PT Boat report – July 1945

New Guinea, July 1945

The final invasion of the SW Pacific area was made on 1 July, 1945, when troops of the 7th Australian Division were landed at the oil port of Balikpapan in SW Borneo.  The amphibious attack group commander wanted PT boats patrolling the beachs beforehand to prevent the enemy from erecting obstacles.

Accordingly, 4 Pt’s of Squadron 10, 4 from Squadron 27 and the patrol boat tender USS Mobjack, under Lt. Cmdr. Tappaan, were dispatched.  They strafed and rocketed the beaches to keep the enemy away.

Mindanao, 1945, PT-150 in foreground

The Varuna arrived with 8 more PT’s and the task unit was brought to full strength with the arrival of 7 more boats.  On the night of 9/10 July, Lt. A.W. Allison’s PT-73 and Lt. C.S, Welsh’s Pt-359 were sent to destroy a reported enemy radar station on Balabalagan Island.  The boats did a thorough job of strafing huts and buildings and 130-foot tower, in the face of machine-gun and rifle fire.

When PT boats 163, 167 & 170 returned to the island, they found all enemy equipment destroyed, 6 fresh graves and one dead Japanese soldier.

PT Advance Base, Brunei Bay, Borneo 1945

The western coast of Celebes was where the PT boats found Japanese shipping.  On 22 July, Lt. Roger Waugh in Pt-163, Lt. Baker in PT-174 and Lt. Harrison’s PT-170 made a daylight strike on Paloe Bay, Celebes, along with RAAF Kittyhawk fighters.  The combined effort destroyed 4 prahaus, damaged a hotel, dock and many houses in Dongala town.  The fires could be seen 30 miles out at sea.

PT Cradles on USS Oak Hill (LSD-7), Espiritu Santo Is. 23-24 July 1945

The period of June to July 1945 was characterized by the disappearance of PT targets around the SW Pacific except for Morotai, where the boats continued to encounter small enemy craft because of the static land situation and large enemy concentrations on Halmahera.

As the Philippine campaign drew to a close, plans were made to transfer squadrons and tenders from the 7th Fleet to the Pacific Fleet for operations in the north.

Espiritu Santo Is., Boat Base # 2, July 1945

The original plans for the Japanese invasion, Operation Olympic, did not include PT boats, but the Commander Amphibious Force Pacific Fleet asked Commodore Bates to submit a plan for the use of 200 along the Japan coast.

Click on images to enlarge.

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Military Humor – 

PT humor From: https://ptboatred.wordpress.com/

 

Navy humor, From: https://muscleheaded.wordpress.com/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Farewell Salutes – 

James Brennan Sr. – Lawrence, MA; US Army, WWII, Korea & Vietnam (Ret. 32 y.)

Kenneth Chesak – El Paso, TX; US Army, Vietnam, 82nd Airborne Division

Leo Devane – Albany, NY; US Navy, WWII, ETO, Petty Officer

Norman Garfield – Philadelphia, PA; US Army, Sgt., Signal Corps

Olivia Hooker (103) – Tulsa, OK; US Coast Guard SPARS, WWII

Leo Kornblath – Roslyn Heights, NY; Civilian, US Navy, WWII, minesweeper draftsman / US Air Force, B-29 Flight Engineer

Joe Lauzon – Sault Ste. Marie, CAN; RC Army, WWII, Queen’s Own Rifles, 3rd Division

Irving Levin – Stuart, FL; US Army Air Corps, WWII, PTO,B-29 Flt. Engineer, 20th Air Force

Kenneth Sanborn – Macomb County, MI; US Air Force

Gillis Wilder – Corbin, KY; US Navy, WWII

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Images is courtesy of: https://mywarjournals.com/

Dylan J. Elchin – Hookstown, PA; US Air Force, Afghanistan, SSgt., 26th Special Tactics Squadron, 2- Purple Hearts, KIA

Eric M. Emond – Brush Prairie, WA; USMC/ US Army, Afghanistan, Sgt.1st Class, 1/3rd Special Forces Group (21 y. served), KIA

Andrew P. Ross – Lexington, VA; US Army, Afghanistan, Captain, 1/3rd Special Forces Group, KIA

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