PT-109 was an 80-foot (24 m) Elco PT boat (patrol torpedo boat) last commanded by Lieutenant (junior grade) John F. Kennedy, future United States president, in the Solomon Islands campaign of the Pacific theater during World War II.

Feb 22, 2011 · Patrol Torpedo boat 109 was idling in Blackett Strait in the Solomon Islands. The 80-foot craft had orders to attack enemy ships on a resupply mission. With virtually no warning, a Japanese destroyer emerged from the black night and smashed into PT-109, slicing it in two and igniting its fuel tanks.

Since the pitch-black night of 1-2 August 1943, when the Japanese destroyer Amagiri rammed and sank the PT-109, debate has flared over precisely what happened. Did John F. Kennedy “allow” the 109 to be rammed because he ran a slack ship and failed to take timely action?

On August 2, 1943, PT 109 was struck by the Japanese destroyer Amagiri and the entire crew was thrown into the Pacific. After fifteen hours at sea, eleven survivors made it to a nearby island with Kennedy towing one injured crew member to land.

Jul 11, 2002 · Nearly 60 years ago a Japanese destroyer materialized out of a moonless night and smashed through PT-109, sending 26-year-old skipper John F. Kennedy into fiery waters to save his crew. Six...

Jul 30, 2010 · In the early hours of August 2, 1943, a Japanese destroyer rams an American PT (patrol torpedo) boat, No. 109, slicing it in two. The destruction is so massive other American PT boats in...

Nov 18, 2022 · Early in the evening of the seventh, a little more than six days after PT-109's sinking, Kennedy stepped onto Gomu. There was still a rescue to be planned with Evans, no small thing in enemy-held waters, but the ordeal of PT-109 was over.

Sinking History On August 2, 1943 at 1:30am while motoring in Blacket Strait, rammed by Japanese destroyer Amagiri at Lat 8°03'S, Long 156°58'E. The collision split PT-109 into two pieces that sank Aboard, Marney and Kirksey were never seen again and went Missing In Action (MIA). McMahon was wounded and Kennedy injured his back. Fates of the Crew

May 14, 2016 · PT-109 was a PT boat (Patrol Torpedo boat) last commanded by LTJG John F. Kennedy (later President of the United States) in the Pacific Theater during World War II. Kennedy’s actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of PT-109 made him a war hero, which proved helpful in his political career.

Feb 8, 2011 · With virtually no warning, a Japanese destroyer emerged from the black night and smashed into PT-109, slicing it in two and igniting its fuel tanks. The most famous collision in U.S. Navy history occurred at about 2:30 a.m. on August 2, 1943, a hot, moonless night in the Pacific.