A discussion thread about postwar aluminum motor torpedo boats in the US Navy service, the PT-810 and PT-811.
PT-809, PT-810 and PT-811 in formation
Boats’ current placement in the game.
Both boats use Mk 16 torpedoes, which were obviously a major improvement over the Mk 13 torpedoes used by older patrol boats. However, is this historically accurate? I have to ask, as I have searched for sources regarding the use of Mk 16 torpedoes on PT-810 and PT-811 in real life, but I could not find any information confirming that they were ever equipped with them.
According to this document, http://large.stanford.edu/courses/2015/ph241/hernandez2/docs/TorpDevel-Usn-JolieNusc1978.pdf, the Mk 16 was intended for use by submarines. I would not be surprised if this torpedo was also used or at least trialed on patrol boats or other surface vessels, but I’m interested in finding sources that can confirm such use in the PT-810 & PT-811.
“U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History” by Friedman has an image caption on page 187 saying the PT 810 was designed to carry Mark 16 torpedos:
However, in the section he also says that all four prototypes (PT 809 to 812) never carried torpedos despite being designed to do so, instead operating as gunboats. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a real photo of them carrying torpedos.
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Ah, thank you. I wondered where Gaijin got the information for the US coastal vessels and their general specifications. This is likely the case here. So, the Mk 16 torpedoes being its planned weapons make sense to me, considering those postwar boats were purely experimental.
I suppose I should check and see if the diagram by A.D. Baker III in the caption was a legitimate source from the US Navy Department.
