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''PT-105'' was a
PT boat A PT boat (short for patrol torpedo boat) was a motor torpedo boat used by the United States Navy in World War II. It was small, fast, and inexpensive to build, and it was valued for its maneuverability and speed. However, PT boats were hampe ...
of the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...
during
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. The motor torpedo boat was built by the Elco Motor Yacht Company of Bayonne, New Jersey, in early 1942, and served until the end of the war.


Service history

''PT-105'' was commissioned in June 1942, as part of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 5, under the command of Cdr. Henry Farrow. From September 1942 until early in 1943 she served on the
Panama Sea Frontier The Panama Sea Frontier was a U.S. Navy command responsible during and shortly after World War II for the defense of the Pacific and Atlantic sea approaches to the Panama Canal and naval shore facilities in the Central America region. The Sea Fro ...
, when she was transferred to the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
. ''PT-105'', under the command of Lt. Richard E. Keresey, was present during the action with Japanese destroyers in the Blackett Strait on the night of 1–2 August 1943, in the aftermath of which ''
PT-109 ''PT-109'' was an 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. Kennedy's act ...
'' ''(''commanded by
Lieutenant (junior grade) Lieutenant junior grade is a junior commissioned officer rank used in a number of navies. United States Lieutenant (junior grade), commonly abbreviated as LTJG or, historically, Lt. (j.g.) (as well as variants of both abbreviations), i ...
John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), also known as JFK, was the 35th president of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963. He was the first Roman Catholic and youngest person elected p ...
, future
US president The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed For ...
) was sunk. On the 22nd of that month, ''PT-105'' participated in a daylight raid on the
Kolombangara Kolombangara (sometimes spelled ''Kulambangara'') is an island in the New Georgia Islands group of the nation state of Solomon Islands in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. The name is from a local language, a rough translation of its meaning is ...
coast that provoked a considerable fight between PT boats and enemy coastal guns. At the end of 1944 MTB Squadron 5 was disbanded and its remaining boats distributed to other squadrons. On 15 February 1945 ''PT-105'' was transferred to MTB Squadron 18, under the command of Lt. Edward Macauley III, and saw action in
New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...
; at
Manus Island Manus Island is part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea and is the largest of the Admiralty Islands. It is the fifth-largest island in Papua New Guinea, with an area of , measuring around . Manus Island is covered in rugged jungles w ...
in the Admiralties; and at Morotai in the Halmaheras. She was also based for a time at Kana Kopa, New Guinea, and in
San Pedro Bay, Philippines San Pedro Bay is a bay in the Philippines, at the northwest end of Leyte Gulf. It measures about east to west and north to south. The bay is bounded by two islands, by Samar the north and east and by Leyte on the east. It is connected by San Jua ...
, but saw no action there. 25 March 1945 a USO show was in Morotai and one of the performers was dancer Betsy Seligman (aka Betsy Berkely) - during the show she recognized among the servicemen her high school classmate from Seguin, TX, Lt (jg) Clarence Saegert, then the skipper of the PT 105. The crew took Betsy on a fast tour of the harbor and made her an honorary member of the crew, complete with a certificate signed by all the crew. PT 105 became known among the squadron as the USS 'Betsy'. The vessel was placed out of service on 1 November 1945, and later stripped and scrapped at
Samar Samar ( ) is the third-largest and seventh-most populous island in the Philippines, with a total population of 1,909,537 as of the 2020 census. It is located in the eastern Visayas, which are in the central Philippines. The island is divided in ...
, Philippines.


References


Further reading

* {{DEFAULTSORT:PT-105 World War II patrol vessels of the United States
105 105 may refer to: *105 (number), the number * AD 105, a year in the 2nd century AD * 105 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC * 105 (telephone number), the emergency telephone number in Mongolia * 105 (MBTA bus), a Massachusetts Bay Transport Authority ...