Please report any broken links or trouble you might come across to the Webmaster. Please take a moment to let us know so that we can correct any problems and make your visit as enjoyable and as informative as possible.

NavSource Online:
Motor Torpedo Boat Photo Archive

PT-156



Call sign:
Nan - Yoke - Fox - Dog
80' Elco Motor Torpedo Boat:

  • Laid down 19 August 1942 by the Electric Boat Co., Elco Works, Bayonne, NJ
  • Launched 2 November 1942
  • Completed 18 November 1942, placed in service and assigned to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron NINE (MTBRon 9) under the command of Lt. Comdr. Robert B. Kelly, USN
  • MTBRon 9, assigned to the South Pacific, had action at Rendova, Lever Harbor, Treasury, and Green
  • Japanese naval and army aircraft bomb Rendova, New Georgia, Solomons 2 July 1943; light cruiser IJN Yubari and nine destroyers bombard the beachhead. PT-156, PT-157 and PT-161 engaged the
    enemy, but inflict no damage
  • Transferred to the Southwest Pacific in May 1944, the squadron had action at Mios Woendi, Dutch New Guinea; Morotai, in the Halmaheras; and at Zamboanga and Tawi Tawi in the Philippines. The
    squadron also based for a time at Dreger Harbor, New Guinea, and at Samar in the Philippines, but had no action from these bases
  • The "Cowboy" was placed out of service, stripped and destroyed by U.S. Forces 24 November 1945 at Samar, Philippines.

    Specifications:

  • Displacement 56 t.
  • Length 80'
  • Beam 20' 8"
  • Draft 5'
  • Speed 41 kts.
  • Complement 17
  • Armament: One 40mm, four 21" Torpedoes and two twin .50 cal. machine guns
  • Propulsion: Three 1,500shp Packard W-14 M2500 gasoline engines, three shafts.
    Click on thumbnail
    for full size image    		 Size Image Description Source
    PT-156 302k Crew photo Bill Gonyo
    Boat Captains
    01LTJG Rex L. Anderson, USNR - Awarded the Bronze StarAugust 1944
    Courtesy Joe Radigan
    There is no DANFS history available for PT-156
    Back to the Main Photo Index Back to the Patrol Craft/Gunboat/Submarine Chaser Index Back to the Motor Torpedo Boat (PT) Photo Index
    Comments, Suggestions, E-mail Webmaster
    This page created by Joseph M. Radigan and maintained by Tom Bateman
    All pages copyright NavSource Naval History