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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: Intro and a Request
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Afternoon everyone. I'm Matt, or 10Dedfish. I found this site today after trying to research the history of PT boats built in Elizabeth City, NC during WWII. I've not had much luck in locating anything at to which hulls were built here. I did find some SC-510, SC-710, SC-1280, sadly these are sub chasers and not the PT boats I was looking for. I was looking for a search function for the forum and didnt find any, so I'm now asking if anyone has recommendation on where to look for info?

A little history about myself, I was a navy man, spent 10 years in submarines and another 20 supporting them as a contractor. Working to support USCG right now, and I live close to Elizabeth City.

Thanks
Matt

Posted By: 10dedfish | Posted on: Oct 17, 2023 - 12:15pm
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Hi Matt! I have never heard of any PT Boats being built in Elizabeth City NC. The 3 manufacturers were Elco, (Bayonne NJ) Higgins (New Orleans, LA) and Huckins (Jacksonville, FL) There were some Vospers made in various places around the country, such as Los Angeles' Terminal Island, and at Fisher Boat Works in Detroit, and a place in Miami, but they only made 3 or 4 boats. Other than that, I have never heard of any PT Boats being manufactured in North Carolina.

However, I have some WW2 photos taken by crewman Dave Prentice while they were transporting an early Higgins PT Boat Squadron (Squadron or "RON" 14) as part of lend- lease to Russia. The boats were driven up the ICW from New Orleans to New Jersey for subsequent loading onto a cargo ship bound for Russia. These boats included PT88, on which Dave was a crewman. After they dropped off the boats in NJ, they returned to New Orleans to pick up their boats of RON15. Dave's photo albums show several shots he took aboard PT88, one of which shows the Police Car in Morehead City, NC. If Elizabeth City is located on or near the ICW I bet the PT Boats may have stopped there as well. Maybe that was the source of people's memory of seeing PT Boats in Elizabeth City? Just a thought Good luck in your search! Jerry
Here are the photos I was referring to of the PT Boats on the Inter Coastal Waterway ICW.

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Oct 18, 2023 - 2:15am
Total Posts: 1484 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

Thanks Jerry, Its possible that they only build the SC's there and possible the crash boats for the USCG. It was mentioned during a local tour event and that's what piqued my interest. It may have been a slip of the tongue on the tour guides behalf.

Morehead City is about 3 to 4 hrs south of Elizabeth City (EC) so there is little chance of that.

This is what I was able to find so far:

Posted By: 10dedfish | Posted on: Oct 18, 2023 - 2:35am
Total Posts: | Joined: Unregistered

Yes those are Subchasers (SC), and 104ft Crash Rescue Boats ASR (Army Pilot rescue craft Air Sea Rescue ASR)

Jerry Gilmartin
PT658 Crewman
Portland OR

Posted By: Jerry Gilmartin | Posted on: Oct 23, 2023 - 1:36am
Total Posts: 1484 | Joined: Oct 8, 2006 - 11:16pm

According to this website,
[url]https://shipbuildinghistory.com/shipyards/emergencysmall/elizabeth.htm[/url]

Elizabeth City Shipyard did not build any PTs. However, it did build a number of SCs and P-boats, Army rescue boats as well as some tugs, all during the war.
I hope this helps.

Posted By: JEno | Posted on: Oct 23, 2023 - 8:15am
Total Posts: 75 | Joined: Oct 13, 2019 - 9:52am