The Drydock - Episode 246

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:55 - The Illustious and Essex class carriers were known for their durability due to their armored decks, but how much damage would a german glide bomb, such as a Hs 293 or a Fritz X do to them?

00:08:25 - In such an event where the entire bridge crew is killed, but the rest of the ship is relatively intact. Was there a designated officer to take charge, or would there be a prolonged period Of confusion while everyone tried to find the senior surviving officer?

00:10:43 - Were the Hawkins class guns hand loaded or did she use rammers and if she did then how exactly was the mechanism kept safe from the elements and enemy fire?

00:12:46 - 'Ladies, Gentlemen and members of the Royal Navy'?

00:15:57 - In the time period you cover, it seems that catamarans most significant use was as vessels for submarine salvage, did they have any other use as naval vessels?

00:19:53 - How does the Gabbiano class compare to the British Flower class?

00:26:05 - Did the Italians ever consider mounting catapult fighters on any of their cruisers or battleships?

00:28:39 - It seems that the US and Germany were the only WW II navies that embraced the submarine as an independent raider. Is it accurate to say everyone else was fixated on the fleet scout role ?

00:32:49 - Where can I find out about the 2 truly vicious Dutch gunboats?

00:36:09 - ID'ing a sunk Texaco tanker?

00:37:49 - If Bismarck didn't detach Prinze Eugen do you think they would have stood somewhat of a chance?

00:40:06 - Why did the RN and USN return to external belts after using internal belts?

00:44:30 - Is there a legal reason for claimming if Bismarck was sunk or scuttled (ie. ownership of the wreck, 'eventual' recovery etc..) ?

00:47:45 - Is there any truth that a USCG cutter spotted Bismarck during the hunt?

00:49:02 - Couldn't they use LIDAR to "see" through the mud for torpedo damage?

00:53:03 - The Battle of Chunuk Bair

00:56:12 - The capture of U-570?

01:00:49 - 'American levels of AA fire' ?

[shadowfox]

…… I’m somehow falling behind in dry docks again. I’m half way through like … 234 I think. Drach is a beast with content. Love your work

[mattreganowski]

Not sure why I love Drach's videos as much as I do but I do. I've always been fascinated by warships and their armament, and Drach has a relaxing presentation, but I can listen to his videos ALL DAY!!😧😧😄😄👍👍

[joseph.d]

Thanks! I never had an interest in warships. Your vocal tone and knowledge makes it so interesting. Have a rum ration on your trip from me! : }

[SSSeTEDS]

The US had the Erie class of gun boats which were similar to the Dutch Flores. They were newer, larger and faster in comparison and as a result more versatile. Only built two. Erie would be sunk early by U-boat while acting as an escort. Charleston was active as an escort ship and for shore bombardment in the Alaska theater.

They were nearly identical except for armor and heavy guns to the Treasury Class cutters which were perhaps the most successful US naval ships of the mid-1930s. Their substantial size made them excellent in arctic waters and upgradable. They had the higherst U-boat per ship kill rate of any class in US service. They were kept in Coast Guard service into the late-1980s.

[jonathanpersson]

Two of my fathers uncles were in the Wellinton Rifles who attacked and took Chinook Bair. One was killed and the other was shot through the neck but survived. The one who was killed was probably the youngest New Zealander killed at Gallipoli he gave a false age when enlisting and was only 17 when killed. The fact that this ridge was lost the next day was a sore point with the Kiwis who had suffered so much to take it.

[JevansUK]

Missing factor in the case of Prinz Eugen and Bismarck, is that PE was desperately in need for refuel and when she finds the tanker she was down to a few hundred tons of fuel. If she stays with Bismarck she going to limiting Bismarck's pace as they need to save fuel so she potentially is as far ahead of the home fleet and refueling with CS1 still in contact is an impossibility so the really was no choice to release PE

[seanmalloy]

1:03:00 -- I remember an article about the Avalon Hill boardgame "Advanced Squad Leader", where they quoted from interview with a German soldier from WWII who'd fought against the Russians, British, and Americans, commenting on the tactics of the various countries -- the Russians tended to be very rigid in their tactics, not adapting to changes in the flow of the battle; the British were more flexible, but still tended to follow the predetermined battle plan even when situations had changed to make it less effective; and the Americans, well, it was hard to judge what tactics the Americans used, because it was so hard to see through all of the explosions from the artillery. The Americans seem to have gone all in on the 'more dakka' design philosophy wherever possible.

[mpetersen]

Nice to have a question responded to 👍

[porpoise]

45:30 It is pretty broad thing with Nazi Germany, western countries being heavily.incested in overstating its military capabilities. It seems to boil down to four things (with the exact combination varying on a case by case basis):

1) Look how awesome they were, no wonder we got our butts kicked for a couple years.
2) Look how awesome their tanks and ships and weapons etc, so much better than ours. But we won with inferior weapons so we must be that much better than the Germans.
3) Look how awesome those Germans and their weapons were in WWII, dont you want them on our side in WWIII?
4) Senior German officers having a massive influence on the official post-war histories. Not sure how much it applies to the naval side, but Halder, Mannstein, etc basically wrote the history of the Eastern Front to amount to "see how awesome we were, we only lost because of Hitler".

[douglaswhite]

I really enjoy watching your program. I hope you were continuing for many years very informative to the past and for us to deal with the future we must know the past good luck wish you nothing but the best keep up the good work love your programming God bless and protect you and yours long live the republic.

[philoaviaticus]

I too like Naval history. Three of my ancestors were US Navy, one a fighting Seabee. I am a retired AF flight surgeon.

[keab]

9:40 So Starfleet is really dumb for keeping the whole ship's senior staff on the Bridge during battles.

[scootergsp]

Drach, some weird audio stuttering start occurring around the 55:00-ish mark. Nothing horrible, but thought you might want to look into it.

Great video as always.

[genericpersonx]

00:28:39 - It seems that the US and Germany were the only WW II navies that embraced the submarine as an independent raider. Is it accurate to say everyone else was fixated on the fleet scout role ?

Both Britain and the Soviet Union attempted to use submarines in the Baltic early in the war to ravage German shipping, but they ran up against the fact the Kriegsmarine had learned hard lessons from the Great War and really doubled down on effective ASW operations in the region. It is often forgotten Germany actually had convoy systems in place before Britain did in the Great War because British submarines so quickly ravaged German shipping in the Baltic and North Sea.

Desiring NOT to repeat that pain, the Kriegsmarine exploited its near-absolute control of the entrances to the Baltic at both ends to basically make it impossible for significant numbers of enemy submarines to break in. Extensive minefields limited access to start with and a large fleet of ASW escorts with excellent hydrophones made it hard for those that did to operate long before they were caught. With control of the coasts and air, it was also effectively impossible for submarines to surface in the Baltic without someone on the Axis side seeing them quickly. Add in that much German shipping was being done on neutral Swedish ships as well, it became very cost-ineffective for submarines to sortie in the Baltic.

So it was not for want of desire that the Red Navy and Royal Navy were not butchering the Fascists!

[benwilson]

Probably not wise to put torpedos on the Flower Class. Lack of potential Targets. The sea would destroy them in the Winter gales. I suspect the Italian vessels would nor fare well in a winter storm in the North Atlantic.

[pwmiles]

00:12:46 - 'Ladies, Gentlemen and members of the Royal Navy'? - there seem to be a lot of urban myths about this. "Gentlemen" didn't have to have titles, in fact the great majority didn't, but you generally knew who was one. One of Jane Austen's heroines, Anne in 'Persuasion', who is herself the daughter of a baronet, marries a Royal Navy captain. This possibly reflects Austen's feelings about the matter, since two of her brothers were naval officers. At any rate "Ladies, Gentlemen and officers of the Royal Navy" would seem to imply that naval officers weren't gentlemen, when many if not most actually were. (The slightly higher standing of Esquire was conferred by a military rank of Army captain or above, and equivalents, which in the Navy would be Lieutenant.)

[renebatsch]

Townsends - YouTube 20 minutes ago.
Food That Time Forgot: Ships Biscuits
I'm going to watch it after Drydock

[johnbeyrau]

Regarding the question about the Standard Oil Tankers. The following is avalible on Abebooks: "Ships of the Esso Fleet in World War II" Several copies are listed..

[eqdoktor]

16:00 They are now only discovering significant structural cracking issues with the Independence class LCS trimarans. It would appear that once you grow catamarans and trimarans beyond the size of light corvettes and patrol boats, you will need very heavy strength support structures connecting the the two hulls or large outriggers.

[M.M.-U]

00:15:57 what about light and/or escort carriers? The ton to cubic meter ratio is much more favorable.
00:23:33 nitpic: the Gabbiano class has indeed an official complement of seven 20 mm but in "only" five mounts, two twin 20x65 Breda and 3 single 20x70 Oerlikon or Scottin