THE MOSQUITO FLEET
BERN KEATING
SBS SCHOLASTIC BOOK SERVICES
New York Toronto London Auckland Sydney
To Lieut. Commander Brinkley Bass and Lieut. Commander Clyde Hopkins McCroskey, Jr., who gallantly gave their lives during World War II. They were brave seamen and good friends.
Photographs used on the cover are courtesy of the U.S. Navy. This book is sold subject to the condition that it shall not be resold, lent, or otherwise circulated in any binding or cover other than that in which it is published—unless prior written permission has been obtained from the publisher—and without a similar condition, including this condition, being imposed on the subsequent purchaser.
Copyright © 1963 by Bern Keating. This edition is published by Scholastic Book Services, a division of Scholastic Magazines, Inc., by arrangement with G. P. Putnam’s Sons. 4th printing January 1969 Printed in the U.S.A.
CONTENTS
[1. The First PTs: Facts and Fictions] 1 [2. Attrition at Guadalcanal] 13 [3. Battering Down the Gate: the Western Hinge] 51 [4. Battering Down the Gate: the Eastern Hinge] 71 [5. Along the Turkey’s Back] 92 [6. The War in Europe: Mediterranean] 125 [7. The War in Europe: English Channel] 170 [8. The War in Europe: Azure Coast] 181 [9. I Shall Return—Round Trip by PT] 201 [Appendix 1. Specifications, Armament, and Crew] 249 [Appendix 2. Losses Suffered by PT Squadrons] 250 [Appendix 3. Decorations Won by PT Sailors] 251
Historical material in this book comes from action reports, squadron histories, and other naval records on file at the historical records section in Arlington, Va. Most valuable was the comprehensive history of PT actions written by Commodore Robert Bulkley for the Navy. The Bulkley history was in manuscript form at the time I did research for this book. The broad outline of naval history comes mostly from the History of U. S. Naval Operations in World War II of Samuel Eliot Morison. I am grateful to several PT veterans for their generous contribution of diaries, letters, anecdotes, etc., which have been drawn on for human interest material. Among these kind correspondents are: James Cunningham of Shreveport, La., Roger Jones of Nassau, Bahama Islands, Lieut. Commander R. W. Brown of Scituate, Mass., Capt. Stanley Barnes of the War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pa., James Newberry of Memphis, Tenn., and Arthur Murray Preston, of Washington, D. C. The officers of Peter Tare Inc., a PT veterans organization, have been helpful.