Engine, Inboard
Packard
Name/Title
Engine, InboardEntry/Object ID
1997.001Description
Inboard engine, Packard This engine saw service in WW-II as one of three engines powering our Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boats. At the conclusion of the war, several of the "PT" boats were sold to the Yugoslavian Navy for patrol work. About 1970, all of these boats were burned and the engines were placed in storage. In 1993, Mr. A. W. Finkl bought this engine from a salvage dealer in New York and had it restored to its present condition by Tom Fileman of Flagship Marine. It is rated 1200 HP and the fuel consumption is 138 gallons per hour at maximum RPM. Packard V-12 Marine Engine A powerful marine engine built by Packard Motor Car Company, Detroit, MI. Packard produced over 12,000 of these 12 cylinder engines for PT boats between 1940 and 1945. The "mosquito fleet" excelled as gunboats during WW-II and the Packards in them performed heroically. Packard guaranteed their marine engines for 500 hours, but as things got hectic in the Pacific in 1943, PT engines were logging about 1,000 hours prior to being rebuilt. These engines, which cost taxpayers as much as $23,000 each during the war, were sold cheaply after the war, as little as $250 for a new engine, still in the crate. They were purchased then for the big race boats. An identical engine is in "Pardon Me." This is a Model 4M-2500 which developed 1350 HP @ 2400 RPM. The following information is from the web site of Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA [http://www.battleshipcove.com/pt-power-plant]. "P.T. Boats were powered by three 4M-2500 Packard Marine Engines developed by the Packard Motor Car Company specifically for the United States Motor Torpedo Boat program. The Packard Marine is a powerful high-speed supercharged, lightweight engine of the aviation type. Basic characteristics: 60 degree Vee-type twelve-cylinder; Liquid cooled; 4 stroke cycle; Fuel - 100 octane aviation gasoline; Horse power 1200 hp - 1940, 1350 hp - 1943, 1500 hp - 1945. Increases in horsepower were made to compensate for the constant additions of heavier armament put on the boats during WWII. P.T. Boats achieved 45 knots top speed during shakedown testing but averaged about 40 knots under normal combat conditions.Collection
Inboard EnginesAcquisition
Accession
1997.001Source or Donor
Finkl, A. W.Made/Created
Manufacturer
PackardDate made
1943Edition
Model: 4M2500Notes
Engine: 0.000 Cylinders: 12 HP: 1200Location
*Don Doebler Collections Storage Facility
In Pardon Me
*Cleveland E. Dodge Memorial Launch Building