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 Author  Topic: Question for vets about hull battle damage repair
  David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: Nov 14, 2009 - 12:02pm
Or anyone else who might have the answer. Frank, I know you have a repair manual that might help.

I was just reviewing my notes about battle damage that PT-109 received when a bomb hit the water between her and another boat. The shrapnel "raked" the side of the 109 with a "large piece" entering the port side of the boat and exiting the starboard side of the boat.

I was wondering how a repair like this would have been handled. Would a patch of some sort be used or would the effected planks be removed and replaced with new, repainted, etc.?

I'm hoping you guys might remember of know how this would have been done and what it would look like after completion.

Thanks!
Dave

David Waples

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QM

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Nov 14, 2009 - 12:49pm
Replacement planks would usually be installed by carpenters, and sometime later the crew would paint the repaired area.

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Drew Cook

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Drew Cook  Posted on: Nov 14, 2009 - 1:41pm
Dave, Donovan's book ("PT 109 - John F. Kennedy in World War II") states "A patch more than twelve inches square had to be placed above the waterline on the (109's) starboard side" after this incident.

Don't know if this "patch" was a single temporary piece, until the carpenters could lay in repairs to the boat's hull planking, or descriptive of the repair to the planking itself.

The veterans may be able to elaborate on this...


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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: Nov 14, 2009 - 2:19pm
Many of the Bases had carpenters and carpenters shop. These shops had all the tools needed to exact repairs, such as lathes, saws, ect. If a boat was hit in battle and was in danger of sinking, the Skipper would certainly try to beach the boat. If they could stay with the boat and were not in danger of capture, carpenters mates could be brought back to patch the hull enugh to get them back to base. Once at the Base, the boat would simply be put into drydock, and the csarpenters would go about replacing any planking, ribs, or other structures. It has been said that some of those guys were so good they could have a boat back in the water in no time, and believe me, I have some photos going in my new book, "PT BOATS behind the scenes, that show some pretty good destruction on the hulls.

Of course, I am sure some of the forward bases, or crude bases until more supplies were brought in, used what they could just to keep the boats afloat. Temporary patches were just that, temporary until the carpenters could replace the damaged parts. After painting the planks, you might not be able to tell where the damge once was, a true testomony to the work the Base Forces did during the War..........


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Jeff D

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jeff D   Send Email To Jeff D Posted on: Nov 15, 2009 - 7:03am
There's some text and a few images from a repair guide here:

http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USN/ref/PT-Manual/MTBM-5.html#C3



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BobPic

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Nov 15, 2009 - 11:55am
Like most other "standard procedures", each incident was handled as best suited the conditions. We had holes plugged or patched with an overlay panel, but as QM says, the crew or base personnel replaced the patch with planks as soon as convenient. If you were at a base or attached to a tender with carpentry personnel, they usually did it right by replacement ot the damaged planks. When the torpedo went thru the bow of the 167, the crew was trained to do the work under the direction of base carpenters. The first time the 167 was damaged and the day room was sliced off, they were never able to repair it and we finished the entire war minus a dayroom. They did what they could but there was no standard answer.


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Jeff D

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jeff D   Send Email To Jeff D Posted on: Nov 15, 2009 - 12:41pm
Bob, do you know what prevented them from patching up the day room? Were there any major problems caused by its missing like water coming in? Did the aft turret stand on its own without the house or did it need to be braced?



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BobPic

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Nov 15, 2009 - 1:01pm
They said parts had been ordered but never got to the boat. It was reordered at least once more but nothing happened. The crew wanted to leave the area open like the bed of a truck but were informed by Elco that cross bracing at the deck level would be necessary. Because of our flat deck however, we got some hauling assignments. We were called the Ugly Duckling because of our unusual profile. We had no problems like water because it was raised 4" or so and was properly sealed. We found no good use for a 3ft high dayroom except for storage. The rear turret was badly damageg but repaired and stood alone with a few metal rods supporting it.


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Jeff D

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Jeff D   Send Email To Jeff D Posted on: Nov 15, 2009 - 3:45pm
That's really interesting, thanks Bob.



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David Waples

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of David Waples  Posted on: Nov 16, 2009 - 5:36am
Thanks for the information. It sounds like from a modeling point of view the best way to represent the repair is with a different color shade. I would imagine that if the boat were painted at one base and repaired at another it could be a dramatic difference.
Dave

David Waples

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