A Short History of Ships Cats - Floating Felines, Maritime Moggies and Kleptomaniac Kittens

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 19 มิ.ย. 2024
  • A quick look at the origins of a vital part of the ships maintenance crew, and some notable examples.
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ความคิดเห็น • 1.4K

  • @jamespocelinko104
    @jamespocelinko104 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2899

    "Abandon ship! Women and children first!"
    "But sir, this is a warship."
    "I was talking about Mitzy and her kittens."

    • @silentassasin0575
      @silentassasin0575 4 ปีที่แล้ว +86

      Bahaha we got a winner here

    • @sillypuppy5940
      @sillypuppy5940 4 ปีที่แล้ว +112

      What a cat-astrophe!

    • @Archangelglenn
      @Archangelglenn 4 ปีที่แล้ว +55

      Okay that one had me laughing my ass off. *hits the like button while suitably still chuckling*

    • @peppermintcatsass3141
      @peppermintcatsass3141 4 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      ...stop Pussyfooting around & save the Meow meows!!

    • @JENKEM1000
      @JENKEM1000 4 ปีที่แล้ว +72

      Even if human women are present, kick them out of the lifeboat to make room for kitty. Priorities!

  • @robertmoore6149
    @robertmoore6149 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2397

    My gf said "I don't want to watch some war documentary. Find me a cat video."
    Hehehehehehe
    Loophole found. Thank you Drachinifel

    • @bosox2318
      @bosox2318 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      SAME

    • @axelmilan4292
      @axelmilan4292 4 ปีที่แล้ว +130

      Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

    • @stevew6138
      @stevew6138 4 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      Bad ass move Bro

    • @mgr_video_productions
      @mgr_video_productions 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      A brilliant idea. 😂

    • @robertmoore6149
      @robertmoore6149 4 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      @Eric Fapton She already has seen the Tank Chat series. (The original WWI German one that flips over is her favorite) So a video on a Tiger, Panther, Leopard, and especially a Mouse is out.

  • @Wachtel0889
    @Wachtel0889 4 ปีที่แล้ว +313

    "The black cat had apparently zero interest or terror of gunfire, apparently his favorite activity was to walk on top of the forward 12-inch turret when the gun was being fired."
    *I need this cat*

    • @1TruNub
      @1TruNub ปีที่แล้ว

      Another notch in the belt of cats not giving a single fuck And frankly tired of our human bullshit

    • @worldtraveler930
      @worldtraveler930 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I second that motion!!! 🤠👍

    • @secretbaguette
      @secretbaguette 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      You gotta imagine though it's probably deaf as shit, whether it started that way or not.

  • @AtomicBabel
    @AtomicBabel 4 ปีที่แล้ว +573

    His Majesty's Ship Cat, Blacky
    Last known position, Singapore
    Overdue, still on patrol

    • @jwoellhof
      @jwoellhof 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      needs more thumbs up. i love this.

    • @Questknight12
      @Questknight12 4 ปีที่แล้ว +69

      It should read "Status: Overdue
      Current Orders: On eternal patrol

    • @Stellar001100
      @Stellar001100 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      This cat wasn't stationed in a sub. It also didn't return to it's command in time, so technically Blacky was UA, then AWOL.

    • @AtomicBabel
      @AtomicBabel 4 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      @@Stellar001100 cats are not binded by any regulations (nor anything really) of humankind 🐱. Cheers

    • @Stellar001100
      @Stellar001100 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@AtomicBabel Its that kind of logic that got ship cats banned from navy vessels.

  • @arsarma1808
    @arsarma1808 4 ปีที่แล้ว +688

    "A Short History"
    Begins with the pseudo-domestication of cats in ancient Egypt.

    • @Philistine47
      @Philistine47 4 ปีที่แล้ว +88

      * the domestication of humans by cats in ancient Egypt.

    • @philperry4699
      @philperry4699 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      Dogs have masters, cats have staff. They domesticate us!

    • @BigPuddin
      @BigPuddin 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Drachnifel's original script for this video started out on several papyrus scrolls.

    • @Oscuros
      @Oscuros 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Don't let me get in the way of your American literalism, but the first ship's cats were on Egyptian boats, because they carried grain on them to keep mice and rats down?
      Even I know that before watching the fucking video, and given that the title of the video is about a history of ship's cats, it'd be seen as relevant, but what the fuck would I know with my history degree, we need to bow in the majesty of another yank twat wanting to comment before thinking, even when it's literally relevant to a history of ship's cats.

    • @BigPuddin
      @BigPuddin 3 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      ​@@Oscuros No fucking shit, Sherlock. Get out of here with your fedora wearing ass, incapable of discerning facetiousness.

  • @FurobaOA
    @FurobaOA 4 ปีที่แล้ว +850

    Captain: "Why did we stop firing our main turret?"
    Gunnery: "Sir, Baldric just won't decide if he wants in or out of the anti-flash door..."

    • @fabianzimmermann5495
      @fabianzimmermann5495 4 ปีที่แล้ว +156

      Beatty: "Just keep the damn thing open, if he can't decide."

    • @moerukaze5464
      @moerukaze5464 4 ปีที่แล้ว +110

      ...And that's how the Hood sunk

    • @maxkennedy8075
      @maxkennedy8075 4 ปีที่แล้ว +86

      Fabian Zimmermann Revealed: The real reason Beatty kept the flash doors open
      Should have installed a catflap

    • @fabianzimmermann5495
      @fabianzimmermann5495 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      @@maxkennedy8075 A catflap made out of steel. If it would have been out of plastic, it wouldn't have been that effective.

    • @maxkennedy8075
      @maxkennedy8075 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

      Fabian Zimmermann Well, Beatty wasn’t the sort of person you could describe as effective when it came to his command.

  • @TheScorpionStrike
    @TheScorpionStrike 4 ปีที่แล้ว +808

    I see the Egyptians followed the Pokemon school of naming things.
    "What is it?"
    "It says 'meow'."
    "We'll call it that, then." :D

    • @mikecimerian6913
      @mikecimerian6913 4 ปีที่แล้ว +50

      Egyptian priesthood had a huge cat mummification racket going ... cats joined navies to get the hell out of Egypt.

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@mikecimerian6913 The mummy racket extended up until Napolions invasion.

    • @mikecimerian6913
      @mikecimerian6913 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@scottleft3672 Napoo baby, bring me a cat. Josephine my heart we are going there to conquer. Sigh, you don't have to catch it yourself. OK my sweet, I'll bring you a mummy cat. Oh Napoo I love kittens thank you my love.

    • @scottleft3672
      @scottleft3672 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@mikecimerian6913 I believe it...lol....she was a dolt.

    • @foradain5211
      @foradain5211 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Followed it? They founded that school!

  • @RFTL
    @RFTL 4 ปีที่แล้ว +775

    The Royal Navy will never regain their old glories without the service of Ship Cats.

    • @flazzorb
      @flazzorb 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Yes, that's why...

    • @MaxwellAerialPhotography
      @MaxwellAerialPhotography 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      and rum... and maybe sodomy

    • @davidb6576
      @davidb6576 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@MaxwellAerialPhotography Wot, the cat!?

    • @osado77
      @osado77 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      In the future Space Royal Navy will carry Cats

    • @larrygoerke9081
      @larrygoerke9081 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@MaxwellAerialPhotography Don't forget "The Lash."

  • @arkadeepkundu4729
    @arkadeepkundu4729 4 ปีที่แล้ว +270

    RN sailors leaving India: Finally, we get our proper ship cat, she'll be our mascot.
    Captain of HMS Tiger: What do you mean we've had to empty a storage hold for a tiger they brought in from Bengal?

  • @karldubhe8619
    @karldubhe8619 4 ปีที่แล้ว +522

    "Being launched at the enemy as a high-speed boarding cat"
    I loved that line. :) Well done, if you have a cat I send virtual ear scritches.

    • @Perktube1
      @Perktube1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      Someone needs to make a meme… 😁

    • @karldubhe8619
      @karldubhe8619 4 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@Perktube1 done.

    • @thumperjdm
      @thumperjdm 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

      My cat gets angry over an empty food dish. I pity the poor soul that receives a high-speed incoming ballistic cat that was just launched and rudely awakened from its favorite napping gun barrel!!

    • @philperry4699
      @philperry4699 4 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      Being launched with the carrier's cat-apult?

    • @uzivatel56
      @uzivatel56 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@philperry4699 Get out.

  • @andrewp8284
    @andrewp8284 4 ปีที่แล้ว +145

    RIP Simon, Able Seacat
    Strength under fire, determination in his mission, courage in the face of the enemy rodents-a true model for all of us.

    • @Questknight12
      @Questknight12 3 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      And buried with full military honors.

    • @timothybentley8644
      @timothybentley8644 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@Questknight12 The only cat to receive the Dickin medal

  • @seventytwo1001000
    @seventytwo1001000 4 ปีที่แล้ว +309

    You forgot Redlead, HMAS Perth’s ships cat. Name after walking in red paint and leaving paw prints on the deck. Lost at sea when Perth was sunk during the war. The Latest HMAS Perth has red paw prints painted on the deck to commemorate this fearless felines.

    • @timonsolus
      @timonsolus 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      seventytwo1001000 : 😂

    • @thehoff1793
      @thehoff1793 3 ปีที่แล้ว +30

      There is a book about the cat. Survived the battle. Survived the sinking. Survived Japanese imprisonment... Died at age 20...

    • @frostedbutts4340
      @frostedbutts4340 3 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      @Sean Price Not sad at all. Feral cats absolutely devastate our endangered native species, particularly birds. Cats are great but they don't belong in the bush.

    • @jamesbugbee6812
      @jamesbugbee6812 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      That's a class practise.

    • @jamesbugbee6812
      @jamesbugbee6812 3 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@frostedbutts4340 The native species are toast anyway; nothing materially survives forever- do you see that train a-coming?

  • @alexandremagalhaes1774
    @alexandremagalhaes1774 4 ปีที่แล้ว +757

    I see drach restricted himself to talking about ship’s cats else he would have to revisit the wonderful adventures of Rozhestvensky and friends.

    • @mikea2363
      @mikea2363 4 ปีที่แล้ว +149

      Ship' snake reporting for duty!

    • @malusignatius
      @malusignatius 4 ปีที่แล้ว +52

      I laughed an evil laugh at reading this.

    • @OnboardG1
      @OnboardG1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      Mike A well, I guess some of the animals were cats. Mostly big ones though.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Or Mongo the Elephant....

    • @jameson1239
      @jameson1239 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      Ships crocodile reporting for duty

  • @korbell1089
    @korbell1089 4 ปีที่แล้ว +282

    So how was your cruise?
    Unsinkable Sam: "The cruise was great but the transfers sucked!

    • @shaunpater9662
      @shaunpater9662 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Why you going on about ships cats the British army and dogs and other animals that we pick up in war

    • @e-care-books9867
      @e-care-books9867 3 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I love jokes like that.

  • @godqueenbidoof
    @godqueenbidoof 4 ปีที่แล้ว +152

    I read that when a cat offers you a killed prey item it's them feeding you. In short Simon was telling those sailors "You look skinny, have a snack."

    • @jrdougan
      @jrdougan 4 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      "You are the most incompetent cat I have ever met, here is some food since you can't kill it yourself."

    • @gaborferenc2276
      @gaborferenc2276 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      yeah, it's like their contribution to the kitchen budget

    • @Redbird-dh7mu
      @Redbird-dh7mu 4 ปีที่แล้ว +23

      I mean, it makes sense, to a cat, that is actually a gift a cat would like.

    • @stevemcdonald4885
      @stevemcdonald4885 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@jrdougan Nailed it

  • @tonymakin6805
    @tonymakin6805 4 ปีที่แล้ว +336

    When my father was the captain of the destroyer HMCS Columbia in the 70's they had a ships cat named Clyde who had a habit of sleeping on the radar scope.The sailors sewed him his own life jacket as he would wander along dangerous bits of the ship but he never went overboard.

    • @jamesbugbee6812
      @jamesbugbee6812 3 ปีที่แล้ว +32

      Radar scope is both nice-n-warm, and a locus of attention.

    • @tonymakin6805
      @tonymakin6805 3 ปีที่แล้ว +38

      @@jamesbugbee6812 More than one junior officer put his face down to the shroud only to find Clyde staring back at hlm

    • @XH1927
      @XH1927 2 ปีที่แล้ว +25

      @@tonymakin6805 The radar sir... it appears to be... CATTED!!
      Only one man would dare give me the Calico... LONE STARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

    • @taraswertelecki3786
      @taraswertelecki3786 2 ปีที่แล้ว +13

      The sailors were kind men to make him a life jacket.

    • @Questknight12
      @Questknight12 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@tonymakin6805 Or Cat-butt.

  • @ATtravel666
    @ATtravel666 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    My grandfather served on a British WWII submarine. The boat's cat had a litter of kittens. The men cursed the kittens because they would jump from man to man playing when they were trying to sleep. But they worshiped the cats on board. A crew mate had abused a cat on board, my grandfather was a little vague about the details. The crew mate disappeared off the boat 'lost overboard'. My father worked in a South Wales coal mine. He said about the antics of the pit pony. The pony would pinch fruit from the miners' food. It would chew up apples and suck the juice through their coat pockets. A manager had to drag an old miner off a young lad who was getting a vicious beating. The old miner faced the immediate sack and when he said he had caught the lad punching the pit pony, the lad was sacked. When the mine closed there were plans to shoot the pit pony rather than go to the bother of bringing the pony to the surface. When the men found out, the manager was told that if the pit pony was harmed the manager and the shooter would be staying in the pit with the pony. The pit pony was retired to a local farm.

  • @gigaflynn_
    @gigaflynn_ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +188

    There's a simple explanation for Oscar changing colours part way through his career: He was wearing his regulation Kriegsmarine Tabby uniform, and then changed into a Royal Navy black and white uniform when he changed sides.

    • @thurin84
      @thurin84 2 ปีที่แล้ว +28

      plot twist; oscar never changed sides. he was under cover during his time on bismark.

    • @MapletreePaper
      @MapletreePaper 2 ปีที่แล้ว +14

      @@thurin84 No, he was a triple agent for the Soviets. 🤫

    • @thurin84
      @thurin84 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@MapletreePaper no cat would be an agent for the soviets. soviets are too likely to be starving and eat him. cats dont dig being eaten.

    • @crusadingtemplar
      @crusadingtemplar 2 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Obviously...as if drachinfel didn't notice the buttons down the front of Oscars uniforms🤣🤣

    • @gargravarr2
      @gargravarr2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      @@thurin84 It turns out that there's no records or photos of him aboard Bismarck because he wasn't actually aboard during the first half of her voyage. He covertly boarded the ship during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. How? Well, like the cat he was, he landed on his feet after flying over 16 kilometers, propelled by the dramatic explosion of his previous home vessel, HMS Hood.

  • @tommeakin1732
    @tommeakin1732 4 ปีที่แล้ว +560

    I can just imagine a battleship going into action, and after a few minutes it's clear that only nine of it's ten guns are firing at the enemy
    Captain: What the bloody hell's going on in B turret!?
    B turret: Erm...Officer Dibbles is in one of the barrels and he won't come out, captain....
    Captain: Ah...very well - the enemy can wait. Secure Officer Dibbles and send him to my quarters!

    • @malusignatius
      @malusignatius 4 ปีที่แล้ว +51

      "DIIIBBIIILES!"

    •  4 ปีที่แล้ว +58

      "Load a practise shell! Half charges! Launch the feline boarding party!"

    • @misterangel8486
      @misterangel8486 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Muhahahaaa 😂👍

    • @hunterjames7786
      @hunterjames7786 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Tom Meakin honestly I could see a crew doing that just for lucks sake I doubt it’s good luck for a ships cat to die

    • @tommeakin1732
      @tommeakin1732 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      @@hunterjames7786 I'd do that just because it's a cat lol. I'd feel fucking awful if I shot a cat out of a 12 inch gun xD

  • @TheOneTrueDragonKing
    @TheOneTrueDragonKing 4 ปีที่แล้ว +574

    The US Navy may not have cats any more, but the Coast Guard does!
    The Coast Guard's official mascot is in fact a cat!

    • @MrMattumbo
      @MrMattumbo 4 ปีที่แล้ว +79

      Yet another reason Coasties are cooler

    • @inyobill
      @inyobill 4 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@MrMattumbo I was going to attempt a reply, but yours is better than I would have accomplished. It would almost be worth enduring outhouses to have gotten to serve on one of the old revenue cutters, preferably west coast.

    • @pgtmr2713
      @pgtmr2713 4 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      @@MrMattumbo Meh, we had Tomcats. The epitome of cool cats. 4 cats to fling them off the deck too!

    • @boxman9033
      @boxman9033 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      huh

    • @marseldagistani1989
      @marseldagistani1989 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      To US Navy ships have goats as ship mascots?

  • @richardcooper9417
    @richardcooper9417 4 ปีที่แล้ว +87

    The Santissima Trinidad, 130 guns, was taken as a prize at Trafalgar, and its crew was battened down below decks. A mighty storm blew up, and the crippled ship was drifting towards the rocks. The Spanish crew was taken off, with the exception of the ship's cat. On finding itself deserted, the cat ran out along the aftermost gun and set up such a mewling that the British sailors who were struggling to manage the rescue boat in mountainous seas went back and rescued the poor creature.

  • @Kingpin6100
    @Kingpin6100 4 ปีที่แล้ว +147

    13:45 HIGH SPEED BOARDING CAT

    • @donjones4719
      @donjones4719 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      The crew just found an easy way to swab out the bore.

    •  4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Look at me. I am the cat-tain now.
      tenor.com/view/captain-phillips-tom-hanks-captain-richard-phillips-barkhad-abdi-abduwali-muse-gif-5096442

  • @SpectreOZ
    @SpectreOZ 4 ปีที่แล้ว +89

    Cats leaving their "successful bounties" on people's beds (or doorsteps) is said to be a gesture of appreciation/affection 👍

    • @Bobby-fj8mk
      @Bobby-fj8mk 2 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      The cat is bringing food for the family.

    • @SynchroScore
      @SynchroScore 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Or contempt. "I see you are incapable of catching your own food. I will demonstrate."

    • @nektulosnewbie
      @nektulosnewbie 2 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      @@SynchroScore Not contempt, but instruction.

    • @SynchroScore
      @SynchroScore 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@nektulosnewbie I suppose that works also.

    • @michaeldelucci4379
      @michaeldelucci4379 ปีที่แล้ว

      My cat Maya left a dead mouse on my bed.

  • @ifga16
    @ifga16 4 ปีที่แล้ว +75

    While serving aboard USS Nimitz, in the late 70s, there was a brief panic over finding rat leavings in the fo'c'sle. Without a ship's cat, many bulletins and morning quarters were posted and made regarding repelling rodents. I did my part during the crisis by going out and getting a publication, "Rats as Pets" and posted it upon the Division's Required Reading board. Such a shame that mascots are too unsanitary for modern ships. Cats can be much cleaner than many of the human crew.

    • @cptjeff1
      @cptjeff1 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Do modern ships still have buckets of sand lying around for fires? Between that and some kibble...

    • @BigPuddin
      @BigPuddin ปีที่แล้ว +6

      ​@@cptjeff1 I don't think so. They have chemical extinguishers now. My brother was a sailor on a carrier, and he never mentioned such a thing.

  • @robertadamcik9179
    @robertadamcik9179 4 ปีที่แล้ว +99

    Legend or not, naming a cat found floating in the ocean Oscar is hilarious!!!!! During man-overboard drills/actual emergencies, ships fly the OSCAR signal flag, and the dummy ships use during drills is named Oscar. Perfect!

    • @whatgoesaroundcomesaround1376
      @whatgoesaroundcomesaround1376 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Yeppers! My brain didn't make that connection until the day after I first watched this episode. (Be nice. It's been 35+ years.)
      I suffered from a case of the giggles for the rest of the day. The Mrs. thought that I had lost another of my marbles.

    • @em1osmurf
      @em1osmurf 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      21 years USN to 1993. and i too, never made that connection. and i have a leather bag hanging by my desk with all my marbles in it--they just don't go with me everywhere, so i don't have them all the time. 😅

    • @jackthorton10
      @jackthorton10 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Thank you for your service good sir:)

  • @Mishn0
    @Mishn0 4 ปีที่แล้ว +308

    Predicting weather changes: we had a cat that hated thunder. She'd retire behind the couch about an hour before there was any human detectable thunder and come out again as soon as it had passed.
    Also, "The History Guy"'s channel has a video on this subject too, for all who haven't found his channel yet.

    • @richmcgee434
      @richmcgee434 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      Used the same thumbnail, too. I spent a minute trying to figure out if I'd watched this one already and if it was a re-upload or something. You'd think with the internet theoretically being about 48% cat images there'd be more than one "naval kitty" image to work with. :)

    • @Mishn0
      @Mishn0 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      @@richmcgee434 Both thumbnails are kitties in guns but not the same image. THG's thumbnail was the same as the image that Drach has at about 7:00.

    • @mathewkelly9968
      @mathewkelly9968 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      My cat Smokey is the same , hates the sound of lawn mowers and whipper snippers too , funnily enough is fine with guns and fireworks .

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sadly, the History Guy isn’t as reliable as most assume. His Willie D video in particular shows awful research and rehashing of fabricated claims that are spread as fact.

    • @dubuyajay9964
      @dubuyajay9964 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Link?

  • @onecertainordinarymagician
    @onecertainordinarymagician 4 ปีที่แล้ว +490

    Ships*
    Cats*
    Instant click and like

    • @moonbrothers9098
      @moonbrothers9098 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Same here!! I'm pretty sure I own 2 cats.....

    • @thomas316
      @thomas316 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      Or...do the cats own you?

    • @billylauwda9178
      @billylauwda9178 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      I have one cat and he likes to screw me modelships and knock me model trains of the tracks and cause dellays to freight services on my model railroad.

    • @spikespa5208
      @spikespa5208 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      My two favorite subjects. Kitties at sea!

    • @Archangelglenn
      @Archangelglenn 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Pretty much. :)

  • @usswestvirginiabb-4868
    @usswestvirginiabb-4868 4 ปีที่แล้ว +131

    The black cat on HMS Lord Nelson was a madlad

  • @keithlloyd2306
    @keithlloyd2306 3 ปีที่แล้ว +46

    My father was a commando, Gdsmn Charlie Lloyd 6 troop 2 Commando), who participated in Operation Chariot, the attack on the Noramandie dry dock, the only one large enough to hold the Tirpitz outside of Germany. Whilst moored in Falmouth during a days delay, the ships cat from ML268 repeatedly came aboard ML156, that which my father was on; this occurred so any times that they left the cat where it was aboard 156. When the attack began 268 was hit in the auxiliary fuel tanks, erupting into a ball of flame, there were 2, possibly 3 survivors picked up. ML156 was badly damaged, hydraulic steering destroyed, one engine only & operating only at maximum rpm whilst slowly sinking, she crabbed slowly down the Loire, fighting all the way when not hidden in fog. Meeting HMS Atherstone, 156 was abandoned, my father was about to ascend the scrambling net when he remembered the cat so he dashed below to grab the it from where it was curled up on his bunk, terrified by the gunfire & explosions. During a memorial service 38 years later, to the day, for those brave & valiant men who died at St. Nazaire, my father noticed a man staring at him &, being the man he was, approached his observer to ask what his interest was, the response being "Were you the fellow with the cat?" It was the sailor who had helped my father on to the deck of the Atherstone all those years before.
    That cat certainly seemed to have some foreknowledge of impending doom as it steadfastly refused to remain aboard its home boat. Dad said the first time the human cost of the operation hit him was going to breakfast on the morning of their return to Plymouth; there were place settings for the 25 men of 6 troop who had gone. There was 6 of them left, 5 PoWs & the dreadful toll of 14 dead. Words are inadequate to describe those men who went after being told it was, in all likelihood, a one way trip, not to expect to return. But the puss survived minus one life

  • @rodento3220
    @rodento3220 ปีที่แล้ว +8

    As a sailor of 21 years in the US Navy I will say this. Unsinkable Sam may be what we now a days call a "No $hitter" but so are a lot of "Tales" told and they all have their places. No matter what Unsinkable Sam was a ships cat and spent his later years at a home for sailors watching over them, God bless his furry little head says I.

  • @Lintary
    @Lintary 4 ปีที่แล้ว +102

    The banning of cats onboard naval ships is truly sad, not only as mentioned will they deal with rodents they are also just great company :)
    As for Sam, sometimes if a story is that good, you just stick to it and enjoy it.

    • @loganstroganoff1284
      @loganstroganoff1284 2 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Could do a great deal in boosting morale in the same way dogs did that were adopted by army and marine infantry units back in the day. Little things like having an animal mascot do wonders.

    • @erichvondonitz5325
      @erichvondonitz5325 2 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@loganstroganoff1284 There's also a chance breaking morale if the cat ever gets thrown overboard or got killed by a shell during combat

    • @historytank5673
      @historytank5673 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      @@erichvondonitz5325 no that’s a driving force. If the cat is killed, no mercy may be given to the enemy

  • @brentgranger7856
    @brentgranger7856 4 ปีที่แล้ว +416

    You forgot Jonesy, the ship's cat aboard the Nostromo in the film, "Alien."

    • @rosiehawtrey
      @rosiehawtrey 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

      NEVER go back for the cat! It's almost rule one.

    • @malusignatius
      @malusignatius 4 ปีที่แล้ว +42

      AKA. 'Shithead', according to Ripley. :P

    • @richmcgee434
      @richmcgee434 4 ปีที่แล้ว +73

      Somewhere out there there's a ancient newspaper cartoon of a very, very angry Jones with a squirming chestburster pinned helplessly under its paws. The caption reads "And just what do you think you're doing with MY pets?" Next panel has him dragging the thing into an airlock by its tail, followed by a final panel of the baby xenomorph being blown into space while Jones presses the "Airlock Open" button. Would've been a very different (and much shorter) film if things had played out that way.

    • @sirmalus5153
      @sirmalus5153 4 ปีที่แล้ว +31

      The alien was lucky Jonesy was in a small caged box when they came face to face.

    • @peppermintcatsass3141
      @peppermintcatsass3141 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      @@sirmalus5153 ...true!

  • @operatorhoot470
    @operatorhoot470 4 ปีที่แล้ว +71

    Ah, my 3 favourite things. Cats, Ships and Sarcasm, Bravo Sir!

    • @scottgiles7546
      @scottgiles7546 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Are not cats naturally sarcastic, sarcasm itself?

    • @philperry4699
      @philperry4699 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@scottgiles7546 Considering that "sarcasm" is Greek for "to tear flesh"...

  • @Narstak
    @Narstak 4 ปีที่แล้ว +118

    "Miou."
    -Drachinifel, 26th of february 2020

  • @joshdoz9234
    @joshdoz9234 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

    "THIS SHIP IS SINKING!!!!"
    Oscar: *meows smugly*

  • @JohnRodriguesPhotographer
    @JohnRodriguesPhotographer 4 ปีที่แล้ว +90

    Has anyone considered that Oscar (unsinkable Sam) was actually in the employ of the Germans? While mousing he may have been collecting information for the Kriegsmarine.

    • @ENiceGeo
      @ENiceGeo 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      @me hee He was transmitting coded information through his rhythmic purring to any listening German subs in the vicinity.

    • @stevequerin2504
      @stevequerin2504 3 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      You sank my Home Ship.
      Now, I am gonna sink This Ship via my presence.

  • @jannegrey593
    @jannegrey593 4 ปีที่แล้ว +125

    Cat: "Meow"
    Egyptian: "Typical Godly Behaviour"
    Also what about Bears? Although he wasn't a ship pet, he was a soldier so I understand.

    • @MrElis420
      @MrElis420 4 ปีที่แล้ว +41

      Pollyanna the Reindeer was a gift from the Soviet Navy to the crew of the HMS Trident in 1941, and she spent 6 weeks aboard, originally being small enough to fit through a torpedo tube, she developed a taste for condensed milk and was too big to fit when the submarine got to port, so they used a winch and a crewman using a broom to pull her out of the sub and onto dry land. She's known for refusing to sleep anywhere else than under the captains bed, barrelling her way through the submarine and knocking everyone in her way over when the sub surfaced for fresh air, eating the navigation chart, and being well loved by the entire crew, even when she was acting like a diva haha.
      Pollyanna was given to Regents Park Zoo (now London Zoo), and was said to have ducked down for cover whenever she heard a siren or loud bell. She died in 1947, within a week of he HMS Trident being decommissioned and scrapped.

    • @jannegrey593
      @jannegrey593 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@MrElis420 I didn't know that. Thanks.

    • @neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819
      @neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      Jan Negrey there was a Black Bear attached to a Polish Regiment that served with the British Army in WW2.

    • @jannegrey593
      @jannegrey593 4 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      ​@@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 That's why I wrote it, but thank you. His name was Wojtek. He was a Corporal.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 A brown bear, not a black bear.

  • @davidrenton
    @davidrenton 4 ปีที่แล้ว +82

    5:41 Cats "wouldn't talk back, cheat at cards or flog you for speaking out of turn" not the Cats i know :)

    • @curvy4655
      @curvy4655 4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      I expect most cats would flog absolutely everyone they met if they had the hands to do so :)

    • @zarabada6125
      @zarabada6125 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Watch out for those 9-tailed cats.

    • @chrismc410
      @chrismc410 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@curvy4655 dont even get started on "not talking back" they most certainly can and do talk. Meows can mean many things if you listen and note the duration, body language, pitch, tempo of trills or purrs are heard. Meowing is a language all their own. Just because they dont speak human languages doesn't mean they can't talk.

    • @dubuyajay9964
      @dubuyajay9964 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@zarabada6125 You watch Linfamy?

    • @stevequerin2504
      @stevequerin2504 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@curvy4655 ... Actually, Cats do flog People.
      When the Cat is lying down somewhere; and, People, or whatever, walks by the Cat; and, the Cat strikes at the person or whatever.

  • @twokool4skool129
    @twokool4skool129 4 ปีที่แล้ว +70

    *posts dozens excellent videos about warships*
    Internet: meh, these are ok I guess
    *posts one video about cats on warships*
    Internet: Now you're speakin ma language!

  • @riderstrano783
    @riderstrano783 4 ปีที่แล้ว +60

    I’m a volunteer aboard a museum fireboat, and the skipper has 3 rescue cats aboard.

  • @admiraltiberius1989
    @admiraltiberius1989 4 ปีที่แล้ว +241

    Last time I was this early, the French Navy was still building ships for the British Navy.
    But anyway I knew within 90 seconds I'd love this video. Drach said "meow" and that was wholly unexpected. But a pleasant surprise nonetheless.
    What a fantastic video, fine work sir
    Personally I'd be terrified of a boarding cat....especially one coming at me at high speed.
    I'm also laughing at the thought of a fat black cat sunning himself on the top of a turret aboard HMS Lord Nelson as the guns are firing away.

    • @chrisbruce5711
      @chrisbruce5711 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Wait why did the French navy do that.. I honestly did not know this happened in history.

    • @admiraltiberius1989
      @admiraltiberius1989 4 ปีที่แล้ว +22

      @@chrisbruce5711 its sarcasm, referring to the rather large numbers of French ships that ended up serving the British Navy after being taken as prizes.

    • @chrisbruce5711
      @chrisbruce5711 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@admiraltiberius1989 I have found out some weird things that happened in history so French building warships for the British to me seem not that weird. Well yes it's weird but it's not the weirdest thing I've heard in history...

    • @admiraltiberius1989
      @admiraltiberius1989 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      @@chrisbruce5711 as I said, it was wholly sarcasm

    • @chrisbruce5711
      @chrisbruce5711 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@admiraltiberius1989 I know its just that I have a problem telling tone on the internet...

  • @malusignatius
    @malusignatius 4 ปีที่แล้ว +283

    Oh, and the irony of naming a rat Mao Zedong... 'Mao' is Chinese for cat.

    • @rooseveltbrentwood9654
      @rooseveltbrentwood9654 4 ปีที่แล้ว +37

      malusignatius meow zedong

    • @smokerjim
      @smokerjim 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Almost as ironic is that a rat grabbed the attention - the symmetry of Mouse Zedong would have been very inviting if the subject had been a member of the Mus genus.

    • @onelyone6976
      @onelyone6976 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Eat that China!

    • @CostaCola
      @CostaCola 4 ปีที่แล้ว +16

      Chairman Mao's name does use a different character than the word for cat though.

    •  4 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      I rescued a cat named "Moussie" a little over a year ago.... We renamed him in the end, my (Chinese) wife wouldn't get over the fact that he was called what sounded like "Mao Cie" (cat excrement).
      Ever since he was renamed and I made him a cat ladder so he can go outside when he likes, he has been raining down all kinds of hell on the local rodent population, with the counter stuck at 3 rats and 29 mice and a particularly dim-witted rabbit.

  • @The_New_IKB
    @The_New_IKB 4 ปีที่แล้ว +176

    I am convinced that the cats actually domesticated us humans!

    • @jefferyindorf699
      @jefferyindorf699 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      You are quite correct.

    • @caninedrill_instructor5861
      @caninedrill_instructor5861 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Actually, there's mounting evidence that Dogs domesticated us, not the other way around. Mayhap, softening us up for their feline cousins.

    • @inyobill
      @inyobill 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      I suspect that you live with cat(s).

    • @caninedrill_instructor5861
      @caninedrill_instructor5861 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@inyobill
      Two of them, and my Guide Dog.

    • @inyobill
      @inyobill 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@caninedrill_instructor5861 service dogs are he best!

  • @jeg5gom
    @jeg5gom 4 ปีที่แล้ว +73

    The unfairness of life: Uncle Drach pours his heart into each naval history video, with great research, insights, perspectives and even guests when applicable, and yet... it's these furball spewing scoundrels that steal one of the most memorable of all his superb shows thus far! Great video, thank you as always!!
    "England expects that every cat will do his duty!!!"

    • @tamlandipper29
      @tamlandipper29 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      If England expects anything of a cat except insolent self indulgence then England is a bloody fool.

    • @jeg5gom
      @jeg5gom 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      @@tamlandipper29 That's exactly the duty of a cat, thus mission accomplished!

    • @MajinOthinus
      @MajinOthinus 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@jeg5gom It is clearly the superior species; expecting anything else from them is insolent heresy!

    • @jeg5gom
      @jeg5gom 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@MajinOthinus being that I myself am merely permitted to live in my cat's house, I see your point!!!

  • @lucidnonsense942
    @lucidnonsense942 4 ปีที่แล้ว +87

    Drach, you're going to break the internet...

  • @spacemutt1978
    @spacemutt1978 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    HMS Amethyst was a Black Swan class sloop, not a frigate, and the engagement was the Yangtze Incident, not the Amethyst Incident.
    Apparently the captain who took over after Lieutenant Commander Skinner was wounded, didn't get on with Simon, but appreciated that he was important to the crew.
    Additional. The film "The Yangtze Incident" stars the actual HMS Amethyst. She was pulled off the scrap-heap for the film. Her sister ship Magpie was used for shots where she was moving as Amethyst's engine were out of commission.

  • @GusCraft460
    @GusCraft460 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    If there are two Unsinkable Sams then it is very likely that their service records got mixed together into a single much more impressive record. Would it surprise anyone that there were two ship cats named Oscar in WWII? Probably not.

    • @bkjeong4302
      @bkjeong4302 2 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Would certainly resolve most of the discrepancies. IMO, what happened was that some Kriegsmarine sailor smuggled a cat onto Bismarck, and when Bismarck was sunk Cossack picked it up (hence some of Cossak’s crew saying this did indeed happen) and that was the end of it for that cat; the other cat was on Ark Royal when she was lost, and someone apparently assumed the two cats were the same, possibly due to Ark Royal’s even closer connection with Bismarck than with Cossack or due to the fact all the ships in the narrative are directly or indirectly connected in some way or another.

  • @vipertwenty249
    @vipertwenty249 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    You got that totally about face around the 2 minute mark Drach - the cats moved into the towns when the humans started storing grain - which attracted the rodents - and so began the slow process of domesticating humans. This process is still ongoing - it's proving a bit of a challenge.

    • @TraditionalAnglican
      @TraditionalAnglican 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Viper twenty2 - “Dogs have owners, while cars have staff.”

    • @vipertwenty249
      @vipertwenty249 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@TraditionalAnglican Entirely correct indeed!

  • @KrzysztofDanielCiba
    @KrzysztofDanielCiba 4 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Drach, you've made my day!
    ORP Burza - Kicia (Kitty)
    ORP Garland - Puszek (Fluffy)
    ORP Piorun - Żaba (Frog) and Tygrys (Tiger)

    • @Gearhead221
      @Gearhead221 หลายเดือนก่อน

      Another reason to love the Piorun

  • @scottdrone-silvers5179
    @scottdrone-silvers5179 4 ปีที่แล้ว +93

    Cats were once worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this...

    • @MajinOthinus
      @MajinOthinus 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Why would they? They are quite obviously the superior species!

    • @Fitzwalrus06
      @Fitzwalrus06 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      And they are terribly annoyed that most humans HAVE forgotten. ;D

    • @mopokebonza729
      @mopokebonza729 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      Ha ha . Very good

    • @benjaminbrewer2569
      @benjaminbrewer2569 2 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      That sounds like a terry pratchett line.

    • @MarkGoding
      @MarkGoding 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      It's the difference between cats and dogs.. dogs think: "Hey you feed me, you must be a god!"
      Cats think: "Hey you feed me, I must be a god".

  • @vipertwenty249
    @vipertwenty249 4 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    On broadly the same subject, a customer of mine of many years ago was a retired air traffic controller from RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire, England. She originally had 2 kittens, both of which were named by the pilots. Lightning was so named because of it's habit of racing across the lawn in front of the officers mess and going vertically straight up the wall - anyone who has seen an English Electric Lightning taking off will see why it got that name instantly. The other was named Jaguar - because it was "a low, fast and destructive piece it kit". One - I think it was Jaguar - was killed by being run over by a Canberra jet recon aircraft. It had developed the habit of sitting in the middle of the runway trying to outstare the jets as they came in to land.

    • @johnjephcote7636
      @johnjephcote7636 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

      Hmm...reminds me of a story about an uncle in RAF prewar Egypt. Station had tame lion (big cat) which slept on runway but this time runway was needed for designed purpose. It had a distinctive black mark on its mane, so uncle grabbed it and led it to 'kennel' (packing case?) only to discover a sleeping lion with black mane already there! I never did discover the sequel.

    • @vipertwenty249
      @vipertwenty249 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      @@johnjephcote7636 I clean set of underwear were most likely required!

    • @timonsolus
      @timonsolus 3 ปีที่แล้ว

      john jephcote 😂

  • @The_Viscount
    @The_Viscount 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    Regardless if Oscar existed, his story had to be based on at least one real cat. I hope that cat or those cats, were able to, eventually, live out their days chasing mice and sunning on the deck in peace.

  • @info_fox
    @info_fox 4 ปีที่แล้ว +249

    So these were the ships "Cat-ptain"?
    I'll see myself out.

    • @Nonsense010688
      @Nonsense010688 4 ปีที่แล้ว +12

      "you have disappointed me for the last time..." *pulls pistol"

    • @Usmvalor3
      @Usmvalor3 4 ปีที่แล้ว +24

      Or Meow-ficers.

    • @twokool4skool129
      @twokool4skool129 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      That pun was just pawful.

    • @Heegaherger
      @Heegaherger 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Booooo! Boo!

    • @derrickrees8895
      @derrickrees8895 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      One hand to the scruff of the neck - one hand to the seat of the trousers , and 'Good EVENING to you sir!'

  • @felixcat9318
    @felixcat9318 2 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    Your description of the cat walking on the gun turret of HMS Nelson and being utterly indifferent to the guns firing was outstanding!
    Its easy to see how the presence of a cat on board a vessel would improve morale amongst the Crew, especially if their cat was as nonchalant as the one on HMS Nelson!

    • @secretbaguette
      @secretbaguette 4 หลายเดือนก่อน

      "Don't duck, it doesn't do any good and upsets the men"
      -This cat, probably.

  • @shannonrhoads7099
    @shannonrhoads7099 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    This tradition continued into the 2360's and 2370's, as several cats served aboard the USS Enterprise, a modestly well known Galaxy-class starship. The most famous would be Spot, who belonged to Lt. Commander Data. (grin)

  • @FrostJaeger
    @FrostJaeger 4 ปีที่แล้ว +66

    That black cat aboard the HMS Lord Nelson must have been deaf... XD

    • @malusignatius
      @malusignatius 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

      That's not impossible.

    • @weldonwin
      @weldonwin 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

      @@malusignatius Even then, discounting the noise, it was also completely heedless of the shockwave from the guns firing

    • @malusignatius
      @malusignatius 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      @@weldonwin Oh yes. Black Cat had no shits to give. :P

    • @OnboardG1
      @OnboardG1 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Given I’ve seen my idiot (and most definitely not deaf) feline staring out the window at thunder storms and fireworks I’d not put it past him to just not care.

    • @Vojtokae
      @Vojtokae 4 ปีที่แล้ว +15

      Or, he´s been an personification, of perfect british officer as he wouldn´t let those pesky gun´s to interrupt his daily routine.

  • @chrischan8282
    @chrischan8282 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    “High speed boarding cat” - 40k boarding torpedo intensifies

  • @Depipro
    @Depipro 4 ปีที่แล้ว +20

    About the two different photos of Unsinkable Sam: it's also imaginable someone simply used any random cat photograph and called it Unsinkable Sam to impress his conversation partners.

  • @pdoylemi
    @pdoylemi 4 ปีที่แล้ว +7

    I wish the US Navy had had ship's cats when I was serving. But my 27 foot sailboat has a "ship's cat". I got Bella used to sailing as a kitten, and she loves the boat. She loves to get on the boom and lay in the pocket of the mainsail, and has even learned to understand that when I say "prepare to come about" - it's time for her to jump down and switch sides.

  • @tyberfen5009
    @tyberfen5009 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

    "The cat, having not quite developed the same contempt for all human life, that most of its decendants would one day share" (around 1:15)
    Hahahaha, you got me there

  • @eatthisvr6
    @eatthisvr6 4 ปีที่แล้ว +40

    Simon sounds like a badass cat! And the 1 who sat on top of main gun turrets as they were fired and gave no shits haha

    •  4 ปีที่แล้ว +8

      "Sail me closer! I also want to get my claws on the enemy's rats!"

    • @merafirewing6591
      @merafirewing6591 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      *Darth Vader laughing in the distance*

  • @Snowstrider0001
    @Snowstrider0001 4 ปีที่แล้ว +17

    Politicians probably became increasingly jealous of Ships' cats impressive war records and greater achievements than themselves.

  • @fridtjofriibe5961
    @fridtjofriibe5961 4 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    “Battleship mounted cats”
    I cannot get that image out of my head

  • @joshthomas-moore2656
    @joshthomas-moore2656 4 ปีที่แล้ว +30

    I love how black cats are seen as unlucky on land yet on ships they seen as good luck

    • @faeembrugh
      @faeembrugh 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Black cats are considered lucky in the UK.

    • @joshthomas-moore2656
      @joshthomas-moore2656 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@faeembrugh This has not been my experience i have a black cat and the first thing i get asked when i say this is "Aren't they unlucky?"
      I'm not saying your wrong it's just that's the first thing i get asked and i do live in the UK so maybe it's just different where you live to where i live.

    • @michaelsullivan6127
      @michaelsullivan6127 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Toofless takes offense at the mere suggestion he is 'unlucky'.

    • @joshthomas-moore2656
      @joshthomas-moore2656 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@michaelsullivan6127 my deepest apology to to toothless

    • @michaelsullivan6127
      @michaelsullivan6127 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      @@joshthomas-moore2656 Toofless snores at your apology, in his manner of acceptance.

  • @pagarb
    @pagarb 2 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    The HMS Amethyst had a cat on board when she was attacked on the Yangtze River. The cat did such a good job of keeping the rats at bay the crew awarded him a medal. I saw the Amethyst when she sailed into Hong Kong, judging from the damage this cat deserved the decoration.

  • @callyfow9397
    @callyfow9397 4 ปีที่แล้ว +61

    Drach: bla bla bla Highspeed boarding cat bla bla bla
    DARPA: Write that down! Write that down!

    • @BigPuddin
      @BigPuddin 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      "HE SAID THE C-WORD!!"

  • @Howlrunner82
    @Howlrunner82 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    No official Cat on Bismarck? Well that explains the bad luck

  • @catfish552
    @catfish552 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

    6:00 I appreciate that while a collar has been put on the cat, the cat has in turn deposited a large amount of hair on the man as well.

  • @PanzerMan332
    @PanzerMan332 3 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Simon surviving a blast of shrapnel from a naval shell is what we call "using one of nine lives".

  • @maxkennedy8075
    @maxkennedy8075 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    7:48 here Stripy looks as if he’s about to swim over and kick the shit out of the Kreigsmarine himself

  • @demonorse
    @demonorse 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    The ship's cat aboard the "Karluk" was saved after the ship was stranded and crushed in the ice.

  • @mbryson2899
    @mbryson2899 4 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Our household has been owned by cats for decades. No vermin here!
    They have also given us earthquake warnings (California has a fair number of those), their reaction reflecting the upcoming intensity.
    Their calmness is amazing. When our next-door neighbor was shot our eldest simply got off my lap and meowed me to go check on him. Six loud gunshots one wall over and he was (unlike me) unshocked and unperturbed.

  • @troopship12
    @troopship12 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Cats know the secret of the universe, they just can't be bothered to tell anybody.

  • @JeffreyAu1
    @JeffreyAu1 3 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    The cats in their custom made hammocks are killing me. :)

  • @stevelindstedt8858
    @stevelindstedt8858 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    "Mrs. Chippie" (a male cat)....was ship's cat aboard Earnest Shackleton's "Endurance"...on the ill fated 1914-1917 Antarctic expedition. The cat was killed on Shackleton's orders, as the ship was crushed and sank by relentless pack ice. A bronze statue of Mrs. Chippie adorns the grave of the cat's benefactor (Endurance ship's carpenter Harry McNish) in New Zealand.

    • @frankwerner6355
      @frankwerner6355 2 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Interestingly enough, Mrs. Chippa was a tom. He was called Mrs. because he followed the carpenter everywhere like a jealous wife.

    • @BigLisaFan
      @BigLisaFan ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Poor kitty.

  • @turbowolf302
    @turbowolf302 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Shout out to those of us watching this with a kitty nearby, tolerating our presence

    • @BigLisaFan
      @BigLisaFan ปีที่แล้ว

      Mine was not impressed, typical cat, with the video, but says to remember those cats too who lost their lives when their ships sank on the upcoming Remembrance Day.

  • @artcampbell5315
    @artcampbell5315 4 ปีที่แล้ว +26

    Nothing like the grin on the officer in the background when Winnie was patting Blackie.
    edit: make that everyone in the background

    • @wavepool4501
      @wavepool4501 2 ปีที่แล้ว

      “That’s a good cat right there, takes a pat like no problem.” - Winston Churchill, probably

  • @19Thomium
    @19Thomium 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

    One cat of note, whilst not a warship's cat, is "Nigeraurak", the ship's cat of the Ill-fated "Karluk". She survived the time adrift on the ship, it's crushing, the ice marches to land and 8 months on Wrangel island before being rescued and surviving to a "grand old age"

  • @glennricafrente58
    @glennricafrente58 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Man, the kill count of Unsinkable Sam was astonishing. A Tribal, a fleet carrier, a couple of transports. This former crew member of the Bismarck sank more ships than the Bismarck itself! Best secret agent ever.

  • @stealthbanana
    @stealthbanana 4 ปีที่แล้ว +46

    What would be interesting is HMS Unicorn, the repair carrier that ended up being the only carrier to take part in shore bombardment.

  • @mursac1959
    @mursac1959 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Hah! Simon was probably leaving the sailors gifts. When I was an infant, one of my parent's cats pretty much adopted me. She would go out into the yard and hunt down assorted small animals, then drop them on the floor at the head of my crib. :)

  • @benwilson6145
    @benwilson6145 4 ปีที่แล้ว +18

    Tiddles on HMS Argus must be photographed close to the bow. The Collision Regulations require that the Ships bell be placed in the fore part of the vessel.
    It is part of the regulations that on arrival in port a Derat certificate must be produced and a question answered if there is any evidence of rodent activity.
    The most famous of ships cats in the Royal Navy was surely "Trim" Mathew Flinders cat, sadly lost on Mauritius.

  • @Big_E_Soul_Fragment
    @Big_E_Soul_Fragment 4 ปีที่แล้ว +80

    1:24 imagine Drach as an anime catgirl when meowing like that.

    • @SolmonGTrauth
      @SolmonGTrauth 4 ปีที่แล้ว +54

      I swear to god if battleships where still in service I’d use you as ammunition

    • @Big_E_Soul_Fragment
      @Big_E_Soul_Fragment 4 ปีที่แล้ว +43

      @@SolmonGTrauth Good luck erasing that mental image

    • @admiraltiberius1989
      @admiraltiberius1989 4 ปีที่แล้ว +19

      Bastard !!!!!

    • @dsloop3907
      @dsloop3907 4 ปีที่แล้ว +11

      Show us your cat girl avatar, 225677th.

    • @rosiehawtrey
      @rosiehawtrey 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Apollo 13 - Gimbal Lock
      Drachists - Sphincter Lock
      That comment needs a couple of *cases* of xenomorph grade molecular acid - brain bleach isn't going to cut it..

  • @JackBWatkins
    @JackBWatkins 4 ปีที่แล้ว +68

    As for me, I will not besmirch the good name of Oscar, aka Unsinkable Sam, and I accept the accounts of his feline heroism at sea during World War II including his renouncing Hitler and joining the Royal Navy.

    • @johnjephcote7636
      @johnjephcote7636 4 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      I believe that an 'Oscar' was noted falling from Ark Royal's flight deck into the oggin whilst in harbour and then calmly swimming to the steps and walking back onboard.

    • @malcolmwatt4866
      @malcolmwatt4866 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I think oscar carried a grudge about being pressed.

    • @larrygoerke9081
      @larrygoerke9081 4 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      "Oscar" is what we called the dummy used in "man overboard" drills. I have a hunch there's a connection here with Unsinkable Sam's original moniker. Also, "OSCAR" is the phoneticism of the letter 'O' - first letter in the word "Overboard." Being a Nuke, I was "down the plants" all the time, so I can't remember ... Perhaps a Signalman, Quartermaster or officer reading this will confirm, clarify or correct, but I think I recall that the 'O' signal flag is hoist during 'man overboard' scenarios, real or drill, to warn other ships nearby that unpredictable high speed maneuvers are or will be taking place, as the ship is conned to recover the victim or Oscar dummy. CHEERS BROTHERS!

    • @Ben_not_10
      @Ben_not_10 3 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I can just see that face on a plank in the ocean and the thoughts in the cats are “Goddamn humans can’t make a ship to save their lives. Making such crap it takes one hit and sinks and leaves me having to look for a fucking piece of wood to live on while they get life rafts and like jackets and fuck off without me.”

  • @clothar23
    @clothar23 4 ปีที่แล้ว +56

    Hadn't quite developed the same level of contempt it's descendants would.

    • @donjones4719
      @donjones4719 4 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      Sometimes I think cats look at us as food that hasn't stopped moving yet.

    • @clothar23
      @clothar23 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

      @@donjones4719 Would explain why my cat chews on me from time to time.

  • @Lord_Foxy13
    @Lord_Foxy13 4 ปีที่แล้ว +33

    Drac is gonna drop a video on my birthday... cool, DRAC DROPPING A VIDEO ON SHIPS CATS, BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!!!
    THANKS YOU DRAC!!!

    • @bryansmith1920
      @bryansmith1920 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Happy Birthday Whiskey-Fox31

    • @Lord_Foxy13
      @Lord_Foxy13 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      @@bryansmith1920 thank you very much Bryan

    • @riderstrano783
      @riderstrano783 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Happy birthday man

    • @ieuanhunt552
      @ieuanhunt552 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Happy birthday

  • @Questknight12
    @Questknight12 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Poor Simeon.... DOW. Rest with God Kitty. F for respect

  • @robertnessful
    @robertnessful 4 ปีที่แล้ว +23

    I recently visited the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West, Florida. The home is populated with fifty nine cats, most of which are polydactyl, descended from a ship's cat named Snowball. In addition to cats of maritime descent, the gardens feature a flower planter shaped like a Civil War era ironclad.
    Key West was a port of call on a cruise on the Disney Magic, which is a great example of how rodents can take over ships without cats.

  • @SoundslikePaulify
    @SoundslikePaulify 4 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    Can't shake the feeling that the "magnificent specimen" might be drach's cat... He certainly has had one at some point based on his observations regarding their attitude 😊

  • @KiloSierra213Sierra
    @KiloSierra213Sierra 4 ปีที่แล้ว +69

    Hey Drach, I managed to find a photo of the Burza's Kicia (nice job on the pronunciation btw), along with two of her offspring, on Facebook.
    m.facebook.com/szeremietiew/photos/a.316937755027076/995564517164393/?type=3

    • @kamiladankowska5145
      @kamiladankowska5145 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      I loved this story :) Awww, Kicia looks so cute :) Thank you for story Drach and for cute foto Krzysiek :)

    • @johnjephcote7636
      @johnjephcote7636 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Doskonała robota!

    • @zarabada6125
      @zarabada6125 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Ah. You've found a colourised version. I posted a link to the original black and white version probably at about the same time.
      Here it is at the Imperial War Museum.
      www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205135145

  • @rustyheckler8766
    @rustyheckler8766 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    My cat would climb up atop the yardarm and proceed to make knot tying impossible.
    Unsinkable Sam: "🎶the cat came back the very next day🎶"

  • @Jax2777
    @Jax2777 4 ปีที่แล้ว +21

    Imagine giving battle stars to cats that served aboard warships.

    • @malcolmwatt4866
      @malcolmwatt4866 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      Imagine if it were monkeys.

    • @onesec8005
      @onesec8005 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Battlestar Catactica lol

  • @garthrogers2269
    @garthrogers2269 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    My father served on HMS Warspite during WW2, so he would have known Able Seacat Stripey.

  • @hedgehog3180
    @hedgehog3180 3 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    I was so concerned for that one cat when you talked about the Stuka attack.

  • @Attlanttizz
    @Attlanttizz 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    So it has come to this... 🐈

  • @BigLisaFan
    @BigLisaFan ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Used to take my cat on the road with me until she learned what the power window switch did. She learned to hop into her carrier or go to the back of the sleeper berth when we arrived at a stop. She would sit on the driver's seat with both paws on the steering wheel waiting for me. I often saw people taking pictures of her. Snooze on top of the dash or sit on her carrier watching the world go by.
    One morning I woke up and no sign of her. Looked everywhere then this black and white head popped up from the overhead storage shelf. She won that game of hide and seek. She even had her own bed on the top bunk

  • @Enumclaw
    @Enumclaw 4 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    I'll have you know that my cat talks back to me, cheats at cards, and flogs me all the time for speaking out of turn.

    • @Mhel2023
      @Mhel2023 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      😂😻

  • @mynameiswritinwater
    @mynameiswritinwater 4 ปีที่แล้ว +34

    "very high speed boarding cat".... ouch.. but yeah that would scare even the Kriegsmarine^^ (never mind Simon of Able Seacat fame)

  • @rahjar
    @rahjar 10 หลายเดือนก่อน +1

    Hearing the description of the early cat being met by the egyptians is the quality content I needed today.

  • @Gneckes
    @Gneckes 4 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The black cat aboard HMS Lord Nelson that ignored gunfire? Pretty sure he must've been deaf.