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Topic: How about a good line drawing of a 80' Elco PT with the SCR-517A |
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Drew Cook
TOP BOSS
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Posted on: Nov 26, 2008 - 2:31pm
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I see where Dave Waples has asked Al Ross for a good source for a line drawing of the SO radar...
How about a good line drawing of a PT 103-class 80' Elco with the SCR-517A "beehive" radar?
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TED WALTHER
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Posted on: Apr 20, 2009 - 2:46pm
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Drew;
if you have not found one yet, Sea Classics had a color plate of a PT with the SCR-517A beehive back in 1985. Sea Classics Special 1985 Vol 2 "The Big War of the Little Ships". The plate shows a early Elco 80, no number, but as far as I know only 4 boats had this set up(132, 137, 149 and maybe 144), if you still need it e-mail me.
take care,
TED
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Drew Cook
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Posted on: Apr 21, 2009 - 7:59pm
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Thanks, Ted. I'll try to find a copy of one of those SEA CLASSICS magazines...but I think the color plate you may be referring to is reproduced (in black & white) on pages 232-233 of Victor Chun's "American PT Boats In World War II."
It seems I've seen excellent line drawings of every possible type of PT (including the early and esoteric types that never saw combat), but I can't recall a good line drawing of an 103-class 80' Elco with the SCR-517A "beehive."
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't many more boats than the ones you mentioned have the SCR-517A? Didn't the four "division leaders" on the night the 109 was lost (PTs 107, 171, 174, and 159) have them? Bulkeley's Ron 7 and Kelly's Ron 9 boats?
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TED WALTHER |
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Posted on: Apr 22, 2009 - 7:29am
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Drew;
Soory I was not clear in what I was talking about, The color plate I am referring to represents a 80' ELCO in RON 7 or 8 New Guinea 1943, but since no number is shown, I was mentioning the only boats in RON 7 or 8 that I knew carried the beehive. PT 137 carried some kind of odd ball surface sweep radar, for awhile, but I don't know if this boat recieved SCR-517A later, or just went straight to SO.
As you mentioned those boats did carry radar, but I believe most of the boats you mentioned carried SO radar units. ref; PT 115 photo at Tulagi in Frank Johnsons book as well as Gene's website. This photo is from July 1943. I know PT 155 RON 9 had SCR-517A, and another boat on the White Plains, which could be PT 152 or 159, I have to look closer when I get home. As for RON 10 boats, the only boats that I know that carried SCR-517A was PT 165 or 166(I am at work, so I can look later) and PT 167, but this was soon replaced with an SO radar after the sinking of the Stanvac Manilia, because the SCR-517A mast was ripped off her with her dayroom, as well as everything else aft. 171 and 174 had SO.
Take care,
TED
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TGConnelly
New Member
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Posted on: Apr 22, 2009 - 9:20am
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Before Kennedy took command of her, the 109 had an experimental Army Air Corps type of radar mounted (someplace) on her bow. It was removed during a refit she went through before Kennedy assumed command.
Garth
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TED WALTHER
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Posted on: Apr 22, 2009 - 9:39am
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Drew; I just went home for lunch, in the White Plains photo, PT 155 and PT 152 have thr Beehive, there is also the middile boat on the next row that has it, this might be PT 158 but that is a guess. If you go to the photobucket account, you will see LCDR Bob Kelly aboard PT 159, prior to shipment, she has the regular 80' mast. I was wrong about RON 10, PT 164 and PT 167 were the only two with the beehive. At least Dec 1942-Feb 1943, that is the timeline where all my RON 10 zebra photos fall.
Take care,
TED
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Drew Cook
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Posted on: Apr 22, 2009 - 1:25pm
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Ted,
I always figured Kelly's Ron 9 boats got their "beehives" in the forward area... I've definitely seen brief film footage of Bulkeley and a couple of other (Ron 7?) officers in the cockpit of a forward-area Elco 80-footer (palm trees/jungle in background) with a beehive...Victor Chun's book has a photo of Ron 8's PT 143 with the SCR-517A on page 21, and there are those photos of the 149...
I would have thought July '43 was too early for the SO radar setup, but then again, I thought November '43 was too early for the Mark XIII torpedoes on roll-off racks seen on the 167 picture posted here recently...
I've just always had it in my head that the SCR-517A was the major early radar success up through summer/fall '43...
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