Q&A: The original USS Brooklyn we meet here was so named when the City of Brooklyn wasn't yet a part of New York City, but were the later USS Brooklyns the only major warships ever named after a borough or a district of a major city?
Given all the atrocities the japanese army committed before and during WW2 by contrast were the japanese sailors more honourable than the army soldiers? Did they treat prisoners of war better? Or did they commit several crimes much like the Japanese army?
Where did the intro music go? Edit. NVM, i was playing around with RTX voice and it completely removed the music while leaving your voice intact. I guess its working!
What if the USN had gotten the 1889 15-year naval construction program, with 10 and 25 Battleships and Coastal Defense Battleships? How would the European navies respond? How would the Spanish-American War change? etc.
The thing about, "coastal ships" isn't that they can't go out to high seas, just, (A) they are less resilient/comfortable to be in during rough seas/storms, and (B) have smaller fuel reserves (so, more frequent resupply stops). Luckily during peace time, nations are more than willing to dock your ships, and overcharge you for coal and food.
Poor old battleships slipping their lines and running away always gives me a chuckle. Oregon just wanted to visit Tahiti, and Vanguard wanted just one more pint of beer at the pub.
IMO, Vanguard was just desperate to do ANYTHING before being scrapped, given her strategic pointlessness (even by “battleships built in the carrier era” standards, simply due to being the last one and thus the least excusable).
I do agree with that sentiment, but another part of me reminds that first part "it still lives on even if is is not its original form". I also find it interesting to muse over the question of what it would be turned into, and what those things would be turned into when they made it to the scrapyard themselves.
Lewis Taylor I mean, I agree with that in concept but these require that they’re in the hands of the reliable as Warspite’s nameplate used to be hung over a fireplace in a pub in Cornwall but, and I quote, "has since been sold at auction" The only things of Warspite that remains is, really, her bell. Sure, her White Ensign flag is in a museum but it’s hard to consider that a true “part of the ship”. The thing is, these scrapyards are shady and greedy as fuck. Warspite’s bell was only saved thanks to Sir Andrew Cunningham. USS Enterprise's tripod mast was PROMISED to be preserved but this was a flat-out lie. Let’s not forget poor HMS Plymouth. Peel Ports DELIBERATELY let her degrade to make preservation seem unfeasible AND moved her spontoons to parts of her that were guaranteed to cause more damage. HMS Vanguard is one of the few significant warships that doesn’t have her bell preserved? Well, why is that? Because one of the scrapyard workers STOLE her bell and melted it down.
@@Aelvir114 Don't get me wrong, first and foremost I feel a deep sense of loss whenever some epic machine, be it a ship or a giant excavator or whatnot gets scrapped, esp when it is something like a warship. That part of me saying that it still lives on in another form, is really more of a consolation prize. I am also completely on board with your sentiment on how scrapyards can operate. One of my main interests is archaeology and it is appalling what happens to sites and artifacts as the sites destroyed by looters and then the artifacts are sold to rich people. Not only removing them from their original context, but then also to never to even be examined by experts, therefore totally removing their ability to reveal any meaningful information. Let alone their ability to inspire future generations. Also when it comes to warships, I have to remind myself that I live in a very fortunate area, as the USS Salem, Constitution and Massachusetts (amongst others) are all within a couple hours drive from me, which can easily make it seem like more ships are preserved than really are. However, as pessimistic as I can be, I really do try to be optimistic. addendum: The loss of a ships bell is the loss of the ships soul. If there is to be a single piece of a ship preserved, that should be the piece. addendum 2: It never ceases to amaze me how thoughtless and/or greedy people can be.
As a native Oregonian and a former sailor I want to say thank you. One for saying oregon right, and two for finally reviewing her. Enjoy the work you put in and take care!
But why can't we cut defense spending and have a bigger military it's clearly the miltary industrial complex that is causing all of these complex warships to be expensive.
@@seanmac1793 Yeah, I'm a little peeved about the "evil congress" meme. Now if we can specify particular "pork barrel" projects that were axed to make room for the new ships, it's a good thing. If we are talking about disaster relief, health care, etc. that are cut to make room for the ships, THEN congress are the idiots.
@@princeofcupspoc9073 Well the congress cuts were so bad that by 1880 the USN, should it been called upon to defend US mainland against any actual ocean-going navy, they would have to die sailing "ships" that were thirty years out of date. At that point, Congress had two honourable choices. Rease the spending to provide USN with something in the shouting distance of modern fleet (which they did), or disband it completely. I don't care how many other pressing concerns you have, but if you have a military, you must equip it at least as well, as give it a fighting chance in any war it may be called upon to fight. If you are unwilling to do that, disband the military entirely. If you are not willing to do either, I will gladly call you a mass murderer in waiting
@@princeofcupspoc9073 you see my whole problem is that people say we should spend less on defense and then I say what do you want to cut. Then they say we can let the military figure that out. The problem with this whole attitude is that you then stretch the military extremely thin because nobody ever says that we should re-evaluate what we want our military to do they just want it at the same capability level but for less money. I have gone back and forth with people about this and they’ll bring up Germany and say nobody says Germany has a bad military and then I’ll say well a whole lot of people say Germany does have a tiny navy. Why is the F35 so important because we can’t build anymore F22s. The whole point of the evil Congress meme is that Congress is all behind expanding the military until they get the bill.
I'm an Oregon resident, and the BB3 is near and dear to my heart. Please bear in mind the importance of her construction when even Brazil and Argentina had superior navies to the US, and no frame of reference to build her other than improvements on Civil War technology; she was laid down 13 years before the lessons of the Battle of the Yellow Sea, and 15 years before the HMS Dreadnaught. The important legacy of the USS Oregon was her place in history as being the single catalyst for the construction of the Panama Canal; her exploits gave Congress the required National Security impetus to fund it, since coaling ports were also located in potential enemy territories with rival navies. The USS Oregon's 14,000 mile circumnavigation of a continent required no less than 3 coaling stops, and (especially for a low free board, high rolling vessel,) the passage through arguably the most treacherous strait crossing on the planet- Magellan.
I love how so many of these brave ships refuse to go quietly into the night, so they break free and try to escape before the breakers get them. Perhaps Oregon was upset she didn't get her hat trick of wars. Great video!
There is a sea story (meaning it maaaaay have been embellished over the years) that while the hull was at Guam , the Marine sentry exchanged small arms fire with Japanese soldiers on shore, making Oregon the oldest USN battleship in combat. Of course, technically what was left was no longer a battleship, nor even a Navy ship, the designation IX-22 no longer valid. Legally the hull was just a barge bought back from the scrapyard. But those of us who love warships and ships in general prefer to think the spirit of the "Bulldog of the Pacific" was still there at Guam. If you visit Portland, post Covid19, try to visit the Oregon Maritime Center and Museum, aboard the stern-wheel steam tug "Portland". They might still sell little (~5 cm cube) fragments of the deck timbers of USS Oregon. You can also visit the ships mast and decorative bow "shield" nearby in Tom McCall Waterfront Park. For the record, after USS Oregon IX-22 was stricken from the Naval Register in 1942 (having not been an active fleet unit since 1919) the State of Oregon will not have been represented by an active duty Naval vessel until USS Oregon SSN-793 commissions sometime this autumn. (Wouldn't it be great if one of those deck timber pieces somehow got incorporated into the sub?) My other home state, Montana, remains the only state to never have had an active battleship named for it during the battleship era. There hasn't been an active USS Montana since 1921. (USS Alaska CB-1 and USS Hawaii CB-3 were named for their respective Territories.) USS Montana SSN-794 should commission this year as well.
@James Harding Actually I was born here in Oregon, raised in Montana, consider myself a Montanan, but pretty fond of Orygun. After attending MSU, moved down here to find work. After, let's see, Great googlymoogly, 27 years I still consider myself an economic refugee. Indeed a small world, and you'll find it gets smaller as you get older. Which school are you going to?
Joshua Slocum mentions the Oregon in his "Sailing Alone Around the World"; he was headed south along the South American coast as the Oregon hove into view ahead of him under full steam, most of the way through her high speed run from the Pacific coast to Cuba in 1898. He said she was flying the signal flags "CBT", inquiring if there were any men of war about. Slocum, who was unaware of the declaration of war, replied "No", then hoisted signals suggesting the Oregon and his 9 ton Spray sail together for "mutual protection". There was no response to Slocum's attempt at humor but Oregon did dip her colors to him as she sped past, headed to make her place in history as he was his own.
@@ousou78 aha, but since there is technically no such thing as a fish in scientific terms a whale is as much a fish as a shark or a jelly ;) "fish" is just a generic catch all word for something that lives in the sea...at least that was the consensus last i knew.
The "ship" at 5:48 is actually an Indiana-Class mockup created for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago because the USN couldn't deploy armed warships in the Great Lakes unless Canada could deploy an equivalent force.
Thank you so much for the piece on Oregon. The Oregon people tried very hard to keep Oregon. I have two pieces of her wood decking, stamped as from Oregon which were used to raise money. The deck logs for Oregon are housed in the U.S. National Archives. After reading, "McKinley's Bulldog", I paid to have all the deck logs from her in Bremerton to Santiago de Cuba reproduced. The day of battle entries when Admiral Cervera with his "rum brave" sailors attempted to break out were fascinating. All the US ships claimed firing first. It was Oregon. You were correct when you said Oregon was the only battleship ready to give chase. Engineer Wainwright pulled the key off from around his neck to open the centerline coal bunkers, which had the hottest burning Cardiff Coal they had secured in San Francisco, I think, for just this occasion. One boiler was lit off, and while the others were quickly brought online, Oregon was moving. The coal was fed in, and Oregon came up fast! The Brooklyn, with acting commander Schley in charge, fell in with Oregon to give chase. The Cruiser Brooklyn was considered the fastest ship on blockade station there. Admiral Sampson in overall command aboard the New York was coaling at Guantanamo when the Spanish came out. The hulls of the Spanish ships were completely fouled from sitting for so long, and this hampered their speed dramatically. Captain Clark on Oregon insisted fresh water be used in her boilers throughout her long trip around South America to get to Cuba. As such, her ability to make steam and having just arrived was less fouled than the other American vessels. Texas, "The Hoo-Doo", turned the wrong way when lining up to give chase and nearly collided with another American ship. Oregon and Brooklyn led the way, and pinned the Spanish ships against the Cuban Coastline cutting off their escape. Spanish Admiral Cervera knew his ships' condition, and had told Spain as much. They said fight anyway. Knowing he was going to get creamed, he did his duty. After WWII, the State of Oregon pleaded with the Navy to restore Oregon and a channel was to be cut out to float her onto the river bank of the Willamette River in Portland, then seal her in. The Navy said only one ship from The Spanish American War was enough. It was between Oregon and Olympia. Olympia won. FDR saved Oregon after WWI, and killed her after WWII. The Pentagon said the cost of an F-86 jet would be necessary to fit her out. They preferred the jet. The Japanese company that bought Oregon for scrap treated her better than our government did. They built a shrine to her outside their main gate honoring the final resting place of a brave ship. Then, she was turned into Toyotas.
He's gone on record that the Mk14 fiasco is top of the shit list. The others are/were shortsighted and wrong, but the BuOrd cabal were actively deleterious to both lives and the war effort in general, effectively working in direct opposition to their own jobs.
@@Vespuchian True, but ... It was abysmal funding by the US Congress that guaranteed no torpedo testing due to no funds. The US Congress does tend to emerge between lines on the S___ List.
Being a native Oregonion, I have always been proud of her. all that is left of her is the tower and mast located in Portland's waterfront park. Thank's so much bringing her history to light..
My partner, Marcia (also Trask -- a relative perhaps?), and I got to check out the mast on a trip to Portland a couple years back. Shame more of her wasn't saved, but I guess saving a mast is more than a lot of these old ships can claim. But there's no denying the Oregon had a long and eventful career.
Just an FYI her anchors and chains are displayed at the main gate to the Yokosuka Naval base in Japan as the Yokohama scrapyard donated them back to the USN. Additionally the IJN predreadnought Mikasa is just a few minutes away as a museum ship.
The Oregon latter actually one shots a torpedo boat rather than making their only hit upon one of their own ships. The Oregon, despite being a coastal ship navigates the great horn and crosses the Atlantic while the Kamchatka complains of "bad coal". So, there is that.
Oregon has always been a favorite of mine, but even so you still managed to bring forward ship history that I hadn't known before as well as information about the entire class. Thank you Drachinifel. For those who think that Oregon could have been 'saved' after WWII, all that was left by this time was an empty shell, about the same condition that 'Channel Snake' HMS Warrior was in when the decision was taken to restore her. While I think it could have been technically feasible to do it I doubt that the interest or funds could have been found to first bring her 'home' from Guam and then rebuild her from the keel up. Remember, this was the same period where funds and interest were lacking to save CV-6 Enterprise.
I’m happy knowing the USS Oregon is the drydock episode thumbnail. I live in Oregon and love to see a a ship named after a state which has very little ships named after it :)
Well, Flamu featured this video on his Twitch. It actually largely silenced the chat. Like that hive mind actually learning stuff and being interested. That is quite an achievement.
I always asked myself what Ship is in the background, thanks for answering this question! And before i forget... TORPEDO BOATES!!!!!! TORPEDO BOATES!!!!!!
I remember reading a series of letters to the editors to the London _Times_ from an "anonymous" Royal Navy officer during the Spanish-American war expressing surprise that _Oregon_ successfully made it around the Horn , that the ship was able to survive the storm Drach mentioned, and was then made ready for battle relatively quickly once she arrived on scene. He had expected her low freeboard to sink her in any kind of weather, the quality of American seamanship so bad he was surprised _Oregon_ didn't end up in Australia, and the quality of her construction was so poor that drydocking would show a fractured keel. The RN had very little respect for the upstart USN in those days. :-)
@@sarjim4381 maybe but then again those salty brits decided to rip out the washing machines and ice cream out fo the ships they got from us, cause a real sailor only needs a bucket with soap and a ration of rum
@@josephdedrick9337 The largest ships the RN got under lend lease I know of were some escort carriers, and I don't believe they ever had ice cream machines. They did rip out some bunks and put in hammocks because RN sailors generally preferred them, at least according to the Navy. I haven't heard of them taking out washing machines so I'll need a link for that one. The RN did set up ships so they would more match their own fleet. Tacoma class patrol frigates are one example. They were delivered with three 3"/50 guns but some had those replaced with two British 4" guns. As delivered, they had two twin 40mm Bofors gun mounts, and some of those were replaced with 2 pounder pom poms. Many had additional 20mm guns added as well since the British liked the 20 mm guns more than the 40mm Bofors. I guess I don't find it surprising that they would do some refits to more closely align with the rest of the Navy.
Also it's interesting to see any U.S. ship that wasn't disposed of in the 1950's by being turned into part of glow in the dark artificial reef as a result of atomic bomb testing.
Representing the home state! Decorated and storied service, oft forgotten. US Navy has finally commissioned a new USS Oregon... only took over 100 years.
Those turrets weren't too heavy. Indiana *just didn't have enough guns.* Add more 3" guns, have the port battery all fire at once to propel the ship upright, then the starboard battery, then...
Just time the firings for when the guns passed through the desired elevation (back and forth). ;-) Sort of how the Space Shuttle was launched (really) -- light the main engines, the whole stack wobbles back and forth, light the SRBs as it passes vertical.
I'm from Oregon and my great grandfather served on the USS Oregon in WWI, so she's always had a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated to find an amazingly detailed model of the ship while wandering the maritime museum in Vancouver BC.
One can still admire the mighty Oregon's distinctive front mast, with it's two observation platforms, at the USS Oregon Monument in downtown Portland Oregon!
Thank you Drach! Now please do a similar episode on the first USS Iowa (BB4) which strove to fix many of the shortcomings of the Indiana class and performed admirably at the Battle of Santiago.
@@bonnwolff1890 I lived in West Salem for a couple years. Amusingly, there is a West Sacramento that is to Sacramento almost exactly what West Salem is to Salem, i.e., across the river, in another county, etc.
Not to be too political but I just wanted to thank you for calling it the Philippine-American War and not a mere insurrection. From a Filipino Historian. :)
As a native-born Oregonian (Klamath-Falls), I am justly proud of this tough old lady, such a long service history 1896 to 1957. but to have her stripped and subjected to such a final fate. but somewhat like HMS Warspite (who escaped the breakers) would do a bit of world sightseeing before her ignoble end.
As a child I used to play on the USS Oregon memorial, located on the Portland, Oregon riverfront. It includes the mainmast and the figurehead. The stacks, ventilators, davits and other deck fittings were located in a fenced field near the downtown end of the Broadway bridge, so I didn't get to investigate them (darn it). I've heard that the Oregon Museum of Science and History had absorbed some of these relics, but I'm not certain of this.
The main mast and bow plate of the ship, along with some of the anchor chain links survive today on public display in the waterfront park in Portland. The wheel and funnels also survive, but are no longer on public display. Also, an interesting note, is that the sacrifice of the USS Oregon in WWII was partially remedied by the naming of the Oregon City class of heavy cruisers. This was the smallest city to have a heavy cruiser named after it.
The top mast/crows nest of the USS Oregon still exists as a memorial on the Willamette Riverside in Portland Oregon. I have a great photo my Grandmother took of USS Oregon moored near the spot in 1928.
@@deeznoots6241 You need that many to keep at lest 3 at sea at all times. The others will be down for maintenance or training up their green crews for the next deployment. Preventing war is a lot cheaper then fighting one, even if you win.
I believe that part of the mast of the Oregon is on the waterfront (or was) in Portland, OR. I remember seeing it as a child. Love your work. I am a trained ships cook (Oslo Kokk og Stuert Skole 73-74).
Some years ago an excellent little history of the U.S.S Oregon titled McKinley's Bulldog was published. At the time I was working at a university and my boss at the time was an older man who had served as the Chief of Staff to Admiral William Leahy during World War Two. After reading that Leahy served on the Oregon during the Battle of Santiago Bay and I went and mentioned this to my boss who then told me a few other stories about Leahy. It's a small world where you can be one person away from a long ago historical event or a long gone ship.
Me too, as a boy. One of those boy's adventure books. I recall the suspense of their trying to drop anchor and wondering if they could brake the chain before it got to the end.
My grandfather has several large books of The Scientific American, all pre-1920. Each book contains 6 months. He has a few matched pairs, but most aren't. My favorite covers the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the story of how the Cunard steamer Umbria repaired her broken propeller shaft at sea, including pictures of the collar fitted to get her to New York, as well as the replacement of the shaft. Then there is one with a small article on USS Indiana's turret clamps breaking in a storm, and a picture showing some absolutely MASSIVE cables tied around the guns to bollards on deck to keep them from swinging from side to side. My other favorite, I can't remember the year, has a full two-page spread of the US Navy's plans for updating the fleet, containing renderings of Maine, Texas, Indiana, Oregon, a single torpedo boat, and a few other vessels. I'm going to have to page through those books to find those images once this whole cluster is over.
We still have one piece of it, down at Waterfront park. Dad said he remembered seeing it before they scrapped it. His Dad remembered seeing it at anchor here at the waterfront in the old days. We ( the state's people *then ) wanted to buy it as a museum and raised the money for it... But the Fed/ wasn't going to have it. Sad days.
Very Kool! Am a Oregonian that as a HS student spent some time in the Historical Society in downtown Portland going over datum. Quite a history and always nice to see others taking on the challenge! Thanks Kindly
Beyond just being the dry dock image, part of this ship is very, very familiar to me indeed. Her mast is half a mile from me, as part of a memorial on the Portland waterfront. I walk by it almost every day.
The USS Oregon's mast is located in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon. I found an article from a year ago about the smoke stacks laying in an old shipyard in Portland as well.
Thank you Drach. As a further note, we (Portland Oregon) still have Oregon’s battlemast, stacks (I believe) and other items from the ship. Interestingly enough, the Japanese firm who scrapped the remains of USS Oregon thought highly enough of the storied ship to send back the bell and several other special items that remained on the hulk. These remains are still visible in waterfront park and several of our museums.
If you want to read some good books about USS Oregon, I recommend "McKinley's Bulldog" by Sanford Sternlicht and "My 50 years in the navy" by Captain Charles Clark.
Seen at first at frame 3:29 is the second Indiana Class battleship, the original USS Massachusetts, also known as "Winged Victory" for the statue/ crest visible on her bow 13 inch gun turret. The Massachusetts is the last Indiana class in existence. While not a museum ship or fully intact, the wreak of Massachusetts is currently in 30 feet of water off of Pensacola Beach, Florida. Sunk as a target in a gunnery exercise in the 1920's, the Massachusetts has stayed in relatively good shape for being in shallow water, and is home to sharks and goliath grouper. While she wasn't as decorated as the Oregon or impactful as the Indiana, the Massachusetts has made a name for herself as an ecological preserve and diving spot, sitting 30 feet down in the green-blue waters of the gulf of mexico.
As an Oregonian who is used to people not being able to pronounce the name of this state correctly, I am impressed that a Brit got it bang on. Well done
Drach - Thank you for this video on my home state's first named warship (there is now a Virginia class fast attack sub, USS Oregon, oh bother US Navy's changing naming convention!). While you can't cover all items of interest due to time, you did hit on items I had not read or heard about (torpedo boats! Fire! Oh nevermind... ). Thanks again!
Definitely my favorite warship, It has a special place in my heart being the only battleship named after my home state. For some reason recently people have called her class some of the worst warships ever made, but her history says otherwise. Her class had problems, but she made do and did well.
The part about the phantom torpedo boat incident reminds me of a certain squadron in a place called the Pacific that had a certain repair ship cough Kamchatka cough
Would be nice to see an episode on the USS Laffey (DD-459), apparently there is some badassery going on there. And maybe the Benson class as a whole too. Thanks for those very interesting videos, and to help saving history.
Pinned post for Q&A :)
Q&A: The original USS Brooklyn we meet here was so named when the City of Brooklyn wasn't yet a part of New York City, but were the later USS Brooklyns the only major warships ever named after a borough or a district of a major city?
Given all the atrocities the japanese army committed before and during WW2 by contrast were the japanese sailors more honourable than the army soldiers? Did they treat prisoners of war better? Or did they commit several crimes much like the Japanese army?
Where did the intro music go? Edit. NVM, i was playing around with RTX voice and it completely removed the music while leaving your voice intact. I guess its working!
What if the USN had gotten the 1889 15-year naval construction program, with 10 and 25 Battleships and Coastal Defense Battleships? How would the European navies respond? How would the Spanish-American War
change? etc.
I own a decorative plaque made from the deck timber of the USS Oregon.
A "coastal" battleship that both went around Cape Horn and crossed the Pacific. Not half bad.
Not to mention pulling off the WoWS trick of 'one shotting' a destroyer.
The thing about, "coastal ships" isn't that they can't go out to high seas, just, (A) they are less resilient/comfortable to be in during rough seas/storms, and (B) have smaller fuel reserves (so, more frequent resupply stops).
Luckily during peace time, nations are more than willing to dock your ships, and overcharge you for coal and food.
@@TheNinjaDC Coastal defense ships typically have less freeboard and no bow flare.
@@TheNinjaDC So, when the USS Oregon sailed around Cape Horn from California to Cuba was just a what???
it was all the meth
Poor old battleships slipping their lines and running away always gives me a chuckle. Oregon just wanted to visit Tahiti, and Vanguard wanted just one more pint of beer at the pub.
Oregon may just wanted to visit the HMS Bounty
Warspite wanted to go fight more Germans
IMO, Vanguard was just desperate to do ANYTHING before being scrapped, given her strategic pointlessness (even by “battleships built in the carrier era” standards, simply due to being the last one and thus the least excusable).
Meanwhile the resurrected corpse of Oklahoma shrieked something about wanting to die, ran off into the ocean, and drowned itself.
@@kyle_mk17 did they ever!
"one WHOLE torpedo boat"
Ah, yes. That's definitely enough when facing the Russian Navy. Perfectly balanced, as it should be.
Kamchatka is nervous
It's the implied threat: If we could build one, maybe we have built more. It allows for imaginary torpedo boats.
She always was/is/will be again...... .
@@LazyTestudines
Kamchatka is now especially nervous.
@@GBDanner96 The Russian fleet is even more nervous if the Kamchatka is with them.
There is a certain degree of sadness that always accompanies the words "sold for scrap"
Her mast sits in Tom McCall Waterfront Park in Portland Or. I ride my bike past it all the time. It's a nice landmark.
I do agree with that sentiment, but another part of me reminds that first part "it still lives on even if is is not its original form". I also find it interesting to muse over the question of what it would be turned into, and what those things would be turned into when they made it to the scrapyard themselves.
Lewis Taylor I mean, I agree with that in concept but these require that they’re in the hands of the reliable as Warspite’s nameplate used to be hung over a fireplace in a pub in Cornwall but, and I quote, "has since been sold at auction"
The only things of Warspite that remains is, really, her bell. Sure, her White Ensign flag is in a museum but it’s hard to consider that a true “part of the ship”.
The thing is, these scrapyards are shady and greedy as fuck. Warspite’s bell was only saved thanks to Sir Andrew Cunningham. USS Enterprise's tripod mast was PROMISED to be preserved but this was a flat-out lie. Let’s not forget poor HMS Plymouth. Peel Ports DELIBERATELY let her degrade to make preservation seem unfeasible AND moved her spontoons to parts of her that were guaranteed to cause more damage.
HMS Vanguard is one of the few significant warships that doesn’t have her bell preserved? Well, why is that? Because one of the scrapyard workers STOLE her bell and melted it down.
Pretty much. RMS Olympic, RMS Aquitania, RMS Mauretania, RMS Majestic/SS Bismarck, HMS Warspite, HMS Renown, HMCS Ontario, USS Washington, and more....
@@Aelvir114 Don't get me wrong, first and foremost I feel a deep sense of loss whenever some epic machine, be it a ship or a giant excavator or whatnot gets scrapped, esp when it is something like a warship. That part of me saying that it still lives on in another form, is really more of a consolation prize.
I am also completely on board with your sentiment on how scrapyards can operate. One of my main interests is archaeology and it is appalling what happens to sites and artifacts as the sites destroyed by looters and then the artifacts are sold to rich people. Not only removing them from their original context, but then also to never to even be examined by experts, therefore totally removing their ability to reveal any meaningful information. Let alone their ability to inspire future generations.
Also when it comes to warships, I have to remind myself that I live in a very fortunate area, as the USS Salem, Constitution and Massachusetts (amongst others) are all within a couple hours drive from me, which can easily make it seem like more ships are preserved than really are.
However, as pessimistic as I can be, I really do try to be optimistic.
addendum: The loss of a ships bell is the loss of the ships soul. If there is to be a single piece of a ship preserved, that should be the piece.
addendum 2: It never ceases to amaze me how thoughtless and/or greedy people can be.
"...one whole torpedo boat."
Baltic Fleet: *CONFUSED SCREAMING*
It's called a prototype. It's money to design a new ship and put it through it's paces.
@@princeofcupspoc9073 yes but the Baltic fleet struggled with imaginary torpedo boats. Just think of what would happen against a real one.
@@bigblue6917 DO YOU SEE TORPEDO BOATS? *ducks to dodge binoculars*
As a native Oregonian and a former sailor I want to say thank you. One for saying oregon right, and two for finally reviewing her.
Enjoy the work you put in and take care!
"Precious dollars..."
Never before has Drach put so much venom in so few words.
But why can't we cut defense spending and have a bigger military it's clearly the miltary industrial complex that is causing all of these complex warships to be expensive.
@@seanmac1793 Yeah, I'm a little peeved about the "evil congress" meme. Now if we can specify particular "pork barrel" projects that were axed to make room for the new ships, it's a good thing. If we are talking about disaster relief, health care, etc. that are cut to make room for the ships, THEN congress are the idiots.
@@princeofcupspoc9073 Well the congress cuts were so bad that by 1880 the USN, should it been called upon to defend US mainland against any actual ocean-going navy, they would have to die sailing "ships" that were thirty years out of date.
At that point, Congress had two honourable choices. Rease the spending to provide USN with something in the shouting distance of modern fleet (which they did), or disband it completely.
I don't care how many other pressing concerns you have, but if you have a military, you must equip it at least as well, as give it a fighting chance in any war it may be called upon to fight. If you are unwilling to do that, disband the military entirely.
If you are not willing to do either, I will gladly call you a mass murderer in waiting
@@princeofcupspoc9073 you see my whole problem is that people say we should spend less on defense and then I say what do you want to cut. Then they say we can let the military figure that out. The problem with this whole attitude is that you then stretch the military extremely thin because nobody ever says that we should re-evaluate what we want our military to do they just want it at the same capability level but for less money. I have gone back and forth with people about this and they’ll bring up Germany and say nobody says Germany has a bad military and then I’ll say well a whole lot of people say Germany does have a tiny navy. Why is the F35 so important because we can’t build anymore F22s. The whole point of the evil Congress meme is that Congress is all behind expanding the military until they get the bill.
jokes on him I guess, those are his tax dollars. "one torpedo boat" is hilarious though
I'm an Oregon resident, and the BB3 is near and dear to my heart. Please bear in mind the importance of her construction when even Brazil and Argentina had superior navies to the US, and no frame of reference to build her other than improvements on Civil War technology; she was laid down 13 years before the lessons of the Battle of the Yellow Sea, and 15 years before the HMS Dreadnaught. The important legacy of the USS Oregon was her place in history as being the single catalyst for the construction of the Panama Canal; her exploits gave Congress the required National Security impetus to fund it, since coaling ports were also located in potential enemy territories with rival navies. The USS Oregon's 14,000 mile circumnavigation of a continent required no less than 3 coaling stops, and (especially for a low free board, high rolling vessel,) the passage through arguably the most treacherous strait crossing on the planet- Magellan.
Richard Cline The Deep State and Establishment were his handlers as well back then; are you wearing a mask?..
11:40 "That magical place, Tahiti." *laughs in Arthur Morgan*
Agent Coulson smirks in the background...
So the last Oregon trail was to Tahiti... I can dig it.
"We need more money!" Senator Dutch van Der Linde to Admiral Arthur Morgan about the (again) reduced navel budget circa 1899
@@CappyDrake
"I have a plan."
Admiral Dutch van Der Linde on how they're going to get money for the naval budget.
Oh-I thought this was a reference to the ending of the 1992 hacker film, _Sneakers._
I love how so many of these brave ships refuse to go quietly into the night, so they break free and try to escape before the breakers get them. Perhaps Oregon was upset she didn't get her hat trick of wars. Great video!
There is a sea story (meaning it maaaaay have been embellished over the years) that while the hull was at Guam , the Marine sentry exchanged small arms fire with Japanese soldiers on shore, making Oregon the oldest USN battleship in combat.
Of course, technically what was left was no longer a battleship, nor even a Navy ship, the designation IX-22 no longer valid. Legally the hull was just a barge bought back from the scrapyard. But those of us who love warships and ships in general prefer to think the spirit of the "Bulldog of the Pacific" was still there at Guam.
If you visit Portland, post Covid19, try to visit the Oregon Maritime Center and Museum, aboard the stern-wheel steam tug "Portland". They might still sell little (~5 cm cube) fragments of the deck timbers of USS Oregon. You can also visit the ships mast and decorative bow "shield" nearby in Tom McCall Waterfront Park.
For the record, after USS Oregon IX-22 was stricken from the Naval Register in 1942 (having not been an active fleet unit since 1919) the State of Oregon will not have been represented by an active duty Naval vessel until USS Oregon SSN-793 commissions sometime this autumn. (Wouldn't it be great if one of those deck timber pieces somehow got incorporated into the sub?)
My other home state, Montana, remains the only state to never have had an active battleship named for it during the battleship era. There hasn't been an active USS Montana since 1921. (USS Alaska CB-1 and USS Hawaii CB-3 were named for their respective Territories.) USS Montana SSN-794 should commission this year as well.
@James Harding Actually I was born here in Oregon, raised in Montana, consider myself a Montanan, but pretty fond of Orygun. After attending MSU, moved down here to find work. After, let's see, Great googlymoogly, 27 years I still consider myself an economic refugee.
Indeed a small world, and you'll find it gets smaller as you get older.
Which school are you going to?
@James Harding excellent choice of school, on both counts. Good luck and study hard.
I love it when battleships escape.
The spirit of the HMS Warspite. 😁
Just like a battleship, vacationing while others fight a cold war.
Vanguard did a run for it as well being dragged out of Portsmouth harbour.
Battleship be like: "A'ight i'ma head out."
No, she didn't escape, she was searching for more spanish ships.
Joshua Slocum mentions the Oregon in his "Sailing Alone Around the World"; he was headed south along the South American coast as the Oregon hove into view ahead of him under full steam, most of the way through her high speed run from the Pacific coast to Cuba in 1898. He said she was flying the signal flags "CBT", inquiring if there were any men of war about. Slocum, who was unaware of the declaration of war, replied "No", then hoisted signals suggesting the Oregon and his 9 ton Spray sail together for "mutual protection". There was no response to Slocum's attempt at humor but Oregon did dip her colors to him as she sped past, headed to make her place in history as he was his own.
I had forgotten that. Tacks.
Professionals have standards
"Liberally disputed high explosive freedom" The title of my next fireworks show.
"aside from sea-spray and the odd fish fragment, she hadn't taken any hits."
Except for the initial hits by the US Congress, but that was a different sort of battle before it was built.
Fish bones are dangerous!
ah but what kindof fish are we talking about?
i reckon some whale bone shrapnel might hurt!
@@viridisxiv766 That would be mammal shrapnel in that case.
@@ousou78 aha, but since there is technically no such thing as a fish in scientific terms a whale is as much a fish as a shark or a jelly ;) "fish" is just a generic catch all word for something that lives in the sea...at least that was the consensus last i knew.
"Dispensing High Explosive Freedom" ah Drach, you never disappoint
The "ship" at 5:48 is actually an Indiana-Class mockup created for the 1893 World's Fair in Chicago because the USN couldn't deploy armed warships in the Great Lakes unless Canada could deploy an equivalent force.
So everytime Marinette (Wisc.) delivers an LCS or FFGX, Canada, UK and USA can go to war? 🤓
I thought the main turrets look a little off.
"We have too many guns, the ship is too heavy"
"Get rid of some guns then"
"But now we have too few guns"
"Well then add some back"
Thank you so much for the piece on Oregon. The Oregon people tried very hard to keep Oregon. I have two pieces of her wood decking, stamped as from Oregon which were used to raise money. The deck logs for Oregon are housed in the U.S. National Archives. After reading, "McKinley's Bulldog", I paid to have all the deck logs from her in Bremerton to Santiago de Cuba reproduced. The day of battle entries when Admiral Cervera with his "rum brave" sailors attempted to break out were fascinating. All the US ships claimed firing first. It was Oregon. You were correct when you said Oregon was the only battleship ready to give chase. Engineer Wainwright pulled the key off from around his neck to open the centerline coal bunkers, which had the hottest burning Cardiff Coal they had secured in San Francisco, I think, for just this occasion. One boiler was lit off, and while the others were quickly brought online, Oregon was moving. The coal was fed in, and Oregon came up fast! The Brooklyn, with acting commander Schley in charge, fell in with Oregon to give chase. The Cruiser Brooklyn was considered the fastest ship on blockade station there. Admiral Sampson in overall command aboard the New York was coaling at Guantanamo when the Spanish came out. The hulls of the Spanish ships were completely fouled from sitting for so long, and this hampered their speed dramatically. Captain Clark on Oregon insisted fresh water be used in her boilers throughout her long trip around South America to get to Cuba. As such, her ability to make steam and having just arrived was less fouled than the other American vessels. Texas, "The Hoo-Doo", turned the wrong way when lining up to give chase and nearly collided with another American ship. Oregon and Brooklyn led the way, and pinned the Spanish ships against the Cuban Coastline cutting off their escape. Spanish Admiral Cervera knew his ships' condition, and had told Spain as much. They said fight anyway. Knowing he was going to get creamed, he did his duty. After WWII, the State of Oregon pleaded with the Navy to restore Oregon and a channel was to be cut out to float her onto the river bank of the Willamette River in Portland, then seal her in. The Navy said only one ship from The Spanish American War was enough. It was between Oregon and Olympia. Olympia won. FDR saved Oregon after WWI, and killed her after WWII. The Pentagon said the cost of an F-86 jet would be necessary to fit her out. They preferred the jet. The Japanese company that bought Oregon for scrap treated her better than our government did. They built a shrine to her outside their main gate honoring the final resting place of a brave ship. Then, she was turned into Toyotas.
It's hard to tell who Drach would dislike the most. The US Congress, Beatty or the idiots that built the Mark 14 Torpedo. sm
Nah, it's Beatty for sure. The others are American problems. :)
He's gone on record that the Mk14 fiasco is top of the shit list. The others are/were shortsighted and wrong, but the BuOrd cabal were actively deleterious to both lives and the war effort in general, effectively working in direct opposition to their own jobs.
@@Vespuchian Seriously, those BuOrd assholes are lucky they weren't put on trial as saboteurs for their handling of the torpedo problems.
@@Vespuchian True, but ... It was abysmal funding by the US Congress that guaranteed no torpedo testing due to no funds. The US Congress does tend to emerge between lines on the S___ List.
As an American I can say Congress is by far the worst.
It’s cool to finally see the front of Oregon
Being a native Oregonion, I have always been proud of her. all that is left of her is the tower and mast located in Portland's waterfront park. Thank's so much bringing her history to light..
Oregon's forward mast still stands as a memorial in a park on the riverfront in Portland Oregon, our largest city.
I hear the smokestacks still exist in storage.
Also the radio room survives in Portland somewhere
My partner, Marcia (also Trask -- a relative perhaps?), and I got to check out the mast on a trip to Portland a couple years back. Shame more of her wasn't saved, but I guess saving a mast is more than a lot of these old ships can claim. But there's no denying the Oregon had a long and eventful career.
Yes, masts are a popular thing to preserve. The USS Portland (CA-33)'s mainmast is on the waterfront park in her eponymic city of Portland, Maine.
Don't let the lefties find out, or they'll have it torn down as a symbol of western imperialism.
Just an FYI her anchors and chains are displayed at the main gate to the Yokosuka Naval base in Japan as the Yokohama scrapyard donated them back to the USN. Additionally the IJN predreadnought Mikasa is just a few minutes away as a museum ship.
And her forward mass is in Portland Oregon as a monument as well as the shield that was on her bow
Portions of the ship are on display in Portland, Oregon -- always a point of fascination for me as a kid growing up in the Portland area. Good show!
Same here. One of my earliest and best memories.
I saw some small bits in the Coastie Museum in Astoria......
Oregon Captain: "I swear there was a torpedo boat, look, the Kamchatka will back me up!"
The Oregon latter actually one shots a torpedo boat rather than making their only hit upon one of their own ships. The Oregon, despite being a coastal ship navigates the great horn and crosses the Atlantic while the Kamchatka complains of "bad coal". So, there is that.
Oregon's mast and bow emblem can still be seen in Portland's Waterfront Park. Thank you, Drach. Love from the Beaver State!
Oregon has always been a favorite of mine, but even so you still managed to bring forward ship history that I hadn't known before as well as information about the entire class. Thank you Drachinifel.
For those who think that Oregon could have been 'saved' after WWII, all that was left by this time was an empty shell, about the same condition that 'Channel Snake' HMS Warrior was in when the decision was taken to restore her. While I think it could have been technically feasible to do it I doubt that the interest or funds could have been found to first bring her 'home' from Guam and then rebuild her from the keel up. Remember, this was the same period where funds and interest were lacking to save CV-6 Enterprise.
I’m happy knowing the USS Oregon is the drydock episode thumbnail. I live in Oregon and love to see a a ship named after a state which has very little ships named after it :)
Wish granted, USS Oregon (SSN-793) is currrently under construction. It was launched last fall.
Oh I didn’t know that. Sweet. And a SSN too. Very cool
Cyroos Tetherington - Should be an SSBN...
Pop quiz: what three states never had battleships named for them?
@@philperry4699 Monanta, Nebraska and Kansas
Looks like the St. Louis design committee was still in power.
Well, Flamu featured this video on his Twitch.
It actually largely silenced the chat. Like that hive mind actually learning stuff and being interested. That is quite an achievement.
Gotta say, I was expecting a Kamchatka joke when he mentioned the torpedo boat incident
I thought that was a Kamchatka joke in and of itself.
"that magical place Tahiti" 😂😂
....ah balls, now I have coffee mixed with spit all over my desk 😣
Absolutely fantastic video sir.....that old US Navy gold and white paint job is so good. I wish they'd paint the Burkes in that scheme.
8:15 My GOD! The Spanish have access to the Japanese Stealth Torpedo Boat Technology!
I just imagined the Japanese as the romulans and the Spanish as kardasians in the TNG era star trek
Sid Meier has a lot to answer for ...
Another great video Drach. These old pre-dreadnot look amazing at speed with a bow wave under their crests on the bow.
I always asked myself what Ship is in the background, thanks for answering this question!
And before i forget...
TORPEDO BOATES!!!!!!
TORPEDO BOATES!!!!!!
I remember reading a series of letters to the editors to the London _Times_ from an "anonymous" Royal Navy officer during the Spanish-American war expressing surprise that _Oregon_ successfully made it around the Horn , that the ship was able to survive the storm Drach mentioned, and was then made ready for battle relatively quickly once she arrived on scene. He had expected her low freeboard to sink her in any kind of weather, the quality of American seamanship so bad he was surprised _Oregon_ didn't end up in Australia, and the quality of her construction was so poor that drydocking would show a fractured keel. The RN had very little respect for the upstart USN in those days. :-)
Not entirely without reason.
when did they last have respect for america though
@@josephdedrick9337 I'm pretty sure the British Pacific Fleet in WWII had developed at least grudging respect for the USN.
@@sarjim4381 maybe but then again those salty brits decided to rip out the washing machines and ice cream out fo the ships they got from us, cause a real sailor only needs a bucket with soap and a ration of rum
@@josephdedrick9337 The largest ships the RN got under lend lease I know of were some escort carriers, and I don't believe they ever had ice cream machines. They did rip out some bunks and put in hammocks because RN sailors generally preferred them, at least according to the Navy. I haven't heard of them taking out washing machines so I'll need a link for that one. The RN did set up ships so they would more match their own fleet. Tacoma class patrol frigates are one example. They were delivered with three 3"/50 guns but some had those replaced with two British 4" guns. As delivered, they had two twin 40mm Bofors gun mounts, and some of those were replaced with 2 pounder pom poms. Many had additional 20mm guns added as well since the British liked the 20 mm guns more than the 40mm Bofors. I guess I don't find it surprising that they would do some refits to more closely align with the rest of the Navy.
I almost expected to see the Kamchatka lean out going "Did I hear torpedo boats?"
6:48
Subtitles: all laid down in 1891, *launched in 1993*
That's a long build period
Indeed, they wouldn't complete till long after they where scrapped!
@@edwardteach3000 when u gotta fight off the scrappers it doesnt help production.
Also it's interesting to see any U.S. ship that wasn't disposed of in the 1950's by being turned into part of glow in the dark artificial reef as a result of atomic bomb testing.
Representing the home state! Decorated and storied service, oft forgotten. US Navy has finally commissioned a new USS Oregon... only took over 100 years.
Great video! Also, the mast from USS Oregon was preserved and is on display in Portland, OR in Waterfront Park for anyone who’d like to check it out.
Those turrets weren't too heavy. Indiana *just didn't have enough guns.* Add more 3" guns, have the port battery all fire at once to propel the ship upright, then the starboard battery, then...
I was just picturing this battleship cutting the enemy line, Trafalgar style, and firing guns in all directions to prevent it's issues.
Just time the firings for when the guns passed through the desired elevation (back and forth). ;-) Sort of how the Space Shuttle was launched (really) -- light the main engines, the whole stack wobbles back and forth, light the SRBs as it passes vertical.
I love that you included the stucco one from the worlds fair. " Now with high voltage DC lighting, for all your vim and navel vigor "
The making a bid for freedom in a typhoon had me laughing so hard I had to pause the video.
Going to Tahiti sounds good right about now....
I'm from Oregon and my great grandfather served on the USS Oregon in WWI, so she's always had a special place in my heart. I was surprised and elated to find an amazingly detailed model of the ship while wandering the maritime museum in Vancouver BC.
With all the snarky references, I do sometimes wonder if Drach isn't just an upgraded text to speech program.
Tahiti, it's a magical place.
Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D references in one of your videos.. Well now i have seen it all. :) Coulson would approve i believe.
One can still admire the mighty Oregon's distinctive front mast, with it's two observation platforms, at the USS Oregon Monument in downtown Portland Oregon!
Thank you Drach! Now please do a similar episode on the first USS Iowa (BB4) which strove to fix many of the shortcomings of the Indiana class and performed admirably at the Battle of Santiago.
As an inhabitant of Oregon..... this is awsome.
You've seen the mast downtown Portland, right?
@@mazack00 regrettably, that's in Portland, where a sizable fraction of the state absolutely refuses to set foot.
Me too, I live near Salem. Plus, I was in the Navy. I have a couple of books on the USS Oregon.
@@bonnwolff1890 I lived in West Salem for a couple years. Amusingly, there is a West Sacramento that is to Sacramento almost exactly what West Salem is to Salem, i.e., across the river, in another county, etc.
That's funny. I've been through Sacramento many times and never knew that. My mom lives in West Salem, btw.
If you visit Portland, Oregon while in the USA, what's left of the Oregon is downtown along the riverfront. They preserved her mast.
I live in Portland, OR, and have seen the Ship's mast on display in the downtown area.
Not to be too political but I just wanted to thank you for calling it the Philippine-American War and not a mere insurrection. From a Filipino Historian. :)
USS Oregon: "Do you see torpedo boats?"
Also USS Oregon: "because if I do you won't see them for long."
*Kamchatka opens fire*
Kamchatkta: gets hit by binoculars
"Liberally dispensing high explosive freedom" has got to be the most American phrase I've ever heard a British person say. Thank you for this!
I'm not usually a massive fan of US ship design aesthetics, but their pre-dreadnoughts an most ships of this era were gorgeous!
I really thought she was going to make it to be a museum ship today. You led me on, Drach.
As a native-born Oregonian (Klamath-Falls), I am justly proud of this tough old lady, such a long service history 1896 to 1957. but to have her stripped and subjected to such a final fate. but somewhat like HMS Warspite (who escaped the breakers) would do a bit of world sightseeing before her ignoble end.
Most impressed that drach got the pronunciation of Oregon right. Most people say it as read and when corrected say its dumb.
As a child I used to play on the USS Oregon memorial, located on the Portland, Oregon riverfront. It includes the mainmast and the figurehead. The stacks, ventilators, davits and other deck fittings were located in a fenced field near the downtown end of the Broadway bridge, so I didn't get to investigate them (darn it). I've heard that the Oregon Museum of Science and History had absorbed some of these relics, but I'm not certain of this.
The main mast and bow plate of the ship, along with some of the anchor chain links survive today on public display in the waterfront park in Portland. The wheel and funnels also survive, but are no longer on public display.
Also, an interesting note, is that the sacrifice of the USS Oregon in WWII was partially remedied by the naming of the Oregon City class of heavy cruisers. This was the smallest city to have a heavy cruiser named after it.
The top mast/crows nest of the USS Oregon still exists as a memorial on the Willamette Riverside in Portland Oregon.
I have a great photo my Grandmother took of USS Oregon moored near the spot in 1928.
Look at the US navy now. "We need another carrier." Congress: "Three it is!"
Do I wish it was that easy? They may let you buy them, but the budget...oh the never enough budget.
Navy: "No no, really, its fine, we only want one, we wouldn't even know what to do with three." Congress: "Allright, you shall have five!"
lukum55 ‘there isn’t even any other nation with more than 2 carriers’ ‘all i hear is demands for an 8 strong class of supercarriers’
@@deeznoots6241 You need that many to keep at lest 3 at sea at all times. The others will be down for maintenance or training up their green crews for the next deployment. Preventing war is a lot cheaper then fighting one, even if you win.
@@georgeeverette3912 What do we have ongoing now, like 7 or so?
I believe that part of the mast of the Oregon is on the waterfront (or was) in Portland, OR. I remember seeing it as a child. Love your work. I am a trained ships cook (Oslo Kokk og Stuert Skole 73-74).
Some years ago an excellent little history of the U.S.S Oregon titled McKinley's Bulldog was published. At the time I was working at a university and my boss at the time was an older man who had served as the Chief of Staff to Admiral William Leahy during World War Two. After reading that Leahy served on the Oregon during the Battle of Santiago Bay and I went and mentioned this to my boss who then told me a few other stories about Leahy. It's a small world where you can be one person away from a long ago historical event or a long gone ship.
THANK YOU for actually saying Oregon correctly :)
The sister ship,USS Massachusetts, BB 2 is sunk just off Pensacola. She was sunk as as target in the 1920's. Very shallow area and great scuba diving.
Long ago, I read a book about the Oregon's race from the Pacific to Cuba.
Me too, as a boy. One of those boy's adventure books. I recall the suspense of their trying to drop anchor and wondering if they could brake the chain before it got to the end.
My grandfather has several large books of The Scientific American, all pre-1920. Each book contains 6 months. He has a few matched pairs, but most aren't. My favorite covers the 1893 Columbian Exposition and the story of how the Cunard steamer Umbria repaired her broken propeller shaft at sea, including pictures of the collar fitted to get her to New York, as well as the replacement of the shaft.
Then there is one with a small article on USS Indiana's turret clamps breaking in a storm, and a picture showing some absolutely MASSIVE cables tied around the guns to bollards on deck to keep them from swinging from side to side.
My other favorite, I can't remember the year, has a full two-page spread of the US Navy's plans for updating the fleet, containing renderings of Maine, Texas, Indiana, Oregon, a single torpedo boat, and a few other vessels. I'm going to have to page through those books to find those images once this whole cluster is over.
Please do HMS Fatigable, HMS Courageless, and HMCS Vulnerable. Thenk yew.
No HMS RUNAWAY? (Monty Python is so sad )
An enjoyable episode. Thank you, *Drachinifel.* Your wit and punning is spot on. ^_^
We still have one piece of it, down at Waterfront park. Dad said he remembered seeing it before they scrapped it. His Dad remembered seeing it at anchor here at the waterfront in the old days. We ( the state's people *then ) wanted to buy it as a museum and raised the money for it... But the Fed/ wasn't going to have it. Sad days.
Very Kool! Am a Oregonian that as a HS student spent some time in the Historical Society in downtown Portland going over datum. Quite a history and always nice to see others taking on the challenge! Thanks Kindly
Oregon Historical Society has a lot of photos of the USS Oregon in Portland where you can see her along side various very familiar bridges
These ships just seem to be the perfect representation of pre-dreadnaught battleship. Wish there was a model of them
@chris younts yea but I cant build that although that is cool to know :)
Do you have a 3d printer? I have been making 1/2400 3d printed models of ships of this period and USS Oregon is on my list.
Glencoe make a reasonably good on, and there are online discussions on how to improve it. Someone on this discussion posted a link to a paper model.
The Adventures of the USS Oregon (BB-3) at the end is *comedy gold*
Beyond just being the dry dock image, part of this ship is very, very familiar to me indeed. Her mast is half a mile from me, as part of a memorial on the Portland waterfront. I walk by it almost every day.
The USS Oregon's mast is located in Tom McCall Waterfront Park, Portland, Oregon. I found an article from a year ago about the smoke stacks laying in an old shipyard in Portland as well.
"High explosive freedom" LOL Love it!
I love the old white hulls of the US fleet. I understand the gray is more effective but the great white fleet had swagger
Although robbed of a chance to hold on to the whole ship, we still have the Oregons mast on display in downtown Portland on the waterfront
My god, MORE phantom torpedo boats? Are none of the world's seaways safe from their menace?
They went to the kamchatka school of torpedo boat spotting
Remember the Gulf of Tonkin. Our mighty destroyers were attacked by those torpedo boats, and barely managed to fight them off.
@@beverlychmelik5504 LOL! Oh, Beverly, thank you for that!
"There's a torpedo boat over yonder!" *Screaming and whooping intensifies.*
Thank you Drach. As a further note, we (Portland Oregon) still have Oregon’s battlemast, stacks (I believe) and other items from the ship. Interestingly enough, the Japanese firm who scrapped the remains of USS Oregon thought highly enough of the storied ship to send back the bell and several other special items that remained on the hulk. These remains are still visible in waterfront park and several of our museums.
If you want to read some good books about USS Oregon, I recommend "McKinley's Bulldog" by Sanford Sternlicht and "My 50 years in the navy" by Captain Charles Clark.
Seen at first at frame 3:29 is the second Indiana Class battleship, the original USS Massachusetts, also known as "Winged Victory" for the statue/ crest visible on her bow 13 inch gun turret.
The Massachusetts is the last Indiana class in existence. While not a museum ship or fully intact, the wreak of Massachusetts is currently in 30 feet of water off of Pensacola Beach, Florida.
Sunk as a target in a gunnery exercise in the 1920's, the Massachusetts has stayed in relatively good shape for being in shallow water, and is home to sharks and goliath grouper. While she wasn't as decorated as the Oregon or impactful as the Indiana, the Massachusetts has made a name for herself as an ecological preserve and diving spot, sitting 30 feet down in the green-blue waters of the gulf of mexico.
As an Oregonian who is used to people not being able to pronounce the name of this state correctly, I am impressed that a Brit got it bang on. Well done
"And one WHOLE torpedo-boat".
Kamchatka, "Do you say-torpedo boats?!"
Being from Oregon it was great to hear her story.
That's the brick mockup "USS Illinois" at about 5:53, the Columbian Exposition of 1893 attraction.
I saw the crows nest in the waterfront of Portland. I recommend y’all to go there. To bad they couldnt save her
Drach - Thank you for this video on my home state's first named warship (there is now a Virginia class fast attack sub, USS Oregon, oh bother US Navy's changing naming convention!). While you can't cover all items of interest due to time, you did hit on items I had not read or heard about (torpedo boats! Fire! Oh nevermind... ). Thanks again!
Who woke up this morning, saw another ship review by this amazing ship historian and decided to actually dislike this brilliant video?
naw they are just youtube trolls who go around and dislike any videos that have anything to do with warfare because it "evil" to mention it.
Yes, finally. I love the early battleships and Great White Fleet ships.
Last time I was this early the Maine was still floating
The mast of the USS Oregon is in Tom McCall park along the Willamette River in Portland, OR.
Definitely my favorite warship, It has a special place in my heart being the only battleship named after my home state. For some reason recently people have called her class some of the worst warships ever made, but her history says otherwise. Her class had problems, but she made do and did well.
The part about the phantom torpedo boat incident reminds me of a certain squadron in a place called the Pacific that had a certain repair ship
cough Kamchatka cough
Would be nice to see an episode on the USS Laffey (DD-459), apparently there is some badassery going on there. And maybe the Benson class as a whole too.
Thanks for those very interesting videos, and to help saving history.