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NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

Courtesy of Tommy Trampp

PT-505



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

  • Laid down 23 August 1943 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 14 December 1943
  • Completed 13 January 1944, placed in service under the command of Lt. William C. Godfrey, USN and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron THIRTY FOUR (MTBRon 34) under the command of
    Lt. Allen H. Harris, USNR
  • MTBRon 34 had action in the English Channel area from June 1944 to October 1944, when orders were received to prepare the boats for delivery to the Soviet Union
  • On the evening of 7 June 1944, PT-505 gave chase to what appeared to be a submarine periscope cutting through the water near St. Marcouf Island, Normandy, France, off Utah Beach. The periscope
    disappeared when the PT-505 came within 75 yards, and Godfrey was about to give the order to release depth charges when the PT-505 ran over a mine. A violent explosion lifted the stern of the PT out of the water, injured two men, tore loose one depth charge, snapped the warheads off the torpedoes, threw the engine beds awry, and caused some damage to practically every part of the boat. The PT went down quickly by the stern until the base of the 40mm gun was awash. Godfrey jettisoned his torpedoes and his other depth charge, and transferred his forward guns, radar, and radio equipment to PT-507, which towed the PT-505 to anchorage in the lee of St. Marcouf Island. Although there was some danger that the boat would sink, LT Godfrey, two other officers, and one enlisted man remained aboard that night. The next morning two LCM’s towed the PT-505 onto the invasion beach at high tide. Low tide left the boat high and dry for six hours, time enough for the crew to put emergency patches on the hull and to paint the side with the legend, “PORTLAND OR BUST!” PT-500 towed the PT-505 back to Portland, England on 11 June 1944, in a crossing made miserable by four partings of the towline in heavy seas
  • Transfer to the Soviet Union was canceled
  • Transferred 29 December 1944 to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron FOUR (MTBRon 4) under the command of Lt. Comdr. Jack E. Gibson, USN
  • MTBRon 4 was the training squadron, based at the MTB Squadrons Training Center, Melville, R.I. It was the largest squadron, having a peak of 28 boats in service at one time. When the training center
    was decommissioned early in 1946, MTBRon 4 was assigned to the Operational Development Force, and based at Solomons, Md. It was the last squadron to be decommissioned, and its boats, PT's 613, 616, 619, and 620, which remained in service under the Operational Development Force, were the last World War II PT's in service in the Navy
  • The "Diana", ex-"Portland or Bust" was placed out of service 1 February 1946
  • Struck from the Naval Register 25 February 1946
  • Reclassified as a Small Boat in August 1946
  • Sold 25 September 1947
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 56 t.
  • Length 80'
  • Beam 20' 8"
  • Draft 5'
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One 40mm mount, four 21" Torpedoes 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-505 60k Jerry Gilmartin, MMC(SW), USN, Ret.
    PT-505 125k PT-505, damaged by a mine off Normandy, is towed to the beach by two LCM's, her stern awash
    U.S. Navy photo NR&L (MOD)-32506    		 Joe Radigan
    PT-505 111k PT-505 under tow, after she struck a mine off St. Marcouf Island in the English Channel on 7 June 1944. She had settled heavily by the stern, as indicated by the dirty water line on her hull. Note the inscription Portland or Bust on her side. PT-505 was towed back to Portland, England, on 11 June 1944
    Collection of Captain Mark Armistead, USNR (Deceased), 1985
    Naval History and Heritage Command photo NH 101278-KN    		 Mike Green
    Boat Captains
    01LT William C. Godfrey, USNRJune 1944
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-505
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