"To help carry her story forward, just a little bit, is a good thing, in my book". That's a good thing, in my book, too!! Thanks to your presentation, we got to learn about another, untold story, of a lesser known, ship⚓.
Irony is when a Navy ship is named Army Man, as Heermann is German for Army Man (heer = army, mann = man). Interesting, USS Heermann was apparently named for an early American Navy hero, a Hessian immigrant named Lewis whose family obviously had association with an army at some point. He is famous for being part of the mission to recover or destroy USS Philadelphia after its capture by Barbary Pirates, which Admiral Nelson is supposed to have said was the most daring Naval actions of the time. One wonders if the spirit of Heermann was with his namesake ship. Certainly, Heermann's crew performed heroically, though they were far from the only Americans to fight like madmen against the odds. Something of an American tradition really.
Another ship that gets little interest is C-V 18 USS Wasp, an Essex class carrier that was hit in the same manner on the same day in the same area as the rightfully heralded USS Franklin. They were both in sight of each other close to Japan in March 1945. Both both hit by land based lone dive bombers within 15 minutes of each other. The Wasp had a strike airborn to Japan when hit. About 175 air and ship crew were killed. When the strike flight returned they landed as usual. A metal patch covered the bomb penetration in the flight deck. Franklin deserves overwhemlingly much more historical attention but Wasp is an example of how serious damage can be and still function. A tribute to the officers and enlisted men of damage control.
Good point, both for the heroism and effectiveness of the crew but also a lesson in the nature of damage and damage control. We think of these ships and rightly honor the crews for their efforts and abilities but today just as much as in WW2 we should never stop thinking of how to control and minimize damage. Without constant attention a super carrier could be a case of way to many eggs in one basket.
Once again I don't know how long it takes you to do all the research and to put the video together I have to tell you I am impressed and the way you present it is very enjoyable and easy and enjoyable to listen to can't wait for the next one keep them coming
Excellent video, thank you. I am fortunate enough to live near one of the few remaining Fletcher class destroyers left, and the only one preserved in her WWII configuration (U.S.S. Kidd DD-661). I visit her often and am a annual supporter of the museum. If you live hear a museum ship, I urge you to visit often and, if you can, support the preservation of these historic ships.
USS Nicholas is another of the great WWII destroyers that doesn't get a lot of coverage. She was one of the first Fletchers, and is in the top of the list for battle stars. I'm somewhat partial to the Nicholas as she was built in my home state of Maine and shares my family name. I'm currently working on a large scale model of her.
She actually was the first of the Fletchers, along with the O'Bannon. I am reasonably certain that my grandfather was involved with the construction of both of them (along with every other DD produced at BIW) since he was Hull Superintendent
It's always good to learn more about the other, less glamorous parts of a famous ship's career, fleshing out their reputation beyond the moments that made them historic.
Check out the book The World Wondered by Robert Lundgren. It goes over the battle minute by minute and was used to find the wrecks. This is the book that discovered that Yamato was the ship that hit the Johnston!
Funny how you said her service post Samar was uninteresting, only to go on an list multiple things most ships would dream to have on their service records.
Thanks for another great video. If you are looking for another ship to present I suggest the USS Morris (DD-417), a Sims class destroyer. She served in the Pacific alongside the likes of ships such as the USS Lexington and USS Hornet from the Battle of the Coral Sea through to Okinawa, earning a total of 15 battle stars. She was a remarkable ship, especially concerning her history with the carriers I mentioned and in the way she ended her service career. I had an uncle who served as a torpedoman on the USS Morris and it would be a history I would greatly appreciate hearing. Thanks again and I look forward to your next video.
@@stanstenson8168 Yes he was and he said it killed most everyone up front. He also said that they were doing something in excess of 20-knotts forward when the Kamikaze was spotted and doing about 8-knotts in reverse when it hit. I think the strategy was to try and splash the plane in its downward trajectory towards the ship as any movement port or starboard could probably have been compensated for by the pilot. But this is only a guess on my part as my uncle passed away over 20-years ago. On this subject, another interesting topic of discussion would be the tactics Navy ships took to avoid suicide hits by aircraft. They sailed the Morris back to San Francisco (or maybe Mare Island) where it was almost instantly declared unseaworthy and unfit for occupation.
@@stanstenson8168 As I understand it, they sailed back to the west coast at the insistence of the crew. The Navy flat out wanted to scrap the ship in the west Pacific. Now what does that say about the fighting spirit of the United States Navy? Pretty remarkable.
@@jeffbrooke4892 Remarkable indeed. Have you ever asked Drach or The History Guy to cover it? The story of that ship is perfect for either one of them.
My wife's grandfather served on this ship. He once told me of a story where one of the crew jumped overload and another destroyer took up its place and that ship was hit by a kamikaze attack.
My father served on the USS Heermann during this battle. He only mentioned that he saw your father’s ship being hit and going down. Wonder if my father’s ship rescued any of the survivors?
Sadly most of the survivor were not rescued until two days later. Leadership would not allow the rescue to happen they were concerned about the Japanese returning
oh, i can already see Wargaming putting Heermann/Brown into World of Warships as a premium Pan-American destroyer. they already threw in the HN Velos/USS Charrotte as a Pan-European DD.
there are already four Fletchers as Museum Ships the Kidd in Baton Rouge the Cassin Young in Boston the USS The Sullivans in Buffalo and the Charrette( Velos) in Greece
"To help carry her story forward, just a little bit, is a good thing, in my book". That's a good thing, in my book, too!!
Thanks to your presentation, we got to learn about another, untold story, of a lesser known, ship⚓.
What en excellent video on one of the toughest ships in USN history. Glad your voice recovered too.
Irony is when a Navy ship is named Army Man, as Heermann is German for Army Man (heer = army, mann = man).
Interesting, USS Heermann was apparently named for an early American Navy hero, a Hessian immigrant named Lewis whose family obviously had association with an army at some point. He is famous for being part of the mission to recover or destroy USS Philadelphia after its capture by Barbary Pirates, which Admiral Nelson is supposed to have said was the most daring Naval actions of the time.
One wonders if the spirit of Heermann was with his namesake ship. Certainly, Heermann's crew performed heroically, though they were far from the only Americans to fight like madmen against the odds. Something of an American tradition really.
Another ship that gets little interest is C-V 18 USS Wasp, an Essex class carrier that was hit in the same manner on the same day in the same area as the rightfully heralded USS Franklin. They were both in sight of each other close to Japan in March 1945. Both both hit by land based lone dive bombers within 15 minutes of each other. The Wasp had a strike airborn to Japan when hit. About 175 air and ship crew were killed. When the strike flight returned they landed as usual. A metal patch covered the bomb penetration in the flight deck. Franklin deserves overwhemlingly much more historical attention but Wasp is an example of how serious damage can be and still function. A tribute to the officers and enlisted men of damage control.
Good point, both for the heroism and effectiveness of the crew but also a lesson in the nature of damage and damage control. We think of these ships and rightly honor the crews for their efforts and abilities but today just as much as in WW2 we should never stop thinking of how to control and minimize damage. Without constant attention a super carrier could be a case of way to many eggs in one basket.
Once again I don't know how long it takes you to do all the research and to put the video together I have to tell you I am impressed and the way you present it is very enjoyable and easy and enjoyable to listen to can't wait for the next one keep them coming
Always look forward to these videos.
Excellent video, thank you. I am fortunate enough to live near one of the few remaining Fletcher class destroyers left, and the only one preserved in her WWII configuration (U.S.S. Kidd DD-661). I visit her often and am a annual supporter of the museum. If you live hear a museum ship, I urge you to visit often and, if you can, support the preservation of these historic ships.
USS Nicholas is another of the great WWII destroyers that doesn't get a lot of coverage.
She was one of the first Fletchers, and is in the top of the list for battle stars.
I'm somewhat partial to the Nicholas as she was built in my home state of Maine and shares my family name.
I'm currently working on a large scale model of her.
True, I am aware of that ships efforts. Glad that you know that your name is honored.
She actually was the first of the Fletchers, along with the O'Bannon. I am reasonably certain that my grandfather was involved with the construction of both of them (along with every other DD produced at BIW) since he was Hull Superintendent
@@davidking7276 wow that's so cool. BIW, is an icon here in Maine, our connection to history and modern defense
I'd sure like to see it.
It's always good to learn more about the other, less glamorous parts of a famous ship's career, fleshing out their reputation beyond the moments that made them historic.
Hello. Just ran across your channel. I just subscribed and look forward to watching new and previous videos.
Great book about this battle and ships-- Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors
Check out the book The World Wondered by Robert Lundgren. It goes over the battle minute by minute and was used to find the wrecks. This is the book that discovered that Yamato was the ship that hit the Johnston!
Funny how you said her service post Samar was uninteresting, only to go on an list multiple things most ships would dream to have on their service records.
Thanks for another great video. If you are looking for another ship to present I suggest the USS Morris (DD-417), a Sims class destroyer. She served in the Pacific alongside the likes of ships such as the USS Lexington and USS Hornet from the Battle of the Coral Sea through to Okinawa, earning a total of 15 battle stars. She was a remarkable ship, especially concerning her history with the carriers I mentioned and in the way she ended her service career. I had an uncle who served as a torpedoman on the USS Morris and it would be a history I would greatly appreciate hearing. Thanks again and I look forward to your next video.
Damn was he on it when they took it back to San Fran in 1945?
@@stanstenson8168 Yes he was and he said it killed most everyone up front. He also said that they were doing something in excess of 20-knotts forward when the Kamikaze was spotted and doing about 8-knotts in reverse when it hit. I think the strategy was to try and splash the plane in its downward trajectory towards the ship as any movement port or starboard could probably have been compensated for by the pilot. But this is only a guess on my part as my uncle passed away over 20-years ago. On this subject, another interesting topic of discussion would be the tactics Navy ships took to avoid suicide hits by aircraft. They sailed the Morris back to San Francisco (or maybe Mare Island) where it was almost instantly declared unseaworthy and unfit for occupation.
@@jeffbrooke4892 I had read that last night. What a horrible trip that had to have been.
@@stanstenson8168 As I understand it, they sailed back to the west coast at the insistence of the crew. The Navy flat out wanted to scrap the ship in the west Pacific. Now what does that say about the fighting spirit of the United States Navy? Pretty remarkable.
@@jeffbrooke4892 Remarkable indeed. Have you ever asked Drach or The History Guy to cover it? The story of that ship is perfect for either one of them.
The Battle of Samar, where USN sailors displayed immeasurable, eternal valor thanks to Halsey's tunnelvision on glory.
Battle off Samar
My wife's grandfather served on this ship. He once told me of a story where one of the crew jumped overload and another destroyer took up its place and that ship was hit by a kamikaze attack.
Video on the wreck of the USS Juneau?
My Father served on USS Gambier Bay, he passed in 1969
My father served on the USS Heermann during this battle. He only mentioned that he saw your father’s ship being hit and going down. Wonder if my father’s ship rescued any of the survivors?
Sadly most of the survivor were not rescued until two days later. Leadership would not allow the rescue to happen they were concerned about the Japanese returning
oh, i can already see Wargaming putting Heermann/Brown into World of Warships as a premium Pan-American destroyer. they already threw in the HN Velos/USS Charrotte as a Pan-European DD.
Charrette
Have you done anything on the Sumner class dd
I'm glad she didn't end up like the General Belgrano when she entered Argentine service.
I don't know, going to the breakers sucks also. At least the Phoenix went out with a fight, kind of.
The USS Heermann was the only one of three Fletcher Class Destroyers to survive the Hoel and the Johnston were lost
Where is she now?
Was she broken up for scrap?
Yep in 1982, sad.
@@stanstenson8168
Yes I agree; a damned tragedy!
They Should've Turned Her
Into A Floating Museum...
there are already four Fletchers as Museum Ships the Kidd in Baton Rouge the Cassin Young in Boston the USS The Sullivans in Buffalo and the Charrette( Velos) in Greece
Japanese gunners used different colors to mark ranges
Your videos are always excellent. They are easy to listen to and accurate.