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 Author  Topic: Biak Mission w/Alamo Scouts
Alamo Scout

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Nov 30, 2009 - 6:31pm
Gentlemen, Just received two patrol reports from the National Archives and learned that a mission to land a team of Alamo Scouts (Dove Team) on Biak was aborted...twice. A few details are:

Mission 1) PT-365 OTC along w/PTs 192, 196, 363 & 364.
19/20 May 1944 - PT struck a log at 1900hrs/19 May 44. Attempted to put Scouts on another boat, but stormy seas prevented it. Returned to Hollandia on 20 May.

Mission 2) PTs 146, 148, 151, 152 & 367 reattempted the mission to Biak on 21 May 1944, but bad gasoline and lack of coordination w/bombers scrubbed mission.

Anyone recall the mission(s)?

Thanks again,



Lance

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Shaneo2

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Shaneo2  Posted on: Nov 30, 2009 - 8:27pm
I cannot comment on the mission, but this reminds me of something I learned on this trip to the Solomons:

May 1944 - PT struck a log at 1900hrs/19 May 44

I was talking to a ex-pat in the Solomon Islands whose father served on a Commonwealth flagged small coastal vessels. He told me his father served both in New Guinea and the Northern Solomons (Bougainville), and also of one technique the Japanese would use to create hazards for Allied shipping (in particular PT boats)- this was to cut down large numbers of large trees up river, so they would float out to sea as huge logs.

The ex pats father manned one of several vessels that were supposed to look for these logs- and then try to tow, or use other means to destroy these trees as they were hazards to shipping/PT's.


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Alamo Scout

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message   Posted on: Dec 1, 2009 - 5:21pm
Shaneo2, thanks for relating the story about the logs. I had never heard that before, but it makes great sense.

Lance

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Shaneo2

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Post a Reply To This Topic    Reply With Quotes     Edit Message     View Profile of Shaneo2  Posted on: Dec 1, 2009 - 6:18pm
Lance- no worries there for the post. I found it off great interest when it was related to me, as I too had never heard of this before- but like you mentioned it made sense as a technique the Japanese would use. I live in the Pacific North West and boating here and up through the inland passage often involves keeping a lookout for "dead heads". New Guinea and the Solomons had huge amounts of large trees in WW-II those trees would make large logs to foul allied ship navigation.


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