Patrol torpedo boat PT-41


Patrol torpedo boat PT-41 was a of the United States Navy, built by the Electric Launch Company of Bayonne, New Jersey. The boat was laid down as Motor Boat Submarine Chaser PTC-21, but was reclassified as PT-41 prior to its launch on 8 July 1941, and was completed on 23 July 1941. It was used to evacuate General Douglas MacArthur from Corregidor at the beginning of the war in the Pacific in World War II.

Ship history

PT-41 served as the flagship of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Three, which was based in the Philippines from late 1941 to April 1942. The commander of PT-41 was Lieutenant John D. Bulkeley, who became one of the U.S. Navy's most highly decorated officers.
PT-41 evacuated General Douglas MacArthur, Mrs. Jean MacArthur, Arthur MacArthur IV, Ah Cheu, Major General Richard K. Sutherland, Captain Herbert J. Ray, Lieutenant Colonel Sidney L. Huff, and Major C.H. Morehouse from Corregidor to Mindanao on 12 March 1942, thus enabling MacArthur to escape and to make his famous "I shall return" speech in Terowie, Australia.
After MacArthur's party left Mindanao, PT-41, along with the two remaining PT boats of the squadron, established a new base of operations at Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, supporting the American military forces defending Mindanao and the nearby islands from the invading Japanese throughout late March and early April 1942.
After a torpedo attack in concert with on the on April 9, 1942, PT-41 became the last remaining PT boat of the squadron. With no more torpedoes available for PT-41 to use, it was commandeered by the United States Army to patrol Lake Lanao, Mindanao. It was destroyed by the Army on April 15, 1942, to prevent its capture while being transported via road to Lake Lanao.

Popular culture

The exploits of PT-41 are portrayed in the 1945 film They Were Expendable directed by John Ford with
Robert Montgomery, John Wayne and Donna Reed.