Thanks for watching everyone! Sorry about the lack of photos of the events, it was very difficult to find what I did. A majority of the photos are from before and after. The couple where she is in Malta and the towing photos are the best ones to show the immediate aftermath. Also, I'll be putting out an update video either tomorrow or Monday, but you'll be seeing more videos here shortly :)
As you might gather from this video, she was absolutely wrecked post war. It would have cost a tremendous amount of money to refresh and turn her into a museum - money which Britain did not have post war. Its a grand shame for sure but it unfortunately does make sense in the hard calculus of Britain post war.
Thank you for such a fantastic video, my grandfather served on HMS WARSPITE during WWII, and he always told me that she was his favourite ship. Please, please, more videos on this grand old lady of the sea.
If any two ships symbolized their respective countries Naval Heritage it was HMS Warspite #03 for the Royal Navy and USS Enterprise CV-6 for the United States Navy. HMS Warspite was in almost every surface battle the RN fought in WW1 and WW2; USS Enterprise was in almost every carrier action the USN fought in WW2. Incredibly, neither ship was allowed an Honorable Retirement as a Museum Ship. Unforgivably, BOTH were scrapped.
Enterprise was perhaps given a fitting funeral at the breakers yard, returning home to finally rest and her duty coming to an end. Warspite was perhaps defiant to the last, mother nature herself wanting to keep her to sea.
One of the most fantastic battleships ever. An exercise in design and the application of evolving naval technology over a long period of time. Great video!
Thank you. Another superb,detailed and authoritative narrative from first rate sources that many may possess yet have not read in detail. It’s remarkable when you consider her age at the time of this attack,30 years and was repaired sufficiently to fight at Normandy and Walcheren
It's crazy the amount of damage that Warspite took during the Second World War. It shows how well she was designed and constructed. Her total loss was extremely sad.
Really very nice video, thanks. As you correctly pointed out, the survival of this ship is truly a great feat of professional damage control (damage was truly appalling), good'ol sturdy construction and sheer luck. A few days earlier light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia was targeted by the same weapons but was lucky (near miss, no damage), battleship Italia (former Littorio) was almost hit but had only one rudder damaged (famously, Littorios had three rudders) . Battleship Roma was unlucky, hit hard twice, one bomb perforated the hull exploding just under the keel of the ship but the second bomb hit between barbettes , extensively damaging the magazines, starting flooding and fires, until the munitions in the nr.2 15" tower exploded, catapultating the turret in the air and splitting the ship in two. What usually took dozens and dozens of planes to accomplish, was now possible in minutes using only a few bombers. Obviously, sailing even the most protected battleship without extensive air cover was no longer dangerous, it had become borderline suicidal - and these facts spelled the end for the very idea of the battleship as a viable weapon, as all of them became overnight sitting ducks in front of blazingly fast guided bombs.
Interestingly, Captain Packer was aboard HMS Warspite at Jutland as a sub LT and was mentioned in dispatches afterwards and was again as her captain during this episode.
The ship that repeatedly refused to die! Until finally sold for scrap, yet even then refused to go quietly to the breakers. So broke her tow, grounded, wouldn't be refloated in several salvage attempts and, having in essence insisted on a sea-death could be only incompletely disassembled, with much still left lying right off the beach!
My favorite British battleship and battleship of any nation, with the Yamato and Mushashi coming as a very closely paired second and third but still quite a ways off Waspite. From sixth grade to college year one, I built four models of this ship, the final one being a 1/350 scale example. I agree with other commentators that if any ship should have been saved and made into a museum ship, it should have been Warspite. I don't mean any disrespect, but the Belfast hardly compares to Warspite's battle honors.
My uncle served aboard Warspite as a Royal Marine for the duration of the war. Been trying to get crews lists but so far no joy. Lot of stories to be told about her.
Two places I might try, one, the imperial war museum, you might send them an email or a call, they might be able to help. Two, the book in the description about Warspite, plenty of stories and the like in there. Hope that helps, have a great day :)
The Fritz X reminds me of the cruise missiles from the Gulf War. To me a forerunner of missiles to come. Warspite the Grand Old Lady of the sea, she despite the bombing was resistiant and stayed afloat. She should have been made into a museum.
Before WW2, Warspite was serving in the Mediterranean fleet. The Royal Navy had a firing range in the Mediterranean where ships could fire their guns for training etc. A passenger ship accidentally entered this zone and Warspite firing a full 15 inch broadside which apparently was close to hitting this ship.
The steering was a class-wide issue, caused by tricky design or ghosts. 3 of the 4 QEs (Malaya, Warspite, and Barham) had steering problems at Jutland, and the whole class had a speed limit imposed during turning.
It is sobering to think my father was serving on Warspite at this time. He was a Royal Marine and gun crew in X turret and also the anti aircraft guns. He left the ship when it arrived at Malta and was to serve the rest of the war on the cruiser HMS Mauritius. Mauritius was part of the bombardment on D day and was not far away from Warspite I understand.
Warspite and Enterprise, two of the greatest Allied ships that ever was. Yet both were scrapped without any consideration for their amazing history. Shameful.
Vidéos intéressantes, toujours très documentées avec des supports photographiques exceptionnels. Un retour dans l’histoire navale militaire chaotique de la deuxième guerre mondiale et un rappel émouvant du courage et du sacrifice de ces marins. Fritz "X".. une munition excessivement destructrice (cf. RN Roma) que la domination aérienne des alliés pendant la fin du conflit en aura considérablement limité les effets
she was hit by the Fritz X one of the first guided bombs. Made to attack armored ships. No wonder the damage done was so bad. The boiler room was sealed off and she lost a main battery turret as well. Even half crippled she kept on fighting for the rest of the war
Just shows the stupidity of the Nazis, wasting perfectly good bombs trying to sink the most unsinkable ship in the history of the Royal navy. Just what were they thinking 😂😂. This old Lady took litterally several hundred gun hits survived dozens of Submarines, rocks even friendly Battships accidently ramming her. And even when she was being sent to the breakers yard she wouldn't go quietly, slipping her tugs tow and fixing herself to a sandy cove. She would not budge and had to be broken up where she chose to die several years later. RIP Grand old lady.
Unlike USN ship damage photographs there is a severe lack of similar RN damaged vessels, but surely all serious damage must have been recorded. If it was, then there must be a trove of photographs filled away; if not at the Admiralty, then at the docks where the repairs were completed (sometimes in the US)?
Excellent video. However, if you do not do a follow-up or two, I will ask my mate Pukin to say nasty things about America. I mean really, really nasty things. Seriously as a Limey I do appreciate an American honouring what could be called the HMS Victory of WW1 and 2. Scrapping it just goes to show how ungrateful we are to that old lady..
Thanks for the correction. As I put at the end of the video, it was very difficult to find photographs or even illustrations. I thought that one would be fun to put in even if not FX-1400, should've put text over that part to explain!
Thanks for watching everyone! Sorry about the lack of photos of the events, it was very difficult to find what I did. A majority of the photos are from before and after. The couple where she is in Malta and the towing photos are the best ones to show the immediate aftermath. Also, I'll be putting out an update video either tomorrow or Monday, but you'll be seeing more videos here shortly :)
It is a great shame that this veteran ship, the highest decorated in the Royal navy, was not turned into a museum ship!
Agree. She was a great ship.
As you might gather from this video, she was absolutely wrecked post war. It would have cost a tremendous amount of money to refresh and turn her into a museum - money which Britain did not have post war. Its a grand shame for sure but it unfortunately does make sense in the hard calculus of Britain post war.
@@spartancam-rs5rushe was also over 30 years old. Her body was tired and worn out. She deserved her rest.
She was basically falling apart by 1945. They found unexploded ordnance in her armour belt when she was being scrapped,.
Thank you for such a fantastic video, my grandfather served on HMS WARSPITE during WWII, and he always told me that she was his favourite ship.
Please, please, more videos on this grand old lady of the sea.
One of my favorite warships, what an incredible story.
If any two ships symbolized their respective countries Naval Heritage it was HMS Warspite #03 for the Royal Navy and USS Enterprise CV-6 for the United States Navy. HMS Warspite was in almost every surface battle the RN fought in WW1 and WW2; USS Enterprise was in almost every carrier action the USN fought in WW2. Incredibly, neither ship was allowed an Honorable Retirement as a Museum Ship. Unforgivably, BOTH were scrapped.
absolutely; at least the British had an excuse in being flat broke. There was NO excuse for the US
Enterprise was perhaps given a fitting funeral at the breakers yard, returning home to finally rest and her duty coming to an end. Warspite was perhaps defiant to the last, mother nature herself wanting to keep her to sea.
I like how you started with a quick summary then got into the details. Nicely done!
warspite said: i ain't going out like this!
One of the most fantastic battleships ever. An exercise in design and the application of evolving naval technology over a long period of time. Great video!
Thank you sir for telling this important story! Salute to those braves who fought to preserve freedom.
An excellent 👍 video 5 star's keep up the excellent work
Thank you. Another superb,detailed and authoritative narrative from first rate sources that many may possess yet have not read in detail.
It’s remarkable when you consider her age at the time of this attack,30 years and was repaired sufficiently to fight at Normandy and Walcheren
Belli dura despicio. (“I despise the hard knocks of war”)
Salute the Grand Old Lady 🫡
HMS Warspite, mi buque preferido de la Royal Navy 👍👍👍👏👏
It's crazy the amount of damage that Warspite took during the Second World War. It shows how well she was designed and constructed. Her total loss was extremely sad.
Warspite had also been a mild cripple since 1916….. dubious quality at best.
More about Warspite please!
Really very nice video, thanks. As you correctly pointed out, the survival of this ship is truly a great feat of professional damage control (damage was truly appalling), good'ol sturdy construction and sheer luck. A few days earlier light cruiser Eugenio di Savoia was targeted by the same weapons but was lucky (near miss, no damage), battleship Italia (former Littorio) was almost hit but had only one rudder damaged (famously, Littorios had three rudders) . Battleship Roma was unlucky, hit hard twice, one bomb perforated the hull exploding just under the keel of the ship but the second bomb hit between barbettes , extensively damaging the magazines, starting flooding and fires, until the munitions in the nr.2 15" tower exploded, catapultating the turret in the air and splitting the ship in two. What usually took dozens and dozens of planes to accomplish, was now possible in minutes using only a few bombers. Obviously, sailing even the most protected battleship without extensive air cover was no longer dangerous, it had become borderline suicidal - and these facts spelled the end for the very idea of the battleship as a viable weapon, as all of them became overnight sitting ducks in front of blazingly fast guided bombs.
Warspite was my favorite battleship from Britain.Please do more
Interestingly, Captain Packer was aboard HMS Warspite at Jutland as a sub LT and was mentioned in dispatches afterwards and was again as her captain during this episode.
The ship that repeatedly refused to die! Until finally sold for scrap, yet even then refused to go quietly to the breakers. So broke her tow, grounded, wouldn't be refloated in several salvage attempts and, having in essence insisted on a sea-death could be only incompletely disassembled, with much still left lying right off the beach!
My favorite British battleship and battleship of any nation, with the Yamato and Mushashi coming as a very closely paired second and third but still quite a ways off Waspite. From sixth grade to college year one, I built four models of this ship, the final one being a 1/350 scale example. I agree with other commentators that if any ship should have been saved and made into a museum ship, it should have been Warspite. I don't mean any disrespect, but the Belfast hardly compares to Warspite's battle honors.
I'd love to see more about Warspite
Thank you for the amazing history content. Regarding additional Grand Old Lady information, yes, please!
My uncle served aboard Warspite as a Royal Marine for the duration of the war. Been trying to get crews lists but so far no joy. Lot of stories to be told about her.
Two places I might try, one, the imperial war museum, you might send them an email or a call, they might be able to help. Two, the book in the description about Warspite, plenty of stories and the like in there. Hope that helps, have a great day :)
@@ImportantNavalHistory I have already tried the IWM - no joy but I will look into the book - Thanks
Great video. 😊
Thanks for the really cool video. I would like to see more on Warspite.
The Fritz X reminds me of the cruise missiles from the Gulf War. To me a forerunner of missiles to come.
Warspite the Grand Old Lady of the sea, she despite the bombing was resistiant and stayed afloat. She should have been made into a museum.
Before WW2, Warspite was serving in the Mediterranean fleet. The Royal Navy had a firing range in the Mediterranean where ships could fire their guns for training etc. A passenger ship accidentally entered this zone and Warspite firing a full 15 inch broadside which apparently was close to hitting this ship.
There's a lot of love for Grand old lady. So any other videos on her would be interesting too watch.
Please do more videos on HMS Warspite!
Ah! Dear old Warspite and her wayward steering, it almost was responsible for her loss at Jutland in 1916
The steering was a class-wide issue, caused by tricky design or ghosts. 3 of the 4 QEs (Malaya, Warspite, and Barham) had steering problems at Jutland, and the whole class had a speed limit imposed during turning.
More videos on Warspite please 😎
It is sobering to think my father was serving on Warspite at this time. He was a Royal Marine and gun crew in X turret and also the anti aircraft guns. He left the ship when it arrived at Malta and was to serve the rest of the war on the cruiser HMS Mauritius. Mauritius was part of the bombardment on D day and was not far away from Warspite I understand.
Thanks!
Thank you!
By rights she should have sunk, but then this is Warspite, the toughest battleship of w.w.2
And of WW1. She took absolute pounding at Jutland and just kept on kicking.
ja ik zou graag de geschiedenis van Warspite willen zien, Het is een stukje geschiedenis van een schip wat de vrijheid van Europa beschermd heeft
More content on Warspite would be great.
Warspite and Enterprise, two of the greatest Allied ships that ever was. Yet both were scrapped without any consideration for their amazing history. Shameful.
Vidéos intéressantes, toujours très documentées avec des supports photographiques exceptionnels. Un retour dans l’histoire navale militaire chaotique de la deuxième guerre mondiale et un rappel émouvant du courage et du sacrifice de ces marins.
Fritz "X".. une munition excessivement destructrice (cf. RN Roma) que la domination aérienne des alliés pendant la fin du conflit en aura considérablement limité les effets
she was hit by the Fritz X one of the first guided bombs. Made to attack armored ships. No wonder the damage done was so bad. The boiler room was sealed off and she lost a main battery turret as well. Even half crippled she kept on fighting for the rest of the war
Why was this relatively small bomb so effective? Its weight is close to just one Yamato shell
Great Vid. Super informative in a brief time. No problem 👍👍
Best battleship name of all time.
Having a highly proficient crew made the difference.
For those of you who know your mythology, Warspite was escorted through the Strait of Messina by Scylla.
That's a LOT of luck, with no follow up attacks at all.
Off Salerno, the USS Savannah was also seriously damaged by an FX bomb. And HMS Uganda by an FS glider bomb.
Warspite has a bad history of being crippled and stuck in circles. She was a tough old lady 🫡
Just shows the stupidity of the Nazis, wasting perfectly good bombs trying to sink the most unsinkable ship in the history of the Royal navy. Just what were they thinking 😂😂. This old Lady took litterally several hundred gun hits survived dozens of Submarines, rocks even friendly Battships accidently ramming her. And even when she was being sent to the breakers yard she wouldn't go quietly, slipping her tugs tow and fixing herself to a sandy cove. She would not budge and had to be broken up where she chose to die several years later. RIP Grand old lady.
Unlike USN ship damage photographs there is a severe lack of similar RN damaged vessels, but surely all serious damage must have been recorded. If it was, then there must be a trove of photographs filled away; if not at the Admiralty, then at the docks where the repairs were completed (sometimes in the US)?
I don't mind a shorter video, it's better than repeating yourself 'to make time' as other channels have done.
Excellent video. However, if you do not do a follow-up or two, I will ask my mate Pukin to say nasty things about America. I mean really, really nasty things. Seriously as a Limey I do appreciate an American honouring what could be called the HMS Victory of WW1 and 2. Scrapping it just goes to show how ungrateful we are to that old lady..
What up Y'alls!
Sketch at 5:17 incorrectly shows the Hs 293 A-1 Missile not a Fritz X
Thanks for the correction. As I put at the end of the video, it was very difficult to find photographs or even illustrations. I thought that one would be fun to put in even if not FX-1400, should've put text over that part to explain!