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Boats of Wood,
Men of Steel: Wooden Combat Vessels in WWII |
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Opens
April 6, 2007
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In an era when most
combat vessels were made of steel, wooden combat
vessels represented something of a design
regression. However, these vessels were built of
wood to serve specific and important purposes and
would prove invaluable to the Allied victory. The
National World War II Museum explores the story
behind these engineering anomalies with the special
exhibition, Boats of Wood, Men of Steel: Wooden
Combat Vessels of WWII. The exhibit, drawing on
Museum collections as well as artifacts loaned from
select individuals, will be on display April 6, 2007
through May 20, 2007.
Some wood vessels, like the SC-497 Class wood-hulled
110-foot Submarine Chasers (SC), were built of wood
to save steel and to utilize the production capacity
of small boat yards while still producing an
effective vessel. Others wood boats like the
136-foot YMS Class mine sweeper were built of wood
to avoid setting off magnetically detonated mines.
One of the most notable types of wooden crafts was
the PT or Motor Torpedo Boat. This small, fast craft
would race at the enemy to launch torpedoes before
making a hasty retreat. The complex curves of the
boat’s hull would have been very difficult to
manufacture from steel. The most common and
important wood hulled combat craft of WWII was the
Landing Craft Vehicle and Personnel (LCVP), better
known as the Higgins boat. These wooden vessels,
produced in New Orleans, were present at every
Allied amphibious landing of WWII. Without them the
course of the war would have been radically
different.
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