The American dive bombers set the Japanese carriers afire, so the carriers burned until they were basically burned out shells, however not one of the torpedo bombers managed to hit and so their hulls remained undamaged until they were ordered scuttled by Japanese torpedoes. Admiral Yamamoto did not want the Americans to capture those wrecks and tow them back to Hawaii to put them on display.
The Japanese navy has built two new aircraft carriers, which carry f-35 fighter planes, anti sub helicopters. One of the two is named Kaga, which is slightly larger than her WW2 namesake. The other carrier is named Izumo.
Yes I just read about that and noticed the name too immediately. Kinda cool, actually, I think. Im glad the Japanese are on our side these days, and we may very well need them to fight with us if the Chinese decide to do something highly irresponsible in the next few years.
Some authors claim or have at least conjectured that KAGA was hit by 8-10 bombs dropped by the SBD squadrons from ENTERPRISE. Given that about 30 bombers of two highly proficient squadrons dived on her it has always seemed odd that only four hits have been firmly credited to them. The attack was not the most coordinated and there was confusion on both sides - Scouting 6 and Bombing 6 weren't expecting to dive on the same ship. The fire, smoke, and explosions from the first hits may have made counting additional hits problematic. The mayhem resulting from four bomb hits and the secondary explosions may have confused the recollections of the airmen and sailors aboard KAGA, although as Dallas Isom noted in his book "Midway Inquest", one would think that the difference between 4 bombs and twice that number or more of bombs hitting the ship would have been noticed by the surviving witnesses. KAGA underwent massive fuel-air explosions shortly after the SBD attack, soon enough that departing U.S. aircrew actually witnessed them.
I think that you point that the confusion of two squadrons diving at the same time would throw the aim off. Also, unlike the Akagi and Soryu, their was no distraction of another carrier being hit so the Kaga knew the attack was coming, and was able to turn at the last minute which would throw off the aim of the first several dive bombers (as also happened with the Hiryu). And there was the anti-aircraft fire to disrupt the aim, again, unlike Akagi and Soryu. I suspect that the estimate of just 4 or 5 bomb hits is pretty accurate.
The command staff were lost as a result of one of the up to eleven estimated hits which occurred. Recommend that you please review 'Shattered Sword' and review the contents of this video.
Two types of ships that were egg shells with hammers. The British Battlecruisers of World War I (and Hood) and the Japanese aircraft carriers, at least before better fire control was implemented for the two remaining Japanese Fleet carriers.
Great stuff. The biggest loss at Midway for the IJN was aircrew. Japanese airmen in those four carriers were far better trained and experienced than any other WW II combatant.
LOL, these 800+ crews bodies were still on board, but they were no longer alive... These 800+ crew members are the victims of the bombing and the subsequent explosions. Not even the Imperial Japanese Navy would sink its own crew members, although the Japanese Navy would commit any other war crime.
Also, one of the pilots that bombed Kaga was Lt Norman Jack "Dusty" Kleiss. He would later bomb Hiryu later that afternoon, joining Dick Best as one of the only pilots to hit multiple pilots in a single battle. 2 Days later he would bomb the Heavy Cruiser Mikuma.
While the Akagi and Kaga could not carry more aircraft than carriers half their size, I think the same is true of the Lexington and Saratoga. Being converted from a battlecruiser or a battleship is not as good as designing a carrier from the get go, like the Hiryu and Yorktown class of carriers.
So sad to see such a beautyful ship sink,if it only survived today it would be a beautyful naval museum in Japan like I have at home at the city of Fall River massachusetts,we have the battleship massachusetts ( aka) the mamie) the uss lion fish submarine,the Joseph p. Kennedy cruiser and we had a Russian war ship that was given to to the museum but they had to scrap it due to too much rusting and rotting,I guess they not well made,it was sad to see it go but it was beyond repair
Yet another great video, but with a caveat. Kaga was not in the process of adding to her CAP when she was attacked. Both contemporary U.S. and Japanese eyewitness accounts show that Kaga was in the process of raising the first wave aircraft to her flight deck for her attack against the U.S. carriers which the Nagumo report stated was originally to have taken place in the 1030 time- frame. Kaga's senior surviving officer- her Air Officer, Lieutenant Commander Takahisa Amagai- stated for the United States Strategic Bombing Survey that Kaga had approximately 30 aircraft in her hangars, six fighters in the air, and the rest (approximately 20 aircraft) on her flight deck. Kaga last landed aircraft at approximately 1005 and had enough time to move approximately 20 aircraft (via three elevators) to her flight deck, although few if any of them were likely spotted. Lt. Cmdr. Amagai's statement meshes almost exactly with Cmdr. McClusky's (Enterprise CAG) statement that the ship's flight deck was "...full of planes". Note that Lt. Cmdr. Amagai's USSBS account is passed over in silence in recent U.S. accounts of the battle.
Probably because the hangars literally exploded with all the fuel, planes, pilots, sailors and damage control team killed, both in the hangar and in every space below it (casemates crew included,if anyone was there anyway). If literally hell breaks loose above you, you Can't really escape. RIP😔
@@alessiobubbles5345true! Ive read that those not immediately killed by the fires, explosions and smoke, were trapped below, with no way to escape upwards to safety. While they could have been mostly killed in those ways, theres no real doubt that at least some crew were trapped deep enough inside to have gone down with the ship still alive, trapped.... Horrible!
Consider how much damage Kaga suffered, its amazing that her hull is relatively intact since the discovery of her wreck!
The American dive bombers set the Japanese carriers afire, so the carriers burned until they were basically burned out shells, however not one of the torpedo bombers managed to hit and so their hulls remained undamaged until they were ordered scuttled by Japanese torpedoes. Admiral Yamamoto did not want the Americans to capture those wrecks and tow them back to Hawaii to put them on display.
EXCELLENT! Informative, straight to the point and above all, entertaining! I enjoy your videos. Thank You!
The Japanese navy has built two new aircraft carriers, which carry f-35 fighter planes, anti sub helicopters. One of the two is named Kaga, which is slightly larger than her WW2 namesake. The other carrier is named Izumo.
Yes I just read about that and noticed the name too immediately. Kinda cool, actually, I think. Im glad the Japanese are on our side these days, and we may very well need them to fight with us if the Chinese decide to do something highly irresponsible in the next few years.
Seriously ? I hadn't heard that. I really thought they'd avoid naming anything after the WW2 ships.
@@billotto602You are misinformed. If you read the current roster of the Japanese navy, it feels like 1940.
@@jianiu8199 kaga means spear, shokaku means flying crane, kongo means thunderbolt, shimakaze means island wind.
They are small helicopter carriers. They decided to use the f-35’s that can take off straight up like British harriers.
Great content as usual.
Such a horrible disaster. Dick Best is my favorite Squadron CMDR. Cool video!
Love,
David
Some authors claim or have at least conjectured that KAGA was hit by 8-10 bombs dropped by the SBD squadrons from ENTERPRISE. Given that about 30 bombers of two highly proficient squadrons dived on her it has always seemed odd that only four hits have been firmly credited to them. The attack was not the most coordinated and there was confusion on both sides - Scouting 6 and Bombing 6 weren't expecting to dive on the same ship. The fire, smoke, and explosions from the first hits may have made counting additional hits problematic. The mayhem resulting from four bomb hits and the secondary explosions may have confused the recollections of the airmen and sailors aboard KAGA, although as Dallas Isom noted in his book "Midway Inquest", one would think that the difference between 4 bombs and twice that number or more of bombs hitting the ship would have been noticed by the surviving witnesses.
KAGA underwent massive fuel-air explosions shortly after the SBD attack, soon enough that departing U.S. aircrew actually witnessed them.
I think that you point that the confusion of two squadrons diving at the same time would throw the aim off. Also, unlike the Akagi and Soryu, their was no distraction of another carrier being hit so the Kaga knew the attack was coming, and was able to turn at the last minute which would throw off the aim of the first several dive bombers (as also happened with the Hiryu). And there was the anti-aircraft fire to disrupt the aim, again, unlike Akagi and Soryu. I suspect that the estimate of just 4 or 5 bomb hits is pretty accurate.
This is so sad story. So many men died in naval fights of war. Hood, Bismarck, Scharnhorst and all the rest
I believe parshall said half of her burned down to the armor belt
why do you need Parshall? go read the interrogations. Parshall and Tully are just old boomers who read reports and operational records/monographs
A ghastly end to a great ship.
Thanks for posting!
Enjoying the videos and the history. Great work.
The command staff were lost as a result of one of the up to eleven estimated hits which occurred.
Recommend that you please review 'Shattered Sword' and review the contents of this video.
thanks for another great video. love your work!
Two types of ships that were egg shells with hammers. The British Battlecruisers of World War I (and Hood) and the Japanese aircraft carriers, at least before better fire control was implemented for the two remaining Japanese Fleet carriers.
Great stuff. The biggest loss at Midway for the IJN was aircrew.
Japanese airmen in those four carriers were far better trained and experienced than any other WW II combatant.
A lot of aircrew survived Midway, but Hiryu's aircrew almost got whiped out entierly.
Nope. It was flight decks. Who cares about aircrew when you only have 33% of your flight decks left
In summary, Kaga was pummeled by Enterprise and Akagi was backhanded.
Remember Pearl Harbor…No mercy.
lmao
It must be a tough assignment to be crewing a destroyer that has to torpedo it's sister ship, especially with 800+ crew still on board.
LOL, these 800+ crews bodies were still on board, but they were no longer alive...
These 800+ crew members are the victims of the bombing and the subsequent explosions.
Not even the Imperial Japanese Navy would sink its own crew members, although the Japanese Navy would commit any other war crime.
I wonder how many were still alive, though. Probably not many.
they were dead
@@dougerrohmer fair enough. Probably men alive in the engine rooms and locked in, a fate practically universal for all sinking warships.
@@hazchemel We'll never know how many went down alive and how many died in explosions and fires etc.
Very harrowing, for all who perished, lest we forget.
Take care, and all the best.
Brilliant
Also, one of the pilots that bombed Kaga was Lt Norman Jack "Dusty" Kleiss. He would later bomb Hiryu later that afternoon, joining Dick Best as one of the only pilots to hit multiple pilots in a single battle. 2 Days later he would bomb the Heavy Cruiser Mikuma.
While the Akagi and Kaga could not carry more aircraft than carriers half their size, I think the same is true of the Lexington and Saratoga. Being converted from a battlecruiser or a battleship is not as good as designing a carrier from the get go, like the Hiryu and Yorktown class of carriers.
So sad to see such a beautyful ship sink,if it only survived today it would be a beautyful naval museum in Japan like I have at home at the city of Fall River massachusetts,we have the battleship massachusetts ( aka) the mamie) the uss lion fish submarine,the Joseph p. Kennedy cruiser and we had a Russian war ship that was given to to the museum but they had to scrap it due to too much rusting and rotting,I guess they not well made,it was sad to see it go but it was beyond repair
EV Nautilus has videos on their channel of her wreck.
I was not aware that Kaga actually followed the order briefly
“Those who live by the sword………”.
Yet another great video, but with a caveat.
Kaga was not in the process of adding to her CAP when she was attacked. Both contemporary U.S. and Japanese eyewitness accounts show that Kaga was in the process of raising the first wave aircraft to her flight deck for her attack against the U.S. carriers which the Nagumo report stated was originally to have taken place in the 1030 time- frame.
Kaga's senior surviving officer- her Air Officer, Lieutenant Commander Takahisa Amagai- stated for the United States Strategic Bombing Survey that Kaga had approximately 30 aircraft in her hangars, six fighters in the air, and the rest (approximately 20 aircraft) on her flight deck. Kaga last landed aircraft at approximately 1005 and had enough time to move approximately 20 aircraft (via three elevators) to her flight deck, although few if any of them were likely spotted. Lt. Cmdr. Amagai's statement meshes almost exactly with Cmdr. McClusky's (Enterprise CAG) statement that the ship's flight deck was "...full of planes".
Note that Lt. Cmdr. Amagai's USSBS account is passed over in silence in recent U.S. accounts of the battle.
RIP to the 814 sailors lost in Kaga.
VietVet 1970-1971
The punishment IJN KAGA took before going down, I am amazed that there was anything left of her semi -intact hulk on the ocean floor.
What a waste war is.
The IJN paid a high and fataĺ price for lack of advanced radars on it's ships and land bases, among multiply other deficiencies and mindsets.
there was time to rescue the sailors on board, how did 8xx sailors died?
Probably because the hangars literally exploded with all the fuel, planes, pilots, sailors and damage control team killed, both in the hangar and in every space below it (casemates crew included,if anyone was there anyway). If literally hell breaks loose above you, you Can't really escape. RIP😔
@@alessiobubbles5345true! Ive read that those not immediately killed by the fires, explosions and smoke, were trapped below, with no way to escape upwards to safety. While they could have been mostly killed in those ways, theres no real doubt that at least some crew were trapped deep enough inside to have gone down with the ship still alive, trapped.... Horrible!