Why wasnt a tennessee class or any other capital ship that survived the attack on pearl harbor preserved? I would have loved to visit california or nevada
"challenging work, out of -doors- port... And you'll never go hungry, because as long as there are two people left on the planet, someone's going to want -someone else- another battleship dead."
In case you're wondering how the Washington "lost" its first admiral: He went overboard while crossing the atlantic and when he was spotted in the water two hours later he was already floating face-down. Nobody's exactly sure _how_ he ended up in the water and all kinds of theories, from simply losing his footing in a heavy sea through a heart attack to suicide have been, ahem, _floated._
I was wondering. I have to look into this one. Although as you noted, we'll almost certainly never know. The Washington certainly had a lot of action. And what a beautiful ship. A shame she was scrapped.
The more interesting part of the story is that someone "saw" a man in the water and a full role call was taken. all hand were accounted for so a confused captain called a second as the sailor who called man overboard was sure. after the second roll call showed no hands missing the captain decided to alert the admiral to the problem... only they couldn't find him.
@@rippervtol9516 does a captain get in trouble for "losing" an admiral? "if you're going to keep losing admirals like this, we're going to start taking it out of your allowance."
@@jyshot You,talking to the ATF, and possibly the army; "Oh you meant 16" barrel length.... right.... I thought you meant bore 🙃 well I mean I've got it now, surely I'm allowed grandfathered rights?"
@@jyshot "hello police? He's fired that bloody gun again, it's stripped the tiles off my roof, blew down my shed, and I can't find the cat...." "Yes ma'am we're well aware he fired it, *every* car alarm in town is going off....." 🤣🤣🤣
@@glenchapman3899 If I'm not mistaken that raid was so successful that the Navy trained for and modeled future operations after it. For example many submarines today are used to covertly deploy and recover Navy Seal teams.
@@wamyx8Nz I’m not sure when the train raid occurred but special forces had been deployed since Guadalcanal landings. My boys Great Grandfather was a Raider in Carlsons 2nd Raiders. The Raiders were let loose off Makin Island from USS Nautilus and Aurgonaut.
I totally agree. I have a long hood semi truck with a 100 lights and the next time I get stuck behind a couple fleet trucks I’m going to say it over the radio and hope they they get out of my way
Interesting, my father, a USNA graduate, was head of the CIC and also commanded a 16" gun turret, turret number 2, on the Washington. We built a model of the ship when I was about 6. It didn't mean much in the mid 1960s. However when I read Neptune's inferno several years ago the power of the gun directors was perfectly clear.
@@Edax_Royeaux Many Submarine captains were in their mid 20s to early 30s, commanding a bunch of 18 year olds. People grew up faster back then. None of this sitting in mommy's basement and watching anime all day at 35 crap.
@@wamyx8Nz Funny, the Boomers and even the Greatest Generation don't seem all that intelligent to me these days when trying to work a smartphone. I doubt the grew up faster back than. Sure they probably were more mature, but you need an Admiral with decades of experience and technical knowledge, not a mature teenager. Submarine captains were young because in WWII, the submarines had the highest casualties rates of any other US branch of service, much like Germany's submarine service. As the German U-Boat captains and their crews got younger and younger, their effectiveness also completely collapsed. It got the point that any officer who survived 3 U-Boat patrols was considered the "old guard" in Germany. It doesn't matter how fast these German kids grew up when they were sunk on their first patrol.
Even if _Iowa_ and _New Jersey_ had gone North with Halsey, and _South Dakota_ and _Massachusetts_ been with Lee in Task Force 34 with _Washington_ and _Alabama,_ along with all their supporting Cruisers and Destroyers. (Remember, _New Jersey_ was Halseys Flagship during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.) Had TF 34 been guarding the San Bernadino Strait, it still would have been a bad day for the IJN. Imagine radar directed 2700 lb armor piercing shells raining into your ships, and you can't maneuver without running aground in the confines of that passage.
@@bkjeong4302 ; Not even Yamato could have taken that kind of beating for long. They would have to come through the Strait single file. They would have been picked off one by one.
@@bkjeong4302 Considering how freakishly superior American fire control was, and materiel quality, both gun and shell-wise, Yamato would've become just a big punching bag turned into swiss shit.
@@Powerhaus88 American fire control was superior, but not THAT superior (if you look only at the actual fire control system itself and not the data input, which is where the use of FC radar gives Americans a major advantage in poor visibility). A lot of people seem to have this idea the IJN literally did not have any sort of fire control system at all, but this is false-like any other navy they had mechanical fire control for the main and secondary batteries (they never got AA fire control, but that was something only the USN ever figured out in WWII). While their best FC computers weren’t quite at the same level as late-war USN fire control computers, they were still broadly equivalent to 1941/42 USN or British fire control computers in terms of accuracy. Where American gunnery has the upper hand over the Japanese has much more to do with the data input/output to and from the fire control system and less to do with the system itself. - as mentioned above, the Americans could use FC radar to feed data into their fire control systems while the Japanese relied only on optics to do the same, giving the Americans a major advantage in poor visibility; during daylight this was significantly less of an advantage. - unlike most other navies’ fire control systems, which calculated a firing solution and then had the gunners aim based on that solution, American fire control systems (from 1944 onwards at least, not sure if it also applied earlier on) were directly connected to the turrets and could remotely control the gunnery without the gunners doing it, eliminating a potential source of human screw-ups.
@Harctor, I was born in Washington so I like the ship too. I’m really angry they scrapped it cause I want to see it. Also, kinda disrespectful to scrap a ship bearing the name of our first president
So did my father. And then went back to the reunions until his death. After the war, he joined the Merchant Marines and became a Captain retiring as a San Francisco Bar Pilot. I have a book from one of the reunions and I will look for your fathers name. Shipmates they were. Great men.
Hello to all you Navy Juniors! My great uncle was VAdm Lee. As he said to his crew when he was awarded the Navy Cross, "I wear it. You won it." He was proud of his crew.
As a Washington native (both my grandfathers worked at Bremerton shipyard and father was on the Johnston) I always wished the Washington could have been moored as a museum ship in Bremerton. We had the Might Mo when I was a kid which was some consolation, and have the Turner Joy now. Dad showed me after-steering on the TJ, where he was stationed during Samar.
Can agree. I think it is a real crime that we unceremoniously scrapped one of very few battleships to sink another capital ship in combat during the war.
"...she lost her admiral along the way." Have you seen the admiral? No, is he gone again? Yes. Damnit! When are they going to learn to put him out his leash? Well get some cheese and let's go chase him down. AGAIN.
Washington: - The path of the righteous battleship is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil ships. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his sistership's keeper and the finder of lost destroyers. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to torpedo and destroy my sisterships. And you will know my name is the Washington when I lay my vengeance upon thee. *16-INCH BLAM*
My brother is currently assigned to the Virginia Class Fast Attack Sub USS Washington SSN-787. I wanted to be in the Navy for a really long time, but can't join, so this but if vicariously carrying on the tradition of a proud fighting ship really makes me happy.
Always cool to see videos of my grandfather's ship he served on in WWII. He was in the superfiring turret crew, turret two. He was very proud if his ship's service in the war, said they had the best gunnery crew in the Pacific fleet.
My grandfather served aboard Washington in one of the 16” turrets in 1944-45. Although I heard a few stories, (apparently, riding up the ammo and powder hoists was a thing), I didn’t know much about the ship’s history when he was alive, so I never got the chance to ask him about many battles and Admiral Lee. Wish he were still around!
My father served aboard as well. Took many years before he would talk about it. There are a few of us on this thread that have fathers who were there... You are all my brothers.
*Ship Suggestion:* U.S.S O’Bannon (DD-450), not only did she have an absolutely incredible career, but she also has the distinction of “sinking” a Japanese sub with potatoes. Ill let you figure that one out for yourself ;)
An interesting story, denied by the ships captain and the real story was the sub was hit with shells from a distance and when the ship got closer it could not fire upon the sub because they were too close, the ships cook suggested they were so close he could hit it with a potato, the Maine potato growers association turned it into a thing.......
@@whatdafarkenhell7110 Correct, the Japanese in confusion thought the potatoes were hand grenades, buying the O’Bannon time to get some distance and use the main guns, ultimately sinking the sub. Hence why i put “sinking” in quotations
@@Francoisyyy if i am correct, which you state I am, then no potatoes were thrown so the redt of the story is ...bullshit, the sub was hit and going down when the ship approached.
@@SteamCrane I know exactly what you mean and it hurts lol. Battle 360 is and older show, back when they were still actually making history documentaries. Their RUclips channel has been posting full episodes online.
13 Battle Stars, the same as South Dakota. North Carolina had more, the most of any battleship in U.S. service if I am not mistaken. This and her sister did some very heavy lifting during the war and despite their design shortcomings were a good return on investment.
Also... if I remember correctly the name of USS Washington's first admiral, was John W. Wilcox jr, he was the one that fell overboard while traveling from the US to Scapa Flow in the North Atlantic Ocean
At least when you are hitting friendly ships you know you have close friends, when you just lose a ship it is kinda embarrassing and you wish you had close friends.
"Lost her Admiral on the way." I love how you put that. I read a great book not too terribly wrong ago written by one of the black Steward's Mates who was on Washington at Scapa Flow, and he talked about Admiral Wilcox's seeming mental state in the days before his death.
On September 15, 1942 a Long Lance torpedo from Japanese submarine I-19 struck USS North Carolina, blowing an absolutely gigantic hole in her side and knocking that battleship out of the Guadalcanal campaign. Later, on October 27 1942, Japanese submarine I-21 fired a spread of torpedoes at USS Washington herself. Fortunately for Washington the torpedoes narrowly missed. One torpedo actually exploded in her wake. Lucky, lucky USS Washington.
During the 15 November 1942 fight at Guadalcanal, _Washington_ had OVER 40 torpedoes fired at her, and ALL of them missed! Her Guardian Angel was working overtime that night! 😉
For further history of the Washington during the war, I recommend the book "Battleship at War: The Epic Story of the USS Washington" by Ivan Musicant. Good read that is filled with first hand accounts, daily life, and (of course) the major engagements.
In some ways the Washington's action was instrumental in avoiding a prolongation of the war in the Pacific theatre. It achieved this by driving the Japanese back out of "The Slot" alongside Guadalcanal, thereby stopping them short of their planned bombardment of Henderson field as well as resulting in placing the Japanese transports re-supplying their troops in harm's way, to their ultimate demise. The sum of all this was maintaining Guadalcanal as Japan's "starvation Island" and sealing the fate of the Japanese troops stationed there for ultimate defeat.
If anyone is interested in alternate history, I can highly recommend "the knight's gambit" by Scott Ward. In this novel, USS Washington fights against Tirpitz after the German Navy destroyed convoy PQ17 in the Arctic Ocean. A very realistic and enjoyable read.
@@ReichLife I dont want to spoil people but Tirpitz and several German heavy cruisers catch PQ17 off the North Cape and gun down most of the convoy. Battleships HMS Duke of York and USS Washington arrive at the scene, and this results in a running battle back towards the Norwegian coast. It is very well written, from different perspectives, ranging from Hitler and Churchill to the admirals and battleship captains to enlisted men on several different ships and Luftwaffe pilots. The author also included a lot of technical background knowledge.
Agreed... The Sodaks are just a lil bit too much "function over form", and the Iowas...meh... I think the NCs are just about right, although adding some Iowa bow would make them aesthetically perfect!!
I see the ships of the strange Battle of Campeche has now made it to the list, thanks Drach, I know it’s gonna be a wait and a half, but this Texan is happy to see it.
There was no reason the state of Washington couldn't have raised the funds to save her as a museum ship. Instead there is little to attract people to Bremerton where the USS Missouri once served as a tourist attraction. Now they just have the destroyer Turner Joy.
Even the USS Enterprise (CV-6), the most decorated US naval ship ever couldn't get enough money from New York to become s museum ship there. It is sad, but unfortunately a giant heap of steel in a fast growing country is just too valuable to just sit there.
SoDak stole a kill back by sailing back to the U.S. first and gave a the press conference and the press were dumb enough to believe her captain. So they were even? Oh, did the USN expect blue on blue attacks whenever SoDak and Washie are within the gun range of each other for the remainder of the WW2?
@@thanakonpraepanich4284 Mind explaining that tale for what South Dakota's captain and possibly crew did back at the US that drew Washington's permanent wrath for her?
Sodak’s nickname was thereafter “The Sh__ty Dick” from the Washington’s crew, the BS “battleship X” stories, including their glorious devastation of Kirishima all dropped on the NY press by Gatch the douche nozzle, they were heros, they did it all.... according to Gatch
I deleted the comment. Google does comes back with some sensitive results for that term when searched. Unintended. It did happen though and I did pause the video and ask her to repeat what she said. (I was expecting a package) and it is on my list and I did LOL.
"Hey, Johnny, have you seen the Admiral?" _"No, i thought you had him?"_ "You had him last!" _"But i left him in the cupboard where you told me to"_ "Well i just checked and he isn't in there.." _"So where is he then?"_ "I DON'T KNOW!" _"How do you lose an ADMIRAL?!"_ "Alright, that's it, i want this battleship turned UPSIDE DOWN, RIGHT BLOODY NOW!" **Depth chargers shake the ship** "NOT LITERALLY!!"
I believe she was offered to Washington State after she was decommissioned. I'm not sure of the whys and wherefores, but obviously, we dropped the ball.
As a Seattle native, it's too bad this ship wasn't preserved for this state. But in some irony, I suppose, most of the US nuclear sub fleet and many of the Navy's carriers are home stationed here.
@@raychn8783 There certainly are some that SHOULD have been saved (USS Enterprise and HMS Warspite immediately come to mind) but it takes a lot of money to convert and maintain an old ship as a museum. Judging by the number of museum ships that are always in danger of running out of funds I don't think it would have be feasible to save many more, let alone EVERY SINGLE one.
@@devobronc Actions. I understand USS Massachusetts suffered a near identical failure engaging the defecting Vichy French, though her chief didn't overreact to the problem limiting the impact on that engagement.
My favorite BB, commanded by my favorite BB admiral, what could be so disappointing with this combination(?), oh that would be Drach's last comment at the end.
@@gregorywright4918 It would have been a good memorial if placed in either area. She lasted through several major battles, it just seems a waste that the Battleships were sent to the scrappers.
I think she should have been moored in Seattle, right along the waterfront for everyone to see. The state of Washington would have made enough tourists money to keep her well-cared for indefinitely. Of course, with the idiots running Seattle today.... who knows! These are the types to kill the goose that layed golden eggs!!!
"We brake for nobody" Bumper sticker shared by Spaceball 1 and King George V. When fighting the Yamato, who needs the Washington when we had the Johnston!
Washington sure shoulda kept and preserved this gem. I visited USS Missouri in Bremerton in the early 80s before her final modernization and recommissioning. (When I lived in Washington state as well). I sure wish USS Washington was a museum there so I could have visited her too.
@@TheBruceGday I went aboard Missouri as a kid around the same time... Do you recall what the cruiser was that was on the other side of the pier from her??? Ive been trying to remember/find out, but having no luck...!! Oh fun fact... I got orders to serve on Missouri about 9yrs later...!!!
Poor Washington, the only US battleship that actually fought and defeated an enemy battleship was scrapped while her sister ship became a memorial. The vibration problem was predicted by marine engineers during her design phase, as the difference in lengths of her prop shafts was too little to prevent sympathetic vibrations. The solution was at least an extra 16 feet in length midships which would entail 600 tons of weight over the treaty limit. The idea that the extra length would also have resulted in a higher speed and extra room for fuel and stores (and guns!) didn't sway the board of construction. So the fate of these ships was set; they were good enough, but like the South Dakotas, they became war time ships only.
As sleek as the Iowas are, I think that the South Dakotas and the North Carolinas looked more proportional. Kinda bummed out that Washington wasn't saved, why do people almost always end up scrapping the ships with attitudes...
The first naval battle of Guadalcanal has been described as a bar room brawl at night with the lights off. The IJN was coming down The Slot in two rows at night when it was pitch dark. The US Navy was outgunned in smaller ships so sailed between their line of ships firing in both directions. The IJN radar couldn't distinguish friend from foe or if those were the islands that dotted the coastlines. The battle turned into a melee where US destroyers started firing on IJN battleships and cruisers from 400 yards away since their big guns couldn't be depressed far enough to hit them. The destroyers raked their superstructure to destroy the searchlights, fire control systems and their radar masts. Both fleets were traveling at 30 knots so basically did battle at 60 miles per hour for 5 minutes before going into melee. The IJN kept firing at each other for nearly a hour after the USN ships sailed away or sank. The IJN turned around and returned to base. They sent out more ships the next night to shell Henderson Field in the pitch dark and ran into Chaing Lee and the USS Washington instead. The British/Australian Navies were there but didn't take part in the action. They were guarding the area Lee had to pass thru and told the approaching US vessels to turn around. They got a message " This is Chaing Lee. I'm coming thru." which made their destroyers to get out of way . Lee freaked out the IJN by landing big shells on target without the need to straddle shots to get the range. The USN also had become experts at reloading the big guns extremely fast which made the IJN believe those were machine cannons.
'Decades later, a new hypothesis surfaced based on the reports of Wilcox seeming pale and white while on deck on the morning of 27 March, speculating that he may have been seasick and had rushed to the ship's side to vomit, but had mistakenly selected an area where lifelines were not rigged, falling overboard as a result." That actually makes sense, and if he was seasick he probably would have preferred a spot to vomit where he was least likely to be seen by anyone.
@@gregorywright4918 Just as good; I suppose one might even confuse some stroke symptoms for seasickness but will stop guessing further. Sounds like a medical.
Really enjoy your content. Just wondering though if you could consider doing a story on a series of battles won by Admiral Yi during Japanese invasion into the Korean Peninsula in 1592-1598.
1:43 historically it was originally dubbed the "King George the Fifth effect", but then someone thought that a butterfly causing a storm might sell it better...
I would like to see a history of the USS West Virginia, from her early pre-war life to being sunk at Pearl Harbor, being refloated, repaired and upgraded, and, finally, returning to duty and her presence in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender ceremonies. We have seen glimpses of her in your excellent trilogy on the post-December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor series, but nothing specifically about the ship herself. Thanking you in advance.
In yesterday's live stream he talked about it as his favorite alternative history scenario, especially after realizing it would only be 4 v 4 for battleships. I believe he also said it was now on the list to explore in a special video. I figure either Iowa or New Jersey takes on Yamato and tries to hold on until the other three finish off their opponents and come help.
@@kemarisite I would expect Iowa's radar fire control to edge things in her favor, but she would probably still be a floating wreck by the time the other 3 ships trounce their (IMO outmatched) IJN opponents and then gang up on Yamato.
I've looked at this a lot, it's one of those "could go either way" kind of things, but if Oldendorf has hustled up with Task Group 77.2, (limited ammo and all) It would have been a solid 2 v 1 the hard way for Japan- with the rest of the 3rd fleet still yet to arrive..
It depends on where the engagement occurs. If, like Surigao Strait, they catch the Japanese exiting the San Bernardino Strait it would be a repeat of the night before. In the open in depends on visibility. If the US force can hide behind smoke and/or weather it wouldn't be much of a contest. Otherwise it quickly becomes a 4 on 1. The most likely result of the appearance of TF 34 is that Kurita turns around and goes home.
@@Noble713 the two Kongos are grossly outmatched regardless. Nagato may be competitive with a North Carolina or SoDak (MAY be) but is more likely to be badly outmatched by the second Iowa. From what I'm seeing, TF 34 would be a little low on cruisers and destroyers compared with Center Force, but would also be backed up by the aircraft (over 300) and screen from (potentially) all of TF 77.4, a total of nine destroyers and twelve destroyer escorts. So while it "could go either way", I think it noticably favors the Americans.
Thank you! You make a mundane subject...naval history prior to 1950 seem alive and interesting! Your unique wit(xthepond) is wonderful! Always a highlight to see a post. Thank You and Happy Easter.
Wow... Id resprectfully disagree...Naval history pre-'50 is anything but!!! Once the age of missiles came about, thats when things became (insert yawn emoji here)...!!! The budgets, personalities, competitions, treatys, designers, ideas vindicated and failed, as well as the ships themselves, are pretty fascinating, and a lifetime of studying them can still barely scratch the surface!!
My father served aboard Washington, she never lost a man to enemy action, although around a dozen crewmen were lost when the Indiana cut across her bow during UNREP, and one 3rd class electricians mate died from poisoned booze at Noumea, and one gun crew member caught a tiny splinter that barely broke the skin of his arse at 2nd night of Guadalcanal, and a secondary caliber projectile pierced a radar antenna the same night. Admiral Lee logged 9 major caliber hits on Kirishima, but the Japanese DCA reported 22 due to hits at or just below the waterline were spotted as shorts. This was validated by Robert Ballard when he surveyed the wreck. A good amount of Washington’s heavy armor was used as shielding at one of the Nuke research labs.... Sandia off the top of my head. Great reference book: “Battleship at War” Ivan Musicant, out of print but can be found.
Lee was aboard one of the slower of the fast battleships. The two Iowas were detached with some cruisers and destroyers and sent ahead, but still failed to intercept Kurita before he entered the straits.
Pinned post for Q&A :)
What is your opinion on the main battery guns of the H class battleships? And how effective would you think they would be in ww2?
Why wasnt a tennessee class or any other capital ship that survived the attack on pearl harbor preserved? I would have loved to visit california or nevada
Would raising, rebuilding and turning the Prinz Eugen into a Museum ship be possible, and if so, than how much would it cost?
Is the USS Washington and its captain/admiral Lee the greatest commander and ship combination?
Video about SS-161 Stingray?
Admiral Kondo: This is so much easier when they’re barely shooting back.
Admiral Lee: I completely agree.
Admiral Lee: SPEAK UP! I CAN'T HEAR YOU OVER THE GUNS! (fixed it for you)
Admiral Lee: "So I started blasting"
"Stand back. We're coming through. This is Ching Lee and I'm all out of bubblegum."
The only damage Washington took was a round through the air search radar.
*I still can’t seem to hit anything*
"Sniping's a good job, mate."
-Admiral Ching Lee, probably
“Stand aside, I am coming thru.... this is Ching Lee”. -Admiral Ching Lee
"challenging work, out of -doors- port... And you'll never go hungry, because as long as there are two people left on the planet, someone's going to want -someone else- another battleship dead."
sniping? Lee opened up at 8400 yards with both the primary and secondary battery. they closed to 5900 yards and delivered the coup de gras.
@@MrSGL21 Washington set Arashio ablaze from a distance with secondary battery fire, devastating her...
We had to wait until 1980 for another Olympic competitor to win seven medals. He was the best shot in the world.
In case you're wondering how the Washington "lost" its first admiral: He went overboard while crossing the atlantic and when he was spotted in the water two hours later he was already floating face-down. Nobody's exactly sure _how_ he ended up in the water and all kinds of theories, from simply losing his footing in a heavy sea through a heart attack to suicide have been, ahem, _floated._
Sailor 1: "This admiral's a cock-up and he's gonna get us all killed."
Sailor 2: " Time for a 'change of command' then."
I was wondering. I have to look into this one. Although as you noted, we'll almost certainly never know. The Washington certainly had a lot of action. And what a beautiful ship. A shame she was scrapped.
The more interesting part of the story is that someone "saw" a man in the water and a full role call was taken. all hand were accounted for so a confused captain called a second as the sailor who called man overboard was sure. after the second roll call showed no hands missing the captain decided to alert the admiral to the problem... only they couldn't find him.
@@rippervtol9516 does a captain get in trouble for "losing" an admiral?
"if you're going to keep losing admirals like this, we're going to start taking it out of your allowance."
@@BlackMasterRoshi I hope that would only apply to sailors and not admirals.
Again, a 16" rifle is a perfect home-defense and plinking weapon :)
Every good American should own one 👍
@@jyshot
You,talking to the ATF, and possibly the army;
"Oh you meant 16" barrel length.... right.... I thought you meant bore 🙃 well I mean I've got it now, surely I'm allowed grandfathered rights?"
@@mor4y then again just think of the noise complaints from the neighbors
@@jyshot So what? What are they going to do you have at least one 16" gun if not the full turret.
@@jyshot "hello police? He's fired that bloody gun again, it's stripped the tiles off my roof, blew down my shed, and I can't find the cat...."
"Yes ma'am we're well aware he fired it, *every* car alarm in town is going off....." 🤣🤣🤣
USS Samuel B Roberts: Destroyer Escort that fought like a battleship.
USS Washington: Battleship that sneaks like a PT Boat.
And then you had the USS Barb, sub that acted like a commando team and sunk a train
@@glenchapman3899 HMS Glowworm. Guided surface torpedo. And Enterprise...Took on the entire Japanese Navy.
@@glenchapman3899 If I'm not mistaken that raid was so successful that the Navy trained for and modeled future operations after it. For example many submarines today are used to covertly deploy and recover Navy Seal teams.
@@wamyx8Nz although the us took it boss level, the Italians really excelled at this sort of thing
@@wamyx8Nz I’m not sure when the train raid occurred but special forces had been deployed since Guadalcanal landings. My boys Great Grandfather was a Raider in Carlsons 2nd Raiders. The Raiders were let loose off Makin Island from USS Nautilus and Aurgonaut.
Ah yes, USS Washington - the only ship with a specific captain with actual dead eye skill.
HMS Warspite: "Excuse me old chap...?!"
@@ScienceChap Who? Never heard of her.
Adm. Lee was a champion marksman. He was the one behind Washington's success.
Meanwhile USS Massachusettes had very wide dispersion that ships within the Jean Bart were also hit.
Scharnhorst as well
Stand aside I’m coming through
Possibly the most bad ass radio signal ever transmitted.
I totally agree. I have a long hood semi truck with a 100 lights and the next time I get stuck behind a couple fleet trucks I’m going to say it over the radio and hope they they get out of my way
@@dennisfox8673 It was impressive. But it was 'Nuts' that takes my number one spot. (General McAuliffe)
@@daneblackburn613 Put some 15 inch guns first.💥
The interesting tidbit is that Lee knew how the radar fire control system worked better than the gunnery division.
yes Drach covers this in his video on the engagement
Well, there's a reason you promote Admirals after decades of service, you just don't put a 20 year old in charge of the fleet.
Interesting, my father, a USNA graduate, was head of the CIC and also commanded a 16" gun turret, turret number 2, on the Washington. We built a model of the ship when I was about 6. It didn't mean much in the mid 1960s. However when I read Neptune's inferno several years ago the power of the gun directors was perfectly clear.
@@Edax_Royeaux Many Submarine captains were in their mid 20s to early 30s, commanding a bunch of 18 year olds.
People grew up faster back then. None of this sitting in mommy's basement and watching anime all day at 35 crap.
@@wamyx8Nz Funny, the Boomers and even the Greatest Generation don't seem all that intelligent to me these days when trying to work a smartphone. I doubt the grew up faster back than. Sure they probably were more mature, but you need an Admiral with decades of experience and technical knowledge, not a mature teenager. Submarine captains were young because in WWII, the submarines had the highest casualties rates of any other US branch of service, much like Germany's submarine service. As the German U-Boat captains and their crews got younger and younger, their effectiveness also completely collapsed. It got the point that any officer who survived 3 U-Boat patrols was considered the "old guard" in Germany. It doesn't matter how fast these German kids grew up when they were sunk on their first patrol.
(Washington, Alabama, Iowa, and New Jersey vs Kongō, Haruna, Nagato, and Yamato) That would have been one hell of a clash if it happen.
Even if _Iowa_ and _New Jersey_ had gone North with Halsey, and _South Dakota_ and _Massachusetts_ been with Lee in Task Force 34 with _Washington_ and _Alabama,_ along with all their supporting Cruisers and Destroyers. (Remember, _New Jersey_ was Halseys Flagship during the Battle of Leyte Gulf.)
Had TF 34 been guarding the San Bernadino Strait, it still would have been a bad day for the IJN.
Imagine radar directed 2700 lb armor piercing shells raining into your ships, and you can't maneuver without running aground in the confines of that passage.
That’s just all four American ships vs. Yamato, the others are so old and undergunned that they may well not exist.
@@bkjeong4302 ;
Not even Yamato could have taken that kind of beating for long. They would have to come through the Strait single file. They would have been picked off one by one.
@@bkjeong4302 Considering how freakishly superior American fire control was, and materiel quality, both gun and shell-wise, Yamato would've become just a big punching bag turned into swiss shit.
@@Powerhaus88
American fire control was superior, but not THAT superior (if you look only at the actual fire control system itself and not the data input, which is where the use of FC radar gives Americans a major advantage in poor visibility).
A lot of people seem to have this idea the IJN literally did not have any sort of fire control system at all, but this is false-like any other navy they had mechanical fire control for the main and secondary batteries (they never got AA fire control, but that was something only the USN ever figured out in WWII). While their best FC computers weren’t quite at the same level as late-war USN fire control computers, they were still broadly equivalent to 1941/42 USN or British fire control computers in terms of accuracy.
Where American gunnery has the upper hand over the Japanese has much more to do with the data input/output to and from the fire control system and less to do with the system itself.
- as mentioned above, the Americans could use FC radar to feed data into their fire control systems while the Japanese relied only on optics to do the same, giving the Americans a major advantage in poor visibility; during daylight this was significantly less of an advantage.
- unlike most other navies’ fire control systems, which calculated a firing solution and then had the gunners aim based on that solution, American fire control systems (from 1944 onwards at least, not sure if it also applied earlier on) were directly connected to the turrets and could remotely control the gunnery without the gunners doing it, eliminating a potential source of human screw-ups.
My favourite ship of all time, just so badass
I still prefer Wisky's response to a land based artillery strike: temper temper.
@Harctor, I was born in Washington so I like the ship too. I’m really angry they scrapped it cause I want to see it. Also, kinda disrespectful to scrap a ship bearing the name of our first president
Great to see a video on USS Washington. My father served on her during WWII.
My Dad also served on the Washington as a chief machinist mate, Atlanta and Pacific
My Dad was Boatsan Mate on Her
So did my father. And then went back to the reunions until his death. After the war, he joined the Merchant Marines and became a Captain retiring as a San Francisco Bar Pilot. I have a book from one of the reunions and I will look for your fathers name. Shipmates they were. Great men.
Hello to all you Navy Juniors! My great uncle was VAdm Lee. As he said to his crew when he was awarded the Navy Cross, "I wear it. You won it." He was proud of his crew.
As a Washington native (both my grandfathers worked at Bremerton shipyard and father was on the Johnston) I always wished the Washington could have been moored as a museum ship in Bremerton. We had the Might Mo when I was a kid which was some consolation, and have the Turner Joy now. Dad showed me after-steering on the TJ, where he was stationed during Samar.
I was born in Washington state, I agree with you they could have kept the USS Washington as our state museum .
Can agree. I think it is a real crime that we unceremoniously scrapped one of very few battleships to sink another capital ship in combat during the war.
"...she lost her admiral along the way." Have you seen the admiral? No, is he gone again? Yes. Damnit! When are they going to learn to put him out his leash? Well get some cheese and let's go chase him down. AGAIN.
We put a bell on ours, just saying.
Well unfortunately that first admiral feel overboard and drowned.
The whole matter was quickly hushed up. Rumors persist the man had terrible depression, and jumped from the ship.
We will never know.
Last time I was up this early the South Dakota still had electrical power.
Washington:
- The path of the righteous battleship is beset on all sides by the inequities of the selfish and the tyranny of evil ships. Blessed is he who, in the name of charity and good will, shepherds the weak through the valley of darkness, for he is truly his sistership's keeper and the finder of lost destroyers. And I will strike down upon thee with great vengeance and furious anger those who attempt to torpedo and destroy my sisterships. And you will know my name is the Washington when I lay my vengeance upon thee.
*16-INCH BLAM*
Lol🤣
"What?"
@@rickkennett3192 pulp fiction.
Who can read this without using Samuel Jackson's voice?
@@Kevin_Kennelly impossible
I'm beginning to think that all the best Battleships had collisions with other friendly battleships.
How much testosterone had Mogami in that case xd?
Some also enjoyed friendly relations with various sand bars as well.
That's how you rub off luck from other ships.
@@-_-9440 Negative, they were running from a sub first time. They were running from a battle the second time.
It happened on many a DD as well.
The Johnston covered for her off Samar.
I'm sure that a naval historian is aware of this...
Johnston covered Taffy 3. Taffy 3 were escort carriers, not battleships.
USS Washington: Sorry, got to go north, orders.
USS Johnston: No problem, we’ll cover for you until you get back.
@@bobkohl6779 They were implying that Johnston fought like a battleship, not saying that she escorted one.
KING GEORGE V: I can steam over a Destroyer.
WASHINGTON: *psh* Line me up a Battleship
My brother is currently assigned to the Virginia Class Fast Attack Sub USS Washington SSN-787. I wanted to be in the Navy for a really long time, but can't join, so this but if vicariously carrying on the tradition of a proud fighting ship really makes me happy.
Always cool to see videos of my grandfather's ship he served on in WWII. He was in the superfiring turret crew, turret two. He was very proud if his ship's service in the war, said they had the best gunnery crew in the Pacific fleet.
Many people agree.
Not such which turret, but that's where my grandfather was. I went to one of the reunions in 1996.
@@sleepytrucker3454 that's really cool they may have known each other 👍
My grandfather served aboard Washington in one of the 16” turrets in 1944-45. Although I heard a few stories, (apparently, riding up the ammo and powder hoists was a thing), I didn’t know much about the ship’s history when he was alive, so I never got the chance to ask him about many battles and Admiral Lee. Wish he were still around!
My father served aboard as well. Took many years before he would talk about it. There are a few of us on this thread that have fathers who were there... You are all my brothers.
My grandfather served as a gunners mate on her as well. He got court martialed for killing a downed kamikaze pilot.
Read Battleship at War by I.Musicant &Battleship Commander Admiral Lee by P.Stillwell.
*Ship Suggestion:* U.S.S O’Bannon (DD-450), not only did she have an absolutely incredible career, but she also has the distinction of “sinking” a Japanese sub with potatoes. Ill let you figure that one out for yourself ;)
A ship named after an Irishman using potatoes as weapons...hmm...
An interesting story, denied by the ships captain and the real story was the sub was hit with shells from a distance and when the ship got closer it could not fire upon the sub because they were too close, the ships cook suggested they were so close he could hit it with a potato, the Maine potato growers association turned it into a thing.......
@@whatdafarkenhell7110 Correct, the Japanese in confusion thought the potatoes were hand grenades, buying the O’Bannon time to get some distance and use the main guns, ultimately sinking the sub. Hence why i put “sinking” in quotations
@@Francoisyyy if i am correct, which you state I am, then no potatoes were thrown so the redt of the story is ...bullshit, the sub was hit and going down when the ship approached.
Just when you thought they couldn't find space to mount another gun, they install a potato gun.
My father was a plank crew member of BB 56 and served all through the pacific as communications chief.
I was literally just watching the History channel Battle 360 episode where Washington kicks ass. Perfect timing lol.
love that episode
History Channel doing actual history??? WTF?
@@SteamCrane old show, from the Pre-Pawn Stars Age.
2008. Just checked Wikipedia
@@marcofabiofuccelli3417 Figured. I bought a nice big screen TV a few years ago, haven't turned it on in the last 2 years.
@@SteamCrane I know exactly what you mean and it hurts lol. Battle 360 is and older show, back when they were still actually making history documentaries. Their RUclips channel has been posting full episodes online.
13 Battle Stars, the same as South Dakota. North Carolina had more, the most of any battleship in U.S. service if I am not mistaken. This and her sister did some very heavy lifting during the war and despite their design shortcomings were a good return on investment.
Yes, North Carolina had 15 battlestars; the most of any battleship in WW2.
That said, Washington sank more ships.
most in WWII- BB62 has 19 but it took her 40 years longer to get them
What Lee and the crew of Washington did at the battle of Guadalcanal helped in no small way to change the course of the war.
If it wouldn’t have been for Washington then the South Dakota would’ve been screwed along with Henderson field which was vital
5:13 transiting the Panama Canal along side the greatest carrier of them all, USS Enterprise CV6.
And it's a damn shame that both of them were scrapped. I mean if there's one carrier that should have been saved...
There are quite a number of photos with Enterprise and either North Carolina or Washington.
RIP USS Washington. I would have LOVED to get to visit the BB named after my birth and home state. ;(
Where in washington do you live?
@@atfyoutubedivision955 ....Do you really think I'm gonna tell you with a name like that? lol
@@jedhaney3547 Shit he's onto us...
A biography of Admiral Lee is in order, I think.
Thanks for this one Drach! Washington was one of the last of the gunfighters.
Also... if I remember correctly the name of USS Washington's first admiral, was John W. Wilcox jr, he was the one that fell overboard while traveling from the US to Scapa Flow in the North Atlantic Ocean
That is one of those creepiest stories of the war.
@@WALTERBROADDUS Yup, I agree
Can you please make a short video counting all the times where allied warships bumped into one another during ww2?
It wouldn't be a short video
We're also still due a full member list for the "USN ships run aground in home waters" club :P.
At least when you are hitting friendly ships you know you have close friends, when you just lose a ship it is kinda embarrassing and you wish you had close friends.
@@GaldirEonai he's already done a special on the Honda Point disaster.
ruclips.net/video/cTveGOZo1_g/видео.html
It would be much longer than the drydock Q and A episode 139.
Thanks Drach.
I don't know how you manage to put out so much high quality material but I hope you continue. Many other youtubers could learn from you.
"Lost her Admiral on the way."
I love how you put that. I read a great book not too terribly wrong ago written by one of the black Steward's Mates who was on Washington at Scapa Flow, and he talked about Admiral Wilcox's seeming mental state in the days before his death.
The USS Washington BB-56 was my favorite battleship. Thankyou for making this video.
Washington what a glorious ship unfortunate that she didn’t get made into a museum ship
On September 15, 1942 a Long Lance torpedo from Japanese submarine I-19 struck USS North Carolina, blowing an absolutely gigantic hole in her side and knocking that battleship out of the Guadalcanal campaign. Later, on October 27 1942, Japanese submarine I-21 fired a spread of torpedoes at USS Washington herself. Fortunately for Washington the torpedoes narrowly missed. One torpedo actually exploded in her wake. Lucky, lucky USS Washington.
During the 15 November 1942 fight at Guadalcanal, _Washington_ had OVER 40 torpedoes fired at her, and ALL of them missed! Her Guardian Angel was working overtime that night! 😉
Washington to SD: Hold my....oh damn, you'll just spill it. I got this by myself. [slight kerfuffle ensues].
For further history of the Washington during the war, I recommend the book "Battleship at War: The Epic Story of the USS Washington" by Ivan Musicant. Good read that is filled with first hand accounts, daily life, and (of course) the major engagements.
In some ways the Washington's action was instrumental in avoiding a prolongation of the war in the Pacific theatre. It achieved this by driving the Japanese back out of "The Slot" alongside Guadalcanal, thereby stopping them short of their planned bombardment of Henderson field as well as resulting in placing the Japanese transports re-supplying their troops in harm's way, to their ultimate demise. The sum of all this was maintaining Guadalcanal as Japan's "starvation Island" and sealing the fate of the Japanese troops stationed there for ultimate defeat.
If anyone is interested in alternate history, I can highly recommend "the knight's gambit" by Scott Ward. In this novel, USS Washington fights against Tirpitz after the German Navy destroyed convoy PQ17 in the Arctic Ocean. A very realistic and enjoyable read.
What's the summary?
@@ReichLife I dont want to spoil people but Tirpitz and several German heavy cruisers catch PQ17 off the North Cape and gun down most of the convoy. Battleships HMS Duke of York and USS Washington arrive at the scene, and this results in a running battle back towards the Norwegian coast. It is very well written, from different perspectives, ranging from Hitler and Churchill to the admirals and battleship captains to enlisted men on several different ships and Luftwaffe pilots. The author also included a lot of technical background knowledge.
Tirpitz was finally taken out by Dambuster 'Tallboy' bombs in 44
That sounds like a fun read!! Thx, will hafta find it!!
@@wheels-n-tires1846 you are welcome, i hope you enjoy it. It should be available at Amazon.
Thank you! I've been waiting forever for this. My favorite ship of all time.
I am biased as I live near her sister, but I find BB55 and BB56 to be the most beautiful of US battleships.
I find you to be the most beautiful of US battlemen:)
I have always thought that myself.
I think I prefer the South Dakota class ships. They were far more balanced proportionally in an astheatic sense.
Agreed... The Sodaks are just a lil bit too much "function over form", and the Iowas...meh... I think the NCs are just about right, although adding some Iowa bow would make them aesthetically perfect!!
I love them all. Each has features that make them special.
Washington and Lee, an education in the making.
I see the ships of the strange Battle of Campeche has now made it to the list, thanks Drach, I know it’s gonna be a wait and a half, but this Texan is happy to see it.
Sad she was broken up, it always makes me feel a little bummed out
There was no reason the state of Washington couldn't have raised the funds to save her as a museum ship. Instead there is little to attract people to Bremerton where the USS Missouri once served as a tourist attraction. Now they just have the destroyer Turner Joy.
Even the USS Enterprise (CV-6), the most decorated US naval ship ever couldn't get enough money from New York to become s museum ship there. It is sad, but unfortunately a giant heap of steel in a fast growing country is just too valuable to just sit there.
Had to look it up and you weren’t kidding about losing the admiral. Literally lost at sea after being swept off the deck
Thanks Drach, worth the wait!
South Dakota: Tanking damage like a boss.
Washington: Kill steal!
S-Dakota: "Urrrrrgh; sis~ter!!!!"
Washington: "No~ need to thank me :3 "
SoDak stole a kill back by sailing back to the U.S. first and gave a the press conference and the press were dumb enough to believe her captain. So they were even?
Oh, did the USN expect blue on blue attacks whenever SoDak and Washie are within the gun range of each other for the remainder of the WW2?
@@thanakonpraepanich4284 Mind explaining that tale for what South Dakota's captain and possibly crew did back at the US that drew Washington's permanent wrath for her?
Sodak’s nickname was thereafter “The Sh__ty Dick” from the Washington’s crew, the BS “battleship X” stories, including their glorious devastation of Kirishima all dropped on the NY press by Gatch the douche nozzle, they were heros, they did it all.... according to Gatch
I deleted the comment.
Google does comes back with some sensitive results for that term when searched. Unintended.
It did happen though and I did pause the video and ask her to repeat what she said. (I was expecting a package) and it is on my list and I did LOL.
it's probably Scottish food, something fried.
@Edgar Miller you win
So what exactly is Mixed Bastards that your Alexa ordered
Thank you, Drachinifel.
"Hey, Johnny, have you seen the Admiral?"
_"No, i thought you had him?"_
"You had him last!"
_"But i left him in the cupboard where you told me to"_
"Well i just checked and he isn't in there.."
_"So where is he then?"_
"I DON'T KNOW!"
_"How do you lose an ADMIRAL?!"_
"Alright, that's it, i want this battleship turned UPSIDE DOWN, RIGHT BLOODY NOW!"
**Depth chargers shake the ship**
"NOT LITERALLY!!"
I believe she was offered to Washington State after she was decommissioned. I'm not sure of the whys and wherefores, but obviously, we dropped the ball.
My grandfather served on the Washington from 1941-1945
Thanks for the video, a great way to start/end the day
As a Seattle native, it's too bad this ship wasn't preserved for this state. But in some irony, I suppose, most of the US nuclear sub fleet and many of the Navy's carriers are home stationed here.
Born at Virginia Mason myself........ and sorry we lost the Missouri to Hawaii, and I agree that we should have the BB Washington at Bremerton.
The good news is you can visit her sister in Wilmington, N.C. I recommend it.
Why do they scrap EVERY SINGLE FAMOUS WW2 SHIPS!
@@raychn8783 There certainly are some that SHOULD have been saved (USS Enterprise and HMS Warspite immediately come to mind) but it takes a lot of money to convert and maintain an old ship as a museum. Judging by the number of museum ships that are always in danger of running out of funds I don't think it would have be feasible to save many more, let alone EVERY SINGLE one.
@@raychn8783 Because you did not fund it.
@Edgar Miller which ship sank
@Edgar Miller and Oregon cared so little for theirs they sold it for SCRAP in WW2!
Radar fire control is a beast!
She was a good ship that did all that was ever asked of her.
... And a few things she was never designed for.
Better than the SoDaks... Having electrical failures during their most critical surface action.
@@devobronc Actions. I understand USS Massachusetts suffered a near identical failure engaging the defecting Vichy French, though her chief didn't overreact to the problem limiting the impact on that engagement.
Great video thanks Drach!
A very good Battleship.
Starting at 5:13. Panama Canal? That looks cozy. Hope they had some touch-up paint.
An ignominious end to a superb ship.
... a "dent" in the bow? :)
that looked frightening and I couldn't help wondering was anyone in that section of the ship
It’ll polish out, no worries. At worst they’ll have to bring out the suction cup, but that should definitely do it.
British understatement.
A dent indeed.......the front did NOT fall off
My favorite BB, commanded by my favorite BB admiral, what could be so disappointing with this combination(?), oh that would be Drach's last comment at the end.
Of all the ships set up as museums, I am actually surprised the USS Washington wasn't set up as such on one of the rivers of Washington D.C.
As a dc native id love to see the uss Washington moored here n the capital
She was named for the state, not the district.
@@gregorywright4918 It would have been a good memorial if placed in either area. She lasted through several major battles, it just seems a waste that the Battleships were sent to the scrappers.
I think she should have been moored in Seattle, right along the waterfront for everyone to see.
The state of Washington would have made enough tourists money to keep her well-cared for indefinitely.
Of course, with the idiots running Seattle today.... who knows! These are the types to kill the goose that layed golden eggs!!!
"We brake for nobody"
Bumper sticker shared by Spaceball 1 and King George V.
When fighting the Yamato, who needs the Washington when we had the Johnston!
My dad served on this vessel as a Chief Petty Officer
Washington State reporting in
Washington sure shoulda kept and preserved this gem. I visited USS Missouri in Bremerton in the early 80s before her final modernization and recommissioning. (When I lived in Washington state as well). I sure wish USS Washington was a museum there so I could have visited her too.
@@TheBruceGday I went aboard Missouri as a kid around the same time... Do you recall what the cruiser was that was on the other side of the pier from her??? Ive been trying to remember/find out, but having no luck...!!
Oh fun fact... I got orders to serve on Missouri about 9yrs later...!!!
my fav US battleship
The CHAMPION Battleship
Poor Washington, the only US battleship that actually fought and defeated an enemy battleship was scrapped while her sister ship became a memorial. The vibration problem was predicted by marine engineers during her design phase, as the difference in lengths of her prop shafts was too little to prevent sympathetic vibrations. The solution was at least an extra 16 feet in length midships which would entail 600 tons of weight over the treaty limit. The idea that the extra length would also have resulted in a higher speed and extra room for fuel and stores (and guns!) didn't sway the board of construction. So the fate of these ships was set; they were good enough, but like the South Dakotas, they became war time ships only.
Lee was recalled to Washington to work on a defense against the Kamikaze threat. Lee died of a heart attack before the war had ended.
Would you be able to do a review of the destroyer USS Putnam DD-757? Thank you.
As sleek as the Iowas are, I think that the South Dakotas and the North Carolinas looked more proportional. Kinda bummed out that Washington wasn't saved, why do people almost always end up scrapping the ships with attitudes...
I have enjoyed all of your work. Thank you.
okay but that 1944-45 configuration is so pretty like what
USS Washington the Ninja Battleship of ww2 able to sneak in close to Kirishima undetected.
The first naval battle of Guadalcanal has been described as a bar room brawl at night with the lights off. The IJN was coming down The Slot in two rows at night when it was pitch dark. The US Navy was outgunned in smaller ships so sailed between their line of ships firing in both directions. The IJN radar couldn't distinguish friend from foe or if those were the islands that dotted the coastlines. The battle turned into a melee where US destroyers started firing on IJN battleships and cruisers from 400 yards away since their big guns couldn't be depressed far enough to hit them. The destroyers raked their superstructure to destroy the searchlights, fire control systems and their radar masts. Both fleets were traveling at 30 knots so basically did battle at 60 miles per hour for 5 minutes before going into melee. The IJN kept firing at each other for nearly a hour after the USN ships sailed away or sank. The IJN turned around and returned to base. They sent out more ships the next night to shell Henderson Field in the pitch dark and ran into Chaing Lee and the USS Washington instead. The British/Australian Navies were there but didn't take part in the action. They were guarding the area Lee had to pass thru and told the approaching US vessels to turn around. They got a message " This is Chaing Lee. I'm coming thru." which made their destroyers to get out of way . Lee freaked out the IJN by landing big shells on target without the need to straddle shots to get the range. The USN also had become experts at reloading the big guns extremely fast which made the IJN believe those were machine cannons.
Yes, time to feed my Drach addiction
'Decades later, a new hypothesis surfaced based on the reports of Wilcox seeming pale and white while on deck on the morning of 27 March, speculating that he may have been seasick and had rushed to the ship's side to vomit, but had mistakenly selected an area where lifelines were not rigged, falling overboard as a result." That actually makes sense, and if he was seasick he probably would have preferred a spot to vomit where he was least likely to be seen by anyone.
Another theory was heart attack on deck, possibly preceded by a disorienting stroke...
@@gregorywright4918 Just as good; I suppose one might even confuse some stroke symptoms for seasickness but will stop guessing further. Sounds like a medical.
Really enjoy your content. Just wondering though if you could consider doing a story on a series of battles won by Admiral Yi during Japanese invasion into the Korean Peninsula in 1592-1598.
Ah, Douglas Fairbanks Jr. Served on this ship during an artic convoy. Could be a video there about his service and his "beach jumpers".
Looked at the upcoming list.
I'm F'n excited for the SM U-156 video
U Cruisers needs some love
1:43 historically it was originally dubbed the "King George the Fifth effect", but then someone thought that a butterfly causing a storm might sell it better...
I would like to see a history of the USS West Virginia, from her early pre-war life to being sunk at Pearl Harbor, being refloated, repaired and upgraded, and, finally, returning to duty and her presence in Tokyo Bay for the Japanese surrender ceremonies. We have seen glimpses of her in your excellent trilogy on the post-December 7th, 1941 Pearl Harbor series, but nothing specifically about the ship herself. Thanking you in advance.
In the Battleship section she's featured in a "Five Minute Guide to Warships" #102, which is actually a 9'55" guide to the West Virginia.
I’m curious how the battle would turn out between task force 34 and the center force had Halsey not ordered them north with the carriers
In yesterday's live stream he talked about it as his favorite alternative history scenario, especially after realizing it would only be 4 v 4 for battleships. I believe he also said it was now on the list to explore in a special video. I figure either Iowa or New Jersey takes on Yamato and tries to hold on until the other three finish off their opponents and come help.
@@kemarisite I would expect Iowa's radar fire control to edge things in her favor, but she would probably still be a floating wreck by the time the other 3 ships trounce their (IMO outmatched) IJN opponents and then gang up on Yamato.
I've looked at this a lot, it's one of those "could go either way" kind of things, but if Oldendorf has hustled up with Task Group 77.2, (limited ammo and all) It would have been a solid 2 v 1 the hard way for Japan- with the rest of the 3rd fleet still yet to arrive..
It depends on where the engagement occurs. If, like Surigao Strait, they catch the Japanese exiting the San Bernardino Strait it would be a repeat of the night before. In the open in depends on visibility. If the US force can hide behind smoke and/or weather it wouldn't be much of a contest. Otherwise it quickly becomes a 4 on 1. The most likely result of the appearance of TF 34 is that Kurita turns around and goes home.
@@Noble713 the two Kongos are grossly outmatched regardless. Nagato may be competitive with a North Carolina or SoDak (MAY be) but is more likely to be badly outmatched by the second Iowa. From what I'm seeing, TF 34 would be a little low on cruisers and destroyers compared with Center Force, but would also be backed up by the aircraft (over 300) and screen from (potentially) all of TF 77.4, a total of nine destroyers and twelve destroyer escorts. So while it "could go either way", I think it noticably favors the Americans.
Okay at the Appropriate Time and Place like the boom boom boom of the shores of the Firing ranges.
Thank you! You make a mundane subject...naval history prior to 1950 seem alive and interesting! Your unique wit(xthepond) is wonderful! Always a highlight to see a post. Thank You and Happy Easter.
"A mundane subject"? Quote of the year to date!
Wow... Id resprectfully disagree...Naval history pre-'50 is anything but!!! Once the age of missiles came about, thats when things became (insert yawn emoji here)...!!!
The budgets, personalities, competitions, treatys, designers, ideas vindicated and failed, as well as the ships themselves, are pretty fascinating, and a lifetime of studying them can still barely scratch the surface!!
Lee knew radar & sank IJN BB but was lucky to not get hit by the many long lances fired at her. Always pays to be good & lucky
I was at Sedro Woolley, would go to the naval base.
Would be cool if you did a guide about the Sleipner class.
Many Components of Battleship Washington are on outside display in the Washington Naval yard in Washington D.C
they must've had to wash a ton of them
My father served aboard Washington, she never lost a man to enemy action, although around a dozen crewmen were lost when the Indiana cut across her bow during UNREP, and one 3rd class electricians mate died from poisoned booze at Noumea, and one gun crew member caught a tiny splinter that barely broke the skin of his arse at 2nd night of Guadalcanal, and a secondary caliber projectile pierced a radar antenna the same night. Admiral Lee logged 9 major caliber hits on Kirishima, but the Japanese DCA reported 22 due to hits at or just below the waterline were spotted as shorts. This was validated by Robert Ballard when he surveyed the wreck. A good amount of Washington’s heavy armor was used as shielding at one of the Nuke research labs.... Sandia off the top of my head.
Great reference book: “Battleship at War” Ivan Musicant, out of print but can be found.
Thanks for this...but a little more detail on 'losing their Admiral' would have been nice.
Another excellent vlog
nice summary
So sad that such a beautiful ship was sent to the breakers.
Lee vs the Yamato...that would have been epic.
Lee was aboard one of the slower of the fast battleships. The two Iowas were detached with some cruisers and destroyers and sent ahead, but still failed to intercept Kurita before he entered the straits.
im still waiting for a skin yostar!!!
also Thats called an oneshot bb
Washington and North Carolina are staring at South Dakota and her skins
@@mahiru20ten Add Alabama to that group, and its such a sorry bunch they're envious of Dakota having one skin.
@@mahiru20ten she has only one, as massa. bama has none:sad bama noises: