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My PT Boats information


The following is a bibliography of PT-Boat books I used to find information when building my PT-Boat models: (further down is a description of some of the modifications I made to the kits.)

1. Connelly, T. Garth; 'PT Boats in action'; Ship Number 7, Squadron/Signal Publications, 1994

2. Donovan, Robert J.; 'PT 109, John F. Kennedy in World War II'; McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc.; New York, 1961

3. Hamilton, Gifford; 'Building an accurate PT-109'; "Fine Scale Modeler" magazine, March/April 1984 pp.22-29

4. Johnson, Frank D.; 'United States PT-Boats of World War II in Action'; Blandford Press, Poole, Dorset, 1980
This (No. 4) is by far the best PT Boat book I have ever seen, but it's out of print!!! I was able to acquire it through Howard Enterprises many years ago. I have also seen it in libraries, so try there first! No. 3 is also a great source if you can find it!

5. Two movies that were recommended to me years ago are "Giant Killers" and "Devil Boats." I did find them on YouTube recently (mid-2018) and included the links below. I really wish these were available when I was making my models! There is some great footage of the various PT Boats, especially running!

6. Another good book, according to an email I received- 'American PT Boats In World War II' by Victor Chun (2nd printing) A Schiffer Military History Book, Atglen PA.

7. Another book I have heard is really good: 'At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy' by Robert J Bulkley Jr

Howard Enterprises, the PT Boat model-maker for the US Navy Museum, used to sell through a dealer called Frank's Mosquito Boat Hobbies. They seem to be out of business now unfortunately.

A lot of people ask me about Lindberg products, like the motorizing kit and the PT boat kit.
This link will take you to a website of Lindberg plastic models. I don't think they sell the same PT boat model anymore, so check eBay. Maybe you can find one there.



Here are some of the technical details about the boats I built:

Both of these are the same 1/32nd scale Lindberg PT-109 kits from the 1990s. Common detailing work included moving the starboard gun tub forward, coring out the gun tubs and detailing them with limiting rails, modifying the light/radar masts, adding spray strips to the hull, adding window covers, detailing the mufflers, relocating and/or adding deck hatches, and other minor details.

PT109:

Power and Hardware : The 109 is powered by two 540 size electric motors wired in parallel directly attached to the prop shafts via Graupner 1/8" universal joints. Electric power is supplied by one or two 7.2 volt battery packs (when using two, they are wired in parallel). Speed control originally came from a Tamiya 'Big Foot' R/C truck mechanical speed control with 2 separately mounted and wired resistors. After making its first run after 20 years in 2018, there were several issues which resulted in melted battery connectors and other "cooked" parts. I put in an Electronic Speed Control (ESC) and after that it ran great! I have a 2-channel radio to control it.

Details : The cannon on the deck is a kit from Testors. It is a 1/35th scale 57mm M1 antitank gun. Scaled to 1/32nd scale, it's about as close to a 37mm artillery cannon as I could get! The cannon was used for attacking armored Japanese barges. Additional details I added include extra walls in the cockpit that simulate the armor plate to protect the crews on deck. I also detailed the torpedo tubes.
The colors are Testors Model Master dark green and Testors red with Testors spray Dull Coat over the whole thing to protect the finish and take the shine of the decals and paint off. All paint but the Dull Coat was airbrushed on (some details were hand painted). The paint scheme is as close to real as I could decipher it. Until the last part of the war, the PT boats came factory painted in light gray over a red hull. When the PT boats got to the front, they were painted green by their crews in order to camouflage them against the forest islands. The paint jobs varied by boat, some were straight green while others were painted camouflage.


The Patrol Torpedo Boat 109 (PT-109) captained by John F. Kennedy
(modeled to resemble the real PT-109 the day before it sank on Aug. 2, 1943)
on one of its early voyages in, circa 1990.


My photo of the PT-109 as it appeared in the Radio Control Boat Modeler Magazine May 1992

PT169 :

Power and Hardware : The 169 is powered by two 550 size electric motors wired in parallel for counter-rotating, directly attached to the prop shafts with universal joints. Electric power is supplied by two 7.2 volt battery packs also in parallel. The mechanical speed control (with integrated resistor) and all running hardware, including two counter-rotating props, universal joints, prop shafts, the motors and wiring harnesses came in Lindberg's power package #78000. I ran this setup until 2019 when I switched out the mechanical speed control for an ESC (details and pictures are below). I have a 2-channel radio to control it.
The only thing I did to get this boat back up and running again in 2018, besides cleaning and adding new grease to the stuffing tubes, was to add water cooling to the motors and mechanical speed control. Otherwise, it was running great, even after sitting unused for 20 years!
- - I did find, in early 2018, that Mack Products makes a power package for the Lindberg PT boats. It looks like it is package #813CE. It is listed under the "Power Packages" tab.

Details : This boat has many scratchbuilt details including the torpedo racks (made of styrene sheet) and torpedoes (turned from acrylic rod on a lathe). The depth charges were also turned on a lathe from acrylic rod. The gun on the front is an automatic 37mm cannon that crews took from P-39 Air Cobras. These were used for attacking the Japanese armored barges. The radar mast was a combination of styrene tubing, brass rod, and the radar dome was turned on a lathe from an acrylic rod.
The colors are Testors Model Master dark green and Testors red with Testors spray Dull Coat over the whole thing to protect the finish and take the shine of the decals and paint off. All the paint was spray painted on (some details were hand painted). While the colors are the same between both boats, you can see the difference spray paint versus airbrushing makes in color tone!

For both of these boats, many years ago I had purchased really nice detail parts from HR Products. I have .50-caliber machine guns, two 20mm anti-aircraft cannons for the stern, two depth charges with racks and a 37mm cannon to replace the one I scratchbuilt on the PT-169. I never finished them, but they are still in good shape, so one day I will get them on the boats!
**** UPDATE April 2019 ****
I finished the 50 caliber machine guns, the 37mm cannon and the 20mm Oerlikon for the PT-169. Pictures are below.


A photo of the real PT-169 as seen in Jan. 1944 with late war armament.
(Photo taken from: Johnson, Frank D. United States PT Boats of WWII in Action.)
Notice the 3 Mark XIII torpedoes and the one Mark VIII torpedo in the rear port launcher and 37mm gun on the bow.

The 169 was on patrol with the 109 the night it was sunk.
The 169 fired two torpedoes, neither struck the Japanese destroyer.
Read the official, 13 January 1944 Navy "Report on Loss of PT-109"



This boat is modeled to resemble the PT-169 as seen in 1944.
(see the previous photo)


Following are my WWII PT-Boats ready for their maiden voyage together sometime around 1995!!
Both the PT-169 and the PT-109 model were built from the same kit, the 1/32 scale, Lindberg PT-109 kit (with a lot of scratchbuilding)





Following are some pictures of the PT-169.


Above: Port side view of the PT-169



Above: Detail shot of PT-169's bow showing the new 50 cal. and 37mm cannon (both from H-R Products)



Above: Detail shot of PT-169's stern 50 cal. and Oerlikon 20mm cannon (both from H-R Products)



Below: Looking inside at the running and radio gear set ups of PT-169 (top) and PT-109 (bottom)
Both PT Boats have the HobbyWing Quicrun 1060 ESC.
That is a waterproof 60A Brushed motor ESC with NiMh or LiPo battery capability and multiple running modes (I only use the Fwd/Rev for the boats).
Both boats are controlled with Spectrum Transmitters and Receivers (receivers are in the balloons even though they are waterproof).

The PT-169 has two water pickups, one for each the two motors (when it still had the mechanical speed control, one of the water pickups was for the speed control and the other was for both motors).
The PT-169 also still requires 2 batteries to run at the same speed as the PT-109 which only requires 1 battery.
The PT-109 does not have water cooling yet, but will eventually!





This is what the PT-169 drive system was before I upgraded to the Electronic Speed Control in 2019




Updated: May 2019

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Go to the PT Boat General Information Page for information on PT Boats, such as colors, etc