Japan Feared America’s PT Boats That Attacked Under the Cover of Night

Experience the untold saga of America’s fearless PT boat crews who struck fear into Japanese naval forces across the Pacific during World War II. This powerful documentary unveils how small, 77-foot wooden torpedo boats—manned by young volunteers with an average age of just 22—defied the Imperial Japanese Navy’s control of the night seas around Guadalcanal and the Solomon Islands.

Discover how these so-called “mosquito boats,” relying on speed, stealth, and audacity, disrupted Japan’s notorious Tokyo Express supply runs and achieved a stunning victory by sinking the destroyer Teruzuki in December 1942—the largest warship ever taken down by PT boats. From the deadly skirmishes in Iron Bottom Sound to John F. Kennedy’s legendary PT-109 ordeal, this meticulously researched account captures the David-versus-Goliath struggle that reshaped naval warfare.

Through vivid descriptions of nocturnal combat, close-range torpedo strikes, and the staggering 33% casualty rate endured by PT boat crews, this film pays tribute to the forgotten heroes whose courage and ingenuity overcame impossible odds. Drawing from declassified naval records, survivor testimonies, and recent underwater archaeological findings, witness how these plywood speedboats—armed with unreliable torpedoes but unmatched determination—became Japan’s worst nightmare and helped shift the balance of the Pacific War.