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They Were Expendable

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  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Oklahoma
They Were Expendable
Posted by old soldier on Friday, June 2, 2006 11:28 AM

Does anyone know what boat they used in the move They Were Expendable?

Thank you

Old Soldier, RET. Semper Fi Oooh Rah
  • Member since
    November 2005
Posted by Anonymous on Friday, June 2, 2006 12:25 PM
They were ELCO 80 foot PT's, the same basic type as PT 109 was.
 
Heres some info
 
The boats in the movie were surplus
 
Heres a pic of the ACTUAL circa1941boats that are the subject of the story, however, the boats in the movie are later models 
 
Heres the trailer to the flick, it shops the Elco boats wonderfully
 
have fun!
  • Member since
    March 2006
  • From: Bangor, Maine
Posted by alross2 on Friday, June 2, 2006 1:20 PM
The actual boats assigned to RON 3 were 77' ELCOs (PT31-35, 41). My Dad was coxswain on PT34, John Wayne's boat in the movie. The real skipper was Bob Kelly, an almost Wayne-like character in real life. The boats in the movie were 80' ELCO and 78' Huckins boats.

The boats in the sandiego.edu photo are 70' ELCOs (PT10-19), the precursors of the 77' types, to which they were very similiar in appearance.

If you want to learn more about these types, find a copy of John Lambert and my "Allied Coastal Forces of World War II, vol. 2". You should be able to get a copy through interlibrary loan.

Al Ross

Al Ross
  • Member since
    December 2003
  • From: Oklahoma
Posted by old soldier on Friday, June 2, 2006 1:56 PM
Thank You
Old Soldier, RET. Semper Fi Oooh Rah
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