PT Boat Operations 
in the 
English Channel - 1944

The pages that follow have been transcribed from actual copies of navy documents from the files of the Division of Naval Records and History. These pages were initially classified as SECRET but have been DECLASSIFIED.
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Document #4 
PT ORGANIZATION IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL AREA

All PTs in the Channel area were originally designated as Task Group 122.9, under the command of Lt. Comdr. J.D. Bulkeley, USN. The four squadrons making up this Task Group arrived in the operational area in the following order:
 
MTB RON 2 PTs 71, 72, and 199 25 April 1944
MTB RON 34 PTs 498 through 509 16 May 1944
MTB RON 35 PT 510 through 521 5 June 1944 
MTB RON 30 PTs 456 through 461 7 June 1944 

During the PT operational period in the Channel area, from the time of the squadron's arrival through 15 October 1944, the boat's operations were conducted under several Task Group and Unit designations - at one time the boats operated under as many as five different commands simultaneously. This complexity of command resulted in partially conflicting orders or a lack of full understanding of operational methods of the boats or operational problems confronting the personnel. These various commands included: Eleventh Amphibious Force, Commander Amphibious Bases United Kingdom, 12th Fleet, Allied Naval Commander Expeditionary Force. Office of Special Services and Commander United States Ports and Bases France.

Experience showed that to have carried out their work most effectively, PTs in this area should have been placed under a designated Commander PT Squadrons 12th Fleet (answerable directly to Commander 12th Fleet, to whose staff a PT-trained and combat-experienced officer should have been attached).

During the invasion of the North French Coast by Allied Forces, Task Group 122.9 became Task Unit 122.4.4 12th Fleet from 1 July 1944 through 16 July 1944. Operations Plan #EE-44, U.S. 12th Fleet Task Organization Eleventh Amphibious Force, of 10 July 1944, designated Lt. A.H. Harris, USNR., as Commander Task Group 123.5 which included the four PT squadrons. In actuality, Lt. Comdr. J.D. Bulkeley, USN., retained command until his detachment to assume command of a destroyer, 16 July 1944. From 19 July 1944 Task Group 123.5 became 125.5.4 12th Fleet through to 31 July 1944, at which time it again became Task Group 123.5. 4 August through 30 October 1944, RON 34 was assigned temporarily to Task Force 125 for duty with administrative command remaining with Task Group 123.5

The PT repair Base, U.S. PT BASE Portland, England, was commanded by Lt. Comdr. Richard Davis, Jr., USN., and in addition to base force personnel of RONs 30, 34 and 35, it also had an E-11 unit and tow torpedo circuses. The latter operated under the command of CusNav. and the entire base was under the command of Commander Amphibious Bases U.K. This set-up created the complication of the Base operating under a different command from that of the PT forces afloat which took the base force personnel of squadrons temporarily out of the jurisdiction of their commanding officers.

PT Organization --- Page 2

The staff organization of PTs in the Channel area was composed primarily of officers attached also to squadrons. Other than in the cases of the below names designated by asterisks, all officers listed were also attached to squadrons, E-11 or torpedo Circuses, and many of them rode the boats during the early days of the invasion. The staff organizational list is accurate as of 15 October 1944.
 
STAFF ORGANIZATION
NAME RANK DUTY
HARRIS, A.H. Lieut., D-V(S) USNR Cmdr., PT RONs
WILLIAMS, J.K.* Lieut., D-V(G),  USNR Chief Staff Officer
BOWMAN, H.W.* Lieut., D-V(G),  USNR Operations Officer
TWADELL, C.E. Lieut., D-V(S),  USNR Ship's Officer
HOUEY, J.P. Lieut., I-V(S),  USNR Intelligence Officer
MOULIN, S.J. Lieut., D-V(S),  USNR Personnel Officer
SPARKS, H.A.  LT(jg), D-V(S),  USNR Communications Officer
GLASSCOCK, T.C. Lieut., MC-V(G),  USNR Medical Officer
JOHNSONS, E.S. LT(jg), SC-V(G) USNR Supply Officer
# - LT. Harris was Commander, PT Squadrons, 11th Amphibious Force
 
BASE OFFICERS OF THE STAFF
DULEY, R.H. Lieut., E-V(S) USNR Officer -in-Charge Base
COOLEY, R.S.* Lieut., D-V(S),  USNR Asst. O-in-C, of Base
STUTSMAN, L.M.* Lieut., D-V(G),  USNR First Lieutenant
KING, S.K. Lieut., D-V(G),  USNR Gunnery Officer
LOWREY, J.R. Lieut., D-V(G),  USNR Transportation Officer
LANDIS, F.E.  LT(jg), I-V(S),  USNR Wel. & Rec. Officer
TONSKI, V.A. LT(jg), D-V(G),  USNR Navigation Officer
SEARCH, F.E. LT(jg), E-V(RS,  USNR Radio & Radar Officer
MURRAY, R.F. Ensign, ,  USN Construction & Repair
KOEGLER, J.M. Ensign, D-V(S),  USNR Torpedo Officer
DAVIS, A.F.  Machinist  USN Engineering Officer
HOOPS, C.A. Machinist,  USN Asst. Engineering Officer
BAKER, S.E. Carpenter  USN Hull Officer


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10-18-2000