Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

PT-588



Call sign:
Nan - William - Nan - Roger
80' Elco Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 6 October 1944 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 21 March 1945
  • Completed 10 April 1945, placed in service and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron THIRTY NINE (MTBRon 39) under the command of LT Charles A. Bernier, Jr., USNR
  • MTBRon 39, assigned to Pacific Fleet, arrived at Samar, P.I., in July 1945, and was there at the cessation of hostilities. It had no action with the enemy
  • The "Dianamite III" was placed out of service 24 December 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register 8 January 1946
  • Transferred to the State Department, Foreign Liquidation Commission in May 1946 and sold
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 56 t.
  • Length 80'
  • Beam 20' 8"
  • Draft 5'
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One 40mm mount, one 37mm mount, two 5" Mk 50 rocket launchers, two 21" torpedoes, one single .50 cal. machine gun and two twin .50 cal. machine guns
  • Propulsion: Three 1,500shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PT-588 114k National Archives photo Tracy White
    PT-588 115k From the collection of Richard M. Landis, MoMM3c John De Noma
    PT-588 405k c. 1945
    Bayonne, NJ    		 Ed Zajkowski
    PT-588 336k
    PT-588 357k c. April 1945
    Close-up of the forward turret, launching rack and rocket magazine
    U.S. Navy photo from "Allied Coastal Forces of World War II: Vol. II" by John Lambert and Al Ross    		 Robert Hurst
    PT-588 371k c. April 1945
    An overall view at the Elco plant, displaying the starboard side of the Measure 31/20L paint scheme. The deck is Deck Green (20-G)
    U.S. Navy photo from "Allied Coastal Forces of World War II: Vol. II" by John Lambert and Al Ross
    PT-588 211k c. 1945
    Photo from Marina II Guerra Mundial (Navy World War II)
    Artwork by Danijel Frka 2018    		 Tommy Trampp
    Photo added 30 July 2021
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-588
    Back To The Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Index Back to the Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by Tom Bateman
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History