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Pictures and comments from Frank Cumberland:[ Frank has served on PTF-23 and other boats]08/11/00 [ After a visit to PTF-19 in Florida, Frank sent this email ] Sorry for the delay but just got back from a quick trip over to Europe for biz. Well found the PTF in Ft Lauderdale. Great directions, I had no problems. Boat is pretty much in the same spot as you saw it in Feb but I think some things are going on with her. There was a crew working on a boat next to the 19 and they said that someone was working on the boat doing a lot of repairs etc... Couldn't get in touch with anyone who could tell me what was going on with the boat so all I can report was that I saw her. Last time was about 20 yrs ago when she was on the skids next to the Ht shop at the COS. Then it was felt that she was haunted and stories went around about various noises and ghosts who lived in the boat. Hope all is well, 06/26/00 [ Frank sent this Email to Chip Marshall and CC'd me ] Dear Chip, I could only find one FIT number in Tidewater and that was at Ft Eustis at 757-887-2488. I haven't tried it since these satellite college offices at Mil bases tend to rotate staff quite frequently. If I can't get anything from Mr. Gerlick, I may try the VA offices after all. I also haven't let Mr. Dove off the hook either. I have sent him another email asking for more details about his info. Hopefully we can find this boat in tact and not already made into Gillettes. Best,
> Frank: 06/26/00 Hello one and all, Just got this email from the property manager of Florida Institute of Technology. He seems to think the boat was sold to someone in Texas, presumably this Mr. Gerlick. I will try these numbers in a few minutes and hopefully find the boat.
> Dear Mr. Cumberland,
> > (Patrol Torpedo Fast). This is a PT boat of the Osprey class that > >according to Navy records was donated to the Florida Institute of > >Technology in May of 1986. I was wondering if you still have the boat > >or if you might be able to tell me its disposition. I am interested in > >this boat since I served on it in the Navy and I am working with an > >informal organization that is looking for a PTF for preservation. If the > >boat is still around, available and in working order, we are planning to > >purchase it and restore it to operational status as part of a dedication > >to PT boats. We are searching for an Osprey class since these 95 ft boats > >were constructed of steel, we hope that PTF 23 will be in better shape for > >restoration than the Nasty class which were constructed of wood. There are > >many Nastys still available but in very poor shape. For more info on these > >check out http://www.ptfnasty.com/ptfBoats.html Thank you very much for > >any assistance you might be able to provide. Best regards, Frank > >Cumberland > Property Administrator > Florida Institute of Technology > 150 W.University Blvd. > Melbourne, Fl 32901 > e-mail: tdove@fit.edu 06/15/00 Hello all, Just a note to let you know there have been a few changes and updates to the web site and to also make a personal appeal for flicks, and other such nonsense that we can put up on the site. Have gotten the site organized pretty well so far but have a lot to add to fill it out now. I'll do that this weekend (I hope). Check out the flyovers. Those turned out pretty good. Still need almost anything and everything you all have for the site. Hope all is well wherever you are, 06/08/00
Hope you are well and the time suck isn't getting you down (great expression)!!!! Now that I have started this East Coast Rats site, I understand what you mean. I have a huge update to make just from the materials sent in from Mike. Could I do a direct link into your pages for the boats that apply. You have done a great job and have outstanding techie data. There is no sense redoing all of that for my site, since I am much more concerned about the people and the times spent on the boats? 06/04/00 I have finally started up an unofficial site for the east coast boat units. Have gotten in touch with a lot of the guys from my time there and they are sending in flicks and other stuff. I think one of them, Graham Dunnege, may be in touch with you already. When you talk about PB engines, the man has got an amazing memory. I suppose the same would be true for me with guns. I have a few new pictures of PB MK III and MK IV (the was only one on the east coats and it was in Panama with SBU-26) that you can use for the Nasty site if you'd like. Have a look at the site and hope you enjoy. http://www.geocities.com/rundogaz/ Frank Cumberland 05/25/00 Just an update from the info you sent to me about PTF 23. I have called the Florida Institute of Technology in Melbourne Florida and the research dept. is going to try to find out what they have done with the boat. I'll keep you up on anything I find out and hopefully I'll get the homeport of the 23 boat out of this. Best, 05/25/00 Many thanks for the update. You are doing a great job with the site. I may have found out the a little history of the 1st model of PB assigned to the Boat Units. These were the PB Mark I s numbered 721 and 722 but called PB-1 and PB-2. I eventually became captain of PB 2 (722). Enclosed is a bit of info about those 2 boats from another COSRIVRON/SBU type: As far as the old Mk I pbs, I can only tell you that PB 722 was sent to Charleston, SC quite a while ago. It was supposed to serve around the navy yard and naval base there. That was then, the bade and navy yard is closed now.. PB 722 fate after that I don't know. PB 721 was sent up to Dalhgren, VA as a test platform for low radar profile work. It came back to Norfolk some time ago but was put up on the wall in down town Norfolk across from the NOAA Piers. It is gone now, where I don't know. I will e-mail you a couple of pictures soon. Thanks for the info on PTF 23. I have tried to understand the "navalese" in the message but I think the last known entry seems to be that the boat was given to the Florida Institute of Technology in 1986. Is that right? Once again great work on the site and if you need any photos of PBs or riverine craft or any other help let me know. 05/17/00 I look forward to hearing if you have any info about the whereabouts of PTF 23. As I mentioned in my first email I was a qualified boat captain of PBs as well. I was first given PB-2 (Mark I) at SBU 24 after I had qualified and later I had PB-3 (Mark-III) when that boat was given over from SBU-20. As I understand it all the Mark IIIs are still in service but the Mark I boats (which were a design mix between a PTF and a Swift boat and was a test bed for the engine systems) have been gotten rid of. Would like to know what happened to those boats as well. I know a guy in Norfolk who served with me as a reservist during 78-81 with the boats and I have to email him to find out what happened to those boats.
In re to Seafox. Might as well drop it from your site or leave it up as an example of mistakes. I was at SBU-24 when Seafox was being tested by SBU-20 in 1980. We also were a part of the testing of the boat and concluded that it was useless for either riverine ops and/or coastal ops. Boats in existing inventory could do the job far better than Seafox. We were forced to take these craft in spite of objections by just about everyone. The biggest of which was that the boat was useless if any sea state above dead calm and couldn't defend itself hardly at all. In fact Seafox was the beginning of a long line of mistakes in SBU equipage that somehow the PBs avoided. The latest generation of PB, The Mark V has finally gotten the insertion extraction process correct with a sloped rear deck. The Mark V also has a wide variety of light and heavy weapons packages for offensive and defensive ops. Unfortunately the same cannot be said for the riverine side of the equation. All you have to do is look at the current boats which are designed to replace the PBR and MINI ATC. Floating death traps and no one seems to have noticed. I have many flicks of those boats as well. Well Dan that's about it. 05/16/00 Great web site. Do you have any idea where all these boats can be found today? I served at COSRIVRON2 and then at SBU 24 from 78-81 as a GMG. My first assignment at the COS was aboard PTF-23 which was an Osprey class. After about 3 months of work on the gun mounts and getting all the deck stuff in order (and shooting) the decision came down to get rid of the boat. I was then put on PBRs and such as well as Mark 1 PBs and Mark IIIs. Always wondered what happened to that boat. Any clue? Best,
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