51 years ago on Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs Michigan there was a PT that was docked on a tour of the Great Lakes. I went below on a tour and saw all of this as a 14yr old. I was and still am in awe of the brave men that fought on these little warships.
Jerry, thank you so much for the tour of this PT boat. My grandfather, served on PT-63 from 1940-1945 in Papua New Guinea. He was an officer and I have always had this insatiable curiosity of what the inside of the boat looked like. He was the chief mechanic. Thank you again for this look into what was probably the most important part of my grandpa’s life! Silvey J. Cimato 1916-1986. I’ve always been so proud of him!
Thanks Paolucci! That really makes our day when we on the boat crew get to meet a real WW2 PT Boat veteran and their family (called Splinters by the PT Boater Association). So I know the 63 boat was destroyed by fire in Emirau at the refueling dock. Per our crewman Veteran Master Chief Jack Duncan in RON5 on PT62, he states "The 63 and 107 had been destroyed by a fire at the refueling dock at Hamburg Bay, Emirau" on June 18th 1944. There is a photo of the boat on NAVSOURCE. Do you have any other photos of the PT63 or any other PT Boats? we are looking for them to put into our museum. Please respond to me if you can. Thanks for watching!
Bravo! Excellent! Dude, you should narrate videos for a living! It is so refreshing to hear someone speak so clearly in such a professional manner! Thanks also for NOT having any music in the background! We definitely owe you a beer! Best of luck!
October, 1940; my grandfather, Silvey J. Cimato, reported for duty for PT63. He ran the engine room and also was an officer. He died in 1986 of pancreatic cancer, when I was just 14, so I never was mature enough to ask him about his WWII life. I have his ear diary (I can send you a copy if you’d like); but that’s about it. I was curious about what his environment looked like on the PT boat, now something that I’ve wanted to know my entire life, has been answered. Thank you so much! My grandfather was class valedictorian, graduated at age 16, joined the navy for the next 17 years, fought in WWII, & was a self taught engineer, superintendent of the machine shop at a classified NASA company (I won’t say which) and literal genius. If I could speak to one person that I’ve lost in my life, it would be him. Your video, was like getting part of that conversation. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
One of my favorite books of all time is PT-109. It's also no wonder so many WWII vets came home and went hot rodding with anything they could get their mitts on. They were used to playing with toys powered by supercharged Packard V-12s x 3.
that Packard was choice.I loved reading pt109 in my childhood days too.Served navy in operations dept in 80s an am amazed to learn that all the years between the higgens boat an the Spruance I was aboard both had generater troubles lol
@sharonmiller6436 No. The boat shown in the show was either the plywood mock-up or that British Vosper you'd see skipping the water in certain shots. The ACTUAL PT-73 was a Higgins-built PT boat that had to be destroyed after it ran up on a reef in Japanese waters to prevent capture.
I remember seeing this boat when I was a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary in Portland. It's nice to see a tour by someone who actually knows the details of the boat.
IPJ Bradley No they are not. These are purpose built Packard marine engines. The only thing they have in common with a Merlin is that they are both water cooled V12's. These engines are an outgrowth and further development of the WW1 era Liberty aircraft engine, also a Packard design.
I lived in the west hills of Portland and had the joy of seeing this baby rolling on the Willamette river. Awesome. Great work that required a lot of dedicated people giving time, money, and expertise to get this ship running. Kudos!!!👍😎
My dad was a hands on marine steam turbine engineer/inspector for GE in WW2...He spent 4-5 yrs. in every major shipyard looking at engine rooms of all sorts, all the time....He was always a fan of the old Packards...Some dads take their kids out to baseball games- my dad used to take me out to old boats in marinas & sawmills in the sticks & watch him fix them...Way more fun than nintendo.
@tinwrecker52 , How very cool Your Dad must have been!!! Taking you to shipyards, marinas and sawmills... That is something that many kids should get a chance to see & experience!!!
I ran the engine rooms of towboats from 2800 to 10500 hp, and just the idea of something this powerful operating on avgas in combat gives me the piss shivers. Respect to the guys who did it.
Imagine being on duty down in that engine room in the southern Pacific, all the noise, heat and vibration besides the pounding of the hull dancing over the waves. It took a special breed of sailor to run those engines.
***** Yes that must have been a terrible feeling to have nothing to shoot back with. I think I remember some merchant ships were armed and crewed by US Navy Armed Guard. I met a former Armed Guard recently and he was a 3 inch gun loader. He told me he had fired at German U Boats during the war. He was stationed aboard a merchant oil tanker.
@Charlie K; I can only imagine that explosive atmosphere inside that hull. One small hatch for escape?. When Kennedy's boat got run over, burns were the injuries of normal expectations. At least diesel takes a few more seconds to really light up. AV gas... inferno instant.
My Grandfather was on PT-213 during the Sicily and Normandy invasions. He was part of a beach jumper unit whose task was to make the Germans think the invasion was landing at a different beach from the actual invasion. He was a machinist mate so this is where he would have been posted. He always told me about these engines and was very proud of how powerful they were. Unfortunately, we lost him at 90 on April 17th, 2016. Seeing the narrator go down that ladder reminded me of a story he once told me. We were watching the SuperBowl and it was just before the halftime show. All of the cameras were flashing and he looked at me and said "Shaun you see all those flashing lights? That reminds me when we were in Sicily I was down in the engine room and my lieutenant called down for me to come see this. I got to the top of those stairs and looked at the shore and it was just like that stadium with all of the lights flashing. But instead of cameras, it was the Germans shooting at us. Just then a shell went off to the left of the boat. I slid back down those stairs and prayed like I've never prayed before in my life." Rest in piece Rudolf Lutge ( POP ) you will never be forgotten.
+Shaun Otherson Thanks Shaun for your comments. I hope you can come to Portland and see the boat for yourself someday. It sounds like your POP was a neat guy.
+Jerry Gilmartin Thank you so much for posting this video and giving me a chance to see where he worked during the war. If you get the chance can you post one of the boat in open water at full throttle? I also hope to see it in person one day. Thank you again.
My uncle was a PO mechanic on a Royal Navy MTB covering the Sicily landings , being based in Malta through the siege he had had a tough time but it got worse when he was at the Mustard Gas disaster at Bari 2nd December 1943.
Thanks Jerry ! My dad was in the navy, and said he & a friend were going to buy one of those when he got out to live on until they found out how much fuel they used. Haha ! He's been gone a while now. Thanks for bringing back the memory of his story from my short 3with him : )
Wow what a beautiful boat. As a teenager I was in Sea Scouts and we operated an AVR. The V12s had been swapped out for a pair of 671 Supercharged diesels that would still move the boat along nicely. Was one of the high points of my teen years.
This is AWESOME!!! A real running PT boat!!! Wow!!! In Beautiful like-new condition... I remember going through A&P school back in the early 1980's, and studying about several of the components that were found in this engine room, like the superchargers, Holley variable venturi and bendix pressure carburetors, eclipse generators and starters, carbon-pile voltage regulators, burdon tube pressure gauges, D'arsonval movement instruments, etc... Many of these components were used in several applications.... This engine room represents state of the art equipment, 85 years ago... Very cool!!!
Well done thank you for the tour. It's amazing how you guys took care of this boat and got it to be seaworthy again very impressed thank you again PS I would give my left eyeball for a ride thank you again
I was a mach mate and our fun was the 50 footers and mike boats. My hearing was a little damaged from it all. Finally found ear plugs. Packard made an incredible engine. Great tour , Thanks !
Learned a Lot. Thank you for the tour. Last ship I saw was a modern destroyer in Savannah GA. Commander gave me a personal your. PT boats are my favorite.
Thank you very much for this tour, Jerry; I found it extremely interesting. It's a lot more complicated than I imagined, and I salute the men who endured the heat and noise down there, especially in the South Pacific.
Thanks for sharing. Interesting and brought back some memory. The 796 was used as service craft at the USNMDL, Panama City, Florida I got to go out on that several times it was a fun ride. Of course it was not armed. That was the same PT Boat they renumbered and put on a trailer for President Kennedy's inauguration. I tracked the PT 796 on the internet I understand it's in a park somewhere in Tennessee if it's still not deteriorated.
Thanks Barry,Yes the 796 was moved from Memphis and is now on display up at the Battleship Cove Museum in Fall River, Mass. It is part of the PT Boat Museum. She is now inside a building up on blocks. You can go right up to her side and look through windows that were cut to see inside.
@@allaboutboats I'd bet that 796 was on Mud Island near Memphis with the Memphis Belle, but the Mud Island project wasn't funded or didn't generate enough revenue to be self sufficient and maintain the historical displays.
Barry Simmons what year's did you get a ride on UB-108 / PT 796 , I was the Engineman on her in 1966 and 1967 . My skipper was Chief Boatswain Mate Harvey Hawkins . We used to take out fishing trips on the PT and UB-104 a Diesel powered Air Rescue Boat .
Good video, thanks! I have a photo my Dad took circa 1945 when his small avgas tanker (Agawam) was moored at Tulagi, shows PT-143 and PT-122 docked alongside his vessel. Cool boats!
Hey Brit, thanks for watching! I would really like to get a copy of that photo if you would not mind sending an electronic version of it to me? I met the skipper of PT143 Bill Skade, who came down and drove our boat on his 90th birthday a few years ago. I would like to add that picture to our display of him if possible. Thanks Jerry
I love the "Quiet Please" sign in the engineroom, I was an engineer on a US Navy Minesweeper and I now have tinnitus from working in the engineroom with 4 Packard 12 cylinder engines running at 2000 RPM.
Hi Gary, There is a wooden Minesweeper called the USS Lucid being restored in Stockton Ca. I met the crew recently and visited the ship. It had Packard 12 cylinder diesel engines in the engine room. David R, the owner has only one and is looking for 3 more. You might want to look her up on the internet USS Lucid.
I was a swabby in the 1970's and, after machinist mate school in Great Lakes, wanted something small (PTs were out of service), but drew a carrier instead. I served in the after engine room. LOVED your detailed tour of your PT's e-room1
Thanks for the tour, Two uncle's in WW 2 , one in Africa , one in Normandy, I surely miss both of em, I never served, but Id go in the Navy if I could at 50 years old! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Oh dear, so what engine powers a p51 mustang, oh it’s a Packard manufactured merlin , they are the same engine , the late great jfk captained an American version of a vosper boat fitted with 3 of these beautiful engines, they were very fast, suggest you read up on the history of these amazing boats....
@Kevin Olschesky WRONG WRONG ALL FUKING WRONG !!!!! Those two planes used the Allison V1710 V12, made by General Motors !!! Had NOTHING to do with the Packard M2500 which were the PT Boat engines used in all US Navy's PT BOATS !!! Gawd where the hell do you get that shit misinformation ?????? You are wrong !!!!
Thank You Jerry...OUTSTANDING...I ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE THE "HOLE" IN A PT BOAT...I WAS UNDER YHE IMPRESSION THAT PT's RAN MERCURY ENGINES...332 OR CLOSE TO THAT...WOW...12 CYL PACKARDS...PT BOATS ARE WAY BIGGER THAN I EVER FIGURED...THANKS...!!!
@@kypackerfan4-12-15 KY Packer Fan (Go Pack) have you heard anything about the 305 in New Orleans being shut down for tours and rides until further notice? I looked on the WW2 Museum website and they dont have tickets for tours or rides even listed as available anymore? What is up?
I worked at a Mfg Plant LaRoche Ind in North Baton Rouge where these where built, put into the Mississippi for testing and the barges to New Orleans to ship to the Pacific. Pretty Cool history
Certainly learned something!! Didn’t realize it was that big! Wish I could visit to browse around. Engines is really something, sure gas hog!!! Thanks for tour!
The 5M series Packard V-12 engines were the final ones they built, increased power WEP increased HP from 1500 to 1850. Very few of these ever saw combat. This boat is the only one existing that I know of that still has the original motors.
"Quiet Please"... Now that is absolutely funny as all get out. Unknown to many folks how loud, loud can be. One of the many sounds of American wisdom, power and freedom. Many Thanks Amigo
My grandfather made those engines at Detroit Packard. I have photos of him there with engine and blueprint. I would LOVE to see this in person! Thank you for sharing.
@@allaboutboats I'm near Detroit. If I ever travel to Portland, I would like to contact you. I would also bring my photos. My Grandpa was proud of the work he did on those engines. I wish he could have gone on one of those incredible boats. He couldn't serve in the military with his glass eye, but he did his part with the engines.
@@zamyzonzalez2250 OK just let us know. Go to the website www.savetheptboatinc.com for contact info and directions. Hope you can make the trip out soon!
Thanks for posting. My Dad was on PT-470 in WWII, a Higgins boat which saw duty in the South Pacific. I was lucky enough as a kid (~35 years ago) to be on vacation with my parents in Battleship Cove Massachusetts when we came upon a door that said PT boaters knock here. We ended up getting an on board tour of the PT boat on display in the building next to the BB Mass. Others just walked around the roped off boat. We got to go on board. Can't remember the PT boat number. My Dad walked me through how he used to run the engines on the signal lights from the deck. So glad I knocked on that door. A vacation I'll never forget.
Wow that sounds like a great memory! It was PT796 at Fall River. I have been on board as well. Do you have any of your Dads photos from when he was on the boat?
@Rick 1776-1970) Reds under the bed, The sky is falling, communists, ah! ah! ah! You Americans are so brainwashed about communism it's funny. lol. You Americans are ruled by dual Israeli Nationals who invented communism and the Bolshevik revolution that killed 60,000,000 innocent civilians. Israel is full of communes and Kibbutz.
Obvious you never read Solzhenitsyn's books about the Commies torture and mass murder in the Gulag Archipeligo Work and Death Camps. Communism is a 150 yr old scam to get the stupidest people, like you, to give away control of their lives to the most evil people, like Communist leaders; Stalin, Che, Castro, Ortega, Chaves, Pol Pot, Mao etc etc. The Commies took the worlds largest proven oil resrves and turned Venezuela into a typical Socialist/Communist hellhole. Didn't they Komrade!
I had the pleasure of working my way through college on a real navy PT called the pt109 cruise boat out of Wildwood Crest, NJ. It was named PT 109 and outfitted just like he original but with chairs on the deck. She had three 671 Detroit diesels for propulsion. What a blast to take her to sea twice a day! We sailed from SINNs Dock in Wildwood Crest. I graduated in 1960 and never went back to work on her again.
hi jerry really great vidio i love pt boats there so cool and they kicked some butts for us to that boat looks great to it was really cool how you showed us allaround the boat thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I expect a good number of those burned were pretty well beat up by the end of the war. A wooden boat can only take so many patches before you are patching the patches.
Fascinating video !! Ever hear of the " Flying Saucer" Google pics !! It was a modified ( for passengers) PT boat docked at Chris' restaurant , 9th St Ocean City N.J. in 1966 . It would take passengers out to the ocean at a good speed. I was never so excited & scared to death in my life !!! The Skipper was on & off the throttle , the roar of those motors was ungodly , the water was soaking people , the boat would leap out of the water , then you would hear silence.... then Skipper got back in the throttle ..... As a little kid , it's a memory I'll never forget! Thanks Dad !!!!
Very cool!! Being 66 years old PT boat movie were part of my youth. It was nice to see a previous video produced by Jerry and this video to finally get a detailed understanding of the size and scope of a PT Boat. Thanks
The most amazing ICE ever built.These Packard engines are of course Rolls Royce Merlins made under licence in the USA.It's wonderful to see engine and boat so lovingly restored and maintained,great video.
Thanks Peter! One small correction, these are definitely NOT Rolls Royce Merlins. Along with many others, you have this confused this boat engine with the Packard built Merlin engine. They were made in the same factory in Detroit on adjacent assembly lines. This particular PT boat engine the 5M-2500 Packard Marine V12 has its roots in the old Liberty V12 Aero engine from WW1. It was redesigned in the interwar period by Colonel Jesse Vincent of Packard and Mr Hall-Scott. They designed the water cooled 3M-2500 Marine engine which developed 1200 hp in 1940. From there slight improvements were added to make 4M-2500 with 1500 hp in 1942 and then further improved to the 5M-2500 model which developed 1850 hp by 1945. These boat-specific engines had a far larger displacement and greater weight than the Merlin 2500 cubic inches versus about 1830 cubic inches for the Merlin. However, Packard did make numerous Merlins for use by the British and US Air Forces and were reserved fro use in aircraft. I think this was due to the Merlin's superior power-to-weight ratio over the Boat engine. It would have been a waste of the Merlin to place one into a boat!
@@peterfeltham8065 No problem Peter! Like I said you are not the first person to make this assertion because it is a rather convoluted history of the two engines! Thanks again. Jerry
A great tribute to the men who had to be there., nicely done,, the exhaust seems a bit worrisome . I had a part time job in 92 helping a young man in West Palm restore a similar chase boat with one diesel replacement motor , dont know what ever happened to it but I remember they couldnt haul it as the bottom was soft . always wondered what it looked like when new.
Thanks for your tour. My dad was making those engines in Detroit during WW2. He got drafted late in the war. He always said good things about Packard as a place to work. He was working there when I was born. The guys in the wood shop made me a set of mahogany blocks. I still have my dad’s 10 years of service watch which has their slogan engraved on it, “ask the man who owns one”.
Do you ever run her flat out just for, say, 5 minutes? The roar of those V12 Packard marine Merlins at full tilt would be enough to give me goose bumps.
+Adrian Larkins Hi Adrian,Yes we did run her at top speed for about 30 minutes in September of 2014. she was running at about 35 knots. The engines were actually running better and cooler at the higher speeds. We had some aerial photos taken while manning all the guns. See our website for more details. Thanks for watching!
I was an enginman on a minesweeper that had four PACKARD ID1700 diesel engines (no relation to the aircraft type gas burners) all four running at flank speed was almost unbearable.
Not a Merlin. This engine is based on the design of the 1925 Liverty engine. Merlins were never used in PT boats. www.ptboats.org/20-01-05-ptboat-008.html
Adrian Larkins Packard marine engines were not Merlin engines, they are a variant of earlier Packard aircraft engines and share nothing in common with a RR Merlin engine. The Merlins built by Packard are RR Merlin engines built under license from RR. Most of the parts between RR built Merlins and Packard built Merlins interchange. That is not the case with Packard marine engines. They aren’t even the same displacement. You’ve got it right that both engines sounding great at speed though.
Samuel Molloy They were Packard's own engines. Packard built some of the Liberty V-12 aircraft engines during WW-1, the marine engines were Packard's own engine based on the later 1925 Liberty aircraft engine.
Thank you sir for that great tour and detailed explanation of everything. Can't imagine how loud and hot it was for the engine operator back in the day.
Awesome tour, I have always loved the PT boats. Great to see the engine room in detail. The boat looks great and I would love to see it run, great job!
FYI the "fisherman III " fishing bout out of San Diego bay is a working PT boat that was converted to a fishing boat that runs 3/4 day fishing tripps out of Point Loma. I have been on it many times and knew her old captain.
Hi Dave, I am familiar with the "Malahini" out of San Diego, she was the ex-PT657. Our sister ship. She is still being used today as a charter fishing boat from Harbour Island Marina. I wonder is it the same boat you are thinking of?
There was an ex-pt boat outfitted with seats that ran out of an Ocean City New Jersey restaurant when I was younger. It was called the flying saucer. Search for "Chris's Restaurant Flying Saucer".
Holly and Waukesha are still around. Waukesha manufactures commercial engines, mostly variable compression engines used to determine gasoline octane. Holley does a lot of aftermarket. Go into any speed shop.
@@TheMitchbassman Those PACKARD M2500 engines are NOT RR Merlins !!! Had NOTHING to do with the merlin. Packard delivered the M2500 PT boat engine to the US Navy in 1938 and Packard ran their first Merlin engine in Aug of 1941 !!! So tell me how the hell are those M2500's, which by the way are 50% LARGER than the merlin, a merlin ?????? IF you look at those PT Boat engines note the huge cast valve covers and the script P A C K A R D cast into the valve covers !!! Packards version of the Merlin had PLAIN stamped steel valve covers, NO NAME !!!! Do the research...Men bet their lives on them is a good video here on You Tube explaining Packards war time production !!! Look it up and watch it and educate your dumb ass !!!!
War planning logistics. The navy could achieve the horsepower they needed for the PT boats using these aviation gas engines that were already in production in multiple plants in the US. If you want to see something really weird, some of the of the Sherman tanks were powered by an engine created out of five flat head Plymouth straight six engines, in a semi-radial pattern to boot.
@@cdjhyoung These PACKARD M2500 engines were purpose designed and built for the US Navy !!! There were NO Packard M2500 engines in production ALL over the USA !!!! DUUUUUHHHH!!!!! Where do you dumb asses come up with this shit anyway ??????/
that waukeshaw engine is commonly used motors for clark forklifts i have rebuilt several. while not much for horsepower they had impressive torque for their size and low compression ratio. they were about bullet proof and easy to build with forgiving tolerances and the oldest one i did was on a 51 clark 2000 lb single stage mast very old forklift at a newspaper company. it had been serving the printshop faithfully fo over 55 years on the original build with the only modifications being conversion to twelve volt electric system and fuel system converted to burn propane instead of gasoline wich imcluded installation of an electronic ignition solid state ignitor instead of points in the distributor. this is recquired on propane conversions due to points sparking. but back to the point that old motor was so worn out i syarted it with a cordless drill with a socket on it turning the alternator pulley 66 pounds of compression in each cylinder and it still ran! i can imagine the abuse that mptor could endure in wartime not to mention the countless hours of nonstop operation. if one i saw did 55 years of constant 10 hours a day work all day everyday. i can imagine how valuable they were to those guys in wartime
Thank you Travis! We recently have obtained 2 more of these engines because we need to install the other one on the Stbd side of the Engine Room. I appreciate your insight and knowledge about these little engines. To me they are pretty amazing!
I almost bought one of these as a fixer-upper while in high school back in the 1980s. Had big ideas of ruling the great lakes... until my dad (a WWII vet) explained how much fuel they burn. Then I understood what being boat-poor was all about!
My Uncle served with Kennedy in the Mosquito Squad as an electrician and missed being out on the fatal date with the Yamato due to an electrical fire o one of the other PTs
Thanks for keeping the PT boat memory alive. My father served on PT 191, the Bambi.
The "Bambi" PT191 is addressed in William Breuer's book "Devil Boats". A must read!
51 years ago on Little Traverse Bay in Harbor Springs Michigan there was a PT that was docked on a tour of the Great Lakes. I went below on a tour and saw all of this as a 14yr old. I was and still am in awe of the brave men that fought on these little warships.
Jerry, thank you so much for the tour of this PT boat. My grandfather, served on PT-63 from 1940-1945 in Papua New Guinea. He was an officer and I have always had this insatiable curiosity of what the inside of the boat looked like. He was the chief mechanic. Thank you again for this look into what was probably the most important part of my grandpa’s life! Silvey J. Cimato 1916-1986. I’ve always been so proud of him!
Thanks Paolucci! That really makes our day when we on the boat crew get to meet a real WW2 PT Boat veteran and their family (called Splinters by the PT Boater Association). So I know the 63 boat was destroyed by fire in Emirau at the refueling dock. Per our crewman Veteran Master Chief Jack Duncan in RON5 on PT62, he states "The 63 and 107 had been destroyed by a fire at the refueling dock at Hamburg Bay, Emirau" on June 18th 1944. There is a photo of the boat on NAVSOURCE. Do you have any other photos of the PT63 or any other PT Boats? we are looking for them to put into our museum. Please respond to me if you can. Thanks for watching!
Well then, to any of us gearheads your grandpa was a god. You must be very proud
Bravo! Excellent! Dude, you should narrate videos for a living! It is so refreshing to hear someone speak so clearly in such a professional manner! Thanks also for NOT having any music in the background! We definitely owe you a beer! Best of luck!
October, 1940; my grandfather, Silvey J. Cimato, reported for duty for PT63. He ran the engine room and also was an officer. He died in 1986 of pancreatic cancer, when I was just 14, so I never was mature enough to ask him about his WWII life. I have his ear diary (I can send you a copy if you’d like); but that’s about it. I was curious about what his environment looked like on the PT boat, now something that I’ve wanted to know my entire life, has been answered. Thank you so much! My grandfather was class valedictorian, graduated at age 16, joined the navy for the next 17 years, fought in WWII, & was a self taught engineer, superintendent of the machine shop at a classified NASA company (I won’t say which) and literal genius. If I could speak to one person that I’ve lost in my life, it would be him. Your video, was like getting part of that conversation. Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!
I'd love to hear more about his experiences!
PT-63 was a 77-ft PT-20 class Elco PT boat for your information, sir.
One of my favorite books of all time is PT-109. It's also no wonder so many WWII vets came home and went hot rodding with anything they could get their mitts on. They were used to playing with toys powered by supercharged Packard V-12s x 3.
that Packard was choice.I loved reading pt109 in my childhood days too.Served navy in operations dept in 80s an am amazed to learn that all the years between the higgens boat an the Spruance I was aboard both had generater troubles lol
My dad was a navy machinist on a PT boat in the South Pacific during WWII. Thank you so much for this.
Thanks for the tour. Never saw this on McHale's Navy.
I was just thinking how I can hear the theme song playing in my head
I've never seen this kind of details in My Hales navy , ever.
@@DavidRivera-ql7sd It was probably still "Classified" at that time. 🙂
@sharonmiller6436 No. The boat shown in the show was either the plywood mock-up or that British Vosper you'd see skipping the water in certain shots. The ACTUAL PT-73 was a Higgins-built PT boat that had to be destroyed after it ran up on a reef in Japanese waters to prevent capture.
I remember seeing this boat when I was a member of the US Coast Guard Auxiliary in Portland. It's nice to see a tour by someone who actually knows the details of the boat.
very good video. Mother worked for ELCO in Bayonne NJ during WW2
Those Packard engines are absolutely stunning
Nutz4Gunz45 in .
Packard was a great company.
Those Packard engines are RR Merlins made in the US.
Thank you for pointing that out. That is exactly what my father always told me.
@@Irisphotojournal
IPJ Bradley No they are not. These are purpose built Packard marine engines. The only thing they have in common with a Merlin is that they are both water cooled V12's. These engines are an outgrowth and further development of the WW1 era Liberty aircraft engine, also a Packard design.
I lived in the west hills of Portland and had the joy of seeing this baby rolling on the Willamette river. Awesome. Great work that required a lot of dedicated people giving time, money, and expertise to get this ship running. Kudos!!!👍😎
My dad was a hands on marine steam turbine engineer/inspector for GE in WW2...He spent 4-5 yrs. in every major shipyard looking at engine rooms of all sorts, all the time....He was always a fan of the old Packards...Some dads take their kids out to baseball games- my dad used to take me out to old boats in marinas & sawmills in the sticks & watch him fix them...Way more fun than nintendo.
my dad worked at stateville Prison after the army so i didnt get bring your kids to work day with dad ... but hey at least he took me fishing haha
Amen!
@tinwrecker52 , How very cool Your Dad must have been!!! Taking you to shipyards, marinas and sawmills... That is something that many kids should get a chance to see & experience!!!
I ran the engine rooms of towboats from 2800 to 10500 hp, and just the idea of something this powerful operating on avgas in combat gives me the piss shivers. Respect to the guys who did it.
Thank god for diesel power!
Imagine being on duty down in that engine room in the southern Pacific, all the noise, heat and vibration besides the pounding of the hull dancing over the waves. It took a special breed of sailor to run those engines.
***** Yes that must have been a terrible feeling to have nothing to shoot back with. I think I remember some merchant ships were armed and crewed by US Navy Armed Guard. I met a former Armed Guard recently and he was a 3 inch gun loader. He told me he had fired at German U Boats during the war. He was stationed aboard a merchant oil tanker.
I am surprised the boat had the power to carry and handle those guy's big balls.
@Charlie K; I can only imagine that explosive atmosphere inside that hull. One small hatch for escape?. When Kennedy's boat got run over, burns were the injuries of normal expectations. At least diesel takes a few more seconds to really light up. AV gas... inferno instant.
@@28ebdh3udnav Those Packard M2500's were up to the task !!!
@@28ebdh3udnav Manned by iron men with big bras balls !!
My Grandfather was on PT-213 during the Sicily and Normandy invasions. He was part of a beach jumper unit whose task was to make the Germans think the invasion was landing at a different beach from the actual invasion. He was a machinist mate so this is where he would have been posted. He always told me about these engines and was very proud of how powerful they were. Unfortunately, we lost him at 90 on April 17th, 2016. Seeing the narrator go down that ladder reminded me of a story he once told me. We were watching the SuperBowl and it was just before the halftime show. All of the cameras were flashing and he looked at me and said "Shaun you see all those flashing lights? That reminds me when we were in Sicily I was down in the engine room and my lieutenant called down for me to come see this. I got to the top of those stairs and looked at the shore and it was just like that stadium with all of the lights flashing. But instead of cameras, it was the Germans shooting at us. Just then a shell went off to the left of the boat. I slid back down those stairs and prayed like I've never prayed before in my life." Rest in piece Rudolf Lutge ( POP ) you will never be forgotten.
+Shaun Otherson Thanks Shaun for your comments. I hope you can come to Portland and see the boat for yourself someday. It sounds like your POP was a neat guy.
+Jerry Gilmartin
Thank you so much for posting this video and giving me a chance to see where he worked during the war. If you get the chance can you post one of the boat in open water at full throttle? I also hope to see it in person one day. Thank you again.
My uncle was a PO mechanic on a Royal Navy MTB covering the Sicily landings , being based in Malta through the siege he had had a tough time but it got worse when he was at the Mustard Gas disaster at Bari 2nd December 1943.
Shaun Otherson what have you done lately? Just kidding.
Your grandfather was definitely one of the greatest generation! Thanks for the story!
"Plywood Coffin". My best friend's dad was on the real PT-73, during WW2. When McHales Navy first aired, he was stunned. He said "that's my boat"!
That would have been kewel to listen to his stories.
His name wasn’t Tinker Bell was it ? 😊👍
Good on him , it would have been a tough life serving on these boats.
PT were made with 2 layers of mahogany 1 inch planking NOT plywood !!!
That prop boat at universal Studios was a much smaller size than a real PT boat.
@@wilburfinnigan2142wrong
Thanks Jerry ! My dad was in the navy, and said he & a friend were going to buy one of those when he got out to live on until they found out how much fuel they used. Haha ! He's been gone a while now. Thanks for bringing back the memory of his story from my short 3with him : )
Short time with him
It looks rather roomy in there! Very impressive engines! The standard of restoration of this boat is amazing!
I had no idea those boats had that much power. Thanks for the information.
Wow what a beautiful boat. As a teenager I was in Sea Scouts and we operated an AVR. The V12s had been swapped out for a pair of 671 Supercharged diesels that would still move the boat along nicely. Was one of the high points of my teen years.
This is AWESOME!!! A real running PT boat!!! Wow!!! In Beautiful like-new condition... I remember going through A&P school back in the early 1980's, and studying about several of the components that were found in this engine room, like the superchargers, Holley variable venturi and bendix pressure carburetors, eclipse generators and starters, carbon-pile voltage regulators, burdon tube pressure gauges, D'arsonval movement instruments, etc... Many of these components were used in several applications.... This engine room represents state of the art equipment, 85 years ago... Very cool!!!
A&P? I'm not familiar with that acronym. Please explain.
@@counciousstream Airframe & Powerplant tech school... Aircraft Mechanics School...
@@michaelmartinez1345 thanks! I just learned something new.
Well done thank you for the tour. It's amazing how you guys took care of this boat and got it to be seaworthy again very impressed thank you again PS I would give my left eyeball for a ride thank you again
I was a mach mate and our fun was the 50 footers and mike boats.
My hearing was a little damaged from it all.
Finally found ear plugs.
Packard made an incredible engine.
Great tour , Thanks !
I learned a lot. Nothing like the boiler room on the destroyer I was on, DD 865, Charles R. Ware. Great video.
Barry
Learned a Lot. Thank you for the tour. Last ship I saw was a modern destroyer in Savannah GA. Commander gave me a personal your. PT boats are my favorite.
Thank you very much for this tour, Jerry; I found it extremely interesting. It's a lot more complicated than I imagined, and I salute the men who endured the heat and noise down there, especially in the South Pacific.
The movie "They were expendable " highlights these boats wonderfully
Great video, always wondered how these beauties ran back in the day. Very complex set up. Thankyou very much for sharing.
No comment for four years? This is a really great tour.
Thanks for sharing. Interesting and brought back some memory. The 796 was used as service craft at the USNMDL, Panama City, Florida I got to go out on that several times it was a fun ride. Of course it was not armed.
That was the same PT Boat they renumbered and put on a trailer for President Kennedy's inauguration.
I tracked the PT 796 on the internet I understand it's in a park somewhere in Tennessee if it's still not deteriorated.
Thanks Barry,Yes the 796 was moved from Memphis and is now on display up at the Battleship Cove Museum in Fall River, Mass. It is part of the PT Boat Museum. She is now inside a building up on blocks. You can go right up to her side and look through windows that were cut to see inside.
@@allaboutboats I'd bet that 796 was on Mud Island near Memphis with the Memphis Belle, but the Mud Island project wasn't funded or didn't generate enough revenue to be self sufficient and maintain the historical displays.
Barry Simmons what year's did you get a ride on UB-108 / PT 796 , I was the Engineman on her in 1966 and 1967 . My skipper was Chief Boatswain Mate Harvey Hawkins . We used to take out fishing trips on the PT and UB-104 a Diesel powered Air Rescue Boat .
Good video, thanks! I have a photo my Dad took circa 1945 when his small avgas tanker (Agawam) was moored at Tulagi, shows PT-143 and PT-122 docked alongside his vessel. Cool boats!
Hey Brit, thanks for watching! I would really like to get a copy of that photo if you would not mind sending an electronic version of it to me? I met the skipper of PT143 Bill Skade, who came down and drove our boat on his 90th birthday a few years ago. I would like to add that picture to our display of him if possible. Thanks Jerry
Good to hear from you, Jerry. Tried to reply with the photo but it's a 'UA-cam no-reply' address. Any address that I can access? @@allaboutboats
@@Britspence381 Hi Brit, It is my name with a period between first and last name all small case at comcast dot net
This video was about as cool as you can get. Thank you beyond words for showing us this great set of engines and auxillary equipment.
I like the "Quiet Please" sign in the background of one of the noisiest places in the fleet !! Great tour.
I love the "Quiet Please" sign in the engineroom, I was an engineer on a US Navy Minesweeper and I now have tinnitus from working in the engineroom with 4 Packard 12 cylinder engines running at 2000 RPM.
Gary Locke baby.chickens
wouldn't want the engines to get distracted by idle chatter from the machinists. very sensitive machines, these
Hi Gary, There is a wooden Minesweeper called the USS Lucid being restored in Stockton Ca. I met the crew recently and visited the ship. It had Packard 12 cylinder diesel engines in the engine room. David R, the owner has only one and is looking for 3 more. You might want to look her up on the internet USS Lucid.
Fifty four years of *LOUD ROCK N ROLL Industrial noise and sporadic gunfire* my ears ring too. Love my *Country Music LOUD TOO.*
I was a swabby in the 1970's and, after machinist mate school in Great Lakes, wanted something small (PTs were out of service), but drew a carrier instead. I served in the after engine room. LOVED your detailed tour of your PT's e-room1
Thanks for the tour, Two uncle's in WW 2 , one in Africa , one in Normandy, I surely miss both of em, I never served, but Id go in the Navy if I could at 50 years old! 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
Back in the sixties a guy had one of these and it went by us when we were kids. The sound was impressive.
All the engine instrumentation is straight out of an aircraft circa 1942. Balls the size of catalina island to go to war in a floating AVGAS fuel tank
That was awesome and those Packard Engines are beautiful.Thanks for the tour and please make more videos thank you
I repaired the Propellers, struts and rudders on this boat.
what a treat to see the engine room. what beautiful craft they are. Had no idea they could burn 500 gph when firewalled! Wonderful layout. Thankyou
Bad ass Packard motors wow . 500 gph at top speed damn. Truly impressive especially for that time.
Kevin Olschesky the Curtiss Warhawk? Sweet I didn’t know that
They are licensed Rolls Royce Merlin engines, Pt’s are basically Vosper MTB or the MTGB,,
@@philparr2724 Wrong! Designed and built by Packard Motor Car Company in the U.S.A. 100% American.
Oh dear, so what engine powers a p51 mustang, oh it’s a Packard manufactured merlin , they are the same engine , the late great jfk captained an American version of a vosper boat fitted with 3 of these beautiful engines, they were very fast, suggest you read up on the history of these amazing boats....
@Kevin Olschesky WRONG WRONG ALL FUKING WRONG !!!!! Those two planes used the Allison V1710 V12, made by General Motors !!! Had NOTHING to do with the Packard M2500 which were the PT Boat engines used in all US Navy's PT BOATS !!! Gawd where the hell do you get that shit misinformation ?????? You are wrong !!!!
Outstanding video friend. Thanks a lot. SC Navy vet
Excellent. Really enjoyed this. Thanks to all for keeping this massively important piece of history alive and kicking.
Thank You Jerry...OUTSTANDING...I ALWAYS WANTED TO SEE THE "HOLE" IN A PT BOAT...I WAS UNDER YHE IMPRESSION THAT PT's RAN MERCURY ENGINES...332 OR CLOSE TO THAT...WOW...12 CYL PACKARDS...PT BOATS ARE WAY BIGGER THAN I EVER FIGURED...THANKS...!!!
Search for PT 305. It's up and running giving tours.
@@kypackerfan4-12-15 KY Packer Fan (Go Pack) have you heard anything about the 305 in New Orleans being shut down for tours and rides until further notice? I looked on the WW2 Museum website and they dont have tickets for tours or rides even listed as available anymore? What is up?
I worked at a Mfg Plant LaRoche Ind in North Baton Rouge where these where built, put into the Mississippi for testing and the barges to New Orleans to ship to the Pacific. Pretty Cool history
Imagine working there wile under fire!!.
Higgins PT Boats were built in Louisanna !!! DUUUUHHH!!!!!! NOT indiana !!!
Certainly learned something!! Didn’t realize it was that big! Wish I could visit to browse around. Engines is really something, sure gas hog!!! Thanks for tour!
My favorite boat of all time...Brave men operated these jewels...
BTW...If you have never heard one in operation at speed, you need to...AWESOME!
Thanks Robert!
Great tour and explanation of how things work.. Those are some impressive engines.. Great piece of engineering and history !
The 5M series Packard V-12 engines were the final ones they built, increased power WEP increased HP from 1500 to 1850. Very few of these ever saw combat. This boat is the only one existing that I know of that still has the original motors.
"Quiet Please"... Now that is absolutely funny as all get out. Unknown to many folks how loud, loud can be. One of the many sounds of American wisdom, power and freedom. Many Thanks Amigo
Back in the '60's our family's first cabin cruiser was a 24 foot Higgins, just like a small plywood PT boat.
It was fast with just 1 straight 6.
It also didn't have a few tons of armaments on it. But yeah, the PTs could move.
bet that was a nice little boat.
My grandfather made those engines at Detroit Packard. I have photos of him there with engine and blueprint. I would LOVE to see this in person! Thank you for sharing.
Wow Thanks Amy. Yes if you can make it to Portland Oregon we would give you the tour and maybe let you start one up even! How far away are you?
@@allaboutboats I'm near Detroit. If I ever travel to Portland, I would like to contact you. I would also bring my photos. My Grandpa was proud of the work he did on those engines. I wish he could have gone on one of those incredible boats. He couldn't serve in the military with his glass eye, but he did his part with the engines.
@@zamyzonzalez2250 OK just let us know. Go to the website www.savetheptboatinc.com for contact info and directions. Hope you can make the trip out soon!
Thank you for the tour Jerry!
Thanks for posting. My Dad was on PT-470 in WWII, a Higgins boat which saw duty in the South Pacific. I was lucky enough as a kid (~35 years ago) to be on vacation with my parents in Battleship Cove Massachusetts when we came upon a door that said PT boaters knock here. We ended up getting an on board tour of the PT boat on display in the building next to the BB Mass. Others just walked around the roped off boat. We got to go on board. Can't remember the PT boat number. My Dad walked me through how he used to run the engines on the signal lights from the deck. So glad I knocked on that door. A vacation I'll never forget.
Wow that sounds like a great memory! It was PT796 at Fall River. I have been on board as well. Do you have any of your Dads photos from when he was on the boat?
how can there be Any dislikes!!??! WTF, This is the Greatest??
I agree!!!!
@Rick 1776-1970) Reds under the bed, The sky is falling, communists, ah! ah! ah! You Americans are so brainwashed about communism it's funny. lol. You Americans are ruled by dual Israeli Nationals who invented communism and the Bolshevik revolution that killed 60,000,000 innocent civilians. Israel is full of communes and Kibbutz.
I think all those dislikes come from former Japanese Vets who served on destroyers and barges...not to mention a few torpedoed cruisers.
Obvious you never read Solzhenitsyn's books about the Commies torture and mass murder in the Gulag Archipeligo Work and Death Camps. Communism is a 150 yr old scam to get the stupidest people, like you, to give away control of their lives to the most evil people, like Communist leaders; Stalin, Che, Castro, Ortega, Chaves, Pol Pot, Mao etc etc. The Commies took the worlds largest proven oil resrves and turned Venezuela into a typical Socialist/Communist hellhole. Didn't they Komrade!
carguy67b EXACTLY! Only 89 dislikes but should be 0 this is a beautiful piece of ww2 machinery.
I had the pleasure of working my way through college on a real navy PT called the pt109 cruise boat out of Wildwood Crest, NJ. It was named PT 109 and outfitted just like he original but with chairs on the deck. She had three 671 Detroit diesels for propulsion. What a blast to take her to sea twice a day! We sailed from SINNs Dock in Wildwood Crest. I graduated in 1960 and never went back to work on her again.
Was there last month & got the tour!! 'Wind 'er up!!'
I used to work with a PT boat engine mechanic in the Pacific with Kennedy love just stories I can sit for hours and listen to him talk
Interesting! Thanks a ton for taking the time!
I know a guy named Jim that is part of the group that restored this boat. I am going to show him this video. Thank you.
hi jerry really great vidio i love pt boats there so cool and they kicked some butts for us to that boat looks great to it was really cool how you showed us allaround the boat thanks !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
+Raymond J Thanks Raymond! I really appreciate the kind words. It means a lot.
That was awesome. Thank you for sharing. I can't wait to see her underway.
Good glad you manage to save one heard they were all destroyed you did a good walkthrough very informed
Also search for PT 305. It's up and running giving tours.
I expect a good number of those burned were pretty well beat up by the end of the war. A wooden boat can only take so many patches before you are patching the patches.
So cool that you know all the details about the boat, thanks for the look.
beautiful restoration. Great job
Fascinating tour, thanks.
Really interesting info we have here ! Now I know what the men went through, sort of 'Apocalypse now' style Era (!)
Thank you dear Jerry.
don't confuse this WWII PT boat with the Viet Nam PBR's (Patrol Boat Riverine)
@@terryeastwood3600 Oops; Thank you for your precious time...!
Fascinating video !!
Ever hear of the
" Flying Saucer"
Google pics !!
It was a modified ( for passengers) PT boat docked at Chris' restaurant , 9th St Ocean City N.J. in 1966 . It would take passengers out to the ocean at a good speed. I was never so excited & scared to death in my life !!!
The Skipper was on & off the throttle , the roar of those motors was ungodly , the water was soaking people , the boat would leap out of the water , then you would hear silence.... then Skipper got back in the throttle .....
As a little kid , it's a memory I'll never forget!
Thanks Dad !!!!
Amazing videos, thanks for posting these!
Very cool!! Being 66 years old PT boat movie were part of my youth. It was nice to see a previous video produced by Jerry and this video to finally get a detailed understanding of the size and scope of a PT Boat. Thanks
Wow High tec stuff back than and power holy cow. Lots power thanks
Very low tech, actually.
The most amazing ICE ever built.These Packard engines are of course Rolls Royce Merlins made under licence in the USA.It's wonderful to see engine and boat so lovingly restored and maintained,great video.
Thanks Peter! One small correction, these are definitely NOT Rolls Royce Merlins. Along with many others, you have this confused this boat engine with the Packard built Merlin engine. They were made in the same factory in Detroit on adjacent assembly lines. This particular PT boat engine the 5M-2500 Packard Marine V12 has its roots in the old Liberty V12 Aero engine from WW1. It was redesigned in the interwar period by Colonel Jesse Vincent of Packard and Mr Hall-Scott. They designed the water cooled 3M-2500 Marine engine which developed 1200 hp in 1940. From there slight improvements were added to make 4M-2500 with 1500 hp in 1942 and then further improved to the 5M-2500 model which developed 1850 hp by 1945. These boat-specific engines had a far larger displacement and greater weight than the Merlin 2500 cubic inches versus about 1830 cubic inches for the Merlin. However, Packard did make numerous Merlins for use by the British and US Air Forces and were reserved fro use in aircraft. I think this was due to the Merlin's superior power-to-weight ratio over the Boat engine. It would have been a waste of the Merlin to place one into a boat!
@@allaboutboats My apologies for getting that wrong Jerry.
@@peterfeltham8065 No problem Peter! Like I said you are not the first person to make this assertion because it is a rather convoluted history of the two engines! Thanks again. Jerry
A great tribute to the men who had to be there., nicely done,, the exhaust seems a bit worrisome . I had a part time job in 92 helping a young man in West Palm restore a similar chase boat with one diesel replacement motor , dont know what ever happened to it but I remember they couldnt haul it as the bottom was soft . always wondered what it looked like when new.
Thanks for your tour. My dad was making those engines in Detroit during WW2. He got drafted late in the war. He always said good things about Packard as a place to work. He was working there when I was born. The guys in the wood shop made me a set of mahogany blocks. I still have my dad’s 10 years of service watch which has their slogan engraved on it, “ask the man who owns one”.
Do you ever run her flat out just for, say, 5 minutes? The roar of those V12 Packard marine Merlins at full tilt would be enough to give me goose bumps.
+Adrian Larkins Hi Adrian,Yes we did run her at top speed for about 30 minutes in September of 2014. she was running at about 35 knots. The engines were actually running better and cooler at the higher speeds. We had some aerial photos taken while manning all the guns. See our website for more details. Thanks for watching!
I was an enginman on a minesweeper that had four PACKARD ID1700 diesel engines (no relation to the aircraft type gas burners) all four running at flank speed was almost unbearable.
Not a Merlin. This engine is based on the design of the 1925 Liverty engine. Merlins were never used in PT boats.
www.ptboats.org/20-01-05-ptboat-008.html
Adrian Larkins
Packard marine engines were not Merlin engines, they are a variant of earlier Packard aircraft engines and share nothing in common with a RR Merlin engine. The Merlins built by Packard are RR Merlin engines built under license from RR. Most of the parts between RR built Merlins and Packard built Merlins interchange. That is not the case with Packard marine engines. They aren’t even the same displacement. You’ve got it right that both engines sounding great at speed though.
Samuel Molloy
They were Packard's own engines. Packard built some of the Liberty V-12 aircraft engines during WW-1, the marine engines were Packard's own engine based on the later 1925 Liberty aircraft engine.
What a great tour. She is beautifully taken care of. I hope to visit there one day. From Northern BC, Canada.
I don't even want to think about how hot it got in there in the South Pacific.
Thank you sir for that great tour and detailed explanation of everything. Can't imagine how loud and hot it was for the engine operator back in the day.
Yes I learned something. Well done video!
Awesome tour, I have always loved the PT boats. Great to see the engine room in detail. The boat looks great and I would love to see it run, great job!
FYI the "fisherman III " fishing bout out of San Diego bay is a working PT boat that was converted to a fishing boat that runs 3/4 day fishing tripps out of Point Loma. I have been on it many times and knew her old captain.
Hi Dave, I am familiar with the "Malahini" out of San Diego, she was the ex-PT657. Our sister ship. She is still being used today as a charter fishing boat from Harbour Island Marina. I wonder is it the same boat you are thinking of?
There was an ex-pt boat outfitted with seats that ran out of an Ocean City New Jersey restaurant when I was younger. It was called the flying saucer. Search for "Chris's Restaurant Flying Saucer".
well done Jerry I had the opportunity to shift one of the engines to the rose festival. and also on board when it sprang a leek
+Cory Parsons Thanks Cory! Come down and see us soon! Lots of new stuff going on. Say Hi to your Bro for me too!
I love all of the great old American equipment names. Holly carburetors Packard engines Waukesha APU
Rolls Royce engines.. Packard was licensed to build them
@@TheMitchbassman those Packard motors are not Merlin engines.
Holly and Waukesha are still around. Waukesha manufactures commercial engines, mostly variable compression engines used to determine gasoline octane. Holley does a lot of aftermarket. Go into any speed shop.
Rolls Royce
@@TheMitchbassman Those PACKARD M2500 engines are NOT RR Merlins !!! Had NOTHING to do with the merlin. Packard delivered the M2500 PT boat engine to the US Navy in 1938 and Packard ran their first Merlin engine in Aug of 1941 !!! So tell me how the hell are those M2500's, which by the way are 50% LARGER than the merlin, a merlin ?????? IF you look at those PT Boat engines note the huge cast valve covers and the script P A C K A R D cast into the valve covers !!! Packards version of the Merlin had PLAIN stamped steel valve covers, NO NAME !!!! Do the research...Men bet their lives on them is a good video here on You Tube explaining Packards war time production !!! Look it up and watch it and educate your dumb ass !!!!
Nice piece of history.Well worth preserving and protecting.
it's missing a WWII era pin up girl calendar on the wall of the engine room.
Very cool boat and video. Thanks for posting this.
3:59 Notice the hilarious "quiet please" homemade sign.
Huh!
Huh!
Great job explaining the engine room.
Yes.,thank you for that story,,my father was WW2 vet
A wonderful tour. Very enjoyable. Knowing nothing about PT boats, I would have thought they'd have diesels. Shows what I know.
War planning logistics. The navy could achieve the horsepower they needed for the PT boats using these aviation gas engines that were already in production in multiple plants in the US. If you want to see something really weird, some of the of the Sherman tanks were powered by an engine created out of five flat head Plymouth straight six engines, in a semi-radial pattern to boot.
@@cdjhyoung These PACKARD M2500 engines were purpose designed and built for the US Navy !!! There were NO Packard M2500 engines in production ALL over the USA !!!! DUUUUUHHHH!!!!! Where do you dumb asses come up with this shit anyway ??????/
that waukeshaw engine is commonly used motors for clark forklifts i have rebuilt several. while not much for horsepower they had impressive torque for their size and low compression ratio. they were about bullet proof and easy to build with forgiving tolerances and the oldest one i did was on a 51 clark 2000 lb single stage mast very old forklift at a newspaper company. it had been serving the printshop faithfully fo over 55 years on the original build with the only modifications being conversion to twelve volt electric system and fuel system converted to burn propane instead of gasoline wich imcluded installation of an electronic ignition solid state ignitor instead of points in the distributor. this is recquired on propane conversions due to points sparking. but back to the point that old motor was so worn out i syarted it with a cordless drill with a socket on it turning the alternator pulley 66 pounds of compression in each cylinder and it still ran! i can imagine the abuse that mptor could endure in wartime not to mention the countless hours of nonstop operation. if one i saw did 55 years of constant 10 hours a day work all day everyday. i can imagine how valuable they were to those guys in wartime
Thank you Travis! We recently have obtained 2 more of these engines because we need to install the other one on the Stbd side of the Engine Room. I appreciate your insight and knowledge about these little engines. To me they are pretty amazing!
Amen! Wish engines and transmissons would last today as long! What we have today is junk! No reason for junk today except for GREED!
66 pounds isn't worn out. Lol
Thanks. Like many, my grandfather was a PT boat engine mechanic during the war.
cool stuff! thanks for sharing!
Wow thanks for the tour, what a piece of history, thanks for taking care of the old girl!
I almost bought one of these as a fixer-upper while in high school back in the 1980s. Had big ideas of ruling the great lakes... until my dad (a WWII vet) explained how much fuel they burn. Then I understood what being boat-poor was all about!
Orbiting Eyes , I thought about it too. A 1/2 scale replica but too much moola for only 6 months of fun out of the year at best.
welcome to my world :)
My Uncle served with Kennedy in the Mosquito Squad as an electrician and missed being out on the fatal date with the Yamato due to an electrical fire o one of the other PTs
I have several 24 volt carbon pile regulators from old WWII aircraft that you can have. If interested let me know.
I couldn't afford the fuel, much less the upkeep.
Stunning vessel, nice to see the older stuff running.