Devil Boats: The PT War Against JapanThe PT boat was a class of motor torpedo boats used by the United States during the Second World War. Armed with a 40mm antiaircraft gun, two 20mm antiaircraft guns and four torpedo tubes, their agility and speed consistently bested even the most outlandish expectations. Against Japan, they figure prominently in some of the best-known feats of heroism of the entire war. In Devil Boats, the reader is right on board, buffeted by the spray of the crashing Pacific minutes after the Pearl Harbor disaster as a PT boat brings down the first enemy plane. And there again as PT boats, their engines muffled, steal along on an unforgiving ocean to sink a warship, blow up a supply barge, carry a sabotage team past enemy lines, or effect another extraordinary rescue of a downed Allied pilot. In instance upon instance, the PT boats and their crews performed deeds demanding incredible courage and skill, pitting their plywood craft against the force of the angry sea, or the might of ships hundreds of times their own size. Among their legendary exploits - General MacArthur being spirited off besieged Corregidor; Philippine president Quezon's "kidnapping" to Australia; and the unforgettable heroism of a wounded John F. Kennedy and his fearless PT-109. |
Contents
Introduction | 1 |
Were Under Attack | 6 |
A Sneak Into EnemyHeld Manila Harbor | 15 |
Copyright | |
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aboard Admiral aircraft American ashore attack Australia Bambi barges Bataan battleships beach began blast bluejackets Bob Kelly bombers bombs Bulkeley's bullets coast Comdr commander Corregidor craft crewmen cruiser dark dawn deck destroyers Devil Boats Douglas MacArthur engines Ensign Ewing exploded Farley fighting flashes Fleet force four gasoline Guadalcanal Guinea gunners Harllee headed hundred yards Island Jack John Bulkeley Kamikazes Kelly Kennedy landing Leyte Gulf Lieutenant Bulkeley machine guns Mangarin Bay Manila Bay miles Mindanao Mindoro minutes Mios Woendi mission Moments later Morotai Motor Torpedo Boat naval night Nipponese officers opened fire Pacific pair patrol Pearl Harbor Philippines pilot planes President PT boats Quezon raced raft reached rescue roared scouts searchlight shells ship shore shoreline shot skippered by Lt soldiers spotted strafed Strait submarine Suddenly survivors target Tojo Tokyo Express troops Tulagi U.S. Navy warplanes warship wounded