The PT Boat Forum
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» Forum Category: PT Boats of WWII
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» Forum Name: PT Boats - General
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» Topic:
PT Boat Giant Killers by ELCO
http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/netboardr.cgi?cid=101&fid=102&tid=4850
I Found three videos made by ELCO during WW2. Copy and paste the link for the video into the web browser... Enjoy!
Part 1
[url]https://youtu.be/Z8tQP3s9DIQ[/url]
Part 2
[url]https://youtu.be/8e6Ei5UvLqI[/url]
Part 3
[url]https://youtu.be/MN47z3n52-c[/url]
Posted By: Travis B | Posted on: Nov 26, 2019 - 6:57am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Nov 23, 2019 - 10:11am
John Bulkeley's father is shown in one of those if I remember correctly. Lot of insight into the process and skills involved in building a hull.
Larry
62 Bel-Air
260 Eagle EXP
79 Cole TR-2
2016 Corvette Z51
Posted By: bubbletop409 | Posted on: Nov 26, 2019 - 9:52am
Total Posts: 164 | Joined: Apr 22, 2013 - 11:48pm
I live in Northern NJ, when it warms up I will be taking a trip to Bayonne NJ to check out the old ELCO Factory or where it use to be.
Posted By: Travis B | Posted on: Nov 26, 2019 - 10:05am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Nov 23, 2019 - 10:11am
Use to be is the key in that statement.
Larry
62 Bel-Air
260 Eagle EXP
79 Cole TR-2
2016 Corvette Z51
Posted By: bubbletop409 | Posted on: Nov 26, 2019 - 10:07am
Total Posts: 164 | Joined: Apr 22, 2013 - 11:48pm
The videos were put up on youtube by our forum's fearless leader Dick Washichek. Dick has done a tremendous amount of work in promoting the history and remembrance of PTs, much of which he gives away freely. Have you checked out the "Free PT Documents" page? There's some very interesting reading there!
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Nov 27, 2019 - 5:19am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
While you are in and around Bayonne on your visit, be sure to photograph the 2 bronze plaques on the walkways of the Townhouses where the plant was. It is also worth a walk along the shoreline on both sides of the homes and see the remains of the old wooden piers and supports for the huge railroad bridge that once spanned the bay. Then, before you leave head north about 2 miles and visit the old restored Elco crane at the end of the walkway at the Bayonne Park just below the Bayonne Bridge. I also grew up in Northern NJ just 15 miles north of the plant and remember the night it burned. If you know where to look, there is a bunch of stuff to see.
Posted By: Roy Forbes | Posted on: Nov 28, 2019 - 7:39am
Total Posts: 371 | Joined: Sep 5, 2012 - 4:57pm
Thank you! If anyone would like pictures I will be taking a bunch, I will make the trip in early spring. I am not familiar with the history of ELCO or why they closed (im 31) can someone fill me in as to what happened?
Posted By: Travis B | Posted on: Nov 29, 2019 - 4:37am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Nov 23, 2019 - 10:11am
I'm hoping someone with postwar knowledge of the plant will reply, I'm interested too Travis. I do know that there were 2 fires, one 1963 and another in 2001, that erased most of the plant. The crane was moved to a park where it still stands.
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Nov 30, 2019 - 6:50am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
I have found the article about the fire that burned down the ELCO factory. I have to wait for my subscription to become active, once I have access I well post the full article.
Posted By: Travis B | Posted on: Nov 30, 2019 - 9:00am
Total Posts: 126 | Joined: Nov 23, 2019 - 10:11am
TRAVIS & JEFF
The following information comes from Victor Chun's first book on PT's.
Andrew Higgin's had a 5 million dollar manufacturing facility at the end of the war. He hoped to carry on building water craft, but problems arose with the National Labor Relations board, the Unions, and the decline in the demand for post was pleasure boats The company was liquidated Mr. Higgins died in 1952.
The story for Elco read's basically the same, Elco was left with a giant manufacturing facility, a tremendous overhead, and the same general lack of demand for their products, caused their demise
Larry
62 Bel-Air
260 Eagle EXP
79 Cole TR-2
2016 Corvette Z51
Posted By: bubbletop409 | Posted on: Dec 2, 2019 - 2:59pm
Total Posts: 164 | Joined: Apr 22, 2013 - 11:48pm
Thanks Larry, a sad ending for them. I know Elco, at least the name, is in business making electric boat motors but as far as I know no boats: [url]https://www.elcomotoryachts.com/[/url].
Posted By: Jeff D | Posted on: Dec 3, 2019 - 5:14am
Total Posts: 2200 | Joined: Dec 21, 2006 - 1:30am
Dick Washichek, when viewing the original films for the 3 videos you made, are the films any better visual quality than the YouTube videos?
Former crew member of the Big Blue Sightseer ex-PT 486
Posted By: Gerry McGovern | Posted on: Dec 16, 2019 - 8:50am
Total Posts: 78 | Joined: Oct 7, 2016 - 1:47pm
Gerry . . .
They were the best copies I could make back in 2006 - VHS to DVD to Mac using the old Mac-The-Ripper App, then to Youtube upload and conversion. The original film strip was recorded to VHS tape back in the early 80’s. With that in mind, technology was no were near developed enough to make high quality dupes from reels. I’m also not sure how good the duped film strip from the National Archives was when it was used for the first transferred VHS. Then after the master VHS was made , hundreds of copies were duped-off.
Frankie (Frank Andruss), told me many years ago he had a DVD copy of Giant Killers and that it was better quality - but I have no personal knowledge of the quality. He also had DV of Devil Boats, listed below.
Don’t forget to watch the other PT videos on my Youtube Page such as:
Devil Boats - PT Boats 2 Parts
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0yIJC0m9-4[/url]
[url]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wGRBLr3WAC8[/url]
Dick . . .
Posted By: Dick | Posted on: Dec 16, 2019 - 1:17pm
Total Posts: 1417 | Joined: Aug 27, 2006 - 6:36pm
Thanks Dick!
Just an FYI, I have a video transfer machine that can take projected films and record them to any medium. It was originally intended as a 8mm/16mm to VHS machine, but you can project any film into it and just record to a digital camera instead of VHS.
Former crew member of the Big Blue Sightseer ex-PT 486
Posted By: Gerry McGovern | Posted on: Dec 16, 2019 - 2:10pm
Total Posts: 78 | Joined: Oct 7, 2016 - 1:47pm
The reason I am looking for clarity is that in part 3, at 4:31 seconds, you can see the PT-487 being backed up. Her color scheme seems to be Navy Gray. I am of course interested because I would assume the 486 came out at the same time.
At 5:32 seconds, the boat being launched looks like the number is either PT-544, 545 or 644 (hard to tell). But, the paint scheme is Measure 31/5P. I would love to know which boat that is.
Lastly, at 7:11 seconds, the boat going out on trial also has Measure 31/5P paint scheme, but it is hard to make out the boat numbers. It is definitely a 4 for the first number, but it is only a guess for the next two numbers. It appears they could be 86 or 88.
The deck arrangement matches the 486 class with only the one 20mm gun on the bow (no M4 37mm), roll off launcher for the torpedoes, and one set of depth charge mounts forward of the aft torpedo launchers.
It would be nice to know what the number is on that boat!
Former crew member of the Big Blue Sightseer ex-PT 486
Posted By: Gerry McGovern | Posted on: Dec 16, 2019 - 2:31pm
Total Posts: 78 | Joined: Oct 7, 2016 - 1:47pm