The radio silence was because we had used similar scenarios with the Luftwaffe to crack the enigma daily code changes. It was nothing to do with actual radio silence. The two pilots were the Squadron Commander and the base Commander of Kenley, Group Capt F.V. Beamish , so not exactly beginners.
@@bobcornford3637 The fact that they didn't broadcast back to their base about seeing a huge enemy fleet seems even more suspicious to me (if I was German). I agree Yora, damn intel protocol, I have all the intel you need, "There's a damn huge enemy fleet steaming up the channel, HELP!".
@@mikeclarke952 It didn't matter how suspicious the Germans were, it was to prevent their breaking our codes as a result of the report. German 15th army was reading much of our signal traffic, and would become very proficient.
It’s hard to imagine all of this happened while I’m eating chips lying on the couch, doing the same “wake up, go to work, sleep “ routine. It’s easy to romanticize it until you’re on the receiving end of the 12 inch guns.
My great-uncle was a sailor on the Prinz Eugen when this operation happened. Sadly I only found out after his death, would have been very interesting to get some first hand information. His brother, my other great-uncle, was sunk in the U 656 in spring of 1942, age 22.
Thanks for your thoughts...for me it's more like history, more distant and quite interesting. Think for my grandmother it was far from that, she was 15 years old when her brother died, never seemed to let him go. A few years after her death I found out about the story of U 656, made contact with a group of Great Lake divers who were then on a mission to find the submarine as it's supposed to lie in shallow waters near the New Foundland coast. You can even google the sinking of it , it's bombardement is fotodocumented...which then again is a strange feeling, seeing pictures of the moment a relative is dying... War sucks!
AWACS Long Caster no no no, people just think automatically that they are nazis if they were in germany side during the war. Remember then only a few of german people WANTED to help their country, and gladly went in the war. However some others that didn’t and were forced to join, yeah they still were considered Nazis, but i’m not so sure they felt pride in it.
My dad was on the Scharnhorst when this took place. He was 23 years old and told the story several times, about how all the torpedoes missed. But he never forgot the feeling, when you saw those "eels" slithering towards the ship and praying that they miss, while the hair stands up in your neck and your almost shitting your pants.....
This was definitely an embarrassing blockade defence on our part, the weather with low visibility clouds and the evasive manoeuvres by the German ships definitely played a hand in your dads safe return to port, I’m happy to finally see our two countries working together for future ventures rather then fighting one another 😁
@@carlheinz6699 I dont want to look like a racist j&rk, but approc 20% of the german population is not germanic and nearly 30% in GB is doesnt have any EU heritage now, maybe its the same in France, lots of blacks and arabs and this all happened within 1 century...
"The final decision on whether to commit to the attack has been left to Esmund. He chooses to go." I've rewatched this video half a dozen times usually weeks apart, and I tear up at this moment every time. He knew, his crew knew, the entire flight knew. The other 5 crews all could have turned away and risked discipline. But they didn't. Bravery is insufficient to describe that level of commitment and ignorance of danger.
Little stories like that from WW2 never cease to amaze me. So many of the men knew what was at risk of they failed that many were willing to take any risk if it meant completing the mission. Like the Belgians in the Ardenne who fought to the death against the entire German army to try and hold them back just a few extra hours while their government prepared and the Brits rallied. Poles who first fought to the last man trying to hold back the Germans during the invasion and later in Warsaw where even civilians fought to the last trying fo push back the Nazis while the Soviets pushed from the East. Japanese soldiers who charged with bayonets against machine guns for the defence of the home islands in places like Saipan.
@@arthas640 Well....you could call the kamikaze pilots brave as well. And in a sense they all were brave, but there is a fine line between bravery and folly. If you're a good pilot with lots of experience, it might be better to keep yourself in the game to use that experience in difficult but doable missions to come and/or pass on that knowledge instead of taking yourself out of the equation by getting yourself killed in a hopeless endeavor. That said, in the heat of battle it's sometimes very hard to judge if the oncoming action is hopeless or doable until you're already in the midst of it 😐, so hats off to the countless souls lost in the folly of war.
@@arthas640 Japanese bayonet charges were more out of fanaticism and brainwashing than any defense of home islands considering Saipan was just another colonial acquisition of their imperialist government. There is no heroism in the IJA.
Excellent video, I just always assumed the Germans slipped thru the Channel while the English were sleeping. Had no clue there was so much action and close calls.
Marc Felton reported that several bristish tactical bomber squadrons circled a very long time around the own airport base, because they waited for the lead into attack. But, lucky choice, they landed before running out of fuel.
@@matthewwilson3651 Britain has suffered many naval defeats, yet built a tradition second to none. ...... Talking about your defeats enables you to understand the reasons, and correct them. ...... As Afghanistan has shown, America learnt nothing in the last 60 years, and has betrayed all of it's allies. ...... So, hopefully, discussing the reasons for the current debacle - which makes the British Surrender at Singapore seem a minor event - will reveal why the United States has a President who is clearly a geriatric, and could'nt lead a nation out of a wet paper bag without tripping over the puppet strings from his communist masters
The weather played a huge part in the successful dash. I cant imagine what it was like flying about in those conditions ..... with so many aircraft in the clouds and mist
There were several CFIT (controlled flight into terrain) incidents on the part of British bombers... although I suppose it should be technically called controlled flight into water, given what they hit. Regardless, multiple aircraft crashed into the sea trying to get below the cloud cover.
"I cant imagine what it was like flying about in those conditions ..... with so many aircraft in the clouds and mist" I imagine that it was a lot like..."flying about in those conditions ..... with many aircraft in the clouds and mist"...
Expecting bombers to hit a ship on the move was wildly optimistic on the part of the British given how inaccurate their bombing was at this point in the war.
And in low visibility/ poor weather to boot. While the ship crews definitely displayed great skill at evading those torpedo salvos, the inclement weather was probably the deciding factor
"Expecting bombers to hit a ship on the move was wildly optimistic on the part of the British given how inaccurate their bombing was at this point in the war" yeah because the British had never heard of dive-bombers or torpedo-bombers
It was not discovered before 1942 that high altitude plane bombing ships is ineffective, only after the divebombing was totally introduced... Very strange is this fact due to aviation development stage in 30's already had been sufficient for training different bombing styles, and the navy had targets in abundance any day...
Scharnhorst had a 20-minute power outage caused by the first mine, the shock from its detonation locked up the rotating parts of turret 2, and it tore a hole in her side bigger than my living room floor (i think the dimensions were 6m x 13m, correct me ifi am wrong) and caused her to ship 2500 tons of water. 2nd mine hit caused a much shorter power outage and a much much smaller hole. Gneisenau did sail again, but disarmed and only able to float, with only enough fuel to get where she was going: to be sunk as a blockship. Scrapped after the war. Sad ending to my favorite ship...r.i.p. Gneisenau
Gneisenau actually sailed, under her own power from Kiel, where her forward magazine burned out, on to Gdynia, in occupied Poland. Still had two functional main turrets and all secondary turrets. Her main armament was then removed in Poland.
Yeah, it would be very difficult to pull off though since the protagonists would realistically have to be the germans and most people only think of the nazis and the holocaust.
@@chonksstonks1820 I mean Hollywood could easily do it. Except you will get 10 min of Channel dash, then 75 min of the destruction of scharnhorst. Hollywood style
it was the first major operational debut of fw190。it proved far superior to spit5s。there were stories of german pilots lowering their landing gears to slow down in order to attack slow swordfishes
Adolf Gallant was tasked with securing the safe crossing, so it was successful overall. Please pronounce of the cruiser name with the stress on the last syllable: EuGEN!
He forgot to say at the end that Prinz Eugen would be surrendered to the British at the end of the war and then given to the United States as a war trophy christened the USS Prinz Eugen and used in nuclear testing
@@kyle18934 To be fair, basically the second they let the German engineers off of Prinz Eugen, it's boiler basically (not literally but almost) blew itself up, because, well, sanity (or common sense) was not involved in the making of the high-pressure boiler. The US then towed her back to port, took apart the boiler, studied it, learned from it, despite everything being horribly wrong and made from the wrong materials and stuff, and was able to build newer, even higher pressure boilers from the knowledge they gained. Only the US and Germany used High Pressure steam during the war. The US used 600psi steam boilers, Germany used 1000psi steam boilers in Prinz Eugen (note that they specifically designed the boiler to *not* use the alloys that would withstand the higher temp/pressure steam, which is extremely corrosive, because during wartime the access to those materials would be limited, while the US did, so it was pure insanity), and then with the knowledge gained from Prinz Eugen, the US built 1200psi engines. Crazy stuff.
@@chemputer wow 1200 lbs of steam pressure from 600, that's a big jump! Also all of its mechanics were not usa standard, so it would be difficult to get tools for it in surplus. That's crazy that they would use non alloy materiel, but it makes sense
@@kyle18934 I highly recommend the channel Drachinifel if you have any interest in Naval history, battles, engineering, etc. He does a weekly Q&A podcast of sorts, called The Drydock, and this week he covered the German boilers in one of the questions. ruclips.net/video/34tBc0VCraA/видео.html#t=16m18s Just in case that link doesn't work right (it should start at the right time, but may not), the relevant question starts at 16:18, and the answer ends around 25:28. It's well worth the watch, he explains it *way* better than I ever could, and he's got that dry sarcastic British humor. He's got a bunch of "5 minute guides" on all sorts of ships, mostly WWI/WWII, but also some older ones too, he originally started out with robo voice videos, then transitioned to his voice (and is redoing the older ones in human voice), which is much better. He also does these specials, where he covers something more in depth, like the Battle of Samar, which is literally the most badass last stand in history, ever. It was a small force of a bunch of destroyers, destroyer escorts and escort carriers taking on a massive Japanese force of Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, including Yamato herself. ruclips.net/video/4AdcvDiA3lE/видео.html (on a side note, I would love for this channel to cover that battle too) If you've never heard of it, I strongly suggest watching that, because he explains it so well and it's just such an epic display of extreme bravery and skill by all the sailors involved. Most of those specials are the longer, more interesting videos, and they're in this playlist. ruclips.net/p/PLMK9a-vDE5zFh7itlWUQVFOgKN2-HfFl7
@@kyle18934 You should also know that the USA scarified the American Battleships Arkansas, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania at Bikini along with the American Aircraft Carriers Independence and the Saratoga! Also 10 American Destroyers and numerous other American and Japanese ships!
Great job, imo. All elments help the overall effect. Your steady, calm voice, the music (not too loud or dominating...but very ominous) and the graphics are great. And - of course - all the details are just fascinating. These are my favourite part. Thanks you for all your efforts on your videos.
I love these videos man, the vidualization really makes the scope of some of these operations really more spectacular then just reading and not having a way to see certain things. Thank you
TOR, your work is to be commended and has all the elements of a large budget documentary without the unnecessary flash and glitter. Thumbs up and please do many many more.
General Adolf Galland in his book "The first and the last" writes a detailed description on the Luftwaffe operations during Cerberus. He planned the air operations. He also mentions a reconnaissance plane that spots the fleet and informs per radio, but the RAF sent another plane to confirm the sight. This can mean that something with the account incongruous or incomplete
This is great , I'm still new to the war in the atlantic. I recently discovered my great grandfather was a submariner during ww2. Great work on these documentaries sir.
It's things like the torpedo run by Campbell and his crew (hope I spelled it right) leave me in awe of the bravery of those men. Considering that the first 3 planes pulled away he certainley would've had a pretty hood idea what would happen if he pressed on, but did so anyway
@@Zaron_Gaming I mean Force Z's alternative was to allow the Japanese landings and invasions to go unopposed, and the complete dominance of aircraft ofver naval vessels had yet to be firmly established. Unsure about this last part but I'm the British may have also been unaware of Japanese airbases in Indochina as well.
Several year ago I met a lady who was a plotter at one of the coastal defence gun sites, they tracked the vessels for well over two hours, and were only given permission to fire at the last minute. their second salvo damaged the Prinze Eugen. Had the gunners been allowed to do their job all of the ships would have been severely damaged if not sunk. She was still furious about it 50 years later.
So basically being on one of these German ships during this fight would boil down to; (Angry screaming in German and swinging a flyswatter around at 400+ various aircraft and boats)
During any surface action is more like it. For the entire war the German navy surface fleet was playing hide and seek until they were sunk. Just too small to compete with the Brits.
Your videos have that perfect blend of big history and individual human drama. I don't mind admitting that my eyes misted over for those doomed swordfish crews, and the vice admiral's magnanimous praise. I hope you will be complimented when I say that your style puts me in mind of Antony Beevor.
I cannot on any level understand what would compel the commander of the Swordfish to make that attack. He had to know it was a one way ticket for all involved.
@@TheNerdForAllSeasons Pride, probably. I know we're supposed to appreciate his bravery and all that, but in my mind it was just foolish. Why waste perfectly good pilots in an attack that is certain to fail?
@@SoWhat1221 I suppose the best way to say it is the flight lead thought that any chance of success at damaging a large and dangerous target like a battleship is worth the expenditure of lives. And if they had gotten a disabling hit that led to the loss of any of the capital ships, they would be even more legendary.
Probably my favorite subscription. I love this video. Something about that line, “First Admiral in 300 years...” is astonishing to think about. So many have tried and failed. Leave it to the Germans...
If you ever get the chance, read Channel Dash and see just how brave they were. Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde, what a hero, guys crawling out on the wings using life jackets to beat out fires cause by AA fire. The splash from the BIG guns were higher than the aircraft. Been 30yrs since I read it but wow.
The Luftwaffe should have been able to make the repeated air attacks on Brest too costly to continue. I guess their fighters had more important things to do in 1941.
@@gunslingerluckytankijunky lol German Air Force. @ PEEPER57 The Luftwaffe at the time was prepping and getting into position for the attack on the Ost Front... Also there were operations against Crete Which were from 1940 to June of 41. Luftflotte 3 was in France from 1940-1944. this may help but there are better books than wiki... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftflotte_3 Most of fighter command was transferred to the Russian front. JG53 was stationed in Vannes, France near Brest, but was transferred in April 1941 to Russia. Most of the JG, or Fighter units would be operating in Russia, and scarcely in the Mediterranean with defenses in Mid-Norther France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Germany... so they were spread thin.
PEEPER57 They simply had not enough active squadrons any more, thanks to that overblown clown Goering. If he reminds you of one or two world leaders, it's not coincidence!
The AA-shells went through the cotton wings without to explode. The major aspect for losing the Bismarck was the detachment of Prinz Eugen, a typical mistake (by the coward Lütjens) disregarding common squadron tactics. In a crossfire of 2 ships the swordfishs would have been lost. And in case of a fatal torpedo hit, Prinz Eugen could have towed Bismarck home to Brest.
It's not so much ironic. If you read Friedman you will see there were fundamental problems with the German Battleship AA setup. Some lessons were applied to Tirpitz, but still not great. Unfortunately there is a great misapprehension that everything German was better than anything British. When you research more, you find this is often untrue.
@@bobcornford3637 on KBismark.com is a lot to find. The wide beam of German BBs was fine. On the other hand German turret shapes were a mess, British turret shapes much better. British radar was better, German ocular instruments were fine etcetc. Crews make a ship, crews of both nations were fine, but the Brits had in average better comanding - and flag-officers. But beside all maritime affairs politics are the main factor. Both WWs were British wars. Both WWs destroyed Europe's might, mainly the Brits lost everything, someone could lose. So the profit-taker were the US and now the cowboys dominate us all, not very clever.
Of all the nations that took part in WW2. The USA was the only one to gain financially! In 1933 Germany was Bankrupt when Hitler took over. By 1939 she had the most powerful military machine in the world. Who paid for it? Wall Street did!
The British were British and the Nazis were Nazis and that is why the 1930s and 1940s were so much fun with so many surprises and so much in the way of good times.
Imagine being one of the crew of those old destroyers just on another gunnery exercise. Suddenly your next orders are to intercept German capital ships...
@@touristguy87 Destroyers have relatively smaller caliber guns and are usually employed as sub hunters or escorts. Sure there are torpedoes but that's still equivalent to taking a Humvee with a .50 mounted on it and told to engage an MBT in the open. Not to worry though because there's also an RPG in the backseat so your chances aren't too bad.
So crazy how you tend to forget how smalltime the war is on a day to day basis. A single Spitfire patrolling early morning over Channel. Couple German radar towers transmitting same time, everyday, for a couple weeks to trick Brits. 109 bombers attacking a port randomly, utterly failing. 2.... huge battleships commerce raiding. 24 E-Boats in the channel. All so small scale really, yet pieces on the board being moved around. It also shows the fog of war pretty well. They know they are "there" but not what's going on. Or at least gives you a sense of it. I never realized some torpedo motor boats actually made it to attack range of the fleet and there was such a concerted effort to stop them. So that was cool, actually learning something new on a battle I've watched multiple videos on, read tons of pages on, etc. Thanks for one of the 2 videos released today on pairs of WW2 battleships doing whole lot of nothing. Haha ;)
and Prince Eugene was a successful Franco-Austrian general of a century prior. Although he was an ally of the Brtish back then. See battle of Blenheim for example where he assisted Britain vs. Fance.
Tirpitz instituted a system whereby the standing army was 100000 men as per restrictions but those men were then "discharged" and 100000 more were trained and so on. End result was a huge army in wartime. Shrinkage I've heard it called, although Google thinks I'm looking up supermarket waste protocols.
My Father was a Beaufort mid-upper air gunner in 86 Squadron, Coastal Command, at the time of the Channel Dash. He said he and some other blokes from the Squadron were on leave in a movie theater at the time when the film was stopped and someone walked up front and announced that any squadron members present had to return to their airfield immediately. An ominous indicator of coming events my Father thought. When he got back the Squadron was ordered up and vectored along the Norwegian Coast in search of the German ships. This was my Father's first squadron operation. As events panned-out they didn't find the German Convoy. Instead they ended-up off Stavanger where they watched a larger formation of FW 190s take off and spiral up to altitude before attacking them, en masse. In the running fight that followed, four of the Beauforts were shot down into the sea before the 190s eventually broke off and returned to base; probably for want of ammunition. I think I remember my Father saying they believed they got four of the 190s as well, but in the heat of battle these things are always uncertain. He said he always found it amusing how quickly air discipline broke down when the fight began as aircraft from his squadron attempted to reposition themselves in the center of the fleeing formation in an attempt to try and escape the attacking German fighters. Many in the Squadron believed they had been used as a diversion to limit the number of German fighters on station over the ships.
Ain't that always the way? Like with the Titanic. Binoculars would have helped the lookouts see the iceberg sooner but they were locked it the safe. And the keys were with an officer who didn't make the trip.
@@GHOSTOFONYX10 things haven't gotten much better. Operation _Provide Comfort_ is a real doozy. I bet they were patting each other on the back when they came up with that one LMAO. Who the Hell pays these morons to think of such names?
Note sure what's badass about "Case Blue" or "Fir East" or "Aster". Heck, even "Caesar" isn't particularly original. The more badass the names were, the more embarassing the outcome often was....
The Swordfish is described as "ancient", but it's a contemporary of the BF 109s which shot them down! Both are mid-1930s designs. It's hard to appreciate how fast aviation evolved just prior to and during WW2. Had the war started a few years earlier, it would have been initially fought with biplanes.
Another great video! I remember reading about this four and a half decades ago. Even though other things have come to light since then, I'm surprised you didn't mention the German' long range weather forecast and it's accuracy. Wish I could remember the name of the book... :(
I have always wondered if the channel dash was a good thing for the British, moving the ships away from the Atlantic and with the Home Fleet available, which neutralises the German capital ships.
@touristguy87 German capital ships weren't designed to fight other capital ships. They were convoy hunters/destroyers, something they were successful at, as alluded to at the beginning of the video. I think having them penned up was a waste since they'd all eventually get sunk regardless. Might as well take a bunch of ships down in battle on the high seas instead of being bombed like a helpless dog in a pen.
I treasure this channel. It is valuable and riveting. How I dearly wish the narration played against a velvet wall of silence. Must you really have the mind-numbing "music?"
My dad was serving as a range finder on Prinz Eugen. He told us stories about the ride in front of the RN noses. Good job they did! Proud about dad and the German Navy!
@@irongeneral7861 you never heard about HMS Gloworm ? Epic encounter , she single handedly sank or roughed up a number of German destroyers before ramming Admiral Hipper. There is an excellent book about the encounter, the name of which escapes me.
From Wikipedia: "Generally, once a torpedo was dropped, an escape was made by low-level jinking at full throttle. Because of rising ground surrounding the harbour, Campbell was forced into a steep banking turn, revealing the Beaufort's full silhouette to the gunners. The aircraft met a withering wall of flak and crashed into the harbour. The Germans buried Campbell and his three crew mates, Sergeants J. P. Scott DFM RCAF (navigator), R. W. Hillman (wireless operator) and W. C. Mulliss (air gunner), with full military honours. His valour was only recognised when the French Resistance managed to pass along news of his brave deeds to Britain.
He was my 2nd cousin 2 generations removed back and his great uncle Thomas Esmonde VC was my great grandfather x 3. Eugene hadn't been long married till he was killed unfortunately. I was partly raised for a lot of my childhood my grandparents. My grandfather tells me about his father Col Thomas Comerford (who served in Royal Irish reg. same reg as his grandfather Thomas Esmonde) having his last family meeting with him not long before Eugene was killed, I think it may have been the wedding. Our family lost touch with that side. Did your sister go to school with his daughter in Ireland or England by any chance? I've also been with my grandad to go visit both Eugene and Thomas Esmonde's VC in the imperial war museum 2 years back. Was interesting to see, and also all the other VC's from around the world all there in the room that have been collected by Lord Ashcroft and donated to the Imperial war Museum.
@@Dom-fx4kt Yes, Eugene Esmonde's Uncle (?) also got the VC in the Boer War (?). No my sister went to school at Loretto in Nairobi, Kenya. May have been niece not daughter..... Churchill 1946, "When I remember the sacrifice of Irishmen like Commander Eugene Esmonde VC, I look forward to the day, a day I shall not see, when the sons of Irishmen and the sons of Englishmen will walk together without bitterness....." My family served in the second Ashanti War; the Boer War; WW1; WW2; and my brother and I in RN and RAF respectively. Myself, 47 years in RAFVR. All the best!
@@davidwheatcroft2797 Eugene Esmonde's great uncle(Col Thomas Esmonde, my great great great grandfather) earned the VC in the Crimea at seige of Sevastopol attacking the great Redan. Funnily enough Eugene is also related to Maire Comerford who was my great aunt from the female auxiliary of the IRA in civil war and war of independence and was a high ranking member in it and was quite close to Dev Valera, our family was very divided in many ways but still mutually got along Oh I see, I'll ask my grandfather if he knew Edmondes daughter, he would of been serving in Rhodesia at the time in the BSAP. Oh yes, I remember him telling me about the churchill speech:) Thank you for your families long service and your own years of service, and Godbless!
The Kriegsmarine was considered the weakest link of the German military but out of all of them, I would say they were the most professional. This was one of the few instances that demonstrated their ability to function without external interference in their operational planning. Even though two ships were damaged, it gave the Royal Navy a black eye for a sometime as they fended off every attack that was thrown at them, even when Royal Navy surface units attempted to engage them. The one key item that I believe contributed to the success of Operation Cerberus was the majority of the Home Fleet being at Scapa Flow. Tactically, it was a victory for the Kriegsmarine, strategically it was a defeat as they never were able to venture out again for major operations.
In 1980, onboard the French mine sweeper Calliope, we discovered many un-exploded WWII mines in Brest harbor. Our divers and PAP (Poisson Auto Propulse - On board submarine) managed to detonate those old but still active 1945 mines.
damn that's crazy that they stayed there so long without being noticed in a more tragic way (thankfully they did), were they hidden to regular routes or something?
I think once the enemy has started shooting at you, it's okay to break radio silence.
The radio silence was because we had used similar scenarios with the Luftwaffe to crack the enigma daily code changes. It was nothing to do with actual radio silence. The two pilots were the Squadron Commander and the base Commander of Kenley, Group Capt F.V. Beamish , so not exactly beginners.
@@bobcornford3637 The fact that they didn't broadcast back to their base about seeing a huge enemy fleet seems even more suspicious to me (if I was German). I agree Yora, damn intel protocol, I have all the intel you need, "There's a damn huge enemy fleet steaming up the channel, HELP!".
@@mikeclarke952 It didn't matter how suspicious the Germans were, it was to prevent their breaking our codes as a result of the report. German 15th army was reading much of our signal traffic, and would become very proficient.
@Dennis Ynborg DAMM ! quite right
@@mikeclarke952 “You want confirmation? There’s your confirmation.” From T. T. T.
It’s hard to imagine all of this happened while I’m eating chips lying on the couch, doing the same “wake up, go to work, sleep “ routine. It’s easy to romanticize it until you’re on the receiving end of the 12 inch guns.
*When I'm having a tot of Whisky & Cigar*
I’m eating my favorite mass produced cookie, in my computer room, on my smart phone. Blows my mind lol
I’m eating eggs n rice
The Scharnhorst and Gneisenau were armed with 283 mm (11.1 in) main guns not 12 inch.
What kind of chips?
My great-uncle was a sailor on the Prinz Eugen when this operation happened. Sadly I only found out after his death, would have been very interesting to get some first hand information.
His brother, my other great-uncle, was sunk in the U 656 in spring of 1942, age 22.
my condolences....
you have my respect but you can queue the “sO tHeY wErE nAzIs?” replies which are incredibly disrespectful
That’s so interesting!
Thanks for your thoughts...for me it's more like history, more distant and quite interesting. Think for my grandmother it was far from that, she was 15 years old when her brother died, never seemed to let him go.
A few years after her death I found out about the story of U 656, made contact with a group of Great Lake divers who were then on a mission to find the submarine as it's supposed to lie in shallow waters near the New Foundland coast.
You can even google the sinking of it , it's bombardement is fotodocumented...which then again is a strange feeling, seeing pictures of the moment a relative is dying...
War sucks!
@@drytishuuz so they were the National Army of Z International Soldier?
AWACS Long Caster no no no, people just think automatically that they are nazis if they were in germany side during the war. Remember then only a few of german people WANTED to help their country, and gladly went in the war. However some others that didn’t and were forced to join, yeah they still were considered Nazis, but i’m not so sure they felt pride in it.
This simple animation helps to clear away the fog of war. Well done.
No room for fancy spectacle when you try to communicate complex information.
No Fog/tgf/tgm
No fog for everyone's!
Two accounts with two first names doing some sort of scam?
The Gneisenau didn't seem to be that sure which direction to take after leaving the dry-dock. Like it was sneaking out.
You have no idea what fog of war means pls educate yourself
My dad was on the Scharnhorst when this took place. He was 23 years old and told the story several times, about how all the torpedoes missed. But he never forgot the feeling, when you saw those "eels" slithering towards the ship and praying that they miss, while the hair stands up in your neck and your almost shitting your pants.....
Your father was a good man...
This was definitely an embarrassing blockade defence on our part, the weather with low visibility clouds and the evasive manoeuvres by the German ships definitely played a hand in your dads safe return to port, I’m happy to finally see our two countries working together for future ventures rather then fighting one another 😁
@@Wolfsong27FlyHalfFullHeart Agreed! It should have been that way always. One History, Race and Ancestry. Only divided by some water.
Lucky #100
@@carlheinz6699 I dont want to look like a racist j&rk, but approc 20% of the german population is not germanic and nearly 30% in GB is doesnt have any EU heritage now, maybe its the same in France, lots of blacks and arabs and this all happened within 1 century...
"The final decision on whether to commit to the attack has been left to Esmund. He chooses to go."
I've rewatched this video half a dozen times usually weeks apart, and I tear up at this moment every time.
He knew, his crew knew, the entire flight knew. The other 5 crews all could have turned away and risked discipline. But they didn't.
Bravery is insufficient to describe that level of commitment and ignorance of danger.
Little stories like that from WW2 never cease to amaze me. So many of the men knew what was at risk of they failed that many were willing to take any risk if it meant completing the mission. Like the Belgians in the Ardenne who fought to the death against the entire German army to try and hold them back just a few extra hours while their government prepared and the Brits rallied. Poles who first fought to the last man trying to hold back the Germans during the invasion and later in Warsaw where even civilians fought to the last trying fo push back the Nazis while the Soviets pushed from the East. Japanese soldiers who charged with bayonets against machine guns for the defence of the home islands in places like Saipan.
@@arthas640 Well....you could call the kamikaze pilots brave as well. And in a sense they all were brave, but there is a fine line between bravery and folly. If you're a good pilot with lots of experience, it might be better to keep yourself in the game to use that experience in difficult but doable missions to come and/or pass on that knowledge instead of taking yourself out of the equation by getting yourself killed in a hopeless endeavor.
That said, in the heat of battle it's sometimes very hard to judge if the oncoming action is hopeless or doable until you're already in the midst of it 😐, so hats off to the countless souls lost in the folly of war.
@@arthas640 Japanese bayonet charges were more out of fanaticism and brainwashing than any defense of home islands considering Saipan was just another colonial acquisition of their imperialist government. There is no heroism in the IJA.
They knew the risks, knew they would likely not come back. They went anyway.
Guts.
@@andro7862 there is no discussion that the japanese fought the most bravely. Calling it "fanaticism" or "heroism" is a question of point of view
Excellent video, I just always assumed the Germans slipped thru the Channel while the English were sleeping. Had no clue there was so much action and close calls.
Glad you liked it!
the British don't like talking about it very much
Marc Felton reported that several bristish tactical bomber squadrons circled a very long time around the own airport base, because they waited for the lead into attack. But, lucky choice, they landed before running out of fuel.
@@matthewwilson3651 Britain has suffered many naval defeats, yet built a tradition second to none. ...... Talking about your defeats enables you to understand the reasons, and correct them. ...... As Afghanistan has shown, America learnt nothing in the last 60 years, and has betrayed all of it's allies. ...... So, hopefully, discussing the reasons for the current debacle - which makes the British Surrender at Singapore seem a minor event - will reveal why the United States has a President who is clearly a geriatric, and could'nt lead a nation out of a wet paper bag without tripping over the puppet strings from his communist masters
@@zen4men I can not disagree with any thing you have said
The weather played a huge part in the successful dash. I cant imagine what it was like flying about in those conditions ..... with so many aircraft in the clouds and mist
There were several CFIT (controlled flight into terrain) incidents on the part of British bombers... although I suppose it should be technically called controlled flight into water, given what they hit. Regardless, multiple aircraft crashed into the sea trying to get below the cloud cover.
"I cant imagine what it was like flying about in those conditions ..... with so many aircraft in the clouds and mist"
I imagine that it was a lot like..."flying about in those conditions ..... with many aircraft in the clouds and mist"...
Expecting bombers to hit a ship on the move was wildly optimistic on the part of the British given how inaccurate their bombing was at this point in the war.
And in low visibility/ poor weather to boot. While the ship crews definitely displayed great skill at evading those torpedo salvos, the inclement weather was probably the deciding factor
@Great White sitting war ships though, not AA spiked iron hills sailing at full steam while in bad weather
"Expecting bombers to hit a ship on the move was wildly optimistic on the part of the British given how inaccurate their bombing was at this point in the war"
yeah because the British had never heard of dive-bombers or torpedo-bombers
drop enough bombs and you'll hit a lone swimmer
It was not discovered before 1942 that high altitude plane bombing ships is ineffective, only after the divebombing was totally introduced... Very strange is this fact due to aviation development stage in 30's already had been sufficient for training different bombing styles, and the navy had targets in abundance any day...
Goes to show that even despite an insanely foolish plan, proper coordination, training and discipline can get you just about anywhere.
it's just the odds of getting there, I guess
i dont think there was anything better to do tho at least from this video
Scharnhorst had a 20-minute power outage caused by the first mine, the shock from its detonation locked up the rotating parts of turret 2, and it tore a hole in her side bigger than my living room floor (i think the dimensions were 6m x 13m, correct me ifi am wrong) and caused her to ship 2500 tons of water. 2nd mine hit caused a much shorter power outage and a much much smaller hole. Gneisenau did sail again, but disarmed and only able to float, with only enough fuel to get where she was going: to be sunk as a blockship. Scrapped after the war. Sad ending to my favorite ship...r.i.p. Gneisenau
Gneisenau actually sailed, under her own power from Kiel, where her forward magazine burned out, on to Gdynia, in occupied Poland. Still had two functional main turrets and all secondary turrets. Her main armament was then removed in Poland.
Scharnhorst was such a beautiful ship
Gneisenau 😭😪😥😢😰
@@TTTT-oc4eb Both of them were absolutely stunning, especially with that low water line and upswept bow.
😢
She was, went out fighting.
This entire operation could be such a great movie
As long as hollywood are not involved.
Yeah, it would be very difficult to pull off though since the protagonists would realistically have to be the germans and most people only think of the nazis and the holocaust.
@@chonksstonks1820 I mean Hollywood could easily do it. Except you will get 10 min of Channel dash, then 75 min of the destruction of scharnhorst.
Hollywood style
I agree
9:05 One thing I love about these videos is there's always a 'that one guy'
it was the first major operational debut of fw190。it proved far superior to spit5s。there were stories of german pilots lowering their landing gears to slow down in order to attack slow swordfishes
I heard that too about lowering landing gear. Must have been a crazy sight
Adolf Gallant was tasked with securing the safe crossing, so it was successful overall. Please pronounce of the cruiser name with the stress on the last syllable: EuGEN!
Anna Tamparow Who gives a shit about pronouncing a krout ships name correctly? Fucking lamer.
Proved superior for like, a month, before the spits were upgraded and they were once more outclassed lmao.
@@annatamparow4917 says the guy who calls Adolf GALLAND as gallant lol
Cerberus was a great name for this op, the three headed bull mastiff that guarded the gates of the Underworld.
Good doggy
He forgot to say at the end that Prinz Eugen would be surrendered to the British at the end of the war and then given to the United States as a war trophy christened the USS Prinz Eugen and used in nuclear testing
Lol that's awesome. The usa took their war trophy, the pride of the German navy, and blew it up.
That is a bitch slap if i ever heard one
@@kyle18934 To be fair, basically the second they let the German engineers off of Prinz Eugen, it's boiler basically (not literally but almost) blew itself up, because, well, sanity (or common sense) was not involved in the making of the high-pressure boiler. The US then towed her back to port, took apart the boiler, studied it, learned from it, despite everything being horribly wrong and made from the wrong materials and stuff, and was able to build newer, even higher pressure boilers from the knowledge they gained.
Only the US and Germany used High Pressure steam during the war. The US used 600psi steam boilers, Germany used 1000psi steam boilers in Prinz Eugen (note that they specifically designed the boiler to *not* use the alloys that would withstand the higher temp/pressure steam, which is extremely corrosive, because during wartime the access to those materials would be limited, while the US did, so it was pure insanity), and then with the knowledge gained from Prinz Eugen, the US built 1200psi engines.
Crazy stuff.
@@chemputer wow 1200 lbs of steam pressure from 600, that's a big jump!
Also all of its mechanics were not usa standard, so it would be difficult to get tools for it in surplus.
That's crazy that they would use non alloy materiel, but it makes sense
@@kyle18934 I highly recommend the channel Drachinifel if you have any interest in Naval history, battles, engineering, etc.
He does a weekly Q&A podcast of sorts, called The Drydock, and this week he covered the German boilers in one of the questions.
ruclips.net/video/34tBc0VCraA/видео.html#t=16m18s
Just in case that link doesn't work right (it should start at the right time, but may not), the relevant question starts at 16:18, and the answer ends around 25:28.
It's well worth the watch, he explains it *way* better than I ever could, and he's got that dry sarcastic British humor.
He's got a bunch of "5 minute guides" on all sorts of ships, mostly WWI/WWII, but also some older ones too, he originally started out with robo voice videos, then transitioned to his voice (and is redoing the older ones in human voice), which is much better. He also does these specials, where he covers something more in depth, like the Battle of Samar, which is literally the most badass last stand in history, ever. It was a small force of a bunch of destroyers, destroyer escorts and escort carriers taking on a massive Japanese force of Battleships, cruisers, and destroyers, including Yamato herself.
ruclips.net/video/4AdcvDiA3lE/видео.html (on a side note, I would love for this channel to cover that battle too) If you've never heard of it, I strongly suggest watching that, because he explains it so well and it's just such an epic display of extreme bravery and skill by all the sailors involved.
Most of those specials are the longer, more interesting videos, and they're in this playlist. ruclips.net/p/PLMK9a-vDE5zFh7itlWUQVFOgKN2-HfFl7
@@kyle18934 You should also know that the USA scarified the American Battleships Arkansas, Nevada, New York and Pennsylvania at Bikini along with the American Aircraft Carriers Independence and the Saratoga! Also 10 American Destroyers and numerous other American and Japanese ships!
Great job, imo.
All elments help the overall effect.
Your steady, calm voice, the music (not too loud or dominating...but very ominous) and the graphics are great.
And - of course - all the details are just fascinating. These are my favourite part.
Thanks you for all your efforts on your videos.
So happy to have stumbled upon this excellent channel. That's my isolation sorted...
Well that turned out to be longer than expected
@@sdprz7893 lol oof
This was some gripping infographics, I was on the edge of my seat for the whole channel run. Seriously well done!
Really hoped these beautiful ships would make it home.
Kenneth Campbell (VC) had balls of steel. my hats is off for this chap.
I remember reading about his raid in the old Ballantine book, Torpedo Bomber, by Ralph Barker.
6:03 Genius!
I am always amazed at the sophistication of electronic warfare tactics from almost 80 years ago.
"Ghen-eye-us!"
I love these videos man, the vidualization really makes the scope of some of these operations really more spectacular then just reading and not having a way to see certain things.
Thank you
I wish that he was teaching me history in school man much love from India
Love your channel. Makes history even more fun. Honestly you think you know things already but end up learning new things is always great.
Extremely interesting, well presented, thank you
You're very welcome
I love the top down view of the battles and how you zoom in and out showing the greater picture.
TOR, your work is to be commended and has all the elements of a large budget documentary without the unnecessary flash and glitter. Thumbs up and please do many many more.
Great video! Love your work.
General Adolf Galland in his book "The first and the last" writes a detailed description on the Luftwaffe operations during Cerberus. He planned the air operations.
He also mentions a reconnaissance plane that spots the fleet and informs per radio, but the RAF sent another plane to confirm the sight.
This can mean that something with the account incongruous or incomplete
This is great , I'm still new to the war in the atlantic. I recently discovered my great grandfather was a submariner during ww2. Great work on these documentaries sir.
It's things like the torpedo run by Campbell and his crew (hope I spelled it right) leave me in awe of the bravery of those men. Considering that the first 3 planes pulled away he certainley would've had a pretty hood idea what would happen if he pressed on, but did so anyway
an act that probably saved a lot of lives of allied sailors
You did an amazing job with this video! It is detailed with the battle and we are able to follow along easily while still being entertained!
battle of the phillipine sea or sinking of repulse and prince of wales next !
repulse and wales are so sad.. dumb commanders and air superiority mixed together
@@Zaron_Gaming I mean Force Z's alternative was to allow the Japanese landings and invasions to go unopposed, and the complete dominance of aircraft ofver naval vessels had yet to be firmly established. Unsure about this last part but I'm the British may have also been unaware of Japanese airbases in Indochina as well.
japan had leased airbase from thailand and that where their air force attacking
@@Zaron_Gaming What do you are talking about? Where there Asian ships theatening the channel? Repulse and PoW had nothing lost there.
@@hajoos.8360 .... what? tagged the wrong person. Asian ships? I said aircraft. They were sunk by air attacks
Awesome video. Your channel and content is truly amazing I'm looking forward to next video
Thank you so much!
Can I just say one word on this amazing bit of history and your efforts . Brilliant 🤩👍
Many thanks!
Several year ago I met a lady who was a plotter at one of the coastal defence gun sites, they tracked the vessels for well over two hours, and were only given permission to fire at the last minute. their second salvo damaged the Prinze Eugen. Had the gunners been allowed to do their job all of the ships would have been severely damaged if not sunk. She was still furious about it 50 years later.
Lions led by sheep, it's a UK tradition.
I don't blame her,it was a bloody fiasco, heads should have rolled.
13:18 *Gneisenau and Prinz-Eugen
First video I've watched on this channel, and now I'm subbed!
Awesome! Thank you!
I am number one fan of the wombat species! Rock on Optimus!!
So basically being on one of these German ships during this fight would boil down to;
(Angry screaming in German and swinging a flyswatter around at 400+ various aircraft and boats)
OMG thanks for directing that movie in my head lmfao *Dies*
During any surface action is more like it. For the entire war the German navy surface fleet was playing hide and seek until they were sunk. Just too small to compete with the Brits.
Excellent - detailed information skilfully presented and wonderfully delivered, thank you.
Glad you enjoyed it!
Fantastic video man! Always wondered how they acheived the Channel dash. Thanks!
Astounded By Your Clear Understanding and Ability to Repaeat it Thank You
This stuff keeps me awake at night- in a good way!
Very well made, concise and to the point. Top animation and clear narration. Impressive quality, well done.
I agree
Your videos have that perfect blend of big history and individual human drama. I don't mind admitting that my eyes misted over for those doomed swordfish crews, and the vice admiral's magnanimous praise. I hope you will be complimented when I say that your style puts me in mind of Antony Beevor.
Thanks. It's definitely a priority in my videos to show the human element
I cannot on any level understand what would compel the commander of the Swordfish to make that attack. He had to know it was a one way ticket for all involved.
@@TheNerdForAllSeasons Pride, probably.
I know we're supposed to appreciate his bravery and all that, but in my mind it was just foolish. Why waste perfectly good pilots in an attack that is certain to fail?
@@SoWhat1221 I suppose the best way to say it is the flight lead thought that any chance of success at damaging a large and dangerous target like a battleship is worth the expenditure of lives.
And if they had gotten a disabling hit that led to the loss of any of the capital ships, they would be even more legendary.
Well said
Very well made. This is truly impressive work! Thank you!
Probably my favorite subscription. I love this video. Something about that line, “First Admiral in 300 years...” is astonishing to think about. So many have tried and failed. Leave it to the Germans...
Thank you! I learned a great lot about WWII during the lockdown.
These are professionally made documentaries!
One of the most underated channels,very well explained videos you deserve more subs. I also suggest for you to make a video on battle of leyte gulf.
Great work. Really interesting and informative and your narration is perfect. Thank you!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Another belter dude.
Those swordfish crew were incredibly brave! Can’t image what it would of been like.
Totally exposed and terrifying. Exposed to the harsh elements as well
funny how similar that was to the US Torpedo attacks against the Japanese fleet at Midway.
If you ever get the chance, read Channel Dash and see just how brave they were. Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde, what a hero, guys crawling out on the wings using life jackets to beat out fires cause by AA fire. The splash from the BIG guns were higher than the aircraft. Been 30yrs since I read it but wow.
Mr Eckes I’ll be sure to chase down a copy thanks
MR.Chickennuget 360 I believe the Americans used mainly bombs at Midway.
Wow! Great presentation! It was almost like being there. Well done. can't wait for the next episode!
Thank you very much!
@@TheOperationsRoom ruclips.net/user/shortsBmc9NFfhx74?feature=share
More videos plz! Tnank you!
Very comprehensive and informative videos. Keep up the great work.
Excellent video!
Glad you liked it
Another fascinating video. Good work!
If I were a teacher I would use your videos in class to explain the battles. Your videos are awsome
Glad you like them!
Excellently put together.
It would have only taken one hit good/lucky hit for it to go from a failed op for the british to a success l, such are the ficalties of war
Outstanding presentation. Thank you.
The Luftwaffe should have been able to make the repeated air attacks on Brest too costly to continue. I guess their fighters had more important things to do in 1941.
Luftwaffe???
@@gunslingerluckytankijunky lol German Air Force. @ PEEPER57 The Luftwaffe at the time was prepping and getting into position for the attack on the Ost Front... Also there were operations against Crete Which were from 1940 to June of 41. Luftflotte 3 was in France from 1940-1944. this may help but there are better books than wiki... en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luftflotte_3
Most of fighter command was transferred to the Russian front. JG53 was stationed in Vannes, France near Brest, but was transferred in April 1941 to Russia. Most of the JG, or Fighter units would be operating in Russia, and scarcely in the Mediterranean with defenses in Mid-Norther France, Belgium, Denmark, Norway and Germany... so they were spread thin.
There was little that fighters could do against night bombing at that stage in the war. How are they supposed to find their targets?
Luftwaffe cold only spare 2 fighter squadrons in the west at that time, everyting else was tied in the east against the Soviets
PEEPER57 They simply had not enough active squadrons any more, thanks to that overblown clown Goering. If he reminds you of one or two world leaders, it's not coincidence!
Extremely well made and documented. Thank you sir
Its ironic how the Swordfish's incredible low speed and altitude is whst allowed it to remain almost untouchable by the Bismark's AA fire.
The AA-shells went through the cotton wings without to explode. The major aspect for losing the Bismarck was the detachment of Prinz Eugen, a typical mistake (by the coward Lütjens) disregarding common squadron tactics. In a crossfire of 2 ships the swordfishs would have been lost. And in case of a fatal torpedo hit, Prinz Eugen could have towed Bismarck home to Brest.
It's not so much ironic. If you read Friedman you will see there were fundamental problems with the German Battleship AA setup. Some lessons were applied to Tirpitz, but still not great. Unfortunately there is a great misapprehension that everything German was better than anything British. When you research more, you find this is often untrue.
@@bobcornford3637 on KBismark.com is a lot to find. The wide beam of German BBs was fine. On the other hand German turret shapes were a mess, British turret shapes much better. British radar was better, German ocular instruments were fine etcetc. Crews make a ship, crews of both nations were fine, but the Brits had in average better comanding - and flag-officers. But beside all maritime affairs politics are the main factor. Both WWs were British wars. Both WWs destroyed Europe's might, mainly the Brits lost everything, someone could lose. So the profit-taker were the US and now the cowboys dominate us all, not very clever.
Of all the nations that took part in WW2.
The USA was the only one to gain financially!
In 1933 Germany was Bankrupt when Hitler took over. By 1939 she had the most powerful military machine in the world.
Who paid for it?
Wall Street did!
These videos are excellent! Thanks
You're very welcome!
The Channel was so heavily mined between Dover and Calais the British did,nt think Germany would risk sending capital ships through it.
The British were British and the Nazis were Nazis and that is why the 1930s and 1940s were so much fun with so many surprises and so much in the way of good times.
This channel is fantastic, glad I found you 👍🏼
Imagine being one of the crew of those old destroyers just on another gunnery exercise. Suddenly your next orders are to intercept German capital ships...
Ant against a giant
(It was a tie from what i can tell in the vid)
um, what they were there for?
the reason they were in the service in the first place?
@@touristguy87 Destroyers have relatively smaller caliber guns and are usually employed as sub hunters or escorts.
Sure there are torpedoes but that's still equivalent to taking a Humvee with a .50 mounted on it and told to engage an MBT in the open. Not to worry though because there's also an RPG in the backseat so your chances aren't too bad.
@@ramvincentpaulvictor4365 that attitude cost the US several cruisers in WW2
So crazy how you tend to forget how smalltime the war is on a day to day basis. A single Spitfire patrolling early morning over Channel. Couple German radar towers transmitting same time, everyday, for a couple weeks to trick Brits. 109 bombers attacking a port randomly, utterly failing. 2.... huge battleships commerce raiding. 24 E-Boats in the channel. All so small scale really, yet pieces on the board being moved around. It also shows the fog of war pretty well. They know they are "there" but not what's going on. Or at least gives you a sense of it. I never realized some torpedo motor boats actually made it to attack range of the fleet and there was such a concerted effort to stop them. So that was cool, actually learning something new on a battle I've watched multiple videos on, read tons of pages on, etc. Thanks for one of the 2 videos released today on pairs of WW2 battleships doing whole lot of nothing. Haha ;)
I like how both were named after Prussian Napoleonic war Generals
and Prince Eugene was a successful Franco-Austrian general of a century prior. Although he was an ally of the Brtish back then. See battle of Blenheim for example where he assisted Britain vs. Fance.
@@jmw5233 aaaand Blenheim was one of the bombers mentioned in the video. Everything comes around.
Tirpitz instituted a system whereby the standing army was 100000 men as per restrictions but those men were then "discharged" and 100000 more were trained and so on. End result was a huge army in wartime. Shrinkage I've heard it called, although Google thinks I'm looking up supermarket waste protocols.
My Father was a Beaufort mid-upper air gunner in 86 Squadron, Coastal Command, at the time of the Channel Dash. He said he and some other blokes from the Squadron were on leave in a movie theater at the time when the film was stopped and someone walked up front and announced that any squadron members present had to return to their airfield immediately. An ominous indicator of coming events my Father thought. When he got back the Squadron was ordered up and vectored along the Norwegian Coast in search of the German ships. This was my Father's first squadron operation. As events panned-out they didn't find the German Convoy. Instead they ended-up off Stavanger where they watched a larger formation of FW 190s take off and spiral up to altitude before attacking them, en masse. In the running fight that followed, four of the Beauforts were shot down into the sea before the 190s eventually broke off and returned to base; probably for want of ammunition. I think I remember my Father saying they believed they got four of the 190s as well, but in the heat of battle these things are always uncertain. He said he always found it amusing how quickly air discipline broke down when the fight began as aircraft from his squadron attempted to reposition themselves in the center of the fleeing formation in an attempt to try and escape the attacking German fighters. Many in the Squadron believed they had been used as a diversion to limit the number of German fighters on station over the ships.
The plan for a co ordinated defence called fuller was locked in a safe, the officer in charge was on holiday with the keys.
And when asked for the keys he spent all afternoon looking for them in his hotel room
Ain't that always the way? Like with the Titanic. Binoculars would have helped the lookouts see the iceberg sooner but they were locked it the safe. And the keys were with an officer who didn't make the trip.
My grandad was a stoker on the destroyer HMS Campbell during the Channel dash, he remembered seeing the dead on HMS Worcester
Gotta love German operational names _Cerberus_ sounds badass. _Market Garden_ does not.
Operation Overlord?
@@GHOSTOFONYX10 things haven't gotten much better. Operation _Provide Comfort_ is a real doozy. I bet they were patting each other on the back when they came up with that one LMAO.
Who the Hell pays these morons to think of such names?
Note sure what's badass about "Case Blue" or "Fir East" or "Aster". Heck, even "Caesar" isn't particularly original.
The more badass the names were, the more embarassing the outcome often was....
Not as bad as one British operation, named after a cricketer, something like 'Bradford batting for a duck'.
But it is figureoutable, meaningful whereas Brit codenames never are, which is kind of the whole point of a _codename_ .
The Swordfish is described as "ancient", but it's a contemporary of the BF 109s which shot them down! Both are mid-1930s designs. It's hard to appreciate how fast aviation evolved just prior to and during WW2. Had the war started a few years earlier, it would have been initially fought with biplanes.
Another great video! I remember reading about this four and a half decades ago. Even though other things have come to light since then, I'm surprised you didn't mention the German' long range weather forecast and it's accuracy. Wish I could remember the name of the book... :(
Very good work again dude. These are always so well done. :)
Thanks again!
I have always wondered if the channel dash was a good thing for the British, moving the ships away from the Atlantic and with the Home Fleet available, which neutralises the German capital ships.
um, the Nazi capital ships were neutralized by the sheer fact that there were so few of them and the British had so many
@touristguy87 German capital ships weren't designed to fight other capital ships. They were convoy hunters/destroyers, something they were successful at, as alluded to at the beginning of the video. I think having them penned up was a waste since they'd all eventually get sunk regardless. Might as well take a bunch of ships down in battle on the high seas instead of being bombed like a helpless dog in a pen.
I treasure this channel. It is valuable and riveting. How I dearly wish the narration played against a velvet wall of silence. Must you really have the mind-numbing "music?"
My dad was serving as a range finder on Prinz Eugen. He told us stories about the ride in front of the RN noses. Good job they did! Proud about dad and the German Navy!
This is so interesting !
Thank for sharing his story regarding the experience on this day, I'm always amazed by the Channel Dash, what a move.
Found this channel randomly, but looks really decent! Keep up good work mate!
Hey, thanks!
There is an awesome book about this in Swedish, almost written in novel form.
This content is golden!
Gotta love the respect that the German Vice Admiral offers the Swordfish crews.
@Jonah Whale Thank you very much, this is stuff we never hear about.
@@irongeneral7861 you never heard about HMS Gloworm ? Epic encounter , she single handedly sank or roughed up a number of German destroyers before ramming Admiral Hipper. There is an excellent book about the encounter, the name of which escapes me.
@@michellebrown4903 That is impressive, but if I recall, that ram didn't end up going too well for the gallant Glowworm.
@@irongeneral7861 well it would ruin most people's day ramming a heavy cruiser.
@@michellebrown4903 Especially as a far smaller ship! Hahahaha, but it is quite the story regardless, thanks for sharing!
Interesting how this perfectly encapsulates the advantages and weaknesses of air power at the time.
...er, no. Considering how the RAF failed to sink either battleship.
It did take some time for them to get the job done.
You should to the embassy siege next.
From Wikipedia: "Generally, once a torpedo was dropped, an escape was made by low-level jinking at full throttle. Because of rising ground surrounding the harbour, Campbell was forced into a steep banking turn, revealing the Beaufort's full silhouette to the gunners. The aircraft met a withering wall of flak and crashed into the harbour. The Germans buried Campbell and his three crew mates, Sergeants J. P. Scott DFM RCAF (navigator), R. W. Hillman (wireless operator) and W. C. Mulliss (air gunner), with full military honours. His valour was only recognised when the French Resistance managed to pass along news of his brave deeds to Britain.
I just imagine a bar scene where Prince Eugen comes into the bar where scharnhorst and the other battleship just drinking, lol
Sounds like an Azur Lane cutscene.
_Bartender: Hey, we don't want no trouble here!!!_
Nicely done, thank you. Sometimes it's better to watch than read.
Pls do Guadalcanal or Leyte Gulf next. Loved the video and your channel, keep it up!
I really like your channel, thanks for your work.
Thanks!
My sister went to school with Commander Esmonde VC's daughter. She never met him. His Uncle ALSO got a VC years before!
He was my 2nd cousin 2 generations removed back and his great uncle Thomas Esmonde VC was my great grandfather x 3. Eugene hadn't been long married till he was killed unfortunately. I was partly raised for a lot of my childhood my grandparents. My grandfather tells me about his father Col Thomas Comerford (who served in Royal Irish reg. same reg as his grandfather Thomas Esmonde) having his last family meeting with him not long before Eugene was killed, I think it may have been the wedding. Our family lost touch with that side. Did your sister go to school with his daughter in Ireland or England by any chance?
I've also been with my grandad to go visit both Eugene and Thomas Esmonde's VC in the imperial war museum 2 years back. Was interesting to see, and also all the other VC's from around the world all there in the room that have been collected by Lord Ashcroft and donated to the Imperial war Museum.
@@Dom-fx4kt Yes, Eugene Esmonde's Uncle (?) also got the VC in the Boer War (?). No my sister went to school at Loretto in Nairobi, Kenya. May have been niece not daughter..... Churchill 1946, "When I remember the sacrifice of Irishmen like Commander Eugene Esmonde VC, I look forward to the day, a day I shall not see, when the sons of Irishmen and the sons of Englishmen will walk together without bitterness....." My family served in the second Ashanti War; the Boer War; WW1; WW2; and my brother and I in RN and RAF respectively. Myself, 47 years in RAFVR. All the best!
@@davidwheatcroft2797 Eugene Esmonde's great uncle(Col Thomas Esmonde, my great great great grandfather) earned the VC in the Crimea at seige of Sevastopol attacking the great Redan. Funnily enough Eugene is also related to Maire Comerford who was my great aunt from the female auxiliary of the IRA in civil war and war of independence and was a high ranking member in it and was quite close to Dev Valera, our family was very divided in many ways but still mutually got along
Oh I see, I'll ask my grandfather if he knew Edmondes daughter, he would of been serving in Rhodesia at the time in the BSAP. Oh yes, I remember him telling me about the churchill speech:)
Thank you for your families long service and your own years of service, and Godbless!
The Kriegsmarine was considered the weakest link of the German military but out of all of them, I would say they were the most professional. This was one of the few instances that demonstrated their ability to function without external interference in their operational planning. Even though two ships were damaged, it gave the Royal Navy a black eye for a sometime as they fended off every attack that was thrown at them, even when Royal Navy surface units attempted to engage them. The one key item that I believe contributed to the success of Operation Cerberus was the majority of the Home Fleet being at Scapa Flow. Tactically, it was a victory for the Kriegsmarine, strategically it was a defeat as they never were able to venture out again for major operations.
I really admire the bravery of those Swordfish pilots. So sad though..
Same with Campbell and the others of course.
Brilliant video. Keep them coming. Subscribed.
You have way too few subs.
You definitely deserve more
I appreciate that
@Jan-Ola Ellingsen The yamato was mostly sunk by the avengers really, hellcats just kinda buzz-buzzed around and shot the shit.
the Germans had too few subs too
I’d like some spaghetti please rather than a sandwich.
We can all agree the outcome was not optimal, but not for the lack of courage! Give'em hell!!! Proper good show gents!!!!
So much easier to win when you're reading someone codes. The credit goes to Adolph Galland and the Luftwaffe.
So much easier for the nazis when they have the internal lines of supply and communication.
In 1980, onboard the French mine sweeper Calliope, we discovered many un-exploded WWII mines in Brest harbor. Our divers and PAP (Poisson Auto Propulse - On board submarine) managed to detonate those old but still active 1945 mines.
damn that's crazy that they stayed there so long without being noticed in a more tragic way (thankfully they did), were they hidden to regular routes or something?
sinking Tirpitz next please? love your ww2 videos, great work!
Sink the Tirpitz will be my next video!
@@TheOperationsRoom excelent, Sir!