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ť Forum Category: PT Boats of WWII
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ť Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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ť Topic: HIGGINS HELL CAT
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?cid=101&fid=102&tid=2600

I was lucky to have donated another Pocket Notebook from CMDR. Allan Montgomery. Stationed for a while at the Shakedown Base in Florida, in going through the book, he did time trials using several boats, the Hellcat included. Not sure what everything means but here is one section, which by the way is written in his own hand.............

RPM 600 Dist. 0 Time 0
RPM 1450 Time 10
RPM 1800 Time 16
RPM 2250 Time 22
RPM 2550 Time 26
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
AVERAGE SPEED 48.25 KNOTS
180 degree turn at full speed 12 seconds
time to reverse course and accelerate R 34 seconds
to 2000 RPM from idling L 37 seconds
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Time to reverse course at full R- 25 seconds
speed to get back up to 2000 rpm L- 26 seconds

There are many more entries from the notebook comparing Higgins and Elco boats as well.

Time to accelerate from idling to 2000 rpm 19 seconds

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 15, 2012 - 9:03am
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Hi Frank,
Yes I think the Hellcat was awesome. It was fast and small and more maneuverable. I think it was too bad the USN decided not to use it. I think I remember reading somewhere that LT Bob Searles was involved in the project as well, and he really thought highly of the boats performance down in Miami. I think there is more info about it in the "Admin History of PT Boats" book that Dick collated electronically last year wasn't there? Jerry

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: May 15, 2012 - 9:48am
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

Jerry

Nice boat but a bit too light for the role in which the boats had become adjusted to. I just think the notebook is so awesome to have, knowing that they wrote down these things as they happened. I could just see Montgomery writing this down as he rode the boats during these time trials. You gotta love it.........

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 15, 2012 - 12:35pm
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Hi Frank, that is a great piece of PT history. Don't know if this is similar to what they did in Miami Shakedown, but here is some info I had found out about Higgins/NOLA. My father-in-law was on the Pre-Commissioning Detail there (Jun 1943-Nov 1943) after returning from Tulagi. Source: www.ClarionHerald.org

"Nautical Reminder of the Past". New Orleans PT Boats Production & Testing at Lake Pontchartrain. By BUDDY STALL

To the east and west of the old Pontchartrain Beach area on Lakeshore Boulevard, you will find two 30-foot tall, faded red and white steel poles. One pole stands approximately 150 feet in front of the other. One pole has a square on top, and the other one has a circle.
These poles were bright red and white in color when installed in the early 1940s. They were erected for the purpose of clocking the speed of PT-boats built in New Orleans by Higgins Ship Building and Higgins Marine.

Once construction of the PT-boats was completed, the vessels were loaded onto trailer truck and taken to the Industrial Canal plant where they were outfitted for the Navy. After they were filled with fuel and readied for testing in Lake Pontchartrain, the tests were conducted by timing the vessel between the two pairs of poles, which were set one nautical mile apart.

After 50 years, the poles, although dull in color and rusty, are still there in case those pleasure boats who want to test their speeds can do so between the one-mile nautical markings left from WWII.

Randy Finfrock

Posted By: Randy Finfrock | Posted on: May 16, 2012 - 5:30pm
Total Posts: 97 | Joined: Nov 27, 2006 - 6:21pm

Randy

I really enjoy this type of History, so thanks for sharing it with us on the message board. I wonder if we could get someone to take a photograph or two of these poles. There is much more trials and documentation in the notebook I have, I just have not had the time to write it down here. I might when I get some free time.

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 16, 2012 - 6:07pm
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

This is a good picture of the Higgins Hellcat really moving. Did you say 48 knots? Thats a pretty good clip! Jerry

[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT631%20Higgins%20Builders%20Photos/Hellcatunderway.jpg[/image]

Jerry Gilmartin

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: May 16, 2012 - 8:47pm
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

Your not kidding Jerry, that's something like 56 MPH, which is really moving across the water. When you consider this is 1940's technology those engineers really knew what they were doing, Guys like Irwin Chase, and Glenville Tremaine, were really ahead of their time.

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 17, 2012 - 1:31am
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Guys;
There was a guy, who made a model of one a few years ago and posted photos last year. It looks pretty good, and its in a nice camoflage scheme.
Website: http://craigsmodelboats.wordpress.com/2011/05/20/higgins-hellcat-pt-boat-part-1/

Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: May 17, 2012 - 10:04am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

It's not even close....

Al

Posted By: alross2 | Posted on: May 17, 2012 - 11:04am
Total Posts: 993 | Joined: Oct 30, 2006 - 8:19pm

Here is the plaque that was on the boat.
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/Hellcat1-1.jpg[/image]
Pretty cool!!!

Bob

Posted By: Bob | Posted on: May 17, 2012 - 12:31pm
Total Posts: 181 | Joined: Jun 8, 2010 - 6:21pm

Bob

That's awesome, is this right from the HIGGINS HELLCAT and if so, please tell us the History behind the plaque, and how you ended up with this. You should send this to my Exhibit you know, LMAO.........

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 17, 2012 - 3:09pm
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Great piece of info, Bob! Interestingly, this emblem appears on the Higgins drawings for HELLCAT. Having the actual colors available is very, very useful.

[IMaGe]http://i73.photobucket.com/albums/i204/alross2/sat_0002.jpg[/IMaGe]

Al

Posted By: alross2 | Posted on: May 17, 2012 - 6:23pm
Total Posts: 993 | Joined: Oct 30, 2006 - 8:19pm

That plaque is awesome! Very, very cool...

Grandson of James J Stanton
RON 15 PT 209 and RON 23 PT 243
Check out: www.pistolpackinmama.net

Posted By: newsnerd99 | Posted on: May 18, 2012 - 12:55am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

The plaque is not mine. I was told that it was taken off the boat. I dont know where it was on the boat though.

Bob

Posted By: Bob | Posted on: May 18, 2012 - 5:46am
Total Posts: 181 | Joined: Jun 8, 2010 - 6:21pm

Bob;
That plaque is awesome! It sort of reminds me of some of the unit emblems out there today.

Al;
I know its not close, but, it is the only attempt at a Higgins Hellcat model, that I have seen out there in the cybermodeling world. I am sure, know that Frank has seen that emblem, Frank already has the wheels turning, and Stan will be making a model Hellcat very soon.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: May 18, 2012 - 6:51am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Bob;
P.S. You can see the plaque mounted on the side of the cabin in the photo that Jerry posted.
Take care,
TED

Posted By: TED WALTHER | Posted on: May 18, 2012 - 6:52am
Total Posts: 3059 | Joined: Oct 16, 2006 - 7:42am

Ted

Are you kidding, here is the list of what I need built that Stan is doing:

1. WWII Ride On Toy Restoration
2. PT-66 1/20 scale
3. Blue Devil Destroyer
4. 2 British Rescue Craft
5. Huckins PT Boat
6. Resin USS Decatur DD-341
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
If I give Stan anything else to do, I know he will probably kill me. Oh, I almost forgot, he has to do that new paper PT-103 model I just bought..................IT NEVER ENDS, although I do need a nice PT-109 model for a contract i just signed, more to come on that.

Posted By: Frank J Andruss Sr | Posted on: May 18, 2012 - 8:20am
Total Posts: 3497 | Joined: Oct 9, 2006 - 6:09am

Thanks Bob, that's an apt image to go with the name Hellcat.

For anyone wanting to be the probably first kid on the block with an accurate Higgins Hellcat model these UNO plans will help: [url]http://www.pt103.com/images/ptpics/higgins/hellcat/PT_564_Higgins_Hellcat_1943.zip[/url].

Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: May 18, 2012 - 10:01am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am