Motor Torpedo Boat PT - 109 PT - 109 was a PT boat ( Patrol Torpedo boat ) last commanded by Lieutenant , junior grade ( LTJG ) John F . Kennedy ( later President of the United States ) in the Pacific Theater during World War II . Kennedy ' s actions to save his surviving crew after the sinking of the " PT - 109 " made him a war hero , which proved helpful in his political career . The incident may have also contributed to Kennedy ' s long - term back problems . After he became president , the incident became a cultural phenomenon , inspiring a song , many books , movies , various television series , collectible objects , scale model replicas and toys . Interest was revived in May 2002 , with the discovery of the wreck by Robert Ballard . Specifications . " PT - 109 " belonged to the " PT 103 " class , hundreds of which were completed between 1942 and 1945 by Elco . " PT - 109 " ' s keel was laid 4 March 1942 as the seventh Motor Torpedo Boat ( MTB ) of the - class built by Elco and was launched on 20 June . She was delivered to the Navy on 10 July 1942 , and fitted out in the New York Naval Shipyard in Brooklyn . The Elco boats were the largest PT boats operated by the U . S . Navy during World War II . At and 40 tons , they had strong wooden hulls of two layers of mahogany planking . Powered by three 12 - cylinder Packard gasoline engines ( one per propeller shaft ) , their designed top speed was . For space and weight - distribution reasons , the center engine was mounted with the output end facing aft , with power directly transmitted to the propeller shaft . Because the center propeller was deeper , it left less of a wake , and was preferred by skippers for low - wake loitering . Both wing engines were mounted with the output flange facing forward , and power was transmitted through a Vee - drive gearbox to the propeller shafts . The engines were fitted with mufflers on the transom to direct the exhaust under water , which had to be bypassed for anything other than idle speed . These mufflers were used not only to mask their own noise from the enemy , but to be able to hear enemy aircraft , which were rarely detected overhead before firing their cannons or machine guns or dropping their bombs . " PT 109 " could accommodate a crew of 3 officers and 14 enlisted , with the typical crew size between 12 and 14 . Fully loaded , " PT - 109 " displaced 56 tons . The principal offensive weapon was her torpedoes . She was fitted with four 21 - inch ( 53 cm ) torpedo tube s containing Mark 8 torpedo es . They weighed 3 , 150 lb ( 1 , 429 kg ) each , with warheads and gave the tiny boats a punch at least theoretically effective even against armored ships . Their typical speed of was effective against shipping , but because of rapid marine growth buildup on their hulls in the South Pacific and austere maintenance facilities in forward areas , American PT boats ended up being slower than the top speed of the Japanese destroyer s and cruiser s they were tasked with targeting in the Solomons . Torpedoes were also useless against shallow - draft barges , which were their most common targets . With their machine guns and 20 mm cannon , the PT boats could not return the large - caliber gunfire carried by destroyers , which had a much longer effective range , though they were effective against aircraft and ground targets . Because they were fueled with aviation gasoline , a direct hit to a PT boat ' s engine compartment sometimes resulted in a total loss of boat and crew . In order to have a chance of hitting their target , PT boats had to close to within 2 miles ( 3 . 2 km ) for a shot , well within the gun range of destroyers ; at this distance , a target could easily maneuver to avoid being hit . The boats approached in darkness , fired their torpedoes , which sometimes gave away their positions , and then fled behind smoke screens . Sometimes retreat was hampered by seaplanes dropping flares and bombs on the boats . The Elco torpedo - launching tubes were powered by a black powder charge to expel the torpedo from the tube . Additionally , the torpedo was well greased so it would slide out of the tube . Sometimes , the powder charge caused the grease to ignite upon firing , and the resulting flash could give away the position of the PT boat . Crews of PT boats relied on their smaller size , speed and maneuverability , and darkness , to survive . Ahead of the torpedoes on " PT - 109 " were two depth charge s , omitted on most PTs , one on each side , about the same diameter as the torpedoes . These were designed to be used against submarines , but were sometimes used by PT commanders to confuse and discourage pursuing destroyers . " PT - 109 " lost one of her two Mark 6 depth charges a month before Kennedy showed up when the starboard torpedo was inadvertently launched during a storm without first deploying the tube into firing position . The launching torpedo sheared away the depth charge mount and some of the footrail . " PT - 109 " had a single , 20 mm Oerlikon anti - aircraft mount at the rear with " 109 " painted on the mounting base , two open rotating turrets ( designed by the same firm that produced the Tucker automobile ) , each with twin , . 50 - caliber ( 12 . 7 mm ) anti - aircraft machine guns , at opposite corners of the open cockpit , and a smoke generator on her transom . These guns were effective against attacking aircraft . The day before her most famous mission , " PT - 109 " crew lashed a U . S . Army 37 mm antitank gun to the foredeck , replacing a small , 2 - man life raft . Timbers used to secure the weapon to the deck later helped save their lives when used as a float . Under Kennedy ' s command . Despite having a bad back , Kennedy used his family influence to get into the war . After starting out as an ensign with a desk job for the Office of Naval Intelligence in October 1941 , and then being reassigned to South Carolina in January 1942 because of his brief affair with Danish journalist Inga Arvad , on 27 July 1942 Kennedy entered the Naval Reserve Officers Training School in Chicago . After he completed this training on 27 September , he voluntarily entered the Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Training Center in Melville , Rhode Island , where he was promoted to Lieutenant , junior grade ( LTJG ) before completing his training on 2 December . He was then ordered to the training squadron , Motor Torpedo Squadron 4 , to take over the command of motor torpedo boat " PT - 101 " , a 78 - foot Higgins PT boat . In January 1943 , " PT - 101 " and four other boats were ordered to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 14 , which was assigned to Panama . The Allies had been in a campaign of island hopping since securing Guadalcanal in a bloody battle in early 1943 . Seeking combat duty , Kennedy transferred on 23 February 1943 as a replacement officer to Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron 2 , which was based at Tulagi Island in the Solomon Islands . Traveling to the Pacific on USS " Rochambeau " , Kennedy arrived at Tulagi on 14 April and took command of " PT - 109 " on 23 April . On 30 May , several PT boats , including " PT - 109 " , were ordered to the Russell Islands in preparation for the invasion of New Georgia . After the capture of Rendova Island , the PT boat operations were moved to a " bush " berth there on 16 June . From that base PT boats conducted nightly operations , both to disturb the heavy Japanese barge traffic that was resupplying the Japanese garrisons in New Georgia , and to patrol the Ferguson and Blackett Strait s in order to sight and to give warning when the Japanese Tokyo Express warships came into the straits to assault U . S . forces in the New Georgia – Rendova area . On 1 August , an attack by 18 Japanese bombers struck the base , wrecking " PT - 117 " and sinking " PT - 164 " . Two torpedoes were blown off " PT - 164 " and ran erratically around the bay until they ran ashore on the beach without exploding . Despite the loss of two boats and two crewmen , Kennedy ' s " PT - 109 " and 14 other boats were sent north on a mission through Ferguson Passage to Blackett Strait , after intelligence reports had indicated that five enemy destroyers were scheduled to run that night from Bougainville Island through Blackett Strait to Vila , on the southern tip of Kolombangara Island . In the PT attack that followed , 15 boats loaded with 60 torpedoes counted only a few observed explosions . However , of the thirty torpedoes fired by PT boats from the four divisions not a single hit was scored . Many of the torpedoes exploded prematurely or ran at the wrong depth . The boats were ordered to return when their torpedoes were expended , but the boats with radar shot their torpedoes first . When they left , remaining boats , such as " PT - 109 " , were left without radar , and were not notified that other boats had already engaged the enemy . " PT - 109 " , with " PT - 162 " and " PT - 169 " , were ordered to continue patrolling the area in case the enemy ships returned . Around 02 : 00 , on a moonless night , Kennedy ' s boat was idling on one engine to avoid detection of her wake by Japanese aircraft when the crew realized they were in the path of the Japanese destroyer " Amagiri " , which was returning to Rabaul from Vila , Kolombangara after offloading supplies and 900 soldiers . " Amagiri " was traveling at a relatively high speed of between and 40 kt ( 75 km / h ) in order to reach harbor by dawn , when Allied air patrols were likely to appear . The crew had less than 10 seconds to get the engines up to speed , and were run down by the destroyer on 2 August 1943 in the Blackett Strait between Kolombangara and Arundel in the Solomon Islands near . Conflicting statements have been made as to whether the destroyer captain had spotted and steered towards the boat ; some reports suggest the " Amagiri " < nowiki > ' s < / nowiki > captain never realized what happened until after the fact ; although the author , Donovan , having interviewed the men on the destroyer concluded that it was not an accident . Damage to a propeller slowed the Japanese destroyer ' s trip to her own home base . The captain of the " Amagiri " was Lt . Cmdr . Kohei Hanami . Also aboard was his senior officer , Capt . Katsumori Yamashiro ( commander , 11th Destroyer Flotilla ) , and on a following ship was Capt . Tameichi Hara ( Flotilla commander , Destroyer Div . # 7 ) , who claimed he noticed the resulting explosive fire after the PT 109 had been rammed , cut in half , and left burning . " PT - 109 " was cut in two . Seamen Andrew Jackson Kirksey and Harold W . Marney were killed , and two other members of the crew were badly injured . For such a catastrophic collision , explosion , and fire , it was a low loss rate compared to other boats that were hit by shell fire . " PT - 109 " was gravely damaged , with watertight compartments keeping only the forward hull afloat in a sea of flames . " PT - 169 " launched two torpedoes that missed the destroyer and " PT - 162 " ' s torpedoes failed to fire at all . Both boats then turned away from the scene of the action and returned to base without checking for survivors . Survival . All of the nearby large islands had Japanese camps on them . The survivors chose the tiny deserted Plum Pudding Island , southwest of Kolombangara island . They placed their lantern , shoes , and nonswimmers on one of the timbers used as a gun mount and began kicking together to propel it . It took four hours for the survivors to reach their destination , away , which they reached without interference by sharks or crocodiles . Kennedy , who had been on the Harvard University varsity swim team , used a life jacket strap clenched between his teeth to tow his badly - burned senior enlisted machinist mate , MM1 Patrick McMahon . The island was only 100 yards ( 90 m ) in diameter , with no food or water . The crew had to hide from passing Japanese barges . Kennedy swam about 4 km more , to Naru and Olasana islands , in search of help and food . He then led his men to Olasana Island , which had coconut trees and drinkable water . Rescue . The explosion on 2 August was spotted by an Australian coastwatcher , Sub Lieutenant Arthur Reginald Evans , who manned a secret observation post at the top of the Mount Veve volcano on Kolombangara island , where more than 10 , 000 Japanese troops were garrisoned below on the southeast portion . The Navy and its squadron of PT boats held a memorial service for the crew of " PT - 109 " after reports were made of the large explosion . However , Evans dispatched Solomon Islanders Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana in a dugout canoe to look for possible survivors after decoding news that the explosion he had witnessed was probably from the lost " PT - 109 " . The canoes were similar to those used for thousands of years in the Pacific by indigenous peoples from Polynesia and coastal North and South America . They could avoid detection by Japanese ships and aircraft and , if spotted , would probably be taken for native fishermen . Kennedy and his men survived for six days on coconuts before they were found by the scouts . Gasa and Kumana disobeyed an order by stopping by Naru to investigate a Japanese wreck , from which they salvaged fuel and food . They first fled by canoe from Kennedy , who to them was simply a shouting stranger . On the next island , they pointed their Tommy guns at the rest of the crew since the only light - skinned people they expected to find were Japanese and they were not familiar with either the language or the people . Gasa later said " All white people looked the same to me . " Kennedy convinced them they were on the same side . The small canoe was not big enough for passengers . Though the Donovan book and movie depict Kennedy offering a coconut inscribed with a message , according to a " National Geographic " interview , it was Gasa who suggested it and Kumana who climbed a coconut tree to pick one . Kennedy cut the following message on a coconut NAURO ISL COMMANDER . . . NATIVE KNOWS POS ' IT . . . HE CAN PILOT . . . 11 ALIVE NEED SMALL BOAT . . . KENNEDY This message was delivered at great risk through of hostile waters patrolled by the Japanese to the nearest Allied base at Rendova . Other coastwatcher natives who were caught had been tortured and killed . Later , a canoe returned for Kennedy , taking him to the coastwatcher to coordinate the rescue . The " PT - 157 " , commanded by Lieutenant William Liebenow , was able to pick up the survivors . The arranged signal was four shots , but since Kennedy only had three bullets in his pistol , Evans gave him a Japanese rifle for the fourth signal shot . The sailors sang " Yes Jesus Loves Me " to pass the time . Gasa and Kumana received little notice or credit in military reports , books , or movies until 2002 when they were interviewed by " National Geographic " shortly before Gasa ' s death . The coconut shell was preserved in a glass container by Kennedy on his Oval Office desk during his presidency . It is now on display at the John F . Kennedy Library in Boston , Massachusetts . " PT - 59 " . " PT - 59 " was one of the first PT boats converted to a gunboat primarily tasked with hunting down targets their own size or smaller , and was crewed by Kennedy and those from " PT - 109 " who chose to stay in the war rather than go home . On 2 November 1943 , ( in an incident portrayed as an action by " PT - 109 " in the film " PT - 109 " ) " PT - 59 " went on to rescue Marines ambushed during a raid on Choiseul Island . One gravely wounded Marine died in LT Kennedy ' s bunk aboard " PT - 59 " that night . The search for " PT - 109 " . The wreckage of " PT - 109 " was located in May 2002 when a National Geographic Society expedition headed by Robert Ballard found a torpedo tube from wreckage matching the description and location of Kennedy ' s vessel in the Solomon Islands . The boat was identified by Dale Ridder , a weapons and explosives expert on the U . S . Marine Forensics Panel . The stern section was not found , but a search using remote vehicles found the forward section , which had drifted south of the collision site . Much of the half - buried wreckage and grave site was left undisturbed in accordance with Navy policy . Max Kennedy , who joined Ballard on the expedition , presented a bust of JFK to the islanders who had found Kennedy and his crew . Uniforms and last crew . A standard uniform was blue dungarees with a white , round dixie cap for enlisted sailors , washed khakis and service cap for officers . During General Quarters , the crew manned their battle stations wearing dark blue kapok life vests and U . S . Army / U . S . Marine Corps - style steel helmets painted gray . The skipper ' s helmet had stripes and an inverted star ( approximating his dress uniform sleeve rank or shoulder board insignia . . . normally that of LTJG or LT ) , while the other officer was labeled " XO " . The crew aboard " PT - 109 " on her last mission : Survivors . Gerard Zinser , a retired chief petty officer and the last survivor of " PT - 109 " , died in Florida in 2001 . Both Solomon Islanders Biuki Gasa and Eroni Kumana were alive when visited by " National Geographic " in 2002 . They were each presented with a gift from the Kennedy family . Biuki Gasa died in late August 2005 , his passing noted only in a single blog by a relative . According to " Time Pacific " magazine , Gasa and Kumana were invited to Kennedy ' s inauguration . However , the island authorities tricked them into giving their trip to local officials . Gasa and Kumana gained a little fame only after being identified by " National Geographic " . In 2007 , the commanding officer of the USS " Peleliu " , Captain Ed Rhoades , presented Eroni Kumana with gifts , including an American flag for his actions more than 60 years earlier . Legacy . The episode of " PT - 109 " s sinking featured in a book and a 1963 movie , " PT 109 " , starring Cliff Robertson . It had some historical inaccuracies , such as the Navy searching for the boat rather than holding a memorial service for the crew . President Kennedy personally selected Robertson to play him in the film version . As there were only a few Elco PT - 105 class hulls in existence by that time ( none in operable condition or resembling their WW - II appearance ) a few 82 ' USAF Crash Rescue boats were converted to resemble " PT - 109 " and a few other Elco PT ' s in the movie . A song entitled " PT - 109 " by Jimmy Dean reached No . 8 on the pop music , and No . 3 on the country music charts in 1962 , making it one of Dean ' s most successful recordings . Plum Pudding Island was later renamed Kennedy Island . A controversy arose when the government sold the land to a private investor who charged admission to tourists . The 1958 movie " South Pacific " preceded " PT - 109 " as a drama about Navy sailors in the Pacific theater . " PT - 109 " was also a subject of toy , plastic and RC model ships in the 1960s , familiar to boys who grew up as Baby Boom ers . It was still a popular 1 / 72 scale Revell model kit in the 21st century . Hasbro also released a " PT - 109 " edition John F . Kennedy G . I . Joe action figure , dressed in Navy khakis with a miniature version of the famous coconut shell . The tale is much less familiar to later generations , as the movie was out of print in VHS in the U . S . by 2006 and was not released in the U . S . on DVD until 2011 . It is available outside of the U . S . as a Video CD , but not yet as a DVD .