A neighbor of mine in the 1990s was a Marine in the Pacific. Survivor of Pearl Harbor at 17 years old. He was in most of the main amphibious landings including Tarawa. He came out of 'the boats' as he called them 12 times upto and including Iwo Jima. He would only talk about his experiences on Dec. 7th and no other time. He cried steadily while he talked and you can see why, a better man than I am. In memory- Sgt. Robert Jarmillo of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
My Grandfather was close enough to see Tarawa but did not fight in and said it was the worst thing he'd seen in the war. Keep in mind My grandfather fought at Saipan where he had his leg shot off and Saipan was as Grim as any battle we fought.
My Father was 1st Marine Division from Cape Gloucester to Peleliu. He was a recruiter for two years before the war. He died in 2005. We had a cousin who went from Tarawa to Okinawa where he was KIA. Thank you for that tribute to a fellow MARINE. I am third generation MARINE CORPS. And a resident of Albuquerque, The first real home I have ever had(next to the MARINE CORPS).
I watched a programme called tank battles and that was on one of them, the tank commander survived the war and was talking about that battle and that shot. The 37mm round hit the muzzle and only shrapnel went down the tube not the complete round.
The cat at the end... imagine being that cat, life is fine and well until one day all hell breaks loose and a few days later everything goes quiet again... and you have no clue wtf just happened
That was indeed a shot in a million - Japanese 37mm round going straight down the barrel and open breach of the Sherman 75 mm! Ps it's 75 years ago today that Tiger Ace Michael Wittmann was KiA in the heavy Normandy Fighting.
OMG, the soldier giving the kitty water is so awesome. I've seen the still frame of that but never knew it was motion film. Awesome documentary. Thanx.
It's amazing, this guy finds those stories that are so crazy they can't be made up. Could you image the repairman asking the crew why their main gun wasn't working?
YourFavoriteSon that’s why you’re my favourite son! Cecilia is the name of an old girlfriend lol what a story of the ol gal! I was waiting for this topic
The actor, Eddie Albert from among other things Green Acres, won a Bronze Star at Tarawa for getting a bunch of Marines off the beach, while under heavy fire.
the sheer absurdity of the Type 95's underpowered gun achieving a partial mission kill is pretty poetic. that's a tremendous amount of chance coming into play when the circumstances of the engagement are considered. thank you for investigating this particular aspect of the battle. this was a really great snapshot of the state of each nations' armor concerns and a fine synopsis of the battle as well.
An uncle of mine took part in the landing at Tarawa and survived that blood bath to land on several other islands through 1945. According to him, and he rarely spoke of his experiences in WWII, once someone realized that armor piercing rounds from the M-1 Garand and other ".30-06" weapons, not to mention .50BHMGs, could shoot completely through Japanese tanks at ranges out to about 200 yards for the .30-06 weapons and 200 out to roughly 800 yards for the.50BHMG AP rounds were off loaded and sent forward for "general usage".
A much older cousin of mine was at Okinawa or Iwo Jima (I forget which - I was a child) said something similar. He said that his M-1 Garand from 50 yards could penetrate the side armor of a Japanese tank and kill the driver. That was the only thing I heard from him about a battle.
@@hugomuller9373 before fighting the US, japan only fight on asia and most of them dont have tanks or dont use 50bmg. also japan emphasis more their resource on naval combat (battle ship, carrier etc) than a tank which is why their tank development are left behind.
@@hugomuller9373 just remove the armor and the turret and put on the chassis a 75mm AA gun. It's might be more useful as tank destroyer for ambushing tactic.
A similar lucky shot in a million happened on the Russian front in 1941. A Pz.III.E crew fired their 37mm. gun at a Soviet SU 122 assault gun that had just been spotted. The SU 122's crew had the breech open to load the APHE shell when the Panzer's 37mm. shot sailed up the gun barrel, out of the open breech and into the ammo rack on the rear wall causing a massive internal explosion that cracked the tank one. The wrecked Su 122 was examined and apart from the damage to the gun barrel, no other perforations were found. This wrecked SU 122 featured in German propaganda photos for their "Signal" military propaganda magazine.
Most of the veterans of the Pacific WWII are that way. I am third generation MARINE. My Father was 1st Marine Division from Cape Gloucester to Peleliu. My uncle Kermit was Marine Corps and at Iwo Jima. My Bruce was U.S.ARMY from New Guinea to the Philippines. Our cousin Norman was MARINE CORPS (my father was his recruiter). From Tarawa to Okinawa where he was KIA. Even with me being a MARINE combat Veteran, there was little talk about it. It was horrific on a level you could not, nor would not want to understand. I know this from what I have been told. And being face to face with a family member, and seeing the pain and horror in his soul as he talked...... To make matters worse, Once the combat started, You got no brakes, from the military. You had brakes from combat. But NO brakes from the other stressors...... A total Male, total military HELL, till it was over.
When I was a young man I worked with a man that was a veteran of Tarawa. He went ashore dark haired and when he left the island it was snow white. RIP Willie Raymond Grigg.
Mark Felton: Sherman v.s. Type 95 Everyone: I wOnDeR hOw ThIs Is GoInG tO eNd Bad jokes aside, that Type 95 could Not have landed a better shot. A realy brave gunner to try and fight a sherman tank in such a vehicle. The fact that he actualy "won" the engagement(at first) shows how important confidence can be.
Today I visited Panzermuseum Munster in Germany. Although it shows no Japanese tanks, there are plenty of German and US tanks. Imho highly recommendes for most of the audience of this brilliant channel!
"It would take 1 million men 100 years to take this one island" the hubris of Japanese officers in WW2 was staggering. Especially considering the kind of fortifications they knew could be taken as they had taken such strong-points themselves.
Growing up in upstate NY we had a neighbor who I never knew very well but I remembered vaguely that the few times we were around at a party or gathering he was kinda quiet and was usually drinking ( I was very young so his drinking could have been perfectly ordinary it’s just what I remember). Years later my dad told me he was in one of the UDT teams that looked over Tarawa prior to the Marine invasion..... swim fins, googles, knife and swim shorts...... and big brass....
David Moreno it wasn’t a tragedy, it was a glorious victory bought in blood. Without the success of the island hopping campaign we could’ve never won the war against Japan.
A fortified miserable piece of land with an airfield! Wich had to be taken to deny it's use to the Japanese, and allow the US to operate from it. That alone made it a quite strategical location. It would be interesting to know what did the US with the airfield after its capture.
Another great video from my favourite youtuber! Thank you for finding obscure yet very interesting videos. Never thought much about tank warfare in the Pacific.
Japan had giant low velocity guns on tanks. The Type 89 had a 57mm designed in 1928. That turret was also mounted on the Ha-Go which was called the Ke-Nu. Chi-ha was also equipped with a 120mm anti-submarine naval artillery. There's also plenty of open-top "derp" guns in Japanese service. SMGs was what they lacked in large amounts, although they did have that too.
I've read some of the accounts. This battle was NUTS for the armored Corp with most of the units knocked out being lost to falling in shell holes. Also; don't discount the threat posed by the 37mm. It may have been inadequate by this stage of the war but it could still cause serious damage to a Sherman even if it couldn't get a hard- kill on one.
What an amazing shot that Type 95 got off. Do a video about Lt. Hawkins, Medal of Honor exploits on Betio. Your channel is consistently outstanding. Thanks for all the effort!
In regards to the shot 'straight down the barrel' The RAF fighter pilot R.R.S Tuck says in his autobiography that when he was shot down by flak (multi 20 or 37mm I think) and taken prisoner he had just strafed this particular flak unit, and had killed quite a number of the crew, and when he baled out his parachute was taking him close to the gun position, and he was expecting a hostile reception. However he was amazed to find the remaining crew in good spirits, slapping him on the back saying 'good shot tommy!' They took him over to the guns and he found that one of his rounds had gone 'straight down the barrel' of one of the flak guns. He say's this saved him from a beating....or worse.
the odds of a round entering the mouth of an opposing tank's main gun must be astronomical....maybe only surpassed by the round not harming a single crew member of that tank
A neighbor of mine in the 1990s was a Marine in the Pacific. Survivor of Pearl Harbor at 17 years old.
He was in most of the main amphibious landings including Tarawa.
He came out of 'the boats' as he called them 12 times upto and including Iwo Jima.
He would only talk about his experiences on Dec. 7th and no other time.
He cried steadily while he talked and you can see why, a better man than I am.
In memory-
Sgt. Robert Jarmillo of Albuquerque, New Mexico.
My Grandfather was close enough to see Tarawa but did not fight in and said it was the worst thing he'd seen in the war. Keep in mind My grandfather fought at Saipan where he had his leg shot off and Saipan was as Grim as any battle we fought.
Thank you for your service Sargent Jarmillo
My Father was 1st Marine Division from Cape Gloucester to Peleliu. He was a recruiter for two years before the war.
He died in 2005.
We had a cousin who went from Tarawa to Okinawa where he was KIA.
Thank you for that tribute to a fellow MARINE.
I am third generation MARINE CORPS.
And a resident of Albuquerque,
The first real home I have ever had(next to the MARINE CORPS).
Remarkable story!! What are the odds of surviving so many landings?? A true American spirit fighting for his country. Merci
JarAmillo, likely, a common Spanish last name.
Considering the war was bloody, its nice to see soldier caring for animals like the cat towards the end
The cat is that Ha Go tank crew! Meow meow arigato guzai matsu!
The Type 95 looks like something I would build in my garage.
I've always wondered if a shot like that was possible.
That's a lucky shot
Yes he could never do it twice.
What are the odds of a shot going straight down the barrel?
I wonder if that shot happened to infantry.
Had to, like bullets colliding halfway there in the air. 🙁
@@tbjr1150 images.app.goo.gl/stP6N1GRMk3rgiau9
I watched a programme called tank battles and that was on one of them, the tank commander survived the war and was talking about that battle and that shot. The 37mm round hit the muzzle and only shrapnel went down the tube not the complete round.
The cat at the end... imagine being that cat, life is fine and well until one day all hell breaks loose and a few days later everything goes quiet again... and you have no clue wtf just happened
A million men a hundred years.
Or a couple thousand marines 4 days
20k was our invasion force.
To this day,
The Japanese are in awe of us MARINES. Because of that generation of Marines, whom my Father was one of.
@@knutdergroe9757 where do you get that from?
"whose a good kitty" that kitty at the end of the video probably brought some much needed smiles to the boys. God Bless Them
Without a doubt; the best channel on RUclips! Thank you for your amazing videos!
He protect
He attack
But most importantly
He feed cat
Its kind of heartwarming to see when soldiers still do things like caring for animals at these times of violence.
That was indeed a shot in a million - Japanese 37mm round going straight down the barrel and open breach of the Sherman 75 mm!
Ps it's 75 years ago today that Tiger Ace Michael Wittmann was KiA in the heavy Normandy Fighting.
Awwww
The kindness shown by giving the kitten water brought tears to my eyes.
OMG, the soldier giving the kitty water is so awesome. I've seen the still frame of that but never knew it was motion film. Awesome documentary. Thanx.
Marveling at the fact that even in war soldier's could find time to be compassionate and caring for little cat's. It just warms my heart.
These were just kids back then, most 16 to 18 years old.
Taking out Cecelia's gun is straight out of War Thunder.
It's amazing, this guy finds those stories that are so crazy they can't be made up. Could you image the repairman asking the crew why their main gun wasn't working?
Nothing like good old Tank stories, Good job Mark!
Lil kitty cat on the end hella cute man
Obi Wan to Japanese gunner- 'Trust in the Force, Haru.' :)
Grau//// JUST A LUCKY SHOT,A FLUKE,1 IN A MILLION,NEVER BE ABLE TO DO IT TWICE!!!!!!!
The last bit with the Marine giving water to the cat was touching. One survivor of this battle to another ...
Well boys, I think it's time we pay that beach a visit. Who wants a free M4 Sherman?
YourFavoriteSon that’s why you’re my favourite son! Cecilia is the name of an old girlfriend lol what a story of the ol gal! I was waiting for this topic
I'd give a leg for one
YourFavoriteSon... save your time and money. There is a Sherman tank worth salvaging at MCAGCC 29 Palms.
It's probably not exactly in showroom condition mind after being semi-submerged in sea-water for over 70 years
Think you best take a few cans of WD-40, Rustoleum, and some sandpaper to get started, just to buff out the scuffs.
The actor, Eddie Albert from among other things Green Acres, won a Bronze Star at Tarawa for getting a bunch of Marines off the beach, while under heavy fire.
the sheer absurdity of the Type 95's underpowered gun achieving a partial mission kill is pretty poetic. that's a tremendous amount of chance coming into play when the circumstances of the engagement are considered.
thank you for investigating this particular aspect of the battle. this was a really great snapshot of the state of each nations' armor concerns and a fine synopsis of the battle as well.
An uncle of mine took part in the landing at Tarawa and survived that blood bath to land on several other islands through 1945. According to him, and he rarely spoke of his experiences in WWII, once someone realized that armor piercing rounds from the M-1 Garand and other ".30-06" weapons, not to mention .50BHMGs, could shoot completely through Japanese tanks at ranges out to about 200 yards for the .30-06 weapons and 200 out to roughly 800 yards for the.50BHMG AP rounds were off loaded and sent forward for "general usage".
A much older cousin of mine was at Okinawa or Iwo Jima (I forget which - I was a child) said something similar. He said that his M-1 Garand from 50 yards could penetrate the side armor of a Japanese tank and kill the driver. That was the only thing I heard from him about a battle.
Damn... why did they even bother to slap metal on their tanks? Why not just use bamboo
@@hugomuller9373 before fighting the US, japan only fight on asia and most of them dont have tanks or dont use 50bmg.
also japan emphasis more their resource on naval combat (battle ship, carrier etc) than a tank which is why their tank development are left behind.
@@hugomuller9373 just remove the armor and the turret and put on the chassis a 75mm AA gun. It's might be more useful as tank destroyer for ambushing tactic.
"Cats do have 9 lives. It was verified on Tarawa."
Big fan BTW nice stories
keep on with ur best contant and more ww2 :]
Sherman fires first, misses. Type 95 fires back, disables the Sherman's main weapon. What a epic Japanese tank crew!
RNGejus was on their side.....
That was a nice shot! Shot it right down the barrel...Hole In One!!!
A similar lucky shot in a million happened on the Russian front in 1941. A Pz.III.E crew fired their 37mm. gun at a Soviet SU 122 assault gun that had just been spotted. The SU 122's crew had the breech open to load the APHE shell when the Panzer's 37mm. shot sailed up the gun barrel, out of the open breech and into the ammo rack on the rear wall causing a massive internal explosion that cracked the tank one. The wrecked Su 122 was examined and apart from the damage to the gun barrel, no other perforations were found. This wrecked SU 122 featured in German propaganda photos for their "Signal" military propaganda magazine.
That's like something Hollywood !!!
Lucky shot I'd say 😂
I realized I know little about the Pacific battles. Thank you Sir Felton! I'm enjoying every video.
The last seconds of the video touched me. Poor kitty. And i'm happy to see the soldiers taking taking care of the cat
Its always a good day when a new a new Mark Felton video is uploaded.
Fascinating, my Uncle was at Pearl, and Tarawa, he wouldn't speak of it.
Most of the veterans of the Pacific WWII are that way. I am third generation MARINE. My Father was 1st Marine Division from Cape Gloucester to Peleliu. My uncle Kermit was Marine Corps and at Iwo Jima.
My Bruce was U.S.ARMY from New Guinea to the Philippines.
Our cousin Norman was MARINE CORPS (my father was his recruiter). From Tarawa to Okinawa where he was KIA.
Even with me being a MARINE combat Veteran, there was little talk about it. It was horrific on a level you could not, nor would not want to understand. I know this from what I have been told. And being face to face with a family member, and seeing the pain and horror in his soul as he talked......
To make matters worse,
Once the combat started,
You got no brakes, from the military. You had brakes from combat. But NO brakes from the other stressors......
A total Male, total military HELL, till it was over.
Tarawa as has, I believe, the only footage in WW2 in the Pacific of Japanese soldiers and Marines in the same shot.
Fantastic as usual Dr. Felton.
It's always good to see a new video 👍
Thanks Mark.
That's like letting fight a lion and a rat.
Every man on that island was a badass, no matter who they were fighting for.
When I was a young man I worked with a man that was a veteran of Tarawa. He went ashore dark haired and when he left the island it was snow white. RIP Willie Raymond Grigg.
Another amazing story and video. Thanks for sharing
Mark Felton: Sherman v.s. Type 95
Everyone: I wOnDeR hOw ThIs Is GoInG tO eNd
Bad jokes aside, that Type 95 could Not have landed a better shot. A realy brave gunner to try and fight a sherman tank in such a vehicle. The fact that he actualy "won" the engagement(at first) shows how important confidence can be.
And lucky ass shot...bet he cant do it twice
keep up the good stuff mark
Today I visited Panzermuseum Munster in Germany. Although it shows no Japanese tanks, there are plenty of German and US tanks.
Imho highly recommendes for most of the audience of this brilliant channel!
I love the US Marine helping the cat at the end of the battle.
What i liked the most about this story was the last clip where a soldier gives a cat some water / food
Thank you Mark, another great video.
"It would take 1 million men 100 years to take this one island" the hubris of Japanese officers in WW2 was staggering. Especially considering the kind of fortifications they knew could be taken as they had taken such strong-points themselves.
The kitten at the end got to me. Nice touch, Marine.
Growing up in upstate NY we had a neighbor who I never knew very well but I remembered vaguely that the few times we were around at a party or gathering he was kinda quiet and was usually drinking ( I was very young so his drinking could have been perfectly ordinary it’s just what I remember). Years later my dad told me he was in one of the UDT teams that looked over Tarawa prior to the Marine invasion..... swim fins, googles, knife and swim shorts...... and big brass....
BIG, BIG BRASS BALLS !
I am surprise he could walk.
God Bless and Keep him.
I liked seeing that Marine at the end taking care of the little cat
Typical MARINE,
More Heart,
Then Brains....
That from a MARINE and a Kat lover.
'Cecilia, you're breaking my heart' sang Keiji.
Down the gun barrel?!?! What a lucky shot!!!
If it was a HE round, no one in the tank would have survived.
Another great job! Thank you for your channel!!!!
There was a reason it was called "Bloody Tarawa". Thanks for another great video.
Awesome video. Mark you are a treasure! I’m a proud supporter.
Thanks Mark! Good work.
Rich.
Another excellent video! Thank you!
Interesting and informative as always. Thanks Mark!
big thumbs up for the fella at 5:42 for taking care of the kitty
still there where it was abandoned all those decades ago... that's amazing
Very interesting video. Thank you for your efforts!
How many lifes for a miserable piece of land in the middle of nothing ... what a tragedy
David Moreno it wasn’t a tragedy, it was a glorious victory bought in blood. Without the success of the island hopping campaign we could’ve never won the war against Japan.
A fortified miserable piece of land with an airfield! Wich had to be taken to deny it's use to the Japanese, and allow the US to operate from it.
That alone made it a quite strategical location. It would be interesting to know what did the US with the airfield after its capture.
Lessons learned from the Tarawa campaign saved lives later.
@@jangamaster8677 All war is a tragedy
That poor little Type 95 at the Bovington Tank Musuem, I would've almost missed it, tucked away in such a small corner of the WW2 hall.
Beer cans have thicker armor than WWII Japanese tanks.
I'm a simple guy, I see a new video from this channel and I click it. Thank you Mark for another great one!
*I'm a simple man, I see Mark Felt Productions video, I click.*
Thank you Mark very cool!
Great Job Mark!!!!!
I Feel like this stuff needs more views and likes, these stories are so well told! Well Done!
Another great video from my favourite youtuber! Thank you for finding obscure yet very interesting videos. Never thought much about tank warfare in the Pacific.
Excellent video. Throughly enjoyable watching. 👍🏻
If I had the money I would call for a rescue of Cecilia. Restored to former glory.
Thank you sir, I love all of your videos! Itell everyone about your channel. I would love to hear more about Tank v. Tank in the Pacific!
Mark's first cat video.
Top quality content as always.
i can take a boat going to Tarawa
go to the beach and see a historical WW2 relic
it's not even that far away, maybe 2-3 hours with a fast Ferry
I like your work, dude! Keep it up
Love tank on tank stories , keep up the awesome work ❤️
Really good vids. Appreciate the work you put into them!
THE BEST SHOT IN HISTORY OR JUST VERY LUCKY CHEERS Mr FELTON .
Just come across your channel and subscribed! Loving the videos! :)
Great job sir !!
That moment Sherman felt what was to be on a Panther or Tiger I's shoes/tracks
What japan really needed was a widely fielded sub machine gun and their light tanks equipped with low velocity 75mm gun. Like the t-26-4
Are you kidding me?! A KWK 44 128mm gun would fit the ha-go much better
Japan had giant low velocity guns on tanks. The Type 89 had a 57mm designed in 1928. That turret was also mounted on the Ha-Go which was called the Ke-Nu. Chi-ha was also equipped with a 120mm anti-submarine naval artillery.
There's also plenty of open-top "derp" guns in Japanese service. SMGs was what they lacked in large amounts, although they did have that too.
Mass produce the type 100
The Japanese tanks were only designed to support infantry and take out machine gun nests and the like.
@@OzymandiasJeeff or just straight up copy the British sten. No wooden stock bullshit. By the way, they should stop the banzai charge and shits.
Good stuff Mark.
The picture of the tank still remain there at the island is beautiful yet ut shows clearly the horror of war
Great story Mark, thanks
I've read some of the accounts. This battle was NUTS for the armored Corp with most of the units knocked out being lost to falling in shell holes.
Also; don't discount the threat posed by the 37mm. It may have been inadequate by this stage of the war but it could still cause serious damage to a Sherman even if it couldn't get a hard- kill on one.
Damn ! Cecilia took a 37mm round right down the pipe. The changing fortunes of war.
Love your channel
What an amazing shot that Type 95 got off. Do a video about Lt. Hawkins, Medal of Honor exploits on Betio. Your channel is consistently outstanding. Thanks for all the effort!
Hearing a "tank sank"? It's definitely a Mark Felton production!
In Every Clime and Place. The World's Finest US Marines.
Semper Fi
5:37 look at the little kitty!
And the heroic Marine trying to give and get some comfort to the traumatized kitten.
a shitton of soldiers and sailors actually took care of kittens while at the frontlines and on ships during both WW1 and WW2 on both sides
aaaw.. the cat clip at the end is very cute :) :)
Oh my, that little kitty at the end of the video...
In regards to the shot 'straight down the barrel'
The RAF fighter pilot R.R.S Tuck says in his autobiography that when he was shot down by flak (multi 20 or 37mm I think) and taken prisoner he had just strafed this particular flak unit, and had killed quite a number of the crew, and when he baled out his parachute was taking him close to the gun position, and he was expecting a hostile reception.
However he was amazed to find the remaining crew in good spirits, slapping him on the back saying 'good shot tommy!'
They took him over to the guns and he found that one of his rounds had gone 'straight down the barrel' of one of the flak guns.
He say's this saved him from a beating....or worse.
Thank you ⭐️
Glad I didn't have to fight in that hell. Must've been utterly terrifying.
That’s an amazing story, thank you
As always great vid/story congrats pal keep it up. :)
the odds of a round entering the mouth of an opposing tank's main gun must be astronomical....maybe only surpassed by the round not harming a single crew member of that tank
Good Call, thanks!