US PT Boats stationed in Britain in 1944

[reinaart]

Last year I became interested in the US PT squadrons (especially Ron 34 and Ron 35) stationed in Britain in 1944. Fortunately, there are many photos of these PT boats taken by both US PT Boat crewmen and US war photographers but I wonder if any photos exist made by British sailors or war photographers. One of the most remarkable pics (showing a Jeep strapped to the foredeck of PT 515 or PT 516) was probably taken in Portsmouth. Some pics were made at Portland Bill and one pic shows PT 515 being offloaded in Glasgow.



More pics can be found here :

http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/ ... pg=1&sc=20

I would also be interested in any pics (made by British photographers) of the Elco PT Boats of MTB Squadron 29 in the Med.

Arjan

[reinaart]

Some of the pics also show British Coastal Forces craft. This one shows MGB 21, the pic was probably taken at Portland Bill :



MTB 482, at least if I read the number correctly. I don't know where this pic was taken :



Arjan

[reinaart]

I tried to locate some period pics taken at Castletown Portland Dorset in early June 1944 :

http://www.ptboatforum.com/cgi-bin/MB2/ ... pg=1&sc=20


Arjan

[reinaart]

PT 515 unloaded at Glasgow, I take it this pic shows a floating crane on the river Clyde ?




Arjan

[David Carter]

Arjan - Re your enquiry about pictures of PT boats in the Mediterranean, some were used in Operation Brassard - the assault on Elba, which was a combined force of RN, USN, French and French Colonian (Moroccan & Algerian) troops operating from Bastia, Corsica. The lead boats were MLs, MTBs and PTs (one of the latter was commanded by Douglas Fairbanks Jr.) There are pictures of the coastal forces boats in Bastia in the IWM website, but it is not easy to identify which are RN and which are USN. CDC

[reinaart]

Thanks for your response David. I know the IWM Bastia pics you mention and to me it seems the boats in the background are all RN MTB's (mostly of the Vosper type). These boats do not seem to have the US SO radar masts :

THE NAVY AT BASTIA. 1 JUNE 1944, ADVANCED COASTAL FORCES BASE, BASTIA, CORSICA. © IWM (A 24230) IWM Non Commercial License

Regards,

Arjan