT boats speed across water, splashing waves in their wake (2:42). U.S. Army and Navy flags fly outside Elco. Employees file in to work at the Bayonne, NJ factory. A panorama of 19 buildings (3:06). A large boat-launching crane. An Elco locomotive, nicknamed “Shifty,” pushes a large railcar. Torpedo tubes in storage (4:04). Hand trucks navigate the busy warehouse. Aluminum bronze propellers. Quality inspection. Parts awaiting installation (5:13). A machine sorts and paints mahogany, forming reinforced “ribs” (6:11). The lacquered and glued wooden parts are loaded into an oven. A saw splits laminate (6:53). Girders prepared with layers of plywood and mahogany bound with glue in a press (7:38). Women riveters bind girders. The boat assembly floor shows 20 boats in various states of completion. Men and women work on the structures (8:35). Boat frames are carried by men and women onto a jig, where the vessel begins to take shape (9:40). Inside the hull, bottom-side up (10:20). A steam box and shaping mold is used to bend wood (11:16). A Scandinavian workman with an adze hews the spruce keel of the boat (11:58). The keel of the upside-down boat. Diagonal battens are inserted and glue is applied to planking, then covered in cloth, ironed. Another layer of planking is applied (12:26). Lunchtime at the Elco canteen cafeteria. A crowd of workers applaud at a war bond event (13:54). Preparing to turn the 12-ton boat upright using cranes and pulleys (14:30). Upright, the ship is lowered onto a steel bed. Workers (15:17). Painting, applying metal strengthening straps. A covering board is laid upon deck beams (16:14). Sheets of plywood are unloaded, formed into a deck, carried away (16:44). Installing the deck, applying screws. The joiner shop constructs a cabin trunk and chart house. Sheets of veneer are applied to a machine gun turret (17:20). Installing turrets (18:26). Bending, grinding, welding sheets of metal (18:58). “A girl welder, with her dark glasses and blue flame, is doing what used to be a man’s job” (19:35). The machine shop. Precision turret blades turn metal. A magnetic grinder. Planing small parts and a propeller shaft (19:53). Electrical wiring. Women assemble wiring harnesses (21:08). A Packard marine engine is unloaded and installed (21:19). A tractor pulls the PT boat out of an Elco Naval Division factory building. Rapturous narration applauds the near-finished product (22:32). Installing metal parts and gas tanks (23:26). Backing into the dockside launching crane. The boat is lowered and launched (24:18). Gunrails and secret weapons are installed (25:25). Leaving the wet basin for the main basin. Test trials (26:12). Cruising Newark Bay. Racing under the Bayonne Bridge. Pushing the throttle and steering through Long Island Sound. Men check stopwatches and instruments (27:08). Long shots of passing PT boats in montage. Lights spell “Elco.” End titles: “The End” (29:02).
Elco Naval Division PT boats were developed in the early 1940s and were the longest of the three types of PT boats built for the Navy during WWII. The Elco name was short for the Electric Launch Company, which operated from 1893 to 1949 and from 1987 to present.The Elco boats were the longest of the three types of PT boats built for the Navy used during World War II. By war's end, more of the Elco 80 ft (24 m) boats were built (326 in all) than any other type of motor torpedo boat. They were made of two diagonal layered 1 in (25 mm) thick mahogany planks, with a glue-impregnated layer of canvas in between.
This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit www.PeriscopeFilm.com

[@jdetroye75]

Thanks!

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Thanks very, very much. Donations like this make it possible for us to save more rare and endangered films! Love our channel? Get the inside scoop on Periscope Film! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm

[@benflora4055]

@@PeriscopeFilm imprrrdy

[@bulldogstrut1]

My uncle, who was my father's younger brother, was a Motor Machinist Mate First Class on PT 132 and PT 116 and saw extensive service in the Pacific war. He received the Purple Heart and Bronze star and finished the war as a Chief MoMM.

[@RivetGardener]

A brisk Airborne salute to him!

[@bulldogstrut1]

@@RivetGardener Thanks. He would have liked that.

[@scratchdog2216]

The amount of sheer coordinated manual labor that went into the war effort never ceases to amaze me.

[@Kingwoodish]

People nowadays don't comprehend the old term that America was "the Arsenal of Democracy". A skilled labor force made it so.

[@tonyromano6220]

Basically everyone in the world worked on the war.

[@charles1964]

@Scratch Dog Yeah, especially because Americans don't want to work, right? Just look at any city in the Northeast and their abandoned factories will show you how strong we used to be Industrially, before politicians gave the store away to overseas interests....

[@beargillium2369]

Yeah,well, Nazis suck ya know 🤠

[@user-bi7bt4wj1c]

す

[@josephmartinez8803]

Brings back memories of my Uncle sharing his P.T. boat experiences. He was the engine man.

[@Cazador42265]

After watching a few documentaries about the PT I became curious about the noise level in the engine compartment not to mention the heat and fumes. I can't seem to get that engine room out of my mind and the men who suffered this environment in a cramped space with an screaming engine. For Those About To ROCK, We Salute You-🪖

[@keithwhitesr5293]

I helped build 4 boats like this in the late 70’s . Only they were made of steel . Very similar design and construction . They’re still in service today ! Quatemalen navy patrol boats . We were subcontractors for Halter Marine in New Orleans . We built the hull only . I cut every piece of the boat with hand torches and bent the ribs with a 20 lb. mall and jig . Old school !

[@privatebubba8876]

It's Guatemalan.

[@richardpickersgill3434]

2 stroke diesel aren't they?

[@drizler]

What would you have given for a Plasma Cutter back then🤤

[@branmcg9844]

You go big dog!

[@artkahn888]

👏🏻 🙄

[@robchilders]

I was able to visit PT 305 during its rebuilding a few times at the WWII Museum. It's amazing the amount of screws, wood, and glue that went into one of these boats. Elco and Higgins churned out a lot of these. Thanks for the upload.

[@ronaldrobertson2332]

Have you seen her since they started running her in Lake Pontchartrain?

[@robchilders]

@@ronaldrobertson2332 Yes I have. Live pretty close to the marina it is kept at. She can really throw out a great wake.

[@kennethwood713]

I was the GC that built the musem, I had to move that thing around my site a few times, it had homeless living in it

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYLagWZ-mpyZaqs

[@MoosesValley]

Amazing skill, coordination, and craftsmanship ... and calcs all done on a slide rule.

[@wizardwillbonner]

In my younger years I lived in Clearwater Fla. An enterprising person had purchased one of these babies and converted it into a deep sea fishing boat. It would leave a 1/2 hr after all the other fishing boats had gone, blow past them and get to the best fishing spots long before the rest caught up. At the end of the day, long after the others were heading home, passengers were getting their money's worth fishing and they would be at the dock waiting. This was all made possible because the Packard engines weren't removed per specs. It was worth the money just to ride out and back. From slow speed if the throttles were hammered, it could leap out of the water! I had heard that they help in search and rescues. I think it was called 'Eagle', 'American Eagle' or something like that. Just pure bad ass! Imagine what that old girl was like as a youngster!

[@42lookc]

That's a great story!

[@richardsanjose3692]

Sounds like a cigarette boat

[@wizardwillbonner]

@@richardsanjose3692 on steroids, cigarette boat's Bad ass uncle!

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/imHGqJJoZ8-jrcU kzbin.info/www/bejne/jovJp5ubpr96b7s

[@Lockbar]

That was completely worth watching.

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

The teachings of the samurai's soul do not let others take control of life and death! It is the duty of the strongly born to help the bear. I was taught and fought for the descendants of my parents, sisters, younger brothers, and wives. 侍の魂の教えには、生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな！ 弱気人を助けることは、強く生まれた者の責務である、と。 教えられ、父母妹弟・妻の後世の産まれてくる子孫の為に戦った kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYOuqHuaa56jfKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ2YmqiHep12oZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3m9ioKGfp1sibs kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYKyiaKaeL2jitU kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iYhXZqpdWmf6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbShHaJl5qCpqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-am6tqpsympLM

[@mikemcintyre9494]

What a great film!

[@flycfm3205]

Makes me miss my grandparents. What a wonderful generation of Americans.

[@Hiznogood]

This shows that not all heroes fought at the front! Without skilled craftsmen and women, engineers and designers, the war would had been lost. Those boat where not only deadly to the enemy, but also beautiful! I always loved wooden boat. They have soul, something that a glass fiber or an aluminum boat lack.

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

The teachings of the samurai's soul do not let others take control of life and death! It is the duty of the strongly born to help the bear. I was taught and fought for the descendants of my parents, sisters, younger brothers, and wives. 侍の魂の教えには、生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな！ 弱気人を助けることは、強く生まれた者の責務である、と。 教えられ、父母妹弟・妻の後世の産まれてくる子孫の為に戦った kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYOuqHuaa56jfKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ2YmqiHep12oZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3m9ioKGfp1sibs kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYKyiaKaeL2jitU kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iYhXZqpdWmf6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbShHaJl5qCpqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-am6tqpsympLM

[@42lookc]

It's incredible to see all the construction technology that went into building those boats!

[@robbywhite4291]

Such a highly skilled trade. What a labor of love for all the people who worked on these boats. The Scandinavian artist using the hand adze is something that I could watch for hours. Thank you for this upload!

[@densealloy]

The man working the adze was amazing! I've seen someone using an adze before with what I thought was true skill but nothing like the man in this video, he was an absolute artist! I played the part where he shaving with it over and over. Wow!

[@AnthonyEvelyn]

Descended from men who built the draken skips of the viking raiders and cogs of the Hansa League!

[@stym1e]

My grandmother used to work at a place in Salt Lake City, Utah by the name of ELCO Elec. She never really talked much about her job other than to say they built gigantic wiring harnesses for military use. Amazing they were built on large sheets of plywood and all hand tied with waxed nylon cord. She gave me all of her soldering tools in an old cookie tin years after retiring. Couple spools of solder, couple jars of flux some cutters and stripers, a half spool of the nylon cord and a 35W soldering pencil. She also had a huge soldering Iron about 18 inches long with a chisel tip about an inch in diameter and the cord was made with red and black striped fabric insulation. I'm 57 now, that cookie tin is long gone but what memories this has brought me. Thank You for posting. Love you NANA

[@trob0914]

Very informative video, especially in regards to the lamentations and layering of wood(s)!

[@ArthurDentZaphodBeeb]

Lamentations, lol. Laminations

[@peterparker9286]

We All have Purpose. Tort is

[@david9783]

@@mcs699 Good one, Bear!

[@JoseCruz-rj9cp]

"Laminating" of the wood...

[@MrAndyBearJr]

@61 Tbird And hear de laminations uff de vemin! 😄

[@rpm371]

Love that Periscope saved all these old films, but for the love of God, move that timestamp lower on the screen!

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

I'd like him to do that too, but it's also definitely strategically located to prevent cropping.

[@spikespa5208]

Small price to be able to see these films. Don't even notice it anymore.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Here's the issue: Tens of thousands of films similar to this one have been lost forever -- destroyed -- and many others are at risk. Our company preserves these precious bits of history one film at a time. How do we afford to do that? By selling them as stock footage to documentary filmmakers and broadcasters. If we did not have a counter, we could not afford to post films like these online, and no films would be preserved. It's that simple. So we ask you to bear with the watermark and timecodes. In the past we tried many different systems including placing our timer at the bottom corner of our videos. What happened? Unscrupulous KZbin users downloaded our vids, blew them up so the timer was not visible, and re-posted them as their own content! We had to use content control to have the videos removed and shut down these channels. It's hard enough work preserving these films and posting them, without having to spend precious time dealing with policing thievery -- and not what we devoted ourselves to do. Love our channel and want to support what we do? You can help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.

[@johnorlitta]

Proud to know that these beasts were crafted in Bayonne, NJ

[@michaelklein3148]

Contemplating how the USA has abandoned the will and ability to manufacture things on such a scale over the past 50 years makes me quite melancholy.

[@johnlicht9151]

Itels announcement of its new $20 Billion Computer Chip Manufacturing Facility in Columbus, Ohio is a start of much larger re-shoring movement.

[@michaelklein3148]

@@johnlicht9151 I am in Ohio and I am thrilled by that development.

[@johnlicht9151]

How do computer chips say Hello? They say AHOY! It's both a DAD and Cyber joke. LOL

[@monopolyshark]

These companies were required to build armaments for the war effort. They did not have a choice in the matter. If the US somehow got into another total war again, the same thing would happen today.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

@@johnlicht9151 Makes me angry..

[@jngordon]

I grew up in Bayonne,a proud Navy town and Military Ocean Terminal in later years. Spent many days of my youth at the old ELCO boatyard where PT 109 as well as many others were built. Became a marina in later years, now condos. The bar was there forever! 😂 The crane they show was moved to the park uptown where it is now preserved. We were a big naval town. Worlds largest drydock back in the day on the other side of town at the Naval base many ships were in that drydock. Still there and used and now a cruise ship port and condos.

[@MrAndyBearJr]

@ Joel Gordon Many former war plants and bases have been converted to civilian use, but maintain equipment so they can quickly be transformed back to war time production should the need arise. Is the boatyard there still capable of such a transformation?

[@jngordon]

@@MrAndyBearJr no it's all gone, condominiums there. The buildings are demolished long ago. It's got a marina still I think but I haven't been there in a long time. The boat crane was moved to the other end of the city and is in a park with a plaque.

[@jngordon]

@@MrAndyBearJr and the Naval base is now a cruise port the drydock I believed is still in business but was reduced in size. The buildings that the military used warehouses and offices were demolished years ago. There is a memorial to 9/11 there. The only terminals in Bayonne now are commercial chemical s suck as IMTT

[@thejerseyj5479]

In the 70's my friends and I would pile into my car and cruise from the southern tip of Bayonne along the waterfront all the way up to the GW bridge. It would take hours (and many beers consumed). Back then the Jersey waterfront was an amazing place full of old warehouses, piers, factories, railroads. You could park right at the bulkhead just about anywhere and watch the river traffic. We would crawl and climb all over the place. To us teenagers it was the greatest amusement park on Earth. And now it's one long succession of condos and marinas and you can't hardly even see the river let alone get to it. Wow, I miss the Jersey waterfront. PS, "On The Waterfront" was filmed in and around Hoboken.

[@bbayerit]

My Dad was a Mosquito Boat crewman in MTB RON41. Very proud of his service.

[@tnwhitley]

My dad worked on these designing them as modules with quick connect HD cables/connectors that could be quickly disconnected & the insides lifted out & a whole new inner module dropped back in, hooked up & put back into service.

[@stym1e]

My grandmother worked for ELCO building Wiring harnesses .

[@motorTranz]

A wonderful film! Thanks for this video!

[@Mephistopholies]

OMG! Those turrets looked like stuff I made as a theater tech in highschool.

[@waynedaly1718]

Damned good show. Thank you for posting it. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

[@snowball1465]

Man I'd love to drive one of those things.

[@hatuletoh]

Me too. And maybe try to ski off the back of it, although I think it would probably yank the line right out of my hands before I could get upright.

[@Jreb1865]

@@hatuletoh Probably pull you right out of the skis...lol. Three 1000 HP Packard engines are no joke...

[@danielcruz8347]

You would love to PILOT PT....it would be cool....peace too you ..commander

[@captmack007]

One doesn't drive boats. Or airplanes.

[@ryankenyon5010]

My grandma was a young woman when this was filmed. She is 97 and still going strong. That blows me away.

[@stephenmitchell3569]

Awesome build of beautiful Art and moving freedom forward with grace. Thank you all who build these fine boats for those in harms way! God bless all.

[@tyroniousyrownshoolacez2347]

Fascinating. Really informative. Thanks for sharing. 👉👊

[@mdouglaswray]

Amazing these things held together. Some true badasses on these boats.

[@briancooper2112]

Great video

[@dano4572]

beautiful video, and boat!! and big thanx to the builders and crews!

[@kevinwheatcroft]

PT 658 resides in Portland, OR. I have seen her a few times on the Willamette River. She's not an Elco, but a Higgins. I used to work for a company that built aluminum boats for our military, they must have stolen the trick of building the hull upside down from Elco. Smart engineers for sure!

[@billsimpson604]

They burned about 500 gallons of gasoline an hour at full speed. The German ones, called E boats, used diesel engines. I think they were somewhat larger and more heavily armed. I think the PT boats were the safest combat branch of the US Navy to be in during WW II. Not sure how many ships they sunk. The National WW II Museum in New Orleans has an operating one. You used to be able to ride it, but I think they discontinued the rather expensive rides. With enclosed gasoline engines, any small fuel leak, and you could go boom. If you are interested in WW II weapons, the National WW II Museum in New Orleans has a LOT of them on display. It is the official WW II museum for the United States. It is worth a visit if you are in New Orleans, or are into the history of the US involvement in WW II.

[@Jreb1865]

You could also just run on just the center engine only or the two outside engines only to save fuel...

[@KermitFrazierdotcom]

German boats also called S- Boats.

[@dennisthemenace962]

The Packard marine engines required 100 octane aviation fuel and is verry expensive to operate today on the few still existing PT-boats,. Thats why they will often be retrofitted with diesel engines.

[@peterparker9286]

Lets not forget the Spruce Goose

[@williamgibb5557]

The Flying Saucer, a speed boat converted from a PT used 1.3 gallons per engine per mile when at speed. Great ride running out of Ocean City , NJ back in the 60s and early 70s.

[@rogerhuber3133]

What a well needed weapon and they served us well.

[@drmarkintexas-400]

🏆🏆🏆👍🇺🇲🙏 Thank you for sharing

[@georgehaeh4856]

The designer had one big slide rule. Still have a circular on my watch with aviation conversion indices and an oldie from university days.

[@johnbeauvais3159]

I have and actually use the circular slide rule on the watch bezel

[@gyrene_asea4133]

Aye, the legendary "Slipstick". I've one from my uncle's time as an marine engineer of the late '40s and into the '60s. Now we just pick up a Casio. tm.

[@darkwood777]

He was using it wrong.

[@thewatcher5271]

What A Great Video! I Was A Small Child When I Watched PT-109, They Were Expendable & McHale's Navy & We Thought They Were So Cool. I'll Probably Never See One. Thank You.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Great...glad you got to see it and appreciate it. Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films. Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm

[@timw6596]

That is a trade long gone to history !

[@dwmac2010]

The Greatest Generation at work. RIP to all.

[@keesvandenbroek331]

Nice touch to mention the De Havilland DH98 Mosquito. Same forward thinking, same elegant lines and same brutal efficiency

[@klah2u]

I remember watching the movie PT109.

[@KermitFrazierdotcom]

In Faulkner's "Turnabout", he writes about a Torpedo Launch built around a Torpedo tube that was gravity launched from the stern. The boat was barely 3 feet wide and only long enough for the two inline diesel motors plus the torpedo. Crewed by the Insane Youth of England.

[@mokooh3280]

i once served in camp Faulkner (nam) seabee gave the camp to the marines (3rd) lot of killin 67/68 the marble mountains

[@JEM133]

All the "freehand",work, is amazing.

[@ShroomKeppie]

Maybe torpedo boats were new to the US Navy, but England had been employing them since 1873. The type of ship called the "destroyer" was created specifically to counteract the torpedo boat threat. Regardless, this is a great story about PT boats in the US. The amount of precise manual labor is fantastic. Now it would all be done by robots.

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

The teachings of the samurai's soul do not let others take control of life and death! It is the duty of the strongly born to help the bear. I was taught and fought for the descendants of my parents, sisters, younger brothers, and wives. 侍の魂の教えには、生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな！ 弱気人を助けることは、強く生まれた者の責務である、と。 教えられ、父母妹弟・妻の後世の産まれてくる子孫の為に戦った kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYOuqHuaa56jfKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ2YmqiHep12oZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3m9ioKGfp1sibs kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYKyiaKaeL2jitU kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iYhXZqpdWmf6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbShHaJl5qCpqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-am6tqpsympLM

[@evensgrey]

I've seen some bits of this before. Specifically, the bit with the Engineer working the control levers. That got put into a documentary on PT boats a few decades ago.

[@MrMenefrego1]

As an American, it pains me to say this, but if the attack on Pearl occurred today, America would not have the industrial base with which to stop them. Over 70-thousand American factories have closed and moved to Asia since the 1960s. A big Thank you to Uncle Sam and all of his corrupt politicians. God Help America!!

[@MrMenefrego1]

@@danjarvis6980 Sorry to hear about your difficulties with your former unAmerican employers. Yes, Almost all American universities are great places to lose children; they are lousy with communist professors 'educating' their students to become the same. Whether you agree or not, the last Presidential Election was a sham. Anyone who actually believes that a man who couldn't get more than 12 people to attend his rallies then miraculously won the election, is a damned fool. When American's can't even keep the man the vast majority of Americans voted for in office, we are doomed as a nation. I was so sickened by that treachery I renounced my U.S. citizenship and moved out of the country. Indeed, God Help America!

[@drizler]

NAFTA and EU were predictable disasters many of us saw coming way off. That giant sucking sound Ross Perot referred to was inevitable and it was all for the same corporate greed that drives the pharmaceutical industry to indirectly be forced to take their marginally ineffective yet potentially fatal shots. For more on that see Project Veritas for this weeks Pfizer execs alligator mouth braggers. All on youtube

[@ThePaulv12]

@@MrMenefrego1 Yeah Jeff, you and Pol Pot not so different. Kill the intellectuals and turn the country into an agrarian society. You'd have us all back in a feudal system as serfs, vassals and tenants while you and your other landlords live like hogs in the hog house with the right of life and death over me. Being on the left does have degrees but I can see you've never noticed because you can only think critically when it's self serving. There's right of center left, centrist left, left of center and far left. You morons placard the whole of the left as far left and you live it every moment of your existence. It's an illness called confirmation bias.

[@keithmoore5224]

@@MrMenefrego1 you don’t stand alone uk is the same we have no steel industry air craft industry etc just saying

[@wizardwillbonner]

All by design!

[@samiam5557]

Turn up the volume! 🤔

[@georgehaeh4856]

Serious woodworking.

[@pcz5233]

Born and raised In our beloved Bayonne.

[@jochenpeiper6797]

i have worked as a Freelance Artist for 40 yrs. restoring Classic Yachts and Automobiles for myself and clients ( now retired ) i lived aboard ALL the Yachts i kept for myself ( 4 ) and daily drive all the cars ( 15 ) 3 of my boats were fibreglass , 1968 Camper and Nicholson ketch , 1982 German Frers club Racing Sloop ( both 40 ft. ) , 1986 Chris Craft Amerisport ( 42 ft. ) , but my favorite was my 1973 Chris Craft Commander Sport Fisherman ( 38 ft. ) built of Mahogony in Pompano for local Charter Captain who ONLY fished Wooden Boats , i got the boat in Port Aransas in 1990 , i fished and partyed my a$$ off on that baby , Cheers from Padre Island TEXAS loved the footage , the Packards , laminated plywood SPEED BOAT Super Bitchen !!

[@PlutoProtogen]

i feel as if these boats were an under appreciated work of art, we know pt boats served in the war and did alot, but the craftsman behind them are seldom talked about.

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

The teachings of the samurai's soul do not let others take control of life and death! It is the duty of the strongly born to help the bear. I was taught and fought for the descendants of my parents, sisters, younger brothers, and wives. 侍の魂の教えには、生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな！ 弱気人を助けることは、強く生まれた者の責務である、と。 教えられ、父母妹弟・妻の後世の産まれてくる子孫の為に戦った kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYOuqHuaa56jfKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ2YmqiHep12oZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3m9ioKGfp1sibs kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYKyiaKaeL2jitU kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iYhXZqpdWmf6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbShHaJl5qCpqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-am6tqpsympLM

[@timacrow]

What a wonderful historical record!

[@tpcdude]

Great video .. and all without philips head screws!

[@dorianleclair7390]

Seeing the manufacturing process is so intresting to watch

[@patricksanders858]

Slide rules were the calculator of the day.

[@haraldpettersen3649]

Fantastic boats, wonderful boats in the sea. You could be sure that if you treated them as they should, there was no weather that could stop them. Large ships headed for safe harbor but the PT boats could not be stopped, and carried out their missions hidden by the weather.

[@markjohnson5276]

You can see the lines of the Viking long ships in her hull. I wonder how much that influenced the design.

[@flashgordon6238]

We had an old one of these at the Navy base I work at. It was used as a floating target until something put a 16" hole through the bow. It sat for years until they used a machine to tear it apart in place. Sad to see.

[@texastom01]

Wow....I've always admired those bad boys.

[@MisteriosGloriosos922]

*Great video! Thanks for sharing!*

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Glad you enjoyed it! Subscribe and consider becoming a channel member kzbin.info/www/bejne/hXWliGami8abi6c

[@cynthiataylor2597]

Thanks. For sure.

[@AlAl-wu7mp]

The crane still exists. You can see the crane , when you travel on the NJ Turnpike bridge from Newark to Bayonne, it is painted Yellow and right off the bridge's right side.

[@SteadyGhetner]

McHale's Navy!!!

[@remalm3670]

... ALL buildt by 'Slide Rule' ....(man O man) ...

[@trainliker100]

A slide rule is a dream compared to other methods. Try an abacus. Or engineering a Roman aqueduct using Roman numerals.

[@mauricepowers8079]

Just like the early years of the space program, our ICBM's and most of our bombers.

[@remalm3670]

@@mauricepowers8079 ... at times, I'm just amazed. My 'hat' is off to them ...

[@mauricepowers8079]

@@remalm3670 I remember using them...I still have 2 ... One full size one and one 6" "pocket size" 😃

[@remalm3670]

@@mauricepowers8079 ... in High School, I used them for Chemistry & Physics. However, if I tried using one ... I'd problely hurt myself (put an eye out or something) ...

[@johnshields6852]

Born in 1960, I grew up on the ocean loving to swim and pretend to be part of pt boat crew, my favorite tv show was McHale's navy.lol🇺🇸

[@tonyromano6220]

Amazing!

[@briansadowski7202]

Excellant video.

[@indycharlie]

What can I say , but DAMN !!! What a job .

[@stashyboy1]

Amazing video. As a lifelong woodworker I can certainly appreciate the incredible skill that went into these craft. Sadly, my understanding is many of these were burnt at the end of the war in the South Pacific. How many of them remain for is the remain for us to marvel at today?

[@ChimeraActual]

In the 1960's there was a yacht conversion of the equivalent boat, an Army Air Force pilot rescue version, berthed in the Annisquam river that cuts across Cape Ann behind Gloucester. It was a beautiful thing, but didn't go out much as it was said to require $100 of gasoline to leave the dock. $100 was a lot back then, but it also bought a lot of gas at $.30/gallon. I don't think many are left outside of museums. After 75 years (my age!), a boat built to only last the duration, and used roughly at that, would probably require the initial cost again every 5 to 10 years in maintenance alone.

[@yepiratesworkshop7997]

@@ChimeraActual I was a little kid in Lewes, Delaware and there were a couple of privately owned PT boats that were bought as "salvage" or "Surplus." My father worked on boat electronics at the time and my grandfather was a trawler net fisherman, so I got to see one of them when it was at the fishing docks. Apparently, they used so much fuel that people changed the engines for economic reasons, but then the PT boats didn't have the power anymore and tended to "waddle." I remember one of them had a little yellow submarine on the aft deck. If I remember right they were underwater treasure hunters.

[@accousticdecay]

Engineers working with slide rules and drafting boards... I remember those days!

[@patrickwentz8413]

Nice boat.

[@evensgrey]

And at the end of WWII, almost all of the surviving PT boats were unceremoniously burned. Improvements in RADAR tracking of small craft and automatic fire control had made it effectively impossible for such craft to get into range of anything worth throwing torpedoes at.

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

The teachings of the samurai's soul do not let others take control of life and death! It is the duty of the strongly born to help the bear. I was taught and fought for the descendants of my parents, sisters, younger brothers, and wives. 侍の魂の教えには、生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな！ 弱気人を助けることは、強く生まれた者の責務である、と。 教えられ、父母妹弟・妻の後世の産まれてくる子孫の為に戦った kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYOuqHuaa56jfKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ2YmqiHep12oZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3m9ioKGfp1sibs kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYKyiaKaeL2jitU kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iYhXZqpdWmf6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbShHaJl5qCpqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-am6tqpsympLM

[@jonathanturek5846]

That's crazy civilians would have bought and repurposed for all kinds of things. Didn't a famous captain in the 70s need a bigger boat ? Jaws would have met his match against a PT

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

@@jonathanturek5846 kzbin.info/www/bejne/j5TYfod3iqitgZY

[@evensgrey]

@@jonathanturek5846 If there WERE any PT boats. How many avoided being burned at the end of WWII? (They weren't going to be of any real use in future wars. Improvements in RADAR tracking, identification, and automatic targeting made trying to attack in one pretty much suicidal.)

[@5peciesunkn0wn]

I keep forgetting how big PT boats were with a living space inside. They just feel like they should be a really long, normal speed boat lol. without anything underneath besides maybe storage that you pull hatches up to access.

[@danielcruz8347]

PT 73....was not equipped with cannon armament ... only 50 cal,s T tubes depth charge smoke dispensers...Capt Binghamton..damm you..thank you PF

[@ronaldrobertson2332]

The actual PT 73 was a 78-ft Higgins-built PT that had to be scuttled after running aground on a reef in enemy waters.

[@aussie6910]

McHale's PT-73 was a 72ft 6in Vosper with two gun turrets added to make it look American. It used to be the tender for the Sprouse Goose when Howard Hughes owned it & was in an episode of Rescue 8 where it fell on someone.

[@ronaldrobertson2332]

@@aussie6910 No, not Rescue 8, It was an episode of "Emergency!" Seen it several times.

[@aussie6910]

@@ronaldrobertson2332 That was many years ago. Thankyou for the correction. Watched both shows when I was a youngun. Avagoodweekend.

[@KutWrite]

I love the "Welding Girl." She was quite "brazin'"

[@christopherjavens3438]

I can't believe a video like this only has this many thumbs up to total views. Everybody that watches this should hit the thumbs up, to promote this type of content.

[@PeriscopeFilm]

Thanks Christopher, we totally agree! Love our channel? Help us save and post more orphaned films! Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/PeriscopeFilm Even a really tiny contribution can make a difference.

[@SunnyIlha]

I'd like to see more documented material on PT boats in the Mediterranean, off West Africa, in the Caribbean and off Brasil's Coast countering U-boats.

[@50buttfish]

On the eve of their last mission, the crew installed a 37mm anti-tank gun in the bow. (PT 109)

[@mikeholland1031]

Most were modified as the missions changed.

[@ronaldrobertson2332]

@@clickbaitcharlie2329 Slow and cumbersome to load and fire, since it was a "captured" anti-tank field gun from the U.S. Army. Later versions of a better automatic 37mm cannon would be factory installed on the foredeck centerline, forward of a 20-mm Orlikon gun, that one mounted offset to port. A 40mm Bofors gun was mounted on the stern and they still sported the familiar twin .50 caliber machine guns. Also instead of the heavy torpedo tubes, drop racks were installed to carry the lighter 13-foot aerial torpedoes. PT boats became virtual gunboats that just happened to have torpedoes as well.

[@spikespa5208]

@@clickbaitcharlie2329 Some of those Japanese landing craft and transport boats were big and tough. Anything keep the night firefight short and successful.

[@tomgreenough3235]

I was told, pound for pound, the PTs were the most dangerous and destructive boat of the US during the war. I've never seen it in print, but I wonder if there was ever a tally of planes and ships the PTs destroyed?

[@gangisspawn1]

I didn't realize PT boats were made of wood. It's like a 70ft mahogany racing yacht.

[@robertslugg8361]

I suggest a reading of "The New Science of Strong Materials" to really appreciate wood as a structural component. Metal is easier to machine, but wood in many ways is superior. Nature isn't stupid.

[@deirdre108]

02:05 A real engineer--slide rule!

[@jameslyddall]

I can imagine Jeremy clarkson watching this in his spare time

[@COIcultist]

Jeremy Clarkson, did three great WWII documentaries, two are available on KZbin. Abandoning his normal smug arsehole persona and showing what a great serious presenter he can be. One documentary "The Greatest Raid Of All" covers the St Nazaire Raid in 1942 using the ex US destroyer HMS Campbeltown. The other documentary "The Victoria Cross, For Valour" and tells the story of The Victoria Cross and particularly one man's efforts in Arnhem during Operation Market Garden (A Bridge Too Far) This actually has a relationship to Clarkson. I can recommend these documentaries to both people who love Clarkson and those who hate him, such is the quality of his presentation. I hope anyone who watches these both enjoys the documentaries and is informed about WWII history.

[@tonyrigby7948]

But Jeremy Clarkson probably would have mentioned Hubert Scott-Paine and how he left the British Power Boat Company to work with ELCO in 1939. Always great to see how the US always did it - without foreign assistance from a company which had been building high speed boats for the Almiralty since 1932, and the RAF since 1930.

[@COIcultist]

@@tonyrigby7948 There was a lot of industrial cooperation. Britain had to, and did, recognise that the US had the manufacturing power. Many, many things were forwarded to America to let them build it there, an obvious example being the proximity (VT) fuse. It was a battle for our existence. If the UK could be sore or feel short-changed about anything, it was the scientists we took from "Tube Alloys" and sent to the Manhattan Project, only to be locked out of the findings of the research. Channel 4 did a half way decent documentary about our solution, "A Very British Bomb." PS the Poles helped us greatly with Enigma.

[@flick22601]

All that beautiful work and most were burned to the waterline after the war.

[@phlodel]

They were of no use after the war. Like fighter planes, their operating costs were too high for most any normal civilian use.

[@flick22601]

@@phlodel - Maybe preserve a few in museums so the people who never saw them or weren't born yet could learn something?

[@phlodel]

@@flick22601 There are a couple. The ones that were burned were in far away places. The cost to bring them home was not justifiable.

[@johnfranklin8319]

I was looking for Quinten McHale!

[@davidnewland2461]

In falls church Massachusetts there is a Maritime museum where they have a couple pt boats, the battleship us Massachusetts is there it's open to walk throughs

[@rapman5363]

The Place you speak of is called Battleship Cove and it’s in Fall River MA. Falls Church is in the state of Virginia. I have been to Battleship cove many times when I lived in Massachusetts and it has the USS Massachusetts (Big Mamie) and several smaller boats as well as a submarine to tour .

[@johnlicht9151]

For an unique visit to the WWII New Orleans, take Amtraks City of New Orleans from Chicago to New Orleans. Driving from Chicago to New Orleans is sort of boring. They might even have a package deal available. Break a leg.

[@darkwood777]

Plenty to stop and see on a drive if you take I-65 route instead of I-55. The train is plenty boring. Much at night and a very long and tediously slooooow trip by train.

[@6.5x55]

Those interested in PT operations should read "At Close Quarters" by Robert J. Bulkley...available on Kindle

[@gregwallace9314]

They were great boats for their time and had a lot going for them. But, they had more than a few faults. Very little armor, were highly prone to fire,had no space for crew comforts, had to have a base from which to support crew, fueling ( real gas hogs and small fuel tanks ) facilities, munitions supply and crew mess.No doctor or medic on board. Weapons too light for missions they were forced to do. These boats had a great deal of armament for a vessel of that size but if caught out on open water the speed and dexterity were it's best defense.

[@user-ed8wc1yr8s]

The teachings of the samurai's soul do not let others take control of life and death! It is the duty of the strongly born to help the bear. I was taught and fought for the descendants of my parents, sisters, younger brothers, and wives. 侍の魂の教えには、生殺与奪の権を他人に握らせるな！ 弱気人を助けることは、強く生まれた者の責務である、と。 教えられ、父母妹弟・妻の後世の産まれてくる子孫の為に戦った kzbin.info/www/bejne/nYOuqHuaa56jfKs kzbin.info/www/bejne/fZ2YmqiHep12oZY kzbin.info/www/bejne/e3m9ioKGfp1sibs kzbin.info/www/bejne/lYKyiaKaeL2jitU kzbin.info/www/bejne/a6iYhXZqpdWmf6c kzbin.info/www/bejne/ZpbShHaJl5qCpqc kzbin.info/www/bejne/oZ-am6tqpsympLM

[@stevenjones1171]

Most of the PT Boat in the Pacific were Burned after the war. I felt like crying when in found that out many years ago. There is only a few left.

[@marcwitt8507]

Wish I could insert a picture I have it was used during WW2 for war bonds drive titled “ Giant Killers” would be perfect for the flick

[@drizler]

I’m sure it wasn’t lost on the crews that escorting destroyers were nearly as fast as they are . Not a confidence inspiration when you consider escape speed is a mere crawl and his guns shoot out to 10 miles roughly. It could be a long slow escape if it was a moon lit night and you were the unlucky boat they took after when everyone scattered .

[@dpeter6396]

Dad was MOMM on 156 Boat. Original crew. Saw some stuff.

[@roberthawxhurst3717]

First ticked the on Y~T for years three~part series was removed but just combined here in one video

[@telesniper2]

M4 cannon @ 28:15 Very cool!

[@ronaldrobertson2332]

It was a 40mm Bofors gun.

[@robertslugg8361]

@@ronaldrobertson2332 They had both at times, M4 on the front and a Bofors on the back. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M4_autocannon Story is that guys in the field took those m4 from damaged aircraft and mounted them for more punch and standoff distance. That prompted them to become a factory option. ;-)

[@johneddy908]

Electric Boat would later merge with Convair to form General Dynamics Corporation.

[@jackhammer111]

17:16 remind you of a zoo attendant preparing to feed a reluctant python. once upon the deck though it lies down quiet as a rug.🤣 the wood artistry involved in this it's almost as amazing as the construction of the de Havilland mosquito. If you're not familiar with the mosquito Google it. Fastest propeller-driven airplane of World War II it was made of wood and had 2 Rolls Royce Merlin engines.

[@wilburfinnigan2142]

Jackhammer The Mosquito was NOT the fastest prop driven plane in WWII top speed was 410MPH of the late version many fighters were faster, the P51 Mustang 440 P47 450 MPH And the F4U Corsair 440 MPH. Mosquito was the fastest BOMBER !!! DUUUUUHHHHHH !!!!! Facts of history less the hype,lies and British Bull$hit !! !

[@1339LARS]

Love ém!!!! //Lars

[@CONCERTMANchicago]

*_The PT 73_*