Devil Boats: The PT War Against Japan

By William B. Breuer

Book Overview

The PT boat was a class of motor torpedo boats used by the United States during the Second World War. Armed with a 40mm antiaircraft gun, two 20mm antiaircraft guns and four torpedo tubes, their agility and speed consistently bested even the most outlandish expectations. Against Japan, they figure prominently in some of the best-known feats of heroism of the entire war. In Devil Boats, the reader is right on board, buffeted by the spray of the crashing Pacific minutes after the Pearl Harbor disaster as a PT boat brings down the first enemy plane. And there again as PT boats, their engines muffled, steal along on an unforgiving ocean to sink a warship, blow up a supply barge, carry a sabotage team past enemy lines, or effect another extraordinary rescue of a downed Allied pilot. In instance upon instance, the PT boats and their crews performed deeds demanding incredible courage and skill, pitting their plywood craft against the force of the angry sea, or the might of ships hundreds of times their own size. Among their legendary exploits - General MacArthur being spirited off besieged Corregidor; Philippine president Quezon's "kidnapping" to Australia; and the unforgettable heroism of a wounded John F. Kennedy and his fearless PT-109.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0891412697
• ISBN13: 9780891412694
• Release Date: January 1987
• Publisher: Presidio Press
• Length: 229 Pages
• Weight: 0.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.1" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Ivy leaguers and jocks trade in their daddy's yachts.

Devil Boats is a chronicle, albeit not a voluminous one, of the exploits of the men of the PT "Devil" boats of WWII. William Breuer tells the highlights of the adventures of these Ivy league, jock sailors who traded their yachts and sports careers for the dangers of the Pacific Theater. Breuer's story follows the course of PT boat action from Pearl Harbor and MacArthur's escape to the sad days at war's end when a indifferent U.S. Navy burned and scuttled much of what remained of the storied boats. Devil Boats also recounts the legacies of many of the crews of the PT squadrons who in later life would go on to fill the highest offices in government and civilian realms. Not the scholarly work that researchers often seek, Devil Boats remains however and iconic book reminiscent of most WWII stories published in the few decades that followed. Overall, a fun and short read. REVIEW EVERY BOOK YOU READ, AUTHORS DESERVE YOUR OPINIONS.

Good Overview of PT Boat Stories

Historian William Breuer has produced a popular, anecdotal history of the PT Boat in WWII. It's a good, enjoyable read that gives the reader a broad overview of what the boats did and what kind of people manned them. If you are interested in PT Boats, this is an excellent place to start, but keep in mind you are skimming the surface.Highly recommended as a companion book is Victor Chun's pictorial history of American PT Boats in WWII.For more detailed PT stories, try Dick Keresey's "PT-105" or track down a copy of "At Close Quarters."