MI-T-MO at New York Harbor

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" colspan=2 height=50 BGCOLOR="#333366" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B><U>T-BOAT 504 IN NEW YORK HARBOR</U></B></div> <bR> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" width=165 BGCOLOR="#993300" TEXT="#080000"> <div> <B> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="132" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 35 ><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id150.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Justine at Fells Point1971"><U><B><IMG SRC="007151d0.gif" border=0 width="21" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="21"></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP WIDTH="20"><IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="35" ALIGN="bottom" WIDTH="20" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <A HREF="id136.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Water Color Prints Matted for 14 x 18 or"><U><B><IMG SRC="00d0d1d0.gif" border=0 width="13" height="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></B></U></A></div> </NOBR></tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP><NOBR><div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="1x1.gif" HEIGHT="29" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" WIDTH="27"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></B></div> <bR> </td> <td valign="top" height=430 BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF" TEXT="#080000"> <div>   <FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#FFFFFF" FACE="Arial" >  </FONT>           </div> <bR> <bR> <div> <I><B>T-Boats were a specialized type of tugboat built for the U. S. Army from 1941 to 1953. These vessels were to be used for personnel transports, light tow duty, hauling ammunition and other light cargo, and limited firefighting.  The first T-Boats were built out of wood between 1940 to 1951, however, in 1952, the Army commissioned 86 steel T-Boats that were built in 3 yards; Higgins Industries of New Orleans, Missouri Valley Steel in Leavenworth, Kansas, and National Steel Shipbuilding Corp. in San Diego, California.  Eventually, about 110 steel T-Boats were built between 1951 and 1953.   T-Boats were 65 feet long and while the main engines varied with the shipyard they were generally diesel powered at about 270-300 h.p.  Because the Korean War ended while they were still under construction many T-boats were put immediately into mothball once they were completed.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Some T-Boats remained in military service with the Army, however, many were sold and saw a variety of service.  More than 35 T-boats are still in operation as training vessels, research vessels, private yachts, fishing vessels, and commercial vessels. The US Coast Guard Academy had, and may still have, three T-Boats used for training of cadets in ship handling and docking.  </B></I><I><B>T-Boat 504</B></I><I><B> is one of these 35 surviving T-Boats and today operates as a privately owned vessel out of Baltimore Harbor as the </B></I><I><B>MI-T-MO</B></I><I><B>.  She was built by Higgins in 1953 in New Orleans and was one of the last to be built.</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>The </B></I><I><B>MI-T-MO</B></I><I><B> regularly cruises the East coast and is often seen in New York harbor.  She is shown here off Battery Park along lower Manhattan. On the left is a view of her as # 504 as she was built for the Army.  While the color scheme of the Army boats varied over the years, in peacetime service the wartime gray was dropped in favor of a white deckhouse and buff masts, deck equipment and funnel (with a red, white & blue stripe).</B></I></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>Battery Park was constructed on a man made landfill that was first planned in the 1950s and started in the 1960s.  The city has, as a matter of practice, expanded the city boundaries by creating landfills.  This was in part  the result of building expansion and the need to find places to dispose of earth being removed for new construction.  The 92 acre Battery Park as seen today has gone far beyond original planning concepts and was only made possible because of the need to dispose of the vast amount of earth excavated in the construction of the nearby World Trade Center.  The name of Battery Park comes from the 18</B></I><I><B>th</B></I><I><B>  century Dutch and English defense fortifications that once stood in this area.</B></I></div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>