PT's
to 1 February 1943--PT boats went out on a nightly basis to deny the waters of the Sound called 'Ironbottom' to the Imperial Japanese Navy's formidable Reinforcement Unit--better known to history as the 'Tokyo Express'. Armed only with light cannon, machine guns, depth charges and doubtful torpedoes, Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, and later joined by elements of MTB Squadrons Two and Six, put their little wooden craft against the steel-hulled crusiers and destroyers of the Japanese Navy. The ultimate score of ships sunk by the 'Wooden Wonders of Tulagi' may seem unimpressive to the casual observer, but for sheer courage under fire I think the crews of these 'mosquito boats' have few equals.
Presented here are my notes from the actual logbooks of several of the PT's involved in the campaign. The logs themselves are preserved in the National Archives in Washington, DC. Detail in each one depended on how diligent the log-keeper was at the time--some are written with excellent detail, while others were very, very sparse as to their entries. I have been informed that some logs may be inaccurate, but as to determining where a boat was on any given date, they have been invaluable. They've even cleared up a few mis-conceptions and inaccuracies in the historical record. Some logs, notably those of PT's 44, 111, 112, and 123 I was unable to find. I only wrote down details if anything of significance occurred on the boat, either while in harbor or on patrol. The research on these logs will be ongoing on a very intermittent basis, and I will be adding more material when time permits. if anyone has any questions, comments, or information I can add to these notes, feel free to e-mail me at [email protected]
PT 37 PT 43 PT 48 PT 109
PT 38 PT 45 PT 59 PT 110 PT 39 PT 46 PT 60 PT 115
