PT-109
by David Waples

1/72 PT-109 (Revell)

When I was about 7 years old my dad took me to see the movie PT-109. From that day forward I was hooked on PT Boats and have made an effort to learn everything I can about them. Much information and misinformation (some spread by me I'm sure) has been written about this boat and her crew. About two years ago I thought it was time to put up or shut up so I decided to take the good old Revell kit and correct it to how I believe PT-109 actually looked. About a year ago I came upon the holy grale in 109 lore which was the color of Tropical Green applied to the 109. On the PTBOAT.ORG web site a color photo of a 77 foot Elco appeared with a green 80' Elco tied up next to her. The owner of the pictures who was on the 77 foot believed the Elco to be the 109. Also there was another 77 foot Elco on the port side that had that same color green. This was the best evidence so far as to the color of this boat.

My model is detailed in ways too numerous to mention here but were derived from books, drawings, and photographs of other early 80 foot Elcos but there are certain things about this boat that make her 109.

1. PT-109 under JFK (and photos indicate probably before) did not have the signature A frame mast. The most logical reason for this I believe was expressed by a PT skipper who said that the masts would tangle under the trees they tended to tie up their boats under.
2. There was an accidental misfire of the forward port torpedo which drove the depth charge through the deck. I decided to remove some of the toe rail around the forward port depth charge to indicate where the damage had been repaired. Nobody knows if the depth charge was actually replaced or if they were just removed all together from the boat. But I like them and I know they were on the boat.
3. I decided to model the 109 the night she was sunk. That night a 37mm Army gun was mounted to two planks and "lashed" to the deck. There are no photos of this so I decided to do what was logical and secure the ropes to the cleats. I actually borrowed this from another modeler.
4. The aft 20mm had a broken locking pin and in Donovan's book it was stated that the 20mm was tied off to the depression rail.

To display the boat I build from plans an Elco A Frame cradle and a maple base which had engraved the names of each crew member. I wanted to do this as a tribute build.

There were some firsts for me as well. I cast new torpedo tubes and soldered my own depression rails from brass.

If you have any questions about my build or this boat please feel free to reach out to me and I'll do my best to answer your questions. I hope you enjoy her as much as I did building her. This was more than a build for me, it was a labor of love.

Aftermarket from White Ensign Models & John Haynes

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