Footnotes

Part I

1. Ranks and rates throughout this book are those held by the individuals at the time of the events described. Unless otherwise indicated, all ranks are USN.

2. Time is given according to the Navy 24-hour clock; e.g.: 0545 for 5:45 a.m., 1200 for noon, 1732 for 5:32 p.m.

Part II

3. Vosper boats in the United States for Britain and Russia were:

Builder Britain Russia Total
Annapolis Yacht Yard, Annapolis, Md 20 108 128
Herreshoff, Bristol, R.I. 8 0 28
R. Jacob, City Island, N.Y. 22 0 22
Harbor Boat Building Co., Terminal Island, Calif    6    0    6
Total 56 128 184

Included in the totals for Russia are 38 boats built by the Annapolis Yacht Yard but never delivered.

4. The Juneau was sunk by an enemy torpedo the following morning during retirement toward Espiritu Santo.

5. The PT flotilla by this time had been strengthened by the arrival of the first boats and personnel of Squadron 6. PT 115 was a Squadron 6 boat; Lieutenant Faulkner, though riding a Squadron a boat on this mission, was a Squadron 6 officer.

Part III

6. Lieutenant Commander Warfield had brought the first six boats of his squadron to the South Pacific and was already in Noumea at the time of the torpedoing of the Stanvac Manila.

7. Large timbers laid athwartships and lashed down to keep PT's in transit from shifting in their cradles.

8. This section is quoted from a report prepared on 22 August 1943, by Lt. (jg.) Byron R. White, USNR, and Lt. (jg.) J. C. McClure, USNR, intelligence officers of Motor Torpedo Boat Flotilla 1. In 1962, President Kennedy appointed Byron R. White an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

9. Good identification. The Amagiri was of the Amagiri group of the Fubuki class, but practically identical in appearance with the destroyers of the Ribiki group.

10. IFF is an electronic recognition signaling device. The letters stand for "Identification, Friend or Foe."

Part IV

11. Lieutenant Baughman later entered the submarine service, and died in action when the USS Swordfish was lost in January 1945.

12. Dean, one of the outstanding boat captains in early PT actions in New Guinea, later became a naval aviator. He came through the war unscathed, and was killed in a plane crash on Sept. 7, 1945.

13. Mort Bay, which previously was not shown on navigational charts, was discovered and reconnoitered by Comdr. Morton C. Mumma, Jr., in a PT. Australian hydrographers then put it on the charts and named it Mort Bay, in Commander Mumma's honor.

Part VI

14. The British MTB, or motor torpedo boat, carried two torpedoes and light machine-guns. The MGB, or motor gunboat, carried heavier guns but no torpedoes. The U.S. Navy attempted and, by and large, succeeded in combining in its PT's the functions of both MTB and MGB. It is interesting to note that among the MTB's operating at Bone when the PT's arrived were 70-foot Elco boats transferred to Britain in April and June 1941, from Squadron 2, and 77-foot boats built by Elco and transferred to Britain in February and March 1942.

15. The E-boat was the German counterpart of the PT. It was a larger boat, 106 feet long, displacing 95 tons, and its speed was about the same as that of the PT's. It was driven by three diesel engines, and was heavily armed, usually carrying four torpedoes, a 40mm. and one or more 20MM. guns. The designation "E-boat" was adopted by the British early in the war as an abbreviation for "Enemy war motorboat." The German name was "Schnellboot" (fast boat).

16. The Italian MAS boats which the PT's met in the Mediterranean were the direct descendants of the boats the Italians used with some success in World War I. The World War II MAS boats were about 60 feet long and carried two torpedo tubes and light machine-guns. They had a top speed of about 42 knots, and usually could outrun the Mediterranean PT's.

17. At this time Squadron 15 had no guns heavier than 20mm. Early in 1944 a 40mm. cannon was mounted on each boat.

18. At this time Commander Allan, as Commander Advanced Coastal Forces Base, was operating directly under the Commander in Chief, Mediterranean (Admiral Sir Andrew Cunningham, RN). Later the command, Senior Officer Inshore Squadron, was established at Bastia, with operational control of Coastal Forces, including PT's. Except during special operations, such as the invasion of Sicily, Italy, and southern France, American PT's operated as part of the British Coastal Forces during the entire Mediterranean campaign. The only operations of MTB's and MGB's that will be mentioned here are those undertaken jointly with PT's. The brilliant accomplishments of the British Coastal Forces, not only in western Italy, but in Tunisia, Sicily, the Adriatic, and eastern Mediterranean, are another story, outside the scope of this volume.

19. The R-boat, frequently used as an escort vessel, was 120 to 150 feet in length, and was armed with 37mm. or 40mm. and heavier guns, up to 76mm. or 88mm. Its designation is an abbreviation of the German "Raumboot," or "sweeping boat." The flak lighters were identical in appearance with ordinary F-lighters, but were far more heavily armed, their decks bristling with guns up to 88mm.

20. The Captain Coastal Forces, Mediterranean, was the administrative commander of the MTB's and MGB's. Although the PT's were under the operational control of the British Coastal Forces, they remained under the Commander U.S. Eighth Fleet for administration.

21. Although there were several types of British ML's (motor launches), most of them were larger and slower vessels than the MTB's or MGB's, and carried heavier guns.

22. FFI: French Forces of the Interior.

23. Carro is at the eastern entrance of the Gulf of Fos, about 5 miles south of Port de Bouc.

Part VII

24. These figures are taken from The Battle of the Narrow Seas, by Lt. Comdr. Peter Scott, RNVR, published by Country Life Limited, London, 1945: a thorough and vivid account of operations of British Coastal Forces in the English Channel and North Sea.

25. These figures are taken from Lt. Comdr. Peter Scott's The Battle of the Narrow Seas.

Part VIII

26. Senior squadron commanders in operational command of the Morotai PT's were:

27. PT 350, Lt. (jg.) R. H. Moeller, USNR; PT 349, Ens. C. W. Bullard, USNR; PT 179, Ens. William A. Klopman, USNR; PT 180, Lt. (jg.) C. C. Hamberger, USNR; PT 182, Lt. (jg.) Steve L. Hudacek, USNR.

28. PT 186, Lt. (jg.) E. R. Freeman, USNR; PT 175, Lt. (jg.) P. R. Washburn, USNR.

29. The 45 PT's included: Squadron 7 (9 PT's), Lt. Comdr. Robert Leeson, USNR; Squadron 12 (10 PT's), Lt. Weston C. Pullen, Jr., USNR; Squadron 21 (11 PT's), Lt. Carl T. Gleason; Squadron 33 (10 PT's), Lt. A. Murray Preston, USNR; Squadron 36 (5 PT's), Lt. Comdr. Francis D. Tappaan, USNR.

30. Officers in operation command of Ormoc PT's were:

31. General Eichelberger gave the PT's more credit than they claimed. Task Group 70.1's estimate of damage inflicted by PT's operating from Leyte Gulf and Ormoc was: 140 barges, 63 other surface craft, and 6 planes destroyed; 18 barges, 16 other surface craft, and 4 planes damaged or probably destroyed.

32. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officer were: Squadron 8, Lt. Robert A. Williamson, USNR; Squadron 24, Lt. Stanley C. Thomas, USNR; Squadron 25, Lt. Comdr. Theodore R. Stansbury, USNR; Orestes, Lt. Kenneth N. Mueller, USNR.

33. PT's were: PT 77, Ens. Allen Slickers, USNR; PT 81, Lt. (jg.) Richard H. Dunlap, USNR; PT 222, Lt. (jg.) Robert Roth, USNR; PT 230, Lt. (jg.) William J. Bursaw, Jr., USNR.

34. The PT's were: PT 76, Lt. (jg.) William S. Wilkinson, USNR; PT 78, Lt. (jg.) Charles W. Sparaco, USNR; PT 83, Lt. (jg.) James W. Stitt, USNR; PT 224, Lt. R. H. Lewis, USNR; PT 229, Lt. (jg.) J. H. Brodahl, USNR; PT 298, Lt. (jg) J. R. Erickson, USNR.

35. For a description of the Cyrene, see p. 73.

36. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officer were: Squadron 28, Lt. Comdr. George A. Matteson, Jr., USNR; Squadron 36, Lt. John W. Morrison, Jr., USNR; Wachapreague, Lt. Comdr. H. A. Stewart, USNR.

37. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officer were: Squadron 21, Lt. Carl T. Gleason, USNR; Squadron 27, Lt. Henry S. Taylor, USNR; Varuna, Lt. Carl J. Kalb.

38. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officer were: Squadron 20, Lt. Robert C. Harris, USNR; Squadron 23, Lt. James H. Van Sicklen, USNR; Willoughby, Lt. Joseph P. E. Brouillette.

39. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officer were: Squadron 8, Lt. Robert A. Williamson, USNR, Squadron 24, Lt. Edgar D. Hogland, USNR; Oyster Bay, Lt. Comdr. Walter W. Holroyd, USNR.

40. PT 126, Lt. (jg.) J. L. McKay, USNR; PT 154, Lt. (jg.) J. Harvey DuBose, USNR; PT 155, Lt. (jg.) P. A. Rodgers, USNR; PT 114, Lt. (jg.) M. H. Berry, USNR; PT 12, Lt. (jg.) M. R. Allen, USNR; PT 130, Lt. (jg.) F. W. Weidmann, USNR; PT 142, Lt. (jg.) R. W. Clifford, USNR; PT 149, Lt. (jg.) A. D. Brice, USNR; PT 189, Ens. George J. Larson, Jr., USNR.

41. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officer were: Squadron 13, Lt. Comdr. Alvin W. Fargo, Jr., USNR; Squadron 16, Lt. Roger H. Hallowell, USNR; Willoughby, Lt. Joseph P. E. Brouillette.

42. The squadron commanders and tender commanding officers were: Squadron 10, Lt. Francis H. McAdoo Jr., USNR; Squadron 27, Lt. Henry S. Taylor, USNR; Mobjack, Lt. Comdr. John H. McClain, USNR; Varuna, Lt. Carl J. Kalb.


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Transcribed and formatted for HTML Patrick Clancey, HyperWar Foundation