PT Boat Camoflage question

I checked all my references and could not find anything that indicated if the deck was painted. One photo I have looks like it might not be, but there isn't enough evidence to know for sure. Anything above deck including the mounts for the torpedo tubes was painted with this scheme. One photo of the 170 boat shows a number on the port cockpit where you would expect it. But I'm not sure if it is really there, is a temp sign they put up, or was put on the photo. There doesn't seem to be a number on the rear gun mount.

You may want to try contacting PT Boats Inc. to see if they have any literature on this. Frankly it looks like a nightmare to me!
Best of luck with your project.
Dave

PS. These paint schemes were only found in the Mediterranean. The Higgins boats that had similar schemes did not have a painted deck.

Dave,
Thanks for the update. I found a very good book at the library tonight called American PT Boats in World War II by Victor Chun. It has several good pictures of one of the boats in question. I also can't see any boat number and there is none in the captions. Not a good view of the deck but what you can see could go either way. There are also several photo's of different boats in the Med during '43 and all appear to have different variations of the same scheme (less stripes, yippee). There are 2 good upper shots and they have plain decks (gray it looks like).
I am going to have some fun with the new Testors kit in their easybuilder series. The box says 1/200 scale, the instructions say 1/160 and it measures 5 1/8 inches which is about 1/187. Going to write a stock box review (beats trying to detail this little guy) and try a new technique for the stripes. If it works, you will see it on my website and maybe read about it in FSM.
Wish me luck.

Try to find a group on the web of retired WWII PT boat drivers, there out there, they will be able to tel you and will enjoy the chance to tell you a few stories.

JAke

There's one boat in that same book that has a very interesting pattern. It has a sharks mount on the bow and a wavy pattern down the side. Also included was a towable fuel tank which apparently didn't work out. But still a very interesting subject.

Enjoy your project and I'll look forward to hearing about it.
Dave