Motor Torpedo Boat PT-109
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 Lt. Kennedy on the PT-109 in 1943 |
|
| Career United States |  |
|---|---|
| Ordered: | 1942 |
| Laid down: | July 1942 at Bayonne, New Jersey |
| Launched: | 1942 |
| In service: | 1943 |
| Out of service: | 1943, sunk |
| Status: | run down by destroyer, torpedo tube located in 2002 |
| Homeport: | Rendova, Tulagi, Solomon Islands |
| General Characteristics | |
| Displacement: | 56 tons (full load) |
| Length: | 80 feet (24.4 m) overall |
| Beam: | 20 ft 8 in (6.3 m) |
| Draft: | 3 ft 6 in (1.06m) maximum (aft) |
| Propulsion: | three 12-cylinder gasoline engines 1500 hp each (three shafts) |
| Speed: | 41 knots (76 km/h) maximum (trials) |
| Endurance: | 12 hours, 6 hours at top speed |
| Complement: | 3 officers, 14 enlisted men (design) |
| Armament: | 4 21-inch torpedo tubes (four Mark 8 torpedoes), 20mm cannon aft, 2 twin-.50cal machine gun turrets, 37mm anti-tank gun mounted forward (field modification) |
| Armour: | gunboat deck house armoured against rifle bullets, some crews fitted armour plate to refrigerators |
| Motto: | They were expendable |
| Nickname: | John F. Kennedy's PT-109 |
| Honors and awards: | Skipper was future president of United States, only two crew lost |
- PT-109 redirects here. For the movie starring Cliff Robertson, see PT 109. For the Jimmy Dean song, see PT-109 (song).
United States Ship PT-109 was a PT boat commanded by Lieutenant (Junior Grade) (LTJG) John F. Kennedy (later United States President) in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Kennedy's actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of the PT-109 both solidified his "war hero" status in his political career, and may have contributed to his long-term back problems.
Although in military terms, the action was insignificant in terms of damage to the enemy or Allied losses relative to other battles, nevertheless the boat and infamous incident would be extremely well documented and publicized. It would become a cultural phenomenon inspiring many books, movies, television series and collectible objects and toys far beyond its modest military historical significance. Interest peaked during the JFK presidency, but continues in the 2000s with the discovery of the wreck by Robert Ballard.
[edit] The PT Boat
The PT-109 belonged to the PT 103 class, of which hundreds were completed between 1942 and 1945 by the Elco Naval Division of Electric Boat Company at Bayonne, New Jersey. PT-109 was laid down 4 March 1942 as the seventh Motor Torpedo Boat (MTB) built there, and was launched on 20 June. Delivered to the Navy on 10 July 1942, she was fitted out in the New York Naval Shipyard at Brooklyn.
The Elco boats were the largest PT boats operated by the US Navy during World War II. At 80 feet and 40 tons, they were longer than the 65.5 foot long deck, and not short of the total 88 feet length of the Godspeed of 1607 which founded Jamestown. They had strong wooden hulls of 2 inch thick mahogany planks, not plywood. Three 12-cylinder 1500hp (1100kW) Packard gasoline engines (one per propeller shaft) generated as much horsepower as a B-17 bomber. Their designed top speed was 41 knots. The center engine was the only engine with a rearwards shaft. Because the center propeller was deeper, it left less of a wake, and was preferred by skippers for low-wake loitering. The engines were fitted with mufflers at the tail which resembled large automobile mufflers to direct the exhaust under water, but had to be bypassed for high speed. These were used not only to mask their own noise from the enemy but to be able to hear threatening aircraft which were rarely detected overhead before dropping their bombs.
It could accommodate 3 officers and a crew of 14 sailors, with the typical crew size varying from 12 to 14, but the PT 109 picked up several dozen men from a sinking landing craft. At full load, the PT 109 displaced 56 tons.
The principal offensive weapon was the four torpedoes. She was fitted with four 21-inch (53cm) torpedo tubes containing troublesome Mark 8 torpedoes, whose design dated from WWI. They were similar to those carried by torpedo bombers, which weighed about 2000 lbs each, with 800 pound warheads, and gave the tiny boats a punch at least theorectially effective even against armoured ships. Their speed of 27 knots was very effective against shipping, but they were slower than the top speed of the destroyers and cruisers they were tasked with targeting in the Solomons. Torpedoes were also useless against shallow draft barges, which would become the majority of the PT targets and victims. With their machine guns and 20 mm cannon, the PT boats could not return the large caliber gunfire carried by destroyers which had a much longer effective range, though they were effective against aircraft and strafing ground targets. A direct shell hit in the engine compartment to boats witnessed by Kennedy sometimes resulted a total catastrophic loss of boat and crew. A boat would have to close within 5 miles for a shot, well within the gun range of destroyers. The boats would have approach masked by darkness, fire their torpedoes which gave away their position, and they would have to flee behind a smoke screen, sometimes lit by flares dropped by the greatly feared seaplanes which also dropped bombs on the boats. PT boats had to rely on their smaller size, speed and maneuverability as well as operating under the cloak of darkness to survive. PT boats were often seen in the context of David and Goliath, pitting wooden boats filled with gasoline against steel destroyers with large caliber shells. A less optimistic remark used in the PT 109 movie referred to them as plywood coffins.
Ahead of the torpedoes were two depth charges omitted from most PT 109 models, one on each side, about the same diameter as the torpedoes. Normally designed to be used against submarines, they were sometimes used to confuse and discourage pursuing destroyers as well.
The 109 boat was configured with a single 20mm anti-aircraft mount at the rear with "109" painted on it, two open rotating turrets (designed by the same firm that produced the Tucker automobiles), each with twin .50-caliber (12.7mm) anti-aircraft machine guns, at opposite corners of the open cockpit, and a smoke generator on her tail. These guns were effective against various aircraft, including a B-25 which had been instructed there were no friendly boats in the vicinity of some PT-boats and attacked forcing the crew to defend themselves. It was able to ditch successfully, and survivors were picked up by the same PT-boat .
The day before the fateful last mission, Kennedy's PT-109 fitted a 37mm single shot anti-tank cannon the crew had commandeered and bolted to the foredeck, replacing a small 2 man life raft. However, the timbers used to lash the weapon to the deck would later help save their lives as a float.[1]
[edit] Service
PT-109 was assigned to MTB Squadron FIVE in Panama. Six of the Elco boats, PTs 109 through 114, were then transferred to MTB Squadron TWO on 26 October 1942 and sent to the Solomon Islands, arriving at Sesapi, Tulagi harbor in November.
The night of 13-14 October, four boats attacked a Japanese surface ship bombarding Henderson Field. PT Boats would be regularly sent on patrol to intercept reinforcement missions called the "Tokyo Express" heading down "the slot" to Guadalcanal.
Commanded by Lt. Rollin E. Westholm, the first action for PT-109 was on the night of 7-8 December 1942 against eight Japanese destroyers moving down "the slot." Eight PTs unleashed a torpedo attack. The PTs weaved around the destroyers, with the PT-59 damaged by shellfire. But the Japanese withdrew, defeated in their mission of delivering their reinforcements.
Four days later, five patrolling PT boats opposing a force of 11 destroyers managed to torpedo and sink destroyer Terutsuki. They lost PT-44, sunk by two destroyers off Savo Island.
On the night of 2-3 January 1943, PT 109 was narrowly missed by two bombs from an enemy plane that exploded off her port beam and after firing torpedoes at an enemy destroyer, her wake was strafed by a Japanese patrol plane. In the early morning 9 January, the PT boat strafed a supply depot off Guadalcanal. On the night of 11-12 January, PT-109 and eight other MTBs attacked eight Japanese destroyers, with PT-112 sunk and PT-43 damaged, but a torpedo hit seriously damaged the Japanese destroyer Hatsukaze.
On night patrol on 14-15 January 1943, PT-109 escaped a depth charge dropped by a patrol plane about 150 yards away. At daylight enemy shore batteries caught her in range and punched three holes in her hull. Not yet done, she tried to pull PT-72 off a reef before returning to base.
During the night of 1-2 February 1943, twenty Japanese destroyers steamed to finish the evacuation of their remaining troops from Guadalcanal. The Japanese were spotted by eleven PT boats in positions around Savo Island. Destroyer gunfire sank PT-111 and PT-37, while a Japanese seaplane destroyed PT-123. PT-115 and PT-38 were beached and later pulled off by PT-109. This was the most spectacular action the PTs participated in the waters off Guadalcanal.
Lt. Westholm left PT-109 to become operations officer for the flotilla, leaving Ensign Bryant L. Larson in command of the boat. On 21 February, the MTBs escorted transports for the invasion of the Russell Islands, with PT-109 personally delivering Col. E. J. Farrel and his staff to the beach in Renard Sound. On 5 March, when a plane attacked Senapi, destroying the operations office and riddling the hull of PT-118.
PT-109 underwent several short maintenance periods, which included the installation of a surface search radar set. This was not a standard item, which evidently was removed before Ensign Leonard J. Thom, USNR, the executive officer, took charge. Thom was relieved by Lieutenant (jg) John Fitzgerald Kennedy, USNR, on the 24th. On 16 June, PT-109 shifted with other boats to a "bush" berth on newly captured Rendova Island.
On 1 August, an air strike by 18 Japanese bombers wrecked PT-117 and sunk PT-164.
[edit] Kennedy's crew
A standard uniform would be blue dungarees with white dixie cap for enlisted sailors, washed khakis and caps for officers. During General Quarters, the crew would man their battle stations wearing dark blue kapok life vests [2] and steel helmets. The skipper's helmet would have a shield and star, while the other officer would be labeled "XO".
The crew aboard PT-109 on its last mission:
- LT (jg) junior grade John Fitzgerald Kennedy, Boston, Massachusetts, skipper. Became president of the United States.
- Ensign Leonard J. Thom, Sandusky, Ohio, "XO"
- Ensign George H. R. "Barney" Ross, Highland Park, Illinois (on board as an observer after losing his own boat, attempted to operate 37mm gun, suffered from night blindness)
- Seaman 2/c Raymond Albert, Akron, Ohio
- Gunner's Mate 3/c Charles A. "Bucky" Harris, Watertown, Massachusetts
- Motor Machinist's Mate 2/c William Johnston, Dorchester, Massachusetts
- Torpedoman's Mate 2/c Andrew Jackson Kirksey, Reynolds, Georgia (killed in collision, listed as missing by National Geographic account)
- Radioman 2/c John E. Maguire, Dobbs Ferry, New York
- Motor Machinist’s Mate 2/c Harold William Marney, Springfield, Massachusetts (killed in collision, manning turret closest to impact point)
- Quartermaster 3/c Edman Edgar Mauer, St. Louis, Missouri
- Motor Machinist's Mate 1/c Patrick H. "Pappy" McMahon, Wyanet, Illinois (Only man in engine room during collision, was badly burned, but recovered wounds)
- Torpedoman's Mate 2/c Ray L. Starkey, Garden Grove, California
- Motor Machinist's Mate 1/c Gerard E. Zinser, Belleville, Illinois (erroneously called "Gerald" in many publications). Last survivor of PT 109 crew.
[edit] The "Battle of the PT-109"
According to the movie and the book by Donovan, Kennedy used his family influence to get into the war quickly rather than avoid it. The Allies were in a campaign of island hopping since capturing Guadalcanal in a bloody battle in 1942. Kennedy was assigned the PT-109 upon arriving at the island of Tulagi. By August, the Allies had captured Rendova and moved PT boat operations there. The US Army was driving the Japanese out of Munda airfield at New Georgia by August. All of the islands around Blackett Strait were still held by the Japanese.
In an action considered too inconsequential by military historians to even have a formal name, the PT-109 was sent out north on a night mission through Fergeson Passage to Blackett Strait. It was one of 15 boats sent to intercept the Tokyo Express, a convoy of destroyers employed as fast transports and an escort on a night resupply mission to avoid air attack.
In what would be later considered to be a textbook example of one of the most poorly planned and uncoordinated PT boat attacks in the war, 15 boats loaded with 60 torpedoes scored only a few observed explosions. Flashes when torpedoes were launched would give away their positions, many torpedoes exploded prematurely or ran at the wrong depth, so no enemy ships were sunk. The boats were ordered to return when their torpedos were expended, but the boats with radar shot their torpedoes first. When they returned, the remaining boats such as the PT-109 were left without radar.
The PT-109 patrolled the area in case the enemy ships returned. Around 0200, on a moonless night, Kennedy's boat was idling on one engine to avoid detection of its wake by Japanese aircraft which had previously killed a PT officer in a night attack. But with only ten seconds warning, they were not anticipating that they would be virtually parked straight in the path of their target, which was returning from Vila, Kolombangara after offloading 912 soldiers and supplies, heading back towards Rabaul.
The crew spotted a destroyer bearing down on them at speeds reported by some sources as high as 30 or 40 knots. Others believe it might have been as slow as 23 knots. With no time to get the engines up to speed to maneuver for a torpedo shot, they were rammed by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri on August 2, 1943 in the Blackett Strait between Kolombangara and Arundel in the Solomon Islands near .
The PT-109 was cut in two. Seamen Andrew Jackson Kirksey and Harold W. Marney were lost. For such a catastrophic collision, explosion and fire, it was a low loss rate compared to other boats hit by shellfire. Conflicting statements have been made as to whether the destroyer captain had spotted and steered towards the boat, but author Donovan who interviewed many of the destroyer crew believes that the collision was not an accident. Damage to the propeller slowed the destroyer's trip home. The PT-109 was gravely damaged, with watertight compartments keeping only the forward hull afloat in a sea of flames.[3]
[edit] Survival
Kennedy and his men had to choose carefully where to go since all of the large islands had Japanese camps on them. The survivors chose the tiny deserted Plum Pudding Island, southwest of Kolombangara island. They placed their lantern, shoes and nonswimmers on one of the timbers used as a gun mount and began kicking together to propel it. It took 4 hours for the survivors to reach Plum Pudding island 3.5 miles (six kilometers) away, braving the possibility of encountering native sharks and crocodiles. Kennedy had swum at Harvard University so using a life jacket strap he clenched in his mouth, Kennedy towed McMahon, who was badly burned. The island is only a hundred yards in diameter with no food or water. The crew had to hide from passing Japanese barge traffic. Kennedy swam about 4 km more, to Naru and Olasana islands in search of help and food. He then led his men to Olasana Island, which had coconut trees and water, though the coconut milk made some of his men sick.[4]
[edit] The men who found Kennedy
The explosion on August 2 was spotted by Australian coastwatcher Sub Lt. Arthur Reginald Evans, who manned a secret observation post at the top of the volcano on Kolombangara Island; over ten thousand Japanese troops were garrisoned in the southeast. While the Navy and its squadron of PT boats held a memorial service for the crew of the PT-109 after reports were made of the large explosion. However, Evans dispatched Solomon Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in a dugout canoe to look for possible survivors after decoding news that the explosion he had witnessed was probably from the lost PT-109. These Solomon Islands canoes were similar to those used for thousands of years by people in the Pacific and by Native Americans. In retrospect, these were by far the oldest technology and smallest manned craft used by the Allies in WWII compared to the powerful radar and torpedo armed PT boats of the Americans, but they could avoid detection by Japanese ships and aircraft and if spotted, would likely be taken for native fisherman.
Kennedy and his men survived for six days on coconuts before they were found by the scouts. The two men had disobeyed an order by stopping by Nauru to investigate a Japanese wreck, from which they salvaged fuel and food. They first fled by canoe from a shouting stranger who would turn out to be Kennedy. On the next island, they pointed their Tommy guns at the rest of the crew since the only light-skinned people they expected to find were Japanese, and they weren't familiar with either language or people. Gasa would later say "All white people looked the same to me." Kennedy convinced them that they were on the same side. The small canoe wasn't big enough for passengers. Though the Donovan book and movie depict Kennedy offering a coconut inscribed with a message, according to a National Geographic interview, it was Gasa who suggested it and Eroni who climbed a coconut tree to pick one.
On it, Kennedy cut the following message:
NAURO ISL
COMMANDER… NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT…
HE CAN PILOT… 11 ALIVE
NEED SMALL BOAT… KENNEDY
This message was delivered by risking death and capture, rowing 35 miles through hostile waters patrolled by the Japanese to the nearest allied base at Rendova. Some coastwatcher natives who were caught had been tortured and killed. A later canoe returned for Kennedy, taking him to the coastwatcher to coordinate the rescue. American PT boats were able to pick up the remaining survivors, and gave the scouts a lift home. The arranged signal would be 4 shots, but since Kennedy only had 3 shots in his pistol, Evans gave him a rifle for the fourth signal shot. The scouts remembered that the swift boats felt like flying. The marines sang "Yes Jesus Loves Me", an unusual military anthem to pass the time. The pair would receive little notice or credit in military reports, books or movies until 2002 when they were interviewed by National Geographic shortly before Gasa's death.
[edit] The destroyers finish the job
Three nights later on August 6, in the Battle of Vella Gulf, American destroyers were given the same task of stopping the Tokyo Express as the unsuccessful PT boats. Unlike the previous disorganized attack, which did not coordinate the use of radar, the destroyers used lessons learned in previous battles. They did not reveal their presence with gunfire until their torpedoes were in the water. Three Japanese destroyers were sunk, killing 1,500 Japanese with no US losses. This ended the Tokyo Express. Kolobangara could no longer be resupplied and the allies bypassed the huge garrison of 12,400 there. Although the Battle of Vella Gulf was deemed important enough to have a formal name, the battle is far less famous than the story of JFK's PT-109.
[edit] PT-59
The PT-59 was one of the first PT boats converted to a gunboat primarily tasked with hunting down targets their own size or smaller, and was also led by Kennedy and those from the PT-109 who chose to stay in the war rather than go home. The PT-59 would rescue ambushed marines, a gravely wounded officer died in Kennedy's bunk. The movie included this story, but portrayed it as an action of PT-109.
[edit] Aftermath
PT boats would ultimately prove largely ineffective against the ships they were designed to combat, scoring one US transport in the Solomons by mistake. However, they would later prove to be deadly against the shallow draft barges and smaller craft used by the Japanese in island waters.
All of the PT boats were retired after WWII, most being burned because they were deemed not worth shipping home. The Navy would again experiment with the PT-109 sized Tucumcari hydrofoil patrol boat in the 1960s, resulting in a small squadron of larger Pegasus class boats. These were retired for lack of a mission by the end of the 1980s. Even the classic Milton Bradley game of Battleship would retire the two-pin PT-boat in favor of a stealth ship.
One of the most detailed accounts ever published appeared in the New Yorker with the title "Survival", written by a reporter who interviewed Kennedy after the incident. Another account was printed in Reader's Digest just before Kennedy's first Congressional run. The campaign reproduced the article and distributed it to potential voters. A campaign pin of the PT-109 was distributed during his presidential campaign.
Kennedy was awarded the Navy and Marine Corps Medal for his lifesaving actions following the collision; it was established in 1941 for lifesaving actions at risk of the individual's own life but not involving actual combat[1]. A few in the military, including Douglas MacArthur, thought he should have faced a court-martial instead for losing his boat in such a manner. It was thought by many that such a quick and maneuverable craft should have been able to escape a collision with a slower enemy craft, though fellow skippers would point out that a boat like the PT-109 could not accelerate quickly under such circumstances.
During his presidency, Kennedy privately admitted to friends that he didn't feel that he deserved the medals he had received, because the PT-109 incident had been the result of a botched military operation that had cost the lives of two members of his crew. When asked by interviewers how he became a war hero, Kennedy's grim reply was, "It was involuntary. They sank my boat."
[edit] Popular culture
In addition to the book mentioned below, the episode was also made into a 1963 movie PT 109, starring Cliff Robertson, though it had some historical problems, such as the Navy searching for the boat rather than holding a memorial service for the crew. PT-109 was also Top 10 record at #8 in 1962 by Jimmy Dean, one of his most successful songs. Plum Pudding island was later renamed Kennedy Island. It is so small, it is barely visible on mapping programs today such as Google Earth. The island caused a controversy when the government sold off the land to a private investor who charged admission to tourists.
The 1958 movie South Pacific preceded PT-109 as a drama about Navy sailors in the Pacific Theater. In 1961, Premiere Theater presented "Seven Against The Sea", a drama about a resourceful group of stranded American PT boat crewmen hiding out on a South Pacific island controlled by the Japanese Navy, a situation which would appear to be inspired by the adventures of Kennedy and his men.[5] This would become the pilot of McHale's Navy, one of the more successful television situation comedy series which ran from 1962 to 1966 on ABC, and spawned spinoff movies and a 1997 movie remake. The cultural icon Gilligan's Island, which ran on CBS from 1964 to 1967, was also based on the shipwreck of a PT-sized boat. The passengers would be led by a skipper, which was Kennedy's position on the PT-109, and his first mate.
The PT-109 was also one of the most famous subjects of toy, plastic and RC model ships in the 1960s, familiar to most boys who grew up as Baby Boomers. The tale is much less familiar to their sons today, as the VHS movie was out of print in the US by 2006. It is available outside of the US as a Video CD, but not yet as a DVD. In 2006, the PT-109: The Next Generation series of viral videos was released with various parodies based on the PT 109 story.
It was still a popular 1/72 scale Revell model kit widely available in the 2000s. In scale, it is notably much longer than the same scale 1/72 Caribbean pirate sailing ship by the same manufacturer. It was also the subject of a special PT-109 John F. Kennedy G.I. Joe.
Spectrum Holobyte released a naval simulation game roughly based on the events named "PT-109" for the Apple Macintosh and MS-DOS-compatible computers in 1987. In the video game Battlestations Midway PT-109 is featured in the second mission of the US Campaign.
Although the USS Constitution is considered to be the most famous US Navy ship in history, in Aug 2006 some 42 PT-109 items were available on Ebay, compared to 35 for the Constitution and 14 for the USS Missouri, though trailing the 2572 items under "Titanic". If fame can be measured by the number of comic books, movies, television episodes, National Geographic DVDs, books, models, PT-109 G.I. Joe figures and hit records inspired by the story, the PT-109 is certainly one of the most famous US Navy vessels of the 20th century if not the most merchandised.
Also mentioned in a Simpson's episode where Homer joins the NAVY.
[edit] The search for Kennedy's PT 109
The wreckage of PT-109 was located in May 2002 when a National Geographic expedition headed by Dr. Robert Ballard found a torpedo tube from wreckage matching the description and location of Kennedy's vessel in the Solomon Islands[6]. The rear section was not found, but a search using remote vehicles found the forward drifting section south of the collision site. Ballard was not able to uncover sand from the wreckage. Under current Navy policy, the wreckage is a gravesite and may not be disturbed. Max Kennedy also came to present a bust of JFK to the islanders who had found Kennedy and his crew.
[edit] What happened to the coconut?
The coconut was kept in a preserved glass container by Kennedy on his desk during his presidency. It is now on display at the John F. Kennedy Library in Boston, Massachusetts as one of the most famous and notable coconuts in the world.
[edit] Survivors
Gerard Zinser, the last survivor of the PT-109, died in 2001. Both Solomon Islanders Biuki Gasa and Aaron (Eroni) Kumana were alive when visited by National Geographic in 2002, both being presented with a gift from the Kennedy family.
Biuki Gasa died late in August 2005, his passing noted only in a single blog by a relative. According to Time Pacific magazine, Gasa and Eroni were invited to Kennedy's inauguration. However, the island authorities tricked Gasa into giving his trip to more important local officials. Gasa and Eroni gained a little fame only after being identified by National Geographic, but are today are among the most famous Solomon Islanders who ever lived.
[edit] See also
- PT-109 (model).
- Gilligan's Wake Fictional re-imagining of Gilligan's island where the Skipper served with both John F. Kennedy and the skipper of McHale's Navy.
- Leslie Martinson directed both the PT-109 movie and Rescue from Gilligan's Island.
[edit] Notes
- ^ Scalecraft history.
- ^ As costumed on the 1963 Warner Brothers movie
- ^ John F Kennedy’s Military Story at Medal of Freedom.
- ^ "JFK's epic Solomons swim" BBC News 30 July, 2003.
- ^ The Lost McHale's Navy Pilot
- ^ "JFK's PT-109 Found, U.S. Navy Confirms"
[edit] References
- Robert J. Donovan (1961). PT 109 : John F. Kennedy in WWII. International Marine/Ragged Mountain Press. ISBN 0-07-137643-7.
- Edward J. Renehan, Jr (2002). The Kennedys at War, 1937-1945. Garden City, N.Y: Doubleday. ISBN 0-385-50165-X.
- Richard Tregaskis (1966). John F. Kennedy and PT-109. Garden City, N.Y: American Printing House for the Blind. ASIN B0007HSN7S.
- Robert D. Ballard, (2002). Collision With History: The Search for John F. Kennedy's PT 109. Washington, D.C: National Geographic. ISBN 0-7922-6876-8.
[edit] Japanese accounts
- Haruyoshi Kimmatsu, The night We sank John Kennedy's PT 109 appeared in Argosy Magazine December 1970 Vol 371 # 6
- Tameichi Hara, Japanese Destroyer Captain (Ballantine Books, 1978) ISBN 0-345-27894-1
[edit] External links
- PT 109: Dictionary of American Fighting Ships, US Navy
- SURVIVAL 1944 New Yorker Magazine article
- Naval Historical Center pictures of PT-109
- Medal of Honor details of Kennedy's history with PT boats
- Maritimequest PT-109 Photo Gallery and Fact Sheet
- The Naval Historical Center's History of PT-109
- PT-109 Loss Official Navy report on the incident, and other PT boats involved
- Elco PT Boat - Photos of an Elco PT Boat at the Battleship Cove Naval Museum in Fall River, MA
- Battleship Cove Naval Museum Website - Home of 2 restored WWII PT Boats
- [2] National Geographic: The Islanders Who Saved Kennedy
- PT-109 at MobyGames - webpage on the 1987 video game "PT-109" with several screenshots
- [3] Commemorative swim with map of Kennedy / Plum Pudding, Olasna and Naru islands
- [4] Pacific wrecks PT-109 details
- [5] Kennedy and four other presidents served in the World War II Navy
| Parts of the story of John F. Kennedy's PT-109 |
|---|
Air and water craft: PT-109 • PT-109 Loss Report • PT-59 • PT boat • Elco • Japanese destroyer Amagiri • Fubuki class destroyer • Tokyo Express • Nakajima A6M2-N People: John F. Kennedy • Arthur Reginald Evans • Coastwatchers • Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana • Andrew Jackson Kirksey and Harold W. Marney • Max Kennedy |
Categories: United States Navy patrol boats | World War II | Shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean | Battles involving Japan | Battles involving the United States | Conflicts in 1943 | Military history of the United States 1900-1999 | Pacific Ocean theater of World War II | Maritime incidents in 1943 | PT boats | John F. Kennedy | Internet memes
