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re: WWII aficionados- were PT boats an effective part of the war effort?
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:08 pm to geauxtigers87
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:08 pm to geauxtigers87
quote:
i have my great grandfathers, but you are not getting it
I was just gonna keep it safe for ya...
Somewhere.. sitting on a shelf in a dusty old antique store in New Orleans somewhere...
1
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:14 pm to FightinTigersDammit
quote:
Got rammed by a Jap destroyer while his boat was idling along. I believe he didn't even have all engines engaged
He was doing this in an effort to not be detected by the destroyer. The top speed of PT boats was not much more than that of Japanese destroyers. The best defense a PT boat had was to hide. Had he tried to run, odds are the destroyer would have quickly discovered and blasted them into oblivion.
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:16 pm to Darth_Vader
So he got rammed into oblivion.
How do you not see a ship that much bigger than you are?
How do you not see a ship that much bigger than you are?
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:16 pm to WWII Collector
The Japanese nickname for the PT boat was devil boat so I think that in itself ought to let you know how effective they were. A lot of people get this glamorous image of them charging at a Japanese capital ship zigzagging through waterspouts of gunfire and firing torpedos but some of their most effective work was sinking Japanese transport barges and landing craft that were used to reinforce their island garrisons.
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:27 pm to FightinTigersDammit
quote:
How do you not see a ship that much bigger than you are?
They were sitting stationary as part of a picket line trying to intercept Japanese destroyers transporting troops. They were blacked out and it supposed to be very cloudy and a moonless night. There is some speculation that the crew that was supposed to be on watch were asleep because there was a big party the night before and most of the crew was hung over.
This post was edited on 7/28/22 at 10:30 pm
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:28 pm to choppadocta
the
there's been accusations out of the PT community in the past that kennedy may have been drunk
quote:
How do you not see a ship that much bigger than you are?
there's been accusations out of the PT community in the past that kennedy may have been drunk
Posted on 7/28/22 at 10:30 pm to Methuselah
Yes
Posted on 7/28/22 at 11:04 pm to zippyputt
They were cheap to built and once they fixed the torpedoes and figured out how to use them they were effective.
They were in fact Expendable
They were in fact Expendable
Posted on 7/28/22 at 11:22 pm to SoFla Tideroller
quote:
An often overlooked war movie about the PT boats in the early war. John Ford directing, The Duke and Robert Montgomery starring.
Fully endorse this. Wonderful film. The dinner thrown for Donna Reynolds by the officers and the officers’ visit to the dying JG in the underground hospital are black and white cinema gold.
This post was edited on 7/29/22 at 2:39 pm
Posted on 7/29/22 at 12:05 am to FightinTigersDammit
I think there's been some speculation that his engine(s) were muffled and he didn't raise the exhaust before he throttled up, causing the engine(s) to stall. Not sure of the particulars, but that's what I remember reading.
In any event, it was a a near moonless night and the Japanese destroyer was making 15 or 20 knots. PT-109 was in the wrong place at the wrong time. LT(jg) Kennedy showed leadership and heroic action in organizing 11 of the 13 surviving crew members rescue. Not sure if it was worthy of a Navy Cross, but I wasn't there.
In any event, it was a a near moonless night and the Japanese destroyer was making 15 or 20 knots. PT-109 was in the wrong place at the wrong time. LT(jg) Kennedy showed leadership and heroic action in organizing 11 of the 13 surviving crew members rescue. Not sure if it was worthy of a Navy Cross, but I wasn't there.
Posted on 7/29/22 at 3:37 am to sledgehammer
quote:
sledgehammer
Eugene?
Posted on 7/29/22 at 5:03 am to DavidTheGnome
You want to kill Eugene too?
Posted on 7/29/22 at 10:06 am to Jim Rockford
quote:
Fun fact: PT boat commanders were disproportionately Ivy Leaguers like JFK, whose connections got them their own "yacht," when most officers of their rank were toiling anonymously as a lower link in the chain of command on some ship.
Just for GP... Ernie Pyle wrote in his book that for example. One LST's (Landing Ship Tanks) was commanded by an Attorney from like Philly or someplace. And he was talking how the guy never spent a day at sea or even had Military experience but here he was Captain of a large ship. Believe it was Sicily or Salerno...
This post was edited on 7/29/22 at 10:07 am
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