PT-617 is a historic patrol torpedo boat that stands as the world's sole surviving 80-foot Elco-type PT boat from the World War II era. Built by the Electric Launch Company (Elco) in Bayonne, New Jersey, the boat was laid down in March 1945 and completed just weeks after the official end of hostilities in September 1945. Constructed with a double-planked mahogany hull and powered by three supercharged, 12-cylinder Packard marine engines, this design represents the peak of American small-boat engineering during the war—the exact same high-speed, heavily armed configuration famously commanded by John F. Kennedy on PT-109. Though it missed wartime combat, PT-617 served in the postwar Victory Loan Bond Drive before being sold into private hands, where it spent decades operating as a yacht and salvage platform.
In 1979, the non-profit organization PT Boats, Inc. rescued the aging vessel and launched a comprehensive restoration project to return the boat to its authentic wartime appearance, complete with its characteristic camouflage paint pattern and full array of anti-ship weapons. On September 1, 1985, PT-617 officially went on public display at Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, where it serves as the centerpiece of the National PT Boat Museum. Designated as a National Historic Landmark in 1989, the immaculately preserved "Mosquito Fleet" relic allows visitors to step directly into the tight, high-octane environment experienced by the legendary PT boat crews of World War II.