PT-615

2007 Photo

Class: ELCO 80 foot.
Type: Motor Torpedo (PT) Boat
Launched: 18 July 1945
At: Electric Launch Company Ltd. (ELCO), Bayonne, New Jersey
Commissioned: 17 Sep 1945

Length: 80 feet
Beam: 20 feet, 8 inches
Draft: 5 feet
Displacement: 56 tons
Complement: 17 men
Armament: Two twin .50 cal Browning machine guns, one 20 mm Orkelin Cannon, one 37 mm cannon, one 40 mm Bofers cannon, two 8-tube 5" spin stabilized rocket launchers, and 4 Mark 13 torpedoes on roll-off racks, two per side.

Information:
Fleet Obsolete Restoration Project
The Clocktower Building
325 Gold Street, 4th Floor
Brooklyn, NY 11201-2040
Phone: 718-596-0504
Fax: 718-596-6443

Address to Visit:
Fleet Obsolete on the Kingston Waterfront
110 East Strand
Kingston, NY 12401
http://www.pt728.com
Latitude: 41.9199595761, Longitude: -73.9787130207
Google Maps, Microsoft Bing, Yahoo Maps, Mapquest

PT-615 is a 1945 ELCO Patrol Torpedo Boat. PT Boats are small, fast vessels used by the United States Navy in World War II to attack larger surface ships. They also performed intelligence, patrol, mail, pilot rescue and special operations. The PT boat squadrons were nicknamed "the mosquito fleet" because of their small size, high speed and nasty bite. They are constructed of laminated wood frames, with a double planked mahogony hull. She is powered by three 1500 hp engines, and could cruise at speeds of up to 41 knots. PT-615 is undergoing restoration, and available for visitation in Kingston, NY.

PT-615 is owned by Fleet Obsolete, a non-profit devoted to the promotion and restoration of vessels of maritime significance. Fleet Obsolete is also restoring the ex-U.S. Army small tug Gowanas Bay, PT-48 (77' ELCO, 1941, served in the Pacific), PT-459 (78' Higgins, 1944, served in Europe) and PT-728 (73' Vosper, 1945, an example of the boats that were built for Great Britain and Russia under LendLease.)

PT-728 is Coast Guard certified to carry passengers and during the boating season provides underway tours and charters.

PT-728, a sister ship to PT-615 underway in 2008.

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