My model of the Warspite has inherited some of its Proud stubbornness and strong character. It has survived being knocked off the masterpiece several times By a clumsy dusting wife, several play mishaps by marauding daughters Swipes by kittens foolish enough to try, various knocks and drops over the years. A Ship with a Soul indeed, the Warspite deserves all of its Accolades and praise over the years, quite a warrior.
There are few things we Germans respect more than a formidable enemy. HMS Warspite for sure falls into this category, giving us nothing but trouble through two world wars. Why she doesn't lie in glory alongside HMS Victory is a mystery to me.
@@MickR0sco True to a degree but it's often used as an excuse for why this ship wasn't preserved. Strange how they found the money to continue preserving 'the empire' or could go into the hugely expensive A bomb project and numerous other ventures. There's also the reason of the kind of state it was in which was also partially true, but the Belfast was in an even worse state at one time but direct intervention ensure its survival. Hindsight should have seen that no other ship since HMS Victory has had such prestige and yes, there should have been or attempt to preserve this as a museum ship. HMS Vanguard very nearly became a museum ship but last minute politicians intervened. Its navy made Britain so there should have been some legacy kept alive. Hell, even Britains command field gun competition and manning the mask was scrapped due to 'health and safety' concerns.
@@frankanderson5012 Spend money on an old warship (even one like the Warspite) or upgrade the country s' ability to confront an atomic enemy? What a stupid comment. It's sort like complaining about not preserving Long Bows instead of investing in gun powdered fire ams. Especially since the country had been bled dry from two world wars and bankruptcy. You're living in a far distant past when Britain was THE super power.
After D-Day she did take part in one last major action. She was the major ship in the Walcheren landings where she was accompanied by the Monitors. It was the last amphibious landing on the war in Europe. There is also a great story about her Normandy bombardment that displays her reputation for accuracy well. Some Allied troops were struggling to clear an area but the Germans had them pinned down having cleverly used a copse of trees as a defensive strong point. Hidden there they were able to hold off every Allied attack thrown at them. The Allied commander called for help and with her renowned long range and accuracy Warspite was the asset for the job. shortly afterwards the Allied soldiers were treated to a firework display as 15 inch munitions levelled the copse throwing Tiger tanks into the air and obliterating the German positions.
This is that story at Normandy, by Glider Pilot Alexander Morrison, 6th Airborne Division: "In our briefing, we had been told that the German 21st Panzer Division was located further east of our position and that the anticipated armour counterattack would first come from them. Accordingly when at 4am we could distinctly hear the sound of tracked vehicles, we realised that we were now ‘for it’ because a 45-ton Tiger tank presents a formidable proposition! But miracles happened and this time we were saved by the Navy. Warned of the danger, an Army spotter plane was airborne at first light and located the squadrons of German tanks assembling for the attack. Fortunately, the pilot was in direct communication with the Navy who promptly alerted HMS Warspite which was standing offshore. After a couple of sighters, she let loose with tremendous shelling and heavily blasted the whole area." "It was a fantastic experience to witness the terrible firepower of this battleship and to hear the huge shells roaring overhead like express trains to land with devastating effect right on the German assembly. The carnage must have been appalling and the severely damaged tanks shortly abandoned their attack and retired on Caen."
@@lesliedrysdale2434 That is very cool, like Warspite on our side of the pond, the Enterprise should have been preserved as well, both should be proud museums. My grandfather fought on and survived the Indianapolis...my grandmother said he was never really the same after they were torpedoed. People need to be able to touch this history to see what that generation went through for our freedom. 👍🇬🇧🇺🇲
The modernized version of the HMS Warspite made a visit to the shipyard in Bremerton, Washington for maintenance and repair prior to the United States entry into the war, under the Lend/Lease program. This isn't generally known except by elderly citizens of Bremerton and the Kitsap County Historical Society, which displays pictures of her in drydock. My mother always told the story of watching the Warspite's sailors walking around town.
She was there when Japan attacked Pearl. She went to full battle alert as there were reports of a Japanese raiding squadron nearing the western US coast. There were scouts as memory serves, but no serious raiding force. But Warspite fully intended to put to sail, and fight alone if need be, would it protect the lives of innocent civilians.
@@bairdrew Warspite was said to be the only AA defence on America's west coast. From 1-11 January 1942, soon after Pearl Harbor, Warspite became the only operational battleship in the Pacific theatre.
everytime i see a video about the Warspite i feel the need to post the poem written by an ex officer, Lieutenant Commander R A B Mitchell on her decommission and subsequent journey to scrapping - "The Subject" You say you have no subject And your brushes all have dried; But come to Marazion At the ebbing of the tide. And look you out to seaward, Where my Lady battle scarred Hugs the rock that is more welcome, Than the shameful breakers yard. Paint her there upon the sunset In her glory and despair, With the diadem of victory Still in flower upon her hair. Let her whisper as she settles Of her blooding long ago, In the mist than mingles Jutland With the might of Scapa Flow. Let her tell you, too, of Narvik With its snowy hills, and then Of Matapan, Salerno And the shoals of Walcheren; And finally of Malta, When along the purple street Came in trail the Roman Navy To surrender at her feet. Of all these honours conscious, How could she bear to be Delivered to the spoiler Or severed from the sea ? So hasten then and paint her In the last flush of her pride On the rocks of Marazion, At the ebbing of the tide.
How many ships have had poems of love and respect written to them as if they were a beloved woman, mourned and honored like a queen? Only The U.S.S. Constitution has such an ode penned to her, that I am aware of, other than The Spite.
My Grandad John Chessman 15 years told the Navy he was 16 and was accepted.He served as a boy signalman on the ship during the war and was involved in The Battle of Jutland. He is named on the crew list . Although he suffered from throat cancer in his fifties he survived until 1974 aged 75
Thank you for this. I collect 1/2400 waterline warships and use them in a tactical table top game, this is going to sound odd but, my Warspite always gave better than she got, after a few engagements whenever I would bring her out, my opponents would always try to sink her first...I had to stop using her because they would target her and her alone, they wanted her gone! lol Having played hundreds of games with these ships and using so many of them, I have over 500 at this point, it is funny that Warspite stands out so well, her spirit lives on! Cheers and God Speed Warspite!
What a ship. Imagine a ship serving her country with distinction to the point of literal exhaustion. Still going on mission with a boiler down, a turret down, a concrete plug keeping her floating and a knackered rudder. Reminds me of my old V8 land rover. Usually something niggling wrong with it but always got you home.
So many iconic ships have been scrapped, It’s good to know that this famous “Big Gun Battlewagon” went out the way she wanted! Great video bro keep up the good work!
Love that ship. Twas the first model-ship i made a long long time ago. In my mind, this brave beauty really should be a living museum today! Thanks for the vid, appreciate it a lot 👍 Greets from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, T.
She is one of our nations many ships that should have been saved from the torch, with a amazing career and rich history to have been told and a rich history to learn about walking her decks, feeling what it woukd have been like as a British sailor in a metal big gun giant, she may not have been the world's biggest but she was still a big old ship that defended her country and us brits proudly even with her liking for ramming things
17:23 probably a mercy for the Japanese. As the one thing worse than either the Atomic bombs or the Soviets would have been Warspite and Enterprise joining forces.
Thank you for devoting an entire episode to HMS Waspite. She has always been my favorite warship of any kind bar none. I built 3 models of her in various scales from 1/600 to 1/300 when I was still a schoolboy. It is a tragedy that she was not preserved. What were the British thinking... Such an ignoble end for a battleship with, quite probably, the most glorious fighting career in the Royal Navy, if not any fighting ship in history.
HMS Warspite is, by far, my favorite WWII battleship. An illustrious record of service and, as it was seen, a cantankerous personality (for a machine), Warspite wasn't the biggest or the fastest, but she was a scrapper! She could dish it out as well as take it despite her age and dubious repair history. It was a pity that such a ship couldn't have been saved from the breakers to sit alongside her historic predecessor, HMS Victory on the Thames. Even in death, Warspite showed her grit by forcing them to dismantle her on her own terms.
Nicely done. Earned you a sub. Very well presented....the best "Americanized" version of Drachinifel I've ever heard. I look forward to future content.
Her many rebuilds, refits, and repairs reminds me of Theseus' ship paradox, a thought experiment that questions whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. 😃
@@TheAnon03 Exactly. 2 full rebuilds that were said to be "basically a brand new ship", and yet odd quirks, like turning around in a circle or slipping tow and going wherever crewless, stayed all the way to the end.
In Spike Milligan's war memoirs, when they are landing on Italy the see Warspite firing her big guns to targets inshore. One sailor comments "that's not doing the Germans much good!". Then he looks at Warspite rocking heavily on her axis from the recoil of her own guns, and adding "it's not doing Warspite much good either!"
If I recall correctly, at the Battle of Matapan it was the future Prince Philip, husband to Queen Elizabeth who was in charge of the searchlight crews that spotted the Italian cruisers.
@@shep9231 He was still Prince Phillip of Greece during the war, even though he was in the British Navy. But he fought off the coast of Greece, so he did serve his native Greece well.
if ever there was a warship that lived up to it`s name and purpose , this grand fighting soul embodied everything it meant to be a part of the royal navy
I always considered the scraping of Enterprise the greatest crime committed by humans till I heard one of her sailors say basically he didn't want want people to be walking around eating hot dogs and dropping garbage on the great ship. I said to myself, you know your right. The same goes for the equally immortal Warspite.
A great video fitting of the finest battleship the Brits ever fielded. A pity you didn't describe in more detail how she literally blew apart the German Destroyers in the second Battle of Narvik. See Drachinifel's account on his channel. Thanks for a good, humorous story. 🙂
Your documentary is pretty accurate, with the exception of your description of her launch as "so so", it was anything but, although typical for Warspite. As an American I think you might have mentioned that US Navy fleet tug was instrumental in saving the ship after she was glider-bombed, although I beleive Warspite's apalling bad attitude to other shipping provided the American crew with severe problems !I also feel that a ship which not only survived but came back fighting aftre many serious attempts by her enemies to sink her was in many ways a lucky ship. I n my opinion, for instsnce, their Lordships of the Admiralty were off their rockers to send such a large target into the cofined waters of Narvik Fjord when the Luftwaffe was carrying all before it. Warspite was hopwever a bloody awkard ship. IF ever a vessel had personality, it was her. Thank you for bringing her memory back into focus. David Mahoney.
Warspite went aground In Mounts Bay inside the Mountamopus buoy and Cudden Point not far from Prussia Cove. Obviously thought she could have one more go against the Germans. After various failures of refloating she was moved to St Michaels Mount and broken up. Her boilers are still there.
You say you have no subject And your brushes all have dried; But come to Marazion At the ebbing of the tide. And look you out to seaward, Where my Lady battle scarred Hugs the rock that is more welcome, Than the shameful breakers yard. Paint her there upon the sunset In her glory and despair, With the diadem of victory Still in flower upon her hair. Let her whisper as she settles Of her blooding long ago, In the mist than mingles Jutland With the might of Scapa Flow. Let her tell you, too, of Narvik With its snowy hills, and then Of Matapan, Salerno And the shoals of Walcheren; And finally of Malta, When along the purple street Came in trail the Roman Navy To surrender at her feet. Of all these honours conscious, How could she bear to be Delivered to the spoiler Or severed from the sea? So hasten then and paint her In the last flush of her pride On the rocks of Marazion, At the ebbing of the tide. Poem "The Subject" by Lieutenant-Commander R.A.B.Mitchell,
I LOVE her history! Maybe only another old Brit would get this, but after her 3rd collision maybe the Admiralty should've considered renaming her "HMS Troutbridge" !!!??? Great video...
When I was a student living in Camborne, in Cornwall, many years ago, I was told that the flooring in one of the local pubs, the Cornish Choghs, was made from Teak salvaged from Warspite😎
A war record second to none. It’s disgraceful that this ship wasn’t saved for the nation after the war. We had so many battleships and none were saved. As usual the politicians have to take a lot of the blame.
And yet "they" managed to save HMS Belfast ? I've never really understood that, despite I "do" like the 'Belfast' I went on the latter when they first opened her up (to the Public) around Feb'/March 1971 30-years later, back in 2001, I took my own kids on board & the weather WAS considerably better !!
As a child on the Isle of Wight, I recall seeing her way off in the distance when she was anchored at Spithead awaiting her final voyage to be scrapped.
When we moved to Cornwall in 1980, the cottage we bought had an external light, which was one of Warspite’s deck lighting fittings! It functioned for years, but was sadly broken when we moved and took the fitting with us, only for one of the removal men to drop it and drive over it!!
This ship should have been kept. One of the most historic ships to ever exist. Texas is in drydock now. Making good decades of neglect. She was our first museum ship. We learned a Lot of Things Not To Do. And a few things that Must Be Done. The British scrap too damned many Truly Great Ships!
Had a major refit in the States. Pity they didn't remove those casement 6 inch guns and replace them with the US 5 inch dual purpose guns in twin turrets.
The decision for her being sent to the scrapyard was akin to whoever decided to tip the lamp over in the library of Alexandria, beyond shameful and cowardly. There is absolutely no good reason anyone could have ever given to send her to the breakers.
As odd as it sounds the Prinz Eugen probably has the best non-museum outcome: sitting on a tropical beach with the sure knowledge the scrappers will never touch her. 😅
Warspite was hit by Seydlitz. Her A turret was out of action and couldn't be aimed, but Acting Sub-Lieutenant Herbert Annesley Packer kept firing 12 shots anyway, "literally wasted every shell fired into the sea", and was later Mentioned in Dispatches and promoted to Lieutenant, then later commanded Manchester and complained that they should store more ammo in the front so that he could chase down enemy ships, and later again became Warspite's captain, where his experience with the ship saw great damage control after being hit by the Fritz-X and saved her from sinking.
I love the names the Brits (English) have always given their warships throughout the history of the British navy. Warspite is one of the grandest ones.
rspite would have been the Best Royal Navy battleship to have preserved as she served in both world wars. So sad that no battleship was saved! The usual British short-sighted action . Putting her value as scrap before her value as an historical artefact.
@@stephenhumphrey7935 Absolutely! I think it is so sad that none of the dreadnought battleships were saved for posterity asa reminder of the times when the Royal Navy was at its zenith. My father served as a young sailor on HMS Malaya. I would have really liked to have visited a similar ship to put all his stories of life onboard a battleship in context
She deserves the same amount of clout as what the Bismarck, Yamato, and Iowa classes have had and still do. And the fact that she had a more colorful career than all the latter mentioned
I think that Hood and Prince of Wales are more famous than Warspite, due to their involvement in the battle of the Denmark Straight against Bismarck. HMS Warspite also didn't just "stick around for some shore bombardment" at Navik, she played an active role during the surface engagement, sinking the destroyers Z-13 and Z-17, and crippling the destroyer Z-12, who would be finished off by destroyers.
Hood was a battlecruiser, not a battleship. You may be right on PoW - Placentia Bay, Denmark Strait and finally Force Z, quite storied, but as it was a KGV wasn't present at Jutland as Warspite was.
Spike Milligan and his battery were aboard ship watching Warspite shell German positions before the landings commenced. He noticed (claimed! 😄) that with each salvo, Warspite rolled hard in the opposite direction. One gunner said "That isn't doing Jerry any good." Miligan: "Looks like it isn't doing Warspite any good either."
I don’t buy the excuse that the dire state of the British economy post ww2 meant she had to be scrapped. Preserving just a single battleship would not have made overall a jot of difference economically.
I am an Aussie ex RAAF but having read about HMS Warspite became fascinated by it's story Cheers to all ex and serving RN, RAN,RAF,,RAAF service men and women. We don't get any media aye fucking army ! Floods, drought relief we're straight in there but you don't see us on the fucken telly!
There were countless appeals to save her. No question, it was a travesty she wasn’t saved, but it’s difficult to describe just how desperate was the financial position of the UK in the post war years. There was a massive need for steel, and obviously a large surplus of out of commission ships. She therefor became a tragic example of knowing the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.
@@veryrevrufus It simply was not the right time. After the War we scrapped everything that came along. Into the 1950s and beyond, with the help of the British Government we even scrapped the most ground-breaking projects, especially in aviation.
The woodpecker was never approved by anyone, but they put it prominently as the main crest and nobody dares to correct it. The cannon is the only official one, approved in 1919.
I would like to speak on behalf of Drachinifel and let everyone know this is the greatest battle wagon EVER built. The greatest warship of any kind, by any country, in any universe. Warspite could lay waste to any other warship regardless of the size, type and era from which that ship would hail. In closing, Warspite is God and whoever decided not to keep her as a museum ship should be hung from the highest tree in London 😂
@@skyneahistory2306 OK, thanks. I had thought the secondaries were singles, but that was before reconstruction. Kudos for using a pic of the right ship - that's rare on RUclips!
My father was a stoker aboard Warspite in 1943. Luckily for him he was "off watch" from the boiler rooms when the Fritz X put a hole in her keel. Strange to think they may possibly have been "on watch" together at some point.
Probably having a smoke break😀I just wished I asked him more about his time on her but it was never brought up offered in conversation. The best generation kept things to themselves and cracked on with their duty.@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684
I think at the very least Warspite and Enterprise should of been sunk with honors and made into artificial reefs. Deep enough to avoid surface ships, shallow enough for divers to visit. Absolutely ashamed neither country stood up to protect the old girls who protected them.
To my understanding, she started the war with Swordfish (which did have a floatplane variant for this role). She didn’t swap to the Walrus until later on.
@@ianhunt4147 Many years ago I worked with an Aussie who's father had been in the Royal Australian Navy. His wife was pregnant and they were arguing over a name just when HMS Rodney arrived in port there. His dad was so enthralled by the sight of the mighty battleship he names his son after her. When he told me the story I asked him had he ever see the Rodney and no, he hadn't so I took a photo of her in and said..... there's your third parent..
@@copferthat that’s hilarious 😂 I just love rodney it’s so strange looking but brutally efficient- and it’s chase down of the bismarck when it achieved over 25 knots when it needed a service just sums its character
@@ianhunt4147 Billy Ruffian…. Enters the chat……. There are so many great ships names all with illustrious (pun intended) records it’s almost unfair to signal any of them out
Warspite increased speed either to help cure the steerage or get nearer to the enemy at Jutland, says one report, if true does not suggest entirely accidental consequence
Warspite channeling Sinatra: And now, the end is near And so I face the final curtain My friend, I'll say it clear I'll state my case, of which I'm certain I've lived a life that's full I traveled each and every highway And more, much more than this I did it my way
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![Noob To Max With DRAGON REWORK In Blox Fruits [FULL MOVIE]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/LnBMOinoOvA/mqdefault.jpg)
My model of the Warspite has inherited some of its
Proud stubbornness and strong character.
It has survived being knocked off the masterpiece several times
By a clumsy dusting wife, several play mishaps by marauding daughters
Swipes by kittens foolish enough to try, various knocks and drops over the years.
A Ship with a Soul indeed, the Warspite deserves all of its
Accolades and praise over the years, quite a warrior.
i might get a model too....1/350
There are few things we Germans respect more than a formidable enemy. HMS Warspite for sure falls into this category, giving us nothing but trouble through two world wars. Why she doesn't lie in glory alongside HMS Victory is a mystery to me.
One word, politicians.
@@davidbrown2571to be fair, money. Britain was absolutely on its arse after WWII.
Absolutely!!
@@MickR0sco True to a degree but it's often used as an excuse for why this ship wasn't preserved. Strange how they found the money to continue preserving 'the empire' or could go into the hugely expensive A bomb project and numerous other ventures. There's also the reason of the kind of state it was in which was also partially true, but the Belfast was in an even worse state at one time but direct intervention ensure its survival.
Hindsight should have seen that no other ship since HMS Victory has had such prestige and yes, there should have been or attempt to preserve this as a museum ship. HMS Vanguard very nearly became a museum ship but last minute politicians intervened. Its navy made Britain so there should have been some legacy kept alive. Hell, even Britains command field gun competition and manning the mask was scrapped due to 'health and safety' concerns.
@@frankanderson5012 Spend money on an old warship (even one like the Warspite) or upgrade the country s' ability to confront an atomic enemy? What a stupid comment. It's sort like complaining about not preserving Long Bows instead of investing in gun powdered fire ams. Especially since the country had been bled dry from two world wars and bankruptcy. You're living in a far distant past when Britain was THE super power.
Always my favorite BB of any Navy. She deserves all the respect she gets and more.
Mine are the Nelsols. My desktop background on my lappie is of Rodnol.
@@ThePaulv12" Rodnol " sounds like something you would take for a cold .
After D-Day she did take part in one last major action. She was the major ship in the Walcheren landings where she was accompanied by the Monitors. It was the last amphibious landing on the war in Europe.
There is also a great story about her Normandy bombardment that displays her reputation for accuracy well. Some Allied troops were struggling to clear an area but the Germans had them pinned down having cleverly used a copse of trees as a defensive strong point. Hidden there they were able to hold off every Allied attack thrown at them. The Allied commander called for help and with her renowned long range and accuracy Warspite was the asset for the job. shortly afterwards the Allied soldiers were treated to a firework display as 15 inch munitions levelled the copse throwing Tiger tanks into the air and obliterating the German positions.
If I read correctly in an article, she only had half her guns serviceable and could make about 6 knots at the time. Tired old girl still had teeth!
This is that story at Normandy, by Glider Pilot Alexander Morrison, 6th Airborne Division:
"In our briefing, we had been told that the German 21st Panzer Division was located further east of our position and that the anticipated armour counterattack would first come from them. Accordingly when at 4am we could distinctly hear the sound of tracked vehicles, we realised that we were now ‘for it’ because a 45-ton Tiger tank presents a formidable proposition! But miracles happened and this time we were saved by the Navy. Warned of the danger, an Army spotter plane was airborne at first light and located the squadrons of German tanks assembling for the attack. Fortunately, the pilot was in direct communication with the Navy who promptly alerted HMS Warspite which was standing offshore. After a couple of sighters, she let loose with tremendous shelling and heavily blasted the whole area."
"It was a fantastic experience to witness the terrible firepower of this battleship and to hear the huge shells roaring overhead like express trains to land with devastating effect right on the German assembly. The carnage must have been appalling and the severely damaged tanks shortly abandoned their attack and retired on Caen."
She deserved to be preserved.
My God what a shame it's not a museum in Plymouth...I would fly across the pond to see all of that floating beautiful yet lethal history...
My uncle was CPO on her on d day he gave the captains order to open fire he was a career sailor said it was his favourite ship
@@lesliedrysdale2434 That is very cool, like Warspite on our side of the pond, the Enterprise should have been preserved as well, both should be proud museums. My grandfather fought on and survived the Indianapolis...my grandmother said he was never really the same after they were torpedoed. People need to be able to touch this history to see what that generation went through for our freedom. 👍🇬🇧🇺🇲
So do I and that’s not happening ! 😅
The British preserved very few ships. Even Brunel’s “Great Britain” (the first screw powered ship) had to be saved by charitable donations.
The modernized version of the HMS Warspite made a visit to the shipyard in Bremerton, Washington for maintenance and repair prior to the United States entry into the war, under the Lend/Lease program. This isn't generally known except by elderly citizens of Bremerton and the Kitsap County Historical Society, which displays pictures of her in drydock. My mother always told the story of watching the Warspite's sailors walking around town.
My dad was one of them as he served on her from early 41 to same 43 and said he had a great time in America. Thanks.
@@nemosis9449 I bet he did. He might be @mikemullay5622 's grandfather
She was there when Japan attacked Pearl.
She went to full battle alert as there were reports of a Japanese raiding squadron nearing the western US coast. There were scouts as memory serves, but no serious raiding force.
But Warspite fully intended to put to sail, and fight alone if need be, would it protect the lives of innocent civilians.
My grandfather was born in Bremerton in August 1942. Great-grandma Cecilia often spoke wistfully of watching British sailors walk around town.
@@bairdrew Warspite was said to be the only AA defence on America's west coast. From 1-11 January 1942, soon after Pearl Harbor, Warspite became the only operational battleship in the Pacific theatre.
Warspite is truly a battleship that despised the hard knocks of war and went out on her own terms.
Like my ex wife. Did her own thing, did it her own way and listened to no one lol
Er ....is that good ...?
My farther-in-law served on HMS Warspite during the late 1930's and of all the ships he served on HMS Warspite was the one he was most proud.
"I've rammed everything else; what the hell, I'll finish by ramming England."
Imagine if England sunk after being rammed by Warspite
@@konstantinriumin2657 It wouldn't surprise me!
The rammings were just part of Warspite's nature - a massive eagerness to fight *anything* on or under the sea ! 😉
everytime i see a video about the Warspite i feel the need to post the poem written by an ex officer, Lieutenant Commander R A B Mitchell on her decommission and subsequent journey to scrapping -
"The Subject"
You say you have no subject
And your brushes all have dried;
But come to Marazion
At the ebbing of the tide.
And look you out to seaward,
Where my Lady battle scarred
Hugs the rock that is more welcome,
Than the shameful breakers yard.
Paint her there upon the sunset
In her glory and despair,
With the diadem of victory
Still in flower upon her hair.
Let her whisper as she settles
Of her blooding long ago,
In the mist than mingles Jutland
With the might of Scapa Flow.
Let her tell you, too, of Narvik
With its snowy hills, and then
Of Matapan, Salerno
And the shoals of Walcheren;
And finally of Malta,
When along the purple street
Came in trail the Roman Navy
To surrender at her feet.
Of all these honours conscious,
How could she bear to be
Delivered to the spoiler
Or severed from the sea ?
So hasten then and paint her
In the last flush of her pride
On the rocks of Marazion,
At the ebbing of the tide.
Thank you.
How many ships have had poems of love and respect written to them as if they were a beloved woman, mourned and honored like a queen? Only The U.S.S. Constitution has such an ode penned to her, that I am aware of, other than The Spite.
Beautiful. I had no idea this existed. Thank you so much... for sharing.
That brought literal tears to my eyes.
My Grandad John Chessman 15 years told the Navy he was 16 and was accepted.He served as a boy signalman on the ship during the war and was involved in The Battle of Jutland. He is named on the crew list .
Although he suffered from throat cancer in his fifties he survived until 1974 aged 75
Good on the old boy. Boy sailor alright at that age to go through that. BZ
Thank you for this. I collect 1/2400 waterline warships and use them in a tactical table top game, this is going to sound odd but, my Warspite always gave better than she got, after a few engagements whenever I would bring her out, my opponents would always try to sink her first...I had to stop using her because they would target her and her alone, they wanted her gone! lol
Having played hundreds of games with these ships and using so many of them, I have over 500 at this point, it is funny that Warspite stands out so well, her spirit lives on! Cheers and God Speed Warspite!
For Five hundred years, every ship thats had the name Warspite has become a legend. The memb er of the Queen Elizabeth class was no exception :)
What a ship. Imagine a ship serving her country with distinction to the point of literal exhaustion. Still going on mission with a boiler down, a turret down, a concrete plug keeping her floating and a knackered rudder. Reminds me of my old V8 land rover. Usually something niggling wrong with it but always got you home.
So many iconic ships have been scrapped, It’s good to know that this famous “Big Gun Battlewagon” went out the way she wanted! Great video bro keep up the good work!
The toughest warship in the Royal Navy during the 20th century!
She was also the best :)
Love that ship. Twas the first model-ship i made a long long time ago.
In my mind, this brave beauty really should be a living museum today!
Thanks for the vid, appreciate it a lot 👍
Greets from the Netherlands 🇳🇱, T.
She is one of our nations many ships that should have been saved from the torch, with a amazing career and rich history to have been told and a rich history to learn about walking her decks, feeling what it woukd have been like as a British sailor in a metal big gun giant, she may not have been the world's biggest but she was still a big old ship that defended her country and us brits proudly even with her liking for ramming things
17:23 probably a mercy for the Japanese. As the one thing worse than either the Atomic bombs or the Soviets would have been Warspite and Enterprise joining forces.
The gray ghost and the old lady…. Might if won the war in the pacific by themselves lol.
@@mknewlan67 with Johnston, Heerman, Hoel and Samuel B Robert’s as escorts.
@@ph89787 And HMS Glowworm close by.
And both USS Laffeys
@@weesamexpress6730tack on North Carolina for seasoning.
Everything mentioned in this video is exactly why the warspite is my favourite battleship of ww1 and ww2
Thank you for devoting an entire episode to HMS Waspite. She has always been my favorite warship of any kind bar none. I built 3 models of her in various scales from 1/600 to 1/300 when I was still a schoolboy. It is a tragedy that she was not preserved. What were the British thinking... Such an ignoble end for a battleship with, quite probably, the most glorious fighting career in the Royal Navy, if not any fighting ship in history.
Warspite is a hell of a name.
"Belli Dura Despicio"... Warspite's ships's motto.... "I despise the hardships of war".
HMS Warspite is, by far, my favorite WWII battleship. An illustrious record of service and, as it was seen, a cantankerous personality (for a machine), Warspite wasn't the biggest or the fastest, but she was a scrapper! She could dish it out as well as take it despite her age and dubious repair history. It was a pity that such a ship couldn't have been saved from the breakers to sit alongside her historic predecessor, HMS Victory on the Thames. Even in death, Warspite showed her grit by forcing them to dismantle her on her own terms.
HMS Victory is in Portsmouth not the Thames.. that is HMS Belfast
Nicely done. Earned you a sub. Very well presented....the best "Americanized" version of Drachinifel I've ever heard. I look forward to future content.
Indeed sir.
Her many rebuilds, refits, and repairs reminds me of Theseus' ship paradox, a thought experiment that questions whether an object that has had all of its components replaced remains fundamentally the same object. 😃
From the rudder issues to the tendency to headbutt things (how I choose to interpret it ) I'd say yes.
Triggers broom 😎
@@TheAnon03 Exactly. 2 full rebuilds that were said to be "basically a brand new ship", and yet odd quirks, like turning around in a circle or slipping tow and going wherever crewless, stayed all the way to the end.
In Spike Milligan's war memoirs, when they are landing on Italy the see Warspite firing her big guns to targets inshore. One sailor comments "that's not doing the Germans much good!". Then he looks at Warspite rocking heavily on her axis from the recoil of her own guns, and adding "it's not doing Warspite much good either!"
If I recall correctly, at the Battle of Matapan it was the future Prince Philip, husband to Queen Elizabeth who was in charge of the searchlight crews that spotted the Italian cruisers.
He was on Valiant.
@@ph89787 Some years later he spent a lot of time on Queen Elizabeth.
Yessir. Prince Phillip served his country proudly. :)
@@shep9231 He was still Prince Phillip of Greece during the war, even though he was in the British Navy. But he fought off the coast of Greece, so he did serve his native Greece well.
@@DavidOfWhitehillsayyy
if ever there was a warship that lived up to it`s name and purpose , this grand fighting soul embodied everything it meant to be a part of the royal navy
"Seriously Warspite, watch where you're going!"
Warspite doesn't live in our world. We live in Warspites.
I always considered the scraping of Enterprise the greatest crime committed by humans till I heard one of her sailors say basically he didn't want want people to be walking around eating hot dogs and dropping garbage on the great ship. I said to myself, you know your right. The same goes for the equally immortal Warspite.
A great video fitting of the finest battleship the Brits ever fielded. A pity you didn't describe in more detail how she literally blew apart the German Destroyers in the second Battle of Narvik. See Drachinifel's account on his channel. Thanks for a good, humorous story. 🙂
My grandfather served aboard the warspite after surviving the sinking of the repulse,able seaman Clifford Bryant
Bless her, and all who sailed in her.
Your documentary is pretty accurate, with the exception of your description of her launch as "so so", it was anything but, although typical for Warspite. As an American I think you might have mentioned that US Navy fleet tug was instrumental in saving the ship after she was glider-bombed, although I beleive Warspite's apalling bad attitude to other shipping provided the American crew with severe problems !I also feel that a ship which not only survived but came back fighting aftre many serious attempts by her enemies to sink her was in many ways a lucky ship. I n my opinion, for instsnce, their Lordships of the Admiralty were off their rockers to send such a large target into the cofined waters of Narvik Fjord when the Luftwaffe was carrying all before it. Warspite was hopwever a bloody awkard ship. IF ever a vessel had personality, it was her. Thank you for bringing her memory back into focus. David Mahoney.
Absolutely agree, she should have been preserved, what a story she would have told down the generations
Warspite went aground In Mounts Bay inside the Mountamopus buoy and Cudden Point not far from Prussia Cove.
Obviously thought she could have one more go against the Germans.
After various failures of refloating she was moved to St Michaels Mount and broken up. Her boilers are still there.
A fine telling of a fine ships story!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻
You say you have no subject
And your brushes all have dried;
But come to Marazion
At the ebbing of the tide.
And look you out to seaward,
Where my Lady battle scarred
Hugs the rock that is more welcome,
Than the shameful breakers yard.
Paint her there upon the sunset
In her glory and despair,
With the diadem of victory
Still in flower upon her hair.
Let her whisper as she settles
Of her blooding long ago,
In the mist than mingles Jutland
With the might of Scapa Flow.
Let her tell you, too, of Narvik
With its snowy hills, and then
Of Matapan, Salerno
And the shoals of Walcheren;
And finally of Malta,
When along the purple street
Came in trail the Roman Navy
To surrender at her feet.
Of all these honours conscious,
How could she bear to be
Delivered to the spoiler
Or severed from the sea?
So hasten then and paint her
In the last flush of her pride
On the rocks of Marazion,
At the ebbing of the tide.
Poem "The Subject" by Lieutenant-Commander R.A.B.Mitchell,
I LOVE her history! Maybe only another old Brit would get this, but after her 3rd collision maybe the Admiralty should've considered renaming her "HMS Troutbridge" !!!??? Great video...
left hand down a bit
When I was a student living in Camborne, in Cornwall, many years ago, I was told that the flooring in one of the local pubs, the Cornish Choghs, was made from Teak salvaged from Warspite😎
Aground in Mounts Bay she looked a sad sight after such long service.
A war record second to none. It’s disgraceful that this ship wasn’t saved for the nation after the war. We had so many battleships and none were saved. As usual the politicians have to take a lot of the blame.
And yet "they" managed to save HMS Belfast ?
I've never really understood that, despite I "do" like the 'Belfast'
I went on the latter when they first opened her up (to the Public) around Feb'/March 1971
30-years later, back in 2001, I took my own kids on board & the weather WAS considerably better !!
As a child on the Isle of Wight, I recall seeing her way off in the distance when she was anchored at Spithead awaiting her final voyage to be scrapped.
When we moved to Cornwall in 1980, the cottage we bought had an external light, which was one of Warspite’s deck lighting fittings! It functioned for years, but was sadly broken when we moved and took the fitting with us, only for one of the removal men to drop it and drive over it!!
obviously was a Nazi sympathizer :)
@@rickmorgan3930 lol!
The "ram everything field" was still active on the light fixture.
@@dawnofwar4302 lol !!!
This ship should have been kept. One of the most historic ships to ever exist. Texas is in drydock now. Making good decades of neglect. She was our first museum ship. We learned a Lot of Things Not To Do. And a few things that Must Be Done.
The British scrap too damned many Truly Great Ships!
True. Even though it's not a warship, it would have been great to keep the Titanic's sister ship, the SS Olympic, as a museum ship.
Had a major refit in the States. Pity they didn't remove those casement 6 inch guns and replace them with the US 5 inch dual purpose guns in twin turrets.
The decision for her being sent to the scrapyard was akin to whoever decided to tip the lamp over in the library of Alexandria, beyond shameful and cowardly. There is absolutely no good reason anyone could have ever given to send her to the breakers.
She must have been quite a sight at Narvik in the fjord using her main armament
As odd as it sounds the Prinz Eugen probably has the best non-museum outcome: sitting on a tropical beach with the sure knowledge the scrappers will never touch her. 😅
A bit like a modern fighting Temaraire…. But without the ramming,…….she just wore herself out 👌🏽😎….how they all should go……. Thanks for the story. 😉👍🏼
One of my favourite RUclips channels
Warspite was hit by Seydlitz. Her A turret was out of action and couldn't be aimed, but Acting Sub-Lieutenant Herbert Annesley Packer kept firing 12 shots anyway, "literally wasted every shell fired into the sea", and was later Mentioned in Dispatches and promoted to Lieutenant, then later commanded Manchester and complained that they should store more ammo in the front so that he could chase down enemy ships, and later again became Warspite's captain, where his experience with the ship saw great damage control after being hit by the Fritz-X and saved her from sinking.
My father was a stoker aboard Warspite in 1943. Luckily for him he was "off watch" from the boiler rooms when the Fritz X put a hole in her keel.
I love the names the Brits (English) have always given their warships throughout the history of the British navy. Warspite is one of the grandest ones.
rspite would have been the Best Royal Navy battleship to have preserved as she served in both world wars. So sad that no battleship was saved! The usual British short-sighted action . Putting her value as scrap before her value as an historical artefact.
Can you imagine what an impressive sight she would have been as a museum ship.
@@stephenhumphrey7935 Absolutely! I think it is so sad that none of the dreadnought battleships were saved for posterity asa reminder of the times when the Royal Navy was at its zenith. My father served as a young sailor on HMS Malaya. I would have really liked to have visited a similar ship to put all his stories of life onboard a battleship in context
She deserves the same amount of clout as what the Bismarck, Yamato, and Iowa classes have had and still do. And the fact that she had a more colorful career than all the latter mentioned
HMS Warspite is the name I always give a ship in a game when ever given the opportunity to name a ship. It goes back to the 1500's...
18:40 I swear, I can almost see warspite herself trying to sink her own home nation with her turrets pointing towards the shore
It takes 100yrs to make a name for yourself and 450yrs to make a tradition.....The Royal Navy.
I think that Hood and Prince of Wales are more famous than Warspite, due to their involvement in the battle of the Denmark Straight against Bismarck.
HMS Warspite also didn't just "stick around for some shore bombardment" at Navik, she played an active role during the surface engagement, sinking the destroyers Z-13 and Z-17, and crippling the destroyer Z-12, who would be finished off by destroyers.
Hood was a battlecruiser, not a battleship. You may be right on PoW - Placentia Bay, Denmark Strait and finally Force Z, quite storied, but as it was a KGV wasn't present at Jutland as Warspite was.
don't forget Warspite's Swordfish floatplane sinking U-64 in the slowest divebombing attack ever ☠
I would agree the stuff of legends
Na, Warspite is more famous than them. I think it's only second to the Victory.
She did the Darth Vader hallway scene with those destroyers.
Please do you have a documentary on the Royal Oak as my uncle died on it the night it was sunk. Thanks
Spike Milligan and his battery were aboard ship watching Warspite shell German positions before the landings commenced. He noticed (claimed! 😄) that with each salvo, Warspite rolled hard in the opposite direction. One gunner said "That isn't doing Jerry any good." Miligan: "Looks like it isn't doing Warspite any good either."
Warspite chose to sink herself with her honour intact, than allow herself to face the breaker's yard!
I don’t buy the excuse that the dire state of the British economy post ww2 meant she had to be scrapped. Preserving just a single battleship would not have made overall a jot of difference economically.
1st seal was recently cut for the new hms worspite at barrow furnace in Cumbria for new dreadnought class submarine.
so now we know where hms Glowworm learned how to ram stuff
I am an Aussie ex RAAF but having read about HMS Warspite became fascinated by it's story Cheers to all ex and serving RN, RAN,RAF,,RAAF service men and women. We don't get any media aye fucking army ! Floods, drought relief we're straight in there but you don't see us on the fucken telly!
Great video
As others have said she would would.have made a wonderful museum ship..So much history
Tough old bird!
Thank you. That was fabulous to listen to.😉
"Warspite was doing her utmost to Hate the French coast out of existence". 😃 😃 😃
Warspite. With a name like that she couldn't help being a badass ship!
HMS Warspite's motto. "Belli Dura Despicio" - "I despise the hardships of war"
One of our greatest ships
a great fighting ship!!
Did Britain GB consider saving Warspite as a museum ship?
There were countless appeals to save her.
No question, it was a travesty she wasn’t saved, but it’s difficult to describe just how desperate was the financial position of the UK in the post war years.
There was a massive need for steel, and obviously a large surplus of out of commission ships.
She therefor became a tragic example of knowing the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.
@@veryrevrufus It simply was not the right time. After the War we scrapped everything that came along. Into the 1950s and beyond, with the help of the British Government we even scrapped the most ground-breaking projects, especially in aviation.
One of the toughest battleships ever made
I enjoy your commentary, funny
Wonderful, Thank you.
and a great finish! kudos!
A fantastic ship.
Love this ship.
Isn't the first picture of HMS Vanguard? Edit: nevermind, a photo from WWII after her refit.
Is she entering the Russian port of Sevastopol in that opening photo? Beautiful picture 📸
It's Grand Harbour, Malta
@@jamesyaworsky8996 Oh. Thank you. Malta. Still, very nice picture.
Served in the seventh RN vessel to bear the name HMS WARSPITE - an amazing heritage and (I understand) the only RN warship to have two crests?
1/the cannon. 2/the woodpecker.
The woodpecker was never approved by anyone, but they put it prominently as the main crest and nobody dares to correct it. The cannon is the only official one, approved in 1919.
I would like to speak on behalf of Drachinifel and let everyone know this is the greatest battle wagon EVER built.
The greatest warship of any kind, by any country, in any universe. Warspite could lay waste to any other warship regardless of the size, type and era from which that ship would hail.
In closing, Warspite is God and whoever decided not to keep her as a museum ship should be hung from the highest tree in London 😂
As the Ministry of Defence proclaims, Fear God and Dread the Warspite.
Interesting sidebar...Yamato scored the furthest hit on an enemy ship during Leyte..hitting a Jeep carrier further than Warspites shot.
It's disputed whether it was Chikuma, Kongō or Yamato that hit the USS Gambier Bay. Warspite's hit was beyond doubt.
Warspites record is between exchaninging battleships whilst moving to be a bit more precise.
Confused about the ship shown at 11:00 which appears to neither be Warspite or Cesare, the ships being discussed at the time.
That is Cesare. More specifically, it’s a view of her damage.
The turrets are her secondary battery.
@@skyneahistory2306 OK, thanks. I had thought the secondaries were singles, but that was before reconstruction.
Kudos for using a pic of the right ship - that's rare on RUclips!
Old soldiers never die they simply fade away.
You can see what's left of her hull just west of St Michael's mount on Google maps
Ramming Barham and Valiant just meant she wanted to give her sisters a hug :)
(Either that or shes just out for blood)
What a shame she was scrapped. Rip
My Grandad was a Stoker on her (Fred Charville) and had his work cut out.
Tough old bird.
My father was a stoker aboard Warspite in 1943. Luckily for him he was "off watch" from the boiler rooms when the Fritz X put a hole in her keel. Strange to think they may possibly have been "on watch" together at some point.
Probably having a smoke break😀I just wished I asked him more about his time on her but it was never brought up offered in conversation. The best generation kept things to themselves and cracked on with their duty.@@walterkronkitesleftshoe6684
Took a licking and kept on ticking.
The ship that would not die.
I think at the very least Warspite and Enterprise should of been sunk with honors and made into artificial reefs. Deep enough to avoid surface ships, shallow enough for divers to visit. Absolutely ashamed neither country stood up to protect the old girls who protected them.
where does its name come from ?
Surely the aircraft she carried was a Walrus, not a Swordfish?
To my understanding, she started the war with Swordfish (which did have a floatplane variant for this role). She didn’t swap to the Walrus until later on.
Didn't she get a direct hit at maximum range?
Second only to the Victory in the nation's affection.
HMS rodney enters the chat…..
@@ianhunt4147 Many years ago I worked with an Aussie who's father had been in the Royal Australian Navy. His wife was pregnant and they were arguing over a name just when HMS Rodney arrived in port there. His dad was so enthralled by the sight of the mighty battleship he names his son after her. When he told me the story I asked him had he ever see the Rodney and no, he hadn't so I took a photo of her in and said..... there's your third parent..
@@copferthat that’s hilarious 😂 I just love rodney it’s so strange looking but brutally efficient- and it’s chase down of the bismarck when it achieved over 25 knots when it needed a service just sums its character
@@ianhunt4147 Billy Ruffian…. Enters the chat……. There are so many great ships names all with illustrious (pun intended) records it’s almost unfair to signal any of them out
Warspite increased speed either to help cure the steerage or get nearer to the enemy at Jutland, says one report, if true does not suggest entirely accidental consequence
Even her own navy learned to stay out of her way when she was on the warpath😡
Warspite channeling Sinatra:
And now, the end is near
And so I face the final curtain
My friend, I'll say it clear
I'll state my case, of which I'm certain
I've lived a life that's full
I traveled each and every highway
And more, much more than this
I did it my way