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87-530: PT-109 was an 80-foot (24 m) Elco PT boat (patrol torpedo boat) last commanded by Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy , future United States president , in the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific theater during World War II . Kennedy's actions in saving his surviving crew after PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer earned him several commendations and made him

174-581: A dugout canoe late on 5 August, to look for possible survivors after decoding radio broadcasts that the explosion he had witnessed was PT-109 . Gasa and Kumana had been trained by the British and Australians in search and detection and were willing to sacrifice their lives as part of their duty to the British and American troops. Native coastwatchers were used because they could avoid detection by Japanese ships and aircraft and, if spotted, would probably be taken for native fishermen. Before they were rescued by

261-674: A 1946 car crash, Kennedy was one of his pallbearers. Electric Launch Company Elco first made its mark at the World's Columbian Exposition of 1893 in Chicago. Fifty-five launches, each 36 feet long and powered by battery-driven electric motors , carried over a million passengers. In 1899 Isaac Rice , president of the Electric Storage Battery Company and owner of Electric Boat Company, now Electro-Dynamic Company , (both suppliers to Elco), acquired Elco as

348-562: A Japanese air attack on 1 August , the skippers of PT-109 and 14 other boats met with Commander Thomas G. Warfield to discuss the details of a mission to head north through a cut in the reefs known as Ferguson Passage, to Blackett Strait between Gizo and Kolombongara Islands to block or attack the anticipated enemy destroyers. The resulting skirmish, sometimes referred to as the "Battle of Blackett Strait," should not be confused with an earlier battle of that name fought there on 6 March 1943. Commander Arleigh Burke had been ordered to sit on

435-416: A Japanese soldier. When they later arrived on Olasana, they pointed their Tommy guns at the rest of the crew, since the only light-skinned people they expected to find were Japanese with whom they could not communicate. Kennedy's message scratched on a coconut while he was on Naru, where he had spent some time from 4–7 August, was not the only communication given to the coastwatchers. A more detailed message

522-455: A coconut inscribed with a message as his idea and the sole form of communication, it was Gasa who suggested it and Kumana who climbed a coconut tree to pick one. On the instructions of Gasa, Kennedy painstakingly scratched the following message on the coconut husk with a knife: NAURO ISL COMMANDER... NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT... HE CAN PILOT... 11 ALIVE NEED SMALL BOAT... KENNEDY On 6 August, Gasa and Kumana left Olasana and headed east, carrying

609-428: A conventional orientation, with power transmitted directly from its output end to an extended propeller shaft. The engines were fitted with mufflers on the transom both to mask the engines' noise from the enemy and to improve the crew's chance of hearing enemy aircraft. These directed the exhaust underwater at idle and extremely low speeds and were bypassed for anything faster. The PT boat's principal offensive weapon

696-416: A designed top speed of 41 knots (76 km/h; 47 mph). To accommodate three engines in the boat's narrow beam (and improve weight distribution) they were staggered fore-and-aft, with the two outboard motors mounted with their output shafts facing forward and power transmitted through V-drive gearboxes to their respective propeller shafts. The center engine was mounted forward of the outboard pair in

783-577: A fifty-gallon drum of drinkable water left by the Japanese, which Kennedy paddled back to Olasana in the acquired canoe to provide his crew. It was then that Kennedy first spoke to native Melanesian coastwatchers Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana on Olasana Island. Months earlier, Kennedy had learned a smattering of the pidgin English used by the coastwatchers by speaking with a native boy. The two coastwatchers had finally been convinced by Ensign Thom that

870-517: A gun mount and began kicking together to propel it. Kennedy, who had been on the Harvard University swim team, used a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth to tow McMahon. It took four hours to swim to the island, 3.5 miles (5.6 km) away, which they reached without encountering sharks or crocodiles. Plum Pudding Island was only 100 yards (91 m) in diameter, with no food or water. The exhausted crew dragged themselves behind

957-505: A member of Harvard's sailing team. Exaggerated claims by Bulkeley about the effectiveness of the PTs in combat against larger craft allowed him to recruit top talent, raise war bonds, and cause overconfidence among squadron commanders who continued to pit PTs against larger craft. But many in the Navy knew the truth; his claims that PTs had sunk a Japanese cruiser, a troopship, and a plane tender in

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1044-420: A replacement for diesel engines. Their EP Motors range in power from 1–35 kW, which is the diesel equivalent of 2–70 hp. Elco has also worked on recent projects with Hunter Marine to outfit some of their yachts with Elco motors and a combination of solar panels and wind turbines. Torpedoman%27s mate Torpedoman's Mate (abbreviated as TM ) is a United States Navy occupational rating . It

1131-517: A run of about sixty miles from the Columbia Yacht Club at 86th Street to Croton Point and back. The original Idealia installation was a reversible, air started, two cycle engine with six working cylinders and one two stage air compression cylinder that was rated at 150 horsepower at 550 revolutions per minute. The original engine was replaced by a NELSECO 120 horsepower four cycle engine by February 1915. During World War I ,

1218-423: A shell into the closed breech of the weapon. Amagiri was traveling at a relatively high speed of between 23 and 40 knots (43 and 74 km/h; 26 and 46 mph) in order to reach harbor by dawn, when Allied air patrols were likely to appear. Kennedy and his crew would have had less than ten seconds to get the engines up to speed to evade the oncoming destroyer, which was advancing without running lights. PT-109

1305-483: A subsidiary of his new Electric Boat Company . Elco built a new boatyard in Bayonne, New Jersey soon afterward. Previously, Elco boats had been built in subcontracted facilities. By 1900, electric-powered pleasure boats outnumbered the combined number of boats powered by steam and explosive engines (as gasoline-powered motors were called). By 1910, the advantages of the range and power of gasoline came to dominate

1392-458: A wake, Liebenow traveled at 10–15 knots (19–28 km/h; 12–17 mph), muffled his engines, and zigzagged to prevent being tracked by planes or shore batteries. The arranged signal when Liebenow picked up Kennedy on Gomu was four shots, but since Kennedy only had three bullets in his pistol, Evans gave him a Japanese rifle for the fourth signal shot. With Kennedy aboard, PT-157 rescued the weak and hungry PT-109 crew members on Olasana Island in

1479-529: A war hero. Back problems stemming from the incident required months of hospitalization at Chelsea Naval Hospital and plagued him the rest of his life. Kennedy's postwar campaigns for elected office referred often to his service on PT-109 . Hubert Scott-Paine of the British Power Boat Company had developed Air Sea Rescue fast motor boats in the UK. He took his PT boat to Elco in 1939 as there

1566-469: Is clear both Thom and Kennedy trusted the coastwatchers with their lives, as neither message contained the exact coordinates of their location, nor the name of Olasana Island. Traveling in an arranged boat, Gasa and Kumana were at last sent south to the PT base at Rendova from Roviana Island, a distance of only 3 miles (4.8 km), with Gasa still clutching the coconut. Around 6 August, after speaking to Kevu about

1653-409: Is needed to take men off as some are seriously burned. Signal at night three dashes (- - -) Password--Roger---Answer---Wilco If attempted at day time--advise air coverage or a PBY could set down. Please work out a suitable plan & act immediately. Help is urgent & in sore need. Rely on native boys to any extent Thom Ens. U.S.N.R Exec. 109. Though the 1963 movie depicted Kennedy offering

1740-565: The Elco Naval Division in Bayonne, New Jersey . Nearly 400 Elco PT boats were produced for the U.S. Navy. After experimentation, the first PT boat built in any quantity was the 73-foot type. Later 77-foot and 80-foot types were built. More 80-foot Elco boats were built than any other type of US motor torpedo boat . Perhaps the most notable 80-foot PT boat was PT-109 , commanded by future president John F. Kennedy . Even though 85' Elco crash rescue boats were substituted in

1827-636: The Navy and Marine Corps Medal , though senior officer Lt. Commander Alvin Cluster had recommended Kennedy for the Silver Star. Kennedy was also awarded the Purple Heart for injuries he sustained in the collision. Following their rescue, Thom was assigned as commander of PT-587 and Kennedy was assigned as commander of PT-59 (a.k.a. PTGB-1 ). Kennedy and Thom remained friends, and when Thom died in

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1914-504: The Solomon Islands , granting Kennedy's previous "change-of-assignment" request to be sent to a squadron in the South Pacific. His actions were against the wishes of his father who had wanted a safer assignment. The Allies had been in a campaign of island hopping since securing Guadalcanal in a bloody battle in early 1943. Kennedy transferred on 23 February 1943, as a replacement officer to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2 , which

2001-476: The "Long Lance", was faster at 45 knots (83 km/h; 52 mph), had an accurate range of 20,000 yards (18,000 m), was far more powerful with 1,000 pounds (450 kg) of high explosives, and unlike the Mark 8, its detonator usually worked when it hit a target. One naval officer explained that 90% of the time, when the button was pushed on the torpedo tube to launch a torpedo, nothing happened or occasionally

2088-539: The "Tokyo Express", again on their frequent run to Kolombangara Island. This time, the U.S. forces succeeded and sank four Japanese destroyers, two of which, the Arashi and Hagikaze , had eluded Kennedy and the 14 PT crews on the night of 1–2 August. This action became known as the Battle of Vella Gulf . On 7 August, when the coastwatcher scouts carrying the coconut and paper message arrived at Rendova, PT Commander Warfield

2175-621: The 1963 film PT 109 , the "Elco" script logo can be seen on the cockpit throttle housing in several scenes in the picture. At the end of the war, the company merged with its sister company, Electric Boat , under John Jay Hopkins . In 1949, Electric Boat decided to focus on government contracts for submarines, and Elco was closed until 1987. Today Elco produces hand-crafted replicas of some of its classic launches in Athens , New York. The company also still makes electric motors, mainly used to repower sailboats and heavy displacement powerboats as

2262-462: The Japanese garrison on Vila Plantation, on Kolombangara Island's southern tip. America's sophisticated deciphering of the Japanese naval codes had contributed to the victory at the Battle of Midway, ten months earlier, and the same technology had been used to break their code and provide the report of the Japanese destroyers expected 1–2 August. Despite the recent loss of two boats and two crewmen from

2349-508: The Navy after his return to the States, Kennedy suffered from the aftereffects of malaria, colitis , and chronic back pain, all caused or aggravated by his experiences in combat or during his stay at the Rendova base. From their crude base on the northern tip of Rendova Island, on a small spit of land known as Lumbari, PT boats conducted daring and dangerous nightly operations, both to disturb

2436-435: The PT boat operations were moved north to a crude "bush" berth there on 16 June . The Rendova base held the potential for its residents to contract a host of unpleasant diseases like malaria , dengue , dysentery , and elephantiasis . The Navy men stationed there also contended with cockroaches, rats, foot diseases, ear fungus, and mild malnutrition from the monotonous and mostly canned food. On his first desk assignment with

2523-481: The PT boat's service and enrolling him in their training school, after meeting with Bulkeley in a New York Plaza suite near his office at Rockefeller Plaza. Nonetheless, Bulkeley would not have recommended John Kennedy for PT boat training if he did not believe he was qualified to be a PT captain. In an interview with Kennedy, Bulkeley was impressed with his appearance, communication skills, grades at Harvard, and awards received in small boat competitions, particularly while

2610-471: The PT flotilla should do when a boat was lost. In the words of Captain Robert Bulkley, naval historian, "This was perhaps the most confused and least effectively executed action the PTs had been in. Eight PTs fired 30 torpedoes. The only confirmed results were the loss of PT-109 and damage to the Japanese destroyer Amagiri " [from striking PT-109 ]. Kennedy was able to rescue MM1 Patrick McMahon,

2697-471: The PTs in darkness by radio from 40 miles (64 km) away and without a view of the battle, was inefficient at best. The radar sets the four boats carried were relatively primitive, and sometimes malfunctioned. When the four boats with radar left the scene of the battle, the remaining boats, including PT-109 , were deprived of the ability to determine the location or approach of the oncoming destroyers, and were not notified that other boats had already engaged

Patrol torpedo boat PT-109 - Misplaced Pages Continue

2784-581: The Philippines were false. Kennedy completed his PT training in Rhode Island on 2 December , with very high marks and was asked to stay for a brief period as an instructor. He was then ordered to the training squadron, Motor Torpedo Squadron 4 , to take over the command of motor torpedo boat PT-101 , a 78-foot (24 m) Huckins PT boat . In January 1943, PT-101 and four other boats were ordered to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 14 (RON 14), which

2871-415: The area. Kennedy believed the firing he had heard was from shore batteries on Kolombangara, not destroyers, and was focused on avoiding detection by enemy seaplanes. Kennedy said he attempted to turn PT-109 to fire a torpedo and have Ensign George "Barney" Ross fire their newly installed 37 mm anti-tank gun from the bow at the oncoming northbound destroyer Amagiri , but Ross did not have time to load

2958-432: The battle neared its end, PT-109 , PT-162 , and PT-169 were ordered to continue patrolling the area on orders previously radioed from Commander Warfield. The night was cloudy and moonless, and fog had set amidst the remaining PTs. Kennedy's boat was idling on one engine to avoid her phosphorescent wake being seen by Japanese aircraft when the crew realized they were in the path of the Japanese destroyer Amagiri , which

3045-528: The bay until they ran ashore on the beach without exploding. The following men were aboard on PT-109's last mission: At the end of July 1943, intelligence reports were received and decoded by Naval authorities at Kennedy's PT base on Rendova Island indicating that five enemy destroyers were scheduled to run the night of 1–2 August. The destroyers would cruise from the Solomon's Bougainville Island through Blackett Strait to supply provisions and bring troops to

3132-494: The boat's firepower (given the inaccuracy and unreliability of its torpedoes), the day before her final mission, Kennedy had the PT-109 ' s crew lash a U.S. Army 37 mm antitank gun he had bartered for to the foredeck , replacing a small, two-man life raft. Timbers used to secure the weapon to the deck later helped save their lives when used as a float while swimming over three miles to safety on an uninhabited island. Ahead of

3219-546: The company built five hundred and eighty 80-foot submarine chasers (aka Motor Launches ) for the British Admiralty , and 448 110-foot submarine chasers and 284 boats of other types for the US Navy . Between the wars, it introduced the 26-foot Cruisette, a cabin cruiser which became successful. This was followed in the 1930s with 30-foot to 57-foot Veedettes and Flattops. During World War II , Elco formed

3306-434: The crew member with the most severe wounds, which included burns that covered 70 percent of his body, and brought him to the floating bow. Kennedy also rescued Starkey and Harris, bringing them both to the bow. On instructions from Kennedy, the eleven survivors thrown from PT-109 regrouped and, hoping for rescue, clung to PT-109 's bow section for 12 hours as it drifted slowly south. By about 1 p.m., on 2 August, it

3393-401: The crew were from the lost PT-109 , when Thom asked Gasa if he knew John Kari, and Gasa replied that he worked with him. Realizing they were with Americans, the coastwatchers brought a few yams, vegetables, and cigarettes from their dugout canoe and vowed to help the starving crew. But it would take two more days for a full rescue. The rescue of PT-109 was a long process, largely achieved by

3480-582: The darkness. All of Brantingham's torpedoes missed the destroyers, and his torpedo tubes caused a small fire, requiring Lieutenant Liebenow's PT, also in Kennedy's division, to swing in front of Brantingham's PT to block the light emitting from his burning torpedo tubes as they could have given away their location to the destroyers. Liebenow's 157 fired two more torpedoes that failed to hit their target as well, then both boats laid smoke from their smoke generator and zigzagged away to avoid detection. No signal of

3567-428: The destroyer's presence was ever radioed or received by PT-109 , or the other boat in the division, and skippers Brantingham and Liebenow headed blindly west to Gizo Island and away from the destroyers and PT-109 . Many of the torpedoes that were fired exploded prematurely or ran at the wrong depth. The odds that a Mark 8 torpedo that made it to a destroyer would explode were less than 50%, due to faulty calibration of

Patrol torpedo boat PT-109 - Misplaced Pages Continue

3654-477: The destroyers, several of those without radar cruised about aimlessly in the fog and darkness, unable to locate the enemy ships. Lieutenant Brantingham on PT-159 , leader of Kennedy's division, and originally stationed near Kennedy, first saw radar blips indicating the southbound destroyers just arriving on the scene, and fired his torpedoes from about 1 mile (1.6 km) away. As he advanced, he did not radio PT-109 to follow, leaving Kennedy and his crew behind in

3741-516: The detonators, a problem that was not known nor corrected by the Navy until later in the war. A few other PTs, including the leader of Division A to the south of Kennedy, intercepted the destroyers on their southbound route close to Kolombangara, but were unable to hit any with torpedoes. The boats were radioed by Warfield to return when their torpedoes were expended, but the four boats with radar fired their torpedoes first and were ordered to return to base. Commander Warfield's concept of sending orders to

3828-472: The discovery. Gasa and Kumana departed Wana Wana with scout John Kari in a better canoe given them by Kevu, carrying both Thom's and Kennedy's messages to a military outpost on Roviana Island, close to the PT Rendova base in a total of fifteen hours by paddling their canoe all night through 38 mi (61 km) of rough seas and hostile waters patrolled by the Japanese. From the content of the messages, it

3915-637: The early morning of 8 August, after dispatching rowboats to pick them up. The 157 then motored the full crew and the coastwatcher scouts forty miles (64 km) back to the Rendova PT base where they could begin to receive medical attention. There were reporters aboard PT-157 , when they rescued Kennedy and his crew from Olasana Island. After the rescue, The New York Times announced, "KENNEDY'S SON IS HERO IN PACIFIC AS DESTROYER SPLITS HIS BOAT". Other papers wrote "KENNEDY'S SON SAVES 10 IN PACIFIC", and "SHOT FROM RUSTY JAP GUN GUIDES KENNEDY RESCUERS". All

4002-498: The eleven found on Olasana, Evans sent a canoe with fresh fish, yams, potatoes, corned beef hash, and rice to Kennedy and his crew with a message to return to him on Kolumbangara's Gomu Island in the canoe immediately. Kennedy followed this request and was the only one of his crew to go, since there were many Japanese planes flying above and the coast watchers' station was on the Japanese-occupied island of Wana Wana. Kennedy

4089-486: The end of the war. A major issue was that even in the unlikely instance they hit their target, they rarely detonated, even when they hit at a 90-degree angle, perpendicular to their target. Also noteworthy, was that the torpedoes were slow, travelling at only 28 knots (52 km/h; 32 mph), thoroughly unable to catch faster-moving Japanese vessels. In contrast, the Japanese Type 93 destroyer torpedo, later called

4176-630: The enemy. Late in the night, PT-109 and two accompanying PTs became the last to sight the Japanese destroyers returning on their northern route to Rabaul , New Britain , New Guinea , after they had completed dropping their supplies and troops at 1:45 a.m. on the southern tip of Kolombangara. The official Navy account of the incident listed radio communications as good, but PT commanders were also told to maintain radio silence until informed of enemy sightings, causing many commanders to turn off their radios or not closely monitor their radio traffic, including Kennedy. By 2 a.m. on 2 August 1943, as

4263-441: The farthest north of the PT divisions, nearly midway up Kolombongara Island's western coast and around 6 miles (9.7 km) to the west. The "B" Division left Rendova first, leading the pack, as their station was the farthest from the Rendova base. Most of the divisions reached their station by 8:30 p.m. The fifteen PTs carried four torpedo tubes each, for a total of 60 Mark 8 torpedoes , and roughly half of these were fired at

4350-652: The firm between 1942 and 1945 in Bayonne, New Jersey . The seventh MTB of the PT-103 class, her keel was laid 4 March 1942, she was launched on 20 June , and delivered to the Navy on 10 July 1942 to be fitted out in the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn . Fully loaded, she displaced 56 tons , and could accommodate a crew of three officers and 14 enlisted men, with the typical crew size between 12 and 14. The 80 ft (24 m) Elco MTBs were

4437-594: The foredeck and the replacement of the depth charge. PT- 109 was not equipped with radar. PT-109 was transported from the Norfolk Navy Yard to the South Pacific in August 1942 on board the Liberty ship SS Joseph Stanton . Originally Navy grey, it is believed the ship was painted a flat, dark green at Nouméa, New Caledonia after being off-loaded. She arrived in the Solomon Islands in late 1942 and

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4524-424: The four advancing Japanese destroyers protected by Japanese float planes. The Navy's official report of the incident listed 5–6 torpedo explosions reaching the destroyer targets, but none, in fact, were actual torpedo hits. Of the twenty-four torpedoes fired by PT boats from eight PTs, not a single hit was scored against the advancing destroyers. Though each division of PTs was assigned a location likely to intercept

4611-422: The future use of PTs against Japanese destroyers. On 1 August, fifteen PT boats, PT-109 among them, motored from the PT base on Rendova around 6:30 p.m. on strict but cursory orders from Rendova's top brass, Commander Thomas Warfield. The combined PT task force was divided into four divisions of roughly four PTs each. PT-109 ' s "B" division also included PTs 162 , 159 , and 157 , and were stationed

4698-729: The heavy Japanese barge traffic that was resupplying the Japanese garrisons in New Georgia, and to patrol the Ferguson and Blackett Straits in order to sight and to give warning when the Japanese Tokyo Express warships came into the straits to supply Japanese forces in the New Georgia–Rendova area. On 1 August , an attack by 18 Japanese bombers struck the base, wrecking PT-117 and sinking PT-164 . Two torpedoes were blown off PT-164 and ran erratically around

4785-436: The largest PT boats operated by the U.S. Navy during World War II. They had strong wooden hulls, constructed of two layers of 1-inch (2.5 cm) mahogany planking, excellent for speed and reasonably adequate for seakeeping, but providing limited protection in combat. PT-109 was powered by three 12-cylinder 1,500 horsepower (1,100 kW) Packard 4M-2500 marinized aero gasoline engines (one per propeller shaft), with

4872-526: The losses on other PT boats hit by shell fire. PT-109 was gravely damaged, with watertight compartments keeping only the forward hull afloat in a sea of flames. PT-169 , closest to Kennedy's craft, launched two torpedoes, but they missed the attacking destroyer; PT-162 ' s torpedoes failed to launch. Both boats then turned away from the scene of the action and returned to base without checking for survivors of PT-109 . No procedure had been specified by Commander Warfield for searching for survivors, or what

4959-576: The market and Elco converted to motor boats . The company built the first diesel powered yacht in America, Idealia , built during 1911 and launched in 1912. Idealia was owned by the company into 1916 and used for demonstrating the application of two stroke diesel engines in yachts. On 22 October 1913 under ELCO corporate manager Henry R. Sutphen Idealia performed a trial on the Hudson River witnessed by naval engineers and architects on

5046-415: The motor spun the propeller until the torpedo motor exploded in the tube, showering the deck with metal fragments. For safety, a torpedoman's mate was frequently required to hit the torpedo's firing pin with a hammer to get one to launch. Kennedy and contemporary writers noted that torpedo mates and other PT crew were inadequately trained in aiming and firing the Mark 8 torpedoes, and were never informed of

5133-425: The northern approach to Kolombangara with seven American destroyers to ensure the Japanese were prevented from reinforcing their garrison, though he was not on station till 12:30 a.m. All four Japanese destroyers would evade his grasp, as they arrived one hour early, before Burke had reached his post. The resulting battle would become the largest use of PT boats in the war, and the results would not be promising for

5220-463: The penciled note and Kennedy's coconut message ten nautical miles (12 mi; 19 km) to Wana Wana Island, south of Kolombangara and a quarter of the way to Kennedy's PT Naval base on Rendova Island. There they took little time to rest but linked up with Senior Scout Benjamin Kevu who they told they had found the crew of PT-109 . Kevu sent another scout to inform Evans, north on Kolombangara Island, of

5307-494: The published accounts of the PT-109 incident made Kennedy the key player in rescuing all 11 crew members and made him a war hero. His father, Joseph Kennedy Sr., made sure that these articles were widely distributed, and that it was known that his son was a hero. The articles focused on Kennedy's role in the incident, omitting most of the contributions of Thom, the crew, and the coastwatchers. Thom, Ross, and Kennedy were each awarded

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5394-423: The rescue, as he and his crew were experienced and familiar with the area. Liebenow later said that his crew were chosen because they were "the best boat crew in the South Pacific." PT-171 would travel ahead and radio Liebenow of any sightings of the enemy. Departing just after sunset from Rendova at 7:00 p.m. on 8 August, Liebenow motored PT-157 to Evans' base at Gomu Island, off Kolombangara. To avoid making

5481-496: The scouts on 8 August, Kennedy and his men survived for six days on Plum Pudding and then Olasana Island. They had eaten only a few ripe coconuts, rainwater caught on leaves, and small amounts of fresh water and Japanese cookies Kennedy had taken from Naru Island. By chance, Gasa and Kumana stopped by Naru to investigate a Japanese wreck, from which they salvaged fuel and food. They first fled by canoe from Kennedy, who with his sunburn, beard, and disheveled clothing appeared to them to be

5568-437: The southeast portion. The Navy and its squadron of PT boats held a memorial service for the crew of PT-109 after reports were made of the large explosion, but Commander Warfield, to his credit, ordered an aerial search by Royal New Zealand Air Force P-40 fighters that spotted a few remains of the wreck, but not the crew, who had already swum to safety. Evans had been the first to dispatch islander scouts, Gasa and Kumana, in

5655-406: The torpedoes on PT-109 were two depth charges , omitted on most PTs, one on each side, about the same diameter and directly in front of the launchers. Though designed to be used against submarines, they were sometimes used to confuse and discourage pursuing destroyers. With Kennedy's squadron commander, Lt. Alvin Cluster, at the wheel in storm conditions, PT-109 's port Mark 6 depth charge

5742-548: The torpedoes' ineffectiveness and low rate of detonation. PT-109 had a single 20 mm Oerlikon anti-aircraft mount at the rear with "109" painted on the mounting base, two open circular rotating turrets mounting twin M2 .50 caliber (12.7 mm) anti-aircraft machine guns at opposite corners of the open cockpit, and a smoke generator on the transom, operated as needed when engaging the enemy at close range. The boat's guns were used both offensively and defensively. Seeking to augment

5829-529: The tree line to hide from passing Japanese barges. The night of 2 August, Kennedy swam 2 miles (3.2 km) to Ferguson Passage to attempt to hail a passing American PT boat. On 4 August, he and Lenny Thom assisted his injured and hungry crew on a demanding swim 3.75 miles (6.04 km) south to Olasana Island which was visible to all from Plum Pudding Island. They swam against a strong current, and once again, Kennedy towed McMahon by his life vest. They were pleased to discover Olasana had ripe coconuts, though there

5916-668: The war. In 1940, the U.S. Army's Officer Candidate School had rejected him as 4-F, for his bad back, ulcers and asthma. Kennedy's father persuaded his old friend Captain Allan Goodrich Kirk, USN, head of the Office of Naval Intelligence, to let a private Boston physician certify his son's good health. Kennedy started out in October 1941 prior to Pearl Harbor as an ensign with a desk job for the Office of Naval Intelligence . He

6003-532: The work of native Solomon Island scouts who first located Kennedy and his crew. The scouts were sent by Sub-lieutenant Reg Evans , an Australian coastwatcher , who had seen the 109 explode from his secret observation site. The explosion and resulting fireball on the early morning of 2 August was spotted by Evans, who manned a secret observation post at the top of the Mount Veve volcano on Kolombangara; more than 10,000 Japanese troops were garrisoned below on

6090-461: Was a shortage of suitable engines in the UK at the outbreak of war. British Powerboat Company continued production of his designs in Britain throughout the hostilities. The seakeeping qualities of boats and ease of construction matched to the available Packard engines made a perfect combination. PT-109 was an 80 ft (24 m), 40-ton Elco motor torpedo boat (MTB), one of hundreds built by

6177-427: Was apparent that the hull was taking on water and would soon sink, so the men decided to swim for land, starting around 1:30 p.m. As there were Japanese camps on all the nearby large islands including Kolombangara, the closest, they chose the tiny deserted Plum Pudding Island southwest of where the bow section had drifted. They placed their lantern, shoes, and non-swimmers on one of the timbers that had been used as

6264-426: Was assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2 based on Tulagi island. She participated in combat operations around Guadalcanal from 7 December 1942 to 2 February 1943, when the Japanese withdrew from the island. Despite having a chronically bad back and a history of other illnesses including abdominal pain and scarlet fever as an infant, John F. Kennedy used his father Joseph P. Kennedy 's influence to get into

6351-797: Was assigned to patrol the Panama Canal . Kennedy detached from RON 14 in February 1943, while the squadron was in Jacksonville, Florida, preparing for transfer to the Panama Canal Zone. Still desperately seeking a combat assignment, and on his own volition, Lieutenant Kennedy then contacted family friend and crony, Massachusetts Senator David I. Walsh , Chairman of the Naval Affairs Committee , who diverted his assignment to Panama, and had him sent to PT combat in

6438-424: Was at first skeptical of the messages and the trustworthiness of the native scouts Gasa and Kumana. After finally receiving Evans' radioed message of the discovery of the 109 crew, and facing overwhelming evidence that Kennedy had returned from the dead, he cautiously consented to risk two PTs to rescue them. Warfield selected PT-157 , commanded by Kennedy's friend and former tentmate Lieutenant William Liebenow, for

6525-554: Was based at Tulagi Island, immediately north of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands. Traveling to the Pacific on the large troop carrier Rochambeau , Kennedy witnessed a fierce air strike that killed the ship's captain, and found Kennedy helping to hand shells to supply a large gun on board, giving him his first taste of battle. He arrived at Tulagi on 14 April and took command of PT-109 on 23 April . Although PT-109

6612-447: Was cut in two around 2:27 a.m., a fireball of exploding aviation fuel 100 feet (30 m) high caused the sea surrounding the ship to flame. Seamen Andrew Jackson Kirksey and Harold William Marney were killed instantly, and two other members of the crew were badly injured and burned when they were thrown into the flaming sea surrounding the boat. For such a catastrophic collision, explosion, and fire, there were few men lost compared to

6699-407: Was disestablished on submarines in 1995 and on surface ships on 1 October 2007. Surface torpedomen were merged into the gunner's mate rating, while submarine torpedomen were merged into the machinist's mate (non-nuclear) rating, becoming MM(W) or machinist mates (weapons). It was re-established on 30 September 2019 via NAVADMIN 225/19. The TM rating badge will be the same one in use when the rating

6786-429: Was heading north to Rabaul from Vila Plantation, Kolombangara , after offloading supplies and 902 soldiers . Most contemporary accounts of the incident, particularly the work of Mark Doyle, do not find Kennedy at fault for the collision. The lack of speed and maneuverability of PT-109 while the engines were idling put the vessel at risk from passing destroyers, but Kennedy had not been warned by radio of destroyers in

6873-404: Was her torpedoes. She was fitted with four 21-inch (53 cm) torpedo tubes containing Mark 8 torpedoes. They weighed 3,150 pounds (1,430 kg) each, with 386-pound (175 kg) warheads and gave the tiny boat a punch believed at the time to be effective even against armored ships. The Mark 8, however, was both inaccurate and ineffective until its detonator was recalibrated by the Navy at

6960-486: Was instructed to lie underneath palm fronds in the canoe so he would not be spotted by Japanese planes. It was not until the morning of 7 August that Evans was able to radio Rendova to confirm the news that Kennedy and his crew had been discovered. On the night of 6–7 August, while Kennedy still awaited rescue, Admiral William Halsey , now convinced that PTs were unsuitable against Japanese destroyers, sent six U.S. Navy destroyers equipped with more advanced radar to intercept

7047-447: Was knocked through the foredeck unexpectedly by an inadvertent launch of the port forward torpedo. Cluster had asked Kennedy for a turn at PT 109 ' s wheel, as he had only had experience with the older, Elco 77-foot (23 m) PTs. The torpedo stayed in the tube, half in and half out on a hot run , its propellers spinning, until Kennedy's executive officer Ensign Leonard Thom deactivated it. PT-109 returned to Tulagi for repairs to

7134-483: Was less than a year old, it had seen heavy combat service since its arrival in the Pacific, and considerable repairs were required on the boat; leading by example, Kennedy pitched in to help the crew get his vessel seaworthy. On 30 May , several PT boats of MTBRON 2, including PT-109 , were ordered to the Russell Islands in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia . After the capture of Rendova Island ,

7221-860: Was reassigned to South Carolina in January 1942 because of his affair with Danish journalist Inga Arvad . On 27 July 1942, Kennedy entered the Naval Reserve Officers Training School in Chicago. After completing his Naval Reserve Officer's Training on 27 September , Kennedy voluntarily entered the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center in Melville, Rhode Island, where he was promoted to lieutenant (junior grade) (LTJG). In September 1942, Joseph Kennedy had secured PT Lieutenant Commander John Bulkeley's help in placing his son in

7308-406: Was still no fresh water. On the following day, 5 August, Kennedy and George Ross swam for one hour to Naru Island, visible at an additional distance of about 0.5 miles (0.80 km) southeast, in search of help and food and because it was closer to Ferguson Passage where Kennedy might see or swim to a passing PT boat on patrol. Kennedy and Ross found a small canoe, packages of crackers and candy, and

7395-530: Was struck on her starboard side at a 20-degree angle shearing off a piece of the boat, between Kolombangara and Ghizo Island , near 8°3′S 156°56′E  /  8.050°S 156.933°E  / -8.050; 156.933  ( ramming of PT-109 ) .. There are conflicting accounts as to whether the destroyer captain had rammed PT-109 intentionally. Amagiri ' s captain, Lieutenant Commander Kohei Hanami, later claimed that he intentionally turned hard to starboard and deliberately rammed PT-109 , which

7482-485: Was traveling at a steady pace towards them. However, Hanami's superior officer, Commander of the 11th Destroyer Flotilla Captain Katsumori Yamashiro, and other crewmembers, recalled Yamashiro ordering Hanami to turn hard to port to try to avoid hitting the torpedo boat, for fear of setting off its torpedoes and damaging the ship, but being unable to avoid hitting it despite the evasive maneuver. When PT-109

7569-440: Was written by the executive officer of PT-109 , Ensign Leonard Jay Thom on 6 August. Thom's message was a "penciled note" written on paper, which read: To: Commanding Officer--Oak O From:Crew P.T. 109 (Oak 14) Subject: Rescue of 11 (eleven) men lost since Sunday, August 1 in enemy action. Native knows our position & will bring P.T. Boat back to small islands of Ferguson Passage off NURU IS. A small boat (outboard or oars)

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