Either in October or November 1941, it was decided to transport Squadron Two (still fitting out in the New York Navy Yard) to Panama in order to augment the defenses of the Canal Zone. According to a letter sent to me by Hugh Robinson (former ComMTBRon Three), to mislead possible Japanese spies in Panama (and presumably German undercover agents in New York) the numbers displayed on the boats' cabins were changed. The eleven boats of the squadron were numbered 0-10; my best guess at the order was:
#1-PT 46
#2-PT 45
#3-PT 48
#4-possibly PT 47
#5-PT 37
#6-possibly PT 36
#7-PT 38
#8-PT 39
#9-possibly PT 40
#10-PT 43
#0-possibly PT 44
My reasoning is based in part on entries made in several boat logs--and I have been told that the PT boat logs can be somewhat unreli- able. Frankly, I feel that depends on the diligence of each individual boat's quartermaster (the sailor responsible for keeping the log) and the boat captain (who signed off on it). One of the best kept logs I found was that of PT 44, when she was skippered by Lt. Frank Freeland, USNR. From the time he reported aboard the 44 boat in the spring of 1942 until the boat's last preserved log (September 1942) Lieutenant Freeland's (or his quartermaster's) entries, while brief, gave me a few hints as to which boat may be which. A prime example of such an entry, dated 19 July 1942, is as follows:
Reid, W.L., TM1/c transferred to PT 10 for temporary duty.
Right, here's a possible clue--so I checked each of the Squadron Two boat logs on that date to see which boat Torpedoman Reid reported to; it turned out to be PT 43.
In regards to the 44 boat being numbered '0'--I have no explanation except for that the 44's log from March 1942 until July of that year the top of each page started with the header 'Log of the USS PT (0) of MTB Squadron Two' handwritten at the top; once it read 'USS PT 44 (0)'. I'll be posting a copy of the actual page a little later.
The boats remained numbered in this fashion until the creation of a new Ron Three in July 1942 (so numbered because the original squadron had been destroyed in the Phillippines three months earlier). In May 1942 the squadron had been beefed up to 14 boats with
the arrival of PT's 59, 60, and 61 from MTB Squadron Four at Melville. These new boats had not been assigned any new numbers...yet. The boats transferred to the new squadron were PT's 46 (#1) 45 (#2) 48 (#3) 37 (#5) 38 (#7) 39 (#8), along with PT's 60 and 61. For the trip to the combat zone, PT 60 was renumbered #6, and PT 61 was given the number 4. In the meantime, the boats that remained with Squadron Two--PT's 36 (#6) 40 (#9) 43 (#10) 44 (#0) and 47 (#4) had (along with PT 59) their original numbers painted in black on the cabins. For this information, I was helped again by the log of the PT 44, PT tender Jamestown, and a photograph showing PT 47 being unloaded from a transport ship in the combat zone, with her original number showing.
A lot of this is pure speculation on my part; but I'm sure I am on the right track. A final question is--how did each boat get the number assigned to it? That answer is lost to history. When doing historical research, especially on events that happened over 60 years ago, the participants in those events can most likely remember broad, general things, but trivial minutiae can be (in most cases) a bit more difficult. Also remember that those same participants are in the twilight of their lives, so we as researchers should be lucky for what information we can get. I don't expect my explanation to be the last word, either...so if anyone else has anything else to add, how 'bout shooting me a note at [email protected] and sharing the knowledge?
