Simpson L. Efland (1913 - 2001) of Orange County North Carolina served on PT Boats during World War II. On January 1, 2006 I purchased some items from his estate at a local auction. Since I know very little about PT boats, the purpose of this site is to help me get smarter about the items and about Efland's naval experience. One goal is to create a display focused on Efland's PT boat service for a summer 2006 WW II theme exhibit at our local (Orange County) historical museum. Another goal is to properly dispose of the items I don't want to keep; EBay may be the right choice for some, donation to a PT museum may be right for others.
I will keep updating this as I learn more. Thank you to everyone who has already helped me, and thank you in advance to those who can add more knowledge.
Simpson L. Efland
Efland entered the Navy in 1942 and was sent to Northwestern University for training. He was a classmate of John F. Kennedy. Efland was part of officers class 7 at the PT boat training base MTBSTC at Melville, RI. In 1942 he was in New Guinea as part of Ron 8 and served on PT 149 as XO and probably on other boats as well. At some point he was transferred to the Mediterranean and Ron 22. He was with Ron 22 on VE day May 7, 1945. Efland was then transferred back the Pacific and Ron 36 where he served as Operations Officer. On VJ day August 14, 1945 he was in Tarakan, Borneo. His final duty was as Commanding Officer of PT Base 17 at Samar, Philippines were he lowered the flag of that base for the last time at its closing July 4, 1946.
Wheels
Wheel A |
Wheel B |
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I was fortunate enough to acquire two wheels from Elco 80s. Wheel A has wooden handles. It is wrapped with cord. The aluminum
parts of the wheel are painted a very dark green; they look black from a distance. At least one coat of paint was
applied after the cord wrapping was applied.
Wheel B has clear plastic handles what were painted black. The rest of that wheel is painted black on top of olive green (not as dark a green as Wheel A). I understand that the wooden handles of wheel A are the older/earlier model. I don't know if it is possible to approximate the range of commissioning dates of a boat by the handle style.
Efland was at PT Base 17 in October - December 1945 when 121 boats were stripped and burned. That he bothered to save these two wheels and ship them home makes me speculate they were from boats he served on, e.g., one of the burned boats was PT 149.
Propeller Shaft Ends
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These metal objects are 8 1/2 inches tall and 2 inches in diameter at the base. They weight about 7 pounds each. A magnet does not stick to them. The white/shiny color on the surface also shows in scratches and nicks. One is marked: PLAN NO. PT-S4301-545406; PC NO. 56. The other is marked GR 492 US - plus an anchor.
PT 617 |
I wish to thank Ed Wiser and Jerry Gilmartin for identifying these objects as the ends of propeller shafts. On June 5, 2006 I visited Don Shannon at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA. He was kind enough to help me measure the end of the propeller shaft of PT 617, an Elco 80. The collar of the prop fits over the tapering end of the shaft engaging the two “wings” so as not to twist. The threading on the end is for a nut that holds the prop on, plus a cotter pin in the tip to prevent the nut from coming off. PT shafts were made of monel, a stainless, nonmagnetic alloy made mostly of nickel, plus cooper plus other metals. It is not clear why the ends of two shafts would be cut off; each at 8 1/2 inches. Given how shiny these two are, I don't think they spent any time in salt water. |
Other Efland Stuff
| Olive drab herringbone cloth cap. Its tag says: CARADINE HAT CO. Cont. W-689-QM-17240 DATED APRIL 7, 1942 SPEC. (?).Q.D. No. 18-B Dated April 5, 1941 (???) Depot. It is size 7 1/4. These Army caps were popular with PT boaters, e.g., it is similar to the one Lt. Kennedy is wearing in the cockpit of PT 109. | Efland's hat, with his name in it, and a 1945 book for new PT boat recruits, |
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| Two shell casings made into loving cups (both marked 37 MM M17 Lot 22308-5 AGM. CO. 1942) | Parallel ruler (marked US NAVY BUSHIPS 1942 ENGINEERING SALES CO. SHEBOYGAN, WIS. MFR.) |
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Your Help
If you can supply any information please send me an email. You may want to include the word "PT Boat" in the title so I recognize vs. spam.
Thanks - Gordon Armstrong