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Official naval documents obtained under
Freedom of Information Act: Report of Action of PT Boat 350, night of April 28–29, 1944; Memorandum to all Hands, J. Paul Austin, USNR, Intelligence Officer; Order Directing Investigation; Investigative Conclusions & Recommendations, Commodore T.J. Moran,
377:
Factors that contributed to the incident included an influx of new pilots who lacked experience in recognizing PT boats, poor communications between the planes and PT boats, and the fact that the incident occurred in an area of the
Pacific which was the "line of demarcation" between Nimitz and
369:, received the Navy Marine Corps medal for saving wounded non-swimmer Forrest May's life, and Lieutenant James Burk received the Purple Heart. Mortally wounded, Burk ordered medic John Frkovich to take his life jacket so he could survive and treat the wounded.
346:). Recognizing the planes as American and thinking they were the air cover he had ordered, the squadron commander ordered the men to keep working; however, the planes attacked the two boats, still mistaking them for Japanese gunboats.
307:
remained stuck on the reef. Lieutenant Burk headed out with his crew and the base commander of the 25th
Squadron, Lieutenant James R. Thompson, USNR, and Chief Pharmacist First Class John Frkovich, USNR, to render medical aid. When
199:
The majority of all friendly fire PT boat casualties during World War II occurred in the
Southwest Pacific in two separate incidents occurring over the span of one month- the first on 27 March 1944, and the second on 29 April 1944.
378:
MacArthur's
Pacific commands, which meant that coordination of reports between the two commands did not always occur. A formal inquiry into the incident was conducted and improvements instituted as a result of the tragedy.
208:
James Burk, USNR, was the rescue vessel in March and the victim in April. PT boat
Squadron 25 took the brunt of both incidents, which resulted in 22 men killed, including Burk, and 28 wounded.
1106:
362:
were completely destroyed by bombs, and the men were strafed in the water for approximately one hour, continuing to dive under the water to survive as the planes approached.
1091:
474:
1086:
354:, Lieutenant Williams, who had experienced the earlier attack, ordered his men into the water and to stay dispersed, but two men were killed and three wounded.
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from the coral heads when planes appeared. The
Corsair plane from the morning run brought back an entire squadron of 21 aircraft (four Corsairs, six
467:
1081:
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631:
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657:
605:
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268:. (The waters of the Pacific were not well charted and during World War II, more PT boats were lost to reefs than to enemy fire.)
1043:
1039:
772:
489:
431:
Casualties: U.S. Navy and Coast Guard
Vessels, Sunk or Damaged Beyond Repair during World War II, 7 December 1941-1 October 1945
1052:
1048:
460:
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had become stuck on a reef during a night patrol to intercept enemy barges and destroy shore installations off the coast of
417:
USN, Investigating
Officer; Statement by Major Dill; Damage report for PT 350; War Diary of Marine Aircraft Group Fourteen.
611:
433:
595:
387:
Associated Press. “Two PT Boats, Two Planes Lost in South
Pacific Error.” San Francisco Chronicle. May 4, 1944, page 1.
562:
407:
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United Press. “U.S. Planes Sink 3 U.S. PT Boats; 2 Shot Down in Mix-up of Signals.” New York Times, page 1.
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180:
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did not respond defensively until it was too late, and took heavy casualties. The skipper of
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292:
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411:
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332:
1065:
184:
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817:
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343:
280:
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993:
983:
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394:. Washington, D.C., U.S. Government Printing Office, 1962, pp. 232–234.
244:
itself became the victim of friendly fire. The morning of April 29, 1944,
404:
296:
264:
in Lassul Bay, located off the northwest corner of New Britain Island in
229:, which had been mistakenly destroyed during a mission off the coast of
23:
261:
299:. With three dead and four wounded and serious mechanical problems,
284:
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Wanapela, Justin. “Victims of Friendly Fire- PT 347 & 346”
324:
arrived at 1230, and at 1400 was still attempting to dislodge
365:
Wilbur Larsen, USNR, motor machinist's mate third class of
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gunboats and attacked. Taking heavy fire from the planes,
252:, commanded by Lieutenant Robert J. Williams, USNR, and
63:
Electric Launch Company (Elco), Bayonne, New Jersey USA
191:, with nine men killed and nine wounded by airstrike.
392:
At Close Quarters: Pt boats in the United States Navy
892:
488:
401:. Novato, CA: Presidio Press, 1999, pp. 89–91.
312:could not be boarded because of extensive damage,
405:Naval Historical Center friendly fire statistics
233:by five fighter planes under the command of the
164:2x20mm guns; 4 Machine guns; 4x21" torpedo tubes
483:Shipwrecks and maritime incidents in April 1944
468:
8:
1107:World War II shipwrecks in the Pacific Ocean
475:
461:
453:
95:Destroyed by friendly fire, April 29, 1944
256:, skippered by Stanley L. Manning, USNR.
279:from the reef, when two American Marine
1092:Friendly fire incidents of World War II
399:The Sea Hawks: With the PT Boats at War
18:
16:Torpedo boat of the United States Navy
46:
7:
1087:Motor torpedo boats sunk by aircraft
291:shot down one of the two attacking
14:
183:which suffered the worst PT-boat
1072:Maritime incidents in April 1944
1047:
1042:
1030:
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448:Williams, Dan. “Tragedy at Sea.”
283:planes mistook the PT boats for
22:
33:, an 80' Elco boat similar to
1:
275:was attempting to dislodge
1123:
235:Royal Australian Air Force
1082:Ships sunk by US aircraft
1017:
240:Just over a month later,
219:rescued the survivors of
99:
41:
21:
390:Bulkley, Robert J. Jr.
320:to provide assistance.
295:, believing them to be
248:was sent to the aid of
177:Electric Launch Company
140:3 engines, 3 propellors
100:General characteristics
436:2 January 2013 at the
341:Douglas SBD Dauntless
303:headed back to base.
339:fighters, and eight
337:Grumman F6F Hellcat
330:Grumman TBF Avenger
211:On March 27, 1944,
793:Yoshida Maru No. 1
410:2012-08-25 at the
373:Causes and inquiry
181:motor torpedo boat
175:was an 80 ft
1077:Conflicts in 1944
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397:Hoagland, Edgar.
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204:, skippered by
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195:The incident
189:World War II
171:
170:
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105:Displacement
84:Commissioned
79:May 21, 1943
34:
28:
775:Fladengrund
231:New Britain
1102:1943 ships
1066:Categories
1040:March 1944
831:Athabaskan
829:HMCS
490:Shipwrecks
382:References
266:New Guinea
206:Lieutenant
153:Complement
137:Propulsion
1005:USS
994:USS
957:Chantilly
940:USS
929:USS
918:USS
818:USS
720:USS
693:USS
588:USS
297:A6M Zeros
271:At 0700,
68:Laid down
1097:PT boats
1053:May 1944
1007:Seahorse
1003:29 Apr:
992:27 Apr:
982:24 Apr:
974:20 Apr:
964:16 Apr:
949:14 Apr:
938:13 Apr:
927:11 Apr:
916:10 Apr:
863:30 Apr:
827:29 Apr:
816:28 Apr:
800:27 Apr:
771:26 Apr:
761:23 Apr:
751:22 Apr:
741:21 Apr:
734:Voorbode
722:Lansdale
718:20 Apr:
708:19 Apr:
691:18 Apr:
675:17 Apr:
665:16 Apr:
655:15 Apr:
639:14 Apr:
632:Ikazuchi
629:13 Apr:
619:12 Apr:
603:11 Apr:
586:10 Apr:
434:Archived
408:Archived
293:fighters
285:Japanese
161:Armament
148:43 knots
76:Launched
985:LST-407
900:2 Apr:
820:LST-507
764:Amagiri
695:Gudgeon
606:Akigumo
576:9 Apr:
560:8 Apr:
544:7 Apr:
528:6 Apr:
518:4 Apr:
508:3 Apr:
498:2 Apr:
335:, four
281:Corsair
179:(Elco)
60:Builder
42:History
996:Etamin
942:Bashaw
920:Holder
850:Sirène
844:PT-346
809:YĹ«bari
773:V 606
590:SC-497
367:PT-347
360:PT-347
356:PT-346
352:PT-347
348:PT-346
326:PT-347
322:PT-346
318:PT-347
314:PT-346
310:PT-350
305:PT-347
301:PT-350
289:PT-350
277:PT-347
273:PT-350
262:Rabaul
258:PT-347
254:PT-350
250:PT-347
246:PT-346
242:PT-346
226:PT-121
221:PT-353
217:PT-354
213:PT-346
202:PT-346
172:PT-346
156:11 men
113:Length
108:51 BRT
55:PT-346
35:PT-346
30:PT-105
955:HMHS
909:Ro-46
882:U-355
876:U-193
866:Ro-45
856:U-421
837:I-183
803:U-803
787:U-488
781:I-180
754:U-311
744:M 553
711:U-974
684:U-986
678:U-342
668:U-550
658:No. 7
648:U-448
622:I-174
612:U-108
579:U-515
569:U-962
553:U-856
537:U-455
531:U-302
521:I-169
511:U-288
501:U-360
145:Speed
129:Draft
124:23 ft
116:80 ft
1036:1945
1028:1944
1020:1943
931:Cero
903:I-46
842:USS
596:U-68
358:and
223:and
215:and
132:5 ft
121:Beam
92:Fate
52:Name
563:U-2
547:I-2
1068::
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550:,
534:,
237:.
476:e
469:t
462:v
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