Patrol_torpedo_boat_PT-20

Patrol torpedo boat <i>PT-20</i>

Patrol torpedo boat PT-20

Torpedo boat of the United States Navy

PT-20 was the first PT-20-class motor torpedo boat of the United States Navy that served during World War II. Her first post was at Pearl Harbor PT Boat Base.

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History

PT-20 was commissioned by the United States Navy and laid down on 14 October 1940 at the Elco Works of the Electric Launch Company (now Electric Boat Company) at their Bayonne, New Jersey shipyard; launched on 14 Mar 1941; and completed on 9 June 1941.[1] On 20 June 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.[1] 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.[1][2] During the attack on Pearl Harbor, PT-20 was moored at berth S-13 awaiting loading on the replenishment oiler USS Ramapo (AO-12) for MTBRON 1's assignment to the Philippines.[3] All 12 boats of the squadron fired on the attacking Japanese aircraft with one, PT-23, credited with shooting down two Nakajima B5N "Kate" torpedo bombers.[3]

In May 1942, the squadron was reassigned to Lt. Clinton McKellar Jr. and tasked with the defense of Midway Island[3][4] being led by Marine Corps Colonel Harold D. Shannon. The squadron made the 1,385 mile trip under their own power, then the longest made by PT boats to date[3] refueling at Necker Island, French Frigate Shoals, and Lisianski Island.[5] 11 of the 12 PT boats of MTBRON 1 made it to Midway (PT-23 had broken a crankshaft en route and was forced to return to Pearl Harbor).[3][5] PT-20 along with PT-21, PT-22, PT-24, PT-25, PT-26, PT-27, PT-28, PT-42 were assigned to Midway Island while PT-29 and PT-30 were assigned to nearby Kure Atoll (55 miles west). During the Battle of Midway, 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.[6] On 15 July 1942, the squadron returned to Pearl Harbor and then was divided: PT-21, PT-23, PT-25, and PT-26 (along with motor torpedo boat tender Hilo) were deployed to Palmyra Atoll; PT-22, PT-24, PT-27, and PT-28 were deployed to Adak Island in the Aleutians; while PT-20, PT-29, PT-30, and PT-42 remained at Pearl Harbor.[4] On 22 December 1944, PT-20 was struck from the Navy list due to obsolescence.[1][3] Her fate is unknown.[1]

References

  1. [1]
    Radigan, Joseph M. "Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive PT-20". NavSource - Naval Source History. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
  2. [2]
    Bulkley, Robert Johns (1942). At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy. United States Navy. p. 59. ...when Squadron 1 was directed on August 13 to prepare for assignment to the Pacific Fleet, it was assigned the most nearly complete of the remaining boats, PT's 20 to 30 and PT 42
  3. [3]
    Kilmer, David (18 November 2011). Daughters of Infamy: The Stories of the Ships That Survived Pearl Harbor. iUniverse. pp. 193–195. ISBN 9781462062522.
  4. [4]
    Barbin, Harold L. (23 November 2010). Beachheads Secured Volume I: The History of Patrol Torpedo (PT) Boats, Their Bases, and Tenders of World War II June 1939-August 31, 1945. Xlibris Corporation. p. 400. ISBN 9781450003643.
  5. [5]
    Bulkley, Robert Johns (1962). Bulkley. p. 79.
  6. [6]
    The Battle of Midway Including the Aleutian Phase (PDF). U.S. Naval War College. 1948. p. 120. Meanwhile, at 1920 CNAS Midway decided to employ his motor torpedo boats as an attack squadron and sent a squadron of nine MTB's from Midway and two MTB's from Kure Island to attack the task force containing the burning carriers. They were unable to locate the target. With the coming of daylight they commenced their return to Midway.
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