After the outbreak of
hostilities between the United States and Japan on 7 December 1941, the squadron moved from Cavite to
Sisiman Bay on the
Bataan Peninsula with the requisitioned tug
Trabajador as tender, where it helped in the defense of Bataan and
Corregidor during the
Japanese invasion of the Philippines.
PT-31 and
PT-33 were sunk during the battle. The desired practice was for boats to patrol in pairs in the event one PT needed assistance from another. The critical shortage of spares and fuel often prevented such pairing so that one of the small converted patrol yachts, ,
Perry, or , or one of the two old destroyers, or , were used to accompany a single PT on patrol. These three boats were based at Mindanao until mid-April 1942, where two of them (
PT-41 and
PT-34) attacked the , scoring at least one hit. This was to be the squadron's last action:
PT-34 was destroyed by Japanese aircraft,
PT-35 had to be scuttled to avoid capture, and
PT-41 was commandeered by the
U.S. Army to defend
Lake Lanao. She was scuttled as well, three days after transfer. Bulkeley and three other officers were later flown to safety on MacArthur's orders, with a fifth officer joining them shortly after. These five officers were all that remained of this squadron as a result. Three officers and fifteen enlisted men were killed in action or died as prisoners of war, seven evaded capture as guerrillas on Leyte, and 38 POWs were liberated after the war. The squadron's exploits were immortalized in the book and film
They Were Expendable. Bulkeley was awarded the
Medal of Honor, the
Distinguished Service Cross, the Philippine
Distinguished Conduct Star, and the Silver Star during his command of the squadron, making him one of the most decorated U.S. naval officers of World War II. On 27 July 1942
Motor Torpedo Boat Squadron Two was transferred to MTBRon 3 and was designated MTBRON 3(2). Their exploits in
The Slot are historic. At the end of the Solomon's campaign MTBRon 3(2) was decommissioned. The Squadron was recommissioned in the Atlantic as MTBRON 2(2). == List of assigned boats ==