During this period why was the US still practicing for a war with the UK? Were there tensions between the powers I am not aware of?
@jonathanwerner3664
Жыл бұрын
Are there any instances where performance in the US Navy fleet problems had a significant impact on the careers of naval officers? On the Army side of the house, we used large training exercises to discover gaps in capability and how to improve upon them; but I wonder if the inclusion of big boat ups the ante.
@Jon.A.Scholt
Жыл бұрын
I'll take all the Drach content I can get but I'd love to see more on the revolutionary changes from the Age of Sail to steam power to turbines. The videos on the improvements in armor, on boilers; those are the ones I seem to come back to the most. I just find it fascinating; the changes from post Napoleonic Wars navies to the navies of WW1 are were greater and came faster than any other era it seems. Anyway, I'll stop rambling, love the channel.
@joshthomas-moore2656
Жыл бұрын
Are there any examples of naval officers giving orders along the lines of "All guns keep firing till they glow" (In the words of one un-named Imperial Guardsman)?
@brendonbewersdorf986
Жыл бұрын
Could you do a video on the later us navy monitors like the puritan class?
@DazzleCamo
Жыл бұрын
"SOMEHOW, no damage was scored on the fleet." In another instance of a really prophetic exercise, they were accurately simulating the mk14 torpedoes.
@jefferyindorf699
Жыл бұрын
I cannot help but wonder if some of the officers had deep suspicions about our new wonder weapon, our friend the mk14.
@cleverpete
Жыл бұрын
They forgot they were supposed to be portraying Japanese submarines.
@lightningwingdragon973
Жыл бұрын
Nah, cause the mk14 sometimes turned around and would hit them. So if anything, it could be said that they did less DMG than the mk 14.
@Big_E_Soul_Fragment
Жыл бұрын
Army: Noooo, you can't attack on a Sunday! USN(and IJN): Observe.
@logion567
Жыл бұрын
7th day of the month no less!
@WalterReimer
Жыл бұрын
All's fair, etc. etc. etc.
@MrEnvirocat
Жыл бұрын
I think this an Army cultural response to an identified deficiency to be equated to "Look Squirrel!".
@huskergator9479
Жыл бұрын
…and also “Hold (our) beer”.
@hisdadjames4876
Жыл бұрын
The surprise attack on Pearl Harbour must be history’s most unsurprising of surprises😐
@rashkavar
Жыл бұрын
Ok, it's grimly hilarious that the USN figured out that the Pearl Harbor attack was the optimal way to attack Hawaii in the 30s and that it was subsequently dismissed as, effectively, unsportsmanlike conduct.
@jlvfr
Жыл бұрын
Again I'm stunned by the effect of radar, or more precisely, the _lack of_ . It's 193x, navies have ships that, on their own, outmass and outgun on their own almost entire navies of centuries past, blowing up enemies at what would be considered "drunk dream" ranges only a few decades before. And yet we have a scene straight out of the napoleonic wars: a battleship pops out of a _fog bank_ and proceeds to roflstomp the enemy. I was listening to the description and remembering the scene from *Master and Commander* ...
@SudrianTales
Жыл бұрын
Just remember in 1954, the Andrea Doria and Stockholm ran into each other while having radar
@phillip5043
Жыл бұрын
@@SudrianTales they actually saw eachother on radar. The two captains just decided to play a game of on your left, no on your left with ships
@SudrianTales
Жыл бұрын
@@phillip5043 the story is complicated by the Italians leaving their radar readings leading up to the crash on the ship
@gerennichols6075
Жыл бұрын
French radar gun control circa 1808; and we complain about 'Midway'... chuckle 132 years before CXAM
@RCAvhstape
Жыл бұрын
@@SudrianTales Even worse, in the 2010s US Navy destroyers collided with other ships despite Aegis radar systems.
@therealuncleowen2588
Жыл бұрын
As an American, I am especially grateful that our navy was and remains a learning organization that was able to overcome the imperial Japanese Navy. The records of these fleet problems reveal the depth of the commitment to constant learning.
@yes_head
Жыл бұрын
True, although given the shellacking the Navy endured off of Guadalcanal one wonders if some of the *wrong* lessons were learned, especially by some of the "old guard" who were probably key players in these fleet exercises.
@Ah01
Жыл бұрын
The pearl had to be learned the hard way though, fleet problems analyze was not accurate enough.
@paulnutter1713
Жыл бұрын
true but if they'd have failed the USA would no doubt have the most technologically advanced V8 powered toilets in the world
@rob5944
Жыл бұрын
As a Brit I feel the same, if it hadn't of prevailed the consequences don't bear thinking about. Midway being your Battle of Britain I guess.
@yes_head
Жыл бұрын
@@rob5944 Actually the scenario for losing the Battle of Britain would have been much worse; the Germans would have invaded England. If the U.S. had lost the Battle of Midway it would merely have led to negotiations ceding territory to Japan. But a year later with shiny new Essex carriers at our disposal we would have torn up any treaty and resumed hostilities with the same end result.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
The Japanese were generally silent about the US Fleet problems until Fleet Problem XVI at which point they issued a diplomatic protest to the US calling them ‘provocative’ and shortly conducted major naval maneuvers of their own. Interestingly the recently appointed G-3 US Army officer to the Hawaiian department wrote a staff paper called ‘Surprise’ shortly after postulating a Japanese surprise attack on Hawaii. His name? George Patton
@michaelpiatkowskijr1045
Жыл бұрын
I found it funny how much of these exercises played out in WWII. Even though King had expressed the need for carriers to be in a group to combine the attack, they did organize attacks between carriers while keeping them separate. This saved the Hornet and Enterprise at Midway.
@ph89787
Жыл бұрын
And Yorktown got pummeled as a result. But King was onto something, as when TF58 fought in the Battle of the Philippine Sea almost 2 years later. The advances in fighter control and radar made it possible for multiple carriers to fend off enemy attacks and seamlessly combine their air groups for their own attacks.
@michaelpiatkowskijr1045
Жыл бұрын
@@ph89787 better than all three carriers out.
@kyledasilva6145
Жыл бұрын
Timing won the Americans Midway, more than anything else. Midway was almost a catastrophe
@bigblue6917
Жыл бұрын
When you look at it this is no different to land based aircraft flying from different airfields to attack the same target.
@stevewhite3424
Жыл бұрын
@@kyledasilva6145 Thus goes war in general. If you look at through history the number of battles one are lost that were based upon the decision of a single individual or 1 thing going well or just 1 thing going badly are legion!
@georgem7965
Жыл бұрын
Video footage was very cool. Factoid the naval historians/historiographers may not be aware of: When the 8 twin 8" turrets were removed from the Saratogan and Lexington in 1942 they were give to the Army's Coast Defense Artillery and were installed at various points around Oahu. They were removed and scrapped after WW2 but in some places the turret rings and the underground magazines, fire control facilities, and ammunition handling structures are still present. There is a house in Honolulu which is built over one emplacement. Coolest basement ever!
@bebo4807
Жыл бұрын
@george m The coolest basement has been recorded in Stuttgart Germany as 28 degrees Fahrenheit.
@georgem7965
Жыл бұрын
@@bebo4807 ;-) ha! ha!
@FltCaptAlan
Жыл бұрын
Gotta love Drach's little pause after saying "Sunday the seventh..."
@Thespectaro
Жыл бұрын
When time?
@richardcowling7381
Жыл бұрын
Always amazes me every time I hear the US navy, through studies, exercises and wargaming, concluded the best time to attack Pearl Harbour was an early morning on a Sunday, and never acted on the information.
@richardcutts196
Жыл бұрын
The Army agreed with Pompey Magnus (in referring to Caesar's attack on Rome) about the Navy attacking on a Sunday. 'It's highly irregular, unethical even. Gods, it's not even the war season!'
@ricardoandre7049
Жыл бұрын
And he decided the best way to start was a Surprise air atack. Now where have i seen this before
@Eboreg2
Жыл бұрын
Yeah, when I did a write-up of those exercises on the World of Warships forums, I heavily implied that Isoroku Yamamoto was paying attention to that exercise.
@myparceltape1169
Жыл бұрын
@@Eboreg2 More likely earlier history. Pre-Biblical tales.
@ivoivanov7407
Жыл бұрын
At early sunday morning, ofc...
@markjohnson4170
Жыл бұрын
Am I the only one who noticed how many pics Drach worked in of his favorite US standard class? 😁
@MultiZirkon
Жыл бұрын
Those "mid-century" photoes with that very blue color are so beautiful. And they almost carries a feeling of adventure in a strange, different world with them.
@BleedingUranium
Жыл бұрын
As always, I love the use of sooo much period footage, '30s-era footage like this is seen so much less than WWII-era footage. :)
@Fitzwalrus06
Жыл бұрын
Very much this! 👆 Also an excellent opportunity to play "name that battleship", as those that survived Pearl Harbor looked so much different after repair and reconstruction. The color still photos are awesome, too. 😎👍
@herbertsroyce3942
Жыл бұрын
As a ex sailor with 24 years of service I participated in many fleet exercises. The issues with damage assessment then and what i saw when I was active sounds all very familiar. Some things change .....but then...:) ol navy gunner.
@MakeMeThinkAgain
Жыл бұрын
That bit about the problems of rushing ships through the canal was especially interesting and illustrates why operations like this are so important. You can't anticipate every problem. Great series,
@611_hornet5
Жыл бұрын
I'm just imagining every fleet problem with their own special logo just like WrestleMania.
@yes_head
Жыл бұрын
This is a great series, Drach. I wouldn't be surprised if the USN War College asks you for copies for their own educational archives.
@irondarknessdarkness8900
Жыл бұрын
I am still trying to wrap my head around the fact that one of our OWN Admirals preformed the carrier attack on PH a decade before it happened with Devastating effects...and no one thought to have special watch standing orders for the weekends ESP Sunday. i just want to bash my head against a 4x4 post to try and help me understand...aggh.
@paulrasmussen8953
Жыл бұрын
Government for you
@markjaynes7151
Жыл бұрын
Drach- I received my 2022 USNI Holiday Catalog and saw your advert on the back cover. Very impressive company you’re keeping! Congratulations!
@AnimarchyHistory
Жыл бұрын
A surprise attack on Pearl Harbour to initiate a decisive battle against the US Navy?... IMPOSSIBLE. {Exercise starts} *Saratoga:* Roll for initiative.
@ph89787
Жыл бұрын
I was wondering if you would show up.
@Xino6804
Жыл бұрын
Saratoga: Nat 20 bitches. Pearl Harbour: I got a 1
@michaelsommers2356
Жыл бұрын
It's Pearl Harbor, not Pearl Harbour. It's a name. You don't change the spelling of names. British films used to say "Colour by Technicolor", not "Technicolour:".
@korbell1089
Жыл бұрын
Yeah I can see it; Umpire: "Admiral Nagumo, we have determined that though you did achieve surprise the damage was minimal, so we are resurrecting the Arizona, Oklahoma, and 2/3rds of the American aircraft!"
@Beaguins
Жыл бұрын
The aircraft of the early '30s would not have inflicted as much damage as the aircraft of the early '40s.
@tomhutchins7495
Жыл бұрын
Really interesting stuff, being able to compare large-scale exercises to the battles that followed is amazing. Also fascinating that so many wartime scenarios played out very realistically, which suggests that the abstract rules didn't harm the realism much.
@dan3162
Жыл бұрын
Money the Japanese got a copy of this report via some questionable methods and ultimately said, Yes, thank you so much for providing a meaningful op plan
@RJLbwb
Жыл бұрын
That's a bit of a double take on the Lexington being surprised in the fog by the Oklahoma and the Texas.
@AC_WILDCARD
Жыл бұрын
Oklahoma making a IJN like surprise attack in Fleet Problem 1, and then later Okie n Texas sinking Lexington... Repeated almost a decade later by Scharnhorst n Gneisnau sinking HMS Glorious! History rhymes but never repeats exactly.
@bkjeong4302
Жыл бұрын
@@AC_WILDCARD Not really. Glorious was lost in perfectly good visibility and it was entirely up to human stupidityz
@chriskortan1530
Жыл бұрын
These exercises were very prophetic. Unfortunately , the results seem to have been ignored.
@marcharkness6101
Жыл бұрын
Except by the Japanese, who studied articles about Admiral Yarnell's attack on Pearl Harbor with great interest.
@johncunningham6928
Жыл бұрын
I've just been re-reading Day of Infamy, and I've always wondered why the Americans were so convinced that the Japanese would try to take Hawaii in 1941... Now I think I know...
@hisdadjames4876
Жыл бұрын
Knowing now how often the PH attack was anticipated, I assume that the word ‘infamy’ was directed at the defence rather than the attack.
@jager6863
Жыл бұрын
It's hard for some people to grasp the actual size of the Pacific ocean. The distance between San Francisco and Hawaii is greater than Berlin to Stalingrad.
@firefox5926
Жыл бұрын
4:17 i just have this image in my head of Yamamoto being aware of this plan and also that attacking America was a really bad idea and being like well if we're going to have a war lets make it a short one and then just taking out a copy of this was game and re labeling everything safe in the knowledge that since its so similar to these war games that the Americas would be able to easily defect it and then he could go back and be like welp i tried guess we'll have to negotiate .... and then being very very surprised lol
@thevictoryoverhimself7298
Жыл бұрын
“All defenders were resurrected so the exercise wouldn’t be over in less than a week” “MY GOD! ZOMBIES!”
@PadraigTomas
Жыл бұрын
The comment by the US Army that a Sunday attack would be of "questionable legality" shows an astonishing degree of naivete.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
Secretary State Stimson always maintained he thought cracking diplomatic codes was dishonorable….reading the other fellows mail don’t you know. Fortunately it wasn’t a universal sentiment
@michaelsommers2356
Жыл бұрын
@@tomdolan9761 By the time of the war, when he was Secretary of War, he had changed his mind on that point.
@spudskie3907
Жыл бұрын
I love the pre-war footage!! The New Mexico-class were the best looking of the battleships.
@enjibkk6850
Жыл бұрын
I find that having Saratoga and Lexington (still modern carriers in my mind) along biplane, Langley, and airships (obsolete by ww2) kind of odd
@carlcramer9269
Жыл бұрын
Agreed. But consider that British carriers operated biplanes far longer than the US did.
@ph89787
Жыл бұрын
Wait till you see Ranger, Yorktown, Enterprise and Wasp using biplanes.
@rapter229
Жыл бұрын
Biplanes may have been obsolete as fighters in WW2, but they were not obsolete in all roles. Floatplane biplanes were very useful.
@jefferyindorf699
Жыл бұрын
@@carlcramer9269 the major reason the RN used biplane for a longer time is that for the RN is their war started in September 1939. While the war started for the US in December 1941. That 2 and a quarter years were vitally important for the modernization of the USN air arm.
@glenmcgillivray4707
Жыл бұрын
@@jefferyindorf699 it's also true that the British hadn't finished building up their carrier arm or their next generation fighters. There are signs and words of a Supermarine naval plane coming off the design board just in time for world war 2. The Air force ordered it dropped, seeking as many Spitfires produced immediately. Imagine a better Spitfire for the British in World War 2 with Merlin's from 1941 that was fully naval adapted with Gull Wings. And who knows what France could do with two more years.
@GrumpyGrobbyGamer
Жыл бұрын
Thank you for your thorough research and very clear telling of the action for these fleet problems. They are very interesting, and it’s amazing to see the repetition of problems especially the vulnerability of Pearl Harbor.
@kemarisite
Жыл бұрын
Fleet problem XVI: note that this is the same S-44 that would go on to take revenge for the Battle of Savo Island by sinking the cruiser Kako with three of the older Mark 10 torpedoes.
@marxel4444
Жыл бұрын
Hitting pearl habor? No. Hitting pearl habor in 2 strikes,having the first one retreat to lure out enemy fighters and then have the 2nd strike catch them of guard again to destroy all the survived the first strike? HELL YEAH!
@ManiusCuriusDenatus
Жыл бұрын
Way to start the morning. Thank you sir.
@RS-zo7dx
Жыл бұрын
or end the night on the other side of the world 👌
@ManiusCuriusDenatus
Жыл бұрын
@@RS-zo7dx Touché
@Airay552
Жыл бұрын
good afternoon
@davidstange4174
Жыл бұрын
Those fleet problems where very useful and very prophetic.
@dalevines8832
Жыл бұрын
I think that you have to see it from our perspective as Sailors. Yes they are very useful. Do you know how many hours that I have spent at GQ (general quarters) in 27 yrs.
@bigblue6917
Жыл бұрын
Attacking Hawaii on a Sunday. Not very sporting. Good job no one else thought of that. Imagine the effect it would have had.
@Ah01
Жыл бұрын
Just wondering how comprehensively the fleet problems were observed and spied by the japanese...
@Fitzwalrus06
Жыл бұрын
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
@alexgorski1806
Жыл бұрын
Love the videos Drach. Just wanted to throw in some information about both airships. In fleet problem 13 USS Los Angles didn't actually have any planes, they would use clouds to stalk the enemy fleet. by the end of the fleet problem the airship had gotten very good at spotting the fleet then retreating over the horizon. However after this the concept of the flying carrier would come about leading to the designing and building of the Macon class( pronounced like bacon ). The airship would also test the concept of mobile replenishment of an airship via ship during this problem and it was very successful. During Fleet problem 15 it was noted that while the airship itself was open to attack. It was offset by the massive area that it could scout. Being averaged as the total square yardage of California in a single day. The other major downside is the 7Million cubic fleet of helium that she needed for lift.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
During Fleet Problem 1 in 1923 they didn’t have carriers yet so they used the USS New York and the USS Arkansas to simulate carriers with one float plane a piece to stage a mock attack on the Panama Canal
@Archie2c
Жыл бұрын
February 7th a Day that will live in Foreshadowing.
@ernestcline2868
Жыл бұрын
I feel for you when trying to pronounce USS Macon. Georgians like to pronounce the names of their towns and cities differently from similarly spelled municipalities elsewhere in the world, especially notably in the cases of Vienna, GA and Cairo, GA.
@billbrockman779
Жыл бұрын
Don’t forget Lafayette, GA.
@Tomyironmane
Жыл бұрын
Macon... rhymes with Bacon, right?
@TheBeef2487
Жыл бұрын
@@Tomyironmane Yep. Their baseball team is actually called Macon Bacon.
@Merlinemryys
Жыл бұрын
Albany,GA .> pro: ALL Ban ee
@ernestcline2868
Жыл бұрын
@@Tomyironmane Yup, but Drach pronounced it two different ways when he mentioned the airship. I believe the first he used is how the town in France (which is probably indirectly where Macon, Georgia got its name via Nathaniel Macon, an early Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from North Carolina as quite a few Carolina colonists had Hugenot ancestry) is pronounced while the second he used is how it actually is pronounced on this side of the pond.
@bjturon
Жыл бұрын
Budget Cuts in the US Navy? 😮 No!!! 😄
@BestAnswer12549
Жыл бұрын
Honestly the whole US military needs a budget cut. Cuz we're spending the most and I feel like we're getting the lease out of it.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
Coincidentally that was the opinion of many US civilians prior to WW2…..fortunately the people who defend your unearned freedoms know better
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
For those of you who are shocked that umpired exercises in the 1930s demonstrating the feasibility of a successful surprise air attack on Pearl could be done consider both the state of carrier aircraft development at the time and also consider that the bulk of the Pacific fleet wasn’t based at Pearl at the time. It was split between San Diego, Long Beach, San Francisco and Puget Sound. It was only forward deployed by Presidential order in early 1941 as a deterance.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
As a matter of fact what was undoubtedly happening with Admiral Moffitt and his staffers was using the excercises to influence Congressman Carl Vinson and the House Armed Services Commitee of what the fleet air arm could do with better aircraft and more carriers.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
What do you want to bet the bar at the Royal Hawaiian was thick with Senators and Congressmen on ‘fact finding’ tours.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
For further context…..the Japanese didn’t even lay down Hiryu and Soryu until the middle of 1936 and they were limited by the three flight deck arrangement on Akagi so they basically had Kaga and the inadequate Honshu in 1935. They were also half a decade from getting an operational A6M.
@glennsimpson7659
Жыл бұрын
@@tomdolan9761 That is true, but by 1941 the USN knew better and had Taranto as a living example. Still hard to understand how ADM Kimmel participated in these fleet exercises but made no effective preparations for a Japanese air strike on Hawaii, or indeed for anything happening on a Sunday morning. You have to think there must have been a mental element of ‘Japs couldn’t be as good as the USN at something like this because they have poor equipment and can’t see or shoot straight”.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
I don’t pretend to excuse Kimmel but the Army and General Short responsible for the island’s air defense
@gregwaugh616
Жыл бұрын
Did other navies conduct similar exercises? Would you be able to review their fleet exercises in the future? These fleet exercises are most enjoyable.
@bkjeong4302
Жыл бұрын
The Japanese and British did, including a bunch of night combat exercises.
@nickneuburg1388
Жыл бұрын
I would really like to know how they calculate things like planes shot down and damage done etc.
@bobperrine6193
Жыл бұрын
Oh my, imagine that a "surprise attack" on a Sunday. Will we see a follow-up.
@RonOhio
Жыл бұрын
I could just sit and watch this for the images and film of the planes, interwar biplanes are possibly my favorite aircraft. Rotary engine biplanes, open cockpits, wheel spats. Love `em.
@glennsimpson7659
Жыл бұрын
Actually, radial engines
@InternetEntity
Жыл бұрын
I know, I know. History, tactics, and politics. But can we take a moment to appreciate the colour photography emerging from these later fleet problems?
@shreddedpaperplate2993
Жыл бұрын
A Drach video I’ve been waiting on? I can already tell it’s going to be a good day.
@davidlewis9068
Жыл бұрын
Awesome videos of the inter war USN in action.
@byronharano2391
Жыл бұрын
Your research and narrative are unmatched and I appreciate your efforts. Thank you from a former USN Sailor or "squid."
@rashkavar
Жыл бұрын
These fleet problems are fascinating. I wonder - do these continue to the present day, or is this a unique feature of the interwar USN or some other period? I get the feeling the USN might not have wanted to commit huge chunks of its forces to elaborate live exercises in a specific theatre in case the Soviets got extremely bold with their relatively trivial navy while the USN was busy playing games.
@collinwood6573
Жыл бұрын
The fleet problems did end during the lead up to the US entry into WW2. However, other naval exercises/war games have continued since then such as Valiant Shield, RIMPAC, Dynamic Manta, and even a recently reinstated series of fleet problems that continue the same numbering system of the 1920/1930’s fleet problems.
@keab42
Жыл бұрын
That one clip of a camera moving through the gun barrel was very cool.
@TomG1555
Жыл бұрын
11:50 Having Saratoga switch to act as a CA once her flight deck was out of operation may have seemed odd, but it was actually build into her design. From the ship's Wikipedia page: "The Navy's Bureau of Construction and Repair was not convinced when the class was being designed that aircraft could effectively substitute as armament for a warship, especially at night or in bad weather that would prevent air operations. Thus the carriers' design included a substantial gun battery of eight 55-caliber Mk 9 eight-inch guns in four twin gun turrets. These turrets were mounted above the flight deck on the starboard side, two before the superstructure, and two behind the funnel." These guns were removed in 1942.
@boobah5643
Жыл бұрын
I assumed those guns were exactly why Drach phrased it the way he did. Then again, it's worth noting that just because I think of it as common knowledge doesn't mean _everybody_ knows.
@agesflow6815
Жыл бұрын
Thank you, Drachinifel.
@longlakeshore
Жыл бұрын
Nice to see pics of Yorktowns even though they were still building.
@gerennichols6075
Жыл бұрын
did the Royal Navy have a pre war Fleet Problem defend Norway? I think that the most significant thing that all this teaches me is that in fact the various militaries and specifically of course here the USN were not SNAFU or FUBAR but spent a great deal of time and effort thinking about the problems and we only think ourselves brighter due to rear vision etc. An important lesson.
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
I think the RN did most of their Fleet Problems in the Med
@aussiejezza
Жыл бұрын
2:56 Hey, I have seen this one before, it's a classic!
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
Usually officers of potential allies would be guests as Fleet Problems and Army manuevers. Do the reports of British officers who may have participated still exist?
@stephennewton2223
20 күн бұрын
It seems that submarines were always included in these exercises and were fairly effective. I don't recall this being the case in any actual battle. Yes, I know about Wasp and the submarine magnet that was Saratoga.
@nauticalwolf6649
Жыл бұрын
28:52 How were the ship multipliers handled? Was a ship’s strength, like with number of aircraft, multiplied? Were they deemed to be a formation of that number of ships? Etc.?
@UnitSe7en
Жыл бұрын
Airborne dawn raid on a Sunday. What a smashing idea!
@richardmcgowan1651
Жыл бұрын
Were the Japanese aware of any of these exercises? Doubt they knew the small details but did they know any info that came out these?
@Right-Is-Right
Жыл бұрын
You could assume so, they had one of the better spying networks. Much of has never even come to light.
@boobah5643
Жыл бұрын
I could have sworn that Drach mentioned diplomatic protests from the Japanese in one of the earlier videos in the series leading them to disguise things a little more thoroughly afterwards,
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
The Japanese were doing their own evolving Fleet Problems on their side of the Pacific.
@PaulSteMarie
Жыл бұрын
The map of the exercise was too small to read. My eyes would greatly appreciate zooming in on relevant sections as you discuss the activities. Aside from that, a completely fascinating video.
@kasonsmith5151
Жыл бұрын
Most of the US Flag officers failed to learn anything. Pearl Harbor had literally been predicted during a Fleet Problem. But not one of them was bright enough to take precautions. Midway was only won because of a nonacademy officer breaking codes, so all the academy officers schemed for months to steal his credit and make sure effective intelligence never happened again. US torpedoes literally did not work, so the academy officers schemed to cover up their failings over and over. The battles off the Canal were lost over and over because US Flag Officers could not comprehend radar and had no desire to learn. Navy and Marine commanders and staff totally failed in China during and after the war.
@ph89787
Жыл бұрын
6:02. That four is casting a big shadow.
@scottgiles7546
Жыл бұрын
Image looks strangely Warspite-ish.. (can we say that here?)
@glennsimpson7659
Жыл бұрын
It is beyond doubt that their failures in 1941 were because they failed to learn from these exercises - or from reports of Mers-el-Kebir and Taranto. It is the mark of an inflexible mind to fail to learn from the experience of others, but to fail to learn from your own experience is on a higher level still.
@Beaguins
Жыл бұрын
The problem is that you have to get Congress to play along. The US Navy knew it needed more carriers and better subs, but Congress didn't want to pay for them. The Washington/London naval treaties also made preparation for war very difficult.
@mitchelloates9406
Жыл бұрын
Part of the problem was that politicians got involved. FDR insisted on basing the fleet in Pearl Harbor as a "deterrent" to the Japanese - Admiral Richardson protested vehemently against this - at the time, Pearl was nowhere near ready to act as a major fleet base - he wanted the fleet back at San Diego so it could be gotten ready for war in short order - and it may have been that Richardson also had the results of these exercises in mind as well - and for his troubles, Richardson was sacked by FDR and replaced with Kimmel.
@dalereed3950
Жыл бұрын
Of all the books and articles I have read about Pearl Harbor, none of them have ever mentioned any fleet exercise before the attacks. I wonder if Yamamoto had a copy of the analysis.
@davidbudka1298
Жыл бұрын
I loved all the 1920s and 1930s film footage of the U.S. fleet.
@DVDFGlenCo
Жыл бұрын
After the attack on Pearl Harbour in 1941 did anyone actually refer back to Fleet Problem 13 and point out the similar characteristics?
@darthcalanil5333
Жыл бұрын
The morning of Sunday the 7th? Hmmmmmmmm where did I hear that again....
@tomdolan9761
Жыл бұрын
Just because the politicians and uniformed politicians of the ‘Gun Club’ weren’t paying attention to the dangers of a carrier attack on Pearl doesn’t mean many thinking naval officers were unaware of the danger and made it a priority to test the possibility. Generally they were dismissed because the unsophisticated aircraft weren’t seen as sufficiently dangerous. The tactics were sound and were used successfully in the war by the US by officers who were very junior during these exercises
@trevorday7923
8 ай бұрын
I think I remember a theory (of the conspiratorial kind) that Roosevelt really wanted to get more involved in WW2 but he was blocked by Congress who wanted to stay out of it. Military Intelligence found out the Japanese were coming so there was no warning sent to Admiral Kimmel ("Tora! Tora! Tora!" is still THE most accurate portrayal of the whole Pearl Harbour saga). A surprise attack would shock and then enrage the population so then they'd agree to a war declaration and urge their Reps to vote for it. Much the same happened in 2001...... 🤔
@Primarch359
Жыл бұрын
The amount of film in this video is impressive and cool
@calvingreene90
Жыл бұрын
A carrier and escorts caught between two battleships and escorts putting serious hurt on the battleships impregnated the pooch but put up one hell of a fight as well.
@kidmohair8151
Жыл бұрын
The thing I love most about these are the film and pictures of battle lines and fleets engaging in what battle lines and fleets do. There used to be (may still be) a channel here on the tube-u-all that had loads of film of British fleet manoeuvres that (if I recall rightly) may have been called British Pacific Fleet...it doesn't seem to show up in a search though. At 39:29 there is a picture of what I assume is a main armament turret with just one gun elevated. I was under the impression that all standard US battleships had twin or triple, not double or three gun turrets, but that picture puts the lie to that assumption, I see.
@grandadmiralraeder9608
Жыл бұрын
so the New Mexico class was the first US battleship to have independent elevation for its main guns. All previous classes (New York, Pennsylvania, Nevada, etc) had all guns locked into the same elevation
@kidmohair8151
Жыл бұрын
@@grandadmiralraeder9608 thank you for the info. One other thing that is on my mind is how cramped the working space must have been, for the crews working the middle gun.
@grandadmiralraeder9608
Жыл бұрын
@@kidmohair8151 not as much as you'd think i believe (fact checking might be needed), cos most of the crew are at the back and the turret is enormous
@kidmohair8151
Жыл бұрын
@@grandadmiralraeder9608 turret plans please! I'll see if I can find anything. I have run across some videos that show how british 15/42 turrets functioned, but those are doubles, not three gun turrets.
@grandadmiralraeder9608
Жыл бұрын
@@kidmohair8151 oh are those cramped? If so then you're probably right that yes the three gun turrets would've been. Certainly the triples with the guns so close together (e.g. Arizona/Pennsylvania) would be rather cramped for the middle gun i'd assume
@marvwatkins7029
Жыл бұрын
Perhaps "Problem" was the wrong term to choose. All kinds of actual problems, many chronic, actually existed, especially late one Sunday morn at Pearl Harbor
@madensmith7014
Жыл бұрын
I still find it funny that Pearl Harbor was something everyone thought up as possible. Reinforces my bias that the Japanese really likes to think by the book.
@stephenconroy5908
Жыл бұрын
USS Oklahoma out of the fog: LET FLY! (Master and Commander theme intensifies)
@AC_WILDCARD
Жыл бұрын
Straight up foreshadowing the Scharnhorst n Gneisenau showdown with Glorious.
@glennsimpson7659
Жыл бұрын
Presumably ADM Kimmel was a high level participant in these fleet exercises, which makes it all the more difficult to understand why he Wes not more alert to the possibility of a Sunday morning air attack.
@paulrasmussen8953
Жыл бұрын
He was hampered by the army general. And note many warning signs were ignored by lower officers
@dukeford8893
Жыл бұрын
Kimmel wasn't an admiral yet. He was the Navy's Budget Officer for a good part of the 1930's.
@nerva-
Жыл бұрын
I liked all the cool footage of battleship formations.
@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe
4 сағат бұрын
Washington and London Naval talks were very helpful as well. Treaty Crusers?
@Claymore5
Жыл бұрын
Good to know that the US Army thought that attacking early on a Sunday morning (Hawaii only, I assume) was bad form. There is a reason a countries navy is the Senior Service!
@stevewhite3424
Жыл бұрын
I wouldn't brag too hard the American fleet at pearl was hardly on its toes that Sunday morning and got hammered. It was just dumb luck the carriers weren't there.
@boobah5643
Жыл бұрын
A) Maybe you'd better explain that to the continental powers, where it isn't. B) It's 'senior' because it's older. No more, and no less.
@tedstriker5991
Жыл бұрын
The footage you got was amazing. I've never seen much of it.
@danpatterson8009
Жыл бұрын
So not only did the U.S. Navy foresee the vulnerability of Pearl Harbor to a surprise aerial attack, they demonstrated it, twice, years before the real thing took place. Was the administrative inertia in the Navy sufficient to bury these lessons under layers of protocol and the comfort of routine?
@matthewyang7893
Жыл бұрын
Wow a surprise air attack is very effective! Who woulda known?
@michaelsommers2356
Жыл бұрын
Anyone who knew of the attack on Taranto.
@danilorainone406
Жыл бұрын
same USN team courtsmartialed billy mitchell,shorted USN of shells needed to soften up iwo jima designed MK 48 dud torpedos,, dismissed PH vulnerability to attack from the air
@glennsimpson7659
Жыл бұрын
That’s the stern, actually. Seems like the underwater escape chamber has been lifted out of the sub by the crane in the background, perhaps for overhaul? Can’t think what else it could be, as it has a vertical watertight hatch visible
@theamazinghippopotomonstro9942
6 ай бұрын
It would be interesting to see a movie with a scene that looks like the start of the actual attack on pearl harbor but is quickly revealed to be a fleet problem excersize
@donsambo5488
Жыл бұрын
"Drum roll please" and I'm already laughing too hard.
@bryantcurtis2665
Жыл бұрын
Boiler technician 3rd class BT3 BRYANT, one of the last of the U.S.N. Boiler technicians checking in.
@trevorday7923
Жыл бұрын
US Army: "Oh come on, no-one would EVER attack Pearl Harbour on a Sunday morning!" IJN:**CARRIER NOISES INTENSIFY**
@rostdreadnorramus4936
Жыл бұрын
Could you do a video about USS Sachem?
@davidstange4174
Жыл бұрын
Foreshadowing
@SynchroScore
Жыл бұрын
_Nimitz_ and _Ford_ class carriers are nice and all, but I still say there is nothing as impressive as a dozen battleships plowing through the waves in line ahead. Especially when they turn in from line abreast.
@seannordeen5019
Жыл бұрын
A submarine put a simulated torpedo into Saratoga. I see that she started her fatal attraction to torpedoes at an early age.
@boobah5643
Жыл бұрын
Well, this is the third or fourth time _Saratoga_ has been 'sunk' by torpedo in one of these fleet exercises.
@kylesmith8934
Жыл бұрын
Yet, she managed to survive the war. Mostly thanks to being in dry dock so much.
@johnedreslin
Жыл бұрын
Great videos of US Naval ships at sea.
@EdibleClown
Жыл бұрын
You just gotta feel bad for the Lexington being caught in between two BBs like that
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