Around the yards

摘要

Robert Stengl writes from The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana, with news of the thorough restoration of PT-305. "Rebuilding this vessel to her 1943 configuration is being accomplished using original Higgins Industries engineering drawings and vintage photographs," writes Stengl, a boatbuilder and logistics engineer on the project. The PT boat, launched in 1943, was one of 199 such boats built by the New Orleans-based Higgins company. Starting in 1944, she served in action in the Mediterranean Sea, destroying 530 tons of enemy shipping during intense nighttime patrols. "In the spring of 2011, PT-305 was moved into the modern John E. Kush-ner Restoration Pavilion, designed with a glass facade so the public can observe the work in progress," Stengl writes. "Upon her arrival in the pavilion, work began immediately on restoring the basic structures of the 78' hull," including reconstructing a 13' section that was lopped off after she was bought by a Chesapeake Bay oystering operation after the war.