The Battle of the North Cape - Ice and Fire at Sea
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- Опубликовано: 15 янв 2019
- In which we examine the last stand of the Scharnhorst and the various changes in naval tactics and technology tested and proved in the battle.
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Pinned post for Q&A :)
Was there ever a problem with large naval guns (5- to 16-inch) deafening or incapacitating other people on the deck, like firefighting crews or nearby gun crews for smaller AA guns? Is there active gun design or gun layout to prevent this, and if so, what is it? Especially, what is the dangerous radius around the big gun muzzle?
If the japanese did manage to complete their 8-8 program, would they still build the yamato class
If the Italian Navy was on par with that of the Imperial japanese navy, would have they stopped the British from dominating in the first place?
What, other than parts availability, naval treaties, and the nature of gunnery, and structural integrity issues, stopped the Americans from just giving the Iowas two single 20" guns and a lot more armor?
Can you discuss fratricide between USN aircraft and USN anti-aircraft (in the Pacific). How big of a problem was it? Are there notable 'incidents'. What doctrine/tactics/policy/procedures were used to mitigate fratricide?
22:34 “a harmless star shell”
**aggressive Taffy 3 noises**
The USS Samuel B. Roberts - "The primary use of this weapon is to violate the Geneva Convention."
But with what you know of Admiral Bey, do you think he would have run from Taffy 3 even had he been in Scharnhorst, and not in Yamato?
Hope that guy who spliced Duke of York's radar back together got a medal.
I think it's likely he did as honors were given out for a job well done. The Russians were also very pleased with the result.
@@cogidubnus1953 Seems to state a somewhat different version of events as in he never repaired split cables rather realigning the radars aerials still the key parts are probably aloft, dark, force 8 gale. Maybe it was better to give a brave man a tale the public could understand the important of.
@@jonathanevans4610 Absolutely...that's what I read between the lines anyhow!
@@cogidubnus1953 Hat off for Barehands Bates, I too have climbed a mast in a winter gale to repair electrical wiring in well below freezing conditions.
An experience I don't care to repeat.
N0rdman My cousin, as captain of a container ship, did the same to chop ice off the radar ariel so it could revolve as his crew had flat refused due to the swinging of the mast in the high seas. He got half way up and thought “What the bloody hell am I doing up here? I’m the bloody Captain! And this is stupidly dangerous!” He still got the antenna moving though.
Interesting that the Saumarez seems to have been able to punch torpedoes not only into the Scharnhorst but later into IJN Haguro. Little beast of a destroyer.
My father was on the Saumarez for both of the battles
My Dad was a 20 year old midshipmen on Duke of York at North cape, still have his log book.
Peacetime is strange. In all my decades as a network tech I've never had to scale a mast in terrible weather, under fire, and get the network back up. Those boys were the best.
my uncle norman was a marine on hms belfast
My dad was an era he was 21 just he released one of the anchors that jamed have a photo of the survivors my father never spoke about it
@@arturoarzadon5525 Why would you repost Neil Wilson's comment - made over a year earlier? Are you so pathetic that you are reduced to stealing other people's RUclips posts?
My Great uncle was a Lieutenant Gunnery Officer on the HMS Duke of York (Llewellyn Scillitoe MBE) during this action (age 45) he was awarded a MiD and I have his medals with his Oak Leaf cluster on his 39-45 Star. This action took place just before his 45 Birthday (28 Dec), Your Dad would likely have known my great uncle. He had previously been on HMS Renown in 1940 when they first encountered the KMS Scharnhorst in the North Sea off the Lofoten Islands in Apr 40. What brave souls they were. Greatest respect....
76 years ago today. Second to last Battleship fight in history. I know the Germans were the enemy but what a terrible way to die, stay on a burning sinking ship or freeze to death in the water. The merchant marine suffered through this type of death for years in WWII. Brave souls all. RIP.
At the end of the day, all sailors are sailors
Aye.
Peacetime is strange. In all my decades as a network tech I've never had to scale a mast in terrible weather, under fire, and get the network back up. Those boys were the best.
Don't jinx yourself
For those who don't know, HMS Belfast is still around. She's enjoying a comfortable retirement in London on the Thames, moored just west of the Tower Bridge and directly across from the Tower of London on the opposite bank. (She's only a 15-minute walk from the Tower of London using the bridge.). The ship can be boarded and viewed for a small fee, and most sections of her from the engine rooms to the admiral's bridge are open to the public. There's also a great self-guided audio tour for those who want to know more about the ship, its history, and life aboard a British light cruiser in WW2.
Her forward turret has a very interesting audio and visual presentation about the Battle of the North Cape and her role in it, complete with narrated accounts from her officers and crew. It plays up her part in the battle a bit, but that's honestly pretty typical for most preserved ships I've been on, and it's still a very fun and educational, albeit loud (simulated gunfire!), experience.
(This info comes from my own visit in June 2018. Beautiful ship, definitely a treat to tour.)
I enjoyed a fabulous afternoon exploring every inch of that warship a few years ago. That and the ship museums in Portsmouth were the best parts of all my European vacations so far.
I live about 40 odd miles away from The Belfast, visited on numerous occasions from boy to man :)
i went on it yesterday (not the first time tho)
Still find it sad that one of the KGC Battleships was not saved for our future generations to learn and marvel over, these amazing machines and the stories they tell
my great uncle also served on the belfast during ww2
The lieutenant who repaired the Duke of York's radar was Lt H. R. K. Bates RNVR. He also was accompanied by Able Seamen Horace Badkin and Geoffrey Whitton. I'm not sure if they assisted in the repairs.
I hope they got the medals they deserved.
@@TheLesserWeevil D.SC for Bates and D.S.M for Badkin and Whitton.
@@treeshakertucker5840 I'm sorry but braving freezing weather in combat conditions to repair a series of cables and all they got was the Distinguished Service Cross/Medal? One would think some promotions would also be in order for an act like that...
@@adamdubin1276 Bates did end up a captain in the regular fleet. I'm not sure what happened to the Able Seamen.
@@treeshakertucker5840 Probably got promoted to cleaning the officer's heads.
The Germans never thought that the British could have developed the cavity magnetron for microwave radar at the end of 1943. They understood the concept of the cavity magnetron, but they used the klystron tube as a more stable source of UHF radar signals up to about 750 MHz. The British vessel's true microwave radar transmitting at 3 GHz was never seen by the Germans, since their radar warning receivers only went up to about 900 MHz. British radar receivers were able to pick up the German radar signals from about 50 miles out. The Germans also needed about 4 kw of power to get only about half the range as the British obtained with 1 kw of power. This was a big deal in ship's electrical systems never constructed to handle these additional power demands.
The Battle of the North Cape demonstrated once and forever the primacy of ships that had the most advanced radars and best trained radar operators. Before this, many senior naval officers considered radar as little more than a technological toy developed by the big brains back home. The other radar lesson from the battle was the need to develop smaller radar antennas that were less prone to battle damage and the overriding importance of redundant cabling so a lucky hit couldn't sever the one cable set used operate the radar.
@John Fulghieri You're thinking of the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal. It was not really a good demonstration of what radar would become, except for Washington's surface search set acquiring the Japanese task force 31 miles from the entrance to the Strait. After that, Washington lost the Japanese in the clutter of the many small islands in the Strait. South Dakota's radars and pretty much all her communications facilities were destroyed by battle damage early on in the battle. When Washington found the Japanese again, it was done mostly visually. GFC radar helped with return fire but it wasn't integrated, even on the Washington, since the Combat Information Center concept was in its infancy.
The Battle of Surigao Strait almost two years later, or the Revenge of the Pearl Harbor Battleships, was probably the best WWII example of radar integrated into a CIC during a surface engagement.
@Alexander Challis Indeed, and even worse for the Germans, it was an offhand remark from a captured British airman that stopped them from using Metox on submarines. He pulled a prank of his interrogators by telling them British planes were able to home in on the incredibly weak RF radiation from the Metox receiver's local oscillator. Since the Germans couldn't believe that the Enigma code had been broken, they had long believed the British had some kind of submarine detector that allowed Coastal Command planes to attack a surfaced sub without warning. As a result of this prank, Doenitz ordered all Metox units turned off on July 31, 1943. In addition to Enigma intercepts, the British had developed airborne centimetric radar, something the Germans believed impossible. It was this higher frequency radar that was the cause of more attacks, not planes detecting a Metox receiver.
The USN wasn't immune to this silliness. A single experiment at Princeton "discovered" the signals from local oscillators of shipborne receivers could be picked up by a German sub 20 miles away. The Navy spent millions developing "radiation safe" radios and ordering all non-safe radios to be turned off when out of port. After the war it was discovered that the scientists involved had cooked the books and stretched the distance this signal could be received by using exceptionally poorly tuned radios with leaky LOs and huge antennas to pick up the LO signals. The distance using an average radio and average antenna was really about 75 feet. The test was paid for by a radio company named EH Scott, a name familiar to modern stereo buffs. I'll bet you can't guess which company was ready with compliant radios. :-)
@John Fulghieri Either that or the night action during the battle of Cape Matapan. Where 3 Italian heavy cruisers were basically eviscerated in a single broadside from a combined 3 Battleships.
@rpr6.5 creedmoor Yes, but the idea then was to have enough radar equipped ships that at least one would be able to cover any blind spots. The complete loss of power on South Dakota showed the weakness of that plan, and all capital ships would have at least two sets of radars and antennas after that.
@Erik Heath No, U-Boats almost never transmitted unless it was short range coordination of a wolf pack. They were never required to submit sinking reports unless something very much out of the ordinary happened. U-Boat headquarters transmitted many messages to U-Boat but the boats only listened so there was nothing to DF. They believed that Enigma still make those message secure from decryption. The Germans used DF to establish the location of convoys so they were well aware of the dangers of transmitting while at sea. They developed the answer by a system called Kurier in 1944. It broadcast in a high speed burst mode that lasted less than ten seconds, and it used far off frequency sidebands. No allied vessel was ever able to DF a Kurier transmission.
"the Norwegian destroyer showed remarkable antipathy to the Scharnhorst, blasting away at it all the way in and firing torpedoes point blank"
alternate phrase: the Norwegian warship invoked its Viking ancestors on a raid heard within Valhalla
Cringe
I disagree. That’s awesome.
Cringe degenerate
The Free Navies were crewed by patriots and madmen with the line between blurred often.
And then there were the French :shrug:
@@davidlewis5312mers el kebir was clear example
Every man on every ship had to know that they would likely die if they ended up in the sea. That had to take a special courage.
You basically have no choice at that point
A British submarine copped a bomb which didn't explode, but lodged a few feet below the deck at the end of a 40 foot long horizontal tube, a little over 18 inches in diameter. A small submariner pulled himself through the tube with a rope around his ankles. He worked for 2 hours defusing the bomb, all the time knowing that if a plane appeared on the horizon the submarine would dive, and he would be drowned. He won the Victoria Cross for that episode.
The Scharnhorst never had a chance against a KGV class Battleship. These Battleships were splendid fighting machines and in my opinion greatly underrated by some over the years.
What class of battleship did any of the pocket battleships or armored cruisers stand a chance against?
I suppose they had a chance of damaging a true battle cruiser or an Alaska, but any capital ship was going to make Swiss Cheese out of them.
Worse, a fast battleship could at least meet their speed. An Iowa, Richelieu, or Dunkerque class could run them down.
Battlecruisers existed when they were designed, the German navy was never going to be big enough to force the Royal Navy to keep all their capital ships in their home waters. The design was a mess to begin with.
@@recoil53 The Scharnhorst was a battleship, not a pocket battleship. It would be an underdog, but bigger underdog victories have been won.
@@matthewhecht9257 Every hit from a real battleship's guns would just go through the Scharnhorst's armor. Meanwhile they are all armored against stronger guns than the Scharnorst's 11 inch guns.
Even the Alaska's 12 inch guns were about at strong as a WWI battleship's 14 inch guns.
The Scharnorst would have to evade every shot from a battleship's guns while getting close enough to actually damage a battleship - in the open waters of the Atlantic.
Scharnhorst had an armour scheme and strength comparable to Bismark, gun size was her weakness. There's a lot of nonsense talked about British 14 inch guns, their demolition of Scharnhorst proved their worth.
@@nickjolliffe8118Even beyond the Scharnhorst. You yourself said that Scharnhorst and Bismarck had comparable armor schemes, and the Prince of Wales penetrated deep into the Bismarck, into her citadel, and mission k*lled her at Denmark Strait.
Nothing like seeing a KG V class battleship ploughing through heavy seas.
Literally
Just about fell off my chair hearing that the Nords were shooting a 420MM gun, then I realized that he meant to read 4 120MM guns. Excellent content as always it is a highlight of my day to see and hear your work!
True. I thought they would capsize after one salvo, lol.
420mm guns would capsize the destroyer by just being on it.
420MM blaze it.
@Marry Christmas You seem to be missing something about ship stability, the little destroyer may float with 420mm guns, but it will find itself floating upside down.
@@roryross3878 Na, they were submarine guns. Ultra secret weapon
Excellent detail of the battle as it unfolded with many really interesting technical items. Great work.
Frazier’s final comments were completely in keeping with naval tradition of both navies.
No doubt an excellent video but my favorite part was where the Norwegian destroyer “sailed to within 1500 yards firing with all her 420mm guns”... goddamn, the Norwegians know how to arm a destroyer lol!
22:05 and the Duke of York said: let there be light.
And then the Scharnhorst answered: „Please make it dark again.“
And the Duke answered no and commanded his escorts to cast the Scharnhorst into the depths
Imagine what they thought/felt on Scharnhorst bridge at that exact moment =D
@@Schimml0rdBrown alert?
@@Schimml0rd oh scheisse
Mate of my Aunty worked closely with Bruce Fraser during the war. He told me few years back (both he & my Aunty still alive) that the secret to this battle was Fraser had worked on designing the guns for King George V battleships and chose exactly the right range to open fire. Battle of the North Cape then got him promoted to Adm of the British Pacific Fleet.
Just like the BISMARCK, SCHARNHORST took a tremendous beating before she finally succumbed to her battle wounds. The punishment those two ships took in their final battles is a great testament not only to the German shipbuilders sound construction, but also of the damage control department's skill. Once again Drachinifel, another accurate and thorough video. I wish someone like Peter Jackson would turn this one into a movie!
Illuminatiwood doesn't like White History.
Not to mencione they had to fight in the "ratio" 1 boat against 10...
Considering he hasn’t made a real war movie and his last effort was the Hobbit ‘trilogy’ not sure I’d back your choice of director!
Imagine hero worshipping mediocre commanders and overengineered mediocrities.
Scharnhorst's commander was hardly mediocre when the British honoured her after the battle.
Much is not known of Heroic bravery of England Navy and convoy to bring needed supply to Soviet Union. Convoys to Murmansk and Archangelsk were of immeasurable importance. Drachinifel your work is important Tovarich
This would require people accept the fact that lend lease saved the USSR from collapse
@@looinrims ruclips.net/video/5JxQhxOJa5U/видео.html
Да здравствует родина
@@looinrims it did not, but it was immeasurably helpful. Without it I can imagine the war on the Eastern Front lasting for another year or maybe even two. We still could have made it just by our forces alone, but it would be much much more blood and sweat to get it done. And we should really be thankful for having such allies that, despite everything, still helped us that much.
Seems like Soviet/Russian historicians tend to downplay the Lend-lease importance... but the Western are exaggerating it in just the same fashion. The truth, as it often happens, is in between...
@@fear-is-a-token Sorry considering how much famine was in the USSR with the west supplying some 40% of food, just for one example
And all their logistics but we’ll skip that, just 40% of total foodstuffs come from the west, in a nation that was notorious for famine…pretty straight forward I would say
Most of Scharnhorst's career was undeserving of fame and glory - as was the case with most German warships she was little more than an overengineered pirate ship in practice.
But on the day of her death she fought hard and well against impossible odds, and was worthy of respect.
Love that camouflage paint scheme that makes the Scharnhorst look like a much smaller ship.
My next to favorite last stand in naval history to learn about! A very well done addition to your channel Drachs ;) I always must bow my head in respect to Scharnhorst’s crew
Which is your favourite?
That would be the Battle of Sunda Strait between (input large number) Japanese warships and HMAS Perth and USS Houston
Me 2:00am PST: I should probably go to bed
*new warship video*
Me: ok after this
0500 EST here.
One of my favorite Uncle Drach videos. I watch it whenever my leg is in pain, because while I'm focused on the brilliantly told story I forget my discomfort.
ironic cause i'm here to get my mind off troubles of my own....physical and ....losing my apartment... anyway yes Drachinifel videos are like morphine. Just as addictive too.
@@MarcStjames-rq1dm I really hope your situation has improved!
I have worked at sea off the north cape, out of Hammerfest and Kirkeness. I shudder to imagine the difficulties and sacrifices of the men involved in battle in these waters.
Without a doubt, the best description of a WW2 naval engagement I've seen. Thank you.
This was a superb and highly detailed account of the battle and I really enjoyed it. Only thing I would add/correct is that the British Cruisers and Destroyers moved in very quickly to rescue survivors. Reports from survivors of the Scharnhorst as well as crewmen of the Sheffield and other ships estimated that between 400 and 600 men were visible in the water. Even then however, many were succumbing to the water and were freezing to death. The rough seas made rescue nearly impossible, with crewmen of the Scorpion making lassos to grab nearly frozen survivors from the water as many were too cold and weak to grab onto the nets dropped to them. The British made a very heroic and quick attempt to rescue as many as possible against horrible conditions, however minutes in a report came that U-Boats were closing on the location, so the British fleet began to pull out of the area. This report was true, though the U-Boats were almost an hour away due to the sea conditions. This lead to some controversy later on with claims that the British left many to die in the water, however many of the 36 survivors of the Scharnhorst came to the defense of their rescuers, citing the incredible friendliness and hospitality they were immediately shown. Many of the survivors had said they felt welcome amongst the British up until they were blindfolded and taken off to land. The survivors and members of the British crews would meet for decades after as friends. Again, superb video...glad I found it and subscribed.
I can only imagine the horrific conditions the German Damage Control Teams worked to make successful repairs that restored speed more than one time and other efforts to keep the ship in fighting condition.
The valiant Germans crewing Scharnhorst are on Eternal Patrol.
Respects.
For a second I read that as "Eternal Petrol"
Respect for the brave seamen, regardless of nation, who fought bravely to the last? Yes.
Even the Japanese, who were known for their cruel, brutal treatment of prisoners, at times saluted a fallen foe who had fought with honour by their reckoning.
@@realpatriot1553 who are you atifa crap that no one likes sorry dude sailors understand one another even in war the sea teaches you but you will never now .
@@kieranh2005 I'm sorry, but I just can't respect any of the japanese armed forces in ww2.
@@peterwolf8395 Fuck off, Nazi
I had read about the battle before and I seem to remember watching a documentary about it. But I very much enjoyed hearing about it again.
Two of my late fathers old brothers sailed on those Arctic convoys. Not a place I'd choose to be. To the best of my knowledge neither of them was torpedoed. The irony here is that my fathers eldest brother was and he was in the army on a troop ship.
Would it have been this one, perhaps?
ruclips.net/video/o_LVS-u26no/видео.html
There was a documentary in the 1970s featuring Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser before he died. A fantastic BBC programme from a golden age of great programme making.
Best analysis of North Cape sea battle ever! Thank you so much! Better balance (not pro-British) description of this great battle, describing, in detail, the over whelming odds Scharnhorst was facing. She was brave, well led, and rose to the legendary level of her namesake, from WW 1 fame!
Fighting for a lost cause was never a recipe for victory and Germany was never a maritime nation so why did they think they could win when all the shipping they had went to the bottom eventually.......a typical case of mismanagement and lack of understanding of the need to have the right gear at the right time and plenty of it too.
In reality, it was the entry of the USA into the war, not once but on two occasions, that sealed the German's fate,........some people never learn?........ no matter how loud the trumpets blew for the Allies.
@@gangleweed They weren´t fighting for a lost cause. I am pretty sure, that with having the treaty of versailles in mind, they thought that this time Germany wouldn´t survive as a nation, if they will lose the war.
@@Bazgatow87 Misled and misinformed, if that isn't a recipe for a lost cause I don't know what is.........that was the German problem all over........it's been 75 + years since 1945 when Germany finally bit the bullet and became more peaceful instead of wanting to rule by a might is right and absolute sacrifice mentality that got them nowhere.
@@gangleweed Dear Ian, I do not know you personally, you will surely be a nice guy and I do not want to hurt you in any way. But, as an elder German with some knowledge on our and our neighbours history I am wondering what your strange judgements and conclusions about Germans and Germany are based on?
@@christianermecke9941 Yes, the war made many people bitter and full of sorrow for their losses......we only ever see out own loss, being a Brtit, as we are of the opinion that we were attacked and therefore had to defend to the utmost against the "Hun"......whatever.........deep wounds heal the slowest and the loss of friends and relatives no matter which side you subscribe to only makes you have bad feelings for the opponent no matter how hard they fought or were brave in doing so.
History does have a way of giving reasons for any act no matter the outcome.....we are all Human and tend to interpret History in our own way.
You made a passing mention of good ol “bare hands bates” repairing Duke of York’s radar by splicing its wires back together. Or as popular belief puts it: “Holding the ends together with his bare hands!” Great job telling this and other stories from WW1 and WW2! I’m definitely subscribing!
Very accurate commentary on North Cape sea battle, supported by photos, art work, and diagrams. Great job here! Surely the spirits of WW1 German sailors of SMS Scharnhorst SMS Gnesienau, and SMS Blucher were on board WW2 Scharnhorst that fateful day at North Cape. Admiral Fraser honored the "fighting spirit" of the sailors, command staff, and Admiral Bey of Scharnhorst at battles conclusion. This German WW2 battlecruiser crew honored their predecessors, with their bravery, under impossible combat conditions. Thanks again for this well done video of North Cape!
If the spirits of the WW1 sailors were on board during the WW2 battle, then it must've sucked having to be sunk for a second time.
WWII German/NAZI warships did not have or use SMS....
Just names, SMS would be WWI Imperial German warships.
Kaiser Wilhelm II, just a little disgraced....
Germany being a little faster then England. But having less direction(a national compass might help, a common problem in all of Europe[France, Spain.....] and any where the media standards are low[Canada,U.S.A., Mexico).
@@knutdergroe9757 He means that the spirits of the WW1 ships SMS Scharnhorst, SMS Gneisenau and SMS Blücher, who all went down fighting, were with their WW2 sister as she met her fate
@@knutdergroe9757 I appreciate that English may not be your first language, but the OP was referring to the Scharnhorst, Gneisenau and Blucher of the Imperial German Navy
Great picture at 5:08 showing how camouflage can make a ship look much shorter/smaller visually. Excellent content as usual and especialy appreciate all the old naval pics and videos that you find and stitche together. Well done!
Probably intended to make her look like a Hipper class cruiser. The lack of a 4th turret would be a give away, but might not be obvious from a distance. HMS Norfolk had something similar done to her hull in 1940.
"I'm a shell, I'm a shell. It's so boring being a shell." BANG!, "Weeeeee! Oh! What's That? It's a ship! I wonder if it'll be friends with me?....
🤣lol
BOOM!
You've been reading John Ringo.
@@readhistory2023 It was more like Drach meets Douglas Adams.
I pictured that with a cute, high-pitched voice
I thought you covered this very well. If I may suggest a way of improving the supporting graphics - you exposed the total surface plot timeline right from the get go. It would be easier for the viewer to assimilate all the information if the plot was ‘revealed and updated’ at each of the key stages of the battle you are explaining.
Good point
I very much agree. Even pausing to try to sort out the maps, it was hard to follow at times. Also, time stamps in the narration don't necessarily correspond to the ones indicated on the map. It's possible to interpolate between waypoints, but these details would make an excellent video all the better!
Agreed. The surface plot was often more confusing than helpful. Better visuals would improve the narrative immensely.
Especially tough as the exact timestamps aren't on the plots. Interpolating positions as you talk doesn't make for easy viewing. Tracing them out to would add a lot. It would also make for a more compelling narrative if we can't see what's coming.
@@mostevil1082 *Sunk* was a spoiler for you?!
32:42 "blasting away with its four hundred-twenty millimeter guns" had to listen to that one twice :D
Same
its 4 x 120mm
What's wrong with 4.7 inch?
@@gavin2144 thanks that clears it up
@@ilfarmboy To be comprehensive - Wikipedia: The ship was armed with four 45-calibre 4.7-inch (120 mm) Mark XII guns in dual-purpose mounts. For anti-aircraft (AA) defence, had one twin mount for Bofors 40 mm gunsand four twin 20-millimetre (0.8 in) Oerlikon autocannon. She was fitted with two above-water quadruple mounts for 21-inch (533 mm) torpedoes. Two depth charge rails and four throwers were fitted for which 70 depth charges were provided.
Another excellent video of an iconic naval battle. I've always found the Scharnhorst to be the prettiest fighting ship ever BTW.
In a way, the battle shows how surprisingly delicate these huge capital ships can be: a golden bb from Bismarck unexpectedly one-shotted the hood, another golden bb knocked out Scharnhorst's radar right at the opening of the engagement, putting her in a huge disadvantage.
And the British battlecruisers at Jutland in 1916. The losses were appalling. It was poor ammo discipline apparently.
@@Arthion With Scharnhorst''s radar out, she blundered straight into HMS Duke of York.
A wonderful first person account is by A. G. F. Ditcham in “ A Home on the Rolling Main.” As Director Officer on HMS Scorpion, he scored a four hit first salvo at near point blank range. His ship picked up the few survivors. He also saw his exact counterpart position on HMS Saumarez wiped out when that ship’s director tower was smashed by Scharnhorst. A good read throughout.
TY for the book reference
Tony used to come to the Joint Staff College to tell us about North Cape. You could hear a pin drop. As i hsppens I spoke with him this morning (26/2/21).
I might add that the radar operator in Scorpion 'saw' Scharnhorst sink by watching her radar echo diminish and then disappear. He reported her sunk to the bridge and was asked "how do you know?"
Every time I see pics of a ship covered in ice, all I think is how miserable it had to be for the crews.
Maybe not were the crew thi king they were lucky not to be in that frozen sea death in minutes
@@ericloeschmann3258 On the contrary, the crews on ships operating in these water had to constantly brave the weather on deck to remove the ice, as gone unchecked the weight of the ice could've caused the ship to capsize.
Braving the weather was not braving the freezing sea if they fell in or ship sunk death in.minutes
@@fishbmw braving the weather wasn't deadly braving the freezing sea if ship sunk of crew fell in was deadly there is a difference
@@ericloeschmann3258 yeah cleaning off deck ice in gale winds on a heaving ice covered deck isn't tricky at all.
My late Father George Firth V-4923 served in the RCN aboard the HMCS St laurent and then the new HMCS Haida , He was on the Arctic Convoys to Murmansk and Arc Angelsk .
Love the thumbnail picture of Duke of York ploughing through heavy seas swathed in cordite smoke.
Oh how the Germans love sending their ships on lonely adventures
They are surrounded,cannot break wind without a neighbor's nose up in the air.
A minor jaunt,was an adventure for them.
Why didn't they put task forces together with their big units like bizmark, tirpitz and a few heavy cruisers instead of sending out lone sorties
@@bobbyrayofthefamilysmith24 They tried doing that a few times. Bismarck and Prinz Eugen were supposed to be part of a larger force that included Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, but those 2 were in Brest and were being bombed to hell so they decided to leave without them. They couldn't send light ships into the Atlantic because they didn't have enough range.
As they didn't have a lot of them that was the only option..
It’s not like the had enough ships to send them in groups
The lads on both sides had such big balls that putting their trousers on must had been tricky. RIP to all lost, I salute you. Ric
Many years ago, I saw this newsreel, after the Scharnhorst was sunk, I saw Sir Bruce, stopping his ship near the sinking site of the Scharnhorst, and he dropped a wreath. Has anyone else seen this? Best wishes.
ma boi drach has uploaded again, now my day is 10x better
Great to hear my fathers ship (HMS Savage) mentioned in this action.
Thank you! A very sombre end note, well worthy of gallant seamen and a reminder to us all; in the end we are all brothers in arms.
Never underestimate the power of Radar in battle.
Amazing work!... “You” need to do a warships version of “Inside the Chieftains hatch” where they film you exploring various historical warships whilst revealing their history, weaponry, inner and outer workings, displacement etc.
In fact maybe you should approach the “World of Warships” people with a short demo video in that format? I know I would watch!
Will he do a "by jove the ship is sinking" segment?
The artwork used in this video is superb for both the photographic and especially the illustration work.
Kudos to Drachinifel for having the keen eye and good taste to chose these images!
Personally I prefer hand drawn illustrations over cga/cgi and these are as good as they come.
32:30 Three cheers for the Norwegians!
Oh yes they did not like the Germans
@Golden Eagle Four 120 mm guns.
Hip hip
@@jacktattis143 Not entirely surprising given that their homeland had been occupied by the Germans for over three and a half years by this point.
The account of the battle was thrilling, and the final comment about Scharnhorst very touching. Bravo!
Great video Drach and I'm glad to hear you sound much better,
Tgose pictures of ship covered in ice and snow were chilling. It showed just how harsh and tough a place the Artic Ocean is in winter and how dangerous it was to run convoys to Russia in such conditions. THe biggest danger seemed to be the build up of ice on a ship wich could jam vital equipment and maybe even capsize a ship if left unchecked.
The crews on both sides fought bravely in appalling conditions in proved that the Battleship still had a role to play. A Carrier would have been useless in this situation.
I love these posts - as My late father was on the Arctic convoys aboard HMCS Haida .
HMCS Haida is a popular boat in WoWs.
I'll have to look into this WoWs - Back in the mid '70s My Dad Sternly corrected a Naval Cadet that was giving us a tour of the Haida , well the young Cadet referred to her as a Boat my dad pointed to a skiff and said "Thats A Boat This is A Ship" .
@@shawnfoxfirth9684 I spend many hours on the Haida pretending I was her captain. WOWS is world of warships in case you needed the know. The in game Haida is ok but wargaming made her a ship that sits in a smoke screen hiding while firing her guns and torpedoes and is weaker then the British tribals. I for one am disappointed on how war gaming made her.
She was Anything but weak - Known as a Lucky Ship with a Bold Capt - Henry George 'Harry' Dewolf known to his men as 'Hard Over Harry'. Capt Dewolf came over from the River class Destroyer the HMCS St Laurent My late father served under him on both ships the whole war . The Haida is the Most Decorated Ship in the RCN .
@@shawnfoxfirth9684 My grandfather, on my mother's side was on the Saguenay and later the Goderich during the war. My father tried to join the Cdn army with his friends but had health issues so was rejected. He was send to make universal carriers in Windsor instead. His friends were all killed at Dieppe and shortly before he passed away, I found out he had survivor's guilt for not dying with his friends he tried to join with.
Thank you Drauq as most essays on the Scharnhorst class couldn’t distinguish between the two. With the main mast for Scharnhorst was back on the rear upper deck where the Gneisenau mast was on her funnel. Your the man !!!
This was actually one of the better navy stories. Watched it twice now, thanks.
I've read descriptions of this battle in books that took me less time than this video-and this video is MUCH better. Great work!
From my understanding from watching a documentary about the battle was that Duke of York's salvoes got increasingly effective the further away Scharnhorst got as the angle of impact changed from hits impacting the horizontal belt armor to relatively minor effect to plunging straight through the thinner deck and dealing crippling damage
Yeah german ship armour was very effective on closer ranges. Just look at the Bsimarck that got blown to shits but its armored belt remained basically intact so it was sunk by scutteling. The citadel and generally the upper part of the ship were blown to utter shits though.
Love this sort of content! And you sound much better this week lol
You’re narration made this battle come alive-thank you👍
24:47, i think thats a nelson class ship going by the superstructure and the 2 turrets with 3 guns, you can see a horizontal gun in the loading position on turret B.
May I suggest the County Class Cruisers of the Royal Navy would be a good one to cover.
Also, the CVE carriers served an important function in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Covering one of the major classes would be another good choice.
HMAS Australia would be a great ship of the class to cover. Operated in all theatres of the war and I believe was the last to meet the breakers torch.
@@nnoddy8161 As did the HMS/HMAS Shropshire 500000 nautical miles travelled, 19 battles and only lost 6 men in 6 years all to accidents
THANK YOU for these great battle descriptions. These are as good as any TV documentary: awesome writing and great delivery. I love these!
“The convoy are starting up in earnest and Admiral Donuts asks permission for a cup of coffee.” I love the humor of the captions generators.
This is a great channel. Glad I subscribed!⚓️U.S. NAVY Boiler technician 1980 to 1984.
I enjoy going back and listening to Drach’s old videos. I’ve lost count how many times I’ve listened to this one.
I knew a man who served as a Commander on HMCS Iroquois, (I think), on the Murmansk run. Every winter he would rub his hands and express his hatred for the cold. He said he'd received a lifetimes worth of it during the war. He died around 1993.
Not much out there on the Battle of North Cape. Appreciate this great breakdown.
You don't mention the crucial role played by "ULTRA" in the battle. Admirals Fraser and Burnett were both "in the club" so they had up to date info on Scharnhorst's intentions when Bey reported to group west. The German destroyers were detached because they couldn't keep up with Scharnhorst in the prevailing weather without taking serious damage.
Up until that point, Scharnhorst was considered a lucky ship. It's such a shame that these magnificent ships have to be destroyed with the loss of so many brave men.
Poor leadership from the top and poor support doomed these ships to death
These are fighting ships and fighting men. Both win or die, that's war. We preserve our USN vessels as a testament to the men who fought and died on them and their peers. They are not museums for to us enjoy, they are memorials.
Not a shame, Hitler's navy belonged at the bottom of the ocean.
Watched this on my lunch break today sitting directly opposite the HMS Belfast down on the south bank near London Bridge, fantastic content will definitely be returning to the channel.
Belfast was made out to be amazingly cheeky in this video.
Is that the Belfast in London?
@@francesconicoletti2547 Yes sir!
Francesco Nicoletti you know there's only been the one ship to carry the name Belfast
@@kieranfurlong6368 True at the date of your post, however the third of the Royal Navy's new Type 26 'City' class frigates is to be named HMS Belfast. The previous two being Glasgow and Cardiff, with a further five (Birmingham, Sheffield, Newcastle, Edinburgh and London) planned
@@ThePhoenix198 I know
I know these also people saying that there shouldn't be another Sheffield because of the men who died on HMS Sheffield in the Falklands war my mate lost 17 friends on that ship
34:25 Truly noble sentiments expressed by the Admiral.
MY OPINION: YOUR verbal explanation is/was OUTSTANDING!! (I LOVED your subtle humor!). THANKS! VERY GOOD! 👍👍
Absolutely a great video
Excellent vid as usual. Always felt sorry for the German surface navy; Hitler gave them the ultimate hospital pass, as one might say in rugby.
The point about radar is crucial. I think people overlook just how decisive the advantage in radar enjoyed by the UK and USA forces, particularly airborne in the case of the Atlantic and surface and air search in the case of USN submarines.
I believe Scharnhorst's Captain almost made it to safety, but was unable to hold to an upturned life boat long enough to be retrieved.
At least the seemingly out of place sense of chivalry never quite died in naval combat. Once the ship was destroyed, naval personnel quickly turned to the matter of rescuing fellow seamen regardless of nationality.
Cheers
p.s. phonetically it's not "Fore-Castle", it's "Folk-Sell".
At 25:00 the name of the Lieutenant that climbed the mast, PLEASE. The names of heroes should always be used.
These battle reports are possibly my favorite of your content. Good job!
Really sick and twisted leadership/government them Germans had during WW2, but oh boy, did they build themselves some absolutely beautiful warships.
And we sank them. British sailors"heart of Oak"
6------to--------1 Always sent them out in low number or alone.
Not really much choice in that. When you're facing down the RN after having to build your navy in 20 years basically from scratch, you can't really invest your entire force to one major battle that you would definitely lose.
I had heard that the captain of the scharnhorst specifically ordered the radar of the ship turned off to avoid radiolocation and counter detection. I wonder what would have happened if he had instead left it on and the scharnhorst counter detected and engaged the Belfast.
Belfast could hold a contact at longer range than Scharnhorst, but forcing them to the edge of radar range would have increased the Germans chances of slipping away.
When i was 12 i remember Reading a book by Nils Owren, who was fighting the germans and fled With one of the ships that went from Tromsø to England where he got training in gunnery, and ended up as a gunnery officer on the Stord.
So this is documented in the book "Klar til å åpne ild" (Ready to fire(??)) which is mainly based on his service on the ship :)
Another great video! Informative and well researched.
Great story, magnificently detailed. Thank you so much.
Thanks for this summary of Battle of North Cape. As far as I remember I have read somewhere that the Luftwaffe actually spotted Adm Fraser's task force on Eastbound, however the information was not, for some reason, transferred to Adm Eric Bey. If this had been known it is far from certain that Scharnhorst would go to sea.
Scharnhorst & Gneisenau were the loveliest of all warships, EVER. Damn shame of what they fought for.
A high school teacher of mine, was a merchant mariner on the Murmansk Run. He witnessed a Liberty ship snap in two, due to the cold and waves, NOT enemy action.
Q&A: I once asked for a 5 minute (More rather than less.) on the USS Narwhal V-5/SS-167 (15 battle Stars, decommissioned before WWII's end.) and her sister, the USS Nautilus and their near sister, the USS Argonaut. You replied, "added to the list". I don't see them on your list. I know their stories. Your followers may like to know too.
North Cape? I've been there and beyond myself. Seen the Arctic Ocean as calm as a mill pond too. Unbelievable but true.
Keep up the great work, Shipmate.
I keep a copy of the total list on my PC, it's much longer, I decided not to update the one in the description for a while until it runs down a bit. But it is on the list. :)
@@Drachinifel Thank you.
Thank you for this. I've read a lot about this action but appreciate the minute by minute detail.
Thanks for the video chap - it was worth the wait.
I really enjoyed that one Drac, The first sea battle I ever read about at I'd be about 11 years old.
A 14 inch star shell sounds phenomenal. They would be amazing to use in a New Year's Eve fireworks display!
I think there is one 14” barrel left, at Fort Nelson near Portsmouth.
We can do better than that, use the 15" guns outside the Imperial War Museum!
Really great vid, its the in depth explanation of this battle i have always wanted.
Well explained, with background context too, thanks
32:43 didn't realize that the Norwegians destroyers out gunned every allied battleship
Imagine if they had been given a handful of Fletchers with Johnston in the lead. They would have found a way to put tracks on them and invaded Berlin well before the Soviets showed up.
@@l7986 Why the Fletchers ? Not as good as the British Destroyers there especially in an Arctic Winter
@@jacktattis143 First ship that came to mind as I had the Johnston video open in another tab
@@l7986OK but they were a good destroyer in the Pacific
At first I thought I heard 420mm but then I listened to it again and he said 4 120mm guns 😉
I'm seriously impressed by the abilities of the repair crews. It's hard to imagine that the damage described was even repairable under those conditions. If it happened in a fiction, I'd dismiss it as unrealistic.
Bismarck sent divers to its damaged rudder in similar conditions in the Denmark Strait. All on navy pay.
Excellent documentary. Well done sir. Keep up the good work!
I always love your videos and the work you put into them. Keep it up sir.
Don't think there is a 14in starshell for a number of reasons. Namely it is a waste of a shell from a gun that only fires twice a minute, of which only 100 shells per gun are carried. Also there is no benefit in a 14in star shell and many disadvantages such as a slow rate of fire as you want to bracket the target and keep a running stream of flaring star shell over the target as it sails out of the glare of your previous falling star shells which really don't last long anyways, more so in a heavy overcast, and into your newer flares. Not sure even the cruisers had star shells for their main armament for similar reasons. It was common to use the 4in, 4.7in and in the Duke of York's case, the larger 5.25in guns for star shell use. So yes the Duke of York's star shell would have been larger/brighter BUT it would have come from her 5.25in guns of which she carried 400 star shells for, not her 14in guns.
Peorhum The cruisers did carry star shells for their main armament(and secondaries of course). But yeah, I don’t think the Duke of York had 14” star shells, simply because anything bigger than a 8” gun simply wasn’t worth having a star shell for(they take 3x longer to reload than the 8” gun, more or less).
A reference I read said duke of York opened up with multiple 5 inch from its secondaries while the a 14 main opened with normal round
Well, the secondary batteries don't have all the arcs, but I suppose turning helps. Also, the 14 inch guns have more range than a 5.25 inch gun.
My Dad was on a minesweeper escorting these convoys and they were needed because of the Germans spread mines in these waters on a regular basis many ships and crews were lost to mines at this time. To crew, a little minesweeper in these waters took balls of steel as in high seas the decks were constantly swamped and thus the men had to spend much of there time clearing ice from the superstructure. You do brave men a disservice when you say only a minesweeper, not all the fighting was done by the big battlewagons,
I think he meant it more in a "incase Kriegsmarine shows up he'll not be able to do too much"-way, not in a demeaning^^
Fantastic piece sir, well done.
An excellent and informative video. Thank you.
Outstanding analysis, commentary and review of this naval engagement. Your skill would well benefit any Naval Academy in the world. God Save the Queen and God Bless the United States of America.