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NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

PT-556



Call sign:
Nan - William - Item - Easy


PT-556 served the Navies of the United States and the Soviet Union
80' Elco Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 1 July 1943 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 16 September 1943
  • Completed 28 October 1943 and placed in service with Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron TWENTY NINE (MTBRon 29) under the command of Comdr. S. Stephen Daunis, USN
  • MTBRon 29, assigned to the Mediterranean, based at Calvi, Corsica, and Leghorn, Italy, and had action along the northwest coast of Italy and southern coast of France, operating under the British
    Coastal Forces
  • "Available Jones", ex-"Daisey Mae" was transferred to the Soviet Union 12 April 1945 and reclassified TK-435
  • Fate unknown.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 56 t.
  • Length 80'
  • Beam 20' 8"
  • Draft 5'
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One quad-20mm Elco Thunderbolt mount, four 21" torpedoes and two twin .50 cal. machine guns
  • Propulsion: Three 3,600shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PT-556 284k c. December 1943
    The newly completed PT-556. The image illustrates the experimental installation of the Elco "Thunderbolt" quadruple 20mm mount aft. Note that the radar mast has been folded down. Masts on ELCO's folded back to the centerline at a 70 degree angle to clear the after .50 cal. turret
    Photo courtesy Al Ross from U.S. Small Combatants: An Illustrated Design History by Norman Friedman    		 Robert Hurst
    Commanding Officers
    01ENS William A. Klopman, USNR - Awarded the Bronze StarAugust 1944
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-556
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    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by Tom Bateman
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