PT står for en lang og varieret serie af amerikanske torpedobåde fra Anden Verdenskrig. Det kan antages, at de første kuttere i denne serie blev bygget ved årsskiftet 1939-1940, og deres indtræden i den amerikanske flåde går tilbage til 1940. Kutterne af PT-typen havde en forskydning på 30 tons, deres længde varierede fra 21 til 24 m og bredden fra 6 til 7 meter. Den maksimale hastighed for PT-kutterne var 39-40 knob. Under Anden Verdenskrig blev skibe af denne type brugt med forskellige typer håndvåben og artillerivåben, men følgende konfiguration var almindelig: to 12,7 mm M2 maskingeværer, en enkelt 20 mm Oerlikon kanon og 4 533 mm torpedorør.
Rødderne til bådene i PT-serien går tilbage til 1938-1939, hvor den amerikanske flåde besluttede at anskaffe nye torpedobåde med høj maksimal hastighed. På grund af de betydelige problemer, man stødte på ved design af denne type skibe, blev det besluttet at erhverve licensrettighederne til sådanne skibe i Storbritannien fra British Power Boat. Produktionen af nye kuttere blev bestilt til det amerikanske firma Elco (den såkaldte PT-10 type), som i begyndelsen af 1941 udviklede sin egen version af den nye kutter - større og meget bedre udstyret (den såkaldte PT-20 type). Men på grund af protesterne fra Huckins og Higgins virksomheder kom deres både (svarende til dem, der blev produceret i Elco) også i tjeneste i den amerikanske flåde. Det er værd at tilføje, at Elco-virksomheden i begyndelsen af 1942 udviklede endnu en udviklingsversion (den såkaldte PT-103-type), som blev forstørret i forhold til den såkaldte type PT-20. Broderparten af bådene i PT-serien tjente i Stillehavet og kæmpede mod den japanske flåde, fx under kampen i området omkring Gudalcanal-øen i 1942-1943. En af de mest berømte kuttere af denne type var PT-109, kommanderet i 1943 af den fremtidige amerikanske præsident - John Fitzgerald Kennedy.
First Look
The US Navy's experience with Motor Torpedo Boats (aka PT Boats) started in the 1930s after examining the effectiveness of the Fast Torpedo Boats developed and employed by the British, French and Italian navies during World War I. The first eight PT Boats developed for the US Navy were less than impressive.
The Electric Boat Company (ELCO) acquired a British torpedo boat which impressed the Navy enough to put ELCO under contract to develop PT Boats based upon the British design but featuring a number of changes, including power from three navalized Packard Liberty V-12 aircraft engines rated initially at 1100 horsepower, but reaching 1500 horsepower each by war's end.
Initially deployed as a torpedo boat, early PTs were armed with torpedo launch tubes that were powered by a gas charge. These were later replaced with simple racks that were powered by gravity. As the war progressed, the PT Boat's mission changed to an interdiction role where Japanese supply boats and barges were sunk. As this role became more successful, PT Boats were reconfigured from torpedo launch platforms to gun boats, some of which also carried rocket launchers.
The Motor boats were the most numerous in US Navy service with 326 examples built. These were numbered in groups: 103-196, 314-367, 372-383, 486-563, 565-622.
The kit is molded in light gray styrene, and is presented on six parts trees, plus the one-piece hull. The kit also includes a fret of photo-etch parts, a sheet of pre-cut acetate windows, a section of wire and two lengths of thread for different rigging details, and a bag of screws to help mount the main deck to that one-piece hull.
There are several new parts trees here plus an all-new photo-etched fret. This release backdates the original PT-596 kit, which represented the last production batch of Elco boats to PT-109, which was in the initial batch of 80' Elco boats. The PT-596 had incorporated numerous operational lessons learned with gravity released torpedos, aft-mounted depth charge racks, 40mm Bofors cannon on the aft deck and a 37mm cannon on the foredeck. With the first of the initial batch of Elco 80' Elco boats starting with PT-103, the PT-109 shared the gas-discharged torpedo tubes, the forward mounted depth charges, and the twin .50 caliber gun mounts. After numerous skirmishes with the Japanese, boat crews in the South Pacific found these early Elco boats lacking in firepower and improvised accordingly.
In the case of PT-109 before Lt(jg) John Kennedy took command, there was an accidental launch of the foreword starboard torpedo tube while in the stowed position and the departing torpedo took out the starboard depth charge rack and a section of the foot railing on its way overboard. The missing rack wasn't replaced by the time Kennedy came aboard. Like the other skippers in the field, Kennedy's crew'requisitioned' whatever heavy armament they could find and in Kennedy's case, an Army 37mm anti-tank gun. The crew lashed the gun to the foredeck atop some wood planking to reinforce the deck. This modification took place the day before PT-109 was rammed by the IJN Destroyer Amagiri. The rest, as they say, is history.
What you see here is the very first accurate representation of PT-109 in kit form. Almost. Italeri provides the port and starboard depth charge racks as well as the 37mm gun. If you're doing PT-109 before Kennedy took command, you use both depth charge racks. If you're doing PT-109 just after he took command, you leave off the starboard rack and some part of the foot railing that would have been shredded as the torpedo and rack made their way off the boat. If you're doing the PT-109 as it appeared on the day of its loss, then the rack still remains off but the gun is definitely lashed to the deck. Italeri provides you with some options here.
