Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

PT-24



Call sign:
Nan - Baker - Easy - Able
77' Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 27 December 1940 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 30 April 1941
  • Placed in service 21 June 1941 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
  • Completed 26 June 1941
  • Transferred 13 August 1941 to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron ONE (MTBRon 1) under the command of Lt. William C. Specht, USN
  • MTBRon 1 was the first squadron commissioned, and originally was made up of experimental boats. Later, when it was composed of 77' Elco boats, the squadron was sent to Pearl Harbor, where it was in
    action on 7 December 1941. Its boats again saw action at the Battle of Midway, and participated in the Aleutian campaign
  • The "Blue Bitch" was reclassified as a Small Craft 9 December 1944
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 40 t.
  • Length 77'
  • 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 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-24 97k PT-24 carrying what appears to be mines Jerry Gilmartin, MMC(SW), USN, Ret.
    PT-24 244k Kodiak, AK
    PT-24 and PT-27 moored forward of an unidentified Coastal Minesweeper
    BuAir photo 79772
    PT-24 316k c. November 1944
    Pearl City, HI
    Mk6 300 pound depth charges on side racks and and 600 pound depth charges on stern racks that were being used to test the theory of using charges to clear minefields in preparation for the Iwo Jima Invasion. Testing was conducted off the coast of Oahu, HI
    Crew members in photo are: Miller, Richardson, Kramer and Nixon
    Photo courtesy of John Akin
    Boat Captains
    01LTJG Lawrence F. Jones, USNR - Awarded two Commendation RibbonsJanuary 1943
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-24
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Index Back to the Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by Tom Bateman
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History