As designed, the PT boat's primary mission was for advanced base operations in foreign countries, and to defend coastal waters from capital ships, but additional missions were assumed throughout the course of World War II. For example, one PT boat dueled a Nazi shore artillery during the June 6 Normandy invasion, and two others captured the fleeing Italian naval staff off Sicily in 1943.

The Higgins and Elco Boat companies built a majority of Unites States PT Boats. Designs varied, but these boats were generally 80' in length and carried a beam (width) of 20'. Typical armaments included four torpedoes and an assortment of 40 mm, 37 mm, 20 mm, and .50 caliber machine guns, depth charges, and rocket launchers. Three Packard Marine gasoline engines powered the boats to a top speed of 45 knots.

At the end of World War II, the expense of returning PT boats to the United States from overseas was considered prohibitive, so most boat were stripped of useful materials and burned. Despite the paucity of remaining boats, and the dwindling number of surviving PT veterans, these legendary vessels continue to captivate the imagination of history enthusiasts worldwide.

Styx missile laucher on board Hiddensee.

SMALL COMBATANTS: Big gunships like battleships and heavy cruisers tend to dominate discussions of naval firepower, but in reality the Navy's smaller vessels are often more heavily armed, pound for pound.

For example, US Navy PT Boats were, pound for pound, the most heavily armed naval combatants of World War II, carrying an eclectic mix of machine guns, rockets, and light cannon (as well as torpedoes). Navy PBRs in Vietnam were similarly armed, and capable of delivering an awesome show of firepower from a fleet, compact platform.

The Cove's missile corvette, Hiddensee is heir to the small combatant tradition. Speedy and armed to the teeth, this versatile coastal patrol vessel could shell surface targets, fight off air attacks, and waylay capital ships with her Styx missiles. As fast as a PT, with the ordnance to match, this formidable ship would be a handful for any opponent.

DASH to danger: Battleship Cove and Kennedy volunteers have restored DD-850's DASH (Drone Anti-Submarine Helicopter). Click here to learn more about this spindly Cold War relic.

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