PT 658

Oregon soon will have an exciting addition to its list of tourist attractions-a fully restored and operational U.S. Navy motor torpedo boat.

This project is the brainchild of a group of ex-PT boaters who formed Save the PT Boat Inc., a non-profit organization chartered in Oregon. These dedicated, unpaid volunteers were able to acquire from a private owner, a PT boat sold as war surplus in 1945. The boat was in terrible condition: However, inspired by a consensus of opinion among many ex-PT Boaters that it couldn't be done, the volunteers are successfully restoring this 50-ton WWII Motor Torpedo Boat back to her full operating condition, complete with full armament and three original Packard V-12 engines.

During WWII, PT Boats were the smallest, fastest, most maneuverable and most heavily armed (based on armament versus displacement) of all fighting craft. Fighting in six theaters of combat, they were very seaworthy and on occasion operated in 40-foot waves. Consistently involved in more close encounters with the enemy than any other type of naval craft, there versatile wooden boats, dubbed the "splinter fleet", were regarded by the Navy as expendable. They were commonly used to draw enemy fire, exposing gun positions to shellfire from large US ships. PT Boats disrupted enemy supply lines, torpedoed much larger enemy ships, shot down enemy planes, landed scouts behind enemy lines, rescued downed US pilots and served as front line observers.

Through the generosity of the US Navy and Marine Corps, the Oregon and Washington National Guard, the Oregon Military Museum and through the tax-free donations of many citizens and private corporations, Save the PT Boat, Inc. was given the opportunity to restore PT 658. Moored at the Navy & Marine Reserve Readiness Center on Swan Island, the boat was re-launched on Monday, June 7th, 2004. Repair work, all done by unpaid volunteers, has continued over 12 years and upon completion, will be the only fully restored PT boat in the world. In keeping with Oregon's maritime heritage, PT 658 will be an authentic operating Naval Museum open to the public and will participate in maritime events on the Willamette and Columbia Rivers.

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