“My God! We just had eight or ten torpedoes fired at us! The goddam McCawley went down in 30 seconds! We're hauling ass for Tulagi at 21 knots!" --Chief Radioman Bob Proctor to Radioman 1st Class Theodore Mason in the radio room of USS Pawnee at the height of the “Rendova incident." Location: Blanche Channel, between the northern tip of Rendova and Mbalumbalu Island, 2000 hours 30 June 1943. Operational Situation: After having stopped the Japanese offensive at Guadalcanal, the Allies had gone over to the offensive in the central Solomon Islands. Beginning an American amphibious assault on New Georgia, Rendova and Vangunu islands, Admiral Richmond Kelly Turner's Third Amphibious Force landed some 6,000 troops on Rendova Island in the early morning hours of June 30, 1943. After some initial Japanese confusion, several air attacks were dispatched from Rabaul, and despite severe losses, a midafternoon strike of 25 “Betty ” bombers scored a torpedo hit in the engine room of the amphibious force flagship McCawley during the withdrawal of the landing force. Abandoned and dead in the water, she was towed away from the beachhead by the transport Libra. Allied support forces, including the fleet tug Pawnee, attempted to pick up the pieces. Meanwhile, other Allied light forces patrolled the area. Combined with a lack of coordination and communications, this resulted in a classic example of “friendly fire”. The twelve boats of Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 9 were part of the task force that entered Rendova Harbor on the morning of June 30. Lieutenant Commander Robert B. Kelly's orders were to establish a temporary base and operate as directed by the Commander Naval Base Rendova. Most of the first day was devoted to finding a suitable anchorage and fueling the boats from drums lightered out in LCMs. The Commander Naval Base at first told Kelly that there would be no PT patrols that night, but later Kelly received orders to establish a patrol from the northern tip of Rendova to Roviana Lagoon to screen landing craft that were to land troops on New Georgia, and another to the east and west of Mbalumbalu Island in Blanche Channel. The Commander Amphibious Force directed that Kelly's PTs intercept and destroy enemy forces that were expected to reinforce Viru Harbor from the north. He asked what friendly vessels might be encountered in the area, and was assured that there would be none operating north of Viru Harbor. He was speci fically informed that all of our transports and their escorts would be well clear of the patrol areas. Tactical Situation: USS McCawley was abandoned at 1030 hours and is now dead in the water, listing to port and down by the stern, and due to Libra's hasty cutting of the messenger line along with the tow cable, is now adrift. Pawnee is preparing to lay her bow alongside McCawley to put crewmen aboard to heave up and secure her own tow cable to the cripple, while the two escorting destroyers patrol the area. At 2002 hours Admiral Wilkinson ordered USS McCalla to prepare to torpedo the transport if she should settle to the point where she could no longer be towed. Meanwhile, a squadron of PT boats is entering Blanche Channel with orders to sink any vessels encountered. Due to communications snafus, the PT force has not received word that Allied ships are present in the area. Environment: Moonless night;ceiling 2000 meters. 5%visibility. PT Forces: MTB Squadron 9, Lieutenant Commander Robert B. Kelly in PT-153 : PT-153, PT-118, PT-160, PT-158, PT-162, PT-159 (all PT-103 class) in two echelons. PT Orders: Patrol Blanche Channel and sink any vessels encountered after sunset. All friendly shipping is clear of the area. PT Victory Conditions: Decisive: Three or more enemy ships encountered are sunk or damaged greater than 50%. Tactical: One enemy ship (other than McCawley ) is damaged more than 50%. Salvage Forces: Rear Admiral Theodore S. Wilkinson in USS Ralph Talbot : ATF-74 Pawnee (Navajo class) , DD-390 Ralph Talbot (Bagley class) , DD-488 McCalla (Gleaves class) , AP-10 McCawley (McCawley class) Salvage Orders: Take McCawley in tow and proceed to Tulagi harbor. Salvage Victory Conditions: Decisive: McCawley is afloat and in tow at 0800 hours July 1. Tactical: No ships other than McCawley are sunk or damaged greater than 50%. Setup: McCawley is abandoned and adrift (stationary) . Place Pawnee 2000 yards off McCawley's bow, closing on McCawley at 5 knots. Place McCalla 1500 yards off McCawley's starboard side and Ralph Talbot 1500 yards off McCawley's port side, patrolling in “racetrack" patterns at 15 knots. Place the PT boats in two line abreast echelons with 500 yards between boats at the limit of McCalla's radar search range. Special Rules: Neither force is aware of the other, and no communi- cations are allowed between the two forces. If communications rules are used, no messages are permitted to be passed from Third'Phib HQ to the PT boat force. Historical Outcome: At 2024 hours, Pawnee was less than 100 feet from McCawley's bow when a lookout shouted, “I hear American voices out there!" Almost simultaneously, several sailors topside spotted torpedo wakes and shouted a warning. Pawnee's skipper immediately ordered full speed in reverse, backing away from McCawley as fast as possible. Moments later, a torpedo sped past Pawnee's stem with but 3 or 4 feet to spare. As Pawnee continued backing away, another torpedo sped past her bow. Another lookout then shouted, “Torpedo off the starboard quarter!" Pawnee then reversed power and swung about on hard left rudder. A crewman on the tug reported that at least one torpedo passed under Pawnee's counter, one or two others scraped Pawnee's bottom during her frenetic escape but failed to explode, and that at one point the tug reached a speed of 21 knots. Two torpedoes tore into McCawley's hull, the second one detonating a powder magazine, and she sank at 2028 hours in 340 fathoms of water -- just four minutes after the first torpedo track was sighted. Fortunately, no other Allied ships were sunk or even damaged in this episode, and no lives were lost. In addition, as a result of the sinking of McCawley, operational control of PT boats in the South Pacific was transferred from naval base commanders to Admiral Turner and his successor in Third Amphibious Force, Admiral Wilkinson, and a PT liaison officer was attached to Third'Phib staff. From then on, the PT boats were usually kept well clear of Third Fleet operating areas. This system did not function perfectly in every instance, but it was a vast improvement over the former method. The lesson cost one transport -- a ship already so grievously wounded that McCalla was standing by to torpedo it. The price might well have been higher. Bibliography Bulkeley, Robert J. At Close Quarters: PT Boats in the United States Navy. Washington, DC: Naval History Division, 1962. Mason, Theodore C. “We will stand by you”: Serving in the Pawnee, 1942-1945. Columbia, SC: University of South Carolina Press, 1990. Annex A: Ships for A Slight Misunderstanding PT-103 (Elco 80’) PT Displacement: 50 std In class: 332 Size Class: F In Service: 1942 Propulsion: Petrol Crew: 18 Weapons: Armor Rtng: 0 PB&SB(1) 4 533mm TT w/1 Mk8 torp F PB&PQ&SQ/SW&SA(2) 2 Browning . 50 cal mg C A(1) 1 Mk4 20mm C Light AA: 1 Mk4 20mm, 4 . 50 cal (0. 5) Remarks: PT-103 – PT--196, PT-314 – PT--383, PT-486 – PT--563, PT-565 – PT--624, PT-731 – PT--760. Wooden hull. Within a few months of service the top speed for a vessel would drop dramatically because of bottom fouling, added weight from water soakage, added equipment, and general wear and tear on the engines. Before a game, the player controlling the PT boats should roll 2D6 for each boat and subtract this number from the top speed for that boat. On any boat the aft two torpedo tubes can be replaced by 4 Mk1 roll-off racks with one Mk6 DC each. The following were sent to USSR: PT-498 – PT--504, PT-506 – PT--521, PT-556, PT-560 – PT--563, PT-731 – PT--760. Listed armament is typical of a new boat from 1942 – 1943, actual armament varied widely depending on what weapons the crew could get. Possible 1943 --1945 configurations: F(1) 1 Mk4 20mm, A(1) 1 Mk3 40mm, PB&PQ&SQ/SW&SA(2) 2 . 50 cal mg F(1) 1 Mk3 40mm, A(1) 1 Mk4 20mm, PB&PQ&SQ/SW&SA(2) 2 . 50 cal mg F(1) 1 Mk4 or Mk9 37mm, F(1) 1 Mk4 20mm, A(1) 1 Mk3 40mm, PB&PQ&SQ/SW&SA(2) 2 . 50 cal mg F(1) 1 Mk4 20mm, A(1) 1 Mk4 20mm, PB&PQ&SQ/SW&SA(2) 2 . 50 cal mg F(1) 1 Mk4 or Mk9 37mm, A(1) 1 Mk4 20mm, PB&PQ&SQ/SW&SA(2) 2 . 50 cal mg 1943: : Some boatsfitted with Army SCR-517C radar, later standardfit was SO or SO3 radar. 533mm TT replaced by roll-off racks and Mk13 torpedoes. 1944: : Add (8) 2 Mk8 5" rocket launchers. . These are used to attack ground targets only. Damage and Speed Breakdown: Dam. Pts: 0 0. 5 0. 9 1. 4 1. 7 1. 9 Surf Speed: 44 33 22 11 0 Sinks McCawley AP Displacement: 7858 std In Class: 2 Size Class: B In Service: 1940 Propulsion: Diesel Crew: 197+1800p Weapons Armor Rating: 0 A(1) 1 Mk37 5 in/38 C PW/SW/A(1) 3 Mk22 3 in/50 C Area AA: (1) 1 Mk37 5 in/38, (1) 3 Mk22 3 in/50 (1. 1) Light AA: 6 20mm (1. 5) Remarks: Passenger liners Santa Barbara, Santa Maria , built 1928 in England. Taken over in 1940 as McCawley, Barnett. Capacity 1800 troops. Merchant construction, special damage modifier of -50%. Aug 42 --Jul 43: McCawley used as amphibious force flagship. Feb 43: : Reclassified as attack transports (APA) . 30 Jun 43: : McCawley torpedoed by Japanese air attack;later sunk in error by USN PT boats. Damage and Speed Breakdown Dam Pts: 0 29 59 88 105 117 Surf Speed: 16 12 8 4 0 Sinks Navajo ATF Displacement: 1450 std In Class: 76 Size Class: D In Service: 1940 Propulsion: Diesel-Electric Crew: 94 Weapons: Armor Rating: 0 F(1) 1 Mk22 3 in/50 C 2 Mk6 K-guns w/4 Mk6/9 DC E Area AA: (1) 1 Mk22 3 in/50 (. 3) Light AA: 4 20mm, 4 . 50, 4 . 30 cal (1. 8) Sensors: QC series sonar K Remarks: 1944: : SO or SO-8 radar installed;2 20mm replaced by (2) 2 40mm (Lt AA 2. 3) . Seven used as ASR (submarine rescue vessels) . Damage & Speed Breakdown: Dam Pts: 0 11 22 32 39 43 Surf Speed: 16 12 8 4 0 Sinks BT Back to The Naval Sitrep # 27 Table of Contents Back to Naval Sitrep List of Issues Back to MagWeb Master Magazine List & copy Copyright 2004 by Larry Bond and Clash of Arms. This article appears in MagWeb.com (Magazine Web) on the Internet World Wide Web. Other military history and related articles are available at http://www.magweb.com