PT-41

PT-41. A PT boat of the United States Navy during World War II, PT-41 is most historically significant for its role in evacuating General Douglas MacArthur and his family from the Philippines in March 1942. As the flagship of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, commanded by Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, it executed a daring escape from Corregidor through the Japanese-controlled waters of the Philippine Islands to Mindanao. This vessel, an Elco 80-foot PT boat design, subsequently served in the Southwest Pacific Theater before being lost in action.

Service history

Commissioned in 1941, PT-41 was assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, which operated from Cavite Navy Yard in the Philippines under the command of the United States Asiatic Fleet. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor and the subsequent Japanese invasion of the Philippines, the boat engaged in offensive patrols, torpedo attacks on Japanese shipping, and evacuation missions around Manila Bay and the Bataan Peninsula. Its most famous mission, Operation Postmaster, occurred on the night of 11–12 March 1942, when it transported General Douglas MacArthur, his family, and key staff officers, including Richard Sutherland and Sidney Huff, on the initial leg of their journey from Corregidor to the Del Monte pineapple plantation airfield on Mindanao. After this event, PT-41 continued combat operations in the Netherlands East Indies and around New Guinea, participating in actions during the Battle of the Bismarck Sea and supporting operations along the Kokoda Track.

Design and specifications

PT-41 was an Elco-built PT boat of the 80-foot class, a design that became one of the standard American patrol torpedo boats of World War II. Its hull was constructed of double-mahogany planking over frames of Philippine mahogany and oak, powered by three supercharged Packard 4M-2500 marine engines driving three shafts. This configuration gave it a top speed in excess of 40 knots. Its armament typically included four Mark 8 torpedoes launched from deck-mounted tubes, two twin .50-caliber machine gun mounts, and a 20 mm Oerlikon cannon aft. For the MacArthur evacuation mission, its torpedo tubes and some armament were removed to accommodate passengers, and extra fuel drums were lashed to its deck to extend its operational range for the long voyage through the Sulu Sea.

Commanding officers

The most notable commanding officer of PT-41 was its first, Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, who commanded Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three and personally skippered the boat during the evacuation of Douglas MacArthur. For his leadership and heroism in Philippine waters, Bulkeley was awarded the Medal of Honor by President Franklin D. Roosevelt. Following Bulkeley's transfer after the evacuation, command of PT-41 passed to other officers of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three as it continued operations in the Southwest Pacific. These officers served under the overall theater command of General Douglas MacArthur and the naval command of the United States Seventh Fleet.

Fate

PT-41 was lost in action on 8 April 1943, near Morobe, New Guinea. While operating with other boats of its squadron, it was attacked and severely damaged by Japanese Zero fighter aircraft during an air raid. The crew was forced to abandon ship, and the vessel was subsequently scuttled by gunfire from the American destroyer USS ''Fletcher'' to prevent its capture. The wreck of PT-41 rests in the waters of the Solomon Sea, a casualty of the intense aerial and naval combat that characterized the New Guinea campaign. Its service, particularly its role in saving Douglas MacArthur, ensured its place in the historical narrative of the Pacific War and the lore of PT boat operations. Category:PT boats of the United States Navy Category:World War II patrol vessels of the United States Category:World War II in the Philippines