WWII aficionados- were PT boats an effective part of the war effort?

huge in support ops

kennedy should have been court martialed for what happened but because daddy had friends in high places he got a medal.

PT boats played a big role in the med, Philippines, and solomons for sure though.

Paging WW2 Collector

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That sounds like a place I would visit

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It was a fantastic museum full of interesting artifacts. My favorite was an authentic letter Eugene Sledge wrote his parents after the Battle of Peleliu and a door from the USS Arizona that welders had cut a hole through to see if there were survivors beneath. I spent six hours in the museum and could’ve spent even more time inside, but I wanted to check out the outdoor portion before it closed. I thought it was just as good as the WW2 museum in New Orleans.

Some of the most agile and effective ships in the war period.

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Paging WW2 Collector

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awe shucks.... Thank You for the shout out though.

Honestly... I have spent most of my study and research in the ETO.. and here lately a lot more about N Afrika and the Italian Campaign.

But flying off the cuff shall I say... I would have to say that the PT boat role was very limited... Efficient yes, for what it's role is. But I think that you have to give the Majority or credit to the Carriers of course... and especially the Destroyers.

The Destroyers played two major roles. Convoy Protection from U-Boats in the Atlantic.. and Providing outer aircraft protection for the Carrier fleets in the Pacific.

But of course they are larger ships... But when it comes down to smaller Naval Vessels. The Higgins Boat has to come forward as the real winner over the PT boat.

I was reading last night believe or not that the US Army had command of many a ship. More than the Navy really wanted them to.

Collecting wish... I keep searching for a Higgins Boat Employee Lapel Pin like one of the posters here showed one day... It would be a GREAT find... But I am afraid that they are very few and far between, if at all,.

MacArthur should got his moneys worth getting off the phillipines. Quite the story. The lead boat LTCDR was quite the guy

I'd love to have a boat with one packard V12, let alone 3. quite the hotrod.
I dotn agree with Kennedy being court marshalled. His actions before the crash are debatable, but his actions after the crash are not. It was sound decision making island hopping and testing limits of physical endurance with some of those swims. In crocdile and shark populated waters.

They Were Expendable

An often overlooked war movie about the PT boats in the early war. John Ford directing, The Duke and Robert Montgomery starring.

In the right circumstances, yes. Early in the war they were hampered by shitty torpedoes, as was the case with both torpedo bombers, destroyers, and subs.

They came into their own during the Solomons Campaign where they had a degree of success in interdiction raids against the “Tokyo Express”. The Navy built upon this success by employing them against the supply lines of other Japanese held islands which were primarily supplied via barges.

Got rammed by a Jap destroyer while his boat was idling along.
I believe he didn't even have all engines engaged