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ť Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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ť Topic: PT 505 Last known surviving member
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I have the priviledge of working for the Colorado State Veterans Home at Fitzsimons.

We have an Adopt a Veteran Program here where staff members "adopt" a veteran and try to make their retired years comfortable and happy.

I have adopted a Mr. Joe Frank who was the radioman / radar operator on the PT 505. For anyone not familiar with the 505, it was at the D-Day invasion, went after a german U-boat and struck a mine with such force that the three Packard engines were knocked completly out of their mounts. He is very spry yet and when I told him that I would like to adopt him he said that it would make me his grandfather. So now I have 10 grandchildren ranging from 87 years to 2 years old.

I would like for any information that I can get from anyone on the board about the 34 Ron and PT 505. I am building the Italiai kit and have asked questions and received much assistance from the members here.

I got Mr. Frank's permission to share some of his stories and will add them as I can. I can not believe that I am able to actually speak with one of these Heros face to face. I feel like the luckiest guy on the planet.

I know of three other guys here in Denver who won't be able wiat to speak with Mr. Frank as well.

Thanks in advance for everything guys.

Denny "djwhite"

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 24, 2012 - 1:36pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

sir,......you have truely been blessed; as actually have we all . If not for the likes of your new friend & others of like stature................we'd all be eatin sauerkrout & sushi..................GOD BLESS HIM.................& GOD BLESS AMWERICA................here endeth the lesson. Cheers, B.J.

B.J.

Posted By: pappy bj | Posted on: Mar 24, 2012 - 4:00pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

I think that is great news. I know we would love to have any photo's of Mr, Frank, so please share them with us. I have photo's of PT-505, just E mail me when you can............

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: Mar 24, 2012 - 5:10pm
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

[:-bigeyes2-:]

Denny, if you go here....

[url]http://s426.photobucket.com/albums/pp348/Millman48/PT%20Boat%20Photos/?action=view¤t=PT0132.jpg#!oZZ4QQcurrentZZhttp%3A%2F%2Fs426.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fpp348%2FMillman48%2FPT%2520Boat%2520Photos%2F%3Faction%3Dview%26current%3DPT0121.jpg[/url]

you should be able to visit my Photobucket account where you will find a good number of photos from Ron 34 that should be of interest to you, and Mr. Frank.

Don Millman

Posted By: Don Millman | Posted on: Mar 25, 2012 - 7:07pm
Total Posts: 35 | Joined: Jan 28, 2009 - 8:29am

Thank You Don for the pictures of the Portland base.

I am going to print them and give them to Mr. Frank so he can show his family some of what happened to him on D-day.

That is an excellent representation of the daily life then.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 26, 2012 - 7:42am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Denny;
Here are three photos I have of PT 505 for Mr. Frank, The photo at speed is also in Don's collection. the second has been in books before, The color photo I came across quite recently, If he was part of the repairI am sure Mr Frank remembers spending the night on Utah beach, making temporary repairs on PT 505's hull while the boat was beached, and the long wait for the tide to come back in the next morning, so they could "get the hell out of Dodge"! and head back to Portland. They were taken further out and anchored, however, they were not towed back to Portland Bill until 11 June, by PT 500. Send us photos of your model as it progresses. Also if Mr Frank, can i send him some questions concerning RON 34 and PT 505? Please reply at my e-mail:LTWALTHER2@aol.com
Take care,
TED

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Ted%20Walther/PT505RON34UNDEWAYATFULLTHROTTLE1944.jpg[/image]

PT505 RON34 UNDEWAY AT FULL THROTTLE 1944.

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Ted%20Walther/PT505RON348JUNE1944BEINGTOWEDTOBEACHBYTWOLCMs.jpg[/image]

PT505 RON34 8 JUNE 1944 BEING TOWED TO UTAH BEACH BY TWO LCM's

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Ted%20Walther/PT505RON348June1944afterhullrepairsonbeach.jpg[/image]

PT505 RON 34 9-10 JUNE 1944 ANCHORED OFF UTAH BEACH, AFTER TEMPOARAY HULL REPAIRS, AWAITING TOW FROM PT 500 BACK TO PORTLAND

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Mar 26, 2012 - 8:44am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Ted

WOW Thanks for the color photo. It's amazing from the photo you can tell how far down in the water they were.

Mr. Frank, Lt. Godfrey and the Exec were the three who stayed on board while they waited to be towed to Omaha Beach for repairs. He told me that the only thing left working on the boat was the batteries.

He hardwired the radio, his mother gave him before he shipped out, to the batteries so they could receive radio reports about the invasion. The only signals he said they could pick up were from the German radio which was telling them they were all being pushed back to the sea.
Mr. Frank said they laughed all night about that since they were in a cove, and even the German sentries walking the beach couldn't care less that they were sitting there.

It was like the Germans were just happy they weren't shooting at the beach and they were very happy they were just sitting out there.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 26, 2012 - 9:20am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Is that part of the patch job down at the water line, starboard quarter ?

I love that 'full throttle' photo.

Steve

Posted By: Nuge210 | Posted on: Mar 26, 2012 - 12:14pm
Total Posts: 323 | Joined: Jun 4, 2008 - 7:50am

Denny;
Your welcome, glad to share with Mr. Frank and you. I know two of those guys in the color photo is LT Godfrey and Mr Frank, (the official report reads 3 officers and 2 enlisted remained to make repairs, it does look like an officer is in the cockpit). But what really matters is that he can point to himself in this photo and say to you "Look Denny(Grandpa), thats me on deck"! Those moments make everything worth it. Enjoy!

Steve;
It looks like it might be part of the patch, but if it is, that piece alone is 10' -12' long. I am sure there are more below the waterline, possibly reinforcing the whole starboard aft quarter. If you look at the LCM towing photo, she does appear to be down slightly more by the starboard aft quarter, but this might also be because of the towing effect combined with the water already in the lazerette and engineroom. Only Mr Frank can tell us if she was damaged more on starboard side, maybe Denny will ask him.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Mar 26, 2012 - 6:02pm
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

That must have been a heck of a night for Mr. Frank. Please give him my best and deep thanks Denny.

Wikipedia:
Operation Overlord began on D-Day (June 6, 1944) and ended on June 30, 1944.

He was marooned in German territory right at the start of it.

Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Mar 26, 2012 - 7:16pm
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am

I am absolutely beside myself.

I printed out the pictures that Don and Ted both posted and enlarged them to fill up a letter size sheet and assembled them into a three ring binder photo album.

He was in tears. Now I'm about to be in tears.

He told my that he lost his camera on the boat from Florida going over to England and these were the first time he had seen his boat since 1946. He said that the only pictures that he had taken and sent back home were of the Florida MTB base. He is kind of sad because they have been lost over the past 60 years.

He said that he does remember being on the boat in the cove just north of Utah beach after they hit the mine and that it was the blackest black night he had ever experienced. Absolutely nothing still worked on the boat after the mine. He just told me a few minutes ago that they felt like 12 year olds jabbering about what they might be able to do if the Germans had desided to go out to check on the boat.

He is very excited to see the pictures. He has only gone thru a few of the pictures both he did say that the picture that shows the engine room being completly re skinned with all three packards out of the boat is definetely the PT 505. They used crate materials to cover the bottom of the boat to get back to Porland England.

He also said that to clarify one thing about the side of the boat with the "Portland or Bust" on it. I was painted by Lt. Godfrey himself, he told the crew that he brought the boat to the war and he was taking back after they were done.

Sorry about misspellings as My Hands are still shaking from the last conversation.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 27, 2012 - 12:12pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Hi Denny,
Just returned from Phoenix and saw this post. That's incredibly nice of you to look after Mr. Frank and put together the photo album for him. Would love to have him come to our ship club meeting but not sure if that's possible. I'm hoping to meet him sometime and hear about his time in the Navy. Interesting story about his boat being damaged on or around D-Day. Would love to hear more about that. So many things I'm curious about after seeing the great pictures Don & Ted posted.

Thanks for sharing Denny and looking forward to seeing you soon and getting caught up in your own build.
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Mar 27, 2012 - 7:46pm
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

Just got a little excited here. I purchased a couple of LCM's from L'Arsenal in 1:350 scale. I'm getting ready to start a couple of 1:350 PT boat dioramas so might as well make it a third to honor Mr. Frank.

Ted, is the first photo you posted before D-Day? I'm wondering about the paint scheme. Nothing to do with the diorama really. Just curious. What I am curious about is the armament. Looks like 505 sported a couple of 20mm and a 37mm on the bow?

Looking at the side of the hull I'm guessing that that angular black marking along the side is where the water line was. I guess I'm a little surprised that they had her over on Utah Beach just a few days into operation Overlord.

I love these boats!

Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Mar 27, 2012 - 8:22pm
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

David;
Yes that photo was taken before D-Day. Don has a great collection of RON 34 photos he posted on photobucket. This is one of them, I believe it was taken stateside just prior to deployment.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Mar 28, 2012 - 5:27am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

To David:
Ted is correct according to Mr. Frank. The 505 did have the camaflauge design at the commissioning at the Brooklin Navy Yard.

But once they were on the transport ship to England they were all painted "Battleship Grey".

To Ted:
Mr. Frank was all teared up from seeing his boat right after they were towed off Utah beach with the temporary repairs. He also confirmed that being towed back to the tent city at Portland was almost as terrifing as the mine. They had very bad weather and all four times "that Damn Line broke" they were sure they were going down.

To All:
Now before we get into a huge discussion about what was battleship gray, Mr Frank said that the 505 ran up against a battlship when they were picking up mail for the squadron and the sailors aboard the battlship said it was a good thing the 505 was the same color they were or they would have made the plywood coffin boys repair the paint.

No, he didn't remember which battleship or even if it was a US or British.

One other thing I should pass along. I showed Mr. Frank the PT boat crew for the Italiari 596, He told me that there was never a single day on the boat that they were ever that dry looking. "The dungarees were dark with water all the time and had white stains around the hips where the salt was drying. The shirts were also dark from the water."

Man this stuff is so good!!!!!!!!!!

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 28, 2012 - 7:31am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Great stuff indeed!

Will

Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Mar 28, 2012 - 8:30am
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm

Sorry Ted, I guess I just got overwhelmed for a little bit there.

I did ask Mr. Frank about how much damage was done to the underside of the boat. They had to cover the bottom of the boat from the middle of the fuel tanks back to the middle of the lazerette. Mostly cracks between the mahagony sheeting. He said that the wood was actually almost forced around the bracing. That is amazing since the bracing inside the hull was usually 12 to 15 inches apart.

That is a lot of force from the mine explosion.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 28, 2012 - 10:31am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Frank,
Can you e-mail my your e-mail address. I would love to see what we can share with Mr. Frank.

I think that mine is in my profile.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Mar 28, 2012 - 11:43am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

I wonder if this is just Measure 14. Ocean Gray 5-O on vertical surfaces and Deck Blue 20B on horizontal surfaces. Looking at paint chips it seems right. I'm guessing somebody can provide the answer.
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Mar 28, 2012 - 7:02pm
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

YIPEE ANOTHER PAINT DISCUSSION!!!!
Just kidding David.
My guess would be:
#17 Ocean Gray (1944) FS 36251
5-N Navy Blue FS 15042
Revised Deck Blue 20B FS 36076

however, since this is stateside prior to deployment, these could actually be greens. if RON 34 was like RON 29 stateside their boats were green for shakedown, then painted enroute to MED. Maybe Mr. Frank can shed some light on the colors, since he did say PT 505 was painted battleship gray enroute.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Mar 29, 2012 - 5:12am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Oh boy !! At least you didn't say 10.... ah!!

Looking at the color photograph my guess would be either 5-O (ocean gray) or 5-B (thayer blue) and it looks like it was painted one color all over with the possible exception of the deck.

It looks like we have some red on the back there for some reason. Not sure if it has something to do with the recovery or if it is part of its identification markings.

The State side camo is interesting. Almost looks like Measure 32. Hoping some body can weigh in. I may have to go find John Snyder.

Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Mar 29, 2012 - 6:04am
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

Denny

If you would, please take a photo of MR. FRANK. I, as others would love to see him, and if you would, send us his address. I would be most happy to send him a card.................

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: Mar 29, 2012 - 8:21am
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Denny & Ted,
I would be interested to know more about the photo showing the 505 being towed to Omaha Beach. I'm wondering if the LCI tied up to the 105 was fitted with pumps. The photo is not easy to see but it almost looks like there is some sort of hose elevated and coming across the LCI. I'm wondering if Mr. Frank has any recollection of that.
Thanks!
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Mar 29, 2012 - 7:07pm
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

David;
If you are looking at the samething I am, I believe you are seeing a railing on starboard side of the LCM, this LCM has what looks like railings on both sides. the forward one does not have any.
However, in your diorama a World War 2 P-250 type dewatering pump and a few sections of fire hose, would not be out of place in this situation.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Mar 30, 2012 - 6:01am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Hi Ted and Denny,
I think we're talking about the same thing. I can't tell if this is a rail or some sort of arrangement to support the water being pumped out. I thought the end on the port side near the hull looked like water being pumped out but I'm not convinced. It could be railing.

Denny, I wonder if Mr. Frank has any recollection?

It also doesn't look like they have any of the typical hard stands for weapons next to the helm. I'm wondering if their purpose is strictly maintenance. I"ll have to do some hunting around..

[IMAGE]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n27/David_Waples/PT505RON348JUNE1944BEINGTOWEDTOBEACHBYTWOLCMs.jpg[/IMAGE]

Thanks guys
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Mar 30, 2012 - 6:16pm
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

Dave;
Yes we are looking at the same thing, but I don't see the reason why the "hose" would be elevated in such a way(this is why I think it is a railing, the other side also appears, but looks more lik a shadow.), this would make the pump work harder. Usually the hose would just have some small stuff attached and it would be tied off to a cleat, weapon tripod, or stanchion(ie: something secured to the deck to keep the hose from going all the way over the side).
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Mar 31, 2012 - 6:11am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

I just knew that some of you would fall in to the what was the color discussion.

I did ask Mr. Frank originally what color his boat was and he said " Battleship Grey" They painted the PT while they were on the way to England. They spilled paint on the deck of the freighter they were on and it dryed and blended right in.

I have to get permission to post his picture and address and when I do it will be posted.

He seem to enjoy having someone to talk to about his boat and so I don't want to seem like I am interogating him.

I did ask him about pumps on the LCT. He said they borrowed three pumps from a destroyer and had them all running trying to keep the English channel from filling the boat completely.

"Remember we could see all the way through the boat and the three pumps barely kept the front watertight compartments from filling up."

I can't believe how harrowing that would be.

Mr. Frank was on his boat almost the whole time and so he may not know if those pipes were for the pumps or not But I will point them out to him and ask him if he knows what they were for.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Apr 1, 2012 - 6:42am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

HI Denny & Ted,
I trust Ted's understanding of the pumps so I think we're looking at railings. As Ted points out there is a shadow of the railing mirrored on the opposite side of the LCM. If Mr. Frank remembers anything about them I would love to hear about it. The P-250 Mod 1 and Mod 2 are relatively new piece of equipment. I couldn't find much on WWII pumps so I started hunting around for pumps on destroyers. I found a P-500 pump as part of a destroyers ships equipment. They all look about the same in 1:350 any way.

[IMAGE]http://i108.photobucket.com/albums/n27/David_Waples/inbdpass152.jpg[/IMAGE]

I don't know anything about LCM's. Both boats have some crazy mast arrangement that I've never seen before. Unique to D Day operations? No idea. These boats with railings mounted are rare and only the one tied up to the 505 has them. I'm wondering if this boat has some special purpose.

I can't really tell if the gun mounts on the LCM are removed. The photo isn't that good and at least the one boat tied up alongside the 505 has lots of people milling about. Certainly none are visible.

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Apr 1, 2012 - 7:26am
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

David;
It might be a special purpose LCM(ie:salvage), in the photo it looks like they are flying the S-for-Sugar flag. I do remember seeing P-500 pumps like this one back in the day, but they were being phased out for the P-250, at least on small boats like our 65' MKIV PB.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Apr 1, 2012 - 10:17am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Well it has been a couple of days since I posted an update on Mr. Frank.

He would love to hear from others from the PT's. I want to protect my "Grandson" from unwanted mail. Cards andsuch canbe sent to:

Mr. Joe Frank
Colorado State Veterans Home at Fitzsimons
1919 Quentin Street
Aurora, CO 80045

I looked up his muster records on the web and copied all of the records that pertained to him. I was able to find the "Change of Records for each time he was promoted and for the transfer to the 7th fleet.

Now for the bomb shell.

Mr. Frank was transferred to the pacific with Lt. Godfrey to the Ron 8. After spending time in the Med, they really didn't need as many PT's there he was by Lt. Godfrey to transfer with him.

I asked him what other boats he was assigned to and he told me he was always assigned whatever boat Godfrey was assigned for any particular mission. Lt. Godfrey was commander of Ron 8 at th time so he got to pick which boat he would go out on.

He remembers that Godfrey seemed to like one particular boat for most missions. He wasn't very keen on the 59 boat but really liked the 108.

If anyone has a copy of the log book for the 505 or the 108 I know he would love to read them.

Oh, one of the first stories he told me was meeting Lt. Godfrey for the first time. He was helping wire up an external power line from the dock across the group of boats being prepared for the commisioning ceremonies the next day.

A small boat came up to the 505 and four officers got off the boat. Two went to the 506 boat and two came up to Joe. The Lt. asked where the rest of the crew was and Joe, not being in the navy that long, said that they were "downstairs". The Lt. laughed and told him they were below decks. From that moment on it was a running joke that the crew went below decks but Joe had to go downstairs. It was heartening to him that his new commander was not a hard--s, but really liked his crew.

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Apr 5, 2012 - 8:12am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive
PT-505

Call sign:
Nan - William - Able - How

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

80' Elco Motor Torpedo Boat:

Laid down 23 August 1943 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
Launched 14 December 1943
Completed 13 January 1944, placed in service under the command of Lt. William C. Godfrey, USN and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron THIRTY FOUR (PTRon 34) under the command of Lt. Allen H. Harris, USNR
PTRon 34 had action in the English Channel area from June 1944 to October 1944, when orders were received to prepare the boats for delivery to the Soviet Union
On the evening of 7 June 1944, PT-505 gave chase to what appeared to be a submarine periscope cutting through the water near St. Marcouf Island, Normandy, France, off Utah Beach. The periscope
disappeared when the PT-505 came within 75 yards, and Godfrey was about to give the order to release depth charges when the PT-505 ran over a mine. A violent explosion lifted the stern of the PT out of the water, injured
two men, tore loose one depth charge, snapped the warheads off the torpedoes, threw the engine beds awry, and caused some damage to practically every part of the boat. The PT went down quickly by the stern until the base
of the 40mm gun was awash. Godfrey jettisoned his torpedoes and his other depth charge, and transferred his forward guns, radar, and radio equipment to PT-507, which towed the PT-505 to anchorage in the lee of
St. Marcouf Island. Although there was some danger that the boat would sink, LT Godfrey, two other officers, and one enlisted man remained aboard that night. The next morning two LCMs towed the PT-505 onto the
invasion beach at high tide. Low tide left the boat high and dry for six hours, time enough for the crew to put emergency patches on the hull and to paint the side with the legend, PORTLAND OR BUST! PT-500 towed the
PT-505 back to Portland, England on 11 June 1944, in a crossing made miserable by four partings of the towline in heavy seas.
Transferred 29 December 1944 to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron FOUR (PTRon 4) under the comand of Lt. Comdr. Jack E. Gibson, USN
PTRon 4 was the training squadron, based at the MTB Squadrons Training Center, Melville, R.I. It was the largest squadron, having a peak of 28 boats in service at one time. When the training center was decommissioned early in
1946, PTRon 4 was assigned to the Operational Development Force, and based at Solomons, Md. It was the last squadron to be decommissioned, and its boats, PT's 613, 616, 619, and 620, which remained in service under
the Operational Development Force, were the last World War II PT's in service in the Navy
The Diana, ex-Portland or Bust was placed out of service 1 February 1946
Sold 25 September 1947
Fate unknown.
Specifications:

Displacement 56 t.
Length 80'
Beam 20' 8
Draft 5'
Speed 41 kts.
Complement 17
Armament: One 40mm mount, four 21 Torpedoes and two twin .50 cal. machine guns
Propulsion: Three 1,500shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.

Don Millman
Oriental, NC

Posted By: Don Millman | Posted on: Apr 5, 2012 - 8:48am
Total Posts: 35 | Joined: Jan 28, 2009 - 8:29am

Denny;
You mentioned 59 in your previous post, but PT 59 was already back and assigned to Melville (actually at the Philadelphia Navy Yard with PT 47 undergoing dehydration tests, then both were sent to NAS Norfolk as ASR boats).
Was he talking about a 77' ELCO? If he was, then he was talking about PT 66(the only surviving RON 8 77' Elco), but that was a runabout/VIP transport by then. The only boats with "9" in the number was PT 129 and PT 149.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Apr 5, 2012 - 9:21am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Denny,
Any chance that he liked the 108 so much better was Earl Richmond's cooking?
Gary

Posted By: Gary Paulsen | Posted on: Apr 5, 2012 - 9:43am
Total Posts: 249 | Joined: Feb 14, 2009 - 6:31am

I will have to ask him again.

Mayby I have the numbers wrong but he definatly said they would go out on the 108.

Does Mr. Richmond remember Mr. Frank?

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Apr 5, 2012 - 12:05pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Hi to all,

have been following this thread with some interest.

The European based ELCO boats has been a long time modelling interest.

The Ron 34 boats from what I can see, had standard armament, but the forward mountings I am speculating were 20mm only and from some of the images mounted either side of the bridge area.

The PT505 seems in the colour image to have mountings on both sides ??

any insight from the knowledgeable in the group.

Graham Cutler
Australia

Posted By: Graham Cutler | Posted on: Apr 6, 2012 - 6:09pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Graham - The Ron 34 armament varied slightly from boat to boat, including one or two 20mm mounts and in a couple of cases a 37mm only. Which boat were you specifically interested in modeling?

Will

Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Apr 6, 2012 - 10:38pm
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm

Hi Will,

I am actually looking at PT505
the available information seems to suggest only the basic fit out and the mounts present for the 20mm forward

any help greatly appreciated

Graham

Posted By: Graham Cutler | Posted on: Apr 7, 2012 - 4:36am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Guys:
I just spoke with Mr. Frank. He thinks he remembers Mr. Richmond. The first question he asked me was if he was a cook on one of the boats. I admit I haven't been through all of the posts from Mr. Richmond so I could not tell him if he was or not.

He did tell me that he thinks he was one of the guys that got them food when they needed it, as the person who had been assigned to their group as cook had been transferred so they got most of the meals from either the base kitchen, boat tenders or one of the other PT's.

Mr. Frank has a birthday coming up June 19th and he will be 88 years old.

I don't know if I mentioned it but I printed out his muster records from after he was transferred to the Pacific. I showed him when he was promoted each time and he was thankful to see that info, because he said that he remembers some of the promotions but at 87 it's kind of vague. He joked that he thinks he was only promoted to RM1st because Lt. Godfrey didn't want to lose him to another group.

He definetly remembers the 108 boat and I asked him if Kennedy was still there while he was there. He said the 109 and all that had happened before he ever got to the Pacific so he never met him.

Someone here on the board will have to figure out which battleship was in the Med for D-Day. He still says the 505 was "Battleship Grey".

Also a tidbit of trivia, he told me that Lt. Godfrey wrote "Portland or Bust" on the side of the boat....... They didn't have black paint.........the Lt. used grease from the busted engine connections to write the words.

They almost completely washed off in the crossing while being towed back across the channel.

Mr. Franks said he was almost thrown overboard during one of the attempts to reattach the tow line. He said that it scared the pants of him.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Apr 7, 2012 - 12:33pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Denny;
WAY TO GO!!!!!!!
Earl Richmond, was the Cook on PT 108! He currently lives on the Eastern Shore of Maryland!
I am sure hearing from another shipmate will cheer Earl up alot!
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: Apr 7, 2012 - 2:41pm
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

With the correspondence I have had with Earl, I believe by the time Frank was in the Pacific that Earl had served his time on the 108 and had been relieved of duty. He had been back to the U.S. on leave then sent to the Philippines and by then was a cook at Base 17.

C. J. Willis

Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: Apr 7, 2012 - 3:15pm
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm

I asked Mr. Frank about Mr. Richmond again, he said it's very hard to remember names after 60 years. He does remember alot of the kindness that the sailors had for each other.

I guess living in such tight confines like a ship you either got along or moved on.

He did tell me that if Mr. Richmond was the cook on the 108 before he got there then he left a good legacy on that boat.

What a truly amazing bunch of guys.

Denny

Posted By: djwhite | Posted on: Apr 14, 2012 - 10:23am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Oh My Goodness!!! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !

Mr. Frank had his daughter bring in a scrapbook that they had made up for him a couple of years ago.

There are a lot of family photos in it, but there is one page devoted to his service in the navy. They are printed pictures from a computer scanned photograph.

He had an 8 by 10 photo of the whole crew of the 505 sitting around the charthouse front with not only the 505 number of the boat but also the squadron 34 "wolf" logo. Anyone know right offhand where I can get a good copy of that logo. I know I have seen it before but right now for the life of me I can't remember if its in one of my reference books or on this message board. I tell you guys there is Nothing like talking to these heroes in person.

I have almost finished the small PT boat I have made for him and am detailing it to look more like the 505. Since it is from the 109 Linberg model I had to remove the molded in torpedo tube mount from the deck and underbrace it with styrene and fill it with styrene and putty to make the deck flush again for the roll off racks, for the depth charges and the torpedoes. I used the end of one of the torpedo launch tubes to create the radar on top of the mast. It took two Lindberg kits to get the extra 20mm for the front and the extra pieces for the mast. Now I need to build the racks and the ammo boxes on the stern of the boat.

Denny

Hi there.

It is a real privilege to be able to talk to any veteran about their experiences.

You are working on a Lindberg kit. Which scale is it? Lindberg is pretty good at sending out extra parts if you need them. A while back they sent me two more rear deck funnel vents, a couple of 20 mm guns and shields and a number of spare 20 mm magazines for one of my 1/32 scale PT boat projects. They also sent me some of the deck cleats so that I could replace the ones on my old boat which had been lost over the years of running it at the creek and pond as well as transporting it.

It's also great that thesePT boat veterans shed so much light on how a boat was configures at certain times.

Cheers from Peter

"Give me a faster PT boat for I'd like to get out of harm's way!"

Posted By: PeterTareBuilder | Posted on: Apr 28, 2012 - 2:40pm
Total Posts: 494 | Joined: Jun 24, 2008 - 5:59pm

hi all i do not rtrmrmber mr frrank but would have been priveliged to have net him.from all the ionfo mentiopned he mmust have been on the 8 boat just after i left it.i diid go out of my way to get what food i could scrtoune for the crew,even managed to "borrow"some craters of stuff from a looadeed barge guarded by two maerines with help odf a cook buddy dfrom anopther boat.if nr frabk wqnts to ciommunicate wuth me my adress is;
earl richmond
101 taylor ave
hurlock.md,21643
ted nugent advised ne of hthis posting about mr frank
mr cossentinimwho was also aswsigbned to the 8 booT JUST after i left it took a lot of photos of his crew then and mr frasnk may be in oone of the [hotoa?there are no bnames but he tokld me,before he pqassed on that hE SENT COPIES TO H DQTRS ABD VARIOUS MEMBER S OF THE BOARD,MAYBE THEY CAB RECHECK THEM,I ALSO HAVE COPIES BUT I CAN,T SEE TTHEM DUE TO BY BAd eyesiight.i have vbeen declared legally bliind now.it has taken me a long time to type tthis with the help of my maghnifier
my beast to you all/ earl

earl richmond

Posted By: EARL RICHMOND | Posted on: May 1, 2012 - 8:14pm
Total Posts: 319 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 1:50pm

THANKS, EARL. ALWAYS GREAT TO HEAR FROM YOU!

Will

Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: May 1, 2012 - 11:07pm
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm