Ryan I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me and my father!!! This is the best Christmas present you could have ever given my father! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
@@renpytom it was the best money I ever spent. My father served on her during Vietnam…. 70-71. My father is my hero and the reason I too joined the service. I am a veteran too and very proud to share that with my Father. She may not have been as famous as other ships, but she was a grand lady and she took care of my father. He was a helmsman so he got to be in control of her during some amazing and scary moments.
@@jonathanstrong4812 thank you. It was so amazing to have my father call me after watching this. Now I got to know a little more about the ship my father proudly served on. She was an amazing ship, and I regret I never got to see her in person.
@Rick Middleton : Bravo Zulu to your father and you. The men who sailed on Hancock served well. There my be several others from that time I know of. Wish they or their cruise books were available. Well done to your father, you, and Ryan.
Those designers and builders of the Essex class carriers were heaven sent. They appeared at the right time when the enterprise and the other were either sunk or damaged. They continued their service long after the war ended. The war in the war in the pacific was won by our brave servicemen, but they had a nation behind them, whether it’s at a drafting table or a farmer in the field. Definitely all hand on deck
Thanks for posting this video. I served on board Hancock in 1974-75. We took part in operations "Eagle Pull" and "Frequent Wind" in April 1975. I served with the US Navy from August 1971 to August 1991. Yes, I was a lifer.
I was on Hanna`s final cruise too!..I was on "Smokewatch" on a Really Dark Black Night, When the "AirBoss" Shut down Flight Opps!!!....Oops...that was an "Ahshit"..😆🤣😂
My father too, served on the Hancock. I believe it was between ‘57 and ‘61. He was stationed in Pensacola and my sister and I were born at the hospital at the Pensacola naval air station. Me in ‘58 and her in ‘59. Thanks for doing this video! It brings back a lot of memories.
In the 1980's I was a civilian employee of the Navy at the NAVSTA Norfolk fuel depot. One of my coworkers retired from the Hancock (and was about to retire from civil service) told me that the Hancock was tho only Navy ship that didn't have the name on the stern in block letters; instead having the signature of John Hancock as written on the Declaration of Independence. Couldn't find any pictures online, but the Spruance class destroyer built in the mid 70's carried on the tradition.
Brought back so many memories, I served on Hanna from July 73 to June 75 in the Hydraulics Gang maintaining the Aircraft elevators and other Hydraulic Systems.
What kind of material condition was the Hancock in when you served on her? Also, was she outfitted with a centralized air conditioning system when you were on her?
@@cassidy109 No central Air. We had a Package unit in the #3 Elevator Ram Room where we slept. We referred to Hanna as the rusty ghost of the Arabian Coast when we were deployed to the Indian Ocean for the Arab/Israeli war in 73. I jumped off the Flight Deck on the Port Side in front of the #2 Elevator onto the Cat Walk and about 20-30 feet of it fell off into the IO. Just by my stupid luck, I landed on a brace in stead of the Expanded metal mesh so I didn't go over board. Most of our machinery worked, just leaked like a sieve, Aft Steering equipment was made by a company that went out of business after WW-2 and was fun getting parts for. B&A crane could not pass the Static Load Teat when we were in the 74 Yard Period. We had issues in the Forward Elevator Machinery room with NSFO (Black Oil) leaks when they were filling the F/O tanks. I still liked the tour of duty as an EN2, as the only Engineman in a Machinist Mate gang, I avoided extra duty in the Engine Rooms when they were short handed. I was to senior to mess with and to junior to be trusted. I retired in 93 as a GSMC serving on Spruance Class DDs and Perry Class FFGs. Still look back on Hanna as a good tour with some faults as with anything else in life. Still miss being at sea sometimes.
@@Sundancer268 my father served on her 69-70 so I would assume her condition had to be about the same. He was a helmsman and tells me all the time how loud the catapult system was. Something about some berthing quarters or relax area being right under it, and he told me how it was ear piercing at times….lol
@@RickMiddleton-1 We had the noise issues also, the Airdales would back their jets out onto #3 elevator from the hanger deck and run their Jet Engine tests most of the night so the planes would be ready for flight ops the next day. With the cables for the Elevator platform coming down into the Ram Room just below the hanger deck, the noise had a direct path into our berthing compartment. The people berthed below the Arresting cables and the Catapults also had a bad time sleeping. I think the only people with descent berthing were the officers. The Chiefs quarters were above After Steering, though it was not as bad as the other compartments for noise, it was still there. I know on my other ships you got use to the continuous background noises of the ship and when something changed I would immediately wake up to figure out what was going on. On the Hanna, the Air Craft operations were never continuous so you could not get use to them.
I just wanna say I love what you're doing. Using your position to produce this content for us, partly, in pursuit of museum funding. It's a real win/win
Awesome seeing a Essex class CV brought into the spotlight. My Father served aboard the CV33 Kearsarge a slightly newer model in the Essex series, from 58-62. He arrived from Great Lakes in time too see her operate as a true CV with jet fighters and then his next year see her converted too a CVS or Sub Hunter with no fighters and many attack and bombers plus helo's. The Essex CV's were of 20 plus in operation at one time and ensured a US Naval Air presence nearly anywhere in the World.
My Uncle George served on USS Hancock during World War II. He was an Avenger crew member stinger gunner/radio operator . I still have his newsletter from the ship it was really cool seeing this.
I was part of the re-commissioning at PNSY in 1968 as a Sea Cadet, and my first ship after I was Commissioned was the Hancock, on its final deployment. Thanks for doing this.
At 14:40 the aircraft landing seems to have got a "two wire" out of (by my count) ten wires. I served in the 80s and it was four wires, as you described. The early jet guys apparently had a lot more wires and a straight deck. The new Ford Class has only 3 wires. . I never noticed a difference between the deceleration you felt from different wires.
I understand what you mean. Between this video I had made for my dad and the stories from her that he shares with me I feel like I have gotten a better understanding of ol hannah.
@@RickMiddleton-1 When the Intrepid (a sister ship of the Hancock) was refurbished and moved back to its dock in NYC, I took my Dad to see it. When he was standing in the bridge in front of the wheel, I think he was back in the Pacific in '43. When the docent told him that the max roll was 45 degrees, my Dad told him that he had rolled the Hancock 70 degrees during Halsey's typhon.
My grandfather served aboard the ship as a Gunner's mate for a 40 mm gun position at the aft end of the ship. Part of this experience that he let his kids know about was the fact that they fired on a mig 15 and they were unable to track him effectively to kill him even through he was doing a head-on pass practically with his gun position. How true this is I cannot say the original source for the story has been dead for over a decade now.
Fun fact: USS Hancock's Carrier Air Wing 21 fighter squadrons, VF-24 "Renegades" and VF-211 "Fighting Checkmates" were the only two fighter squadrons in the USN to transition from F-8 Crusaders to F-14A Tomcats without ever having operated F-4 Phantoms.
Yeah, The F-4`s were Too heavy for Hanna to launch, so we only had The F-8`s, A-4 Skyhawks and the A-6 Intruders. " #3 Fireroom to #1 CAT...650lbs of 750 Deg.F, Superheated Steam, Ready for launch"
Very cool to see some of the lesser known ships get some attention. Also, It is unfortunate that Bunker Hill or Franklin wasn't saved given the amount of hell they saw.
Hanging on my wall is a nice pic of the Hancock steaming in the pacific. In my storage are slides, 16mm video etc that my dad took while on her. When the Korean war ground to a halt my dad was transferred from a minesweeper to the Hancock while she was undergoing sea trials for the steam catapult. He had some close calls. On one occasion some guy decided to ignore tag and lockout and energized the elevator while my dad was working on its lift motor. Sparks everywhere and my dad was pissed. That guy was apparently busted down to seaman. Then there was the gutless cutlass. The famed plane that had long spool up so if you lose power at the right time, you are toast. There was the event that killed a pilot (memory fails me but I'm thinking commander Kildaire or something like that) and some other guys, and sent my dad and some others running for their lives as burning jet fuel spilled all over the place. Ryan, I really appreciate this video. Brings back a lot of memories of my dad talking about it. Wish my dad were here to see it.
Then this video was for both of our fathers. I am glad my tribute to my father allowed you to have more memories of your father. I am jealous of your picture of the Hancock. I have been trying to find a good one for my father.
@@RickMiddleton-1 If I can find a means to contact you I can do my best to take a picture of the one I have. It's not great, but it's very real world. Steaming along somewhere. Note sure where. I plan to have my dads slides converted to digital and can send some of those as well. There are a variety of pics. Leaving WA with everyone's cars on the flight deck, gunnery practice(anti aircraft), pics after the jet crash, takeoffs and landings, misc.
@@NickFrom1228 oh wow that would be great. The way you describe them I am sure they are amazing pictures that are timeless and very special to you. I would be glad to give you my email or something so we can get in touch with each other.
Surprisingly interesting, lots of things about Hancock in particular and the Essex class in general too! Glad I watched it. I think you covered it pretty damn well, sir!
Thanks!!! My Grandmother's brother was Killed on the USS Essex CV9 from the famous Kamakasi (judy) hit that's shown all the time in documentaries! He and my Grandfather were in WWII as Sailors... leading to me retiring myself! 10 years as a Boiler Tech, 12 as a Gas Turbine Mechanic... best of both worlds!
Born and raised in Louisville, KY. Very land locked. My father was a US Marine on Guadalcanal and Tarawa. I was drafted in 1969 and spent 2 years in The US Army, all stateside. But I was always a fan of the Navy. I've been fortunate to tour the USS Texas near Houston and the USS Yorktown at Charlestown plus the USS Constellation at Baltimore. Now in my "silver" years, I hope to see the New Jersey and other such heroic monuments. Pie in the sky is getting to Pearl Harbor to pay my respects at USS Arizona.
I served on CV-19's namesake, the Spruance-class DD USS JOHN HANCOCK (DD-981), from January of '90 to January of '93 as her First Lieutenant then Gunnery Officer, and we did indeed have her name in the famous John Hancock script on the transom. She was fun to drive!
Interesting episode. I was active in the late '60s in Anti Sub Squadron VS-24 aboard both the USS Randolph (CVS15) and USS Yorktown (CVS10). The Randolph was decommissioned for scrapping in 1969 so the Yorktown was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and we were aboard her before we were transferred. A Carrier Aviator is always striving for an OK 3 - OK for the approach and the 3 for catching the 3 wire. The time from the point you roll out of your turn to the approach and call the ball (acknowledging you see the glide slope reference light) to the time you hit the deck, is measured in seconds. And the catapult shot is referred to as the wild ride.
I knew a guy who was on the Randolph from 65 to 69 his name was George Bob I think he was aviation's ordinance mate. He showed me pictures of the Forrestal that moored alongside them in Virginia after It came back from its incident with the fire and it got patched up in the Philippines.
@@pdc.1508RedDevil. I was a Nugget (new) LTJG Aviator on that deployment with VS-24. I don't remember a George Bob, but then I was just trying to get familiar with all the Aviators in VS-24 as I had reported to the squadron two weeks before we sailed. (I had just completed the final phase of my training down in Key West transitioning to the S-2E). Your friend could have been with our sister squadron VS-27, or the E-1 detachment, or the helo squadron HS-3. Personnel in the Squadrons tended not to mix a whole lot. I only knew on Officer with VS-27 as I had gone to flight training with him, but he didn't report until we returned to Norfolk in December. The separation of the squadrons resulted in my losing contact with him. They were on the other side of the hanger from us and we didn't go over there and they didn't come to our side. That was very unfortunate, but typical of the Aviation community at the time. I distinctly remember helping to move our supplies from the hanger at NAS Norfolk over to Naval Base Norfolk (next door to each other). During one of our trips we went up to what was called Buzzard's Roost (the observation platform on the back of the island at the 07 level [flight deck was the 03 level] and looking over to the Forrestal. The damage was horrendous, most of her flight deck aft of the island was gone. The damage she sustained gave tribute to her construction and damage control parties. In later years when going through some Scout Leader training in North Florida, encountered some current and recently separated Navy guys (we were near Jacksonville) and we discussed the Forrestal (whose new unofficial nickname was Forrest Fire). She was never ever completely the same as they did not repair some of the equipment. At that point she was downgraded to serve as the training carrier replacing the Lexington. After the Forrestal was decommissioned, that duty now rotates among the 11 active duty CVNs.
i served as a ETR (electronics technician radar) on board the Hancock 1974 to its decommissioning in 1976. I did my first of three West Pac tours on board. I was transferred to the guided missile cruiser Chicago CG11 and did two more Westpac tours and left the Navy in 1978 as a second class petty officer.
I grew up in NY, back when the elevated highway was still there on the West Side (though not in use) and spent a lot of time visiting the USS Intrepid (another Essex Class).
I've only been aboard two navy ships, and guess what they are? the Hancock and the new jersey! so this really excited me! my dad was a LT Cmdr and I got to go on the hancock in SF bay early 60's, and then the NJ in pearl harbor 1968.
You do the best battle ship video of any. Channel I sence and from what I seen on video you guys are keeping new Jersey in some of the best condition of just about any other. Battle ship of here class
The reason the remaining Essex class carriers with the angled flight deck modifications were retired in the 80s, except for the one retained as the deck landing training carrier (Lexington) was their inability to operate larger/heavier aircraft in any meaningful numbers (as they occupied more flight deck parking and hangar space), and even F-4s and A-6s were considered too large for them, let alone the later F-14s. In 1968 her Air wing used 3 squadrons of A-4s for the attack role, and two squadrons of F-8s for fighters, along with mixed squadron of E-1 Tracers, EKA-3 Skywarriors (used for ESM, ECM and tankers), and RF-8s for photo-recons, usually 4 of each type, plus a couple helicopters for plane guard duties. Some pf the angled deck Essexes were used as dedicated ASW carriers with E-1s, S-1s, and a squadron of A-4s to "guard" the ASW aircraft if required. The straight deck carriers that didn't get the conversion were used as LPH conversions until more purpose built Iwo Jima and Tarawa class ships were built to take their place. Lexington remained the dedicated training carrier into the early 90s until replaced by Forrestal and was the last Essex class in service.
@@dave8599 The US Navy did...why did you think the USMC bought the Harriers and SPECIFICALLY backed what has become the F-35B ?! The Iwo Jimas, Tarawa, Wasp and America class have all operated such aircraft during their careers.
@@gunhog11 One of the Iwo's was used to test the sea control ship concept in the 1970s, embarking a couple squadrons of USMC AV-8As instead of its usual mix of CH-46s and CH-53Ds.
Made 3 combat cruises, 68 - 69, 72 and 73 (technically not a combat cruise, but since I got shot at by 37mm taking some post war photos over the A Shau Valley -- they missed but were close enough I could see and hear the rounds going by -- I consider it a combat cruise). Over 300 RF-8G traps on that ship. Also made the 66-67 cruise on her twin, Ticonderoga. Those "27 Charlies" were great operators. They could generate almost as many sorties as the "big decks" and could recover their planes faster due to shorter run out a-gear. 150,000 shp, 600psi/800 degree controlled super heat and could still squeeze out just over 31kts even with an added 8' beam and added weight. They shared their power plants with CBs Alaska and Guam.
USS Hancock was 22 years old when I walked on her decks at age 11 in 1966. And while it hold a spot in my heart, an Iowa class still wins out. Because dad's first ship was the USS Missouri when it was the only Battleship in service with the US Navy. And he loved that ship. An Army MG that we knew also had served on the Missouri so dad and he got along quite well, as did I. Dad tried to get to the NJ when it came out of mothballs for Vietnam. Even volunteering to take a pay grade reduction and rating change back to his old rating but the Navy would not hear of them losing one of their Master Chiefs for that purpose. ( Navy scuttlebutt knew she would be coming back before it was officially announced, Dad was in DC when it was made official. ) So we ended up in Japan where I went aboard the Hancock while it was in port at Yokosuka. Almost a 50 mile trip for us students to get there. Years later I saw a plaque in my Division Director's office that showed he too had been aboard the Hancock. Small world when you travel in military circles. Also as the Hancock had 5" guns, it could also be used for shore targets if need be. Those 5/38 guns were the same as what were used on the cruisers and even the Battleships. Just by the time of Vietnam, she had lost her 5/38s in twin turrets and only had the 4 singles still onboard. I have heard what one of these rounds sounds like and felt the shock wave that it produced from not far away from one being test fired. Don't think I would want to be on the receiving end of one.
That shot at the end with the outer barrels from both forward turrets is *frightening*. Who would want that pointing at them? Something about '"yeah we have six here, but we don't even need those others to take care of you".
Ryan, on modern carriers the arresting wires are numbered from the bow back. You still want to hit the number three wire, or the number two. But the number one wire is the forward most wire. Reagan, Bush, and the Fords only have three wires. MMN1(SW)?USN Ret.
I think one item not mentioned in the video that's pretty important is the disposition of the Essex ships. 4 of the 4 Iowa class were preserved. As well as 2 of the 4 of the South Dakota class and 1 of the 2 North Carolina class. By comparison, 4 of the 24 Essex ships were preserved. The USS Midway is the ONLY post Essex aircraft carrier preserved. She is likely to be the last aircraft carrier preserved.
Minor correction: There were 24 Essex-class carriers built - not 26. The first 23 were commissioned, one right after the other, between Dec 1942 and Nov 1946 to basically the same design. The last - USS Oriskany - was commissioned in Sep 1950 to the SCB-27A modernization design, and later received the SCB-27C & SCB-125 upgrades at the same time. Eight other ships received the SCB-27A upgrade, and six other ships received the SCB-27C upgrade - out of these, 13 received the SCB-125 upgrade, either successively or concurrently.
I have a random question. The USS Lexington has had two 5"38 gun houses added to her since becoming a museum ship. Do we know where (what other ship?) those gun houses came from?
17:49 - Impunity, really... The Italians mined HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant in Alexandria harbour. Why should any battleship be immune from an imaginative attack like that? Great channel by the way.
As far as the part about what happens if you miss all of the wires, my understanding as a (non-carrier) pilot is that carrier landings are always flown as go-arounds with full go-around power applied just before arriving at the deck. So, if you miss the wires, you just continue going around and circle back to try again rather than having your go-around be suddenly aborted by an arresting cable. (At least on modern angled flight decks.) Where you run into major problems is if you grab the wire, but it breaks. My understanding (though happy to be corrected by carrier pilots/crew if this is not accurate) is that ejecting is the only option in those cases, as you don't have enough room to either stop or to get back up to a speed where you can fly before you run out of deck and your aircraft goes for a swim. Of course, for those of us who land the normal way on terra firma, we're always ready to initiate a go-around at any point during an approach, but we don't actually apply TO/GA power before touching down like carrier pilots unless we actually do decide to go around.
Yes, they had ejection seats. They were NOT "zero-zero" seats like today. You had to have both altitude and airspeed for the seat to save your life. Too little of either and the parachute would not have time to open and slow you down. So in case of a major problem like a "cold cat shot", you were going into the water. Jet airplanes tend to sink very quickly. So having the canopy open gave you a quicker exit from the sinking airplane. Nor did the pilot have to worry about a jammed closed canopy in the crash.
Great Video. Can you make a comparison video between USS New Jersey and the French Alsace class battleships. If built, would they have been the French equivalent of the Iowas?
Ryan, Are you certain that the different wires had different stopping distances? I thought that all the arresting wires were connected to one single arresting gear in the bowels of the ship and therefore the stopping power on the 1 wire is the same stopping power on the 4 wire. Am I incorrect about this? Thank you for the wonderful video and any follow-up you are able to provide.
I don't know about Essex class but on the later carriers all the wires had their own engine. The wires would stop faster as the plan trapped further down the deck to avoid accidents. It wasn't a big difference though.
Wasnt there an exercise much later after WW2 when an Iowa was tasked to sneak up on a carrier group and did so successfully to subsequently sink the whole bunch in a simulated attack but was stripped of this success because the Navy didnt like the outcome? 😅 I vaguely remember reading about such a scenario but cant remember the details other than she made good use of adverse weather conditions or something to that extend.
Since they both operated at the same time in the 1980s, how would an Iowa class stack up against a Forrestal-Class Carrier? I served on USS Ranger CV-61 from 87 to 91, and we served alongside USS Missouri BB-63 during the 1987 Ernest Will Mission during our 87 deployment. USS Ranger was the first super carrier designed from it's inception to have an angled flight deck (Forrestal and Saratoga were designed with straight decks and converted during construction), and the only one of the Forrestals to retain it's original hull configuration throughout it's lifetime. Ranger was also the most decorated of the 4 Forrestal-Class carriers!
Seems I recall USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) was originally supposed to be USS BONHOMME RICHARD but was renamed YORKTOWN after the sinking of USS YORKTOWN (CV-5). Part of the premises was to anger/confuse the Japanese...if I remember correctly.
That's also why the US Navy had both the 3rd Fleet and the 5th Fleet. Generally the same ships under different command, but it was intended to confuse the Japanese into thinking the US Navy was absolutely humongous.
14:56 weird, could've sworn that the number 13 would be avoided in stuff like aircraft/boats. I know some buildings in US don't have the 13th floor, but apparently not with these. Neat.
A good friend of mine was a Marine CH-53 crew chief embarked upon the USS Hancock in April 1975 aiding the evacuation of Americans and local nationals out of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia and later Saigon when the Cambodian and South Vietnamese governments collapsed during the Communist Offensive. He told me South Vietnamese Air Force pilots were flying out Hueys to the Hancock, loaded with people and their stuff, and as soon as the Hancock crew got everyone out of the chopper, the Huey was pushed overboard. My friend told me he grabbed an ashtray out of one South Vietnamese Huey before it was pushed into the drink.
back in the days of those 2 ships, the BB can deliver ordnance in any weather and day or night. Airplanes did not have that capability at the time. This was over looked by Ryan in the video
ok hold it a second.... you said at 12:10 that the 4" armored belt was removed??? im assuming this is welded on to the carrier so how is this removed? grind off the welds? sounds crazy time consuming and expensive also, now aren't you missing thickness and the fluid dynamics of the hull change? explain yourself Mr Ryan ;)
Great content as always. Quick question. What was the last/most recent ship to be pulled out of mothballs and returned to service? Are there any ships currently serving that were once decommissioned and then returned to service?
We built 26 Essex Class carriers. We built dozens and dozens of smaller carriers. And that’s in addition to all the airplanes and ships we used to fight the European war. What Japan was thinking is beyond me.
Sort of like comparing apples and oranges. Carriers and battleships are large naval units - which is about all they have in common. Carriers avoid trouble - they exist to launch, recover, and service their air group. Battleships look for trouble, and deal with it using long range, heavy caliber gunfire.
One other thing, right after she joined the fleet the USS North Carolina became very popular as an air defense platform. USS Enterprise stayed close to the Showboat every chance she could during the Guadalcanal campaign. The heavy AA armament this battlewagon carried was a game changer as far as the Big E was concerned, the Japanese pilots who witnessed the fire she could put up often decided that better targets could be found well out of her reach.
In 1970 an Essex class carrier with the SCB 125 mod carried 24 F8 Crusaders. 36 A7 Corsair IIs plus another dozen AEW, rotary wing, utility and Photo Recon aircraft..
Simple answer is yes. The Hancock would have carried A-7s and A-4s or A-6s with greater strike power and much longer range. The A-6 was an all weather all time bomber so night or bad weather didn't matter. This is taken as seeing each other at long range. If it started as a knife fight under 20 miles range then the outcome could very well be different.
A Reporter asked a Carrier Pilot during iraq war about his "Worst Nightmare"..."Was it flying thru anti-aircraft flack?"..No! Was it dodging heatseeking missiles?..No! Was it dogfighting MIGs?..No!.."Its returning to the Ship...At night...In Bad weather"
Essex Class has versatility, but if you can get a battleship within firing distance of the main guns, especially at night with low visibility, game over. The main guns will tear a carrier apart.
Got your numbers off a little bit. Only 24 total built and only 17 commissioned by wars end. Source Alan Raven, Essex-Class Carriers warship design series, naval institute press 1988
Yeah the Essex could not take F-4 Phantom and A-6 Intruder sized aircraft but the British proved with the British Phantom and heavier Buccaneer on the Audacious Class
The British re-engined their Phantoms with Rolls-Royce Spey engines in order to give them greater thrust when taking off from much smaller deck's although USN Phantoms and Intruders did do cross-decking off the Ark in the 70's so I guess your point stands 👍
The a-gear and cats on the 27 Charlies could handle the F-4 and A-6 and routinely did operate A-3s. The problem with the F-4 was that its tailhook was prone to tearing up the metal clad wooden decking in the landing area. The F-4 was just not practical because its size reduced the number that could be carried and its airborn fuel requirement was about 3 times that of an F-8. The F-8 could do everything the F-4 could do except maybe an effective head on intercept so there was no valid reason to operate F-4s on the small decks.
What's left, NJ versus the Death Star? How about NJ vs the entire British Grand Fleet at Jutland; that's an interesting thought, although totally unfair and would come down really to ammo and hit effectiveness. I don't know, could one WWII era Iowa have sank the entire Grand Fleet at Jutland? Doubt it could have before main gun ammo ran low, but an equally pointless question nonetheless.
The US Navy used to own all of its warships. Now, many are leased--and I don't know the details. Leased ships can't be "public subscriptions." Crashing an airplane into Annette isn't good.
It makes no more sense to say USN carriers had wood decks than saying same for most battleships and cruisers which also had same. The wood is an ergonomic and insulation veneer over steel plating.
@@bobharrison7693 Checking out my handy-dandy Naval Institute Press Anatomy of the Ship on the USS Intrepid -- got it to help build my 1/350 Yorktown CV-10 -- the cross section of the flight deck indicates that the wood was roughly 2"x 4" on maybe half inch sheet steel. So I would think the steel was the main structural support, with the wood topping for the reasons listed above. When the class was converted to angle deck in the 50s the flight deck was aluminum, don't know if it was still supported by steel (if so can see corrosion issues).
@@gregp6210 The only aluminum on the flight deck was an aluminum/wood sandwich material used on the area under the cross deck pendants used to protect the deck from tail hook impacts. The rest of the deck was fir planking (8" by 8", as I remember) with a thin steel sheet underneath to prevent water leakage. In the mid 60s they covered the wood with a non skid impregnated plastic material. That work well -- for a while. The problem was that as the plastic was damaged, it allowed water seepage, and subsequent rot, into the wood. We found out the hard way one day on Hancock when an A-3 main mount came through the overhead of ready room #1 on the O-2 level abeam the island. The DC folks were in hog heaven having some real damage to control. They cut out the rotted load-bearing fir planks (much bigger than 2"x4"s), straightened the bent steel support beams and laid new fir planking.
@@bobharrison7693 We may be talking at cross purposes here. According the the Anatomy of the Ship book, during WW 2 the Essex class carriers at 2x4 planking atop thin sheet steel. If the steel was high tensile as the USN commonly used at the time, then it probably was the main structural support for the planes. Those were relatively light weight WW2 piston jobs. You are talking about the jet era. It looks like they had switched to 8x8 lumber to provide greater support for the bigger, harder landing jets.
Carriers have a purpose but the battleship can get close and flex its muscles or stand off and fire tomahawks without risking pilots. My money is on the battleship!
Ryan I can’t thank you enough for doing this for me and my father!!! This is the best Christmas present you could have ever given my father! Merry Christmas to you and your loved ones!
Thank you for sponsoring this so we could find out about your father's ship.
i second that!
@@renpytom it was the best money I ever spent. My father served on her during Vietnam…. 70-71. My father is my hero and the reason I too joined the service. I am a veteran too and very proud to share that with my Father. She may not have been as famous as other ships, but she was a grand lady and she took care of my father. He was a helmsman so he got to be in control of her during some amazing and scary moments.
@@jonathanstrong4812 thank you. It was so amazing to have my father call me after watching this. Now I got to know a little more about the ship my father proudly served on. She was an amazing ship, and I regret I never got to see her in person.
@Rick Middleton : Bravo Zulu to your father and you. The men who sailed on Hancock served well. There my be several others from that time I know of. Wish they or their cruise books were available. Well done to your father, you, and Ryan.
Those designers and builders of the Essex class carriers were heaven sent. They appeared at the right time when the enterprise and the other were either sunk or damaged. They continued their service long after the war ended. The war in the war in the pacific was won by our brave servicemen, but they had a nation behind them, whether it’s at a drafting table or a farmer in the field. Definitely all hand on deck
Thanks for posting this video. I served on board Hancock in 1974-75. We took part in operations "Eagle Pull" and "Frequent Wind" in April 1975. I served with the US Navy from August 1971 to August 1991. Yes, I was a lifer.
I was on Hanna`s final cruise too!..I was on "Smokewatch" on a Really Dark Black Night, When the "AirBoss" Shut down Flight Opps!!!....Oops...that was an "Ahshit"..😆🤣😂
My father too, served on the Hancock. I believe it was between ‘57 and ‘61. He was stationed in Pensacola and my sister and I were born at the hospital at the Pensacola naval air station. Me in ‘58 and her in ‘59. Thanks for doing this video! It brings back a lot of memories.
My sister and l were born there too. 54 and56 respectively. Dad was a flight instructor after dive bombing in ww2 and Korea.
In the 1980's I was a civilian employee of the Navy at the NAVSTA Norfolk fuel depot. One of my coworkers retired from the Hancock (and was about to retire from civil service) told me that the Hancock was tho only Navy ship that didn't have the name on the stern in block letters; instead having the signature of John Hancock as written on the Declaration of Independence. Couldn't find any pictures online, but the Spruance class destroyer built in the mid 70's carried on the tradition.
Brought back so many memories, I served on Hanna from July 73 to June 75 in the Hydraulics Gang maintaining the Aircraft elevators and other Hydraulic Systems.
What kind of material condition was the Hancock in when you served on her?
Also, was she outfitted with a centralized air conditioning system when you were on her?
@@cassidy109 No central Air. We had a Package unit in the #3 Elevator Ram Room where we slept. We referred to Hanna as the rusty ghost of the Arabian Coast when we were deployed to the Indian Ocean for the Arab/Israeli war in 73. I jumped off the Flight Deck on the Port Side in front of the #2 Elevator onto the Cat Walk and about 20-30 feet of it fell off into the IO. Just by my stupid luck, I landed on a brace in stead of the Expanded metal mesh so I didn't go over board. Most of our machinery worked, just leaked like a sieve, Aft Steering equipment was made by a company that went out of business after WW-2 and was fun getting parts for. B&A crane could not pass the Static Load Teat when we were in the 74 Yard Period. We had issues in the Forward Elevator Machinery room with NSFO (Black Oil) leaks when they were filling the F/O tanks. I still liked the tour of duty as an EN2, as the only Engineman in a Machinist Mate gang, I avoided extra duty in the Engine Rooms when they were short handed. I was to senior to mess with and to junior to be trusted. I retired in 93 as a GSMC serving on Spruance Class DDs and Perry Class FFGs. Still look back on Hanna as a good tour with some faults as with anything else in life. Still miss being at sea sometimes.
@@Sundancer268 my father served on her 69-70 so I would assume her condition had to be about the same. He was a helmsman and tells me all the time how loud the catapult system was. Something about some berthing quarters or relax area being right under it, and he told me how it was ear piercing at times….lol
@@RickMiddleton-1 We had the noise issues also, the Airdales would back their jets out onto #3 elevator from the hanger deck and run their Jet Engine tests most of the night so the planes would be ready for flight ops the next day. With the cables for the Elevator platform coming down into the Ram Room just below the hanger deck, the noise had a direct path into our berthing compartment. The people berthed below the Arresting cables and the Catapults also had a bad time sleeping. I think the only people with descent berthing were the officers. The Chiefs quarters were above After Steering, though it was not as bad as the other compartments for noise, it was still there. I know on my other ships you got use to the continuous background noises of the ship and when something changed I would immediately wake up to figure out what was going on. On the Hanna, the Air Craft operations were never continuous so you could not get use to them.
@@cassidy109 "centralized air conditioning"???😆😅🤣😂😅 It was 132 Deg. F in # 3 Fireroom with just one Boiler lit off..
I just wanna say I love what you're doing. Using your position to produce this content for us, partly, in pursuit of museum funding.
It's a real win/win
Awesome seeing a Essex class CV brought into the spotlight. My Father served aboard the CV33 Kearsarge a slightly newer model in the Essex series, from 58-62. He arrived from Great Lakes in time too see her operate as a true CV with jet fighters and then his next year see her converted too a CVS or Sub Hunter with no fighters and many attack and bombers plus helo's. The Essex CV's were of 20 plus in operation at one time and ensured a US Naval Air presence nearly anywhere in the World.
My Uncle George served on USS Hancock during World War II. He was an Avenger crew member stinger gunner/radio operator . I still have his newsletter from the ship it was really cool seeing this.
I was part of the re-commissioning at PNSY in 1968 as a Sea Cadet, and my first ship after I was Commissioned was the Hancock, on its final deployment. Thanks for doing this.
At 14:40 the aircraft landing seems to have got a "two wire" out of (by my count) ten wires. I served in the 80s and it was four wires, as you described. The early jet guys apparently had a lot more wires and a straight deck. The new Ford Class has only 3 wires.
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I never noticed a difference between the deceleration you felt from different wires.
My Dad also served on the Hancock during WWII; he was a quartermaster and had many interesting stories to tell.
I understand what you mean. Between this video I had made for my dad and the stories from her that he shares with me I feel like I have gotten a better understanding of ol hannah.
@@RickMiddleton-1 When the Intrepid (a sister ship of the Hancock) was refurbished and moved back to its dock in NYC, I took my Dad to see it. When he was standing in the bridge in front of the wheel, I think he was back in the Pacific in '43. When the docent told him that the max roll was 45 degrees, my Dad told him that he had rolled the Hancock 70 degrees during Halsey's typhon.
@@robertlewis2 wow. My dad said he was at her helm in 70 during a hurricane. I am going to have to ask him tomorrow if he remembers what her roll was?
My grandfather served aboard the ship as a Gunner's mate for a 40 mm gun position at the aft end of the ship. Part of this experience that he let his kids know about was the fact that they fired on a mig 15 and they were unable to track him effectively to kill him even through he was doing a head-on pass practically with his gun position. How true this is I cannot say the original source for the story has been dead for over a decade now.
This is an amazing video. My grandfather served on the Hancock in WWII and the New Jersey in the Korean War.
Great video! I served aboard the Hancock in engineering. I remember spotting several machinery placards with the Ticonderoga name on them.
Fun fact: USS Hancock's Carrier Air Wing 21 fighter squadrons, VF-24 "Renegades" and VF-211 "Fighting Checkmates" were the only two fighter squadrons in the USN to transition from F-8 Crusaders to F-14A Tomcats without ever having operated F-4 Phantoms.
Yeah, The F-4`s were Too heavy for Hanna to launch, so we only had The F-8`s, A-4 Skyhawks and the A-6 Intruders. " #3 Fireroom to #1 CAT...650lbs of 750 Deg.F, Superheated Steam, Ready for launch"
They were also the top scoring MiG killers as well.
Loved your review. I was on Hancock in 73 and 75
Very cool to see some of the lesser known ships get some attention. Also, It is unfortunate that Bunker Hill or Franklin wasn't saved given the amount of hell they saw.
Hanging on my wall is a nice pic of the Hancock steaming in the pacific. In my storage are slides, 16mm video etc that my dad took while on her. When the Korean war ground to a halt my dad was transferred from a minesweeper to the Hancock while she was undergoing sea trials for the steam catapult. He had some close calls. On one occasion some guy decided to ignore tag and lockout and energized the elevator while my dad was working on its lift motor. Sparks everywhere and my dad was pissed. That guy was apparently busted down to seaman. Then there was the gutless cutlass. The famed plane that had long spool up so if you lose power at the right time, you are toast. There was the event that killed a pilot (memory fails me but I'm thinking commander Kildaire or something like that) and some other guys, and sent my dad and some others running for their lives as burning jet fuel spilled all over the place.
Ryan, I really appreciate this video. Brings back a lot of memories of my dad talking about it. Wish my dad were here to see it.
Then this video was for both of our fathers. I am glad my tribute to my father allowed you to have more memories of your father. I am jealous of your picture of the Hancock. I have been trying to find a good one for my father.
@@RickMiddleton-1 If I can find a means to contact you I can do my best to take a picture of the one I have. It's not great, but it's very real world. Steaming along somewhere. Note sure where. I plan to have my dads slides converted to digital and can send some of those as well. There are a variety of pics. Leaving WA with everyone's cars on the flight deck, gunnery practice(anti aircraft), pics after the jet crash, takeoffs and landings, misc.
@@NickFrom1228 oh wow that would be great. The way you describe them I am sure they are amazing pictures that are timeless and very special to you. I would be glad to give you my email or something so we can get in touch with each other.
The net the sailors on aircraft carriers rig for emergency landings is called the 'barricade'. As in rig the barricade.
Surprisingly interesting, lots of things about Hancock in particular and the Essex class in general too! Glad I watched it. I think you covered it pretty damn well, sir!
Yeah I learn a lot from this video
Excellent sound and production today. Well played support crew 👍. Thank you for another great piece.
The Essex class has always had a special place in my heart.
Thanks!!! My Grandmother's brother was Killed on the USS Essex CV9 from the famous Kamakasi (judy) hit that's shown all the time in documentaries!
He and my Grandfather were in WWII as Sailors... leading to me retiring myself!
10 years as a Boiler Tech, 12 as a Gas Turbine Mechanic... best of both worlds!
Born and raised in Louisville, KY. Very land locked. My father was a US Marine on Guadalcanal and Tarawa. I was drafted in 1969 and spent 2 years in The US Army, all stateside. But I was always a fan of the Navy. I've been fortunate to tour the USS Texas near Houston and the USS Yorktown at Charlestown plus the USS Constellation at Baltimore. Now in my "silver" years, I hope to see the New Jersey and other such heroic monuments. Pie in the sky is getting to Pearl Harbor to pay my respects at USS Arizona.
I served on CV-19's namesake, the Spruance-class DD USS JOHN HANCOCK (DD-981), from January of '90 to January of '93 as her First Lieutenant then Gunnery Officer, and we did indeed have her name in the famous John Hancock script on the transom. She was fun to drive!
Yeah I learn a lot from this video
Another great video from the battleship. Thanks
Interesting episode. I was active in the late '60s in Anti Sub Squadron VS-24 aboard both the USS Randolph (CVS15) and USS Yorktown (CVS10). The Randolph was decommissioned for scrapping in 1969 so the Yorktown was transferred to the Atlantic Fleet and we were aboard her before we were transferred. A Carrier Aviator is always striving for an OK 3 - OK for the approach and the 3 for catching the 3 wire. The time from the point you roll out of your turn to the approach and call the ball (acknowledging you see the glide slope reference light) to the time you hit the deck, is measured in seconds. And the catapult shot is referred to as the wild ride.
I knew a guy who was on the Randolph from 65 to 69 his name was George Bob I think he was aviation's ordinance mate. He showed me pictures of the Forrestal that moored alongside them in Virginia after It came back from its incident with the fire and it got patched up in the Philippines.
@@pdc.1508RedDevil. I was a Nugget (new) LTJG Aviator on that deployment with VS-24. I don't remember a George Bob, but then I was just trying to get familiar with all the Aviators in VS-24 as I had reported to the squadron two weeks before we sailed. (I had just completed the final phase of my training down in Key West transitioning to the S-2E). Your friend could have been with our sister squadron VS-27, or the E-1 detachment, or the helo squadron HS-3. Personnel in the Squadrons tended not to mix a whole lot. I only knew on Officer with VS-27 as I had gone to flight training with him, but he didn't report until we returned to Norfolk in December. The separation of the squadrons resulted in my losing contact with him. They were on the other side of the hanger from us and we didn't go over there and they didn't come to our side. That was very unfortunate, but typical of the Aviation community at the time.
I distinctly remember helping to move our supplies from the hanger at NAS Norfolk over to Naval Base Norfolk (next door to each other). During one of our trips we went up to what was called Buzzard's Roost (the observation platform on the back of the island at the 07 level [flight deck was the 03 level] and looking over to the Forrestal. The damage was horrendous, most of her flight deck aft of the island was gone. The damage she sustained gave tribute to her construction and damage control parties.
In later years when going through some Scout Leader training in North Florida, encountered some current and recently separated Navy guys (we were near Jacksonville) and we discussed the Forrestal (whose new unofficial nickname was Forrest Fire). She was never ever completely the same as they did not repair some of the equipment. At that point she was downgraded to serve as the training carrier replacing the Lexington. After the Forrestal was decommissioned, that duty now rotates among the 11 active duty CVNs.
i served as a ETR (electronics technician radar) on board the Hancock 1974 to its decommissioning in 1976. I did my first of three West Pac tours on board. I was transferred to the guided missile cruiser Chicago CG11 and did two more Westpac tours and left the Navy in 1978 as a second class petty officer.
I was onboard Hanna`s final cruise in #3 Fireroom and 07 level SmokeWatch.
I grew up in NY, back when the elevated highway was still there on the West Side (though not in use) and spent a lot of time visiting the USS Intrepid (another Essex Class).
I've only been aboard two navy ships, and guess what they are? the Hancock and the new jersey! so this really excited me! my dad was a LT Cmdr and I got to go on the hancock in SF bay early 60's, and then the NJ in pearl harbor 1968.
You do the best battle ship video of any. Channel I sence and from what I seen on video you guys are keeping new Jersey in some of the best condition of just about any other. Battle ship of here class
Merry Christmas Ryan and Team Battleship New Jersey!
Intriguing, enjoyed the comparing of these two warships!
Good Footage of the Cutlass launching from the Hancock's deck
The reason the remaining Essex class carriers with the angled flight deck modifications were retired in the 80s, except for the one retained as the deck landing training carrier (Lexington) was their inability to operate larger/heavier aircraft in any meaningful numbers (as they occupied more flight deck parking and hangar space), and even F-4s and A-6s were considered too large for them, let alone the later F-14s. In 1968 her Air wing used 3 squadrons of A-4s for the attack role, and two squadrons of F-8s for fighters, along with mixed squadron of E-1 Tracers, EKA-3 Skywarriors (used for ESM, ECM and tankers), and RF-8s for photo-recons, usually 4 of each type, plus a couple helicopters for plane guard duties. Some pf the angled deck Essexes were used as dedicated ASW carriers with E-1s, S-1s, and a squadron of A-4s to "guard" the ASW aircraft if required. The straight deck carriers that didn't get the conversion were used as LPH conversions until more purpose built Iwo Jima and Tarawa class ships were built to take their place. Lexington remained the dedicated training carrier into the early 90s until replaced by Forrestal and was the last Essex class in service.
With the vertical take off jets these days, one thinks we should have kept the old smaller carriers.
@@dave8599 The US Navy did...why did you think the USMC bought the Harriers and SPECIFICALLY backed what has become the F-35B ?! The Iwo Jimas, Tarawa, Wasp and America class have all operated such aircraft during their careers.
@@DeeEight Even VMA-231 with their AV-8A Harriers were part of the Air Wing on the last cruise of Franklin D Roosevelt (CVA-42).
@@gunhog11 One of the Iwo's was used to test the sea control ship concept in the 1970s, embarking a couple squadrons of USMC AV-8As instead of its usual mix of CH-46s and CH-53Ds.
Made 3 combat cruises, 68 - 69, 72 and 73 (technically not a combat cruise, but since I got shot at by 37mm taking some post war photos over the A Shau Valley -- they missed but were close enough I could see and hear the rounds going by -- I consider it a combat cruise). Over 300 RF-8G traps on that ship. Also made the 66-67 cruise on her twin, Ticonderoga. Those "27 Charlies" were great operators. They could generate almost as many sorties as the "big decks" and could recover their planes faster due to shorter run out a-gear. 150,000 shp, 600psi/800 degree controlled super heat and could still squeeze out just over 31kts even with an added 8' beam and added weight. They shared their power plants with CBs Alaska and Guam.
Very nice color film of the F3D Skynights!
USS Hancock was 22 years old when I walked on her decks at age 11 in 1966. And while it hold a spot in my heart, an Iowa class still wins out. Because dad's first ship was the USS Missouri when it was the only Battleship in service with the US Navy. And he loved that ship. An Army MG that we knew also had served on the Missouri so dad and he got along quite well, as did I. Dad tried to get to the NJ when it came out of mothballs for Vietnam. Even volunteering to take a pay grade reduction and rating change back to his old rating but the Navy would not hear of them losing one of their Master Chiefs for that purpose. ( Navy scuttlebutt knew she would be coming back before it was officially announced, Dad was in DC when it was made official. ) So we ended up in Japan where I went aboard the Hancock while it was in port at Yokosuka. Almost a 50 mile trip for us students to get there. Years later I saw a plaque in my Division Director's office that showed he too had been aboard the Hancock. Small world when you travel in military circles.
Also as the Hancock had 5" guns, it could also be used for shore targets if need be. Those 5/38 guns were the same as what were used on the cruisers and even the Battleships. Just by the time of Vietnam, she had lost her 5/38s in twin turrets and only had the 4 singles still onboard. I have heard what one of these rounds sounds like and felt the shock wave that it produced from not far away from one being test fired. Don't think I would want to be on the receiving end of one.
Very well done
That shot at the end with the outer barrels from both forward turrets is *frightening*. Who would want that pointing at them? Something about '"yeah we have six here, but we don't even need those others to take care of you".
Hmmmm I love the way you sound so proud where are you from
My grandfather was on the Hancock in the mid to late 50s. Can help but wonder if he was on board somewhere when those clips were filmed.
Ryan, on modern carriers the arresting wires are numbered from the bow back. You still want to hit the number three wire, or the number two. But the number one wire is the forward most wire. Reagan, Bush, and the Fords only have three wires.
MMN1(SW)?USN Ret.
When did they reverse the wire numbering? They were always numbered one through four from stern forward. Midway was the first CV with only 3 wires.
@@bobharrison7693 Maybe in the 80s or 90s. I have no idea. I was in 98-18
At 16:07 the landed Voight F7U Cutlass seems to be carrying its launching bridle?
I saw that too..👍
I think one item not mentioned in the video that's pretty important is the disposition of the Essex ships. 4 of the 4 Iowa class were preserved. As well as 2 of the 4 of the South Dakota class and 1 of the 2 North Carolina class. By comparison, 4 of the 24 Essex ships were preserved. The USS Midway is the ONLY post Essex aircraft carrier preserved. She is likely to be the last aircraft carrier preserved.
Minor correction: There were 24 Essex-class carriers built - not 26. The first 23 were commissioned, one right after the other, between Dec 1942 and Nov 1946 to basically the same design. The last - USS Oriskany - was commissioned in Sep 1950 to the SCB-27A modernization design, and later received the SCB-27C & SCB-125 upgrades at the same time. Eight other ships received the SCB-27A upgrade, and six other ships received the SCB-27C upgrade - out of these, 13 received the SCB-125 upgrade, either successively or concurrently.
Another great video.
Navsource has some great photos of the modernized Oriskany moored next to New Jersey in mothballs. If you wanted to compare an Essex with an Iowa.
I took a tour of the Kitty Hawk when I was younger and they said catching that last wire stops you with the nose hanging over the edge of the boat!
I have a random question. The USS Lexington has had two 5"38 gun houses added to her since becoming a museum ship. Do we know where (what other ship?) those gun houses came from?
Yeah I learn a lot from this video
I served aboard cva19 ,1970 ,1971 va 55 gulf of tonkin great ship !
17:49 - Impunity, really... The Italians mined HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Valiant in Alexandria harbour. Why should any battleship be immune from an imaginative attack like that?
Great channel by the way.
Good content once again. 👌
As far as the part about what happens if you miss all of the wires, my understanding as a (non-carrier) pilot is that carrier landings are always flown as go-arounds with full go-around power applied just before arriving at the deck. So, if you miss the wires, you just continue going around and circle back to try again rather than having your go-around be suddenly aborted by an arresting cable. (At least on modern angled flight decks.)
Where you run into major problems is if you grab the wire, but it breaks. My understanding (though happy to be corrected by carrier pilots/crew if this is not accurate) is that ejecting is the only option in those cases, as you don't have enough room to either stop or to get back up to a speed where you can fly before you run out of deck and your aircraft goes for a swim.
Of course, for those of us who land the normal way on terra firma, we're always ready to initiate a go-around at any point during an approach, but we don't actually apply TO/GA power before touching down like carrier pilots unless we actually do decide to go around.
My dad was on the Lexington cv16
at 730 I see the jets taking off with the canopies open did they not have ejection seats? or is there another reason?
Yes, they had ejection seats. They were NOT "zero-zero" seats like today. You had to have both altitude and airspeed for the seat to save your life. Too little of either and the parachute would not have time to open and slow you down. So in case of a major problem like a "cold cat shot", you were going into the water. Jet airplanes tend to sink very quickly. So having the canopy open gave you a quicker exit from the sinking airplane. Nor did the pilot have to worry about a jammed closed canopy in the crash.
How about a 16" manual of arms? How to fire and service?
Great Video. Can you make a comparison video between USS New Jersey and the French Alsace class battleships. If built, would they have been the French equivalent of the Iowas?
Ryan,
Are you certain that the different wires had different stopping distances? I thought that all the arresting wires were connected to one single arresting gear in the bowels of the ship and therefore the stopping power on the 1 wire is the same stopping power on the 4 wire.
Am I incorrect about this? Thank you for the wonderful video and any follow-up you are able to provide.
I don't know about Essex class but on the later carriers all the wires had their own engine. The wires would stop faster as the plan trapped further down the deck to avoid accidents. It wasn't a big difference though.
Each of the 4 arresting wires and the barricade has its own arresting engine. Each of the 4 is set for the type of aircraft.
Understood guys thank you for the clarification!
How would New Jersey fare against HMS Defender (or other Daring Class) or a Ticonderoga?
Wasnt there an exercise much later after WW2 when an Iowa was tasked to sneak up on a carrier group and did so successfully to subsequently sink the whole bunch in a simulated attack but was stripped of this success because the Navy didnt like the outcome? 😅
I vaguely remember reading about such a scenario but cant remember the details other than she made good use of adverse weather conditions or something to that extend.
Since they both operated at the same time in the 1980s, how would an Iowa class stack up against a Forrestal-Class Carrier? I served on USS Ranger CV-61 from 87 to 91, and we served alongside USS Missouri BB-63 during the 1987 Ernest Will Mission during our 87 deployment. USS Ranger was the first super carrier designed from it's inception to have an angled flight deck (Forrestal and Saratoga were designed with straight decks and converted during construction), and the only one of the Forrestals to retain it's original hull configuration throughout it's lifetime. Ranger was also the most decorated of the 4 Forrestal-Class carriers!
Seems I recall USS YORKTOWN (CV-10) was originally supposed to be USS BONHOMME RICHARD but was renamed YORKTOWN after the sinking of USS YORKTOWN (CV-5). Part of the premises was to anger/confuse the Japanese...if I remember correctly.
That's also why the US Navy had both the 3rd Fleet and the 5th Fleet. Generally the same ships under different command, but it was intended to confuse the Japanese into thinking the US Navy was absolutely humongous.
and Kersarge was renamed Hornet, Cabot was renamed Lexington, Oriskany was renamed Wasp and Valley Forge was renamed Princeton.
14:56 weird, could've sworn that the number 13 would be avoided in stuff like aircraft/boats. I know some buildings in US don't have the 13th floor, but apparently not with these. Neat.
i have a soft spot for the essex carrier CV-14 Ticonderoga one of the long hull essex´s
vg ty!!
A good friend of mine was a Marine CH-53 crew chief embarked upon the USS Hancock in April 1975 aiding the evacuation of Americans and local nationals out of Phnom Pehn, Cambodia and later Saigon when the Cambodian and South Vietnamese governments collapsed during the Communist Offensive. He told me South Vietnamese Air Force pilots were flying out Hueys to the Hancock, loaded with people and their stuff, and as soon as the Hancock crew got everyone out of the chopper, the Huey was pushed overboard. My friend told me he grabbed an ashtray out of one South Vietnamese Huey before it was pushed into the drink.
True Story @josephstevens...I myself got a joystick control handle off one of those Choppers.
Cool!
back in the days of those 2 ships, the BB can deliver ordnance in any weather and day or night. Airplanes did not have that capability at the time. This was over looked by Ryan in the video
ok hold it a second.... you said at 12:10 that the 4" armored belt was removed??? im assuming this is welded on to the carrier so how is this removed? grind off the welds? sounds crazy time consuming and expensive also, now aren't you missing thickness and the fluid dynamics of the hull change? explain yourself Mr Ryan ;)
Thinking that’s a British carrier in footage. The twin boom tailed jets are DeHavilland Vampires landing.
Could be cross-decking?
Great content as always. Quick question. What was the last/most recent ship to be pulled out of mothballs and returned to service? Are there any ships currently serving that were once decommissioned and then returned to service?
Self Defense Test Ship (SDTS)....Created after the USS Stark incident during the iran Iraq war in 88. Current is the USS Foster DD-964
Essex class carrier : fast but not well armored
Modern Carrier : "we better stay out of that discussion"
What class is the USS Alabama?
South Dakota class
Yeah I learn a lot from this video
got one
Yeah I learn a lot from this video
We built 26 Essex Class carriers. We built dozens and dozens of smaller carriers. And that’s in addition to all the airplanes and ships we used to fight the European war. What Japan was thinking is beyond me.
Sort of like comparing apples and oranges.
Carriers and battleships are large naval units - which is about all they have in common.
Carriers avoid trouble - they exist to launch, recover, and service their air group.
Battleships look for trouble, and deal with it using long range, heavy caliber gunfire.
One other thing, right after she joined the fleet the USS North Carolina became very popular as an air defense platform. USS Enterprise stayed close to the Showboat every chance she could during the Guadalcanal campaign. The heavy AA armament this battlewagon carried was a game changer as far as the Big E was concerned, the Japanese pilots who witnessed the fire she could put up often decided that better targets could be found well out of her reach.
What’s the cost to sponsor an episode?
The BB will always be more protected and do serve a critical role in Shore Bombardment. It is much cheaper for this use.
Is the USS Hancock (CV 61) U.S. Navy Aircraft Carrier Essex-class? Or Midway?
It is CV-19 Essex Class
@@RickMiddleton-1 Became CVA-19 in the Spring of 75
@@weldrider1 It was CVA-19 way before that, probably late 50s.
@@bobharrison7693 Carriers become "A" Attack Carrier in Combat Zones
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Could never decide which ship to visit. So would just visit them all.
24 Essex class carriers: quantity has a quality all of its own.
Did the 1970 Hancock have enough aircraft to takeon the 1945 New Jersey, one on one??
In 1970 an Essex class carrier with the SCB 125 mod carried 24 F8 Crusaders. 36 A7 Corsair IIs plus another dozen AEW, rotary wing, utility and Photo Recon aircraft..
@@johnshepherd9676 my Dad was on her in 70. He called the Recons turtle’s
Simple answer is yes. The Hancock would have carried A-7s and A-4s or A-6s with greater strike power and much longer range. The A-6 was an all weather all time bomber so night or bad weather didn't matter. This is taken as seeing each other at long range. If it started as a knife fight under 20 miles range then the outcome could very well be different.
Yeah I learn a lot from this video
A Reporter asked a Carrier Pilot during iraq war about his "Worst Nightmare"..."Was it flying thru anti-aircraft flack?"..No! Was it dodging heatseeking missiles?..No! Was it dogfighting MIGs?..No!.."Its returning to the Ship...At night...In Bad weather"
Sorry, where was that ship from? "Quinzy, guy"
Essex Class has versatility, but if you can get a battleship within firing distance of the main guns, especially at night with low visibility, game over. The main guns will tear a carrier apart.
Somewhere, Scharnhorst and Gneisenau are laughing.
I thought this was going to be about that Will Smith movie, glad its not
But who would win if the USS Hamilton and USS Burr(fish) dueled?
Got your numbers off a little bit. Only 24 total built and only 17 commissioned by wars end.
Source Alan Raven, Essex-Class Carriers warship design series, naval institute press 1988
Well that's all well and good but until an aircraft carrier can sink an island with Conventional Weapons...
Thanks for playing maybe next time.
It's kind of like comparing apples and oranges, two different ships built for two very different purposes.
Yeah the Essex could not take F-4 Phantom and A-6 Intruder sized aircraft but the British proved with the British Phantom and heavier Buccaneer on the Audacious Class
The British re-engined their Phantoms
with Rolls-Royce Spey engines in order to
give them greater thrust when taking off
from much smaller deck's although USN
Phantoms and Intruders did do cross-decking off the Ark in the 70's
so I guess your point stands 👍
The a-gear and cats on the 27 Charlies could handle the F-4 and A-6 and routinely did operate A-3s. The problem with the F-4 was that its tailhook was prone to tearing up the metal clad wooden decking in the landing area. The F-4 was just not practical because its size reduced the number that could be carried and its airborn fuel requirement was about 3 times that of an F-8. The F-8 could do everything the F-4 could do except maybe an effective head on intercept so there was no valid reason to operate F-4s on the small decks.
What's left, NJ versus the Death Star? How about NJ vs the entire British Grand Fleet at Jutland; that's an interesting thought, although totally unfair and would come down really to ammo and hit effectiveness. I don't know, could one WWII era Iowa have sank the entire Grand Fleet at Jutland? Doubt it could have before main gun ammo ran low, but an equally pointless question nonetheless.
I can't believe I'm saying this, but we totally did that too, we've done it all! th-cam.com/video/PAuA4asTg1E/w-d-xo.html
Handcock. Had. Pretty good. Gunner on the anti aircraft
The US Navy used to own all of its warships. Now, many are leased--and I don't know the details. Leased ships can't be "public subscriptions."
Crashing an airplane into Annette isn't good.
It makes no more sense to say USN carriers had wood decks than saying same for most battleships and cruisers which also had same. The wood is an ergonomic and insulation veneer over steel plating.
Essex flight decks were (as I recall) 8"x8" Douglas Fir planks, not a veneer.
@@bobharrison7693 Checking out my handy-dandy Naval Institute Press Anatomy of the Ship on the USS Intrepid -- got it to help build my 1/350 Yorktown CV-10 -- the cross section of the flight deck indicates that the wood was roughly 2"x 4" on maybe half inch sheet steel. So I would think the steel was the main structural support, with the wood topping for the reasons listed above. When the class was converted to angle deck in the 50s the flight deck was aluminum, don't know if it was still supported by steel (if so can see corrosion issues).
@@gregp6210 The only aluminum on the flight deck was an aluminum/wood sandwich material used on the area under the cross deck pendants used to protect the deck from tail hook impacts. The rest of the deck was fir planking (8" by 8", as I remember) with a thin steel sheet underneath to prevent water leakage. In the mid 60s they covered the wood with a non skid impregnated plastic material. That work well -- for a while. The problem was that as the plastic was damaged, it allowed water seepage, and subsequent rot, into the wood. We found out the hard way one day on Hancock when an A-3 main mount came through the overhead of ready room #1 on the O-2 level abeam the island. The DC folks were in hog heaven having some real damage to control. They cut out the rotted load-bearing fir planks (much bigger than 2"x4"s), straightened the bent steel support beams and laid new fir planking.
@@bobharrison7693 We may be talking at cross purposes here.
According the the Anatomy of the Ship book, during WW 2 the Essex class carriers at 2x4 planking atop thin sheet steel. If the steel was high tensile as the USN commonly used at the time, then it probably was the main structural support for the planes. Those were relatively light weight WW2 piston jobs.
You are talking about the jet era. It looks like they had switched to 8x8 lumber to provide greater support for the bigger, harder landing jets.
Carriers have a purpose but the battleship can get close and flex its muscles or stand off and fire tomahawks without risking pilots. My money is on the battleship!
I think the fact that we still have bird farms but don't have any battleships says clearly which type is better.
👍👍👍👊👊
There is one thing a battleship can do better than a carrier: oppressing the colonies, colonial service, gunship diplomacy.