''PT-59 / PTGB-1'' was an S-Class Patrol Torpedo boat (
PT boat
A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo 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 wa ...
) 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 ...
, built by 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 ...
of
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 ...
. The boat was laid down as Motor Boat Submarine Chaser ''PTC-27'', and was reclassified as ''BPT-11'' when assigned to transfer to Britain under
Lend-Lease
Lend-Lease, formally the Lend-Lease Act and introduced as An Act to Promote the Defense of the United States (), was a policy under which the United States supplied the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and other Allied nations with food, oil, ...
. However, this was cancelled, and she was reclassified as ''PT-59'' prior to launch on 8 October 1941, and was completed on 5 March 1942.
After serving in a training squadron in
Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, ''PT-59'' was reassigned to the protection of the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
before being transported by oceangoing ship to the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
in the South Pacific. It arrived at its home base of
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...
and served successfully, sinking a Japanese submarine by torpedo.
In the fall of 1943, ''PT-59'' was converted into a
gunboat under the direction of its new commander,
Lieutenant
A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations.
The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...
(and future U.S. President)
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
when the chronic inaccuracy of the era's torpedoes and under-arming of the resulting craft were both recognized. She had all four of her torpedo tubes removed, as well as her two depth charges, but retained two heavy 40-millimeter Bofors cannon anti-aircraft guns fitted fore and aft. The refit also added six .50-caliber machine gun nests, with three on each side, behind shields, as well as additional weaponry.
The partially armored craft was then notably used to rescue Marines stranded under heavy Japanese gunfire on
Choiseul Island, and attack both Japanese barges and shore batteries.
Service history
1941 to 1943
''PT-59'' was first assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Four, the training squadron based at
Melville, Rhode Island
Melville is a census-designated place (CDP) in the towns of Middletown and Portsmouth in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States. It lies along the shore of Narragansett Bay. The population of the CDP was 1,320 at the 2010 census. The CDP i ...
.
On 9 April 1942, one of its torpedoes was accidentally fired, hitting the supply ship and causing eight injuries, but no deaths.
It was transferred to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two on 7 May 1942.
At the end of May 1942,
Ensign David M. Levy took over ''PT-59'' and the squadron was sent on anti-submarine duty to
Panama
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cos ...
to guard the
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a conduit ...
and the Central and South American coast. In October 1942 ''PT-59'' departed for the
South Pacific on board the
Liberty ship SS ''Roger Williams''. In November 1942 ''PT-59'' arrived at the
Solomon Islands
Solomon Islands is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands in Oceania, to the east of Papua New Guinea and north-west of Vanuatu. It has a land area of , and a population of approx. 700,000. Its capita ...
with MTB Squadron 2, numbering 8 boats. The squadron was based at Sesapi on
Tulagi
Tulagi, less commonly known as Tulaghi, is a small island——in Solomon Islands, just off the south coast of Ngella Sule. The town of the same name on the island (pop. 1,750) was the capital of the British Solomon Islands Protectorate from 18 ...
Island.
On the night of 9 December,
Lt. (j.g.) John M. Searles USNR, in the ''59'', patrolling with ''PT-44'' at Kamimbo Bay, sighted an enemy barge. As the PT-boats opened fire on the barge, Searles saw a surfaced submarine. He quickly fired two torpedoes, one of which struck it amidships. A geyser of water spouted high in the air, followed by tremendous explosions and a huge oil slick that spread for an hour and a half. It was confirmed that Searles had sunk the submarine , a vessel long, of 1,955 tons standard surface displacement.
In March 1943 ''PT-59'' was sent forward to the
Russell Islands. In the fall of 1943, David M. Levy returned to the United States and was succeeded as commanding officer by Lt. (j.g.)
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination i ...
.
Under Kennedy's command
In September 1943, Kennedy took command of ''PT-59''. Though he had earned the right by Navy custom to be returned to the States, he chose to stay and fight in the Pacific Theater (PTO) after his second command, , was rammed and sunk by the on the early morning of 2 August 1943.
At 74 feet, the ''PT-59'' was six feet shorter than the ''PT-109'', but it would soon bristle with far more and heavier guns and armament, which required a larger crew to operate.
[
]
Crew of ''PT-59'' gunboat
* John F. Kennedy, Lieutenant, Commanding Officer (Boston, Massachusetts).
* Robert Lee "Dusty" Rhoads, Lieutenant JG, Executive Officer, helped test armor of PT gunboat
* I.J. Mitchell, Ensign, Gunnery Officer, former skipper of ''PT-21'' that had been lost running aground on a coral reef
* Glen Christiansen, Chief Gunner's Mate, formerly sunk at Pearl Harbor
* John E. Maguire, Radioman 2/c (RM2), previously sunk on ''PT-109'', (Dobbs Ferry, New York).
* Edman Edgar Mauer, Quartermaster 3/c (QM3), previously sunk on ''PT-109'', (St. Louis, Missouri).
* Edmund Drewich, had crewed on the ''109'', but not on the night it was lost
* John Klee, Gunner's Mate, who crewed on the ''59'' in November, and was likely present at the rescue at Choiseul
* Maurice Kowal, had crewed on the ''109'', but not on the night it was lost. He was later appointed to a National Park Service job by Kennedy as President.
* Leon Drawdy, had crewed on the ''109'', but not on the night it was lost
* Five additional crew were assigned by Lieutenant Alvin Cluster, from the lost and scrapped ''PT-21''
Conversion to a gunboat
On Tulagi Island, under Kennedy's supervision and with his help, ''PT-59'' had all four of her torpedo tubes removed, as well as her two depth charges, and was converted into a more powerful gunboat, and re-designated as ''PTGB-1''. She retained two heavy 40-millimeter Bofors cannon anti-aircraft guns now fitted fore and aft. The refit also added six .50-caliber machine gun nests, with three on each side, behind shields. Shielded twin fifty caliber machine guns were placed behind and on each side of the cockpit elevated on circular mounts, and by some accounts, 2 additional thirty caliber machine guns forward of the cockpit in the front of the boat on each side. The higher caliber guns were added to increase range and power and to make the ''59'' more effective against both Japanese barge traffic, which had powerful guns, and heavy caliber Japanese land and shore based garrisons. Admiral William Halsey
William Frederick "Bull" Halsey Jr. (October 30, 1882 – August 16, 1959) was an American United States Navy, Navy admiral during World War II. He is one of four officers to have attained the rank of five-star Fleet admiral (United States), f ...
and other high ranking naval officers had concluded that the torpedo tubes and Bliss–Leavitt Mark 8 torpedo
The Bliss–Leavitt Mark 8 torpedo was the United States Navy's first 21-inch by 21-foot torpedo. Although introduced prior to World War I, most of its combat use was by PT boats in World War II. The torpedo was originally designed in 1911 by Fran ...
es assigned the old PTs, were highly unreliable and inaccurate; the torpedoes very rarely hit their mark against larger craft, particularly Japanese destroyers and cruisers. The new PT gunboat was given slightly higher quality radar, and a taller radar mast that could, in theory, boost reception and transmission to . Kennedy lived on the boat during its refit, and worked extremely hard according to Lieutenant Alvin Cluster, who stated, "I never saw a guy work harder, longer hours". Kennedy's gunboat, sometimes referred to as ''PT-0001'' was the first completed, and it carefully followed the design and planning of both Kennedy and squadron commander Cluster. Another PT gunboat was given to Lenny Thom, who helped in the refit, and later commanded. Thom had been Kennedy's former executive officer on ''PT-109''.
Both sides of ''PT-59''s highly flammable 3000 gallon gas tanks, housed below decks and immediately behind the cockpit, and the gunwales were reinforced with armor plate to protect them from return fire. Kennedy was aware that the PT's wooden hulls without armor plating could not withstand even a single bullet or bomb fragment, and that the tiniest shard of hot metal could ignite the gas tanks, instantly destroying the boat and killing the crew. The ''59''s crew set up some of the armor for live fire tests and found they could be breached at short range by .30 and .50-caliber machine guns at a frontal angle. On 7 October 1943, the five-week redesign of ''PT-59'' was completed, and on the following day Kennedy was promoted to full lieutenant.
Kennedy's new executive officer was Lt. (j.g.) Robert Lee "Dusty" Rhoads. Rhoads later stated he was impressed that so many men (five) from ''PT-109'' followed Kennedy to his new command. Kennedy's loss of the ''109'' was not viewed as a shortcoming by his crew, many of whom had been on other craft that had sunk or been run aground. Two other gunboats were also converted. The plan was to attach one new gunboat to each PT boat section to add firepower and range, though the extra armor and guns reduced their speed.
Operation Blissful
On 18 October 1943, as American Marine paratroopers first landed on Choiseul Island as a diversionary tactic, ''PT-59'' and crew were ordered to move northwest from their base on Tulagi, to Lambu Lambu Cove, on Vella Lavella Island, a new advanced PT boat base. Over the next month, ''PT-59'' took part in thirteen patrols, initially expected to discourage Japanese barge traffic in the north of Choiseul Island. Kennedy described his month on patrol as "packed with a great deal in the way of death". Constantly tracked by aircraft, Kennedy's refitted ''PT-59'' evaded bombs dropped by Japanese floatplanes on 26 October, though one bomb landed only away.
Operation Blissful was a diversionary raid on Choiseul Island by Marine forces led by Lt. Col. Victor H. Krulak
Victor Harold Krulak (January 7, 1913 – December 29, 2008) was a decorated United States Marine Corps officer who saw action in World War II, Korea and Vietnam. Krulak, considered a visionary by fellow Marines, was the author of ''First to Figh ...
, on 28 October. It was hoped that the raid would convince the Japanese that they needed to send more troops to Choiseul from Bougainville—the Allies' real objective because of its airfields.
Rescuing trapped Marines near Warrior River
On the evening of 1 November 1943, Kennedy was asked by Lt. Arthur Berndsten, the temporary base commander at Lambu Lambu, on the northeast side of Vella Lavella Island, if he would take ''PT-59'' to support a rescue operation around north near the base of Choiseul Island's Warrior River. Berndsten had been contacted by Krulak, the leader of Operation Blissful, who had requested rescue for Marines trapped near the base of Choiseul's Warrior River. (Berndsten had formerly skippered ''PT-171'' when it helped in the rescue of Kennedy and his ''109'' crew the previous August.)
Choiseul Island became a very new Allied target, as the Navy and Marines pushed farther northwest into territories in the Solomons formerly held by the Japanese. With time of the essence, Kennedy was not able to fully re-fuel his boat. Berndsten knew Kennedy did not have enough fuel to make the trip there and back with his gas tanks less than a third full, around seven hundred gallons, so he sent two additional PT's to accompany him and provide support if necessary. Completing their Northbound route to Choiseul, ''PT-59'' first arrived near the shore of the Marine outpost at Voza Village and picked up Kennedy's friend from Rendova, Lieutenant Richard Keresey, and Lt. Col. Krulak, who acted as guides. The officers were picked up from a landing craft near the shore. Motoring around further northwest, and following Choiseul's coastline, the ''59'' arrived in the rain and darkness at the base of the Warrior River around 6:00 p.m. on 1 November, and helped personnel landing craft evacuate 40 to 50 Marines from a company led by Marine Major Warren T. Bigger.
Several Marines were wounded, and came from the 2nd Parachute Battalion of the 1st Marine Parachute Regiment
The Paramarines (also known as Marine paratroopers) was a short-lived specialized combat unit of the United States Marine Corps, trained to be dropped from planes by parachute. Marine parachute training which began in New Jersey in October 19 ...
that had been lost in the jungle and trapped by Japanese shore fire during the recent raid on Choiseul Island, still in progress. The trapped Marines originally numbered around 87, and had faced as many as 900 Japanese during the height of the fighting. Kennedy was reluctant to have his gunners fire on the shoreline, afraid of hitting any of the Marines waiting to evacuate. The ''59'' acted as a shield, positioning itself between the Japanese shore battery and both the escaping Marines in the water and one landing craft bearing Marines, from shore, that had been damaged after running aground on the coral reef. ''PT-59'' took aboard ten Marines near the crippled craft and fed them canned peaches, the first meal they had had in days. Three Marines were wounded, including Corporal Schnell who died in Kennedy's bunk that night, attended by his Marine doctor, whom Kennedy had also picked up.
Kennedy's PT may have slowly departed, as she carried the extra weight of ten Marines. Several of the unwounded Marines held on to gun mounts to steady themselves as the ''59'' departed. The two PT's, including Kennedy's, then escorted the slow-moving landing craft they had shielded from fire back to Voza, and when it was clear they would safely reach their destination, they left the landing craft and returned to their base at Lambu Lambu.
With their speed and maneuverability, the mission demonstrated the ''PTs'' suitability for search and rescue operations, their greatest strength throughout the war. Around 3:00 a.m. on 2 November, ''PT-59'' ran out of gas about halfway back to Lambu Lambu and had to be towed by ''PT-236''. Both PT's were vulnerable to Japanese airstrikes during the slow towing process, and Kennedy called for air support. To Kennedy's dismay, all of the 4-6 Australian P-40's that responded were eventually shot down.
On the evening of 3 November, ''PT-59'' and four other craft traveled around from Lambu Lambu back to the Marine base at Voza Village and screened and escorted several landing craft that carried additional Marines back to Vella Lavella Island. The ''59'' and several other PT's arrived in darkness at Voza around 11:30 p.m. and interspersed themselves around the landing craft waiting to pick up the Marines. The Japanese were stationed near the shore, and began setting off booby traps. By around 1:50 a.m., the Marines began boarding the landing craft, having been ordered to withdraw by Lt. Col. Krulak, who was concerned the Japanese might begin to mortar his troops. When the Marines had fully boarded the landing crafts, the ''59'' and other PT's escorted them around back to Vella Lavella island.
Operation Blissfull's diversionary raid on Choiseul was, for the most part, a success. The Japanese did send reinforcements to Choiseul, weakening their reaction to the Allied Bougainville landing. The Choiseul operation destroyed several hundred tons of enemy fuel and supplies, sank two barges, and destroyed the barge station at Sangigai, Choiseul, disrupting Japanese barge traffic along the coast of Choiseul.
Attacks on barges and shore batteries
At 5:30 a.m on 5 November, ''PT-59'', accompanied by two other PT's, destroyed three Japanese barges they found beached on Moli Island on the Northeast coast of Choiseul Island, near the base of the Warrior River. Though the barges were believed to be unmanned, they would likely never return to duty. Attacking manned barges required the superior use of firepower, and then a quick retreat, and were usually brief, but important actions as barges could ferry both troops and supplies.
On the night of 11 November, the ''59''s gunners fired at two Japanese armored barges emerging from the Warrior River on Choiseul, but they quickly fled. Barge traffic in the vicinity had begun to diminish slightly by this period in the Solomon campaign, as thousands of exhausted Japanese troops on Choiseul began to hope for evacuation northwest to Bouganville Island.
On 13 November, ''PT-59'' had success shelling Sipassa and Guppy Island at the mouth of Choiseul Bay
Choiseul Bay is a bay in the northwestern part of Choiseul Island, Solomon Islands, at .
See also
* Raid on Choiseul
References
*- neutral review of this book her
Bays of the Solomon Islands
{{SolomonIslands-geo-stub ...
, only 2–3 miles northwest of the Warrior River, shown in map at right. According to Christiansen, the ''59'' then saw the flash of a muzzle farther back on the high bluffs of the Warrior River on northern Choiseul Island during return fire, and pinpointed heavy automatic fire at the flash, likely knocking out the shore battery. Flushed with his successes, Kennedy, developed a plan for a daylight raid up the Choiseul's Warrior River, shown in the raid on Choiseul map, above. The concept of a daylight raid was rejected by both his Chief Petty Officer, Christiansen, and his senior squadron commander, Lieutenant Alvin Cluster, who considered the plan risky to the extreme. Though the Warrior River acted as a base of operations for many of their barges, it was fortified by large numbers of Japanese shore batteries, and would have been a deadly mission in daylight. As evidenced by his plan for a daylight raid, many of the ''59''s crew were concerned that Kennedy volunteered for the riskiest missions and constantly sought out danger, but they were usually willing participants.
Cluster gave Kennedy a perfect 4.0 for his leadership as ''PT-59''s commanding officer, writing that Kennedy "demonstrated a cool effectiveness under fire and exhibited good judgement and determination in entirely strange conditions." With Kennedy suffering from a host of ailments, Cluster relieved him of command on 18 November, after a routine patrol off Redman Island in Choiseul Bay. Kennedy had lost twenty pounds in the three previous months and had put back little of the weight, weighing only around 145 pounds at six feet of height. In Lambu Lambu's hospital, Dr. Wharton, concerned about Jack's worsening back problems and continued weight loss, diagnosed "chronic disk disease" and colitis, and passed the news to Cluster who worked to get Kennedy back to the states. First sent to Tulagi for medical care and diagnosis, Kennedy was sent home to the States on 23 December 1943, aboard the ''USS Breton'', and arrived in San Francisco on 7 January. He obtained a Navy desk job at the Submarine Chaser Training Center in Miami in March, was transferred to the Chelsea Naval Hospital
Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to:
Places Australia
* Chelsea, Victoria
Canada
* Chelsea, Nova Scotia
* Chelsea, Quebec
United Kingdom
* Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames
** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...
near Boston by May, and, after months of recuperation, was finally given an honorable discharge in December 1944. After working as a journalist, he would begin his run for the House of Representatives in 1946, using his war time experience as a major feature of his candidacy.
After Kennedy's command
''PT-59'' remained in the Solomons until August 1944, when she and five other 77-ft Elco PT boats, including ''PT-36'' and ''PT-47'' were transported back to the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center at Melville, Rhode Island
Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
. It is safe to assume repairs were performed on the boat by the MTB Base Repair Training Unit. ''PT-59'' was redesignated as a "Small Boat" and renumbered C102583 on 14 October 1944, and along with ex-''PT-47'', used briefly as a crash rescue boat
Crash Rescue Boat is a name used in the United States to describe military high-speed offshore rescue boats, similar in size and performance to motor torpedo boats, used to rescue pilots and aircrews of crashed aircraft. During World War II th ...
at NAS Norfolk, before being transferred to the Philadelphia Navy Yard on 15 December 1944 to serve as a test subject for dehydration tests. Surveyed on 21 March 1947, she was then stricken and sold.
Fate
''PT-59'' quietly ended her days in the 1970s after having served as a fishing boat in Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
. Because ''PT-59'' was thought to be the former ''PT-95'', a 78-foot Huckins PT boat of very different design, no efforts were made to save or salvage her. The actual ''PT-95'' had been scrapped in Newport, Rhode Island, after her services were no longer needed, in September 1945. When the actual identity of the fishing boat was discovered, James "Boat" Newberry, founder of PT Boats Inc., attempted to obtain her; however, her ownership was tangled up in NYC probate court. After an unexpected fire, the boat sunk at its moorings, beside the 207th St. Bridge over the Harlem River, around 1976. The hull sat for years at the bottom of the river and slowly rotted away.
In May 2017, Kennedy biographer William Doyle announced preliminary explorations in the Harlem River near 208th Street indicated a strong possibility that ''PT-59'' could be found and recovered. He is looking to raise funds from Kennedy focused organizations to fully explore the area. In June 2020 the Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced that parts of the boat had been recovered during preparations to construct a seawall.
Legacy
Byron "Whizzer" White
Byron "Whizzer" Raymond White (June 8, 1917 April 15, 2002) was an American professional football player and jurist who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1962 until his retirement in 1993.
Born and raised in Color ...
served as Deputy Attorney General under Kennedy who later appointed White as an Associate Justice to the Supreme Court in the early 1960s. White had acted as the intelligence officer for Commander Thomas Warfield, Kennedy's commanding officer while he served in Rendova, and had investigated the sinking of the ''PT-109''. He joined Kennedy on several patrols of ''PT-59'', while Kennedy captained the boat from Lambu Lambu. Kennedy appointed Paul Burgess ("Red") Fay Jr., skipper of ''PT-167'', as Under Secretary of the Navy. Several of the crew of PT-109 rode on a patrol boat float at his inauguration. In 1948, as a member of the House of Representatives, Kennedy came out strongly in favor of retaining the Marines as a separate division of the armed services.[Kennedy favored keeping Marines as separate armed service as House Representative in ]
Awards
*American Campaign Medal
The American Campaign Medal is a military award of the United States Armed Forces which was first created on November 6, 1942, by issued by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. The medal was intended to recognize those military members who had perfo ...
* Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal with three battle stars
* World War II Victory Medal
Notes
Bibliography
*
*
*
*
*
* Rottman, Gordon L. ''US Patrol Torpedo Boats'', New Vanguard 148, Osprey Publishing Ltd., 2008,
External links
Briefing - ''PT-59''s First Victory
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pt-059
John F. Kennedy
World War II patrol vessels of the United States
059
1941 ships