Teacher Edward Wingard’s students drafted designs for electrical box
From torpedo powerboat in Europe to oyster boat on the Chesapeake Bay, PT-305 was headed to retirement when those passionate about saving the 73-year-old ship stepped in to ensure it would not be lost.
A decade in the works, the $6 million project to save the historic vessel was initiated in 2007 when the National World War II Museum acquired it and set out to restore it. By November 2014, nearly 40 students at Destrehan High School (DHS) joined an effort to not only save PT-305, but to set it afloat again.
Plans are to do this by winter 2017.
The 78-foot wooden powerboat will return to the lakeshore waters near UNO where it was tested in 1943 shortly before being shipped to the Mediterranean.
By 2014, it gave DHS teacher Edward Wingard and his drafting students the opportunity to play a role in reliving south Louisiana naval history.
Wingard’s drafting students visited the museum and took measurements of the vessel’s electrical panel, which they used to create the technical drawing that was used to build a replica to help restore PT-305.
“It was awesome and the kids loved it,” Wingard said. “The best part of the project was that we also went on a field trip to the PT-305 and they got to go aboard it. They have some original crewmembers involved in this project and they met them.”
At the time, restoration spokesman Robert Stengl said DHS was among only two schools that participated in restoring the torpedo boat.
The other was a Maryland-based high school that did welding work on the boat’s railings based on Wingard’s designs.
Wingard started teaching drafting courses in 2014 and had been volunteering with the boat restoration for about seven months when he convinced project manager Bruce Harris to involve his students.
Bruce later sent them a letter thanking them for the work, which presented to all the students along with a certificate of recognition.
From the start, the plan was to create a fully functioning boat or floating museum that is Coast Guard certified. With DHS student help, the designs were modified for elements such as the electrical box to modernize the vessel and meet today’s regulations.
Built by Higgins Industries of New Orleans, the stealthy PT-305 will soon make its return to the water with a helping hand from DHS students.
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