My great grandpa had an interesting story with the Yorktown. He got out of training and got sent to join the ship in 1941. The ship was out at sea, so he had harbor duties until it came back. Well, that unfortunately put him at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th 1941. So that wasn't great. He would go on to serve as a radio-operator on the ship before acute appendicitis again left him ashore when the ship left a restock and refit. Luckily for him, the ship would proceed to be sunk on that cruise. He would take the opportunity of being ship-less to retrain as a radioman for naval planes, and was assigned to land-based patrol flights the rest of the war. He would transfer to the newly formed US Air Force when given the chance, taking a bump in rank with it. He would fly as a radio operator for Air Force transports in Korea, and was on the first flight to repatriate POW's after the war. My family has a letter from the President for that action. Good guy.
I knew a pilot who had been a Hellcat pilot in WWII. He told me about the "most frighting" thing he had ever done as a pilot. He said it had been a hanger deck launch on one of these ships, I'm not sure which one. The hanger deck catapults were the result of the desire to launch as many defensive fighters as fast as possible. The planes would not have to wait for the elevator to take them to the flight deck. It was later decided that the catapults took up too much space in the hanger and by leaving them out they could carry more aircraft which was done in later ships. Later I Googled my friends name and found him on a list of Hellcat aces as Lieutenant Commander James Duffey. He never told me about that. I lost contact with him in the 25 years since the last time I saw him.
Cool story. I’m going to guess that he was flying something other than a Hellcat when he did a hanger catapult launch? I know the Enterprise had her lower deck catapult stripped out during the same early ‘43 refit that gave her Hellcats. The only other Carrier that might have had that type catapult, and lasted long enough to get Hellcats, was Saratoga. And I think she lost her Catapult before Enterprise. The Catapults really only worked for the older biplanes such as the F2F’s. If your friend tried it it was likely one of those or similar on a training cruise or pre-war. The mainline carrier aircraft by the start of the war were two heavy to use those early catapults. You could surely never get a Hellcat in the air with one. Maybe one of the later end of the war F8F Bearcats? if they could still find one of those cats working? (Maybe Ranger?). The Bearcat was a much smaller and lighter fighter, intended to operate better off light and escort carriers.
@@andrewtaylor940 Six of the Essex class CV's were fitted with hangar deck catapults, even after they were removed from previous classes. Though all but one had them removed by late 1944, that being the second Hornet. Search the internet and you will find an image of an Avenger of VT-5, far heavier than a Hellcat, launching from a hangar deck cat off the Yorktown (CV-10).
@@stevedownes5439 The Hornet was the only one that kept the Catapults until the end of the war. The first 6 Essex's except the Essex herself originally had them. And they were insane. They stripped out all but the Hornet's at first refit. www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/11821/the-crazy-aircraft-carrier-hangar-catapults-of-world-war-ii
@@stevedownes5439 OK I just looked up that picture. Ummm wow? I always remembered the bow facing Catapults that the Lexington and Yorktowns had on the hanger deck at launch. They were basically spring counterweight cats so never worked with heavier planes. But damn what lunatic dreamed up the side firing catapults that launch across the wind? And what complete maniac hooked and Avenger up to one?
Yorktown was a Shonen Anime Protagonist, tanking normally mortal wounds and still getting up to fight - At Midway she was only repaired enough to not be at risk of sinking and capable of launching planes, took two seemingly mortal attacks, and then lived through the whole night alone, only to be taken down by a sucker punch. Enterprise no doubt took such durability as a challenge.
My dad also served on the Enterprise during the war. I often scan the numerous films of her just hoping to catch a glimpse of him though I know the odds are against that. He went on to serve for over 30 years. Though he would never talk about his time on her, he was very proud to be a member of her crew.
I friend of mines father was on this ship during the battle of coral sea and when it was lost at midway. Just before he died I asked him about the events of these battles and he said the damage from the battle of the coral sea was a factor in its sinking at midway. Yet at the same time everyone was surprised it took as much damage as it had and remain afloat during the later battle. My friends father was a very young fellow who loved the sea and hated going off the ship even on leave. The day the ship was attacked at midway and badly damaged by aircraft he was loading antiaircraft guns and such. I am not sure are what point in time that he was forced to abandon the ship but I do think he did return with a work party but the left shortly after. All I know is he when for a swim. During the battle of the coal sea he was in the engine room working on that and then was brought up to shore up damage from the attacks there. I believe he said something about repairing the flight deck supports or something like that during that battle.
American aircraft carrier damage control expertise greatly exceeded that of Japanese Carriers. American Carriers were significantly more difficult to sink
Dad was an EM2 at Midway and told me many times that bomb they took at Coral Sea did an amazing amount of damage considering it was one Bomb.They ran temporary lighting through the whole area and shored up failing bulkheads and simply kept moving.Dad said they had very little sleep on the way back to Pearl.Even as an Electrician he carried a bag of wooden plugs and jammed them into shrapnel holes as they went and eating sandwiches that were brought to them a couple times when they couldn't go to the mess.I began meeting the Yorktowns crew as a child and began the reunions in 1977.I miss these guys now.It was like having hundred of Uncles.At several reunions guys from other ships were nearby and I was able to get pictures of Guys from the Lexington,Yorktown, Hornet,Astoria,Morris and Neosho on several occasions all in one shot in different places.I was told I would have made an excellent part of the Yorktowns crew and they could have used me at Midway.To me this was a supreme Honor.Im so very proud of all the crews that fought at Coral Sea and Midway.I have several small items from the ship that are all on the wall in my den with hundreds of photos of the Yorktowns crew.Im proud to be a "Yorktowner".
Model- Man Yes I remember similar stories from this fellow of all the cribbing being placed in the damaged area of the ship as it returned to port for repairs. He also said the coral sea damage was a major factor in the sinking at midway. It was only in the last years of his life that he gave more details of the sinking and attack at midway. At the battle of coral sea he was in the engine room but at midway he helped on the antiaircraft guns. He was very young when he enlisted but learned to love the sea. In fact he really did not like going to shore when given the opportunity and often stayed in the ship when in port. I remember when I was young he dragged out his ribbons and it was amazing the number he had in boxes. It wasn’t until just before he died that I saw them again.
Gentlemen, I am third generation MARINE. My Father was 1st MARINE Division (MARINE CORPS 1938-1945 with the Division From Cape Gloucester to Peleliu). Three of his four Brothers served, we lost a cousin in the battle for Okinawa (my father was his recruiter). The point I am getting at. Is what a Great Generation those man were. How missed, they are. My Dad and uncles where a AWESOME bunch of adventures to grow up around. SEMPER FI !!!
My dad served on C.V. 13, The Franklin, and was on board during that infamous event with Captain Gehres in command. A very tragic episode in naval history of our country. Very tragic indeed and based on inept leadership of a great carrier.
Best pre-war carrier class in the world. Both Yorktown (CV-5) & Hornet (CV-8) took a terrible beating before they went down. Few ships could have survived such damage. These were well-built, well-crewed ships that held the line against superior number's in 1942. Both would be honored by having Essex class carriers named after them. CV-10 Yorktown & CV-12 Hornet survive today as museum ships. Along with a new Lexington (CV-16 to replace CV-2, lost in the Coral Sea.) And Intrepid (CV-11). These 4 Essex class Flattop's are all that survive of the 24 that were built. None of which were sunk in battle. No other country built that many full-sized carriers. Plus 11 CVL's ("light carriers" 40-odd plane's.) & nearly 100 CVE's ("Escort carriers" 30-odd plane's.)
Excellent video. The B-25s on the Doolittle Raid took off from Hornet fully loaded since the weight saving modifications were eaten up by extra fuel required for the mission.
Great video, I love the channel! I remember reading the National Geographic with my grandpa when the Yorktown’s wreck was discovered. I was 6 years old I became obsessed with it. We went to blockbuster and rented the 1976 “Midway” and watched it a few times that week. A few years later I was lucky enough to stay for a few days on board the other Yorktown, CV-10 with my Cub Scout troop. Watching the video about this ship brings back so many memories
I once heard a tactical assessment of the IJN that credited crew fatigue as the main reason for poor performance at the end of the Pacific Campaign. (crapulous AA batteries were also mentioned) The work/watch rotation on IJN crews was ridiculous and unrelenting. What good are the finest night optics in the theater if your operators are unable to focus their eyes.
The USS Yorktown was found back in the late 90s by Robert Ballard and turned out to be in amazing condition with the only noticeable real damage is the act section of the flight deck turn away and a noticeable torpedo hit on the port hull amidships. Curiously enough something I learned and a video about the USS Arizona on how United States Navy forced their sailors to constantly to repaint their ships has proven true when the Yorktown was found as it is still covered in a few layers of paint.
I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Yorktown, definitely worth a detour if you’re near Charleston. Edit: wrong Yorktown, I’m talking about CV-10, still worth a visit.
I remember reading somewhere that the US reveled in the idea of naming a new Essex carrier "Yorktown" so soon after the original Yorktown sank. The thinking was that it would confound the Japanese to get reports of the exploits of Yorktown when they knew they had sunk it. "We did sink it, right? Are we sure?"
@@mikebronicki6978 Had to be demoralizing to finally sink the Yorktown after multiple attacks only to have it quickly replaced by a larger more advanced Yorktown.
Southron Jr ; I saw that! They found Wasp too. As well as Lexington & Juneau---the saddest of them. She's blown to bits. My great-uncle was on the USS San Francisco throughout the war. He witnessed Pearl Harbor, 2 fight's at Guadalcanal, the loss of the Wasp, & the loss of the Juneau. He said she blew like a volcano! No one on any of those ships thought anyone could survive that blast. Amazingly, over 100 men did, but only 10 would be rescued. Awful! Especially when most of a ships crew is under 20 year's old. (I know this from my own year's in the USN.)
Hello, My grandfather was chief navigating officer on USS RANGER CV-4. 1941-1946 I would really appreciate help getting knowledge about the vessel. I have spent the past few months researching the vessel and him. PLEASE I have watched almost all your videos. You do wonderful work!
Norman Friedman's "US Aircraft Carriers" has one chapter on the Ranger, but it's expensive for just that one chapter. Amazon shows one book about just the CV-4 Ranger, but it's expensive too.
@@chopchop7938 Disabling Bismarck could well have kept Britain fighting, so she could be said to have "won" the real war. I suspect that,s famous enough to knock out the competition.
We owe our freedom to these sailors. XO on Yorktown at Midway was Capt. Dixie Kiefer - Later serving as CO on Ticonderoga and one of the greatest ship's captains of WW2. My Dad served under Capt. Kiefer on CV-14 and said he was one of the greatest men of the USN in the war. And Dad was right.
I know the Essex class gets a lot of the press for American carriers during WW2 but those Yorktowns were tough old girls. I've also read that one of the advantages the USN had over the IJN was superior damage control techniques which surprised me given the IJNs overall excellent professionalism and experience. As I recall the Japanese assumed the Yorktown had been sunk before Midway during the Battle of Coral Sea and therefore didn't realize there were still 3 carriers to deal with. As a little side note about the Battle of Midway, the USN tricked the IJN about the positions of the carriers by using a pair of seaplane tenders, the USS Ballard and the USS Thornton, to play the parts of the Hornet and Enterprise over the radio and allowing the Japanese to believe the carriers were hundreds of miles from where they actually were for quite some time.
You can blame the IJN's "professionalism and experience" for their lackluster damage control. Unlike the USN, where every sailor from the captain down could man a hose or a pump or plug holes or do something to help keep the ship afloat, the Japanese only trained part of their crews in damage control, and that group rarely made up more than a 6th of the ships complement and was often commanded by a junior officer who could be overruled by pretty much everyone. This meant that most of the crew didn't really know how to do most of things needed to keep a ship from sinking. Couple this with horrible fire/damage prevention systems, poor training, and lack of supplies as the war progressed, it basically meant that if a Japanese ship took any serious hit there was a good chance it would sink, unlike an American or British ship.
It actually was professionalism that crippled IJN DamCon. They insisted on specially trained DamCon teams, and when they died nobody else could do their job.
@@mikebronicki6978 There's always more to be learned. It never ends, even though you think there is an end. There's always something hidden somewhere. A new POV.
Fun fact during the raid at pearl the enterprise had some duntlesses in the air when the raid was going on most of them got shot down by zeros in some way puting her as the only u.s carrier to lose airmen that day.
The USS Hornet (CV-8) was sunk by four 24-inch (61cm) Type 93 Long Lance Torpedoes from the destroyers HIJMS Makigumo and HIJMS Akigumo. The U.S. Navy and it's flawed torpedoes (Mark 15), nine of which were fired into the burning Hornet failed to function properly and 400 5-inch shells, many of which failed to detonate likewise had little effect, forcing the U.S. Navy to leave the carrier that launched the Doolittle Raid to the hands of the Japanese to finish her off.
Towing a damage warship is a slow a delicate process. There must be a towing crew aboard the damage vessel who will be at risk and the vessel doing the towing is also at risk from collision, storms which must be avoided at all costs, and the greatest risk Japanese submarines. It would take a light cruiser to tow the stricken, partially flooded carrier at a speed of 5 to 8 knots on a straight course. An easy target for the any submarine they might come across. This was the major issue with towing the stricken carriers latter in the war. Even given the other risks, the Navy brass figured the threat from submarines was now minimal and the brass did not want to admit that they had lost (sunk) a carrier, even though none of the carriers were ever able to be restored to service.
It all comes down to the damage assessment at the time. If the ship is too badly damaged it is actually cheaper to simply build a new carrier. remember the U.S. had eight Essex class carrier under construction already, a lot of valuable dry dock space had been taken up by repairing and refitting the battleships from Pearl Harbor, a decision that cost the U.S. Navy the ability to finish building the remaining Iowa class battleships and the first two or three (depending who you talk to) Montana class battleships. You have to remember the mind set of the time. In 1942 the U.S. Navy had submarines paranoia, and for good reason given what the Germans were doing in the Atlantic. The U.S.S. Saratoga would be torpedoed twice, the U.S.S. Yorktown and U.S.S. Wasp were both sunk by Japanese submarines in 1942. And when you conduct a towing operation in hostile or contested waters the tow ship has to be escorted, so you end up placing multiple ships at risk.
Went to HS in Yorktown, Va. Shame CV10 is not in the York River there. Yorktown Naval Weapons Station is in deep enough water to accommodate Nimitz class (built exclusively at NN Shipyard, nearby) occasionally got to see one pass through.
I have heard that some of the USS Hamman's depth charges went off as it sank, practically acting like a mine hit. Can you confirm this? Thank you for the content you are putting out, very informative videos.
Something definitely went off underwater after Hammann went down, but whether it was depth charges, torpedoes or magazines or a combination of all these is unknown. It's primary effect appears to have been killing many survivors in the water.
Common prob for crews escaping a sinking ship was their own depth charges that normally would be set to detonate at fifty feet when in combat until sonar readings said otherwise. When CMDR E. Evans and USS JOHNSTON went down at Battle of Samar Island the depth charges were scuttled first. Many smaller ships like DD 's and DE's went down quite fast and crews never had time to do that with unfortunate results to the escaping men still in the water near the sinking vessel when the pre-set depth charges sank to fifty feet and the whole remaining rack would blow.
Dear Drachinfel, may I suggest to please do a review on "HMS Sovereign of the Seas" the ship launched in 1637. That is if you have not already done a review on it. Thanks...
We got so close to have it preserved. In fact it was a museum ship in Portland Oregon for some time but during WWII the Navy decided the scrap value was more important given the war time conditions and put it on the chopping block. Pieces of it where however sold it the war bonds program which proved highly successful so at least some good came out of it. Alas to think the US almost had a preserved pre dreadnaught.
I clicked for the Yorktown and I got overwhelmed with information about 4 different types of aircraft carriers and 3 different vessels taking part in a battle. So which is which now?
Drach: Just watched Animarchy's Enterprise, Part 1, wherein he waxes enthusiastic about the Yorktown's "miraculous" 72-hour turnaround time for the repairs that restored the ship to operability in time for the Battle of Midway. Animarchy states his belief that the repair work deserves its own detailed video, saying that "If Drachinifel hasn't done one, I'll do one!" I fully agree that a Drachinian treatment of that subject would be most welcome and undoubtedly superb. ruclips.net/video/RCWB0SFEtN8/видео.html
Are you referring to war time career are over all career technically the Hornet had the shortest over all career only being lunch right before the war started and sinking in October 1942 the Yorktown was lunch in 1936 so it had 4 years of peace time service
Tough ladies to sink. But I would MUCH rather have served on an Illustrious class ship with all that armour (albeit far less aircraft). 66% of all American pre-war, fleet carriers (I am not counting the Langley) that served in the Pacific were sunk. Whereas all four Illustrious class survived the war. Yes, the American ships faced intense carrier battles against Japan. But sailing around Europe and in the Mediterranean was pretty, bloody dangerous as well. Especially when for most of their early war lives, the Brit self-defense aircraft were almost completely useless...particularly when going up against German, shore-based aircraft. Thanks for this video.
Point well made. But the Americans wanted offensive ability above all else and their designs were awesomely powerful. 100 aircraft... damn. Also, on hot summer days, as long as they were not under attack, sailors preferred the wood flight decks over those British steel decks. :D
@@mikebronicki6978 Yeah, those metal decks must have got MEGA hot in the Pacific. Had not thought of that before. I still would prefer armoured carriers...but serving on them on deck surely was no picnic.
Its thanks to Azur Lane that I now know these beauties exist. Helps you familiarize yourself with them first in Azur Lane, then get to know them better in videos. Not everybody can learn straight from textbooks needing a bridge to be formed, thus Azur Lane helps here to then find RUclips videos of them. Learning about each ship one-by-one. Nice to hear these lovely aircraft carriers were strong girls. Makes me happy. Even with the hits they took, they still refused to sink, something they should be given respect for :)
Such a too much tragic loss of Japanese Fleet, considering those ships was ordered to defend their homeland and wreck Carriers on Task Force. I don’t understand at this such American Propaganda, the Americans Carriers take some hits without catching much fire and slowly sinking, but the Japanese Carriers take too much fire. Shouldn't it be for Japanese carriers? That even more hard to take down, to make sense of those odds against Americans. Yorktown sinking is not enough for Japanese, it was not a tragedy, it was tragedy for Japanese being not effective. You can romanticizes harsh history and brutal naval warfare but in my opinion the purpose of Yorktown was evil.
It was not luck that the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Lexington were not at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese struck. Roosevelt had had the Navy order them to leave Pearl in order to perform the fool's errand of ferrying planes to Wake and Midway, because he knew that the Japanese attack was on the way to Pearl, and he was willing to sacrifice a bunch of obsolete WWI battleships to get the U.S. into WWII but not the aircraft carriers he would need to win that war in the Pacific.
You do realize that even *if* the US was willing to allow themselves to suffer a major defeat in a Japanese preemptive strike prior to WWII, the expected targets would have been either the Philippines or Singapore, not Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and nowhere near Japanese territory (especially with the closest islands to the southeast being the direction that US patrol aircraft were searching prior to the attack, which came from the north)? Also, *obsolete* WWI battleships at that point constituted 100% of the USN's battleship fleet, which was still considered by the whole world the primary capital ship of the navy versus the carrier being an auxiliary support craft. Moreover, the only obsolete battleship in the USN at that point arguably was the USS Arkansas, versus most of the other ones being a match for anything short of a Nagato or Yamato class in the IJN. If the US had actually expected an attack at Pearl Harbor, being attacked in a time of peace would have been justification enough for war; at that point, they would have had their aircraft ready and their crews prepping for combat, rather than ignoring radar images (they assumed they were Army B-17's), complaining about crazy navy pilots flying too low, or leaving their fighters parked nicely packed together to make it harder for saboteurs to get to them but very easy to strafe on the ground (or shell, since battleships did escort the Pearl Harbor carrier fleet). The USN even sank a Japanese destroyer outside Pearl Harbor, and it wasn't until AFTER the war that they even admitted the event actually happened (versus during, assuming the commander in charge was imagining things).
@@JBrandeis1 Your greatest mistake is thinking the US wanted to lose its battleships, when these were the main force of any naval power (even with the carriers, the IJN thought of the *Yamato* as their decisive weapon) Contrary to your tin foil story, carriers only proved their worth DURING the war, before it, they were seen as a novelty at minimum, an experiment at most You might also have to ask yourself why you didn't mention the surprise attack on the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. on the same date as Pearl Harbor because every fucking conspiracy loon like yourself leaves out those little details
@@JBrandeis1 you clearly do not know what YOU are talking about. Your argument has been torn to shreds, either refute the arguments of the fellas who have done so, or admit you cannot.
My great grandpa had an interesting story with the Yorktown. He got out of training and got sent to join the ship in 1941. The ship was out at sea, so he had harbor duties until it came back. Well, that unfortunately put him at Pearl Harbor on Dec 7th 1941. So that wasn't great. He would go on to serve as a radio-operator on the ship before acute appendicitis again left him ashore when the ship left a restock and refit. Luckily for him, the ship would proceed to be sunk on that cruise.
He would take the opportunity of being ship-less to retrain as a radioman for naval planes, and was assigned to land-based patrol flights the rest of the war. He would transfer to the newly formed US Air Force when given the chance, taking a bump in rank with it. He would fly as a radio operator for Air Force transports in Korea, and was on the first flight to repatriate POW's after the war. My family has a letter from the President for that action.
Good guy.
I knew a pilot who had been a Hellcat pilot in WWII. He told me about the "most frighting" thing he had ever done as a pilot. He said it had been a hanger deck launch on one of these ships, I'm not sure which one. The hanger deck catapults were the result of the desire to launch as many defensive fighters as fast as possible. The planes would not have to wait for the elevator to take them to the flight deck. It was later decided that the catapults took up too much space in the hanger and by leaving them out they could carry more aircraft which was done in later ships. Later I Googled my friends name and found him on a list of Hellcat aces as Lieutenant Commander James Duffey. He never told me about that. I lost contact with him in the 25 years since the last time I saw him.
Cool story. I’m going to guess that he was flying something other than a Hellcat when he did a hanger catapult launch? I know the Enterprise had her lower deck catapult stripped out during the same early ‘43 refit that gave her Hellcats. The only other Carrier that might have had that type catapult, and lasted long enough to get Hellcats, was Saratoga. And I think she lost her Catapult before Enterprise. The Catapults really only worked for the older biplanes such as the F2F’s. If your friend tried it it was likely one of those or similar on a training cruise or pre-war. The mainline carrier aircraft by the start of the war were two heavy to use those early catapults. You could surely never get a Hellcat in the air with one. Maybe one of the later end of the war F8F Bearcats? if they could still find one of those cats working? (Maybe Ranger?). The Bearcat was a much smaller and lighter fighter, intended to operate better off light and escort carriers.
@@andrewtaylor940 Six of the Essex class CV's were fitted with hangar deck catapults, even after they were removed from previous classes. Though all but one had them removed by late 1944, that being the second Hornet.
Search the internet and you will find an image of an Avenger of VT-5, far heavier than a Hellcat, launching from a hangar deck cat off the Yorktown (CV-10).
And then 5 minutes later, I find an image of a Hellcat launching from the hangar deck on CV-12.
@@stevedownes5439 The Hornet was the only one that kept the Catapults until the end of the war. The first 6 Essex's except the Essex herself originally had them. And they were insane. They stripped out all but the Hornet's at first refit. www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/11821/the-crazy-aircraft-carrier-hangar-catapults-of-world-war-ii
@@stevedownes5439 OK I just looked up that picture. Ummm wow? I always remembered the bow facing Catapults that the Lexington and Yorktowns had on the hanger deck at launch. They were basically spring counterweight cats so never worked with heavier planes. But damn what lunatic dreamed up the side firing catapults that launch across the wind? And what complete maniac hooked and Avenger up to one?
One thing about the Yorktowns is that even when mortally wounded. They were still unbelievably tough.
Also a fun fact ADM Will "Bull" Halsey Pleaded on nation TV to raise funds to convert Enterprise into a Ship Museum
Yorktown was a Shonen Anime Protagonist, tanking normally mortal wounds and still getting up to fight - At Midway she was only repaired enough to not be at risk of sinking and capable of launching planes, took two seemingly mortal attacks, and then lived through the whole night alone, only to be taken down by a sucker punch.
Enterprise no doubt took such durability as a challenge.
USS Enterprise CV6 needs her own episode... Greatest USN all time list behind Constitution
JC Woodman
She already got one.
My dad also served on the Enterprise during the war. I often scan the numerous films of her just hoping to catch a glimpse of him though I know the odds are against that. He went on to serve for over 30 years. Though he would never talk about his time on her, he was very proud to be a member of her crew.
If any ship other than The Franklin deserved to survive her final encounter it was the Yorktown.
I would definitely add USS Johnston to that list.
@@markbeyea4063 Heck yeah, that ship and her crew were lions. Battle of Samar.
@FlickeRRing Lightswitch To be fair, the DD crews might have been frazzled by two hellish air attacks.
And Hornet. Honestly, her sinking should have counted as a war crime.
I friend of mines father was on this ship during the battle of coral sea and when it was lost at midway. Just before he died I asked him about the events of these battles and he said the damage from the battle of the coral sea was a factor in its sinking at midway. Yet at the same time everyone was surprised it took as much damage as it had and remain afloat during the later battle.
My friends father was a very young fellow who loved the sea and hated going off the ship even on leave.
The day the ship was attacked at midway and badly damaged by aircraft he was loading antiaircraft guns and such. I am not sure are what point in time that he was forced to abandon the ship but I do think he did return with a work party but the left shortly after. All I know is he when for a swim.
During the battle of the coal sea he was in the engine room working on that and then was brought up to shore up damage from the attacks there. I believe he said something about repairing the flight deck supports or something like that during that battle.
American aircraft carrier damage control expertise greatly exceeded that of Japanese Carriers. American Carriers were significantly more difficult to sink
Dad was an EM2 at Midway and told me many times that bomb they took at Coral Sea did an amazing amount of damage considering it was one Bomb.They ran temporary lighting through the whole area and shored up failing bulkheads and simply kept moving.Dad said they had very little sleep on the way back to Pearl.Even as an Electrician he carried a bag of wooden plugs and jammed them into shrapnel holes as they went and eating sandwiches that were brought to them a couple times when they couldn't go to the mess.I began meeting the Yorktowns crew as a child and began the reunions in 1977.I miss these guys now.It was like having hundred of Uncles.At several reunions guys from other ships were nearby and I was able to get pictures of Guys from the Lexington,Yorktown, Hornet,Astoria,Morris and Neosho on several occasions all in one shot in different places.I was told I would have made an excellent part of the Yorktowns crew and they could have used me at Midway.To me this was a supreme Honor.Im so very proud of all the crews that fought at Coral Sea and Midway.I have several small items from the ship that are all on the wall in my den with hundreds of photos of the Yorktowns crew.Im proud to be a "Yorktowner".
Model- Man Yes I remember similar stories from this fellow of all the cribbing being placed in the damaged area of the ship as it returned to port for repairs. He also said the coral sea damage was a major factor in the sinking at midway. It was only in the last years of his life that he gave more details of the sinking and attack at midway.
At the battle of coral sea he was in the engine room but at midway he helped on the antiaircraft guns.
He was very young when he enlisted but learned to love the sea. In fact he really did not like going to shore when given the opportunity and often stayed in the ship when in port.
I remember when I was young he dragged out his ribbons and it was amazing the number he had in boxes. It wasn’t until just before he died that I saw them again.
Yorktown Class
ruclips.net/video/d9ZJJLMepKU/видео.html
Gentlemen,
I am third generation MARINE.
My Father was 1st MARINE Division (MARINE CORPS 1938-1945 with the Division From Cape Gloucester to Peleliu). Three of his four Brothers served, we lost a cousin in the battle for Okinawa (my father was his recruiter).
The point I am getting at. Is what a Great Generation those man were. How missed, they are. My Dad and uncles where a AWESOME bunch of adventures to grow up around.
SEMPER FI !!!
My dad served on C.V. 13, The Franklin, and was on board during that infamous event with Captain Gehres in command. A very tragic episode in naval history of our country. Very tragic indeed and based on inept leadership of a great carrier.
I haven't figured out why but the Mustangs I've known are among both the very best and very worst officers I had fortune or misfortune to serve under.
The Yorktown was my favorite in that class of carriers. Brave men on those ships.
Best pre-war carrier class in the world. Both Yorktown (CV-5) & Hornet (CV-8) took a terrible beating before they went down. Few ships could have survived such damage. These were well-built, well-crewed ships that held the line against superior number's in 1942.
Both would be honored by having Essex class carriers named after them.
CV-10 Yorktown & CV-12 Hornet survive today as museum ships. Along with a new Lexington (CV-16 to replace CV-2, lost in the Coral Sea.) And Intrepid (CV-11). These 4 Essex class Flattop's are all that survive of the 24 that were built. None of which were sunk in battle.
No other country built that many full-sized carriers. Plus 11 CVL's ("light carriers" 40-odd plane's.) & nearly 100 CVE's ("Escort carriers" 30-odd plane's.)
RIP.USS Yorktown.You were a good ship with a good crew.
Excellent video. The B-25s on the Doolittle Raid took off from Hornet fully loaded since the weight saving modifications were eaten up by extra fuel required for the mission.
Great video, I love the channel! I remember reading the National Geographic with my grandpa when the Yorktown’s wreck was discovered. I was 6 years old I became obsessed with it. We went to blockbuster and rented the 1976 “Midway” and watched it a few times that week. A few years later I was lucky enough to stay for a few days on board the other Yorktown, CV-10 with my Cub Scout troop. Watching the video about this ship brings back so many memories
My all-time favourite flattop....together with her later namesake CV-10 and USS Coral Sea CV-43.
I've visited CV-10 on several occasions, never gets old.
and now of course the final resting places of both Yorktown and Hornet are known, Both in considerably
better shape than the Lady Lex...
I once heard a tactical assessment of the IJN that credited crew fatigue as the main reason for poor performance at the end of the Pacific Campaign. (crapulous AA batteries were also mentioned) The work/watch rotation on IJN crews was ridiculous and unrelenting. What good are the finest night optics in the theater if your operators are unable to focus their eyes.
And there ships, for years, did not get the repair / maintenece / upgrade that the USN could provide ther units with
The USS Yorktown was found back in the late 90s by Robert Ballard and turned out to be in amazing condition with the only noticeable real damage is the act section of the flight deck turn away and a noticeable torpedo hit on the port hull amidships.
Curiously enough something I learned and a video about the USS Arizona on how United States Navy forced their sailors to constantly to repaint their ships has proven true when the Yorktown was found as it is still covered in a few layers of paint.
I’ve had the privilege of visiting the Yorktown, definitely worth a detour if you’re near Charleston.
Edit: wrong Yorktown, I’m talking about CV-10, still worth a visit.
I remember reading somewhere that the US reveled in the idea of naming a new Essex carrier "Yorktown" so soon after the original Yorktown sank. The thinking was that it would confound the Japanese to get reports of the exploits of Yorktown when they knew they had sunk it. "We did sink it, right? Are we sure?"
@@mikebronicki6978 Had to be demoralizing to finally sink the Yorktown after multiple attacks only to have it quickly replaced by a larger more advanced Yorktown.
It was amazing that Yorktown made the battle of midway after coral sea damage but Yorktown helped the midway victory
Yamato #1 Topgun 🇯🇵
❤️ IJN
True to her name, The Fighting Lady didn't go down easy. She went down fighting and would come back for more. A beautiful lady she is.
Flooding fuel lines with CO2 was one damage control method.
I just watched a video put out this morning where the Hornet wreckage was just discovered and the first pictures of her in over 70 years came out.
Southron Jr ;
I saw that! They found Wasp too. As well as Lexington & Juneau---the saddest of them. She's blown to bits.
My great-uncle was on the USS San Francisco throughout the war. He witnessed Pearl Harbor, 2 fight's at Guadalcanal, the loss of the Wasp, & the loss of the Juneau. He said she blew like a volcano! No one on any of those ships thought anyone could survive that blast. Amazingly, over 100 men did, but only 10 would be rescued. Awful! Especially when most of a ships crew is under 20 year's old. (I know this from my own year's in the USN.)
What a great looking carrier.
Hello,
My grandfather was chief navigating officer on USS RANGER CV-4. 1941-1946 I would really appreciate help getting knowledge about the vessel. I have spent the past few months researching the vessel and him. PLEASE I have watched almost all your videos. You do wonderful work!
Norman Friedman's "US Aircraft Carriers" has one chapter on the Ranger, but it's expensive for just that one chapter. Amazon shows one book about just the CV-4 Ranger, but it's expensive too.
It is such a shame the enterprise was not preserved as a museum.
It really is.
4:30 that's Hiryu, sunk only later that day.
the most famous carriers of them all.
awesome reading btw
@@juri8723 I would have thought Ark Royal would have a good claim to that title.
@@alecblunden8615 only in the UK, not the rest of the world.
@@chopchop7938 Disabling Bismarck could well have kept Britain fighting, so she could be said to have "won" the real war. I suspect that,s famous enough to knock out the competition.
@@alecblunden8615 Bismark was doomed anyway. Sorry. Taking out one battlecruiser does not make it the most famous carrier.
We owe our freedom to these sailors. XO on Yorktown at Midway was Capt. Dixie Kiefer - Later serving as CO on Ticonderoga and one of the greatest ship's captains of WW2. My Dad served under Capt. Kiefer on CV-14 and said he was one of the greatest men of the USN in the war. And Dad was right.
Finest fleet carriers in WWII, until the Essex class!!!
Thank You Drachinifel..
I know the Essex class gets a lot of the press for American carriers during WW2 but those Yorktowns were tough old girls. I've also read that one of the advantages the USN had over the IJN was superior damage control techniques which surprised me given the IJNs overall excellent professionalism and experience. As I recall the Japanese assumed the Yorktown had been sunk before Midway during the Battle of Coral Sea and therefore didn't realize there were still 3 carriers to deal with. As a little side note about the Battle of Midway, the USN tricked the IJN about the positions of the carriers by using a pair of seaplane tenders, the USS Ballard and the USS Thornton, to play the parts of the Hornet and Enterprise over the radio and allowing the Japanese to believe the carriers were hundreds of miles from where they actually were for quite some time.
Dont forget the venerable Yorktown tough lady sadly no torp protecc all of em sink due to torp except lucky E doing torpedobeats b4 it was cool
You can blame the IJN's "professionalism and experience" for their lackluster damage control. Unlike the USN, where every sailor from the captain down could man a hose or a pump or plug holes or do something to help keep the ship afloat, the Japanese only trained part of their crews in damage control, and that group rarely made up more than a 6th of the ships complement and was often commanded by a junior officer who could be overruled by pretty much everyone. This meant that most of the crew didn't really know how to do most of things needed to keep a ship from sinking. Couple this with horrible fire/damage prevention systems, poor training, and lack of supplies as the war progressed, it basically meant that if a Japanese ship took any serious hit there was a good chance it would sink, unlike an American or British ship.
It actually was professionalism that crippled IJN DamCon. They insisted on specially trained DamCon teams, and when they died nobody else could do their job.
Darkhorse, I had not heard of the seaplane carrier deception and I thought I knew all there was to know about Midway. Thank you!
@@mikebronicki6978 There's always more to be learned. It never ends, even though you think there is an end. There's always something hidden somewhere. A new POV.
Name a more Iconic trio than hornet enterprise and Yorktown. 3 tough sisters
Can you do a video on the USS Wolverine? There is very little information on it and its sister ship.
Fun fact during the raid at pearl the enterprise had some duntlesses in the air when the raid was going on most of them got shot down by zeros in some way puting her as the only u.s carrier to lose airmen that day.
The USS Hornet (CV-8) was sunk by four 24-inch (61cm) Type 93 Long Lance Torpedoes from the destroyers HIJMS Makigumo and HIJMS Akigumo. The U.S. Navy and it's flawed torpedoes (Mark 15), nine of which were fired into the burning Hornet failed to function properly and 400 5-inch shells, many of which failed to detonate likewise had little effect, forcing the U.S. Navy to leave the carrier that launched the Doolittle Raid to the hands of the Japanese to finish her off.
cant they just tow it ?
Towing a damage warship is a slow a delicate process. There must be a towing crew aboard the damage vessel who will be at risk and the vessel doing the towing is also at risk from collision, storms which must be avoided at all costs, and the greatest risk Japanese submarines. It would take a light cruiser to tow the stricken, partially flooded carrier at a speed of 5 to 8 knots on a straight course. An easy target for the any submarine they might come across. This was the major issue with towing the stricken carriers latter in the war. Even given the other risks, the Navy brass figured the threat from submarines was now minimal and the brass did not want to admit that they had lost (sunk) a carrier, even though none of the carriers were ever able to be restored to service.
It all comes down to the damage assessment at the time. If the ship is too badly damaged it is actually cheaper to simply build a new carrier. remember the U.S. had eight Essex class carrier under construction already, a lot of valuable dry dock space had been taken up by repairing and refitting the battleships from Pearl Harbor, a decision that cost the U.S. Navy the ability to finish building the remaining Iowa class battleships and the first two or three (depending who you talk to) Montana class battleships. You have to remember the mind set of the time. In 1942 the U.S. Navy had submarines paranoia, and for good reason given what the Germans were doing in the Atlantic. The U.S.S. Saratoga would be torpedoed twice, the U.S.S. Yorktown and U.S.S. Wasp were both sunk by Japanese submarines in 1942. And when you conduct a towing operation in hostile or contested waters the tow ship has to be escorted, so you end up placing multiple ships at risk.
@@davidc.g.1952 so i guess those escort ship were more important that the damage hornet?
Went to HS in Yorktown, Va. Shame CV10 is not in the York River there. Yorktown Naval Weapons Station is in deep enough water to accommodate Nimitz class (built exclusively at NN Shipyard, nearby) occasionally got to see one pass through.
Love your videos! Still - you left out Yorktown at Coral Sea - huge oops
2:07
At first I thought I was seeing a submerging carrier's island a plane trying to land it.
*on it
There should always be a badass ship named Enterprise
I have heard that some of the USS Hamman's depth charges went off as it sank, practically acting like a mine hit. Can you confirm this? Thank you for the content you are putting out, very informative videos.
Something definitely went off underwater after Hammann went down, but whether it was depth charges, torpedoes or magazines or a combination of all these is unknown. It's primary effect appears to have been killing many survivors in the water.
Drachinifel Thank you for replying to my comment, hope you have a great weekend.
Drachinifel boilers? Cold ocean water make boilers go boom.
Depth charges were normally set to safe unless about to be used
Common prob for crews escaping a sinking ship was their own depth charges that normally would be set to detonate at fifty feet when in combat until sonar readings said otherwise.
When CMDR E. Evans and USS JOHNSTON went down at Battle of Samar Island the depth charges were scuttled first. Many smaller ships like DD 's and DE's went down quite fast and crews never had time to do that with unfortunate results to the escaping men still in the water near the sinking vessel when the pre-set depth charges sank to fifty feet and the whole remaining rack would blow.
Yorktown... von Einzbern
_grieving Kiritsugu Emiya yells_
That’s an Azur Lane / Fate reference
Dear Drachinfel, may I suggest to please do a review on "HMS Sovereign of the Seas" the ship launched in 1637. That is if you have not already done a review on it. Thanks...
Could you do a video on the USS Oregon, hero of the Spanish American war and known as McKinley's Bulldog??...That's President William McKinley....
We got so close to have it preserved. In fact it was a museum ship in Portland Oregon for some time but during WWII the Navy decided the scrap value was more important given the war time conditions and put it on the chopping block. Pieces of it where however sold it the war bonds program which proved highly successful so at least some good came out of it. Alas to think the US almost had a preserved pre dreadnaught.
"The Bulldog of the fleet" SHOULD have been saved, no matter what! She deserved to be memorialized.
I clicked for the Yorktown and I got overwhelmed with information about 4 different types of aircraft carriers and 3 different vessels taking part in a battle. So which is which now?
Drach: Just watched Animarchy's Enterprise, Part 1, wherein he waxes enthusiastic about the Yorktown's "miraculous" 72-hour turnaround time for the repairs that restored the ship to operability in time for the Battle of Midway. Animarchy states his belief that the repair work deserves its own detailed video, saying that "If Drachinifel hasn't done one, I'll do one!" I fully agree that a Drachinian treatment of that subject would be most welcome and undoubtedly superb. ruclips.net/video/RCWB0SFEtN8/видео.html
CV-5 was ordered in Aug of 1933
Question, will you do something on the 327-foot “Secretary” class cutters. Also known as the Hamilton-class?
Not asking about a ship for review. But a comparison between 40 mm bofors and pom poms.
USS hornet next
Here is an interesting video you can do--USS United States cv 58
Please fix the sound
Are you referring to war time career are over all career technically the Hornet had the shortest over all career only being lunch right before the war started and sinking in October 1942 the Yorktown was lunch in 1936 so it had 4 years of peace time service
How about uss hornet
Yorktown Class
ruclips.net/video/d9ZJJLMepKU/видео.html
How was it that Yorktown’s escorting destroyers did not notice I-168?
My father served on the USS Bennington during Korea. Would you profile this one?
My Dad served on Bennington, by then a CVS, during Viet Nam.
How about the USS North Carolina BB55?
Tough ladies to sink. But I would MUCH rather have served on an Illustrious class ship with all that armour (albeit far less aircraft).
66% of all American pre-war, fleet carriers (I am not counting the Langley) that served in the Pacific were sunk. Whereas all four Illustrious class survived the war.
Yes, the American ships faced intense carrier battles against Japan. But sailing around Europe and in the Mediterranean was pretty, bloody dangerous as well. Especially when for most of their early war lives, the Brit self-defense aircraft were almost completely useless...particularly when going up against German, shore-based aircraft.
Thanks for this video.
Point well made. But the Americans wanted offensive ability above all else and their designs were awesomely powerful. 100 aircraft... damn.
Also, on hot summer days, as long as they were not under attack, sailors preferred the wood flight decks over those British steel decks. :D
@@mikebronicki6978 Yeah, those metal decks must have got MEGA hot in the Pacific. Had not thought of that before. I still would prefer armoured carriers...but serving on them on deck surely was no picnic.
There should be a CVN named Yorktown.
And a CVN named Hornet.
Great video but the volume is very low.
The Japanese tactics remind me of A.I. in rookie mode
It’s a shame the only examples still in existence are at the bottom of the ocean.
(Nov. 2019)
Speaking of the Battle of Midway, I’m looking forward to seeing the upcoming movie.
Why is the sound so low
*sad yorky noises*
the Yorktown did not "sink" the next day. it refused to sink, and they had to scuttle her.
USS Essex?
Next week :)
i168
the voice is really low mate.
It's my old microphone, the newer videos should be better.
Great videos! Audio sucks though... volume to low!
Are you deaf...?
Its thanks to Azur Lane that I now know these beauties exist. Helps you familiarize yourself with them first in Azur Lane, then get to know them better in videos. Not everybody can learn straight from textbooks needing a bridge to be formed, thus Azur Lane helps here to then find RUclips videos of them. Learning about each ship one-by-one.
Nice to hear these lovely aircraft carriers were strong girls. Makes me happy. Even with the hits they took, they still refused to sink, something they should be given respect for :)
Such a too much tragic loss of Japanese Fleet, considering those ships was ordered to defend their homeland and wreck Carriers on Task Force.
I don’t understand at this such American Propaganda, the Americans Carriers take some hits without catching much fire and slowly sinking, but the Japanese Carriers take too much fire.
Shouldn't it be for Japanese carriers? That even more hard to take down, to make sense of those odds against Americans.
Yorktown sinking is not enough for Japanese, it was not a tragedy, it was tragedy for Japanese being not effective.
You can romanticizes harsh history and brutal naval warfare but in my opinion the purpose of Yorktown was evil.
IJN: why do I heard boss music?
It was not luck that the aircraft carriers Enterprise and Lexington were not at Pearl Harbor when the Japanese struck. Roosevelt had had the Navy order them to leave Pearl in order to perform the fool's errand of ferrying planes to Wake and Midway, because he knew that the Japanese attack was on the way to Pearl, and he was willing to sacrifice a bunch of obsolete WWI battleships to get the U.S. into WWII but not the aircraft carriers he would need to win that war in the Pacific.
You do realize that even *if* the US was willing to allow themselves to suffer a major defeat in a Japanese preemptive strike prior to WWII, the expected targets would have been either the Philippines or Singapore, not Hawaii in the middle of the Pacific Ocean and nowhere near Japanese territory (especially with the closest islands to the southeast being the direction that US patrol aircraft were searching prior to the attack, which came from the north)?
Also, *obsolete* WWI battleships at that point constituted 100% of the USN's battleship fleet, which was still considered by the whole world the primary capital ship of the navy versus the carrier being an auxiliary support craft. Moreover, the only obsolete battleship in the USN at that point arguably was the USS Arkansas, versus most of the other ones being a match for anything short of a Nagato or Yamato class in the IJN.
If the US had actually expected an attack at Pearl Harbor, being attacked in a time of peace would have been justification enough for war; at that point, they would have had their aircraft ready and their crews prepping for combat, rather than ignoring radar images (they assumed they were Army B-17's), complaining about crazy navy pilots flying too low, or leaving their fighters parked nicely packed together to make it harder for saboteurs to get to them but very easy to strafe on the ground (or shell, since battleships did escort the Pearl Harbor carrier fleet). The USN even sank a Japanese destroyer outside Pearl Harbor, and it wasn't until AFTER the war that they even admitted the event actually happened (versus during, assuming the commander in charge was imagining things).
You have so many ignorant mistakes in there that it isn't even worth taking the time to correct them all. Sorry, I'm not running a school.
@@JBrandeis1
Your greatest mistake is thinking the US wanted to lose its battleships, when these were the main force of any naval power (even with the carriers, the IJN thought of the *Yamato* as their decisive weapon)
Contrary to your tin foil story, carriers only proved their worth DURING the war, before it, they were seen as a novelty at minimum, an experiment at most
You might also have to ask yourself why you didn't mention the surprise attack on the Philippines, Malaya, Singapore, and Hong Kong. on the same date as Pearl Harbor
because every fucking conspiracy loon like yourself leaves out those little details
Please write to me again after you find out what you're talking about. Thank you.
@@JBrandeis1 you clearly do not know what YOU are talking about. Your argument has been torn to shreds, either refute the arguments of the fellas who have done so, or admit you cannot.