History
By NBOA
April 17, 2024
A patrol torpedo boat, known as PT-305, that sank two German supply barges and carried U.S. commandos to French shores has been restored to completion by The National World War II Museum in New Orleans, Louisiana.
After World War II the boat was cut down to sixty feet and spent decades as a tour boat and a Chesapeake Bay oyster boat. Now, PT-305 is back to its original seventy-eight-foot length.
Tom Czekanski, the museum’s senior curator has been the head of this project since the beginning, overseeing all proper historical restoration aspects. Czekanski says only about ten PT boats still exist today. PT-305 is one of four boats that saw combat and the only one to be fully restored and launchable.
In 2020, PT-305 made her voyage from Lake Pontchartrain to the Port of New Orleans. Today, guests can visit and observe from a custom-built observation deck at The National WWII Museum.
The restoration of PT-305 leads the way for future innovative restorations in which we can experience a piece of our nation’s history for years to come.