''PT-42'' was a of the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
that served during
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
.
History
''PT-42'' was commissioned by the
United States Navy
The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and laid down on 5 May 1941 at the Elco Works of the
Electric Launch Company
The Electric Launch Company, later renamed Elco Motor Yachts ("Elco"), is an American boat building and electric motor company that has operated from 1893 to 1949 and from 1987 to the present.
History
Elco first made its mark at the World's Col ...
(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 12 July 1941; and completed on 25 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
Pearl Harbor is an American lagoon harbor on the island of Oahu, Hawaii, west of Honolulu. It was often visited by the Naval fleet of the United States, before it was acquired from the Hawaiian Kingdom by the U.S. with the signing of the Re ...
.
During the
attack on Pearl Harbor
The attack on Pearl HarborAlso known as the Battle of Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by the Imperial Japanese Navy Air Service upon the United States against the naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii, j ...
, ''PT-42'' 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 ...
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, , credited with shooting down two Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers.]Midway Island
Midway Atoll (colloquial: Midway Islands; haw, Kauihelani, translation=the backbone of heaven; haw, Pihemanu, translation=the loud din of birds, label=none) is a atoll in the North Pacific Ocean. Midway Atoll is an insular area of the Unit ...
[ ''PT-42'' along with , , ''PT-22'', ''PT-24'', ''PT-25'', ''PT-26'', ''PT-27'', ''PT-28'' were assigned to Midway Island while and were assigned to ]Kure Atoll
Kure Atoll (; haw, Hōlanikū, translation=bringing forth heaven; haw, Mokupāpapa, translation=flat island, label=none) or Ocean Island is an atoll in the Pacific Ocean west-northwest of Midway Atoll in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands a ...
( west of Midway Island). During the Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway was a major naval battle in the Pacific Theater of World War II that took place on 4–7 June 1942, six months after Japan's attack on Pearl Harbor and one month after the Battle of the Coral Sea. The U.S. Navy under Adm ...
, 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.motor torpedo boat tender
Motor torpedo boat tender is a type of ship used by the U.S. Navy during World War II and Vietnam War. The motor torpedo boat tender's task was to act as a tender in remote areas for patrol boats (PT-boats) and to provide the necessary fuel and p ...
) were deployed to Palmyra Atoll; ''PT-22'', ''PT-24'', ''PT-27'', and ''PT-28'' were deployed to Adak Island
Adak Island ( ale, Adaax, russian: Адак) or Father Island is an island near the western extent of the Andreanof Islands group of the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. Alaska's southernmost town, Adak, Alaska, Adak, is located on the island. The isl ...
in the Aleutians
The Aleutian Islands (; ; ale, Unangam Tanangin,”Land of the Aleuts", possibly from Chukchi ''aliat'', "island"), also called the Aleut Islands or Aleutic Islands and known before 1867 as the Catherine Archipelago, are a chain of 14 large vo ...
; while ''PT-42'', along with ''PT-20'', ''PT-29'', and ''PT-30'' remained at Pearl Harbor.[
On 12 December 1944, ''PT-42'' was struck from the Navy list due to obsolescence.][
]
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:PT-42
1941 ships
World War II ships of the United States
042
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
World War II patrol vessels of the United States
Ships built in Bayonne, New Jersey