PT-6

PT-6

USS Des Moines

PTF-7

PT-6

USS Des Moines

PTF-7

USA

I Rank

Battle rating:

AB	RB	SB
1.0	1.0	1.0

Class:

Motor torpedo boat

Boat

Research:Free

Purchase:Free

Description

The Higgins 81 ft PT-6 is a reserve rank I American motor torpedo boat with a battle rating of 1.0 (AB/RB/SB). It was introduced in Update 1.79 "Project X" as part of the fleet closed beta test.

The PT-6 is the first vehicle of the American naval collection. It is a basic torpedo boat that can hold its own against other reserve rank boats but lacks the firepower to engage heavy targets.

General info

Survivability and armour

The Higgins 81 ft PT-6 has no armour beyond its 40 mm hull and 15 mm superstructure. The rear of the boat is most vulnerable as most high penetrating rounds such as the Oerlikon Mk.II 20 mm on the 80 ft Nasty or the 20 mm MG C/30 automatic cannon on the R-boot R-41 will easily penetrate or do significant damage to the torpedo bays located here. The ammunition magazine for the frontal turrets lay directly behind them but are often not worth focusing on to protect.

Red box outlines vulnerable areas on the Higgins 81 ft PT-6 and every captain should avoid exposing these segments of the boat to the enemy for extended periods of time.

The crew positioning is fairly centralized towards the middle-front of the boat. The radio station often lays beneath the water and is directly below the main turrets. The main turrets will often be the last compartment of the boat to be damaged due to their smaller hitboxes. The Higgins has 17 crewmembers and can continue to survive with a minimum of five if the crew is aced and the Crew Interchangeability stat is maxed out.

Engine compartments lay towards the middle back of the boat beneath the torpedo tubes. Fuel tanks are placed at the back of the Higgins.

Mobility

The mobility of the Higgins 81 ft PT-6 torpedo boat is very good. When all modifications are purchased it has a top speed of 67 kp/h in RB (Realistic Battles) and 93 kp/h in AB (Arcade battles). As with most torpedo boats, the best use for this craft is to engage heavier vessels with torpedos. It is recommended for players to use the mobility of the Higgins 81 ft to line up a good torpedo shot at a larger enemy vessel and then break away to safety. Always try to avoid unnecessary risks due to the very vulnerable wood superstructure and hull of the Higgins 81 ft PT-6 torpedo boat.

Armament

Primary armament

The PT-6 has 2 turrets placed on either side of the cockpit with one M2 Browning each.

Torpedo armament

There are two 533mm torpedo launchers placed in the rear of the boat. They are aimed to fire in the direction of travel and are fired by launching the torpedo to the rear. The torpedo must travel a minimum of 50m in order to arm prior to contact with enemy vessel.

Special armament

When researched you can equip 4 Mk.6 depth charges. They are located at the stern of the boat between the torpedo tubes.

Usage in battles

Describe the technique of using this ship, the characteristics of her use in a team and tips on strategy. Abstain from writing an entire guide – don’t get try to provide a single point of view, but give the reader food for thought. Talk about the most dangerous opponents for this vehicle and provide recommendations on fighting them. If necessary, note the specifics of playing with this vehicle in various modes (AB, RB, SB).

Modules

Tier	Seakeeping		Unsinkability	Firepower
I	Dry-Docking		Tool Set	.50 AP belt
II		Rudder Replacement	Fire Protection System	.50 APIT belt
III	Propeller Replacement			Primary Armament Targeting	Depth Charges
IV		Engine Maintenance	New Pumps	Smokescreen	Artillery Support

Pros and cons

Pros:

• Good armament for a reserve ship
• Vast amounts of ammo for the machine guns
• Good top speed
• Good maneuverability
• Can equip depth charges, unlike most other enemies at its rank

Cons:

• As with all PT boats, armor is not very good
• Only two machine guns; makes it hard to engage heavier targets
• LS's and G-5s are faster in straight-line speed

History

Describe the history of the creation and combat usage of the ship in more detail than in the introduction. If the historical reference turns out to be too big, take it to a separate article, taking a link to an article about the vehicle and adding a block "/ History" (example: https://wiki.warthunder.com/(Vehicle-name)/History) and add a link to it here using the main template. Be sure to reference text and sources by using <ref>, as well as adding them at the end of the article.

Media

An excellent addition to the article will be video guides, as well as screenshots from the game and photos.

See also

Links to the articles on the War Thunder Wiki that you think will be useful for the reader, for example:

• reference to the series of the ship;
• links to approximate analogues of other nations and research trees.

External links

Paste links to sources and external resources, such as:

• topic on the official game forum;
• encyclopedia page on ship;
• other literature.