On February 1, 1945 two PT boats of MTB RON-13 were attempting to make contact with Rear Admiral William M. Fechteler, Commander of TG-78.2 off Luzon, Philippines. The rendezvous was meant to establish the parameters of future PT boat operations. This was important so that when a target was located, but could not be clearly identified, it would be assumed that it was an enemy vessel since no friendly forces should be in that area without orders. At the time the Task Group was covering the landings at Nasugbu Bay and were searching for Japanese suicide boats which were quite active in the area. Two ships of TG-78.2 were patrolling between Fortune Island and Talin Point, but were apparently not informed that the two PT boats were approaching the area.

At 1630 USS PT-77 and USS PT-79 departed their base and headed toward the area where the Task Group was located. The PT boats had orders not to go north of Talin Point unless ordered by CTG-78.2 to do so in order to keep them from running afoul of friendly forces, orders which they obeyed. They failed to make contact with CTG-78.2 and after reaching Talin Point they turned east toward the beach. When three or four miles out they turned south and continued at idle speed attempting to make contact.

Between 2200 and 2300 (times vary from different reports) the PT boats were picked up on the radar of USS Conyngham DD-371 (Cdr. Brown Taylor, USN) about 10,000 yards off. The contact was reported to CTG 78.2 and they were ordered to investigate the contact (one report states that CTG-78.2 ordered them to take the boats under fire). In company with USS Lough DE-586 (Lt. Cdr. Blaney C. Turner, USNR) the two destroyers closed the contact.

According to the PT survivors they were, at the time of the action, three miles south of Talin Point and therefore in a "safe" zone. But in a war there is no safe zone and the PT's were shortly receiving fire from the destroyers. The men on the PT's knew the destroyers shooting at them were their own, but the destroyers were under the mistaken opinion that these were Japanese suicide boats. The task group had been attacked the night before by an estimated 30 suicide boats and the men in the destroyers were on edge to say the least. However it is unclear to me why the destroyer commanders were not told that two U.S. PT boats were expected to be in the area or why they could not make contact with them before the attack. The destroyers claimed not to have seen any signals from the PT's either by radio or signal lamp. The survivors from the PT's claimed that they had sent both radio and light signals.

Attempting to outrun the destroyers the PT's took off south at full speed, but PT-77 ran onto a reef 12 miles south of Talin Point and was shortly thereafter hit by a shell and set afire. PT-79 slowed to avoid the reef and turned north. At that time she was hit on the port side by a 5" shell. The survivors abandoned her and she exploded and sank.

The thirty men in the water swam to shore and were helped by some Philippinos to safety. Four men from the PT's were killed, including the commanding officer of PT-79 and Lt. Stillman, the commanding officer of MTB RON-16 who was in overall command of the mission.

At least two attempts were made to located the survivors, one by USS PT-222 and USS PT-223 on Feb. 2 and the second by USS PT-227 and USS PT-230 of MTB RON-17 on Feb. 3. The latter boats located the survivors two miles north of Santiago Point and picked them up. The two boats which had been completed within days of each other at Higgins Industries in New Orleans became the last two PT boats lost in action during World War II.