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-308



Call sign:
Nan - King - Easy - Queen
78' Higgins Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 6 April 1943 by Higgins Industries, New Orleans, LA
  • Launched 1 June 1943
  • Completed 24 January 1944, placed in service and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron TWENTY TWO (MTBRon 22), under the command of Lt. Comdr. Richard J. Dressling, USN
  • MTBRon 22 was assigned to the Mediterranean, based at Bastia, Corsica, and St. Tropez, France, and had action along the northwest coast of Italy and southern coast of France, operating under the British
    Coastal Forces
  • PT-304, PT-308 and PT-313 engaged German flak lighters 9 March 1945 off Point Mesco, Italy, claiming one sunk, one hit and one possibly hit. PT-304 was damaged by shrapnel during the attack.
    During retirement, PT-308 is damaged when she is accidentally rammed by PT-304
  • After the end of the Mediterranean campaign in April 1945, the squadron was shipped back to the United States for reconditioning and reassignment to the Pacific, but the war ended while the squadron
    was still in New York
  • Placed out of service 15 November 1945
  • Struck from the Naval Register 28 November 1945
  • Transferred to the War Shipping Administration 19 July 1948 and sold
  • The "La Dee Da", which was unaltered and was still 78 feet long and in 1946 stripped condition, was found beached on the bank at Franklin Timmons boatyard in Dagsboro, DE, and was originally
    targeted for restoration. The effort was put to an end when the property owner seized the boat and had it destroyed, because it was deemed an eyesore for the new condo community being built.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 56 t.
  • Length 78'
  • Beam 20' 8"
  • Draft 5' 3"
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One 40mm mount, four Mk 13 torpedoes, two twin and two single .50 cal. machine guns, one 60mm mortar and two 20mm mounts
  • Propulsion: Three 1,500shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PT-308 85k Sardinia, Italy Jerry Gilmartin, MMC(SW), USN, Ret.
    PT-308 47k c. 1944 Bob Wade
    PT-308 46k
    PT-218, 308 & 310 653k 6 October 1944
    On the Island of Elba, Italy in the Tuscan Archipelago
    PT-218, PT-310 and PT-308 inboard of two unidentified PT boats
    Photograph by Carl Mydans. TimeLife. TimeLife image 116717902    		 David Upton
    Photo added 16 May 2021
    PT-308 68k c. March 1945
    Damage to stern after collision with PT-304    		 Jerry Gilmartin, MMC(SW), USN, Ret.
    Boat Captains
    01LTJG Charles H. Murphy, USNRJune 1944
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-308
    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