Andy McCutcheon100 Years of Wooden Glory - Elco
September 6th 2007 08:18
Elco PT Boats
Elco
Elco is an acronym that stands for the “Electric Launch Company” and is arguably the most historically significant manufacturer of wooden boats there is. Over the past 115 years of the company’s existence, their boats have had a connection to individuals of affluence and to events that have shaped history. In 1893 one year after its incorporation, Elco introduced the first commercially viable electric powered motor boats to the World at the Columbian Exposition in Chicago. At the inaugural World’s Fair, Elco showcased fifty-five of its 36' launches that surprisingly, over the course of the exposition, carried 1,026,340 passengers on 66,975 trips.
As incredible as this may seem, at the turn of the Twentieth-Century, there were more electric powered pleasure boats than those powered by steam, sail and explosive (as gasoline powered motors were called) combined.
By 1910 when gasoline powered engines grew to dominate the growing market for pleasure boats, Elco too converted over to gasoline, but not before their electric launches were etched in marine history, appreciated for their simplicity, environmental benefit and inexpensive operation.
Amongst the prominent owners of Elco’s electric launches was Colonel John Jacob Astor IV. John Astor, whose great-grandfather had amassed millions in real-estate and as an early fur trader, made the Astor’s one of America’s wealthiest families. You may also recognize their hyphenated surname in connection with the famous Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, one of New York City’s grand hotels.
After recently divorcing his wife Ava, John 47, remarried an 18 year old named Madelaine Talmadge-Force, a move that caused significant scandal within the socialite community however, among the few American socialites who did not spurn the actions of John Astor, was his friend Margaret Brown.
Margaret accompanied John and Madelaine Astor on a trip to France and later Egypt, allowing the newlywed couple some respite, while gossiping elitist Americans soon forgot the whole debacle in their absence.
During their time away Madelaine fell pregnant and plans were made to return to America to have the baby. By coincidence, Margaret Brown had concluded her trip and was also heading back to the United States. They decided to travel together and booked a number of suites aboard the “RMS Titanic”, costing a reported $50,000.00.
On April 14th and into the early morning hours of April 15th 1912 when the Titanic struck an iceberg and began to sink, John Jacob Astor bid farewell to his pregnant wife and friend Margaret Brown as they set out in life-rafts. He was survived by Madelaine who went on to inherit $1.7M. Their friend Margaret later became known by posterity as “The Unsinkable Molly Brown”. John Astor unfortunately died in the tragedy.
Several years passed and as the World went to War; Elco was commissioned to build five-hundred and fifty 80’sub-chasers for the British Admiralty to be used by British, French and Italian Naval Forces.
After the company’s significant contribution to the allied war effort, Elco re-established itself in the post war domestic pleasure boat market by introducing the famous 26’ “Cruisette”.
The Cruisette was a gasoline powered cabin cruiser considered the equivalent of the Model “T” of modern pleasure boating and clients such as JP Morgan, Thomas Edison, George Westinghouse, the Grand Duke Alexander of Russia and a host of other notables had to have one.
In 1927 Charles Lindbergh defined aviation history by successfully completing the first solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean in his Packard powered Stinson aircraft named “The Spirit of St. Louis”. One year after his landmark accomplishment, Charles spent the summer getting acquainted with a 38’ Elco cabin cruiser that he had chartered to get away from the roaring crowds.
After that summer, Charles decided that this would be the perfect way to ensure privacy immediately following his marriage to Anne Morrow and contracted Elco to build one for him.
With the help of some very discreet and cooperative Elco executives, Lindbergh purchased a 38’ cruiser, had them change the two rear single berths into one double berth and had the boat moored along a deserted stretch of a Long Island Sound beach, in preparation for his wedding day.
The boat was commissioned and named "Mouette" and after the wedding ceremony Charles and his bride Anne, with the help of Elco executives who were in on the plot from the very beginning, made their way to the vessel. Charles and his new bride spent the next few days of their honeymoon in wedded bliss and absolute privacy.
Errol Flynn, the noted action adventure silver screen film star also honeymooned on his Elco under presumably much the same sort of arrangement.
The success of the Cruisette was followed in the 1930’s by introduction of models in the 30′ - 57′ range.
By the early 1940’s, World War II had broken out and Elco had received another naval contract, this time from the American Government, to develop and build 399 of the famous PT Boats. The PT’s were 80’ torpedo boats powered by three Packard aircraft engines.
At the peak of their production in Bayonne New Jersey – one PT boat was built by Elco every 60 hours. The Elco boats were the largest in size of the three types of PT boats that were built for the U.S. Navy for use during World War II.
Elco PT boats had three, 12-cylinder gasoline engines that were Packard built and a modified design of the 3A-2500 V-12 liquid-cooled aircraft engine. The "3A" was an improved version of the "2A" engine used on the Huff-Daland Keystone LB-1 "Liberty" bomber of World War One vintage.
When the engines were designed for use in the PT Boats, Packard modified them for marine use hence the "M" designation instead of "A". The aircraft engine roots of the Packard engine gave it many features of aircraft engines such as a supercharger, intercooler, dual magnetos and two spark plugs per cylinder.
The Packard Engine factory also built the Rolls Royce Merlin engines under license on a parallel production line with the PT Boats engines however, the Merlin was never employed in any PT Boats.
These Packard 4M-2500 engines initially generated 1,200 hp but were subsequently upgraded to 1,500hp for a designed speed of 41 knots however, increases in the weight of the boats during the war meant that the top speed did not go up relative to the increased engine horsepower.
The fuel consumption of these engines was astronomical. The PT’s carried 11,360 liters of 100LL AVGAS and a normal patrol for these boats would last for a maximum of 12 hours. At their top speed of 41 knots, the 11,360 liters of fuel would be consumed in roughly 6 hours.
Since patrols were done primarily at night, the U.S. Navy PT-Boats were equipped with Raytheon SO type radar, with a 25 nm range that gave them an advantage over the enemy in the ability to locate and engage in zero visibility conditions.
On April 14th 1942, perhaps one of the most famous Elco’s ever built was lying in the Solomon’s and in need of a Commanding Officer. The order came down from the Pacific Commander, General Douglas MacArthur and a newly promoted Lieutenant John. F. Kennedy was shipped to the Solomon Islands to take over the role as Commanding Officer of PT-109.
PT’s patrolled the Blackett Strait in the Solomon’s engaging enemy Japanese re-supply ships later dubbed the, “Tokyo Express”.
On the dimly lit night of August 2nd 1943 while on a routine patrol, PT-109, who was experiencing engine trouble and returning to base, was spotted by the Japanese escort ship “Amagiri” as a mere shadow on the horizon 1000m away. Rather than compromise their position to other American patrol boats in the area by firing their guns on PT-109, the Japanese warship steamed ahead at 30kts with the Elco in her sights. At the point of impact,
PT-109 was subsequently carved in half causing a massive fuel spill on the oceans surface that had ignited the flotsam killing 2 crew-members and forcing the remainder of the crew into the ocean. Luckily, the wake from the Amagiri at 30kts was sufficient to extinguish most of the flames and survivors could cling to parts of the wreckage before it went down.
Survivors of the carnage would be in the water for some 15 hours before making landfall.
The crew of PT-109 under the leadership of Lt. John F. Kennedy would eventually find refuge on Plum Pudding Island in the Solomon’s after an 8km swim.
After several days of escape evasion and island survival, the crew of PT-109 came across a group of local natives and Lt. Kennedy scratched a coded rescue message on the husk of a coconut with his pocket knife and directed the islanders as best he could to return it to the American Forces base.
There must have been something lost in the translation and as a result, he and his crew were eventually taken by a group of the islanders to the New Zealand Naval Operations Base at Olasana under invitation from Commanding Officer Lt. A. Reginald Evans.
The resultant impact from the strike on PT-109 by the Amagiri had caused Lt. Kennedy to fall backwards onto the aft deck and re-injure his back. Shortly thereafter he was honorably discharged from the Navy on a medical release. Kennedy went on to become the President of the United States in 1961 and was subsequently assassinated in 1963.
Back in the South Pacific, an Elco was also responsible for retrieving General Douglas MacArthur from the Philippines and against popular opinion at the time, MacArthur did not feel that Kennedy was a hero and was of the opinion that Lt. Kennedy, commanding the faster vessel even in lieu of the engine trouble could have avoided the disaster and therefore should have been court marshaled for the loss of PT-109.
Today, PT-109 lies in a protected watery grave as a war memorial in the Solomon Islands.
By the end of the war the company had merged with its sister company Electric Boat of Groton Connecticut to form the nucleus of a new corporation, General Dynamics.
In 1949, General Dynamics made the decision to focus on government contracts for submarines and selling boats to the general public did not fit into their business equation and the Company was closed.
In 1987 the company was re-incorporated in New Jersey by Joseph W. Fleming Jr. an entrepreneur in the electrical equipment industry with a lifelong interest in antique and classic boats. Josephs Father, had worked building PT-Boats for Elco during the war years and with the cooperation and approval of General Dynamics the new company took its name and the "Elco" trademarks from the original Electric Launch Company.
From 1987 to 1995, the Company had been building replicas of classic fantail electric launches and award-winning custom-built gasoline powered boats.
With a change in ownership and management on January 1 1996 the company had come full circle and returned to its 1892 origins, redirecting its focus to electric motor boats and electric drives for sailboats and other related applications for the marine industry.
In the opinion of its management, “the company is the leader in the design, development and supply of electric boats and both inboard and outboard electric drives”.
These Elco products are being used successfully in a variety of applications in both fresh and salt water where quiet simple operation and environmental benefits are of primary consideration.
Andy McCutcheon, 100 Years of Wooden Glory. Copyright 2006
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