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The PT Boat Forum ª PT Boats of WWII ª  PT Boats - General
 Author  Topic: PT'S IN THE ALEUTIANS
  FRANK

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of FRANK  Posted on: Mar 8, 2008 - 1:30pm
AHOY THERE TO ALL-

ACCORDING TO FRANK JOHNSON'S BOOK- US PT BOATS OF WW II IN ACTION, THERE WERE ONLY TWO RON UNITS, 13 AND 16 THAT SERVED IN THE ALEUTIANS.

DID ANY OF THESE 78' HIGGINS BOATS SUFFER FROM ANY ADVERSE OR STRESSFUL CONDITIONS FROM BEING SUBJECTED TO SUB ZERO TEMPERTURES IN THE ALEUTIANS?

FRANK A.- DO YOU HAVE ANYPICTURES OF ANY PT'S STATIONED IN THE ALEUTIANS? DOES ANY ONE ELSE HAVE ANY PICTURES OR STORIES TO SHARE HERE?

AS A SCALE MODELER, I THOUGHT THAT A WINTERY PT BOAT DIORAMA WOULD BE A REALLY, PARDON THE PUN HERE GUYS, "COOL" MODELING PROJECT!

AS ALWAYS, THANKS IN ADVANCE!

FRANK RYCZEK, JR.
MODELER/FRIEND RON 10 PT-169



HIGH TIDES ALWAYS!

YOUR FRIEND THROUGH SCALE SHIP MODELING AND PT BOAT HISTORY!

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Frank J Andruss Sr

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Frank J Andruss Sr   Send Email To Frank J Andruss Sr Posted on: Mar 8, 2008 - 3:21pm
Certainly the biggest problem with having PT BOAT SQUADRONS in the Aleutians was the cold weather and the turbulant Sea. The weather towards the western part is said to be the worst in the World. The only heat te boats had were from the 2 burner stoves in the galley.

Inside, the boats they had a layer of frost on the bulkheads. Add to this the fact that these first boats had seen plenty of action being 77 footers, and there were no repair facilities on Adak. Hail and Snow would hit the boats and cause the them to become coated with ice. Squadron 13 arrived at Adak and were certainly better suited then the older Elco boats. They were equipped with motor driven hot air heaters and were better constructed. In the begining, the heater design had a flaw in that exhaust fumes from the motor mixed in with the hot air being pumped into the boat, quickly causing some crews to become sick. They did fix the problem, and these heaters really helped the crews to combat the cold.

Before the base was completed, they used the USS Tatoosh as a tender where the crews could get a hot shower, decent food, and even a movie. The boats really saw no action. When the Army secured ATTU, the boats patrolled the area, but found nothing as the japanese never sent ship in that area again. The boats were mainly used to escourt ships thru the heavy fog.

Squadron 16 really saw no action as well, but the weather had become worse for them, with heavy Seas and high winds. They had estimated that 4.000 to 7,000 troops were on the island of KISKA, so it would seem possible that the boats might se some action. Five PT Boats actually took place in this invasion as they cut out plywood to resemble the sides of barges surrounded by rows of soldiers heads which were nailed to the gunwales. All this effort wasted, as KISKA fell without opposition. The enemy had secretly evacuated the Island.

The boats devoted themselfs to operational training, which were mostly cancelled because of high seas, and high wind. Around 1944 the boats maintained antisubmarine patrol between ADAK STRAIT and ATKA PASS, weather permitting but had no sightings. Squadron 13 was withdrawn from ADAK and Squadron 16 from ATTU, sometime in May 1944.

The boats actually ran under their own power to Seattle for overhaul and shipment to the Southwest Pacific. If anything else, it proved that wooden PT BOATS had no business operating in that type of COLD AND TERRIBLE SEAS and WIND, ICE and SNOW. Boy, can you imagine going out on patrol were the seas could be that rough. Those guys really had it rough going.........




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Gary Szot

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Gary Szot   Send Email To Gary Szot Posted on: Mar 8, 2008 - 4:02pm


Ifound this shot of Adak in Victor Chungs book.




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Gary Szot

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Gary Szot   Send Email To Gary Szot Posted on: Mar 8, 2008 - 4:18pm







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  FRANK

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of FRANK  Posted on: Mar 9, 2008 - 10:29am
Hey there Frank A. and Gary-

Frank- thank you so much fort the input on the RON 13 and 16 boat in the Alutians. It must have been a really tough road to hoe for those guys.

Gary- The shot you posted on the board has already started my wheels spinning. That shot would make a fantastic diorama in 1/72 scale, don't ya think? Thanks for posting it for all of us here!

Frank Ryczek, Jr.

Modeler/Friend RON 10 PT-169



HIGH TIDES ALWAYS!

YOUR FRIEND THROUGH SCALE SHIP MODELING AND PT BOAT HISTORY!

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Gary Szot

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Gary Szot   Send Email To Gary Szot Posted on: Mar 9, 2008 - 11:52am
Frank;

All three of these shots were taken around Adak. The middle shot needs a little photoshop touch up to show the snowcaps in the background.

I have posted all of these shots in my folder on the photobucket site.


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colleen

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Mar 10, 2008 - 5:16pm
Hi - are you able to see any of the boat numbers? By chance, are any of the boats the 300 boat?

Frank R - I have some pictures that may help you with a diorama. They are close ups of my uncle, but he is on a boat. there is also one of camp life - which didn't look like much of a life! I'll send you copies, or try to scan it on this site, but I am not sure how to do that.

Colleen


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Rm2c Ron 16 PT 221

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Mar 10, 2008 - 6:14pm
Frank,
My dad was a radioman 2nd class on PT221 Ron 16. I remember him reminicing at the dinner table about being in the Aleutians, At that time I was young. Too bad I didn't appreciate the historical valuei (nformation) that my dad could have provided. Thank you for bringing up the adverse conditions of this type of craft in Aleutian waters. Something I never considered.


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  Jerry Gilmartin

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jerry Gilmartin   Send Email To Jerry Gilmartin Posted on: Mar 10, 2008 - 11:00pm
Hi Colleen,
In the RON16 book I have, PT300 was in RON16B, which was sent up to join RON16 in late April 44. After being delivered to the USN in early November 43 in New Orleans, the 5 boats passed through the Panama canal and they were shipped via the SS Hiram Bingham (a liberty ship) to the Bremerton/Seattle area arriving on 22 March 44 They boats left Bremerton on 17 April 44 and went up through BC to Alaska from there. On the way, RON16B (PT297,298,299,300, and 301) passed through the ports of Port Hardy BC, Bella Bella, BC, Ketchikan AK, Petersburg AK, Pleasant Island AK and finally stopping in Sitka AK on 24April44. They sat there in Sitka until 07May44 when they were ordered to go back to Seattle and join with RON16 there. On the way back they stopped in the ports of Prince Rupert, Bella Bella and Hardy Bay. They arrived back in Bremerton on 11May44 where RON16B was disestablished and formally absorbed into the parent RON16. So if these pictures were taken around Adak AK, the PT300 was never there. Just FYI Jerry

By the way, RM2c I have 3 RM's listed on PT221 crew, Jack Crawford, MacIntyre Henderson, and Ralph Records. Are one of these guys your Dad? Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

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colleen

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Mar 12, 2008 - 6:01pm
Thanks Jerry - I have read a bit about RON 16 and RON 16B. My uncle's service has always confused me as I believe he was in Alaska from around Sept 1942 until summer/fall of 1944. So he may have been in RON 13 as well as Ron 16(B). Wasn't RON 13 in Alaska also? Thanks again!

Colleen


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