Packard Forum Index » General

My brother and I visited the National Museum of the Pacific War in Fredericksburg, Texas, over the Thanksgiving holiday weekend. On display in the Pacific Combat Zone section is a PT Boat and one of its three Packard engines. Here are some photos of the engine. Apologies to the Heart of Texas Packards, San Antonio, for cutting them off in the photo of the plaque. Also on display in the Combat Zone section is a mock up of a carrier hanger deck with an Avenger torpedo bomber. The new George H. W. Bush Gallery is a well done and documented exhibit, and provides a great presentation of the war in the Pacific. Well worth a visit if you get to central Texas.

(o{I}o)

The four Texas Packard clubs sponsor the annual Packard Meet in Salado each spring.

Attach file:

---

  (60.17 KB)


  (43.25 KB)


  (46.08 KB)


  (37.54 KB)


  (31.71 KB)

Great pics! Thanks for sharing.

Though the PT engines, while not common, are available to see at quite a few sites (nearest to me is down at Kanter's), I'm only aware of one authentic PT boat still operational and powered by the Packard engines (there were some Hall-Scott replacement engines made as well), and somewhere on this site if I recall there is a link to a video of it roaring around some lake. I hope someone can refresh that link, it's an impressive sight and sound event.

That's some engine!
I've heard about them, of course, but this is the first time I've seen a photo of one. JW, I'm glad one of you stood beside the engine in one photo. I really didn't grasp how massive those engines were until there was a human standing next to it.
I know that back in the 50's and into the 60's these engines were real popular among the Hydro-plane crowd on Lake Washington in Seattle.

These engines also powered the Vosper built Motor Torpedo Boats such as my father served on with the Royal Canadian Navy in World War 2. These ships were powered by 4 Packard marine engines. This is a photo of his ship 735 taken in the English Channel in 1944.

Attach file:

---

  (53.22 KB)

Now THAT is REALLY impressive!!!!
Your father is a lucky man having served in and survived a war in what would be basically a floating gasoline can.
Gas fumes and incoming fire would make me a little nervous.

Jim, To top it off the MTB's were wooden hulls. The German E-boat equivalents were faster, Diesel powered and aluminum hulled. The one advantage the MTB's had was bigger guns. My father was indeed lucky to survive several encounters with enemy ships, aircraft and shore artillery. MY love of Packards is partly due to his comment that the Packard engines never let them down.

Wooden hulls too? It just keeps better and better!
One thing though, they didn't have to worry as much about magnetic mines.
When the going gets tough, a good engine is hard to beat!

Clipper47, Thanks for posting the pic, and thanks to JW for starting the thread. This is, after all, the PackardInfo website, and Packard participated in--and held records in--land, sea and air transportation, in wartime and peacetime.

Here's a link to Miss America X that's kind of neat
youtube.com/watch?v=cjEPpsHCmPs