"The Herreshoff WWII Vessels" by Greg Banner
For World War II military service Herreshoff Boatyard produced exactly 100 vessels in five different classes. These included mine sweepers, coastal transports, PT boats and air-sea rescue boats. These vessels served in the US Navy, US Army Air Corps, British, Indian and Soviet Navies. This presentation will provide the results of research on these vessels, some of their technical details, wartime service and post-war careers.
Greg Banner graduated from West Point in 1979 and served on active duty in the United States Army for 21 years, retiring as a Lieutenant Colonel. He had duty assignments and deployments throughout the world, including in Central America, Europe, Africa, The Middle East and Alaska. He retired in Rhode Island and has been working in the emergency management field since 2000, first for the State of Rhode Island and then for the federal government. LTC Banner’s academic focus through two masters degrees has been in military history and he continues to actively study a wide variety of military history topics. He previously presented at the Herreshoff Museum talking about the ammunition ship explosion in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1917. He is a member of the Tiverton Yacht Club, Herreshoff Museum and Varnum Continentals Museum.