A SMALL COLLECTION OF 28 MOSTLY OFFICIAL NAVY PHOTOGRAPHS DEPICTING THE U.S. NAVY IN THE PACIFIC DURING WORLD WAR II, INCLUDING 5 PT BOAT RELATED IMAGES.
Jan. 1943 - Jan. 1946. A group of 28 black & white photos, 8 x 10 in. (one slightly smaller), most stamped on verso with a date, file number, and brief historical explanation. Most of the images are from 1945. All are clear, bright.
The PT Boat images, four from 1943 and one from 1945, show boats manufactured by the Elco Naval Division, Electric Boat Co., of Bayonne, New Jersey. One depicts a PTC4 submarine chaser, one the PT 196 and its "tiger shark" detailing, one a group of PTs at their home base in the Pacific, and two showing the zebra striping system of camouflage used to confuse enemy gunners. From a typed description attached to one of the 'zebra' photos: "Many scores of Elcos are in Southwest Pacific waters where they have been taken by tankers and freighters from the plant of the Electric Boat Company.... The dwarf sea hornets of wood have ravaged Jap shipping beyond belief."
The rest of the images show: the salvaging operations on a Japanese destroyer, launching of the USS Shangri-La, the wreck of a Japanese landing barge on Saipan, Marines landing on Iwo Jima, the wreck of a Japanese float plane on Palawan, an amphibious Alligator tank being hoisted over the side to land on Iwo Jima, Navy warships on the way to the Ryukyus (2), the Cruiser Pittsburgh after a typhoon, the USS Mississippi with battle damage, the US Navy Taks Force 38 moving toward Ulithi anchorage, a captured Japanese sub, the light carrier Monterey, the Navy's Fleet Train (2), the transfer of bluejackets from the USS Missouri to the USS Iowa in mid-ocean (2), Japan's "Boneyard Bay" in Kure Harbor (2), the US Submarine Nautilus, US Submarine Barbero, a British midget submarine, and a Royal Netherlands Navy vessel. Item #63378
The Electric Boat Company began operations in Chicago using its fleet of battery powered electric motor launches to ferry visitors over the waterways of the Columbian Exposition in 1893, according to records at the Mystic Seaport Museum. The company constructed its own boat building operation in Bayonne, New Jersey in 1900 and was one of several manufacturers who contracted with the U.S. Navy to build ships during World War II. The patrol torpedo (PT) boats Elco designed were know for their speed, strength of construction, and ability to withstand attacks. The PT-109, under the command of John F. Kennedy, was one of their models. Though split in half by a collision with a Japanese destroyer, the bow continued to float for several hours giving the remaining crew a chance to survive.
Price: $1,250.00