The PT Boats

This episode features PT boats (short for Patrol Torpedo boat) — torpedo-armed fast attack craft used by the United States Navy in World War II. They were small, fast, inexpensive to build, punched well above their weight, and highly valued for their maneuverability and speed. Inch for inch, pound for pound, the Patrol Torpedo boats of World War II were among the most powerful warships of all time. Like David against Goliath, these small wooden boats were designed to take on and destroy the steel-hulled giants that dominated the oceans. Journey back to the early days of WWII to see how these remarkable boats came into being, and hear from the men who fought aboard them. Take a thrilling ride on a restored PT Boat, and get an up-close look at the features that made it so dangerous both for the ships it was designed to cripple and its own crew! In the brilliance of their design, in the daring of their missions, and in the pure can-do ingenuity of their crews, these swift, powerful vessels have left one of the most enduring legacies in maritime history.