Moore Industries is doing its part to get an historic World War II boat back in the water. We've recently donated products that will help The National WWII Museum in New Orleans to restore a classic Higgins Industries PT (Patrol Torpedo) boat and make it seaworthy again.
The PT-305 was a small, light ship that launched fast torpedo attacks against enemy warships in the European Theater, becoming one of the few PT boats to engage in a gun battle with another ship when it sunk an Italian MAS boat in 1945. After the war, most PT boats were sold by the military to private companies. In the case of the PT-305, it was converted into an oyster boat and fished the Chesapeake Bay until 2001. The PT-305 is rare: only five PT boats are known to exist in the United States with just one being operational.
The National WWII Museum is restoring the boat back to its original glory, with as many original parts as possible. Unfortunately the original master monitoring and control electronics panel could not be restored. Therefore, a modern PLC (Programmable Logic Controller) is being installed to control the engines and monitor all of the critical operating parameters of the boat. This is where Moore Industries’ THZ3 Dual Input Smart HART temperature transmitters came into play.
Many of the sensors monitoring the engine and other key parameters of the boat, such as strain gauges, thermometers and torque sensors use older analog circuits and instruments that provide non-linear resistance (ohms) outputs. Since the THZ3 has the ability to build up to a 128 point custom input curve, these resistance signals can be linearized and converted to linear 4-20mA signals and sent to the PLC for control and monitoring.
One particular monitoring unit needs to be near the engine room that housed one of the three Packard 1500 horsepower, 2500 cubic inch engines. Because these engines run on aviation fuel, it is possible that under abnormal circumstances, aviation fuel fumes could be present. Therefore, the THZ3’s Class I Div 2 hazardous area approval and small hockey puck were additional features that led to its selection.
PT-305 is scheduled to re-launch back to the sea in early 2017. The team at Moore Industries is proud to be a part of honoring and restoring such a historic and pivotal World War II vessel.
