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NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

HM MTB-261
ex-PT-12


PT-12 served the Navies of the United States and Great Britain.
70' Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 9 April 1940 as PT-12 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 18 October 1940
  • Placed in service 12 November 1940 and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron TWO (MTBRon 2) under the command of Lt. Comdr. Earl S. Caldwell, USN
  • MTBRon 2 tested the first 70' Elco boats in Florida and Caribbean waters in the winter of 1940/41
  • The "Ding Hau" was transferred to the Royal Navy 11 March 1941
  • Commissioned HM MTB-261, 9 February 1942 and assigned to the 10th MTB Flotilla
  • Paid off (decommissioned) in December 1944 at Alexandria, Egypt
  • Sank in March 1945 at Alexandria
  • Destroyed as an obstruction 26 August 1945.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 40 t.
  • Length 70'
  • Beam 19' 11"
  • Draft 4' 6"
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 15
  • Armament: Two twin .50 cal. Browning M2 machine guns in Dewandre turrets and four 18" torpedoes
    (MTB-261 added two .303 cal. twin Mk1 Lewis machine guns, one 20mm mount and two depth charges in addition to replacing the 18" torpedoes with two 21" torpedoes)
  • Propulsion: Three 1,500shp Packard V12 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PT-11, 12, 13 & 14 103k
    PT-3, PT-12, PT-10 & PT-9 230k PT-3, PT-12, PT-10 and PT-9 probably in the New York Navy Yard, Brooklyn, NY Keith Brayer
    PT-12 93k c. 1940
    Novel Packaging photo    		 Joe Radigan
    PT-10 112k Photo from the 1940s Hi-Speed Victory Club War Album Series presented by Hi-Speed Gas Stations Tommy Trampp
    PT-12 266k c. late 1940
    Speeding past the Battery, in New York Harbor
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 44953    		 Mike Green
    PT-9 225k PT-9, PT-11 and PT-12 underway in New York Harbor, circa late 1940. Statue of Liberty is in the background
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 44950
    Photo added 5 September 2019
    PT-9, PT-12, PT-13, PT-14, PT-15 & PT-19 224k PT-12, PT-13, PT-14, PT-15, PT-19 and PT-9 underway at speed in late 1940-early 1941, assigned to MTBRon 2
    Life Magazine Archives - Thomas McAvoy Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest
    PT-12 179k Starboard side view of PT-12 underway at speed in late 1940-early 1941, assigned to MTBRon 2
    Life Magazine Archives - Thomas McAvoy Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest
    PT-12 186k Starboard bow view of PT-12 underway at speed in late 1940-early 1941, assigned to MTBRon 2
    Life Magazine Archives - Thomas McAvoy Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest
    PT-12 184k Closeup port bow view of PT-12 underway at speed in late 1940-early 1941, assigned to MTBRon 2
    Life Magazine Archives - Thomas McAvoy Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest
    PT-12 221k PT-12, PT-13, PT-14, PT-15 and PT-19 underway at speed in late 1940-early 1941, assigned to MTBRon 2
    Life Magazine Archives - Thomas McAvoy Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest
    PT-12 223k PT-12, PT-13, PT-14 and PT-15 underway at speed in late 1940-early 1941, assigned to MTBRon 2
    Life Magazine Archives - Thomas McAvoy Photographer, shared by Peter DeForest
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-12
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Index Back to the Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) Photo Index
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by Tom Bateman
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