We're looking at the fates of the six PT boats from Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three after their exploits in the Philippines, and why I don't think they get the credit they deserve, despite Hollywood's efforts. Commanded by the legendary Lt. John D. Buckeley the tiny unit of just six boats was tasked with protecting the area around Manila, and then Corregidor Island after Manila was abandoned. The tiny band's efforts were portrayed in the Hollywood movie, "They were Expendable", but there is so much more story behind that script that deserves a closer look, as does the ultimate fates of the 'expendable' boats themselves. Some of the losses of the boats are skipped. While this is not a take-down of the movie, some of the depictions are pretty accurate, and some are sugar-coated. We're going to straighten that out.

Please note that these small unit actions are not usually very well-documented and even less often filmed. There’s a very limited amount of archive footage out there on PT boats, especially since they operated mostly at night, and especially before the tide of the war turned in America’s favor. I’m aware some of the footage I’ve used is post-war, from other Pacific Theater campaigns or from the Korean War. I use these to show the general style and capabilities of this class of boats and decided that’s more useful than showing you the same five clips of period-correct boats over and over. I hope that doesn’t get in the way of the history.

77' ELCO boat specifications:
• Displacement 40 t.
• Length 77'
• Beam 19' 11"
• Draft 4' 6"
• Speed 41 kts.
• Complement 15
• Armament: Two twin .50 cal. Browning M2 machine guns in Dewandre turrets and four 21" torpedoes
• Propulsion: Three 1,200hp Packard V12 3M2500 gasoline engines, three propeller shafts.

Bulkeley's career decorations are listed here again.

Navy Cross
Medal of Honor
Distinguished Service Medal
Silver Star Medal (Army) with Gold Star
Legion of Merit with Combat “V”
Army Distinguished Service Cross with Oak Leaf Cluster
Purple Heart Medal, Army Distinguished Unit Emblem
French and Philippine Decorations
China Service Medal with bronze star
American Defense Service Medal, Fleet Clasp
Asiatic-Pacific Campaign Medal
American Campaign Medal
European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Medal
World War II Victory Medal
National Defense Service Medal with bronze star
Korean Service Medal
United Nations Service Medal
Korean Presidential Unit Citation Badge
Philippine Defense Ribbon
Expert Pistol Shot Medal
Expert Rifleman Medal

References:
http://www.navsource.org/archives/12/...
https://www.militaryfactory.com/ships...
https://www.navalhistory.org/2015/03/...
https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/ptboa...
https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/ptboa...
https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/ptboa...
https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/ptboa...
https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/ptboa...
https://philippinesfreepress.wordpres...
https://www.amazon.com/At-Close-Quart...
https://pacificwrecks.com/ships/ijn/k...
https://philippinediaryproject.com/20...

Chapters:

0:00 Start
1:02 ELCO yard and 77' production
3:30 Deployment to Cavite
4:37 Retreat to Sisiman
7:06 PT-33
8:10 PT-31
9:26 PT-32
12:21 PT-35 Part 1
14:21 PT-34 & 41 vs. Kuma
17:26 PT-34
18:50 PT-35 Part 2
19:21 PT-41
#ptboat #pt41 #macarthur