Ordeal in Vitiaz Strait by Jack Fellows

PT Boats fought in all theaters of Naval Combat Operations during WWII - but perhaps nowhere were they more suited to the environment than in the island-studded tropical SW Pacific. On December 27, 1943, PT-190 and PT-191 were attacked by fighter and dive-bomber elements as they made their way back to their base at Dreger Harbor on New Guinea. The Imperial Japanese navy, totaling approximately 28 aircraft, surprised the PTs as they were crossing the open stretch of water between New Britain and New Guinea, known as the Vitiaz Strait.