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PT Boats of WWII
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PT Boats - General
Post a reply to: Japanese barges
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[StartQuote] The Japanese quickly learned that PT BOATS were a dangerous foe in shallow waters. If they had any hope that one of their barges would survive an attack by PT BOATS, they needed to be fitted out with automatic weapons, and larger caliber guns. Certainly the barges would not be able to outrun the boats, so they depended on darkness, and running very close to shore. It was quickly learned that by lining the barges with Sand bags, much of the PT BOATS smaller caliber weapons could be absorbed. Several barges were also outfited with light armor plate, as weight was not that big of a problem. After all, they were not built for speed. The PT BOATS quickly learned that these juicy targets were not so easy to sink, and in reality could cause big problems for the boats in the weapons they carried. It was not uncommon for the boats to need several firing passes to inflict damage on the barges. I recall speaking to one PT BOAT CREWMEN who said he must have fired 20 rounds of 37MM ammo into one barge with hardley no results. As the barges were low to the water with high sides, troops could easily duck down and fire their weapons at the passing boats. With the massive amount of barges lost in the Pacific, one might think barge busting was an easy job when in reality it was tough business........... [EndQuote]
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