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 Author  Topic: PT-154 Ron 9
  Pat Rogers

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Pat Rogers  Posted on: May 17, 2008 - 9:16am
Nat,

I skipped right by your question in regard to the picture on your visit to Fall River. That is John McLaughlin at the helm. I notice that the SO radar has been installed on the boat as indicated by the box that is mounted on the mast. That tells me that the picture was taken sometime during or after our time spent at Russell Island. That is where the radar was installed.

Congratulations on digging up the information on William Carter.

Pat


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Nathaniel Smith

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Nathaniel Smith   Send Email To Nathaniel Smith Posted on: May 18, 2008 - 6:44pm
Pat Rogers and I (working together) have identified the boats in the pictures below. On the SS White Plains, in New York Harbor, are eight boats from Ron 9 soon to be heading to Panama East Coast from their berth on the west side of Manhattan. Pat places the date of departure as December 21, 1942 ... and a Monday morning! Clearly the last time these boats ever saw snow.

We can clearly see the numbers 155 and 152 in an enlargement detail. Alyce Guthrie take note. Her father was on PT-155. Pat's and my father's PT is nose-on to the PT-155 way on the White Plains' starboard side.




natsmith

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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: May 19, 2008 - 8:58am
I think the Ron 9 boats had the first purpose-built PT radars, SCR-517A "beehive" radars -- so nicknamed because of the appearance of the cloth cover over the radar's ribbed-frame housing.

"SO" radars were, I believe, the second-series radars with a bulbous dome on top of a thicker, reinforced mast.


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Alex Johnson

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Alex Johnson  Posted on: May 19, 2008 - 10:39am
Hi Drew - I did some research on the SCR 517 radar sets a few years back when I built a model of PT 155 circa September 1943. Several RON 9 boats carried the set as did some RON 7 and RON 10 boats. The set was made by Westinghouse and was an aircraft radar. The SO radar and subsequent SO-3 sets were designed specifically for PT Boats. They were manufactured by Raytheon. The SCR 517 sets were not perfect and relatively complex to operate. They did not have the PPI scope. Several RON 9 veterans told me that their boats carried a Cheif Petty Officer who knew how to read the screen. Despite its limitations, the SCR 517 radar set was vital to the boats. These same RON 9 men told me that on numerous occasions they would not have found Japanese barges without the sets. Hope this helps.

ALEX


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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: May 19, 2008 - 11:50am
Thanks, Alex.

I think those SCR-517A 'beehives" were the type of radars aboard the "division leader" boats (PTs 107, 159, 171, and 174) the night PT 109 was lost...


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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: May 19, 2008 - 2:34pm
DREW;
The only RON 10 boat I have a photo of using SCR517 radar is PT 167, and this was before her almost sinking with 165 and 173 on the Stanvac Manila. I am sending xerox scans to Dick for posting, stay tuned.
Ted


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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: May 19, 2008 - 3:25pm


NAT AND PAT;

Here are some images from Rendova 1943.




McLaughlin Grove, Lumbari, Rendova 1943 named for Lt jg John McLaughlin Exec PT 154.




Francesca Park, Rendova 1943, named for SC2c Albert "Jack" Francesca Helmsman PT 162.




Koury Dock named for RM1c Sam Koury PT 157.




Marney Pier named for MoMM2c Harold Marney PT 109.


Cheers,
TED





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Nathaniel Smith

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Nathaniel Smith   Send Email To Nathaniel Smith Posted on: May 19, 2008 - 5:10pm
Thanks Ted for great pictures. This Message Board is beyond belief.

Lt (jg) John D. McLaughlin (Exec) Boston MA was my father's Exec on PT-154. He is pictured to the left in both pictures below.

On the night of Nov 13/14 he was standing with Arthur Schwerdt (QM2c) from Hollis NY and Arnold Becket (TM) from Craig CO between my father, Lt (jg) Hamlin Smith (CO) and the foreward port torpedo tube when a 3 inch shore battery shell hit the afterbody (compressed air) of that torpedo killing the three men instantly and wounding my father greatly. There is no doubt in my mind that the bodies of the slain men shielded my father enough to save his life.



Pat, whose memory is beyond question, and Walther know him as John. Pat knew him well.
"At Close Quarters" and PTboats.org lists John as Joseph. I can't exactly read the sign in the first picture. If my father owes this man his life (and thus my life) I'd love to be sure I am getting his name correctly.

natsmith

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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: May 19, 2008 - 7:12pm


Looks like Joseph to me.

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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: May 19, 2008 - 8:17pm
Quote:

Thanks, Alex.

I think those SCR-517A 'beehives" were the type of radars aboard the "division leader" boats (PTs 107, 159, 171, and 174) the night PT 109 was lost...





Hi Drew,
Dick Keresey in PT-105 was on station the night PT-109 was lost. She had radar on that boat and it was not the behive type radar. According to Mr. Keresey it was SO radar. I was very specific when I exchanged letters with him showing a drawing of the behive radar and he was very clear that it was not that type. He later identified the SO radar and I have a photo of the 105 with that equipment.
Dave

David Waples

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