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PT Boat Photos

Specific PT Photos - Pacific Theater Photos - Atlantic Theater Photos - Aleutian Islands Campaign Photos - Stateside, Training, Factory, and Unknown Photos - Camouflage Measures - Color Insignia and Patches - Insignia Missing From Color List, in B&W

PT boat and related images found at the Naval History and Heritage Command website. Specific boats are listed in numerical order.

Most of the photos are available in small, regular, and high resolution. The high resolution images are in .tif format. If you have problems viewing this file type I suggest Irfanview, a free program with basic graphic editing functions. If you install it, pay attention to the install dialog. Nowadays I think it asks if you want to install something like Yahoo toolbar. You'll probably want to uncheck the box. I also install the separate plugin pack.


Updates

2017 March 1, page added.


Specific PT Photos


PT 3, 9 (also listed below)
Title: USS PT 9
Caption: Paces USS PT - 3, circa summer 1940.
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Title: USS PT-6 Underway at high speed, in 1941
Caption: USS PT-6 Underway at high speed, in 1941. She was an experimental boat, built by Higgins to a Sparkman & Stephens Design.
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Title: PT 6
Caption: Not in book, "At Close Quarters."
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Title: USS PT-8 Underway in 1940-1941
Caption: USS PT-8 Underway in 1940-1941. She was an experimental boat, with an aluminum hull.
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Title: USS PT - 9
Caption: Is unloaded from S.S. President Roosevelt by the crane barge COLOSSUS, in New York Harbor, 5 Sept. 1939. This boat, of the British Scott - Paine type, served as Prototype for the "ELCO" Class Pts of World War II
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Title: T.B. ELCO (PT-9)
Caption: The prototype ELCO motor torpedo boat underway circa 1940. This is probably the Scott-Paine boat that later became USS PT-9.
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PT 3, 9 (also listed above)
Title: USS PT 9
Caption: Paces USS PT - 3, circa summer 1940.
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Title: USS PT-9
Caption: Underway in New York Harbor, circa late 1940. She is flying the flag of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy.
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Title: USS PT - 9
Caption: Making a high speed run, circa late 1940
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Title: USS PT-9
Caption: Speeds past the Statue of Liberty, in New York Harbor, circa 1940.
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PT 9-19 series
Title: Navy PT Boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two
Caption: Visiting the Washington Navy Yard DC circa December 1940 or January 1941. These boats are of the PT 9-19 series. Docked beyond the PT boats are USS POTOMAC (AG-25) and CUYAHOGA (AG-26).
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PT 9-19 series
Title: Navy PT Boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two
Caption: Visiting the Washington Navy Yard DC circa December 1940 or January 1941. These boats are of the PT 9-19 series. Docked beyond the PT boats are USS POTOMAC (AG-25) and CUYAHOGA (AG-26).
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PT 9-19 series
Title: Navy PT Boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two
Caption: Departing the Washington Navy Yard DC circa December 1940 or January 1941. These boats are of the PT 9-19 series. Docked beyond the PT boats are USS POTOMAC (AG-25) and CUYAHOGA (AG-26).
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Title: USS PT-12
Caption: Speeds past the Battery, in New York Harbor, circa late 1940.
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Title: USS PT - 14
Caption: Making a high speed run, circa late 1940
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PT 14
Title: HMS MTB-263 (British Motor Torpedo Boat, 1940, ex-USS PT-14) Ready for delivery to The Royal Navy, circa Mid-1941
Caption: HMS MTB-263 (British Motor Torpedo Boat, 1940, ex-USS PT-14) Ready for delivery to The Royal Navy, circa Mid-1941. She has been modified to British specifications, with R.N. Type 21" Torpedo Tubes, a 20mm machine cannon and other changes.
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Title: USS PT-17
Caption: Underway, circa early 1941.
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PT 17
Title: USS NIAGARA (PG-52)
Caption: With PT-17 alongside, circa 1941. NIAGARA was the Navy's first PT boat tender. Published in "At Close Quarters", p 69.
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Title: USS PT - 19
Caption: Making a high speed run, circa late 1940
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Title: USS PT -20
Caption: Underway at high speed, circa 1941. She won the "Plywood Derby" in July 1941, which compared the sea performance of a number of pt boat designs
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PT 25 and 30
Title: Battle of Midway, June 1942
Description: Cutter from the sunken Japanese aircraft carrier Hiryu, suspended from the starboard boat davits of USS Ballard (AVD-10), at Midway circa late June 1942. This boat had been picked up on 19 June, along with its occupants, who became prisoners of war. USS PT-25 and PT-30 are among the 77-foot ELCO-type PT boats visible in the right and left background. Note Ballard's motor whaleboat, cane fender, dark-colored awnings and smokestack details. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: USS PT-28
Caption: Refueling at the oil dock of NAS Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. April 1942. Note open forecastle hatch cover, variety of motor launches in right background.
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Title: USS PT- 40
Caption: A battle - scarred Veteran of the Guadalcanal Campaign, returns to the MTB training center, Melville, R.I., in July 1944, for use in training repair personnel. YD -84 is providing a lift.
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Title: USS PT - 40
Caption: Receives new planking from students of the MTB repair training unit, Melville, R. I., circa summer 1944.
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Title: USS PT-42
Caption: At a fueling dock at Pearl Harbor, April 1944. YO-44 is on the opposite side of the pier.
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PT 43 maybe
Title: 77' Elco Pt Boat beached behind the former Japanese lines, February 16, 1943
Caption: 77' Elco Pt Boat beached behind the former Japanese lines on Guadalcanal, February 16, 1943. This is probably USS PT-43, which was damaged in action with Japanese ships on January 11, 1943, beached and destroyed by Naval gunfire to prevent possible use by the enemy. Photographed by MarGun J.F. Leopold, 2nd MarDiv.
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Per Ted Walther, this is PT 59 with Jack Searles 3rd back from the bow, and that this is the boat that sank the sub.
Title: I-1 (Japanese SS, 1924) is examined by Army Intelligence personnel as USS PT-65 stands by, February 11, 1943
Caption: I-1 (Japanese SS, 1924) is examined by Army Intelligence personnel as USS PT-65 stands by, February 11, 1943. The submarine had been sunk in Kamimbo Bay, Guadalcanal, by New Zealand corvettes KIWI and MOA on January 29, 1943, while on a supply mission. Her hulk yielded documents of great intelligence value.
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PT 64 maybe
Title: Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, USN
Description: Photographed while on board a Motor Torpedo Boat (probably PT-64), circa 1942. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: USS PT-65
Caption: Loading a Mk. VIII torpedo at Melville, Rhode Island, in October 1942. Copied from a frame of 16mm motion picture film received in 1985.
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PT 66 maybe
Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: USS PT-66 moored at the Morobe Waterfront, July-August 1943. Note her camouflage, and camouflage screens hung from trees in background. PT-66 was then a unit of motor torpedo boat squadron eight.
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PT 132 (camera boat) and PT 66 or 68 early 1943 maybe (also listed below)
Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: PT boats alongside prior to leaving for patrol in Morobe, New Guinea.
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Title: USS PT-69 Underway at high speed, 1941
Caption: USS PT-69 Underway at high speed, 1941. She was an experimental boat, designed and built by the Huckins Yacht Corporation.
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Title: USS PT-84- JOE SHEEHAN
Caption: Underway in 1942.
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Title: USS PT-95
Caption: Running trials off Jacksonville, Florida, 14 July 1942.
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Title: USS PT-95
Caption: Running trials off Jacksonville, Florida, 14 July 1942
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Title: USS PT-103
Caption: Running her trials, circa June 1942. Note depth charges fitted in place of after torpedo tubes; Elco (builder) flag; and men holding trial run no. 27 sign.
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PT 107 per Drew
Title: Twin .50 -caliber machine guns
Caption: Are sighted in on a target, during training maneuvers by a motor torpedo boat, off Melville, Rhode Island, during World War II.
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Title: USS PT-108 USS PT-107
Description: Photo #: 19-N-33168 USS PT-108 (left) and USS PT-107 (right) Stowed on board the Liberty Ship Joseph Stanton for transportation to the Pacific. Photographed at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 20 August 1942. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
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Title: USS PT-109
Description: Stowed on board the Liberty Ship Joseph Stanton for transportation to the Pacific. Photographed at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 20 August 1942. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
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Title: USS PT-109
Description: Stowed on board the Liberty Ship Joseph Stanton, at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 20 August 1942. Note heavy bracing at the PT boat's stern and on her deck, to prevent movement as she is transported to the Pacific. Also note her torpedo tubes, engine mufflers and 20mm gun mount, with 109 painted on it. Photograph from the Bureau of Ships Collection in the U.S. National Archives.
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Title: USS PT-109 (model)
Description: Official model, as mounted for exhibit during the 1960s. This image was received by the Naval Photographic Center in 1970. Official U.S. Navy Photograph.
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Title: USS PT-112 (left) and USS (PT-111) (right)
Caption: Embarked on USS TALLULAH (AO-50), at the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 10 October 1942. Note heavy timbers and cables to tie the PTs down, PT torpedo tube details, and pipe training stop by PT-111's 20mm gun.
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PT 111 and 112
Title: USS TALLULAH (AO-50)
Caption: At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 10 October 1942, with PT-111 and PT-112 embarked. Note paravane under the PT boat, dirty camouflage paint, life raft by bridge face
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PT 111 and 112
Title: USS TALLULAH (AO-50)
Caption: At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 10 October 1942, with USS PT-111 and PT-112 embarked.
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PT 111 and 112
Title: USS TALLULAH (AO-50)
Caption: At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 13 October 1942, showing camouflage screens rigged forward to conceal PT-111 and PT-112, embarked on her foredeck. Note stern of British battleship in dry dock in right foreground.
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PT 111 and 112
Title: USS TALLULAH (AO-50)
Caption: Camouflage screens rigged over and around PT-112 (left) and PT-111 (right) to conceal them while embarked on the oiler's foredeck. Taken at Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 13 October 1942.
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PT 111 and 112
Title: USS TALLULAH (AO-50)
Caption: At the Norfolk Navy Yard, Virginia, 10 October 1942. She has PT-111 and PT-112 embarked forward. Another oiler is astern of her. A British battleship and another foreign warship are in the dry docks at extreme left. Also note the refrigerated boxcar at extreme left center.
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Title: USS PT-117 Photographed in August 1942
Caption: USS PT-117 Photographed in August 1942, upon completion of construction.
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Title: USS PT - 117
Caption: Beached at Rendova with a gaping hole in her bow, following a bombing attack, 1 August 1943
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Title: USS PT-129
Caption: Flying the four star-flag of Admiral Royal Eason Ingersoll, Commander-in-Chief, Atlantic Fleet, as he inspects the ship off the Elco Plant, Bayonne, New Jersey, 3 September 1942.
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PT 131
Title: Battle of Leyte Gulf
Description: 24-25 October 1944 USS PT-131 (foreground) and other ELCO type motor torpedo boats preparing for the Battle of Surigao Strait, about 24 October 1944. Photographed from USS Wachapreague (AGP-8). Note the Mark XIII torpedos, rockets, mortar (atop PT-131's forward deckhouse), 20mm machine cannon and .50 caliber machine guns carried by these PT boats. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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PT 132
Title: UA 486.13 David A. Dhonau Collection
Caption: Collection Photo # UA 486.13.01 Crew of MTB 132 Finschhafen, New Guinea, Sept - Oct 1943
Description: Crew of MTB 132 Finschhafen, New Guinea, Sept - Oct 1943: (Left to Right) Albert La Bore, Tower City, Pennsylvania - gunner; F. Thomason, Los Angeles, California - quartermaster; C.D. Cripps, Cedar City, Utah - radioman; Harvey H. Dhonau, Cincinnati, Ohio - quartermaster; John Fry, New York City, New York - machinist; H.P. Hurlock, Houston, Texas - machinist; O.D. Starkey, Houston, Texas - cook; R.L. Manning, Arkansas - torpedo man; Lt. Francis H. McAdoo, 333 E. 57th St, New York City - skipper; Wilbur Smith, Rudolph, Ohio - machinist
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PT 132 (camera boat) and PT 66 or 68 early 1943 maybe (also listed above)
Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: PT boats alongside prior to leaving for patrol in Morobe, New Guinea.
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PT 132 likely per Jerry Gilmartin
Title: New Guinea Landings
Caption: PT boats transport troops and cover their landing on a beach in Nassau Bay, New Guinea. Troops boarding landing barge.
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PT 133
Title: TUFI PT Advance Base, Cape Nelson, New Guinea
Caption: Native workers roll gasoline drums on board USS PT - 133 for fueling, circa early 1943.
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PT 133
Caption: PT boats off eastern New Guinea, June 1943.
Description: Courtesy of Rear Admiral Arthur H. McCollum, USN (Ret), 1969.
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Title: USS PT-134
Caption: Crewman adds symbols for "KILLED" railway boxcars to the boat's scoreboard, after she raided Japanese transportation. Facilities at Cebu City . Officer may be the boat's c/o, Lt. Edward J. Pope. Note . 50cal machine guns radio antenna and torpedo
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Title: USS PT - 140
Caption: Underway off Melville, R.I., During Aug-Sept. 1943. SHW was assigned to M.T.B. Squadron Four, The PT Training Squadron Based at Melville. Note her "so" radar antenna "RADOME" atop the mast, and depth charges carried aft in place of her second pair of torpedo tubes.
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PT 151, 152, 153, 154, 155, 156 aboard the oiler SS White Plains
Caption: PT boats are loaded aboard a special auxiliary deck built over the main deck of a Navy oiler which carried them to the Philippines. (This scene was taken in New York Harbor prior to the outbreak of war).
Description: Page 64 "At Close Quarters"
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PT 152
Title: Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
Caption: Damage suffered by USS PT-152 from an enemy shell explosion during the Battle of Surigao Strait, 24-25 October.
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Title: USS PT-157
Description: Crew members pose on the boat's foredeck, at Rendova, Solomon Islands, in July 1943, while operating in support of the New Georgia operation. Note PT-157's Aces & Eights insignia painted below her number on the cabin front. Photographed by T/Sgt. J. Sarno, USMC. U.S. Marine Corps Photograph.
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Per Ted Walther, this is an Elco 80' boat.
Per Jeff Davidson, based on visible hardware this may be a boat in the 159 to 186 range.
Title: 20mm Anti-Aircraft Machine Gun
Caption: In action on a Pt-boat's afterdeck, during training maneuvers off Melville, Rhode Island, during World War II. Note well - tatooed man handling 20mm magazine in center. Stenciled lettering on magazine indicates that this may be PT-62, which was at Melville in 1942-43.
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Title: USS PT - 164
Caption: With demolished bow, following a Japanese Air Attack on Rendova Harbor, 1 August 1943. An LCM is assisting
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Title: USS PT-167
Caption: Is struck by an enemy torpedo, on 5 November 1943, while in action with Japanese torpedo planes off Bougainville, Solomon Islands. The torpedo passed through the boat without exploding. Painting by Captain Gerard Richardson, USNR-R, circa 1966.
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Per Ted Walther:
Forward Port PT 167 (beehive radar SCR 517)
Forward Starboard PT 171
Aft Port PT 168
Aft Starboard PT 174
Title: USS Atascosa (AO-66)
Description: Starboard quarter view of USS Atascosa (AO-66) underway in light load condition with camouflaged PT boats as deck cargo fore and aft off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA, on 14 March 1943. She was the former S.S. Esso Columbia.
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Per Ted Walther:
Forward Port PT 167 (beehive radar SCR 517)
Forward Starboard PT 171
Aft Port PT 168
Aft Starboard PT 174
Title: USS Atascosa (AO-66)
Description: Starboard bow view of USS Atascosa (AO-66) underway in light load condition with camouflaged PT boats as deck cargo fore and aft off the Norfolk Navy Yard, Portsmouth, VA, on 14 March 1943. She was the former S.S. Esso Columbia. Note the lines at her bow. She seems to be streaming paravanes.
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PT 192
Title: USS CYRENE (AGP-13)
Caption: 3 January 1945, PT 192 being hoisted onto forecastle for major hull repair. "At close quarters."
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Title: USS PT-194
Description: Refueling from USS Wachapreague (AGP-8) on 20 October 1944 while enroute from Palau to Leyte Gulf. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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PT 199
Title: Normandy Invasion, June 1944
Description: USS PT-199 speeds past invasion shipping, carrying Admiral Harold Stark, Commander U.S. Naval Forces Europe, to the Normandy beachhead for an inspection tour, 14 June 1944. A British hospital ship is in the left distance. Photographed by Combat Photo Unit Eleven (CPU-11). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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PT 199
Title: Cherbourg, France
Description: U.S. Navy motor torpedo boats (PT) and U.S. Coast Guard 83-foot patrol boats use the waterfront as a temporary base, while operating out of Cherbourg, 30 August 1944. PT boat at left is PT-199. Note the depth charges on the sterns of the USCG patrol boats in the foreground. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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PT 199 maybe
Title: Normandy Invasion, 1944.
Caption: Rear Admiral Alan G. Kirk, USN, commander of the invasion task force, (under left leg of mast), and Admiral Harold R. Stark, USN, commander, U.S. Naval forces, Europe, (under right leg of mast) en route to Normandy on a PT boat, on 14 June 1944. This boat may be USS PT-199. Note radar, spotlight, and horn.
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Title: USS PT-212
Caption: With several British officers on board, during World War II. Note: cockpit details; radar; .50 caliber machine guns; mast structure.
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Title: USS PT-216. February 2, 1944
Caption: USS PT-216. Taking Lieutenant General Mark Clark to the advance command post at the Anzio Beachhead, February 2, 1944.
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PT 242
Title: Crane barge
Caption: A crane barge lowers a new Packard engine into PT 242 at a Pacific base.
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Per Ted Walther, this is actually PT 245
Title: Allan R. Montgomery, Lieutenant Commander, USN
Caption: Squadron commander of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2 aboard PT-45, June-July 1942.
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PT 277, 281, and 288
Title: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 23
Caption: Commissioning ceremonies, at Higgins Industrial Canal Plant, New Orleans, La., 28 June 1942. boats present in right front are: PT - 281, 277 & 288. Note standardized camouflage pattern of these boats.
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Title: PT boat No. 285
Caption: Underway, 19 October 1943.
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Title: USS PT-314
Caption: Underway in July 1943, probably in Rhode Island Waters. She was then serving with MTB Squadron Four, based at Melville, R.I.
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Title: PT-320
Caption: Boat's wreckage, alongside a tender, after she was hit by a bomb in Leyte Gulf, 5 November 1944.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 393
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PT 321
Title: Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944.
Caption: USS PT-321 picking up Japanese survivors in Surigao Strait, October 1944. Note second man in water alongside of PT.
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Title: USS PT-323
Caption: After being almost cut in half by a kamikaze plane, during the Leyte campaign, 10 December 1944.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 395
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PT 325
Title: Unidentified ship
Caption: Looking down from the port wing of bridge PT 325 hoisted on port side for underwater repairs. "At close quarters."
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Title: PT boat No. 337
Caption: Underway, 19 October 1943.
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PT 354
Title: Multipul "bazooka" Rocket Launcher
Caption: In use on USS PT-354, of PT squadron 25, at Coco Solo, Canal Zone, on 17 December 1943. Note: the boat's mast and radar; flag and commissioning pennant signal lamp.
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PT 369
Title: Commander S.S. BOWLING,
Caption: COM M.T.B. squadrons, seventh fleet, observes Morotai operations aboard USS PT-369, 15 September 1944. Bowling is standing in center.
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PT 369
Title: Morotai Operation, September 1944.
Caption: USS PT-369 heads south from Morotai toward Japanese-held Halmahera, on it’s first combat patrol from the newly established Morotai base. Photograph dated 15 September 1944, but probably taken a day or two later. Note nickname "Sad Sack" on cabin, numeral "9" on radar antenna cover, binoculars of bridge crew, and 37mm gun at left.
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PT 376 per Will Day
Caption: Navy personnel aboard a 7th Fleet PT boat watch as a raft from the boat puts in to the shore of Corregidor to pick up paratroopers who overshot the top of the Island in the airborne assault. 16 February 1945. "At Close Quarters" page 423.
Description: "At Close Quarters" page 423.
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Title: USS PT-463
Caption: World War II photo
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Title: USS PT-490 with General Douglas MacArthur aboard (visible amidships), carrying him and his staff from Negros Island to Iloilo, Panay, in 1945
Caption: USS PT-490 with General Douglas MacArthur aboard (visible amidships), carrying him and his staff from Negros Island to Iloilo, Panay, in 1945. Note the general's five star flag flying from the mast. Also note name "Little Dutch" above the hull numbers.
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Title: USS PT-505
Description: USS PT-505 Under tow, after she struck a mine off St. Marcouf Island in the English Channel on 7 June 1944. She had settled heavily by the stern, as indicated by the dirty water line on her hull. Note the inscription Portland or Bust on her side. PT-505 was towed back to Portland, England, on 11 June 1944. Collection of Captain Mark Armistead, USNR (Deceased), 1985. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
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PT 509
Description: (AM-125) Sinking off Utah Beach after striking a mine during the Normandy invasion, 7 June 1944. USS PT-509 and USS Pheasant (AM-61) are standing by. Photographed from USS Threat (AM-124). Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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PT 523
Title: Leyte Invasion, 1944
Caption: USS PT-523 receiving a message by high line from USS WACHAPREAGUE (AGP-8) at sea, en route to Leyte, October 1944.
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PT 525
Title: General Douglas MacArthur
Caption: On board PT-525, bound for Tacloban, Leyte, for liberation ceremonies, 24 October 1944. Those present are L-R: Lieutenant Alexander W. Wells, USNR, CO of PT-525, General MacArthur, Commander Selmon S. Bowling Commander Motor Torpedo Boat squadrons 7th fleet, and Lieutenant General Walter Krueger, Commanding General 6th Army. Note .50 cal. machinegun mount at right.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 396
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PT 534
Title: USS OAK HILL (LSD-7)
Caption: PT Boats aboard USS OAK HILL (LSD-7) at Espiritu Santo, Island, 23-24 July 1945. PT 534 entering well. Published in "At Close Quarters".
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Title: USS PT-564
Description: Underway during 1943-45. She is armed with two twin .50 caliber machineguns, four Mark XIII torpedoes and a single 20mm gun. This boat, the Higgins Hellcat, was smaller, lighter and faster than regular Higgins and Elco PTs. Though PT-564 ran extensive trials, the design was not selected for production. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: PT 575
Caption: 21 July 1945. At close quarters.
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Title: PT-601
Caption: PT-601, one of the latest Elco 80 foot boats, built in 1945.
Description: "At Close Quarters" page 58.
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Title: USS PT-601 photographed from USS LSM(R)-509 in Lock 41 on the Ohio River, on October 13, 1945
Caption: USS PT-601 photographed from USS LSM(R)-509 in Lock 41 on the Ohio River, on October 13, 1945. Courtesy of Captain C.W. Stoll, Louisville, Kentucky. Received from C.H. Bogart, 1972.
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Title: USS PT-625 class
Caption: Type photo, showing the bridge controls.
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Title: USS PT-625 class
Caption: Type photo, showing the bridge controls.
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Title: USS PT-625 class
Caption: Type photo, propellers and rudders.
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Title: USS PT-625 class
Caption: Type photo, propellers and rudders.
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Title: USS PT-625 class
Caption: Type photo, propellers and rudders.
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Title: USS PT-625 class
Caption: Type photo, note 20 mm gun.
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Title: USS PT-631
Caption: Type photo for the PT-625 class, showing the interior of the chart house. Note radio equipment.
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Title: USS PT-644
Caption: Type photo for the PT-625 class, showing the boat in her hoisting cradle.
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Title: PT 791-796
Caption: Type photograph, by Higgins Industries, Inc., New Orleans. Dated 19 September 1945. The same view, with negative no. 19-N-89087, was used as type photograph for PT 625-660, dated 20 July 1945. This particular boat is PT-791
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Title: USS PT-810
Caption: Of motor torpedo squadron one, on a high speed run in the Chesapeake Bay, 21 April 1951. Lieutenant . Franklin W. Joyce, USN, is commanding officer of the boat.
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Top


Pacific Theater Photos

Per Ted Walther, this is not PT 601 it is some other boat off New Guinea. PT 601 was in RON 41 and never left the states.
Title: PT-601, July 1945
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Title: PT Boats
Caption: PT boats returning to base after operations off Leyete in December 1944. Note twin mounted .50 cal. Machine guns.
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Title: TUFI PT Advance Base, Cape Nelson, New Guinea
Caption: View of the base jetty. This was the first PT Advance Base in New Guinea. Taken circa early 1943.
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Title: Thursday Island Pt Base, off the tip of Cape York, Australia.
Caption: A pt is hauled out on the base marine railway, as Lt. Thomas A. Arnold, USNR, MTB Sq. 7 engineering officer, looks on circa 1943
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Title: Mindanao Operations, 1945.
Caption: PT boats speed through Polloc Harbor, Mindanao, while supporting landings ther, 17 April 1945. boat in background appears to be PT-150. Note twin .50cal machine gun in foreground.
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Title: PT Base #17, Bobon Point, Samar PI
Caption: Circa mid 1945. This was claimed to be the largest and most complete motor torpedo boat base in the world.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 419
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Title: Pt Boat
Caption: Under repair in a small floating dry-dock in the Philippines, circa 1944. lacking an "A - Frame" crane, Pt Tender LST - 201 (later USS PONTUS, (AGP - 20 ) towed a dry-dock wherever she went. Note 40mm cun on PT; also depth charges
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Title: Mios Woendi Island PT Boat Base
Caption: Near Biak, New Guinea. Handling Mk. 13 torpedos at the base torpedo dump circa summer 1944.
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Title: PT Advance Base, Brunei Bay, Borneo
Caption: Tent quarters on dock, where most of the base complement lived, circa summer 1945. The low and swampy terrain there necessitated these living arrangements.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 436
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Title: PT Crewmen Come Young
Caption: Sc Forrest Hall, USNR, 17 years old, helps Gunner's Mate 2nd class Charles Ferguson, right, and Chief Machinist Mate Carl Ochsner bring .50 cal. machine gun ammunition aboard his PT boat, at Dreger harbor, New Guinea circa 1943-44.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 214
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Title: Morobe Island, New Guinea
Caption: The Mess Hall at PT base, Morobe Island in New Guinea June-August 1943
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Title: Morobe, New Guinea
Caption: Scene in an advance PT Base at Morobe, New Guinea.
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Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: Sailors unloading gasoline drums from an LCT, on the base waterfront, July-August 1943
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Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: Daytime scene in the radio shack, July-August 1943. Note pin-ups on wall.
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Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: An LCT arrives at the PT base to deliver a supply of gasoline in drums, July-August 1943
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Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: Sailors unloading gasoline drums from an LCT. Photo released 8 July 1943. Note camouflage painted inside the LCT.
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Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: Boat captains reporting to intelligence office after patrol, at PT base in Morobe, New Guinea. Left to right: John Grossball, USNR, Ensign Robert F. Lynch, USNR, Cawley, USNR, Ensign James E. Miller, USNR, De Mond, USNR, Lieutenant Junior Grade William M. Snelling, USNR. Seated: Lieutenant Junior Grade George G. Westfeldt, Jr., USNR, Lieutenant Junior Grade John H. Sembower, USNR. July and August 1943.
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Title: Morobe PT Boat Base, New Guinea
Caption: Dispersal dock at Morobe, with a PT boat and some of her crew in the distance. Several natives are beside the path in the foreground. Photographed in July-August 1943.
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Title: PT nest, Pacific Island
Caption: Under the overhanging camouflage net, men of the PT squadron await the call to action.
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Title: Admiralties Operations, March-April 1944. PT boats bombarding Pityilu Island, Seeadler Harbor, prior to landings there by the Army's First Cavalry Division
Caption: Admiralties Operations, March-April 1944. PT boats bombarding Pityilu Island, Seeadler Harbor, prior to landings there by the Army's First Cavalry Division, 30 March 1944. Note 37mm & 20mm guns on these boats.
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Title: Australian Coast Watchers on Bougainville, November 29, 1943
Caption: Australian Coast Watchers on Bougainville, November 29, 1943, after they had been picked up from Ireland by PT boats. Several New Ireland native assistants are with them. The men carry British SMLE rifles and U.S. M-1 carbines. Photographed by Sarno. Note sign at top: "This Beach is reserved for PT Base Boats" .
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Title: Solomons Operations, 1943-44
Caption: PT boats in floating drydocks at the Rendova Motor torpedo boat (MTB) Base, Central Solomons, January 1944.
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Title: Calvertville
Caption: The Tulagi Pt Boat Base, named for CDR. Allen P. Calvert, com MTB fiot one, circa 1943
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Title: Motor torpedo boat base, Bougainville
Caption: PT boat captains, crowded into the small operations tent, listen to a pre-mission briefing by base Commanding Officer, Commander Thomas G. Warfield, just before leaving for a night patrol, 10 March 1944.
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Title: Motor torpedo boat (MTB) Base, Bougainville
Caption: PT boat captains, crowded into the small operations tent, listen attentively to Commander Thomas G. Warfield, Commanding Officer of MTB Base, Bougainville, as he briefs them just before the boats leave for night patrol.
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Title: Biak Operation, August 1944.
Caption: A PT boat comes alongside USS GALLUP (PF-47) awaiting further orders after the landings at Biak, Schouten Islands, 17 August 1944. Note: 37 mm Gun on PT.
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Title: USS OAK HILL (LSD-7)
Caption: PT Cradles aboard USS OAK HILL (LSD-7) Espiritu Santo, Island, 23-24 July 1945. Published in "At Close Quarters" page 49A
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Title: USS Oyster Bay (AGP-6)
Description: Anchored in Leyte Gulf in December 1944 with PT boats alongside. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: Leyte Invasion, 1944
Caption: PT boats entering Liloan Bay, Leyte, on 23 October 1944. Photographed from USS WACHAPREAGUE (AGP-8).
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Title: Cavite Navy Yard, Philippines
Description: Vertical aerial photograph, taken 27 October 1941. The larger ship docked at the Navy Yard (in the right side of the image) is USS Canopus (AS-9), with two destroyers flanking the nearby pier. Six motor torpedo boats (PT) are tied up to the pier in upper right center. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: Espiritu Santo, New Hebrides
Caption: Motor Torpedo Boat Base Number 2 at mouth of Sarakata River, with 80 foot ELCO PTs from Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 37, summer 1945.
Description: Courtesy of Leo Brown
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Title: Unloading beached PT's.
Caption: Unloading beached PT's at Amsterdam Island, Cape San Sapor, Dutch New Guinea.
Description: "At Close Quarters" page 255. Caption not exactly as it appears in book.
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Title: PT's firing at Biak, 17 August 1944.
Description: "At Close Quarters" page 258.
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Title: Paratrooper pick up.
Caption: A raft from a Navy PT boat makes for the shore of Corregidor to pick up paratroopers who overshot the top of the "rock" in the airborne assault on 16 February 1945. "At Close Quarters" page 424
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Title: Mios Woendi Island, Dutch New Guinea,
Caption: Torpedo dump at PT naval base on Mios Woendi Island, Dutch New Guinea
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Title: Mios Woendi Island, Dutch New Guinea,
Caption: Evaporator and water tower, at PT naval base on Mios Woendi Island, Dutch New Guinea.
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Atlantic Theater Photos

Title: Maddalena, Sardinia
Caption: US Navy PT boats at Maddalena circa late 1943, with a surrendered Italian corvette. The damaged building at left was repaired and used as a PT engineering repair shop.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 296
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Title: Southern France Invasion, August 1944
Caption: Southern France Invasion, August 1944. A PT boat, carrying whole blood, approaches a beach in the Saint Maxime area, on August 26, 1944. Photographed by Harris. Note small life raft and 20mm gun on the PT.
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Title: Salerno Invasion, September 1943
Caption: USS LST-404 and two PT boats near USS ANCON off Salerno, 12 September 1943.
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Title: Normandy Invasion, June 1944
Description: U.S. Navy PT boats crossing the English Channel on D-Day, 6 June 1944, as twelve B-17 bombers pass overhead. Note the twin .50 caliber machine guns on the boat from which the photograph was taken. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
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Title: Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, U.S. Army, beachhead near Anzio, Italy, 22 January 1944.
Caption: Lieutenant General Mark W. Clark, U.S. Army, Commanding General of Fifth Army, looks toward the shoreline from the PT boat carrying him to the beachhead near Anzio, Italy, 22 January 1944.
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Title: U.S. Navy "Elco" type PT boat
Description: Photo #: 80-G-254261 U.S. Navy Elco type PT boat Escorts ships transporting salvage units to Cherbourg, France, circa summer 1944. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Aleutian Islands Campaign Photos

Title: PT boats underway, Attu Island
Caption: PT boats underway off Attu Island during occupation.
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Title: ADAK PT Base. Alaska
Caption: A tractor hauls a pt up a ramp on a rubber - tired cradle for repairs, circa 1943-44
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Title: Kiska Operation, August 1943
Caption: PT boats with plywood "troops" in place, ready to masquerade as landing craft in diversionary operations during the Kiska reoccupation. Note torpedo tubes, skiff, and foul weather gear.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 273
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Title: Higgins-Type Motor Torpedo Boats (PTs)
Caption: Nested together at Massacre Bay, Attu, Aleutians, circa 1943-44. Note conference in session on the forecastle of one boat and a motor launch passing by in the distance.
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Title: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 13
Caption: Cruising northward through the inland passage from Seattle to Alaska, spring 1943.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 267
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Stateside, Training, Factory, and Unknown Photos

Title: Lieutenant Commander Robert B. Kelly, Commanding Officer of MTB Squadron Nine
Caption: In the cockpit of one of the Squadron's boats, during its shakedown period, March 1943.
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Title: Motor Boat Submarine Chaser (PTC) circa early 1941
Caption: Motor Boat Submarine Chaser (PTC) Photographed in a US East Coast Port, circa early 1941. Note depth charge racks, transfer racks, "Y-Guns" and arbors.
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Title: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 13
Caption: Unloading one of the squadron's PT boats from a merchant ship, at Seattle circa early 1943. The boats were shipped from the east coast to Seattle, and ran from there to the Aleutians on their own bottoms.
Description: Published in At Close Quarters, page 266
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Title: "Higgins" Type Pt Boats
Caption: On the assembly line at Higgins Industries City Park Plant, New Orleans, La., during World War II. The boats completion state advanced from the rear of the photo toward the front.
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Title: Depth Charge
Caption: Explodes in the wake of a pt boat, during pt training exercises in the gulf of Panama, 1942 -45
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Title: .50 cal machine guns
Caption: In action on board a U.S. Navy pt boat, during World War II training exercises
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Title: Lieutenant Commander Robert B. Kelly, Commanding Officer of MTB Squadron Nine
Caption: In the cockpit of one of the Squadron's PT boats, during its shakedown period, March 1943.
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Title: Tests of rocket firing from PT boat
Caption: Taken by USS WACHAPREAGUE (AGP-8).
Description: From "At Close Quarters" page 433
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Title: USS ACONTIUS (AGP-12)
Caption: Underway, in camouflage, as seen by ZP-12 blimp on 12 May 1944, from an altitude of 250 feet. Note cradle for PT-boats, forward.
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Title: Mark XIII Torpedo
Description: Sailor removes securing lines and clamps in preparation for launching the torpedo from a Higgins class motor torpedo (PT) boat operating from the Subchaser Training Center, Miami, Florida, circa 1944. He is wearing bathing trunks, life jacket and steel helmet. Photograph was received by the Naval Photographic Science Laboratory on 16 November 1945. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives
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Title: Mark XIII Torpedo
Description: Ready for launching from a Higgins class motor torpedo (PT) boat operating from the Subchaser Training Center, Miami, Florida, circa 1944. Note the exhaust from the torpedo's engine. Photograph was received by the Naval Photographic Science Laboratory on 16 November 1945. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: Elco "Thunderbolt" 20mm quadruple gun mount
Caption: Of the type carried by some motor torpedo boats (PT) during World War II.
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Title: Elco "Thunderbolt" 20mm quadruple gun mount
Caption: Of the type carried by some motor torpedo boats (PT) during World War II.
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Title: 37mm automatic cannon (aircraft type)
Caption: On the bow of a PT boat, during World War II. Crewmen are loading the gun's magazine. Mounting is an early locally produced type.
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Title: A well - Tatooed Pt Boat Crewman
Caption: Handles belts of .50 cal. Machine gun ammunition, on board a PT Boat on training duty at Melville, R. I. during World War II. Note: Depth charge at left. Color coded bullet tips, in ratio of one red to three black.
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Title: "Torpedos Away!!"
Caption: An "ELCO" type pt boat fires a pair of MK. VIII Torpedoes in tests off the Newport Torpedo Station, R. I., during 1943-45.
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Title: Two PT boats (Elco Type)
Caption: Make a simulated attack on USS HORNET (CV-12), off the South end of the Panama Canal, on 20 February 1944.
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Title: Recruiting Poster featuring Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) commander Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley:
Description: This 1942 poster's text reads, Ouch! The Japs don't like mosquitoes especially the PT variety, with men like Lieutenant Bulkeley at the wheel and a picked crew shooting stingers into the sides of their warships and merchantmen. If you like to be where the attack starts there's a place for you right in the U.S. Navy. Go to your nearest Navy Recruiting Station today! The poster includes photographs of Lt. Bulkeley and a PT Boat. The latter, shown flying a Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron TWO flag at its masthead, is probably PT-18 (an ELCO 70-foot type), photographed in 1941. Courtesy of the U.S. Navy Art Collection, Washington, D.C. U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command Photograph.
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Title: Melville, Rhode Island
Caption: Interior view of Quonset hut used as barracks at U.S. Navy Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Base and Training Center, summer 1942.
Description: Courtesy of Leo Brown
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Title: Melville, Rhode Island
Caption: U.S. Navy Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Base and Training Center, summer 1942.
Description: Courtesy of Leo Brown
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Title: Melville, Rhode Island
Caption: Quonset huts at U.S. Navy Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Base and Training Center, summer 1942.
Description: Courtesy of Leo Brown
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Title: 70-FT. Higgins Motor Torpedo boat
Caption: Aerial view of a 70-FT. Higgins Motor Torpedo boat leading a group of 36-FT Higgins "EUREKA" landing craft , near New Orleans about May 1941. This torpedo boat had been built for the British. The landing boats were later developed into the World War II LCPL landing craft.
Description: Photograph sent to ADM Stark by A.J. Higgins, 26, May 1941.
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Title: Motor Torpedo Boat Tender (AGP) of the LST Type
Caption: Lifts a Pt boat with its "A- Frame" crane, for repairs, circa 1943-45.
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Title: Experimental Quad 20mm A.A. Gun Mounting - The THUNDERBOLT
Caption: On board USS WEST VIRGINIA -BB-48- off IE Shima during the Okinawa Campaign.
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Camouflage Measures

Title: Camouflage Measure 31, Design 4P
Description: Drawing prepared circa 1943-1944 by the Bureau of Ships for a camouflage scheme intended for motor torpedo boats of the PT 71-94 (Higgins) class. This plan shows the boat's starboard side, bow, stern and exposed decks. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: Camouflage Measure 31, Design 4P
Description: Drawing prepared circa 1943-1944 by the Bureau of Ships for a camouflage scheme intended for motor torpedo boats of the PT 71-94 (Higgins) class. This plan shows the boat's port side. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Title: Camouflage Measure 32, Design 5AO
Description: Drawing prepared by the Bureau of Ships for a camouflage scheme intended for oilers of the AO 22-32 and 51-64 class. It could also be adapted to the AO 66-72 class and other vessels of similar construction. This plan, approved by Captain Logan McKee, USN, is dated 21 February 1944. It shows the ship's starboard side, stern and superstructure ends. Note that a color scheme for embarked motor torpedo boats (PT) is also specified. Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National Archives.
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Color Insignia and Patches

Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boats (PT)
Caption: Plaque which hung in the PT section of the Bureau of Ships during World War II.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boats (PTs)
Caption: Shoulder patch (2 3/4" diameter) of World War II vintage.
Description: Courtesy of the Fort Sam Houston Military Museum, 1980
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Mobile Field Unit.
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Repair Training Unit, Melville, Rhode Island
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirteen
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Sixteen
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Seventeen
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Eighteen
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Twenty
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Typo. actually Squadron 21
Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-Two
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Twenty-Two
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Twenty-Three
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-One
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-Four
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-Five
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-Six
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-Seven
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-Nine
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Forty-One
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Typo. actually Squadron 42
Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Thirty-One
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 43
Caption: World War II emblem.
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Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Fourteen; Russian PT Boats 1-12
Caption: World War II emblem. RPTs 1-12 were originally USS PTs 85-94, 197 and 198, which were to be assigned to MTB Squadron 14, but were transferred abroad instead.
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Title: Insignia: Russian PT Boats 13-30.
Caption: World War II emblem for former U.S. Navy motor torpedo boats transferred to the U.S.S.R.
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Insignia Missing From Color List, in B&W

Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Four (MTB RON 4)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Fourteen (MTB RON 14)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946. Insignia by Walt Disney.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Fifteen (MTB RON 15)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946. Design features a dragon on a torpedo.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Nineteen (MTB RON 19)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 24 (MTB RON 24)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946. Design features a bald eagle on a torpedo.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 25 (MTB RON 25)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 27 (MTB RON 27)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 28 (MTB RON 28)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946. Design features a bat.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 32 (MTB RON 32)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 33 (MTB RON 33)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 38 (MTB RON 38)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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Title: Insignia: Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 40 (MTB RON 40)
Caption: Plaque received in 1946.
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