The Elco was the prominent boat used in the Pacific, and it came into its own as a gunboat.  Proving especially effective when employed in the anti-shipping role against Japanese supply barges.  By the end of the war, pound for pound, the late model PT’s were the most heavily armed vessels in the US Navy.

Revell first issued a 72nd scale 80 foot Elco PT Boat, in 1963, to capitalize on the reported exploits of John Kennedy in PT 109.  The overall look of the kit was a pretty good representation, but the glaring eyesore was an overdone wood planked deck.  I lost count how many times I started this kit, always cutting off the cast superstructure, just to get rid of that planking, followed by a relatively quick loss of interest, partly because what I really wanted was a late production boat.  Revell’s latest PT Boat kit is a follow-on to their new tool early PT 109 and represents a late war Elco PT.

Connelly, Garth T. PT Boats in Action. Carrollton: Squadron Signal, 1994

Doyle, David.. PT Boats in Action. Carrollton: Squadron Signal, 2010

Chun, Victor. American PT Boats in World War II. Atglen: Schiffer Military, 1997

Johnson, Frank D. United States PT Boats of World War II in Action. Poole Dorset: Blandford Press, 1986

Ferrell, Bob. United States Mosquito Fleet. Memphis: PT Boat Boat Museum and Library, 1977

Bulkley, Captain Robert J. At Close Quarters, PT Boats in the United States Navy. Washington: Naval History Division, 1962