Appendix 1 — Specifications, Armament, and Crew
American PT boats, with only a few exceptions, were of two types, 78-foot Higgins-built boats and 80-foot Elcos. Draft to the tips of propellers was five feet six inches. Power supply was from three Packard V-12 engines giving 4,500 shaft horsepower. Tanks held 3,000 gallons of high-octane gasoline and 200 gallons of potable water. Normal crew was three officers and 14 men, though the complement varied widely under combat conditions. The boat could carry enough provisions for about five days. The boat weighed 121,000 pounds, of which 30,000 were contributed by four torpedoes and tubes, a 40 mm., two twin 50 caliber, and one 20-mm. antiaircraft gun, one 37-mm. cannon, two rocket launchers with eight 5-inch rockets, a 60-mm. mortar, and a smoke-screen generator. In combat, PT skippers often improvised other armaments to adapt to local conditions. Pound for pound, the PT boat was by far the most heavily armed vessel afloat. Top speed under ideal conditions was 43 knots. Conditions were seldom ideal.