A Story about PT Boats
923905
They Were Expendable, 1945 film

"The cooperation of the US Navy, Army, Coast Guard and Office of Strategic Services made this production possible." The movie begins in Manila Bay 1941. Patrol Torpedo boats show their maneuverability to the Admiral. Officers relax in a bar. Rusty wants to return to a destroyer. One officer is retiring after 30 years. A soldier brings news to the top officers. All Army and Navy personnel must report to their posts on this Sunday. There is an alarm for Cavite, the Navy base. Boats are sent into the Bay for protections. They fire at the attacking enemy airplanes. There is damage to the base. An enemy invasion force is approaching. The Navy will move to Bataan. Their job is to do as much damage to the enemy as possible. Can they sink the Jap cruiser shelling Bataan? The shore batteries attack and hit one boat. The second boat fires it torpedoes and hits the target, a converted cruiser.

The sailors return to base. Rusty recovers in the hospital from a wound. "Blood poisoning" was a serious disease before modern antibiotics. [The film moves slowly here, padding to fill up time.] The top general and key personnel will be evacuated to Mindanao and then flown to Australia. They visit a man in sick bay, he has letters to post. The key personnel arrive with the top general for transport to Mindanao. Do they have aviation gasoline and torpedoes? One boat is damaged by the coral and its engines must be repaired. They hear about the approaching Japanese cruiser and destroyers that can attack the supply ships. Can the torpedo boats stop them? They try, and succeed. Enemy seaplanes attack them. One boat is disabled, then hit by a bomb. The survivors hear of the fall of Bataan from a San Francisco radio station. A remaining PT boat is turned over to the Army. [The story moves slowly here.]

The remaining sailors see the retreating soldiers. Brickley and Ryan will be returned to America so their experiences can be used for new PT boats. The transport airplane is loaded with thirty men. Their job is to get ready to back to the islands. The others will take their chances. And so the story ends. [The viewers of this 1945 movie know what happened afterwards.] This movie was produced when the war was about over. It does not have the action and drama found in earlier movies, or others from this era. It runs on too long. There were better films made during this time, and afterwards. Modern technology has done away with torpedo boats for most countries. Small countries may still use this low-cost method of defense at sea. Fighter-bombers and rockets are now the weapons of choice to attack or defend naval ships.
1846172
I thought this was a wonderful book.  It tells a simple story of people meeting up and going sailing, including a cruise of several days. In the process of telling this story, the author imparts a continuous stream of sailing knowledge throughout. I just completed a review of "Sea Steading", by  FitzGerald, and just realized that these books have the same philosophy on sailing and opinion on powerboats. But, this book is more of a joy to read.

The Compleat Cruiser is a bit dated, written in the 50s I believe, which adds an interesting historical aspect. But, it is also a shame that the story isn't updated to reflect what we would find today in the locales described in the book.  Read the book and then find a kid to give it to, you might create a sailor out of him or her.
4053449
The photos showing restored Higgins boats are outstanding and gives the reader with the physical internals of the boats.  I have seen the Higgins boat at the Museum of the Pacific in Fredericksburg, TX, and at Battleship Cove in Fall River, MA.  PT Boats were truly the most compact and lethal craft in the Navy inventory in WW2.  While the boats did not boast of a lot of kills against Japanese warships, they certainly made a mess of Japanese troop carrying barges.  Every page has photos or line drawings with concisely written captions.  A naval buffs treat.
1023287
This Documentary brought back a lot of memories..I served on a Diesel Electric Boat Submarine (the Razorback SS394) which was commissioned in 1944 and mentioned in this film.  I joined the Submarine Oct 1960 after graduating from Sub School in New London, CN. I qualified (received my Dolphins) on the Razorback April of 1961. I believe any viewer would find this film informative and well worth the purchase price.
On another Note: The Razorback is now moored in North Little Rock, AK on the Arkansas River and serves as a maritime museum. Please go visit this fine Lady, she is in excellent shape and everything is original and in working order. You could even make arrangements to do a sleep over on the boat. If you would like to see and hear her do an engine start..the video is posted on Utube.
John
2953127
I was stationed in Sasaboo a few couple years later.  with ComServRon Three aboard the Ajax and Hector.  Very nostalgic for me.  also a good story for the Navy of Sasebo.
2207363
Thanks in part to the real-image of Jack Kennedy on PT-109 and part to the TV-image of Quinton McHale on PT-73, the role of U.S. Navy PT Boats in the Second World War has assumed a larger place in collective memory than their actual contributions might suggest. Nevertheless, there have been relatively few books on this subject. Osprey's New Vanguard No. 148, US Patrol Torpedo Boats by Gordon L Rottman, provides a handy summary of these warships used in the Second World War, although its primary utility will be for model-builders. The author does succeed in inserting some tables with useful data, but the description on wartime operations in sparse.

The initial section describes the design and development of U.S. PT boats in the pre-war period, although the first prototypes were not ready until 1940. The U.S. Navy opted to build two main types of PT Boats: the 78-foot Elco and the 80-foot Higgins. A B/W overhead plate on page 10 shows the main differences between the two classes. There is also a very nice cutaway color plate of an Elco-Boat as well as five other color plates depicting various camouflage schemes used during the war - certainly useful for model builders. The author then describes the armament, propulsion and communications of the PT Boat classes. Initially, the U.S. Navy saw PT Boats as a cost-expedient means to threaten enemy capital ships with torpedo attack in shallow waters but in fact, PT Boats rarely went up against enemy warships larger than a destroyer. Instead, their main targets ended up being enemy barges and other coastal traffic.

There are several nice tables in this volume. One of the best lists a complete inventory of all US-built PT Boats, noting how many of each type were built each year and who received them (USN, Soviets or Britain). Another table lists PT Boat losses (of 69 lost in World War II, only 24 were lost to enemy action) and another lists all MTB Squadrons (listing areas of operations and dates of service). However, there is no data presented on cumulative PT Boat losses inflicted on the enemy, which would have helped to clarify their actual contributions.

 On page 28, slightly more than halfway through the volume, the author shifts to describing the PT Boat in Action. A big chunk of this section focuses on the PT Boat crews, followed by another chunk on forward bases and support units. A color plate depicting two Elco boats attacking a Japanese barge convoy in the Solomons is a bit crude. A short summary of combat operations is covered in just six pages, listing a few actions each from the South Pacific, English Channel and Mediterranean (don't expect much mention of PT-109, btw). Finally, the author mentions the handful of PT Boats still in existence today, including those at the PT Boat Museum in Fall River, MA (my hometown). Overall, not a bad volume but it has the feel of a Wikipedia article (incl. one photo used from the Wikipedia article on PT Boats) and the value-added content is a bit thin. As someone who has actually been to the PT Boat Museum, I think that there are a lot of photos and other material that could have been included, perhaps at the expense of cutting back a bit on the description of the boat's equipment.
3253928
I also served on a Fletcher class ship in the late1960's. USS Marshall  DD 676. The ship had not changed that much. There weren't  any  40 or 20 cal AA guns but the depth charges still sat on the fan tail (stern) of the ship. I'm very proud to have been assigned to a ship that real hero's served in. Thanks Claud for sharing your memories with the world.  They have brought back memories of my own that I should write down for my posterity. Telling them what walking on a bulkhead is really a great experience.
3451757
Fascinating; study the development of the Second World War at a very micro level with a small boat approach.  It is interesting to see the PT boat develop and change over the course of the war with its developing tasks and roles.  From Torpedo to gun boat, landing spies to D-Day landing, it is all given in this text.
1630294
I enjoyed reading this history/story, as I knew nothing about the sport and how popular it was.  I came across the title by someone mentioning it during a conversation, and then as a suggestion on Amazon that was given while browsing another book.  I did  find the thorough descriptions of boat building and extreme training that went into it interesting, but felt that it could have been a bit shorter.

I have recommended this book to other both while I was reading it, and after.
3285420
I enjoyed this book because the author wrote a book about every sailor who was on a Destroyer, and enjoyed good fun, rough riding and tough work. I don't know why he didn't name his ship, he seemed proud to serve on her. I think anybody who served on her knows who she is. I even know who she is and I was never near her. He shouldn't have posted the picture with his DESRON 4 patch. i guess it was a subconscious action, as he seemed proud of her.
496886
I first read about the Israeli boats in action during 1973 in a very brief summary in a book about naval technology since world war two.  Ever since that brief summary I wanted to learn more about them.

While this book doesn't go into details about their naval actions during the war, it was a fabulous read about how they acquired the boats.  What Israel had to do to acquire and take home ships that they had purchased is such a great story.  Also the logistical considerations on being able to get the boats back to Israel was interesting.  i guess it is a great lesson in international politics of careful who you do business with because one day they will take your money and the next day they'll decide not to deliver the goods.
1962490
These world war11 Submarine stories are really amazing. These Sailors were real hero's . I got to see most of these
Old Diesel Submarines when I was stationed at the Navy Submarine Base in Groton Connecticut in 1960. As they were
getting rid of them and going Nuclear. Amazing book
1202831
Although a well-known story, I thought the details of the various parts of the whole (working the small boats, details of parts of the ship and weapons and ship life) we very interesting.
4351431
After reading this i'm amazed I survived many trips on old T-2 ships in the 1970's.  Many were across the North Atlantic in the winter.  From a marine engineering perspective it needs some editing but a good read none-the-less.
3614681
I enjoyed this book because it also went into the people who were on the boat, both crew and passengers. I liked that it followed up the lives of those people who survived especially that the captain was torpedoed again survived again.  It also went into the lives of the crew on the U Boat.  It was interesting to learn what the captain wrote in his book log regarding the sinking of the Lusitania.
4535059
"Sea Of Sharks" by Elmer Renner and Ken Birks.  Subtitled: "A Sailor's World War II Survival Story". Naval Institute Press, 2004.
Many years after the events, these two gentlemen got together to write the ever so brief history of the World War II minesweeper, YMS-472.  This was a tiny vessel, constructed of wood, so as to avoid setting off magnetic mines.  The beginning chapters deal with the commission of the ship, the accidents during practice and drill, and the routine efforts of the YMS-472 operating out of Governor's Island, in the harbor of New York City. As the war wound down, a group of minesweepers were ordered from the East Coast to the Pacific theatre.  Mr. Renner's description of the voyage to the Pacific is an excellent sea  story in itself.  The crew had been concerned with the fact that the vessel's number, 472, added up to 13 ... which sailors considered unlucky,.  Then, their date of arrival was scheduled as the 13th.  Renner brings up many of the superstitions of the crew ..."hard luck ship",  and the need for him, as an officer, to deal with such personnel problems (see Chapter Two, entitled appropriately , "Thirteens", pp. 29-51).  There is a lot of old Navy in this section.

From Chapter Three ("Typhoon"), to the end of the book, Renner deals with the so-called "Makurazaki Typhoon",  September 1945, the destruction it wrought, and the capsizing of the tiny YMS-472.  Renner's description of actual shuddering and capsizing of the vessel is extremely frightening.  The last few chapters deal the survivors' days in a very small raft, their attempts to swim to an island (with one sailor being eaten by a shark),  the lack of search and rescue by the U.S. Navy, and  their rescue, apparently by a chance sighting.

Renner indicts the U.S. Navy for either a sin of omission, if the Navy staff at Okinawa did  know that the YMS-472 was missing at sea, or for a sin of commission, if the same Navy staff  did not even make an effort to find the YMS-472 and her survivors. Twenty  five men went down with the ship.  RIP.
4499471
Bearing Drift is a compelling story of a young man growing up with a love of the water who almost lost his life in one of the Coast Guard's worst disasters at sea. That disaster was the sinking of the CG Cutter Cuyahoga that claimed the lives of several of Peter Eident's Coast Guard cadet classmates who were on their first training cruise. Their ship was rammed at night by a freighter as a result of operational errors that led to trials and court marshals all described in detail by the author who was on deck at the time of the collision and who participated in the long legal actions. Peter Eident describes the chain of errors that culminated in this tragedy as well as the Coast Guard's changes in training, equipment and operational procedures instituted because of this and other Coast Guard accidents. He also describes, in a humorous way, his growing up on Cape Cod which provides great balance to the sadness of the Cuyahoga tragedy.