
Caption | PT boats conducting training operations in Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island, United States, circa 1941-1945 ww2dbase | ||||
Source | ww2dbaseUnited States National Archives | ||||
More on... |
| ||||
Added By | C. Peter Chen | ||||
Added Date | 21 Aug 2007 | ||||
Licensing | Public Domain. According to the US National Archives, as of 21 Jul 2010: |
Did you enjoy this photograph or find this photograph helpful? If so, please consider supporting us on Patreon. Even $1 per month will go a long way! Thank you. Share this photograph with your friends: Stay updated with WW2DB: |
|
Visitor Submitted Comments
2. Woody says:
29 Nov 2015 12:25:37 AM
With regard to Chuck's post, my understanding is that torpedo tubes required a charge (usually a 5" shell) to launch the torpedo. This created a large flash which gave their position away to the enemy. The 'roll off' torpedo launchers didn't use a charge, they were literally rolled off the side of the ship and the engine propelled the torpedo. So, no it's not a Hollywood mistake.
29 Nov 2015 12:25:37 AM
With regard to Chuck's post, my understanding is that torpedo tubes required a charge (usually a 5" shell) to launch the torpedo. This created a large flash which gave their position away to the enemy. The 'roll off' torpedo launchers didn't use a charge, they were literally rolled off the side of the ship and the engine propelled the torpedo. So, no it's not a Hollywood mistake.
3.
David Stubblebine says:
29 Nov 2015 12:20:00 PM
To Chuck and Woody:
There were several styles (or classes) of PT Boats deployed and the different versions used different strategies to launch the different types of torpedoes. Some tubes were designed to use steam to propel the torpedoes out and on PT Boats, compressed air was used in place of steam. This system had its problems and tubes using a powder charge were developed but, as Woody points out, the flash was a problem at night when most PT Boat operations took place. All tube designs were built to fire the 21-inch submarine torpedo but with the advent of the 23-inch Mark XIII aerial torpedo, the older tubes could not be used. Since the Mark XIII was designed to be dropped from the air, dropping them over the sides of the PT Boats made more sense than creating a new tube technology. Plus the extra weight of the tubes could be eliminated and more guns installed. All these changes came about at a time when the Japanese were using more barges and fewer cargo/troop ships making torpedoes less effective against them so it was good timing all around. Also, it is a common mistake to believe the Mark XIII torpedoes were rolled off the PT Boats but this would tumble the gyros with bad results. The aerial torpedoes were slid off of rails so that they dropped into the water without being rolled.

29 Nov 2015 12:20:00 PM
To Chuck and Woody:
There were several styles (or classes) of PT Boats deployed and the different versions used different strategies to launch the different types of torpedoes. Some tubes were designed to use steam to propel the torpedoes out and on PT Boats, compressed air was used in place of steam. This system had its problems and tubes using a powder charge were developed but, as Woody points out, the flash was a problem at night when most PT Boat operations took place. All tube designs were built to fire the 21-inch submarine torpedo but with the advent of the 23-inch Mark XIII aerial torpedo, the older tubes could not be used. Since the Mark XIII was designed to be dropped from the air, dropping them over the sides of the PT Boats made more sense than creating a new tube technology. Plus the extra weight of the tubes could be eliminated and more guns installed. All these changes came about at a time when the Japanese were using more barges and fewer cargo/troop ships making torpedoes less effective against them so it was good timing all around. Also, it is a common mistake to believe the Mark XIII torpedoes were rolled off the PT Boats but this would tumble the gyros with bad results. The aerial torpedoes were slid off of rails so that they dropped into the water without being rolled.
All visitor submitted comments are opinions of those making the submissions and do not reflect views of WW2DB.
Search WW2DB & Partner Sites
News
- » Passing of Margaret Kelly (25 Jan 2021)
- » WW2DB's 16th Anniversary (29 Dec 2020)
- » Hidekazu Tamura shared his feelings toward his war time internment (2 Sep 2020)
- » See all news
Random Photograph
Current Site Statistics
- » 1,094 biographies
- » 332 events
- » 38,157 timeline entries
- » 1,127 ships
- » 337 aircraft models
- » 190 vehicle models
- » 352 weapon models
- » 117 historical documents
- » 225 facilities
- » 464 book reviews
- » 27,163 photos
- » 351 maps
Famous WW2 Quote
"With Germany arming at breakneck speed, England lost in a pacifist dream, France corrupt and torn by dissension, America remote and indifferent... do you not tremble for your children?"Winston Churchill, 1935
1 Aug 2013 03:13:52 AM
I was watching a very good movie called "PT 109". At the end JFK. Was assigned a "new/old" boat, PT 59. The Pictures of this boat as it pulls away from the dock shows it as having NO TORPEDO TUBES. It is like the ones in this picture. Why would it be deployed without tubes, And what was that big gun on the bow of that boat? Any help in this matter would be nice. (If it wasn't just Hollywood making a mistake.)