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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: Would boats fly their flag on night patrol?
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?cid=101&fid=102&tid=4217

I have a question for you all. I'm wondering if the crews would fly the flag on night patrol? I certainly see it during the day but don't have any references for evening operations.
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Feb 13, 2017 - 5:57am
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

David: We never took our flag down day or night. It was up until the wind whipped the stripes down to about 6 inches long from the blue field then we would replace the flag. I brought home one of these flags from 242. It's in the museum in Boston.

C. J. Willis

Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: Feb 13, 2017 - 7:32am
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm

C.J.,

Did you fly the flag from the flagstaff on the stern, or the mast behind the cockpit?

Posted By: Drew Cook | Posted on: Feb 13, 2017 - 2:00pm
Total Posts: 1306 | Joined: Oct 19, 2006 - 10:44am

We flew it from the radar mast just under the ball..

C. J. Willis

Posted By: CJ Willis | Posted on: Feb 13, 2017 - 4:51pm
Total Posts: 464 | Joined: Nov 5, 2006 - 5:02pm

CJ,
That's exactly what I needed to know. Thanks so much.
Dave

David Waples

Posted By: David Waples | Posted on: Feb 13, 2017 - 7:01pm
Total Posts: 1679 | Joined: Jan 2, 2007 - 9:55pm

Any chance you recall what size the flag was? Did you fly 5x9 foot ensigns?

In memory of my grandfather,
Russell Joseph Klein
RM3c, USNR
Ron 15 and Ron 36
PT 527

Posted By: StorkClub | Posted on: Feb 17, 2017 - 2:58pm
Total Posts: 8 | Joined: Feb 16, 2017 - 11:34am

Size 11 was used (2.37 x 4.50)

Posted By: Andy Small | Posted on: Feb 17, 2017 - 3:36pm
Total Posts: 262 | Joined: Nov 20, 2013 - 9:04pm

Before he took his "last patrol", I spoke to our Maury Hooper of PT238 Higgins RON 20 and he said they flew their flag from the radio antenna. They flew the largest size flag they could to avoid being mistaken as a Japanese boat by our illustrious fighter pilots. Several "friendly fire" incidents involving PT Boats happened during the war in the Pacific. Here is a photo showing the flag flying from the radio antenna. I don't know what size it was but it was much larger than what could be flown from the radar mast, This is the same reason the crews would paint a large white US Star on the decks so you could see it from the air. This may have only been something that was done on the Higgins boats, since the Elco radar mast was mounted up higher on top of the Day Room canopy and presented less of an obstacle to vision for the skipper at the helm than did the flag mounted on the Higgins Radar mast.
Jerry

PT238 off Palawan 1945
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT238%20Palawan.jpg[/image]

PT254
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT254%20Higgins%20underway.jpg[/image]

Possibly PT238 hard to read number
[image]http://i130.photobucket.com/albums/p249/ptboats/PT238.jpg[/image]

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Feb 18, 2017 - 2:03pm
Total Posts: 1473 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

Yeah, I have pictures of the 247 boat, among others, with the flag flying at night.

Will

Posted By: Will Day | Posted on: Feb 18, 2017 - 3:40pm
Total Posts: 1955 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 4:19pm

Jerry,

Great shots of 78' Higgins PTs at sea "in the forward area." Thanks for posting them!

Posted By: Drew Cook | Posted on: Feb 18, 2017 - 6:19pm
Total Posts: 1306 | Joined: Oct 19, 2006 - 10:44am

I have the ensign from PT 361 when it was under my father's command. It was given to him when he relinquished command. Just out of interest it is 16 inches along the vertical edge. I don't know how long it was as it's 'weathered' much shorter. The bars are four to six inches long horizontally behind the field of stars. For the modelers that go for the last detail the white bars are worn an inch or two shorter than the red bars, so it has a very uneven back edge. There is something stamped on the spine between the grommets that starts with NAT but I can't read the rest of it. The flag is in a frame so I can't see if anything is printed on the other side.

Randy McConnell (Randall J. McConnell III)

Posted By: PRJM3 | Posted on: Feb 18, 2017 - 9:13pm
Total Posts: 95 | Joined: May 25, 2009 - 2:47pm

Hi Jerry,
Boat in last photo PT 230.

Dave.

Posted By: David Buck | Posted on: Feb 19, 2017 - 1:34am
Total Posts: 332 | Joined: May 4, 2008 - 2:59am