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Patrol torpedo boat PT-796

Torpedo boat of the United States Navy

Field	Value
display_title	Patrol torpedo boat PT-796
section1	{{Infobox ship/image
image	PT 796.jpg
image_caption	On display at Battleship Cove
section2	{{Infobox ship/career
country	United States
flag
builder	Higgins Industries
laid_down	3 May 1945
completed	26 October 1945
out_of_service	7 July 1970
reclassified	Small Boat 16 November 1945
nickname	Tail Ender
status	Museum ship from 14 August 1975
section3	{{Infobox ship/characteristics
displacement	48 LT
length	78 ft
beam	20 ft
draft	4 ft
power	3 × 1200 shp Packard V-12 engines
propulsion	3 shafts
speed	41 kn
range	*358 nmi at 35 kn
*{{convert	1050	nmi	abbr	on}} at 11 kn
armament	*4 × 22.5 in Mark 13 torpedoes
*1 × {{convert	37	mm	abbr	on}} gun
*1 × {{convert	20	mm	abbr	on}} gun
*2 × Mark 50 {{convert	5	in	mm	adj	on}} rocket launchers
section4	{{Infobox NRHP
embed	yes
name	PT boat 796 (torpedo boat)
nrhp_type	nhl
location	Fall River, Massachusetts
coordinates
locmapin	Massachusetts
map_width	300
built	1945
architect	Higgins Co.
added	14 January 1986
designated_nrhp_type	14 January 1986
refnum	86000092

1050 nmi at 11 kn
1 × 37 mm gun
1 × 20 mm gun
1 × Bofors 40 mm gun
2 × twin .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns
2 × Mark 50 5 in rocket launchers
1 × smoke generator

PT-796 is a 78-foot PT boat built by Higgins Industries of New Orleans in 1945. It was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1986 as one of a very few surviving World War II PT boats. A "Higgins" boat, she is part of the collection of the PT Boat Museum, which itself is part of the Battleship Cove museum in Fall River, Massachusetts.

Design

PT-796 was laid down on 3 May 1945, launched on 23 June, and completed after the end of the war on 26 October. The last of her type to be constructed, she was nicknamed Tail Ender.

The hull was constructed of two layers of planking. Unlike earlier PT boats, where the layers were laid diagonally, the outer layer of PT-796s hull is laid longitudinally, a change to the design believed to have been made to Higgins boats sometime in late 1944. Also, instead of two layers of mahogany, the inner layer is spruce. The two layers are held together by copper rivets and bronze screws, with a sheet of canvas impregnated with marine glue between them.

The boat's full-load displacement is 48 LT. She is 78 ft in length, with a beam of 20 ft, and a draft of 4 ft. Her three 12-cylinder 1200 shp Packard V-12 engines each drove a single shaft, giving the boat a top speed of 41 kn. With a full load of 3,000 gallons of 100 octane aviation fuel she had a range of 358 nmi at a speed of 35 kn or as far as 1050 nmi at a speed of 11 kn using only one engine.

The boat was armed with four 22.5 in Mark 13 torpedoes on roll-off racks, 37 mm and 20 mm guns in the bows, a Bofors 40 mm gun at the stern, and two twin .50 caliber M2 Browning machine guns in mounts each side of the cockpit. She was also fitted with two Mark 50 5 in rocket launchers, and a smoke generator at the stern.

Ship history

Placed in service too late to take part in World War II, PT-796 saw temporary post-war duty as part of MTB Squadron 1, patrolling in the Caribbean and off the East Coast. She was reclassified as a "Small Boat" on 16 November 1945. Stripped of armament she was then assigned to the Navy Operational Development Force and Naval Ship Research Development Laboratory in Panama City, Florida, where she was used for high-speed towing experiments during the development of equipment for use in riverine operations. In 1961 she participated in John F. Kennedy's inauguration repainted as . The boat was placed out of service on 7 July 1970, and signed over to PT Boats, Inc.She was restored to her original configuration, and has been displayed at Battleship Cove since 14 August 1975.

Citations

References

(2012). "National Historic Landmarks Program (NHL)". [[National Park Service]].
{{NRISref. 2008a
Radigan, Joseph M.. (2012). "PT-796".
Maloney, William. (2011). "PT Boat PT-796 (Higgins)". williammaloney.com.
"PT-796". Historic Naval Ships Association.

Info: Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

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