US Navy Logistics - From Small Beginnings... (1900-1942)

Today we take a look at how the USN's Base Force and then Service Force came into existence and the challenges it faced in the opening year of US involvement in WW2.

Sources:
Beans, Bullets and Black Oil - Rear Admiral Carter
Gray Steel and Black Oil -
Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1995 -
Thomas Wildenberg
MAJOR LOGISTICS LESSONS OF WORLD WAR II - Kent D. Algire

[gagamba]

Week after week I'm astonished by the quality of the research. At 6000+ words per 30-odd minute Rum Ration episode, he's writing a 200-page book every 7 to 8 weeks. And let's not forget Dry Dock Q&A's that are 1 to 6 hours of content plus the numerous Guides at 1000 to 1500 words each. And the other episodes. IIRC, he still edits the videos plus having to find pictures/photos/footage.

Prodigious is an understatement. Thank you.

[ph]

The most essential part of any fleet logistics. It is the Ice Cream Barges.

[johnoneill]

Someone had a sense of humor naming the ammunition ships "pyro" and "nitro"

[ph]

This is why I view RADM (later VADM) Fletcher as getting the short end of the stick for the first few months of the Pacific War. Because you can't pursue aggressive actions for too long if you don't have the supplies or the means to transport and load supplies onto your warships.

[akflyerfan]

I can’t wait to see the next video for 1943 onwards. That’s the timeframe that my father’s repair ship (USS Jason-AR 8 / ARH 1) was in service. She was in continuous service until the 1990’s.

[michaelsullo]

As a retired US Navy/DoD logistician, I found this video of great interest to me. I hope it gave some armchair strategists insight that you have to plan/initiate your logistics before you can proceed with any Naval/Military operations. Bravo Drach!!!

[TomFynn]

A game "Supreme Commander: Logistics" set to "Easy" will probably be mindbogglingly difficult.

[edwardloomis]

USS Vestal and her crew are an epic World War II story. Her Pearl Harbor heroics were followed by stalwart service.

[BobK]

Looking forward to seeing my ship in the next episode. USS Sacramento AOE-1 the largest, fastest auxiliary ship in the navy.

[ethanmckinney]

Now we need a game where you play the logistics commander.

[steveellis]

I served on the second USS Nitro - AE-23. Always happy to see when logistics get some attention.

[n]

If you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, New York, please visit industry city. It’s a complex of warehouse buildings that have been converted into contemporary businesses and the train track areas were troop, trains and supply. Trains came in and out has been converted into a very large food court… But what’s of interest maybe to you they kept all of the signage on the concrete walls of destinations in theaters of operation, including North Africa, Italy, France, Russia, and various points in the Pacific. It’s kind of amazing.

[dovepond]

Excellent coverage of a completely forgotten yet essential aspect of the pacific war.

[crichtonbruce]

I'm so, so exited when Drach produces video's like this about vital but little known aspects of naval history. I hope some day he will cover the naval architects who designed the specialist ships under such huge pressures of need and time.

Logistics is such an intersting topic. I know it is outside of the period the channel covers, but the Logistics of the Falklands War is also a fascinating topic.

[MARGATEorcMAULER]

A man with your capacity for workload and your far ranging knowledge would have been quite an asset for the Service Force back then! Thanks for all you do❤

[bkjeong]

Ahh, USN logistics. The only thing more impressive than USN hull numbers.

[andrewboyle]

@drach this was a wonderfully informative video. I think to the shellacking that Adm Fletcher got for letting down the marines during the landing at Guadalcanal etc etc it’s important to remember how underdeveloped the supply train he had to work with, and just what constraints he was under. His three carrier battles in which he was in command, coral sea, midway and eastern Solomons, were all in that very lean period when the logistical support just wasn’t there. I think the point you make about fast fleet oilers in particular is really crucial. Maybe there were more fighting commanders out there but the way Fletchers marshalled his relatively meagre forces to sink SIX Japanese carriers is nothing short of magnificent. His decisions to Marshall his dwindling resources and protect his vital carriers may have won him few friends but clearly here was an admiral who understood the importance of maintaining the offensive capability particularly in situation when resupply and repair on station were so difficult.

[petesheppard]

And this video can only hint at the mind-boggling complexity of the logistics problems faced and solved.

[StevenPalmer-csix]

USS Crescent City was originally built as the passenger freighter SS Del Orleans. In the early 1970's she was pulled from the "mothball fleet" and became the training ship for the California Maritime Academy. She replaced the slightly younger Training Ship Golden Bear which had turbo-electric propulsion vs steam turbine.