Comments by "Steve Valley" (@stevevalley7835) on "US PT Boats of WW2 - Guide 369" video.

@fearthehoneybadger the Japanese barges that were used for shuttling men and supplies between islands were designed to be armored if the threat environment required. The armor was heavy enough to limit the effectiveness of the 50 cal and 20mm PT armament, hence the search for something heavier, like the 37mm that was carried by the P39. A tactic often used against barges was to maneuver behind the barge and shoot at the helmsman, as his armor shield only protected against fire forward of the barge.
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I have read that PTs were also very handy attacking German "F-lighers" which were widely used in the Med the same way the Japanese used their Daihatsu barges. Watched a documentary a number of years ago, where a former PT Captain showed the smashed binoculars he had been wearing one night, when they deflected a bullet fired from an F-lighter, saving his life. When my dad landed in France in 44, he saw PTs off in the distance, guarding against any E-Boats that might try to take a shot at the transports. He was with me when I saw "PT 109" in the theater, and he commented he had not know they were as large as they were, because he had never seen one up close.
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@memeboy8207 as Fred said, the only TV series that comes to mind is "McHale's Navy". For theatrical films including PTs, "They Were Expendable" and "PT 109". When "PT 109" was in production, there were no 80 foot Elco boats available, so 85 foot former Air Force rescue boats were modified to resemble Elcos.
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