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Forgotten US Navy boats discovered in Channel Islands
An amateur historian has uncovered the little-known role of four US Navy patrol torpedo (PT) boats that arrived in Jersey and Guernsey during the final days of World War Two, just after Germany's surrender.
The 'mosquito fleet' and its wartime role
Squadron 30 (RON 30), nicknamed the "mosquito fleet" for their speed and agility, operated in the English Channel and around the Channel Islands from 1940 to 1945. According to Jersey historian Alexander Fearn, the boats were designed to harass enemy vessels, escort supply ships, and conduct anti-submarine patrols.
Their last major engagement with German forces took place on 11 April 1945 near Alderney, just weeks before the war in Europe ended.
How the boats ended up in Jersey and Guernsey
The presence of the four PT boats in the Channel Islands remained largely unknown until Fearn stumbled upon archival photographs from the National PT Museum and Memorial in Massachusetts. The images were mislabeled as "St Helier, France," prompting Fearn to investigate further.
"There's only one St Helier in France, and it's landlocked," Fearn said. "But the harbor in the photos was unmistakably Jersey." His research confirmed that the boats arrived in Guernsey and Jersey on 12 May 1945 as part of the liberation convoy.
A symbolic final mission
The four PT boats left Plymouth at 02:00 BST on 12 May 1945, reaching St Peter Port, Guernsey, by 08:15. They departed for Jersey at 09:40 and docked in St Helier around 11:20. Their role was to counter any last-minute German resistance or U-boat interference with the main liberation fleet.
Fearn noted that the boats were not part of the original convoy plan but were added at the last minute for security.
A poignant farewell
When the squadron left for Cherbourg later that day, they passed near the wreck of PT-509, a sister boat lost in 1944 during a nighttime skirmish with German forces off Jersey. The wreck still lies on the seabed near St Helier's harbor entrance.
"It's hard not to think of that as a poignant moment, even if the crews weren't aware of it," Fearn said.
Why this story matters
The Channel Islands, the only British territory occupied by Germany during the war, marked the 81st anniversary of their liberation this year. Fearn emphasized that many wartime stories from the islands remain untold, including this one.
"There are still gaps in our understanding of what happened here between 1940 and 1945," he said. "This is just one more piece of the puzzle."
