Motor Torpedo Boat PT-346 - Causes and Inquiry

Causes and Inquiry

Factors that contributed to the incident included an influx of new pilots who lacked experience in recognizing PT boats, poor communications between the planes and PT boats, and the fact that the incident occurred in an area of the Pacific which was the "line of demarcation" between Nimitz and MacArthur’s Pacific commands, which meant that coordination of reports between the two commands did not always occur. A formal inquiry into the incident was conducted and improvements instituted as a result of the tragedy.