Download or read book Torpedoboat Sailor written by Charles Minor Blackford and published by . This book was released on 1968 with total page 182 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book PT Boat Odyssey written by Robert P. Gelzheiser and published by McFarland. This book was released on 2019-09-04 with total page 304 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: “Nicely illustrated with black-and-white historical photos…extraordinary…impressively informative…. Expertly organized and presented…recommended”—Midwest Book Review During the Pacific War between the United States and Imperial Japanese navies, the author's father, Francis Gelzheiser, deployed with Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 16A, from New Orleans to Panama to Seattle and to Attu Island in the Aleutians. After their return voyage, the PT boats journeyed to New Guinea, then battled Japanese kamikazes for the Philippine Island of Mindoro. Like many World War II veterans, Gelzheiser only shared his recollections of combat later in life. The author chronicles his father's experience, details the roles PT boats played in the war and examines why, despite America's overwhelming wartime manufacturing capacity, the Japanese believed they could still win the war.

Download or read book US Patrol Torpedo Boats written by Gordon L. Rottman and published by Bloomsbury Publishing. This book was released on 2011-03-15 with total page 50 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Motor torpedo boat development began in the early 1900s, and the vessels first saw service during World War I. However, it was not until the late 1930s that the US Navy commenced the development of the Patrol Torpedo or PT boat. The PT boat was designed for attacking larger warships with torpedoes using its 'stealth' ability, high-speed and small size to launch and survive these attacks – although they were employed in a wide variety of other missions, including rescuing General MacArthur and his entourage from the Philippines. This book examines the design and development of these unique craft, very few of which survive today, and goes on to examine their role and combat deployment in World War II.

Download or read book Wooden Boats and Iron Men written by Lilly Robbins Brock and published by . This book was released on 2016-09-01 with total page 146 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: When the author found two letters written by her now deceased father while he was on the battlefront of World War II, she knew she had to find a World War II veteran still living amongst us and tell his story. She found her veteran.Every veteran has a story. This is the life account of a World War II PT sailor whose love for the motor torpedo boat has lasted over seventy years. When the eighteen-year-old Oklahoman stepped onto the deck of the PT boat for the first time in 1944, his life was forever entwined with the PT boat.This is also the story of the rescue of PT-658 when a group of silver-haired Navy veterans set out to find and restore a surviving motor torpedo boat. When they found PT-658, she was half sunk and rotting in an estuary of San Francisco Bay. Through the efforts of this PT sailor and other veteran sailors and volunteers, the grand lady is back. PT-658 is the only fully operational World War II PT boat remaining in the world.

Download or read book At Close Quarters PT Boats In The United States Navy Illustrated Edition written by Captain Robert J. Bulkley Jr. and published by Pickle Partners Publishing. This book was released on 2015-11-06 with total page 796 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Includes over 110 illustrations charting the history of the US Navy PT Boats. “The destiny of our country has been inextricably interwoven with the sea. This was never more true than in the giant World War II that involved all seas and most of mankind. To fight the sea war we needed many types of ships, large and small, from aircraft carriers and battleships to PT boats. “Small though they were, the PT boats played a key role. Like most naval ships, they could carry out numerous tasks with dispatch and versatility. In narrow waters or in-fighting close to land they could deliver a powerful punch with torpedo or gun. On occasion they could lay mines or drop depth charges. They could speed through reefs and shark infested waters to rescue downed pilots or secretly close the shore to make contacts with coast watchers and guerrilla forces. PT boats were an embodiment of John Paul Jones’ words: “I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast for I intend to go in harm’s way.” “Naval strength must function from shore to shore and on inland waters where the mobility and flexibility provided by ships can be employed to support land operations. PT boats filled an important need in World War II in shallow waters, complementing the achievements of greater ships in greater seas. This need for small, fast, versatile, strongly armed vessels does not wane. In fact it may increase in these troubled times when operations requiring just these capabilities are the most likely of those which may confront us. “The thorough and competent account herein of over-all PT boat operations in World War II, compiled by Captain Robert Bulkley, a distinguished PT boat commander, should therefore prove of wide interest. The widest use of the sea, integrated fully into our national strength, is as important to America in the age of nuclear power and space travel as in those stirring days of the birth of the Republic.”–President John F Kennedy.

Download or read book Mtbstc written by Charles B. Jones and published by Nimble Books. This book was released on 2011-03-01 with total page 354 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book is the first comprehensive history of an important, but mostly overlooked, element of the World War II Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats: the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadrons Training Center (MTBSTC) in Melville, Rhode Island. While not every sailor who served on PT boats went through the training at MTBSTC, every PT sailor was affected by what went on there. The MTBSTC created the PT boats' operational policies and tactics, as well as weapons and equipment experimentation and development. Even the orders the men received for their PT boat assignment were dictated by the MTBSTC. Most of the books written about PT boats have only a passing reference to the MTBSTC. This lack of detailed information on the Training Center has left a large hole in the overall printed history of PT boats. This book fills that gap. This book documents the Training Center from its beginnings when the land was undeveloped swampland, through its growing pains during construction and expansion during the war. It traces the problems of developing a training curriculum from scratch, the struggles to keep the training current, up through the point when the training reached its peak of proficiency just as the war ended. It provides insight into what life was like for the sailors that spent two to three months going through the training program and of those who were stationed at the Training Center as instructors or staff personnel. This book also details the Training Center's post-war career and its current development as a thriving marina and boat building enterprise. This book is culled from the MTBSTC's wartime correspondence files and other deck logs, published and unpublished books, articles, and reports; and interviews with PT boat veterans who underwent the training at the MTBSTC. It is lavishly illustrated with archival, private, and public photographs, most of which have never been published before. This book completes the written history of the PT boats in World War II.

Download or read book At Close Quarters written by Robert J. Bulkley and published by Naval Institute Press. This book was released on 2012-04-15 with total page 612 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Small though they were, PT boats played a key role in World War II, carrying out an astonishing variety of missions where fast, versatile, and strongly armed vessels were needed. Called "weapons of opportunity," they met the enemy at closer quarters and with greater frequency than any other type of surface craft. Among the most famous PT commanders was John F. Kennedy, whose courageous actions in the Pacific are now well known to the American public. The author of the book, another distinguished PT boat commander in the Pacific, compiled this history of PT-boat operations in World War II for the U.S. Navy shortly after V-J Day, when memories were fresh and records easily assessable. The book was first made available to the public in 1962 after Kennedy's inauguration as president of the United States interest in PTs was at a peak. Bulkley provides a wealth of facts about these motor torpedo boats, whose vast range of operation covered two oceans as well as the Mediterranean and the English Channel. Although their primary mission was to attack surface ships and craft close to shore, they were also used effectively to lay mines and smoke screens, to rescue downed aviators, and to carry out intelligence and raider operations. The author gives special attention to the crews, paying well-deserved tribute to their heroism, skill, and sacrifice that helped to win the war.

Download or read book Torpedoes and Torpedo vessels written by Sir George Elliot Armstrong and published by . This book was released on 1896 with total page 332 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Lieutenant Ralph Osborn Aboard a Torpedo Boat Destroyer written by Edward Latimer Beach and published by . This book was released on 1912 with total page 372 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Under a Blood Red Sun written by John J. Domagalski and published by Casemate. This book was released on 2016-11-30 with total page 237 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: During the opening days of World War II in the Pacific, a small group of American sailors in the Philippines were propelled into the forefront of the fighting. They were manned with six small wooden torpedo (PT) boats and led by a courageous, larger-than-life character in Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley. The men of Torpedo Boat Squadron 3 faced insurmountable odds as they conducted a series of heroic operations against the navy and air power of Imperial Japan. As AmericaÕs defense of the Philippines crumbled under the weight of a massive Japanese assault, the courageous activities of BulkeleyÕs men made headlines across the U.S.Ñoften as the only good news coming from the bleak Pacific front. The unit achieved everlasting fame by evacuating General Douglas MacArthur from the front. Then the squadron continued to fight on until all six of its torpedo boats were lost under fire. The fate of the doomed American defenders was sealed when the Japanese won the battle for the islands in the spring of 1942. The exploits of the unit were immortalized in the blockbuster 1945 movie They Were Expendable, starring John Wayne and Robert Montgomery, but since then the saga of Bulkeley and his men has slipped into history. Under a Blood Red Sun revives the story of the Philippine PT-boats through the intertwined accounts of Bulkeley and his subordinate officers and men. It is a story of the courage and sacrifice of men thousands of miles from their homeland, representing American gallantry and fighting prowess, while giving the Japanese a taste of what was further to come their way.

Download or read book Night Action written by Peter Dickens and published by Pen and Sword. This book was released on 2008-08-30 with total page 328 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A highly decorated Royal Navy officer recounts his experiences at the command of a motor torpedo boat in the North Sea during WWII. In 1942-43, Captain Peter Dickens commanded the 21st MTB Flotilla, mainly in the North Sea and the English Channel. In Night Action, he vividly recounts his experiences performing daring missions amid storms of gunfire, usually under the cover of darkness. Dickens and his crew managed to closely engage enemy convoys and escorts in high-speed attacks and wreak havoc among the German supply lines. Like the sailors who fought Nazi U-boats in the battle of the Atlantic, Dickens and his comrades were experiencing a new kind of warfare and had to develop techniques and tactics as they went along; their kind of action called for great courage, spilt-second timing and complete understanding between captain and crew. For his bravery and heroism, Dickens was awarded The Distinguished Service Order, a Distinguished Service Cross, and The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire. In Night Action, he offers a frank depiction of live aboard the 21st MTB Flotilla, combining comradery and humor with the true horror of war

Download or read book Hunters of the Night written by R. Thomas Campbell and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 208 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: A fascinating story of the design and development of the Confederate torpedo boats and the courageous officers who took them into battle.

Download or read book The Evolution of the Submarine Boat Mine and Torpedo from the Sixteenth Century to the Present Time written by Murray Fraser Sueter and published by . This book was released on 1907 with total page 674 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Pieces of History written by Frank J Andruss and published by Nimble Books. This book was released on 2020-12-15 with total page 172 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Simply put, there has never been a braver or more dashing collection of US navy sailors, ever. SEALS, naval aviators, submariners, yes, to be sure, they're all very dashing and very brave--but PT boat crews stood in shirtsleeves on the decks of wooden speedboats and sprinted under heavy fire toward enemy warships a hundred times their size. They didn't have Kevlar vests, they didn't have air superiority, and they didn't have stealth technology. They took great risks, in person, at the height of WWII, at the times and in the theaters where the risk of defeat was at its highest. PT Boats fought it out with the enemy under heavy fire, often at night, against warships, planes, barges, and shore installations. For quite a long time, PT boats and PT boat sailors were incredibly famous. Douglas Macarthur was rescued from the Phillippines aboard a PT boat. The most decorated PT boat captain, Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, was awarded the Medal of Honor. During the war years PT boat images were plastered on every conceivable type of marketing paraphernalia. Arguably the most handsome and charismatic US President ever, John F. Kennedy, was a PT boat captain and hero. His boat, PT 109, and crew were prominently featured in his 1960 election campaign. Had he survived to serve out two terms and live the full life he deserved, we would still be reading about PT 109. Such is the power and fickleness of myth. The artifacts that Frank shares with readers do a wonderful job of conveying the feeling of time and place. Myths can and should rise again. This book includes 239 color images with detailed captions. There is a Foreword by PT boat sailor and World War II veteran Arthur John Frongello, Quartermaster Third Class, who served aboard PT 302 as a member of Squadron 22. Author Frank J. Andruss, Sr. writes in the Preface: My passion for the history of the PT boats began as a very young child, when, in 1967, my Dad suggested that I watch the movie PT 109. This started my life-long journey in which as a young twenty-year-old I had the pleasure of meeting so many PT boat veterans and started to collect some of these treasured artifacts of the PT Navy. Over the years I would begin to create "The Mosquito Fleet Exhibit" in which I would use these artifacts to tell the story and provide the history that so many people did not know about. It is my hope that, through these artifacts that were such a large part of PT history, this book brings new attention to the PT navy during World War II. In this book I hope to tell the stories of the brave sailors that served on the boats. PT boats played important roles from the first days of the war. They were in the Philippines, at Guadalcanal, at New Guinea, in the Med, at Surigao Strait. Their crews deserve to be remembered when World War II history is told. Although the PT boat has long since gone, the bravery of the men who rode on her decks should never be forgotten.

Download or read book PT Boat Episodes written by Roger M. Jones and published by Merriam Press. This book was released on 2000 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Dark Nights Deadly Waters written by Keith Warren Lloyd and published by Rowman & Littlefield. This book was released on 2023-11-07 with total page 320 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Eighty feet long, built of layered mahogany and powered by three monstrous 1500-horsepower V-12 engines, the US Navy’s Patrol Torpedo (PT) boats screamed across the water at over forty knots. They were not only fast, but also armed to the teeth, bristling with a deadly array of machine guns, automatic cannons, torpedoes, and depth charges. Duty aboard the boats was often reserved for the spirited, the aggressive, and the very young, the average age of a PT sailor being twenty-four years of age. The “mosquito boats” carried out a variety of missions during the war, including scouting and reconnaissance, attacking enemy shipping, search and rescue, interdiction of supply routes, strafing of enemy shore installations, supporting coast watchers and special operations forces, and even putting armed crew members ashore to perform commando-style raids on far-flung enemy outposts. The boats were used in every theater of the Second World War, but they are most famous for their daring exploits in the South Pacific, where they were the US Navy’s first line of defense against the “Tokyo Express,” the nightly attacks of Japanese destroyers against American forces on Guadalcanal. Dark Nights, Deadly Waters tells the story of the first PT boats deployed to the fetid and malarial island of Tulagi, in the desperate early days of America’s “island hopping” campaign across the Pacific. Using a gritty and evocative narrative style—citing first-hand accounts, after-action reports, and official navy documents—author Keith Warren Lloyd describes in vivid detail the austere conditions under which the sailors lived and worked, and the highly dangerous nocturnal missions they performed.

Download or read book Submarine Torpedo Boats written by Lake Torpedo Boat Company and published by . This book was released on 1901 with total page 48 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: