Found these on a search, Only One WWII PT operation in Oregon and has to be visited by Appt. http://offbeatoregon.com/1401c.pt-658-worlds-only-working-pt-boat.html The unit at Rio Vista CA is functional but a Vietnam Era PTF 26, it too is functional but more a gunboat. http://libertymaritime.com/liberty1.htm Both still awesome machines of simplicity. For Old Iron Habit
Very interesting read, thanks. Truck Shop
That's really cool. I recall reading JFK's book PT109 when I was in Junior High School. Yeah, we called it Junior High back then. Not many WWII vets left, I sure hope the youth of today appreciate what they did during that war and the equipment they worked with. The hair on my arms stand up whenever the Commemorative Air Force bring their B-24 to town and I hear those 4 radial engines flying over me as my father stood in the waist gunner position on bombing missions in CBI theater of operation in WWII
It's very interesting that the Viet Nam era PTF boats used the weird Napier Deltic engines, I guess they had a good power to weight and size ratio.
The confederate air force was at our local airport around a month ago, I was working at my shop and I heard the sound willie59's talking about. I got out of the building just in time to see their b-29 fly right over my shop, that is one beautiful old plane. They weren't 500' feet up, so I got a good look.
You got it crane operator, ain't nothing like the sound of piston radial engines, it'll give ya chicken skin listening to them when they fly over.
As you've mentioned Napier Deltics, I'm assuming that's the Nasty Class PT?
Yes. Is that a Deltic in your avatar?
It sure is. That's a 3,200HP turbo charged Deltic that was installed on the second batch of Nasty class PT's and also the Tjeld class of the Royal Norwegian Navy.
We used to have a KC-97 here that was a waterbomber for forest fires. It had the huge 4 row Pratt and Whitney radials, That critter could send shivers down your spine. I watched them do a startup once... Pure music.
Very nice. Those were an odd engine with the three crankshafts, but a very powerful package, not unlike the Fairbanks Morse opposed cylinder engines. Only problem with the F-M's was they were tall.
They were a magnificent piece of engineering, but very temperamental. We bought a decommissioned PT from the Norwegian Navy in 1987 and declined the offer of the Deltics as they could be problematic they could guzzle a fair amount of diesel.
So what did you use for replacement engines? I'm interested now.
Sadly nothing like the Deltics. We converted it into a pleasure boat and ended up installing a pair of Detroit 8V71's that could make her go a maximum of 13 knots. A big drop from the 45-50knots when the Deltics were installed. On the flip side, a substantially lower diesel consumption rate.
Wow, about 1/10 the original HP... A pair of 16V71s would be about halfway in between the 8V71's and the Deltics. But that is one big pleasure boat.
This is how we bought it.
And slowly it took shape.
And finally done.
Can imagine it sliced water like butter.
If you want a good idea how these kind of crafts could move, this is a video of a preserved Swedish PT with the original engines:
The "deltic drone" was something I grew up with when the railways switched from steam to diesel in the 60s because the principal express passenger locos were powered by two 18-cylinder Delitc engines. There are still a few around in preservation and they sound as good as they did over 50 years ago. Here's a clip of one making what's known as a "spirited" departure from Doncaster pulling an enthusiast's special. Turn up the sound, it's well worth a listen....
Last June I was on a service call to Arrowhead Truck Stop in Pendleton Or. I saw a Napier Deltic loaded on a drop deck, first one I've ever seen. And as luck would have it I left my camera in the shop. Truck Shop
Interesting thread. Thanks. When I was a kid, I not only read that one, but another one, "They Were Expendable" that was also about PT boats. I just googled it, and found that they also made a movie from the book. They used real PT boats in the movie. It can be found on YouTube. Here's a link to the trailer:
The finished product is breathtaking for lack of a better word.
Yep, I've watched that movie. That's back when Hollywood actually made "good" movies. JMHO
That's really cool Nige! By the sound I'm guessing (since I know nothing about these engines) that the Deltic in that loco is a two stroke much like the GM EMD engines used in loco's in the USA, no?
Yes sir, and when they light up those 4 radial piston engines for takeoff...that's the symphony!
That was great! almost had a bit of a Detroit sound to it. Closest I can think of is an 8V92T with straight pipes... sort of... Kind of...
Google the Deltic, it's an amazing engine. 3 crankshafts, 18 cylinders and 36 pistons. And yes, it's a 2 stroker.
When I was young I was a wildland firefighter...we had our share of piston engines, S-2, P-2 (still in service but I think this is the very last season), DC-whatever but they were all twin engines. Still awesome low and slow directly overhead, cannot hear yourself think. Never had the pleasure of hearing a 4 engine plane up close. Many months ago I heard one out the window of my house, tracked it using modern technology of Flight Radar 24. It was a B-17 on a tour. What a neat sound that is.
Correct Willie. Like the EMD the Deltic is a supercharged 2-stroke, but that's where the similarity ends. Named after the Greek letter Delta which is written as a triangle the Deltic engine has 3 crankshafts laid out in a triangular fashion with two on top and one on the bottom,. The cranks are connected to opposed pistons and the whole thing is blown by a supercharger mounted on the end of the engine. That way an engine that's bascially only as long as a 6-cylinder in-line has 18 cylinders and 1,650HP......
Thanks for sharing: Tried to see that when I was through that area in July but missed the appointment part. GPS put us in some big truck shops near the water by the address so we called. Only open about three days a week,they were nice, can you come tomorrow? We had to roll but caught Port Orford Coast Guard Station. Kind of like a fire station but they rescued sailors that sent out a flair. Left their quarters and ran half way down the bluff to the boat building. Rode the 38 ft self righting craft, with a 120 HP Detroit Diesel, down the tracks like a coaster and splashed into the ocean. Went out in any weather, cannon shot a rope over the ship and brought the sailors home. Those were mens men! I have a few pics but don't have your skills. Maybe you could do a post on that?
In the late 80's I was in southern Utah (soldier summit area) and got to see a Utah Railway coal train with 5 SD45's on the point, 20,000 howling horsepower at 10 MPH. Very impressive.
Is that where the design of the T3 Commer knocker came from Nige?
Thanks. It was an interesting 2.5 years and a rather steep learning curve.
That is really cool Nige since this is my first introduction to this engine, I thank you for that. Even though it's multiple banks of pistons connected to the crankshafts, it's still basically a 3 cylinder firing configuration, which is good. Single and two cylinder engines are difficult if not impossible to minimize vibration. Once you enter the 3 cylinder world, one at bottom, one at TDC, and one either coming up or going down, vibration drops way down. Then throw in multiple banks or 3's working together, I wager that engine runs smoother than a baby's butt. That's really cool engineering, and really cool two stroke engine design.
What I like about this thread...it's all about related technology, and very cool technology at that, that stems from a humble PT boat from an era over 70 years ago. And it's so cool to reflect upon. Nice job HEF members.
The PT boat was moored at Lake Oswego for two days the first weekend of September and open for tours on the main deck. I and the family got to go aboard and listen to the dedicated crew explain the workings. Three big gas engines with three separate propellers and they told us the boats could go from dead stop to thirty knots within the length of the boat. Seems a little fast to me but those were big engines. The boat is very expensive to operate as throttling up just one of those engines is about like flushing an old toilet. There were some weapons on the bow and stern and torpedoes on each side. Not a lot of room on the boat, crew operated the boat in open air and it must have been a real rough ride at sea. The heart of any ship is the crew and those guys must have been made of something real strong and tough. The link provided about the boat is an interesting read.
I was stationed on a cruiser home ported in Norfolk, Virginia in the mid to late seventies and got sent fuel school over at the amphib base in Little Creek, Virginia. After the school each day some of us would walk around the base just looking at what was neat and cool about the brown water navy. There were two of those Regal Deltics sitting on skids in what looked like a bone yard for the river patrol boats that were used in Vietnam. We talked to an engine man there who said they were sent back for overhaul before the US pulled out and it never got done so there they sit. He told us of the crazy horsepower these things had but said rebuilding them was a nightmare and impossibly complicated. It's funny what can trigger an old memory. Thanks!
Anyone know if the PT boat that was getting rebuilt just south of Rio Vista, CA on the river road still there. It was being worked on in the 90s when I was thru that way last. As I recall it was a running boat at that time.
That was the Liberty in the first post, fully functional now.
That is the boat I saw south of Portland, Oregon in September.
Oh cool. Walked on it and looked it over way back then. Happy to hear that it is rocking again. Going to have to try to see it again. Edit: Went and looked at he first post again. Neat stuff for sure. I must have been half asleep the first time I looked at it.