While favorably received, Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels rejected the proposal since the US was not at war, but Hickman was advised to submit his plans and proposal to the British Admiralty, which was done the following month. In September 1914, Hickman completed plans for a 50-foot (15 m) "Sea Sled" torpedo boat and submitted these to the Navy in hopes of obtaining a contract. Taylor, the Chief of the US Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair. Albert Hickman devised the first procedures and tactics for employing fast maneuverable seaworthy torpedo motorboats against capital ships, and presented his proposal to Rear Admiral David W. 1.2.4 Analysis of the "Plywood Derby" findingsĪt the outbreak of war in August 1914, W.1.2.3 Board of Inspection and Survey's findings.1.2.2 The Board of Inspection and Survey.Nicknamed "the mosquito fleet" and "devil boats" by the Japanese, the PT boat squadrons were hailed for their daring and earned a durable place in the public imagination that remains strong into the 21st century. Propulsion was via a trio of Packard 4M-2500 and later 5M-2500 supercharged gasoline-fueled, liquid-cooled V-12 marine engines. Some boats carried a 20 mm (0.79 in) Oerlikon cannon. 50-inch (12.7 mm) M2 Browning heavy machine guns were mounted for anti-aircraft defense and general fire support. Primary anti-ship armament on the standard PT boat was four 21-inch Mark 8 torpedoes, each had a 466-pound (211 kg) TNT warhead and had a range of 16,000 yards (15,000 m) at 36 knots (67 km/h). Several saw service with the Philippine Navy, where they were named "Q-boats". Some were converted into gunboats, which could be effective against enemy small craft, especially armored barges used by the Japanese for inter-island transport. World War II PT boats continued to exploit some of the advances in planing hull design borrowed from offshore powerboat racing and by using multiple lightweight but more powerful marinized aircraft-derived V-12 engines were able to grow in both size and speed.ĭuring World War II, PT boats engaged enemy warships, transports, tankers, barges, and sampans. During World War I Italy, the US, and UK developed the first high-performance gasoline-powered motor torpedo boats (often with top speeds over 40 kn (74 km/h)) and corresponding torpedo tactics, but these projects were all quickly disbanded after the Armistice. These first generation torpedo boats rode low in the water, displaced up to 300 tons, and had a top speed of 25 to 27 kn (46 to 50 km/h). The PT boat was very different from the first generation of torpedo boat, which had been developed at the end of the 19th century and featured a displacement hull form. In the USN they were organized in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons (MTBRONs). It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war by ineffective torpedoes, limited armament, and comparatively fragile construction that limited some of the variants to coastal waters. A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II.
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