Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three | |
---|---|
Allegiance | United States |
Branch | United States Navy |
Operating Base | Naval Base Manila in Manila's Port Area |
Equipment | PT boats |
Engagements | Philippines campaign (1941–1942) |
Commanders | |
Commander | Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley |
Insignia | |
Flagship Pennant of MTB Squadron 3 |
Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three (MTBRon 3) was a United States Navy squadron based at Cavite, Philippines, from September 1941 to December 1941. It was commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley and made up of six motor torpedo boats: PT-31, PT-32, PT-33, PT-34, PT-35, and PT-41, the last as the squadron flagship. The other six boats of the squadron remained at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, and were there when war broke out, eventually being shipped to the Solomons.
After the outbreak of hostilities between the United States and Japan on 7 December 1941, the squadron moved from Cavite to Sisiman Bay [note 1] on the Bataan Peninsula with the requisitioned tug Trabajador as tender, [1] where it helped in the defense of Bataan and Corregidor during the Japanese invasion of the Philippines. PT-31 and PT-33 were sunk during the battle. The desired practice was for boats to patrol in pairs in the event one PT needed assistance from another. [2] The critical shortage of spares and fuel often prevented such pairing so that one of the small converted patrol yachts, Maryann, Perry, or Fisheries II, or one of the two old destroyers, Peary or Pillsbury, were used to accompany a single PT on patrol. [2]
On 11 March 1942, the remaining boats of the squadron transported General Douglas MacArthur and several high-ranking officers from Corregidor to Mindanao, an act which earned every member of the squadron the Silver Star. PT-32 was scuttled during this mission, reducing the squadron to three boats: PT-41, PT-34, and PT-35. [3]
These three boats were based at Mindanao until mid-April 1942, where two of them (PT-41 and PT-34) attacked the Kuma, scoring at least one hit. This was to be the squadron's last action: PT-34 was destroyed by Japanese aircraft, PT-35 had to be scuttled to avoid capture, and PT-41 was commandeered by the U.S. Army to defend Lake Lanao. She was scuttled as well, three days after transfer.
Bulkeley and three other officers were later flown to safety on MacArthur's orders, with a fifth officer joining them shortly after. These five officers were all that remained of this squadron as a result. Three officers and fifteen enlisted men were killed in action or died as prisoners of war, seven evaded capture as guerrillas on Leyte, and 38 POWs were liberated after the war.
The squadron's exploits were immortalized in the book and film They Were Expendable . Bulkeley was awarded the Medal of Honor, the Distinguished Service Cross, the Philippine Distinguished Conduct Star, and the Silver Star during his command of the squadron, making him one of the most decorated U.S. naval officers of World War II.
On 27 July 1942 Motor Torpedo Squadron Two was transferred to MTBRon 3 and was designated MTBRON 3(2). [4] They were commanded by Lcdr. Alan R. Montgomery. [4] In late 1942 the Squadron shipped for Tulagi with six 77' Elco boats and six 80' Elco boats. [4] They were the first PTs in the Solomons. [4] Their exploits in The Slot are historic. At the end of the Solomon's campaign MTBRon 3(2) was decommissioned. The Squadron was recommissioned in the Atlantic as MTBRON 2(2). [5]
A PT boat was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, valued for its maneuverability and speed but hampered at the beginning of the war by ineffective torpedoes, limited armament, and comparatively fragile construction that limited some of the variants to coastal waters. In the US Navy they were organized in Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons (MTBRONs).
The Offshore Patrol (OSP) also known as the Mosquito Fleet was a small naval branch of the United States Army, intended for inshore defense of the Commonwealth of the Philippines. It was active from February 9, 1939 to June 30, 1946. The OSP became part of the United States Army Forces in the Far East (USAFFE) on July 26, 1941, with General Douglas MacArthur as Commander. During the Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the Patrol engaged in limited naval operations along the coastlines of Bataan and Corregidor, against the tight enemy blockade, to bring much-needed provisions to the beleaguered Filipino and American troops during the battle. Undaunted by enemy superiority, the ubiquitous patrol boats fought with zeal, courage and heroism, hitting Japanese warships with torpedoes when given the opportunity. The unit relied on speed and surprise to attack larger vessels at close range.
They Were Expendable is a 1945 American war film directed by John Ford, starring Robert Montgomery and John Wayne, and featuring Donna Reed. The film is based on the 1942 novel of the same name by William Lindsay White, relating the story of the exploits of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, a United States PT boat unit defending the Philippines against Japanese invasion during the Battle of the Philippines (1941–42) in World War II.
John Duncan Bulkeley was a vice admiral in the United States Navy and was one of its most decorated naval officers. Bulkeley received the Medal of Honor for actions in the Pacific Theater during World War II. He was also the PT boat skipper who evacuated General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor in the Philippines and commanded at the Battle of La Ciotat.
Patrol torpedo boat PT-41 was a PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy, built by the Electric Launch Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. The boat was laid down as Motor Boat Submarine Chaser PTC-21, but was reclassified as PT-41 prior to its launch on 8 July 1941, and was completed on 23 July 1941. It was used to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor at the beginning of the war in the Pacific in World War II.
Patrol torpedo boat PT-34 was a PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy, built by the Electric Launch Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. The boat was laid down as Motor boat submarine chaser PTC-14, but was reclassified as PT-34 prior to its launch on 14 June 1941, and was commissioned on 12 July 1941.
Captain Robert Bolling Kelly was an officer of the United States Navy who served during World War II.
On 11 March 1942, during World War II, General Douglas MacArthur and members of his family and staff left the Philippine island of Corregidor, where his forces were surrounded by the Japanese. They traveled in PT boats through stormy seas patrolled by Japanese warships and reached Mindanao two days later. From there, MacArthur and his party flew to Australia in a pair of Boeing B-17 Flying Fortresses, ultimately arriving in Melbourne by train on 21 March. In Australia, he declared, "I came through and I shall return".
Trabajador was a 111 foot (33.8 m) tug launched in 1931 from the Hong Kong and Whampoa Dock for Visayan Stevedore-Transportation Company and registered as a United States vessel in Iloilo, Philippines.
Maryann, sometimes seen as Maryanne or Mary Anne, was a yacht requisitioned and converted by the United States Navy during the defense of the Philippines in World War II and destroyed 5 May 1942 at Corregidor to prevent capture. The yacht was "in service" and not commissioned.
Fisheries II was a vessel requisitioned by the United States Navy during the defense of the Philippines during World War II. The vessel was "in service" and not commissioned.
PT-20 was the first PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy that served during World War II. Her first post was at Pearl Harbor PT Boat Base.
PT-30 was a PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy American that served during World War II.
PT-29 was a PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy American that served during World War II.
PT-42 was a PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy that served during World War II.
PT-143 was a PT-103-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy that served during World War II.
Q-111 Luzon was a motor torpedo boat of the United States Army during World War II as part of the Offshore Patrol based at Manila.
Q-112 Abra was a motor torpedo boat of the United States Army during World War II as part of the Offshore Patrol based at Manila.
BRP Banahaw was a British-built yacht that later served as the presidential yacht of the Commonwealth of the Philippines between 1936 and 1941.
Ranger was an ocean-going tugboat commandeered by the United States Navy during the Second World War.