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 Author  Topic: They Were Expendable movie
victorkchun

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Dec 17, 2011 - 9:32pm
After watching the movie THEY WERE EXPENDABLE for a zillion times, I noticed most
of the Elco boats had two parallel straight air chambers (by Higgins) mounted above the
torpedo tubes instead the Elco black powder firing mechanism. Has anyone wonder why
they used Higgins equipment on an Elco boat ? I think that's because the compressed air
method is more dependable than the black powder. In making movie they could not
afford to have a misfire.
Victor

Victor K Chun

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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: Dec 17, 2011 - 10:30pm
You may have just answered your own question Victor. In 1945, when the movie was made, it was safe to say that the black powered tubes were all but gone from the boats. The air compressed tubes were much easier to launch a torpedo from these boats, to make it look good for the movie so to speak. In essence I would say it was safer to use these tubes for the movie............................


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Will Day

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Will Day   Send Email To Will Day Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 6:33am
I believe those tube configurations were destined for some of the boats slated to be transferred to the USSR, although the specific boats used in TWE were not among them.

Will

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Will Day

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Will Day   Send Email To Will Day Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 6:35am
If I remember correctly, there was a certain Mark # assigned to those later tubes. Al, the keeper of all things technical, can probably tell us for sure.

Will

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alross2

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of alross2   Send Email To alross2 Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 9:13am
MK19


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TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 11:26am
Victor;
These were used, as mentioned, not only for reliability, but they were the only ones on hand in any numbers. The PT 730 class was being issued to the Russians via lend lease when filming started, they were all fittted with as Al said the MK19 tube. So it was easy for the RON 4 boats(PT 139, 140, 141, 99, 98, 101, I might be wrong here, this is an educated guess on Huckins boats, they were transferred back to RON 4 from Panama (RON 14) around they time filming started with 100 and 102, but the 3 ELCO's were the ones which were used in the filming, as PT 141 was LT John Iles boat in RON 4)to head over to ELCO and have the MK 19 tubes mounted for the movie and then head down to Miami Shakedown for the filming.
Take care,
TED


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Will Day

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Will Day   Send Email To Will Day Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 11:58am
Per info from the PT SEA STORIES tapes, the boats used in EXPENDABLE were Elcos 139 & 141 and Huckins 99,100,101 & 102.

Will

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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: Dec 18, 2011 - 1:06pm
I wonder if other boats besides the Elco and the Huckins were used in the film. In several shots, when you see the stern of the boats, they do not have the straight look of the Elco, yet they do not look like the Huckins boats as well. Do we have any evidence of other boats used, or any boats that were hand crafted by MGM as fill in shots. When you see the three boats being towed, you can tell the Elco's, but other ones look different form the stern.............

I just wonder if any other boats were used to simulate the PT BOATS outside of what we already know were being used.


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Will Day

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Will Day   Send Email To Will Day Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 5:16pm
Frankie: Not that I am aware of, but there were full-scale cockpit and other partial boat mockups built. There is some speculation that all or part of a 77'er was used in the scene of Kelly's (Wayne's) boat being strafed, beached, and burned.

Will

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TED WALTHER

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of TED WALTHER   Send Email To TED WALTHER Posted on: Dec 18, 2011 - 7:49pm
Will;
Message about Huckins PT's in TWE understood. This was obviously a pro-ELCO movie as all the underway attack and all the underway from the pier were done by PT 139 and PT 141, the Huckins PT Boats were just background. In reference to post about mock ups, I understand anything is possible, but the strafing scene on the beach, has always interested me. I always thought it was PT 39, but Chip cleared me up on that, however, with the post of the photos of PT 38 back at Melville in late 1944, this makes me wonder. As of now, there is no real end story for PT 38, was she destroyed or sold surplus???????? She is now the "REAL" mystery 77" ELCO.

Also, I realize Hollywood magic may be at work here, but in the tow scene from Pop Cleveland's Cebu City boatyard, three boats leave the dock with 41 as the tow boat(presumably towing 34 and 35), but when in open sea, at time 1:32 Hr PT 41 is towing 2 boats and all 3 are ELCO 80' boats, I am watching it now via TiVo.
Take care,
TED



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