Elco PT Boat PT-617 - Engine Room
Bill Maloney
1/20/2007

page 1 of 2 Next

01StarboardPackardV12 02Workbench 03CoolantLines 04Pump
01 Starboard Packard V12 02 Workbench 03 Coolant Lines 04 Pump
05PortPackardV12 06GearboxStarterGenerator 07ElectricalBox 08GearboxValves
05 Port Packard V12 06 Gearbox Starter Generator 07 Electrical Box 08 Gearbox Valves
09StarboardPackardV12 10PackardV12Supercharger 11PackardV12Carburetor 12AirCleanerCarb
09 Starboard Packard V12 10 Packard V12 Supercharger 11 Packard V12 Carburetor 12 Air Cleaner Carb

The Elco PT Boat uses 3 Packhard V-12 marine engines. There are some more detail shots in the Higgins PT Boat Engine Room gallery that show the transmission shift lever better. The captain did not have direct control of engaging, disengaging or reversing the Packard V12s. He would have to call down to the engine room to make any of those changes. When Lt. John F. Kennedy was rammed and sunk by a Japanese Destroyer one very black night, he was idling with all 3 engines in neutral. He is said to have heard the destroyer moments before it struck. He couldn't engage the gears via the engine room to power the boat out of the way in time to avoid being sunk. After that it was standard procedure to keep one engine transmission in gear at all times.

Packard 4M-2500 W-14 V12 Marine Engine Specifications:

# Cylinders - 12
Fuel - 100 Octane Avgas
Cylinder Bore Diameter - 6 3/8"
Piston Stroke - 6 1/2"
Displacement - 2,490 Cubic Inches
Compression Ratio - 6.4:1
Weight - 2,950 lbs
Induction System - Gear Driven Centifugal Supercharger
Electrical System - 24 Volt

Back to the Elco PT Boat PT-617 Main Page

Home