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Liberty Maritime is: 1997-2020 Home of PTF-26, Liberty "The Last American PT Boat"
PTF-26, Liberty, cruises San Francisco Bay on Memorial Day 2014 Linda Vetter photo
Liberty off The Painted Cave, Santa Cruz Island in July 2010 Liz Morine photo
PTF-26 is a 95 foot U.S. Navy Fast Patrol Boat
With their high speed and no-nonsense, sleek lines the heavily-gunned PTs and PTFs were considered the hot-rods of the navy.
PTFs were the Vietnam War version of the famous WW II PT Boats. They were heavily armed, near-coastal gunboats, used mostly by Special Forces. PTF-26 was delivered to the Military Assistance Group in DaNang, Vietnam in 1968. With a crew of 19 manning a 40mm Bofors cannon aft, two 20mm Oerlikon AA guns just forward of the house and a .50 caliber Browning machine gun/81mm mortar piggy-back mount forward, her design speed was 40 knots. PTF-26 is the last of only four Osprey-Class PTFs, the bigger, aluminum-hulled sister to the wooden Nasty-Class boats. PTF-26 is the final PTF and the last US PT Boat ever built. In 1971, with the draw-down of forces PTF-26 returned to the United States. She continued to be used by the Navy for patrol, training and equipment testing. She first served as part of Coastal River Squadron One in Coronado, then at the Pacific Missile Test Center at Port Hueneme, CA. She was released by the Navy in 1985, and brought back for further service from 1987 through 1990. PTF-26 now serves as an operational museum and youth training vessel. Her homeport is in Sacramento, CA.
For more PTF-26, Liberty, photos see the Vessels and Images pages
Your tax-deductible donation can help save PTF-26 and keep our programs operating!
or see the contact page for address and e-mail
Thank you!
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Our mission: "To preserve historic American military vessels, and to keep them operational, in order to honor those that served, to educate the public, and to train those who are called to be sailors".
Text and images (c) 2003-2020 Liberty Maritime Museum unless otherwise stated |
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