Members and visitors must agree with the stated conditional use of this forum as shown at the bottom of this page.
Home
The Forum
Documents
Photo Gallery
_
Register
My Profile
Log-in
PT Boat Forum
Moderated by:
Dick
,
Jeff D
The PT Boat Forum
ª
PT Boats of WWII
ª
PT Boats - General
Post a reply to: Life Jackets
Message:
Please type your message in the box to the right.
Click Here to see: Message Tags
How to use colors, images and urls in your message.
Click On -
The "Upload Images" button to upload and include a photo from your computer.
[StartQuote] As Frank advised, most PT operations were at night and daylight movement of the boats when pictures were taken were typically returning to base or in secure areas where life jackets and helmets weren't worn. I just looked through my father's photo album (PT 361, RON 27) and there are many pictures of boats underway in daylight with the crew not wearing life jackets or helmets. In many of the pictures you can see that the cannon and machine guns are not armed. Pictures he took during the invasion of Corregidor, a daylight operation during which several RON 27 boats operated close in to the island to pick up paratroopers that missed the top of the island, the 361 crew are wearing helmets and life jackets. In one picture taken during the initial naval bombardment of the island the boat is sitting over a mile off shore and some of he visible crew are wearing life jackets but no helmets. In another picture close in to the island with many soldiers on the foredeck the one visible boat crew is in helmet and life jacket, so they probably donned full gear as they got closer to the island. I also noticed that the visible crew are all wearing long sleeve shirts and long trousers rather than the T-shirts (or no shirts) and shorts typically seen. There's another picture at an unknown location with several crew in the full battle dress, including long shirts and pants, with all looking through binoculars in the same direction. Another naval bombardment? The lone exception is an officer (I have his name somewhere) facing the camera and holding binoculars. He's dressed in shorts, no shirt and a soft cap and is wearing a .45 automatic in a shoulder holster. Rank hath its privileges? There are also several posed pictures of crew members at the cannon or machine guns and they are dressed in full battle gear, long pants and shirts, and the weapons are armed. I had never thought about it before but the pictures were probably taken late in the day as they were leaving for a patrol, as mentioned by Frank. I can't see them changing into long shirts and pants and arming the weapons just for a posed picture. In another series of pictures taken in Manila Harbor and the adjoining rivers the crew members are in uniform but not battle gear. There are other US Navy ships present including a heavy cruiser, so I assume in that case some formality of dress was required. Finally, in one picture of the 361 returning to base after a night patrol there are only a few crew members visible on the bridge, the picture being taken from one of the other boats. I asked my Dad why there weren't more crew visible and he said at that point they were back in a secure area and most of them were below deck having breakfast. I thought that mixture of dress dependent on what they were doing might be of interest. Randy McConnell (Randall J. McConnell III)[EndQuote]
Emotion Icons:
Choose an icon to be displayed next to your message or click on the icon to include it in your message:
None
Options:
Check the check boxes to the right for the options you would like to use.
Would you like to include your signature in this message?
Would you like to recieve notification via email when a reply is received to this message?
Would you like to preview this post before posting?
User Name:
Have you registered?
Password:
Have you lost your password?
Click 'Post' to post your message.
Who May Post?
Registered Users
Search
Links
Privacy
Cookies
Moderator