PT-30 was a of the United States Navy American that served during World War II.

History

''PT-30'' was commissioned by the United States Navy and laid down on 7 March 1941 at the Elco Works of the Electric Launch Company (now Electric Boat Company) at their

Bayonne, New Jersey Bayonne ( ) is a city in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States. Located in the Gateway Region, Bayonne is situated on a peninsula located between Newark Bay to the west, the Kill Van Kull to the south, and New York Bay to the east. As of ...

shipyard; launched on 28 May 1941; and completed on 5 July 1941. She was commissioned and attached to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two (MTBRon 2) under the command of Lt. Comdr. Earl S. Caldwell and assigned to patrol the

Panama Canal Zone The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...

. On 13 August 1941, she was transferred to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron One (MTBRon 1) under the command of Lt. William C. Specht and assigned to Pearl Harbor. During the attack on Pearl Harbor, ''PT-30'' was already loaded on the

replenishment oiler A replenishment oiler or replenishment tanker is a naval auxiliary ship with fuel tanks and dry cargo holds which can supply both fuel and dry stores during underway replenishment (UNREP) at sea. Many countries have used replenishment oilers. The ...

USS Ramapo (AO-12) USS ''Ramapo'' (AO-12), was a replenishment oiler. It was built under U.S. Shipping Board contract, was laid down on 16 January 1919 by the Newport News Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Newport News, Virginia; launched on 11 September 1919; and co ...

'' for MTBRon 1's assignment to the Philippines and as she could not get her motors started, the hydraulics on their gun turrets were not operative. Crewmembers cut the hydraulic lines and operated the turrets manually. All 12 boats of the squadron fired on the attacking Japanese aircraft with one, ''

PT-23 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contemporar ...

'', credited with shooting down two Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers. In May 1942, the squadron was reassigned to Lt. Clinton McKellar Jr. and tasked with the defense of Midway Island being led by Marine Corps Colonel Harold D. Shannon. The squadron made the 1,385 mile trip under their own power, then the longest made by PT boats to date refueling at Necker Island, French Frigate Shoals, and Lisianski Island. 11 of the 12 PT boats of MTBRon 1 made it to Midway (''

'' had broken a crankshaft en route and was forced to return to Pearl Harbor). ''PT-30'' along with '' PT-29'' were assigned to Kure Atoll (55 miles west of Midway Island) while '' PT-20'', '' PT-21'', ''PT-22'', ''PT-24'', ''PT-25'', ''PT-26'', ''PT-27'', ''PT-28'', '' PT-42'' were assigned to Midway Island. During the Battle of Midway, they were tasked with providing anti-aircraft support (''PT-21'' and ''PT-22'' were credited with downing a Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter), patrolling the perimeter of the island, and the rescuing of downed pilots. After the battle, the squadron was sent to attack the remainder of the Japanese task force but was unable to locate the target. On 15 July 1942, the squadron returned to Pearl Harbor and then was divided: ''PT-21'', ''PT-23'', ''PT-25'', and ''PT-26'' (along with motor torpedo boat tender ') were deployed to Palmyra Atoll; ''PT-22'', ''PT-24'', ''PT-27'', and ''PT-28'' were deployed to Adak Island in the Aleutians; while '' PT-20'', '' PT-29'', ''PT-30'', and '' PT-42'' remained at Pearl Harbor. On 6 March 1944, PT-30 was struck from the Navy list due to obsolescence. She was sold in January 1947.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:PT-30 1941 ships World War II ships of the United States

030 030 may refer to: * Motorola 68030 * BR-030 * Geographical telephone calling prefixes ** Greater Accra area code, Ghana ** Utrecht, Netherlands ** Berlin, Germany ** Bar Municipality and Ulcinj Municipality Ulcinj Municipality (Montenegrin la ...

World War II patrol vessels of the United States Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey