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Post a reply to: Sinking of the 109
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[StartQuote] From what I've read, it was a heck of a fearsome night. Especially for the crew of the 109, I'm impressed that so many managed to survive. The crew stuck together and kept casualities from being worse. One interesting bit I've read is that it was no accident for the Japanese. A translated report states that it saw and aimed for the 109. My guess would be that they may have saw the 109's minimal wake luminescence through the height advantage their lookouts had. Here is an account of the night by the captain of the 105, Dick Keresey: [url]http://www.americanheritage.com/content/farthest-forward[/url] Here's a quote from the article: [green]It was our bad luck that John F. Kennedy, future President of the United States, nearly lost his life in the most fouled-up PT operation in history—and I mean all history since the invention of the first torpedo boat—and that this is about all that most people know about PT boats. On the night of August 2, 1943, fifteen PT boats ventured out into Blackett Strait to attack four Japanese destroyers, the best odds PT boats ever had. We fired thirty-two torpedoes, including four from my 105. We hit nothing! The destroyers kept right on going straight down Blackett Strait and then straight back a couple of hours later, after they had delivered whatever to their troops on New Georgia, and when the 109 got in the way, they ran over it.[/green] Here's an official account of the loss of PT 109: [url]http://www.history.navy.mil/faqs/faq60-11.htm[/url] John, I too would love to read any stories you would care to share. You veterans are the only ones that were there, and the only ones that can help us understand a little of what it was like. [EndQuote]
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