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.
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.
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.
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.
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"
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
