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Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

PT-196



Call sign:
Nan - Yoke - Roger - Sugar
80' Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 9 December 1942 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 19 February 1943
  • Completed 3 May 1943, placed in service and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron TWELVE (MTBRon 12) under the command of Lt. Comdr. John Harllee
  • MTBRon 12, assigned to the Southwest Pacific, had action in New Guinea waters at Morobe, Dreger Harbor, Hollandia, and Mios Woendi, and in the Philippines at San Pedro Bay and Ormoc. It also
    based for a time at Kana Kopa, New Guinea, but had no action from this base. MTBRon 12 was awarded the Presidential Unit Citation for action in the New Guinea area from October 1943 to
    March 1944
  • The "Shamrock", ex-"Purple Shaft", ex-"Elcopuss", ex-"Green Dragon" was placed out of service, stripped and destroyed 26 October 1945 at Samar, Philippines.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 56 t.
  • Length 80'
  • Beam 20' 8"
  • Draft 5'
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One 40mm mount, two torpedoes, one 37mm mount, four twin .50 cal. machine guns and one 20mm mount
  • Propulsion: Three 1,500shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PT-196 225k PT-196, the last of the original contract boats, had a series of light grey stripes and a shark's face added to the original Measure 14, along with the nickname 'Elcopuss', upon completion. She reverted to a more normal Measure 31/5P in service
    U.S. Navy photo from "Allied Coastal Forces of World War II: Vol. 2" by John Lambert and Al Ross    		 Original photo: Hyperwar, U.S. Navy in WWII
    Replacement photo: Robert Hurst
    PT-196 224k Painted in one of the many different camouflage schemes tried out by PT Boats in the Pacific and Mediterranean
    U.S. Navy photo from "The War of The Gun Boats" by Bryan Cooper    		 Robert Hurst
    PT-196 114k Tied astern of Wachapreague (AGP 8)
    National Archives photo 80-345820    		 Tracy White
    PT-196 149k 3 May 1943
    Photo by Electric Boat Co., ELCO Naval Division, Bayonne, NJ    		 Richard Jaslovsky
    Boat Captains
    01LTJG Alfred G. Vanderbilt, USNR - Awarded the Silver Star (1944)March 1944
    02ENS James R. Beck, USNOctober 1944
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-196
    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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