PT-157

PT-157 was a PT boat of the United States Navy that served with distinction in the Pacific Theater of Operations during World War II. Built by the renowned Higgins Industries in New Orleans, it was a PT-103 class vessel, a design that became iconic for its speed and versatility. The boat participated in numerous operations across the Solomon Islands and New Guinea campaigns, often engaging enemy Japanese destroyers and barges in daring nighttime actions.

Design and construction

PT-157 was constructed as part of a massive wartime building program overseen by the United States Department of the Navy. Its design was based on the plans developed by naval architect George C. Sinn for Higgins Industries, which became the primary supplier of these craft following the success of their earlier prototypes. The hull was built of laminated mahogany plywood, a technique that provided strength while keeping weight low for high speed. Key features included three powerful Packard marine engines, which drove the boat to speeds exceeding 40 knots, and a shallow draft ideal for operations in the coastal waters and archipelagos of the South Pacific. Armament was formidable for its size, typically consisting of four Mark 8 torpedo tubes, multiple automatic cannons like the 20 mm Oerlikon, and machine guns mounted in twin turrets.

Operational history

Commissioned in late 1942, PT-157 was initially assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 9 (Ron 9), operating out of bases like Tulagi in the Solomon Islands. Its early missions involved patrols and torpedo attacks against the Tokyo Express, the Japanese naval supply runs to garrisons on islands like Guadalcanal. The boat saw intense action during the New Georgia campaign and later operations around Bougainville Island, where it frequently clashed with Japanese auxiliary vessels. In 1944, it was transferred to operations supporting General Douglas MacArthur's forces along the northern coast of New Guinea, engaging targets during the Admiralty Islands campaign and the Battle of Biak. Crews often included veterans from the famous Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 3, and the boat operated alongside other notable vessels like PT-109, commanded by future President John F. Kennedy.

Fate and preservation

Following the surrender of Japan and the end of World War II, PT-157, like most of its sister ships, was deemed obsolete and surplus to the needs of the postwar United States Navy. It was decommissioned in 1945 and stripped of its useful equipment at a naval facility, likely Naval Base Subic Bay in the Philippines. The hull was subsequently disposed of through the Defense Plant Corporation salvage program in 1946, a common fate for wooden-hulled patrol craft. No major components of PT-157 are known to have been preserved, though its design is memorialized in museums such as the Battleship Cove in Fall River, Massachusetts, which displays the similar PT-617. The service of its crews is commemorated by organizations like the U.S. Naval Institute and the American Legion.

Category:PT boats of the United States Navy Category:World War II patrol vessels of the United States Category:Higgins Industries ships Category:1942 ships