I was most excited to see him give proper credit to his crew - the battle might be named after him, but he recognized that it took hard work from everyone involved.
The amount of coordination (speed, loading and firing, accurate relaying of position, enemy ship locations) required for this to have been pulled off was incredible. The man had the crew for him.
I am VERY honored to have been a friend of ADM RAMAGE. He was very kind and answered all my many questions about the USS PARCHE and the subs he served on. RIP ADM. RAMAGE. I will never forget your words or kindness.
@@Model_Guy ADM RAMAGE was a very down to earth gentleman and very patient. I believe he truly appreciated my interest in US SUBS I N WW2. He even detailed the camaflauge pattern U U SUBS were painted then! I did cherish our talks. Another century? Never thought of it like that! Happy Holidays.
Me again...just thought the USS PARCHES bridge and conning tower are on display at the US NAVY yard IN PEARL HARBOR HAWAII. If your ever there you might enjoy seeing it.
One day in home port our Captain was invited to lunch with the Admiral commanding or Destroyer Squadron . He came aboard wearing a new award pinned on by the Admiral . Skipper got on the 1MC and announced that although he wore a new medal , it was the crew that earned it . He thanked us for our service and allowed early Liberty that day .
@@victorwaddell6530 My father was a submariner in the Australian Navy and that sort of attitude seems common across all subbies, it's a sh!t life and you're all in it together!
I know what you mean. While I'm no expert, I wonder if sometimes a MOH or similar should be attached to the vessel that was used to undertake an action, so all crew are recognised, I mean for a dangerous mission their lives are just as much in danger as the commander's
@@alanspencer9464 completely agree. Maybe a seperate exceptional leadership award for the captain. But for anything bigger than a small yacht it's a group effort. 1 person can't operate a submarine.
I'm a plankowner on the USS Ramage (DDG-61), named after VADM Ramage, commissioned in Boston Harbor, July '95...his widow was in attendance and instructed the crew to "Man Your Ship". Still gives me chills to this day.
Japan losing 2 oil tankers is far more painful that most people here imagine. Japan only started the war with 49 tankers and their logistics were stretched extremely thin before any casualties. The loss of 2 oil tankers at this point in the war would be worse than losing Musashi and Yamato.
The USS Tang is also a pretty awesome US sub. It once killed 4 ships with a single spread of torpedoes. Another time, when attacking a heavily defended convoy, it surfaced in the middle of the convoy and fired torpedoes in all directions like the death blossom from The Last Starfighter, accelerated at the last moment to narrowly avoid being rammed by two enemy ships and causing them to ram each other, the Tang then fired its aft tubes into the two Japaness ships and sunk them as well. The Tang also holds the record for the most kills in a single sortie, at ten sunk ships, having expended every single torpedo in its hold. The Tang had a reputation for a daring captain and excellent accuracy with its torpedoes, despite the unreliability of US torpedoes in the war.
It was an unreliable torpedo that eventually sank the Tang. It circled around and came back at them. My father was a WW II submariner. Every year the veterans group had conventions, and on more than one occasion I met Rear Admiral O'Kane. He would answer all sorts of questions, but he didn't like talking about the sinking of his boat. He suggested I read about it. But he did it in a kind way. He was a real class act.
@@christopherhollis6266 ... there's a Silent Service episode on that patrol. He survived the sinking but only just survived internment, another week or two and he probably wouldn't have. The A bombs saved his life
The Tang was also the only sub with a bunch of freaking rocket launchers mounted courtesy of O'Kane 😂 he surfaced deep inside a japanese port and unleashed hell on the naval base and then snuck away, legend 🤣
With men like that the future had to be bright in dark times but today we have half-men like Gen Milley who was born crippled without a spine or honor.
agree. it was not until early 43?? that the problem was finally solved. a lot of those very fortified islands would not have been so fortified. wonder why say new combat aircraft were develop to combat the zero or fw 190 but we could not seem to get a torpedo right or learn from the german u-boats after how they nearly shut down the uk. that was just insane sending those men out to sea with worthless torpedos and it was a known fact practically since day one.
My Father served on 6 patrols including this one. He never spoke unless he had a couple of swigs. However the Parche was mostly a tight crew right on through many conventions. The Parche conning tower and mast are both on display in Pearl. My dad is truly my hero along with his shipmates who signed a blank check to serve this great country!
Loading torpedoes in those small WWII era subs was hard enough in calm times, submerged. Having to do it fast while rocking around in choppy water while getting shot at must have been insane.
My exact thoughts. I'm a Vietnam Vet and it's amazing how men can put it all together when under duress. The navigators, evading all the ships coming after them and then lining up both the bow and stern shots, were incredible. And the men reloading all the torpedo tubes had to be fast and strong at moving those huge, heavy torpedoes about in a tight area, and all this happening while your ship is bouncing and flying about on the surface and being shot at by numerous other vessels. Holy crap! Talk about INTENSE !
I am not sure if it’s mentioned here but what is unique in his attack is that at that time you would have had to dive below the surface to Load torpedos. Had they done that, they would have died. He ordered the crew to manually load the torpedos above water so they didn’t have to waste time diving below. That crew did amazing things and there was an amazing sense of forever family of every crew member on that ship. Thank you parchee crew!
US subs adopted the night surface attack, perfected by Otto Kretchmer, a U Boat ace, early in the war against Great Britain. The U boats pretty much abandoned this tactic, as convoy escorts, and anti submarine war planes were outfitted with radar, taking the night advantage away from the U Boats. Luckily for the US subs, few Japanese escort ships were equipped with radar.
Yeah, from what I heard from some lectures and videos the Japanese did not seem to give much thought to or train effectively for anti-submarine warfare, they were more vulnerable tactically and technologically than the British
Not to mention the anti-submarine hunter-killer groups, like that lead by Frederic John Walker on HMS Starling. Crash-diving to escape corvettes until they return to the convoy they're escorting ain't so effecting when there ain't no convoy and the only thing they're escorting is your pending doom.
@@cookiecraze1310 No. Radar very effectively shows a return echo off of ships or subs on the surface of the water. Allied radar became so sensitive, it could detect the snorkel (air inlet and exhaust outlet tube used by U boats late in the war) of a submerged U boat.
@@Gallagherfreak100 Agreed. The U-boat fleet used snorkels, traveling submerged across Biscay to avoid being spotted by airborne radar. All very good, until radar became so advanced, it could spot a snorkel at night through cloud. The U-boat didn't even know it'd been spotted until the explosions ruptured their hulls.
5 ships in 30 minutes is unthinkable. Many of us may think, "Eh, this is.... Okay, good but not OP. ". But guys, controlling a Submarine underwater without getting detected is not an easy task. Hats off to the crew. Also, even sinking 2 ships in 15 minutes is not easy. Sometimes submarines don't even get the opportunity to take aim and fire torpedoes. My point is that, this is an outstanding performance. Edit - Yes, this comment was written before the release of the video and I didn't know that the submarine was surfaced. My comment is applicable to both submarines and surface vessels. Even for cruiser sized ships in broad daylight it's not easy.
I always though Gunther Prien getting Royal Oak and Perseus in one attack was rather impressive. But this was…i don’t want to say masterful, because I have a lot of family members in the merchant navy, and I am kinda uncomfortable praising the sink of merchant ships, even axis ones, but it’s the only word that comes to mind
@@TheSerec That's even worse as it meant taking the risk of getting shot by enemy cannons while you aim your bow/stern toward them. You don't exactly go faster or more manoeuvrable when surfaced in a submarine. This isn't some german Uboot with 105mm cannons strapped on the bow of the submarine. If anything, being surfaced only makes it more impressive.
I’m a retired Submarine Veteran with 17 Strategic Deterrent Patrols. In my life I’ve known SubVets from WW1 & WW2. We are a very small community of Brothers who know the dangers of working and living in an unforgiving environment. I would do it all over again!
2 things really stuck out for me in this amazing attack. 1) Was the skillful maneuvering of the sub to avoid the collision and 2) the ability to reload with the water being so violent which was extremely risky but from what I read the crew had drilled for that exact scenario and pulled it off flawlessly. Stories like this make me so proud of my country.
The "sad" thing about US submarine service in WW2 is that due to the secrecy of their operations (while German U Boat attacks were widely reported on the news) their achievements are rarely talked about...and arguably they sank bigger value targets than the Germans did in the Atlantic (capital ship wise of course). Thanks for covering this. To a foreigner this is a fasctinating topic!
@@lycaonpictus9662 that's true but with different industrial output and context. I doubt Germany could have won a true world war anyways once the US stepped in (or even before that outside of Europe)
As a little boy in the 1950's, I remember a tv show that was nothing but WW2 u.s. Navy submarine storms. Sorry that I do not remember the name of the program. Dad was older and a farmer with two little daughters at home, so was passed over to farm and feed the nation. But he had great respect for those that served. He watched all those programs to see what the guys that served had been through. So I watched with him.
Is it that much more difficult to load torpedoes while not being submerged? I don't know much about submarines so I thought they submerge for safety purposes only when it comes to reloading.
@@MultiZavira Ocean waves mostly affect the surface---it's a lot calmer at depth. I believe submarines are inherently less stable on the surface as well.
@@MultiZavira If you're unsubmurged, you're getting rocked by the waves. Submerged, even only slightly, largely mitigates the turbulance of the surface. Torpedo rooms are basically hand-load, even today (though with mechanical assistance) so trying to heft the torpedoes into the tubes under turbulent conditions would be hellish.
@@MultiZavira yes the rocking would make it extremely difficult and not 100% certain but i would think that it would be more dangerous for the torp crew because you are handling a pole that is around 20ft in length and weighs around 3,000 lbs. for mk 14 torp which was used widely by the us navy from 1941-1943 though i don't know the torps used in this attack but to my knowledge the us subs used different torps though out the war but they are roughly the same weight and i believe the same for size. sorry, i tried to find a good video to go over it but i could not.
I had a Neighbor who was an EM 1 on the Parche he made 2 patrols on that Boat, one of them was this one. He would only say it was a busy night. His certificate from Ramage was framed having next to a photo of the Boat.
Damn...all in 34 minutes. What incredibly brave sailors & Captain. I love this channel so entertaining and well done I can watch the same video over and over.
That was a particularly good crew to complete a mission like that. How gracious a captain he must have been to acknowledge his crew and how important a great crew is. Salute to all aboard.
@@ssnerd583 yeah...they're all batching about the captain and all the drilling ,and then on the way back for refitting it's all "were bad ass. We rock!"
Graciousness should have had nothing to do with it. One of the first leadership points taught to officers is - when your unit does well it is because of your troops. Failure belongs to you. It ties back to “a commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do”
While I was participating in a formal dinner at the US Naval Academy for MOH recipients I was blessed with the opportunity to hear ADM Ramage tell this story. Simply amazing and made me want to be a better person.
Britian desperately swallowed the Light Cruiser and Destroyer Departments, Germany Ate the Subs, Italy took a crack at the Battleship Fleet with France, The USSR Attempted also the Battleship fleet, but needing to swallow T-34's, she ended up eating a small Destroyer Fleet Japan attempted a Carrier-Battleship Meal Meanwhile what do you get when your nation Holds 50% of all the worlds potential War Making Capabilities in the midst of THE GREAT SAD? You have an unlimited Naval Diet and Eat ALL Departments
There was even a battle where US Navy destroyers and escort destroyers ran off a fleet of Japanese heavy cruisers and battleships including the Yamato.
@@txgunguy2766 Ah yes, The Battle off Samar, The Naval equivalent of the "Charge of the Light Brigade" When the enemies gun turret's weigh more than your ship, Time to go YOLO
This is quite clear English RP (received pronunciation), an educated, middle-class English accent spoken widely, especially in the south-east of the country. One advantage of speaking it is that most other British people, whatever their regional accent, can understand it clearly. It's thus used more often by broadcasters, civil servants, diplomats, businessmen and politicians here. It also seems to almost be a 'standard English' understood worldwide - perhaps partly due to being commonly (but certainly not exclusively) used by the BBC World Service radio broadcasts over recent decades. Interestingly, many educated people with strong regional accents in the UK often tend to cultivate RP - almost as a second language - to get on at work, especially where they need to communicate with people from a wide range of backgrounds and locations. However, there is less pressure to do this these days with regional accents being more highly regarded, especially in broadcasting. I speak RP, but my favourite English is that spoken by well educated people from parts of Scotland like Edinburgh and Inverness. Very clear, beautifully enunciated.
Excellent video. My Grandfather, retired CPO, was a forward torpedoman during this action, one of his three submarine war tours. I remember him describing and diagramming this battle, and I have his Presidential Unit Citation and most of his service records. Grear memories, thank you.
May your grandfather rest in peace knowing he was a part of one of the most daring and badass moments of the most effective submarine campaign in history.
Thank you. Although German submarine aces and their exploits are commonly known, it good to finally see more educational material on US sub forces and aces which actually played a more decisive role.
As a former navy member, when I heard Ramage got the medal of honor, I immediately thought " how can 1 cog of a well oiled engine win that? But then I heard the captain's dedication of the award to the crew and certificates issued, I realized he deserved it. All the guys below want is recognition. When you are old, with grandkids asking for stories about the navy, its all tall tales unless you have the provenance to back it up. They all were hero's.
Quite a remarkable telling of this historic event! Thanks to whomever is responsible for making this little known incident into a story to be told to generations to come. A true US Navy proud accomplishment. More of these stories need, and deserve, to be made known. Thank you again for this
As a 7-year-old, I was able to go aboard one of the WW2 US subs with my family while in Japan. I still remember that visit today as a 75-year-old. Thank you for the video. Thank you submariners for your service.
Knowing how to use their subs and how to deal with enemy subs: the IJN’s biggest weak point in WWII, and arguably the only one where they didn’t even bother to recognize the weakness.
Ironically, before the war, one reason Yamamoto was confident of possible victory was that, in his words (roughly): 'the Americans are unsuited, physically and temperamentally, for submarine warfare'.
@@hphp31416 in reality the air conditioning was more for keeping the electronics from overheating. It was still hot as fuck on the subs. Even reaching 120°F in the engine room with a fan keeping the engineers from passing out.
@@GK-yi4xv On the other hand, Yamamoto, being well aware that US industrial capacity was about eight times that of Japan, also said: "I fear we have awaken a sleeping giant" right after Pearl Harbor. He also said to General Tojo, "You have not seen Detroit." Which was the case.
Japan did not think they would be fighting the U.S. for any longer than a year. Their strategy was to draw the U.S. fleet into one huge battle in the first year, inflict very heavy damage to the fleet then sue for peace before the U.S. could rebuild their fleet and launch a full scale counterattack. Unfortunately they only sunk U.S battleships at Pearl and a month later it became apparent to the world that battleships were obsolete as weapons of war. Six months later the IJN lost 4 carriers at Midway and never recovered. At that point they lost the ability to force the U.S to the bargaining table and it was a long slow grind for them until the very bitter end.
This truly shows how our radar was instrumental and how finding submarines on the surface at night without good sonar and radar made fighting us very noble for the Japanese but futile. Today a battle would be very different not including submarines having more speed than surface ships but much deadlier weapons on both sides.
One submarine could take out a dozen ships today, by itself. Especially a submarine like the Russian Oscar II, which carries a full load of heavyweight torpedoes and massive, supersonic anti-ship missiles. The same is true for an American Seawolf. This sub is very quiet, and fast despite it's massive size, and quite capable of surviving a torpedo hit. The same can't be said for smaller surface warships.
@@taraswertelecki3786 doubtful any sub could survive a torpedo hit. Hedgehog was only about 10 pounds of explosive but it didn't detonate unless it struck. A depth charge attack would destroy sonar contact for long enough for a willy skipper to break contact. Use of hedgehog dramatically increased sub losses in the Atlantic. To the point where German sub losses were 75%
@@philgiglio7922 Most if not all Russian boats are double hulled, U.S and western boats are not. A torpedo hit on a western boat will almost certainly sink it, a double hulled Russian boat like the Oscars would be severely damaged but will likely still be able to shoot back. They had two pressure hulls side by side surrounded by a third outer hull. The spaces in between were ballast tanks, missile bays and free flood zones. Meaning a breach in the outer hull will not automatically open compartments to the sea like a torpedo hit to a single hulled submarine will. In WW-2, any sub hit by a torpedo was a goner, they get torn in half or sink immediately. The U.S.S Tang and U-864 were sunk by a single torpedo, killing all of the crew of U-864 and most of the crew of U.S.S. Tang.
My dad was Navy, and on the other side of the globe, in the conflict. He was a navigator on a PBY, flying out of Greenland. They were busy trying to quell the Wolfpack subs in the North Atlantic. With no sonar capabilities, they had to watch for dark shapes in the water. He said they would drop depth charges, and hope for an oil slick. If it was blood and blubber, they sank a whale.
@ARAMXT It's definitely not the fastest airplane. Dad said that one of their planes went out on patrol and never returned. Never found anything from them. When the Indianapolis was torpedoed, and the crew spent days in the water, with the sharks picking them off, a PBY was sent out looking for them. The pilot found them. He saw what was happening and landed ( or sead in this case) to pick up as many sailors that would fit in and on the plane. Of course, he couldn't take off with that many guys on the wings. He disobeyed orders to set down. The rescue ship was hours away. How many more guys would have died if he followed those orders?
Just wanted to point out that TM2 Henry Breault was awarded the medal of honor in 1923 and lived until 1941, which would make him the first submarine medal of honor winner to no die earing that award.
I find it interesting how the US submariners ended up using tactics quite similar to their German counterparts. German submarines were notorious for surfacing in the middle of convoys to better evade escorts, though that obviously changed later in the war. It's almost like the Americans were following all the same tactical trajectories as the Germans, only they strangled the Japanese supply chain early, while the Germans never could do the same to the British well enough to actually hinder their ability to counter German tactics. IE The US broke the Japanese warfighting ability in a shockingly short time. Meanwhile the germans dragged their campaign out, allowing the british time to build up more forces and counter them with new tactics and technology.
I think you're wrong about your time conclusion - due to BuOrd, the Japanese _had_ the time; unlike the Brits though, they wasted it But I agree with all the rest :)
I don't like how many of the comments, and the video itself, make it sound like the Kriegsmarine uboats were "worse" at their job. It's just that the Americans were shooting headless chickens. The Japanese were absolutely awful at ASW. While the Americans and British were perfecting it. The last video, and this one, literally illustrate that the Japanese put no effort into their convoy escorting. Whereas the British were putting literally every available ship on convoy duty. While only keeping the absolute minimum in reserve, to deal with German surface raiders. The Japanese did none of that.
This was 1944, the third year of the pacific war, comparable to 1942 in the Atlantic when the U-boats sank more Allied ships then could be build. Biggest difference in favor of the Japanese: they had thousands of supply routes to all conquered islands, so hard to lie in ambush, while the Germans knew the destination of almost any convoy in the Atlantic: Brittain. Big difference in favor of the US subs: the IJN escorts got radar later, and not as often or efficiënt. The 'gap' in the Atlantic (area out of patrol bomber range) got closed by 1943, but in the Pacific the IJN did not even try this
@ sjonnie playfull The US Navy cracked the JN25 naval code prior to the Battle of Modway and made effective use of it thruout the war. The results of which were the complete destruction of the Empire’s merchant fleet. By early 1945, there wasn’t much left but sampans and coastal freighters that traveled in the Sea of Japan.
Looking at the stats of Japanese ships sunk during the war the US submarine force did not have a mostly reliable torpedo until the end of 1943. The US also had more submarines operating in 1944 but I think a reliable torpedo made a big difference.
Remember, if those troops would have landed on an island to launch an assault, it would have been a fair fight, but thousands of fighting US family men would have died. Those submarine crews were well aware of how important their jobs were.
My dad served in subs in WWII. SS-414, a Balao class boat. He joined the crew while she was under construction at Mare Island and served aboard her until she was mothballed in '46, including her 3 1945 war patrols. There was a TV show, or a movie or something, I must have been 4th or 5th grade, with references to a "crash dive". I asked him if they ever had to crash dive, he said, "Son, we made every dive just a fast as we could!"
I can't get enough submarine tales! A great subject for you to do some day might be the "hell ships". Those were the ships that the Japanese used to transport British and Australian POWs from camps in SE Asia to Japan. Tragically, there was no way for US submarines to identify them so they were sunk like any other Japanese ships. There was a really great story of a wolfpack consisting of the USS Barb, USS Pampanito, and USS Queenfish hitting one of these convoys and the next day being horrified to find Brits and Aussies floating in the debris. There was an amazing rescue effort with the subs calling in neighboring submarines to join in. Eugene Fluckey ( the captain of the Barb) talked about it at length in his book, which I highly recommend. I believe there is even footage of the survivors on the submarines on youtube.
Great attack by Ramage and crew ! They really put a hurt on that convoy. I have to pity all those soldiers who went down on that ship, though it's preferable to having them reach a battleground intact. Anyway, their hurt is a great indication of the pain and suffering we saved our own and Allied troops by getting rid of them, and I'm sure it disheartened the survivors of that attack.
Heres to my mother's cousin, the rock star of her family, graduate of the Naval Academy before the war and Captain of the submarine USS Grampus. He was lost at sea during the war. The best and brightest are frequently lost during war.
Yoshino Maru sinking and taking more lives lost than at pearl harbor, in just ONE sunken ship, blows my mind. It was just another night for them, surrounded by friendlies I'm certain none of them every thought they'd be cut short...
As an Australian we have a lot to thank the states for during WW2 particularly the sub force as without their sacrifice we would have definitely been invaded and many casualties would have been caused for us. We thank those brave young men I often think of them, Thank you
@@historigraph the Manila gold heist was an event where the Us deployed the USS Trout to take the gold and silver reserves of the Philippines right before the Japanese could get to it.
@@BananStudios if you want to look into the story it’s the USS Trout which alongside the gold heist because of it submarine class did many intriguing and interesting missions like this but Manila gold heist is the most notable.
As a helmsman many times aboard a Balao Class boat in the late 60's-early 70's...I'm amazed that the helmsman took it upon himself to order in (the messenger bell is right next to him but usually AFTER the topside officer passes the command to him through the open hatch) full speed or flank speed BEFORE ordered to do so!!
@@marvindebot3264 My boat's (USS Threadfin) keel was laid in 1944 and saw action in WWII. Balao Class w/Guppy 2-A upgrades (snorkle mast/sonar dome/reduced to 3 Fairbanks-Morse diesels/fair weather sail w/deck guns removed/new electric motors and batteries-both forward and after batteries later and finally received a North Atlantic sail after 1971 (My last year aboard). It was sold to Turkey in 1972 and saw duty for at least another decade. She was already 25 years old when I reported for duty (1969-1971). It was a "Portsmouth" boat (Kittery, Maine) so had a thicker hull, faster speed and much deeper diving ability than earlier Balao Class boats. It's possible (but not likely) that Taiwanese Navy continues to deploy a Balao. Even by 1972 our test depth had been drastically reduced, however, that may have been from experiencing depth charge attacks several times during the war (a crack in the torpedo tubes bulkhead in the forward room was still observable.
@@marvindebot3264 Taiwan currently operates a Balao and a Tench, ex-USS Tusk (1943) and ex-USS Cutlass (1944) respectively. Apparently both are still actively used but dive rarely. I recall a few years ago they had to call in a museum to fix their TDCs.
@@kayakdan48 Taiwan actually currently operates both a Balao and a Tench, ex-USS Tusk (1943) and ex-USS Cutlass (1944) respectively. Apparently both are still actively used but dive rarely. I recall a few years ago they had to call in a museum to fix their TDCs.
Exactly, I was battle stations/ maneuvering watch helmsman on a 688 VLS boat, still balls move ordering bells without officer calling it. Obviously my years were very very different from my WW2 Brothers but damn balls move though. Crew on boats are family and that boats crew were tight.Gid Bless
In the military...regardless of branch...you are trained to take the fight to the enemy...that's exactly what that crew did... absolutely amazing what those guys did...the chaos of battle is hard enough...but at night... amazing.
You know you’ve got a great crew if they don’t wait for a VITAL order they KNOW you’ll give in a few seconds. This could have gone VERY badly if the crew wasn’t fully aware of what was happening. Also, this move would have been a court-martial offense if the captain and crew weren’t SERIOUS (and VERY experienced) professionals.
US submarines did absolutely amazing things considering they were dealing with horribly flawed torpedoes the first three years. Some great books to read: “Thunder Below!” Eugene B. Fluckey “Wahoo” Richard O’Kane “Clear the Bridge!” Richard O’Kane
My Masters Thesis for History was about the USN's Submarine Campaign. My Prof hated the subject but she introduced me to he father. He had been an XO on one of the boats. Last two war patrols were in June and August 45. He talked about picking up B29 crews and and occasional carrier pilot. They were actually attacking Japanese fishing boats with Molatov's and deck guns. They'd go in close to shore and lob a few rounds at sea side targets. He read my paper and called it excellent work. His daughter, my professor actually gave me an extremely high grade because of her dad's input. He passed in 1994. I did make the funeral. Doc and I got some laughs that day. Oh by the by, I determined that Japan would have been forced to sue for terms because of the famine that was starting because of the Submarine Campaign.
I'd heard of Rampages Rampage but had never actually known the details of what occurred that night. It's quite mind-blowing to think that apart from the sailing of the sub on the surface amid the enemies lead response, the torpedo gunnery solutions, and captaining the ship, his crew must (were!) have been 'the best' to keep those tubes filled and fired despite the chaos of battle. Utterly terrific! And the fact that the good captain shared his honours with his entire crew speaks volumes for the man. Americans make damn good warriors no mistake. This guy is a legend in his time and ours. Don't ever forget the sacrifice made by the men and woman who fought 'the war that HAD to be won!'
It gets better... sub commanders were given a certain amount of tours, then replaced. This chap was given an extra tour, where they went on land and laid chargers on a train track. This is the only submarine credited with killing train
That's awesome that the torpedomen were able to load those tubes that fast even though they were on the surface! I bet they were yelling at each other to double time it to fill those tubes as fast as possible
The man was fittingly named: Ramage: Scottish and English (of Norman origin); French: nickname for a savage or unpredictable individual from Old French ramage 'wild untamed'.
As usual, a very well done video. I was very surprised that Ramage was awarded the Medal of Honor though. It seemed as though he was just doing his job. *Doing it very well* obviously, but nothing even approaching _"above and beyond the call of duty"._
Can you imagine the guts it took to sail into an enemy convoy in a surfaced WW2 era submarine. This action would have been balsy in a video game. These guys did it while getting shot at from every side and almost rammed.
I remember talking to a "Red" Ramage one day via Amateur Radio (I do not remember his Callsign) but it was easily confirmed by the Amateur Callsign Book who it was. Then I remember reading a book on the U.S.S. Panache and who was her Skipper during War Two. We talked for a half hour about his role in the Pacific Campaign against Japan as the Captain of two boats during that time. Then he mentioned he was an Admiral retired and we talked about my Navy experience as RM 1st on several ships after Vietnam. Quite a contact was made that day, I found Ramage to be very congenial and he talked much more about his experiences than I would have expected. My Dad never talked much about his experiences during this war, he was on a LSM from early 1943 to 1946 when they put the LSM 203 into the scrapyard. So I had many questions that Red answered very plainly. He made that contact very informative, and surprised me by his answers. I was very happy to have talked to him.
I have to correct something you said. Ramage was *not* the first living submariner to earn the medal of honor. In 1923, while attempting to enter the Panama canal, the USS O-5 (SS 66) was struck by another vessel and sank in less than a minute. At the time of the sinking, 5 men were unaccounted for. Torpedoman Second Class Henry Breault, upon seeing water at the (topside) hatch to the torpedo room, but remembering that his chief, Chief Electrician's Mate Lawrence Brown, was still asleep in his rack, decided to close the hatch and stay in a sinking boat instead of jumping overboard, in order to save a shipmate. Divers from a navy barge nearby were able to hear pounding on the hull coming from inside the sub, and determined there must be survivors. The US Ajax, a civilian crane barge, was able to lift the bow of the submarine enough for the two men to escape. Ironically, the divers, assuming it to be Morse code, were trying to decipher the taps and dashes of Breault hitting the hull with a hammer, but couldn't make out the sound well enough. In actuality, Breault, who did not know Morse code, was just tapping out tunes to try to show the rescuers they were healthy and in good spirits. the rescue took 31 hours to accomplish. Sadly, the other three men were confirmed to have died in the incident. For this act of heroism, Breault was the first living submariner to be awarded the medal of honor, by president Calvin Coolidge. He died 18 years later, 2 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Sheppard "Shep" Shreaves, the civilian diver from the Ajax, having spent nearly 24 hours underwater to facilitate the recovery of the boat, and the two men trapped inside, was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal.
I just discovered this amazing channel. The quality of the research is amazing. More than that, it focuses on fresh (for me) areas of history and not the tired rehashes. Putting you in the league of Drachinfel.
That was some skillful sailing there! Albeit one has to also aknowledge that the Japanese were utter crap at ASW throughout the war. If, in 1944, a German sub had tried this on a British convoy they would have been sunk or blown to pieces 10.000 yards out from the first transport. Japanese ASW escorts were easy mode, to use a gamer term. ;) Great respect to Commander Ramage for giving credit to his crew - I bet they were happy to serve under such a commander, being skillful and kind.
"Said to be" is inaccurate language. She was; is, if you consider her on Eternal Patrol. The 683 that is. 9 PUCs. The 384 conning tower is on Subbase Pearl. The 683 sail is in Bremerton.
My father was on the Parche and told me about that battle stating they were so close they were swearing at each other!! I've got a picture of him on the bridge as a lookout somewhere. He didn't like to talk about the war. RIP Dad.
Badass Captain and crew! Weaving in-between the middle of the convoy with all that fire going on and reloading the torpedoes with all that surface turbulence.
My ex gfs father was stationed on a sub at pearl from 44 to 47...he had a few good tales but his boat was never forward deployed and the war ended soon after....in 2003 i was with a group of workers that were on oahu for a weeks training before returning to johnston atoll....i had lived on iahus north shore for y years before so i got the job of driver and tourguide for 3 ithers who were from washinton state....on a saturday that was our only free day on this trip ...we decided to go to see the battleship missouri...also the bowfin museum....so after touring thru the missouri and standing in the very spot where the japanese surrender took place We the went to the bowfin museum...and also into the inside of the sub itself.....after this and nearing the end of our day i walked out to an open area overlooking pearl harbor the arizona memorial and the missouri....there is a memorial to all the submarines lost during ww2 and an individual station for each....it is as large as a baseball stadium with each memorial placed apart...the names of each crew member are listed below the names of the boat....i had never realised how many we lost...how many had given their lives to help defeat japan. That was 19 years ago and i think it was that part of my visit there that still stands out the most! Its a very deep emotional journey to stand there and imagine oneself in their shoes... May they rest in peace forever AMEN
Good point on USN submarines using the exact tactics of the U boats of Germany. This is why at the end of the war during the Nuremberg trials that Adm Donitz was not charged with any war crime(s) for the actions of the U boats...the USN admitted that we employed the same tactics against the Empire of Japan, just a shame we hadn't brought along better torpedoes for our submarines to use.
The problem with the torpedoes is both True and False. The issue with the Torpedoes, the infamous Mark 14's, was a problem from 1941 to 1943. By the point of the engagement, the Mark 14's issues were mostly fixed.
Reminds me of the game battle station pacific where there is one mission where you basically go to town with a us submarine, sinking convoys, bombard a Japanese base and at the end sink a heavy cruiser
Excellent production. The history of Germany’s u-boats in the North Atlantic overshadowed the American submariners’ extraordinary achievements in an even more treacherous arena, the Japanese-controlled Pacific. Their bravery cannot be imagined by regular people. So please, more stories like this one, please!
As a veteran of a fast attack Sub in the late 70's early 80's, we heard of the exploits of previous subs during WWii and we were proud of that fighting spirit. U.S.Navy Submarine Fleet did some serious damage to Japanese shipping. We continue to be the cream of the crop and second to none. If you cannot hear us, then we are not there, but we are there and know exactly where you are. For enemy ships that has got to be so disheartening, knowing in a matter of seconds you will be in the water, at best !
@@olingillis4630 The Drum was SSN 677. If memory serves, the Drum and Archerfish were technically sister ships, despite being built on opposite coasts.
@@michaelwarren2391 I served with former Drum sailors at one point or another. Was the Drum a 'stretch-hull' 637? I thought the Archerfish was the first, but I could be wrong.
The Mark 14 torpedo had a lot of problems early in WW-II. I believe a lot of problems were due to getting the torpedoes to run at the correct depth. The problems were probably a mix of insufficient training and incorrect procedure combined with a finicky control system. Apparently the bugs were being ironed out by the time of Ramage’s Rampage, which demonstrated a very successful hit rate for the Mark 14 in this engagement.
@ wtmayhew The Mk14 torpedoes suffered from a variety off issues early in the war. The complex systems controlling depth and the detonation systems were quite faulty and had never been thoroughly tested or debugged. The Bureau of Ordnance ignored all reports of failed torpedoes and accused the submariners of poor aiming, etc. It took several commanders returning from war patrols with few hits complaining loudly to ComSubPac before action was taken and decent tests performed at the sub base in Pearl Harbor. It took a while but the issues were finally ironed out.
The relative "heavy weight" torpedos acquired by the RN had the same problem. Took months to convince the guys carrying scrambled egg on their hats and then having to argue the toss with the contractors that their fish were missing more than they they struck. The contracors were testing a small proportion of fish, deaf to all criticism. Turned out to be the sonar was being swamped by the target echoes.
Recommend -Thunder Below by Eugene B. Fluckey documenting the war patrols of the submarine USS Barb. Great read. Barb caused utter carnage for Japanese merchant shipping on 5 war patrols.
The Silent Service on name only for it's accomplishments were monumental in turning the tide of Wotld War iI two Ocean Wars & the unfotgetable bravery of its submariners fleets.
Outstanding result sinking that troop carrier with 50% of the troops going down with it. Likewise the tanker, whose loss of cargo would have been felt. The convoy protection vessels didn't acquit themselves very well that night!
I remember talking to an Admiral "Red" Damage through amateur radio on or about 15 November 1981 who acknowledged being a sub skipper in WWII. A very interesting conversation !!
I was most excited to see him give proper credit to his crew - the battle might be named after him, but he recognized that it took hard work from everyone involved.
A real team player. That kind of leadership is really inspiring.
Proper Officer not a Glory Merchant!!
Indeed. Without his crew, he’s just sailing through a Japanese convoy like a madman
At least they survived, the last time I heard the word "rampage" it was about Cmndr Dealey.
The amount of coordination (speed, loading and firing, accurate relaying of position, enemy ship locations) required for this to have been pulled off was incredible. The man had the crew for him.
I am VERY honored to have been a friend of ADM RAMAGE. He was very kind and answered all my many questions about the USS PARCHE and the subs he served on. RIP ADM. RAMAGE. I will never forget your words or kindness.
Small world I guess. I hope you cherished you're time with those from another century
@@Model_Guy ADM RAMAGE was a very down to earth gentleman and very patient. I believe he truly appreciated my interest in US SUBS I N WW2. He even detailed the camaflauge pattern U U SUBS were painted then! I did cherish our talks. Another century? Never thought of it like that! Happy Holidays.
@@jerrymccrae7202 I consider you very lucky and I very much envy your experience with someone like Ramage, I hope that you too enjoy the holidays
@@Model_Guy thank you very much....I was very fortunate. Best to you and yours!
Me again...just thought the USS PARCHES bridge and conning tower are on display at the US NAVY yard IN PEARL HARBOR HAWAII. If your ever there you might enjoy seeing it.
Major respect for him giving recognition to the crew.
One day in home port our Captain was invited to lunch with the Admiral commanding or Destroyer Squadron . He came aboard wearing a new award pinned on by the Admiral . Skipper got on the 1MC and announced that although he wore a new medal , it was the crew that earned it . He thanked us for our service and allowed early Liberty that day .
To be honest the helmsman went ahead full 30 seconds before it was ordered
@@victorwaddell6530 My father was a submariner in the Australian Navy and that sort of attitude seems common across all subbies, it's a sh!t life and you're all in it together!
I know what you mean. While I'm no expert, I wonder if sometimes a MOH or similar should be attached to the vessel that was used to undertake an action, so all crew are recognised, I mean for a dangerous mission their lives are just as much in danger as the commander's
@@alanspencer9464 completely agree. Maybe a seperate exceptional leadership award for the captain. But for anything bigger than a small yacht it's a group effort. 1 person can't operate a submarine.
I'm a plankowner on the USS Ramage (DDG-61), named after VADM Ramage, commissioned in Boston Harbor, July '95...his widow was in attendance and instructed the crew to "Man Your Ship". Still gives me chills to this day.
Beautiful to hear. Cheers.
yeah go sink a boat with 2400 kids on it for central banks
That it amazing to hear she was so proud that day to christen his ship for him 😍
Japan losing 2 oil tankers is far more painful that most people here imagine. Japan only started the war with 49 tankers and their logistics were stretched extremely thin before any casualties. The loss of 2 oil tankers at this point in the war would be worse than losing Musashi and Yamato.
The USS Tang is also a pretty awesome US sub. It once killed 4 ships with a single spread of torpedoes. Another time, when attacking a heavily defended convoy, it surfaced in the middle of the convoy and fired torpedoes in all directions like the death blossom from The Last Starfighter, accelerated at the last moment to narrowly avoid being rammed by two enemy ships and causing them to ram each other, the Tang then fired its aft tubes into the two Japaness ships and sunk them as well. The Tang also holds the record for the most kills in a single sortie, at ten sunk ships, having expended every single torpedo in its hold. The Tang had a reputation for a daring captain and excellent accuracy with its torpedoes, despite the unreliability of US torpedoes in the war.
It was an unreliable torpedo that eventually sank the Tang. It circled around and came back at them. My father was a WW II submariner. Every year the veterans group had conventions, and on more than one occasion I met Rear Admiral O'Kane. He would answer all sorts of questions, but he didn't like talking about the sinking of his boat. He suggested I read about it. But he did it in a kind way. He was a real class act.
Richard O'Kane guys
@@christopherhollis6266 ... there's a Silent Service episode on that patrol. He survived the sinking but only just survived internment, another week or two and he probably wouldn't have. The A bombs saved his life
The Tang was also the only sub with a bunch of freaking rocket launchers mounted courtesy of O'Kane 😂 he surfaced deep inside a japanese port and unleashed hell on the naval base and then snuck away, legend 🤣
With men like that the future had to be bright in dark times but today we have half-men like Gen Milley who was born crippled without a spine or honor.
sometimes I have to imagine how much slower the Japanease would've been, had the US brought working torpedoes at their start of WW2
The war literally might have ended 1-2 years early.
This is a classic case where bureaucratic stupidity and ego cost God only knows how many goog boats and the lives of far too many valiant men.
Oops...read "good" My apologies.
Midway would have been a slaughter.
agree. it was not until early 43?? that the problem was finally solved. a lot of those very fortified islands would not have been so fortified. wonder why say new combat aircraft were develop to combat the zero or fw 190 but we could not seem to get a torpedo right or learn from the german u-boats after how they nearly shut down the uk. that was just insane sending those men out to sea with worthless torpedos and it was a known fact practically since day one.
My Father served on 6 patrols including this one. He never spoke unless he had a couple of swigs. However the Parche was mostly a tight crew right on through many conventions. The Parche conning tower and mast are both on display in Pearl. My dad is truly my hero along with his shipmates who signed a blank check to serve this great country!
Happy to hear you had a father with that kind of valor.
Thank you Sir. That’s all that I can say & it’s not enough
Again, Thank you Sir
truely amazing stuff
yeah and my dad is jesus
And we should all know by now that some of the most dangerous exploits Parche accomplished were during the cold war (Ivy Bells follow-on missions).
Loading torpedoes in those small WWII era subs was hard enough in calm times, submerged. Having to do it fast while rocking around in choppy water while getting shot at must have been insane.
My exact thoughts. I'm a Vietnam Vet and it's amazing how men can put it all together when under duress. The navigators, evading all the ships coming after them and then lining up both the bow and stern shots, were incredible. And the men reloading all the torpedo tubes had to be fast and strong at moving those huge, heavy torpedoes about in a tight area, and all this happening while your ship is bouncing and flying about on the surface and being shot at by numerous other vessels. Holy crap! Talk about INTENSE !
I am not sure if it’s mentioned here but what is unique in his attack is that at that time you would have had to dive below the surface to Load torpedos. Had they done that, they would have died. He ordered the crew to manually load the torpedos above water so they didn’t have to waste time diving below. That crew did amazing things and there was an amazing sense of forever family of every crew member on that ship. Thank you parchee crew!
US subs adopted the night surface attack, perfected by Otto Kretchmer, a U Boat ace, early in the war against Great Britain. The U boats pretty much abandoned this tactic, as convoy escorts, and anti submarine war planes were outfitted with radar, taking the night advantage away from the U Boats. Luckily for the US subs, few Japanese escort ships were equipped with radar.
Yeah, from what I heard from some lectures and videos the Japanese did not seem to give much thought to or train effectively for anti-submarine warfare, they were more vulnerable tactically and technologically than the British
Not to mention the anti-submarine hunter-killer groups, like that lead by Frederic John Walker on HMS Starling.
Crash-diving to escape corvettes until they return to the convoy they're escorting ain't so effecting when there ain't no convoy and the only thing they're escorting is your pending doom.
Did you mean Sonar? I don't really think radar would be very useful since it would just ping off the water, unless that isn't the way radar works.
@@cookiecraze1310 No. Radar very effectively shows a return echo off of ships or subs on the surface of the water. Allied radar became so sensitive, it could detect the snorkel (air inlet and exhaust outlet tube used by U boats late in the war) of a submerged U boat.
@@Gallagherfreak100 Agreed. The U-boat fleet used snorkels, traveling submerged across Biscay to avoid being spotted by airborne radar. All very good, until radar became so advanced, it could spot a snorkel at night through cloud. The U-boat didn't even know it'd been spotted until the explosions ruptured their hulls.
5 ships in 30 minutes is unthinkable. Many of us may think, "Eh, this is.... Okay, good but not OP. ". But guys, controlling a Submarine underwater without getting detected is not an easy task. Hats off to the crew. Also, even sinking 2 ships in 15 minutes is not easy. Sometimes submarines don't even get the opportunity to take aim and fire torpedoes. My point is that, this is an outstanding performance.
Edit - Yes, this comment was written before the release of the video and I didn't know that the submarine was surfaced. My comment is applicable to both submarines and surface vessels. Even for cruiser sized ships in broad daylight it's not easy.
I always though Gunther Prien getting Royal Oak and Perseus in one attack was rather impressive. But this was…i don’t want to say masterful, because I have a lot of family members in the merchant navy, and I am kinda uncomfortable praising the sink of merchant ships, even axis ones, but it’s the only word that comes to mind
Did you watch the video? His attack took place on the surface, not underwater.
@@TheSerec Yes, but a surface attack in the middle of a convoy is still very risky so Prasmit’s main point still applies.
Wouldn't have been remotely possible if it was actually maneuvering underwater. But point taken.
@@TheSerec That's even worse as it meant taking the risk of getting shot by enemy cannons while you aim your bow/stern toward them. You don't exactly go faster or more manoeuvrable when surfaced in a submarine.
This isn't some german Uboot with 105mm cannons strapped on the bow of the submarine. If anything, being surfaced only makes it more impressive.
I’m a retired Submarine Veteran with 17 Strategic Deterrent Patrols. In my life I’ve known SubVets from WW1 & WW2. We are a very small community of Brothers who know the dangers of working and living in an unforgiving environment. I would do it all over again!
My Grandpa was Sub vet from WW2 and my Dad is Sub Vet from Vietnam. Thank you for your service.
This Army veteran salutes you, sir! I would do it again for this country. Freedom!
Thank you for your device sir.
Because of men like you, I exist.
My pops served on the Rickover back in the mid to late 80s.
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for your service!
Thank you for clearly enunciated human voiceover and lack of stupid music. That is top professional.
I hate music on videos unless it is music video.
2 things really stuck out for me in this amazing attack. 1) Was the skillful maneuvering of the sub to avoid the collision and 2) the ability to reload with the water being so violent which was extremely risky but from what I read the crew had drilled for that exact scenario and pulled it off flawlessly. Stories like this make me so proud of my country.
The "sad" thing about US submarine service in WW2 is that due to the secrecy of their operations (while German U Boat attacks were widely reported on the news) their achievements are rarely talked about...and arguably they sank bigger value targets than the Germans did in the Atlantic (capital ship wise of course).
Thanks for covering this. To a foreigner this is a fasctinating topic!
The internet is changing that perception though in recent years.
The US campaign was also ultimately successful, while the German one was not.
@@lycaonpictus9662 that's true but with different industrial output and context. I doubt Germany could have won a true world war anyways once the US stepped in (or even before that outside of Europe)
As a little boy in the 1950's, I remember a tv show that was nothing but WW2 u.s. Navy submarine storms. Sorry that I do not remember the name of the program. Dad was older and a farmer with two little daughters at home, so was passed over to farm and feed the nation. But he had great respect for those that served. He watched all those programs to see what the guys that served had been through. So I watched with him.
We're called the _The Silent Service_ because we like it like that.
Just have to say that the unconfirmed hit happening just offscreen is an act of genius.
Incredible credit to those torpedo teams - that reload time is unbelievable, especially on a Balao-class sub, and doubly so unsubmurged.
Is it that much more difficult to load torpedoes while not being submerged? I don't know much about submarines so I thought they submerge for safety purposes only when it comes to reloading.
@@MultiZavira Ocean waves mostly affect the surface---it's a lot calmer at depth. I believe submarines are inherently less stable on the surface as well.
@@MultiZavira If you're unsubmurged, you're getting rocked by the waves. Submerged, even only slightly, largely mitigates the turbulance of the surface. Torpedo rooms are basically hand-load, even today (though with mechanical assistance) so trying to heft the torpedoes into the tubes under turbulent conditions would be hellish.
Great job killing thousands of people
@@MultiZavira yes the rocking would make it extremely difficult and not 100% certain but i would think that it would be more dangerous for the torp crew because you are handling a pole that is around 20ft in length and weighs around 3,000 lbs. for mk 14 torp which was used widely by the us navy from 1941-1943 though i don't know the torps used in this attack but to my knowledge the us subs used different torps though out the war but they are roughly the same weight and i believe the same for size. sorry, i tried to find a good video to go over it but i could not.
I had a Neighbor who was an EM 1 on the Parche he made 2 patrols on that Boat, one of them was this one. He would only say it was a busy night. His certificate from Ramage was framed having next to a photo of the Boat.
Damn...all in 34 minutes. What incredibly brave sailors & Captain. I love this channel so entertaining and well done I can watch the same video over and over.
That was a particularly good crew to complete a mission like that. How gracious a captain he must have been to acknowledge his crew and how important a great crew is. Salute to all aboard.
....ILL BET HE DRILLED THE HELL OUTTA THOSE MEN.....AND THEY HATED EVERY MINUTE OF IT....UNTIL IT BECAME TIME TO ACTUALLY HAVE TO DO IT IN BATTLE!!!
@@ssnerd583 yeah...they're all batching about the captain and all the drilling ,and then on the way back for refitting it's all "were bad ass. We rock!"
Graciousness should have had nothing to do with it. One of the first leadership points taught to officers is - when your unit does well it is because of your troops. Failure belongs to you. It ties back to “a commander is responsible for everything his unit does or fails to do”
While I was participating in a formal dinner at the US Naval Academy for MOH recipients I was blessed with the opportunity to hear ADM Ramage tell this story. Simply amazing and made me want to be a better person.
Every other country had to choose between battleships, carriers, and submarines as their main doctrine. The US simply said "no" and built everything.
Britian desperately swallowed the Light Cruiser and Destroyer Departments, Germany Ate the Subs, Italy took a crack at the Battleship Fleet with France, The USSR Attempted also the Battleship fleet, but needing to swallow T-34's, she ended up eating a small Destroyer Fleet
Japan attempted a Carrier-Battleship Meal
Meanwhile what do you get when your nation Holds 50% of all the worlds potential War Making Capabilities in the midst of THE GREAT SAD?
You have an unlimited Naval Diet and Eat ALL Departments
And the Kingdom of Hungary decided nah we’lol just have an admiral that’ll work
There was even a battle where US Navy destroyers and escort destroyers ran off a fleet of Japanese heavy cruisers and battleships including the Yamato.
@@txgunguy2766 Ah yes, The Battle off Samar, The Naval equivalent of the "Charge of the Light Brigade"
When the enemies gun turret's weigh more than your ship, Time to go YOLO
@@Cobra-King3
Heck of a "David and Goliath" story isn't it? It would make a great movie.
I had no idea about US submarines in the Pacific. Thank You!! Wonderfully done, and I was on the edge of my seat.
As an American I wish all history was narrated by a Brit, your accents are marvelous.
Same. Dude could tell me grass is royal purple and the sky is hot pink and I wouldn't even question it. Lol
This is quite clear English RP (received pronunciation), an educated, middle-class English accent spoken widely, especially in the south-east of the country. One advantage of speaking it is that most other British people, whatever their regional accent, can understand it clearly. It's thus used more often by broadcasters, civil servants, diplomats, businessmen and politicians here. It also seems to almost be a 'standard English' understood worldwide - perhaps partly due to being commonly (but certainly not exclusively) used by the BBC World Service radio broadcasts over recent decades.
Interestingly, many educated people with strong regional accents in the UK often tend to cultivate RP - almost as a second language - to get on at work, especially where they need to communicate with people from a wide range of backgrounds and locations. However, there is less pressure to do this these days with regional accents being more highly regarded, especially in broadcasting. I speak RP, but my favourite English is that spoken by well educated people from parts of Scotland like Edinburgh and Inverness. Very clear, beautifully enunciated.
Excellent video. My Grandfather, retired CPO, was a forward torpedoman during this action, one of his three submarine war tours. I remember him describing and diagramming this battle, and I have his Presidential Unit Citation and most of his service records. Grear memories, thank you.
Special thanks to your grandfather for his service
Very impressive! Your grandpop was awesome!
May your grandfather rest in peace knowing he was a part of one of the most daring and badass moments of the most effective submarine campaign in history.
What was his name? Checking if BS.
That’s actually awesome, ur grandpa is hard asf for that
Thank you. Although German submarine aces and their exploits are commonly known, it good to finally see more educational material on US sub forces and aces which actually played a more decisive role.
Him dedicating the medal to his crew was such a wholesome moment it made me cry
As a former navy member, when I heard Ramage got the medal of honor, I immediately thought " how can 1 cog of a well oiled engine win that? But then I heard the captain's dedication of the award to the crew and certificates issued, I realized he deserved it. All the guys below want is recognition. When you are old, with grandkids asking for stories about the navy, its all tall tales unless you have the provenance to back it up. They all were hero's.
Quite a remarkable telling of this historic event! Thanks to whomever is responsible for making this little known incident into a story to be told to generations to come. A true US Navy proud accomplishment. More of these stories need, and deserve, to be made known. Thank you again for this
As a 7-year-old, I was able to go aboard one of the WW2 US subs with my family while in Japan. I still remember that visit today as a 75-year-old.
Thank you for the video.
Thank you submariners for your service.
Knowing how to use their subs and how to deal with enemy subs: the IJN’s biggest weak point in WWII, and arguably the only one where they didn’t even bother to recognize the weakness.
Ironically, before the war, one reason Yamamoto was confident of possible victory was that, in his words (roughly):
'the Americans are unsuited, physically and temperamentally, for submarine warfare'.
@@GK-yi4xv he did not expect air conditioning on board of US subs
@@hphp31416 in reality the air conditioning was more for keeping the electronics from overheating. It was still hot as fuck on the subs. Even reaching 120°F in the engine room with a fan keeping the engineers from passing out.
@@GK-yi4xv On the other hand, Yamamoto, being well aware that US industrial capacity was about eight times that of Japan, also said: "I fear we have awaken a sleeping giant" right after Pearl Harbor. He also said to General Tojo, "You have not seen Detroit." Which was the case.
Japan did not think they would be fighting the U.S. for any longer than a year. Their strategy was to draw the U.S. fleet into one huge battle in the first year, inflict very heavy damage to the fleet then sue for peace before the U.S. could rebuild their fleet and launch a full scale counterattack. Unfortunately they only sunk U.S battleships at Pearl and a month later it became apparent to the world that battleships were obsolete as weapons of war. Six months later the IJN lost 4 carriers at Midway and never recovered. At that point they lost the ability to force the U.S to the bargaining table and it was a long slow grind for them until the very bitter end.
This truly shows how our radar was instrumental and how finding submarines on the surface at night without good sonar and radar made fighting us very noble for the Japanese but futile. Today a battle would be very different not including submarines having more speed than surface ships but much deadlier weapons on both sides.
The subs would just submerge the entire time they are in theater as is normally pretty bad at finding subs but can try them if they do
One submarine could take out a dozen ships today, by itself. Especially a submarine like the Russian Oscar II, which carries a full load of heavyweight torpedoes and massive, supersonic anti-ship missiles. The same is true for an American Seawolf. This sub is very quiet, and fast despite it's massive size, and quite capable of surviving a torpedo hit. The same can't be said for smaller surface warships.
@@taraswertelecki3786 rusian submarine can't detect even simple ship it's easy to destroy by us ships
@@taraswertelecki3786 doubtful any sub could survive a torpedo hit. Hedgehog was only about 10 pounds of explosive but it didn't detonate unless it struck. A depth charge attack would destroy sonar contact for long enough for a willy skipper to break contact. Use of hedgehog dramatically increased sub losses in the Atlantic.
To the point where German sub losses were 75%
@@philgiglio7922 Most if not all Russian boats are double hulled, U.S and western boats are not. A torpedo hit on a western boat will almost certainly sink it, a double hulled Russian boat like the Oscars would be severely damaged but will likely still be able to shoot back. They had two pressure hulls side by side surrounded by a third outer hull. The spaces in between were ballast tanks, missile bays and free flood zones. Meaning a breach in the outer hull will not automatically open compartments to the sea like a torpedo hit to a single hulled submarine will. In WW-2, any sub hit by a torpedo was a goner, they get torn in half or sink immediately. The U.S.S Tang and U-864 were sunk by a single torpedo, killing all of the crew of U-864 and most of the crew of U.S.S. Tang.
My dad was Navy, and on the other side of the globe, in the conflict. He was a navigator on a PBY, flying out of Greenland. They were busy trying to quell the Wolfpack subs in the North Atlantic. With no sonar capabilities, they had to watch for dark shapes in the water. He said they would drop depth charges, and hope for an oil slick. If it was blood and blubber, they sank a whale.
@ARAMXT
It's definitely not the fastest airplane. Dad said that one of their planes went out on patrol and never returned. Never found anything from them.
When the Indianapolis was torpedoed, and the crew spent days in the water, with the sharks picking them off, a PBY was sent out looking for them. The pilot found them. He saw what was happening and landed ( or sead in this case) to pick up as many sailors that would fit in and on the plane. Of course, he couldn't take off with that many guys on the wings. He disobeyed orders to set down. The rescue ship was hours away. How many more guys would have died if he followed those orders?
A crew of straight up badasses and their half crazy war chief. I love it.
Just wanted to point out that TM2 Henry Breault was awarded the medal of honor in 1923 and lived until 1941, which would make him the first submarine medal of honor winner to no die earing that award.
I find it interesting how the US submariners ended up using tactics quite similar to their German counterparts. German submarines were notorious for surfacing in the middle of convoys to better evade escorts, though that obviously changed later in the war. It's almost like the Americans were following all the same tactical trajectories as the Germans, only they strangled the Japanese supply chain early, while the Germans never could do the same to the British well enough to actually hinder their ability to counter German tactics.
IE The US broke the Japanese warfighting ability in a shockingly short time. Meanwhile the germans dragged their campaign out, allowing the british time to build up more forces and counter them with new tactics and technology.
I think you're wrong about your time conclusion - due to BuOrd, the Japanese _had_ the time; unlike the Brits though, they wasted it
But I agree with all the rest :)
I don't like how many of the comments, and the video itself, make it sound like the Kriegsmarine uboats were "worse" at their job. It's just that the Americans were shooting headless chickens. The Japanese were absolutely awful at ASW. While the Americans and British were perfecting it. The last video, and this one, literally illustrate that the Japanese put no effort into their convoy escorting. Whereas the British were putting literally every available ship on convoy duty. While only keeping the absolute minimum in reserve, to deal with German surface raiders. The Japanese did none of that.
US Tank crews to this day imitate WWII German General Rommels tank tactics.
This was 1944, the third year of the pacific war, comparable to 1942 in the Atlantic when the U-boats sank more Allied ships then could be build.
Biggest difference in favor of the Japanese: they had thousands of supply routes to all conquered islands, so hard to lie in ambush, while the Germans knew the destination of almost any convoy in the Atlantic: Brittain.
Big difference in favor of the US subs: the IJN escorts got radar later, and not as often or efficiënt. The 'gap' in the Atlantic (area out of patrol bomber range) got closed by 1943, but in the Pacific the IJN did not even try this
@ sjonnie playfull
The US Navy cracked the JN25 naval code prior to the Battle of Modway and made effective use of it thruout the war. The results of which were the complete destruction of the Empire’s merchant fleet.
By early 1945, there wasn’t much left but sampans and coastal freighters that traveled in the Sea of Japan.
Looking at the stats of Japanese ships sunk during the war the US submarine force did not have a mostly reliable torpedo until the end of 1943. The US also had more submarines operating in 1944 but I think a reliable torpedo made a big difference.
Man being a submariner must have been rough. Knowing you sunk boats with 1000s of helpless crew/soldiers is a lot to take in.
Remember, if those troops would have landed on an island to launch an assault, it would have been a fair fight, but thousands of fighting US family men would have died. Those submarine crews were well aware of how important their jobs were.
For each soldier you killed in a boat was ten or a hunded US soldiers who got to go home at the end of the war.
It's not that hard to take in.
@@fraidykat Decent way to put it, but still. Most people were innocent in war, it’s the leaders that bring you into it.
@@king124kine Not even close.
@@fraidykat Very close, you sound clueless.
My dad served in subs in WWII. SS-414, a Balao class boat. He joined the crew while she was under construction at Mare Island and served aboard her until she was mothballed in '46, including her 3 1945 war patrols.
There was a TV show, or a movie or something, I must have been 4th or 5th grade, with references to a "crash dive".
I asked him if they ever had to crash dive, he said, "Son, we made every dive just a fast as we could!"
I can't get enough submarine tales! A great subject for you to do some day might be the "hell ships". Those were the ships that the Japanese used to transport British and Australian POWs from camps in SE Asia to Japan. Tragically, there was no way for US submarines to identify them so they were sunk like any other Japanese ships. There was a really great story of a wolfpack consisting of the USS Barb, USS Pampanito, and USS Queenfish hitting one of these convoys and the next day being horrified to find Brits and Aussies floating in the debris. There was an amazing rescue effort with the subs calling in neighboring submarines to join in. Eugene Fluckey ( the captain of the Barb) talked about it at length in his book, which I highly recommend. I believe there is even footage of the survivors on the submarines on youtube.
USS Pampanito is available for tour at Fisherman’s Wharf San Francisco
Matt check out Dr. Mark Felton's book "slaughter at Sea" he also has a extensive inventory here on you tube
Great attack by Ramage and crew ! They really put a hurt on that convoy. I have to pity all those soldiers who went down on that ship, though it's preferable to having them reach a battleground intact. Anyway, their hurt is a great indication of the pain and suffering we saved our own and Allied troops by getting rid of them, and I'm sure it disheartened the survivors of that attack.
Heres to my mother's cousin, the rock star of her family, graduate of the Naval Academy before the war and Captain of the submarine USS Grampus. He was lost at sea during the war. The best and brightest are frequently lost during war.
Rest In Peace Captain your sacrifices made all the difference.
He wasn't lost at sea. He's on eternal patrol
@@BGerbs66 absolutely!!!
Couldn't be land of the free without the Brave
Yoshino Maru sinking and taking more lives lost than at pearl harbor, in just ONE sunken ship, blows my mind. It was just another night for them, surrounded by friendlies I'm certain none of them every thought they'd be cut short...
As an Australian we have a lot to thank the states for during WW2 particularly the sub force as without their sacrifice we would have definitely been invaded and many casualties would have been caused for us.
We thank those brave young men I often think of them, Thank you
US Submariners have amazing tales to tell like the Squailfish the Manilla gold Heist one of my favorites or the legacy of the Tang.
the *what* gold heist!? I must know abut this
@@historigraph please make a video, we all need to know more about this
@@historigraph the Manila gold heist was an event where the Us deployed the USS Trout to take the gold and silver reserves of the Philippines right before the Japanese could get to it.
@@historigraph sorry for the late response there more to the story but no spoilers
@@BananStudios if you want to look into the story it’s the USS Trout which alongside the gold heist because of it submarine class did many intriguing and interesting missions like this but Manila gold heist is the most notable.
As a helmsman many times aboard a Balao Class boat in the late 60's-early 70's...I'm amazed that the helmsman took it upon himself to order in (the messenger bell is right next to him but usually AFTER the topside officer passes the command to him through the open hatch) full speed or flank speed BEFORE ordered to do so!!
Oh, I'd forgotten just how long a life the class had. Isn't it Balao's that the Taiwanese still have in active service?
@@marvindebot3264 My boat's (USS Threadfin) keel was laid in 1944 and saw action in WWII. Balao Class w/Guppy 2-A upgrades (snorkle mast/sonar dome/reduced to 3 Fairbanks-Morse diesels/fair weather sail w/deck guns removed/new electric motors and batteries-both forward and after batteries later and finally received a North Atlantic sail after 1971 (My last year aboard). It was sold to Turkey in 1972 and saw duty for at least another decade. She was already 25 years old when I reported for duty (1969-1971). It was a "Portsmouth" boat (Kittery, Maine) so had a thicker hull, faster speed and much deeper diving ability than earlier Balao Class boats. It's possible (but not likely) that Taiwanese Navy continues to deploy a Balao. Even by 1972 our test depth had been drastically reduced, however, that may have been from experiencing depth charge attacks several times during the war (a crack in the torpedo tubes bulkhead in the forward room was still observable.
@@marvindebot3264 Taiwan currently operates a Balao and a Tench, ex-USS Tusk (1943) and ex-USS Cutlass (1944) respectively. Apparently both are still actively used but dive rarely. I recall a few years ago they had to call in a museum to fix their TDCs.
@@kayakdan48 Taiwan actually currently operates both a Balao and a Tench, ex-USS Tusk (1943) and ex-USS Cutlass (1944) respectively. Apparently both are still actively used but dive rarely. I recall a few years ago they had to call in a museum to fix their TDCs.
Exactly, I was battle stations/ maneuvering watch helmsman on a 688 VLS boat, still balls move ordering bells without officer calling it. Obviously my years were very very different from my WW2 Brothers but damn balls move though. Crew on boats are family and that boats crew were tight.Gid Bless
As a plank owner of USS Ramage (DDG 61), having known the story behind his MOH action, pretty cool to see this played out. Thanks for posting.
In the military...regardless of branch...you are trained to take the fight to the enemy...that's exactly what that crew did... absolutely amazing what those guys did...the chaos of battle is hard enough...but at night... amazing.
You know you’ve got a great crew if they don’t wait for a VITAL order they KNOW you’ll give in a few seconds. This could have gone VERY badly if the crew wasn’t fully aware of what was happening. Also, this move would have been a court-martial offense if the captain and crew weren’t SERIOUS (and VERY experienced) professionals.
US submarines did absolutely amazing things considering they were dealing with horribly flawed torpedoes the first three years. Some great books to read:
“Thunder Below!” Eugene B. Fluckey
“Wahoo” Richard O’Kane
“Clear the Bridge!” Richard O’Kane
Hit ‘Em Harder - about Sam Dealey
Wahoo is a fantastic read.
My Masters Thesis for History was about the USN's Submarine Campaign. My Prof hated the subject but she introduced me to he father. He had been an XO on one of the boats. Last two war patrols were in June and August 45. He talked about picking up B29 crews and and occasional carrier pilot. They were actually attacking Japanese fishing boats with Molatov's and deck guns. They'd go in close to shore and lob a few rounds at sea side targets.
He read my paper and called it excellent work. His daughter, my professor actually gave me an extremely high grade because of her dad's input. He passed in 1994. I did make the funeral. Doc and I got some laughs that day. Oh by the by, I determined that Japan would have been forced to sue for terms because of the famine that was starting because of the Submarine Campaign.
I'd heard of Rampages Rampage but had never actually known the details of what occurred that night. It's quite mind-blowing to think that apart from the sailing of the sub on the surface amid the enemies lead response, the torpedo gunnery solutions, and captaining the ship, his crew must (were!) have been 'the best' to keep those tubes filled and fired despite the chaos of battle. Utterly terrific! And the fact that the good captain shared his honours with his entire crew speaks volumes for the man.
Americans make damn good warriors no mistake. This guy is a legend in his time and ours. Don't ever forget the sacrifice made by the men and woman who fought 'the war that HAD to be won!'
It gets better... sub commanders were given a certain amount of tours, then replaced. This chap was given an extra tour, where they went on land and laid chargers on a train track. This is the only submarine credited with killing train
Thanks!
That's awesome that the torpedomen were able to load those tubes that fast even though they were on the surface! I bet they were yelling at each other to double time it to fill those tubes as fast as possible
Love the content you bring out. The up take in output is also a wonderful thing. Keep up the great work
My Koi Fish's great great great great Grandfather witnessed this battle. He mentioned how he was very thankful there were no depth charges used.
ha ha ha ... good one, centurion!
My uncle was on board that sub as a torpedoman! I didn't know about it until after his death, sadly.
The man was fittingly named:
Ramage:
Scottish and English (of Norman origin); French: nickname for a savage or unpredictable individual from Old French ramage 'wild untamed'.
As usual, a very well done video. I was very surprised that Ramage was awarded the Medal of Honor though. It seemed as though he was just doing his job. *Doing it very well* obviously, but nothing even approaching _"above and beyond the call of duty"._
3:18 ah, the submarine dance, truly the most terrifying maneuver
Ramage was also responsible for sinking the famous Kobayashi Maru.
Talk about a no win scenario.
You really thought it worthwhile to waste our time with such a silly post?
@@karenstein8261 wasn't wasting my time and you were the one who chose to respond.
This, of course, failed the exam immediately.
Can you imagine the guts it took to sail into an enemy convoy in a surfaced WW2 era submarine. This action would have been balsy in a video game. These guys did it while getting shot at from every side and almost rammed.
I remember talking to a "Red" Ramage one day via Amateur Radio (I do not remember his Callsign) but it was easily confirmed by the Amateur Callsign Book who it was. Then I remember reading a book on the U.S.S. Panache and who was her Skipper during War Two. We talked for a half hour about his role in the Pacific Campaign against Japan as the Captain of two boats during that time. Then he mentioned he was an Admiral retired and we talked about my Navy experience as RM 1st on several ships after Vietnam. Quite a contact was made that day, I found Ramage to be very congenial and he talked much more about his experiences than I would have expected. My Dad never talked much about his experiences during this war, he was on a LSM from early 1943 to 1946 when they put the LSM 203 into the scrapyard. So I had many questions that Red answered very plainly. He made that contact very informative, and surprised me by his answers. I was very happy to have talked to him.
I served 5 years aboard the USS Parche in the 80's and have heard about Ramage's Rampage but never in so much detail. Thank you.
Keep up the great videos, I remember when you had 3k subs. Your hard work deserves all the viewers and sponsors you’ve acquired!
Wow. Most sub commander's would have disengaged, when their boat took hits.
Thanks for the video. Have a wonderful holiday and a Happy New Year
I have to correct something you said. Ramage was *not* the first living submariner to earn the medal of honor. In 1923, while attempting to enter the Panama canal, the USS O-5 (SS 66) was struck by another vessel and sank in less than a minute. At the time of the sinking, 5 men were unaccounted for. Torpedoman Second Class Henry Breault, upon seeing water at the (topside) hatch to the torpedo room, but remembering that his chief, Chief Electrician's Mate Lawrence Brown, was still asleep in his rack, decided to close the hatch and stay in a sinking boat instead of jumping overboard, in order to save a shipmate. Divers from a navy barge nearby were able to hear pounding on the hull coming from inside the sub, and determined there must be survivors. The US Ajax, a civilian crane barge, was able to lift the bow of the submarine enough for the two men to escape. Ironically, the divers, assuming it to be Morse code, were trying to decipher the taps and dashes of Breault hitting the hull with a hammer, but couldn't make out the sound well enough. In actuality, Breault, who did not know Morse code, was just tapping out tunes to try to show the rescuers they were healthy and in good spirits. the rescue took 31 hours to accomplish.
Sadly, the other three men were confirmed to have died in the incident.
For this act of heroism, Breault was the first living submariner to be awarded the medal of honor, by president Calvin Coolidge. He died 18 years later, 2 days before the attack on Pearl Harbor.
Sheppard "Shep" Shreaves, the civilian diver from the Ajax, having spent nearly 24 hours underwater to facilitate the recovery of the boat, and the two men trapped inside, was awarded the Silver Lifesaving Medal.
Been really enjoying these videos (and I'm not a history buff by any means!). They really bring history alive! Subscribed.
Honestly the best part is that he shared credit with his crew, top leadership right there
I really appreciate the quality of the content. Special thanks for the "corrections" - initial reports vs later revisions.
All aboard for "Red Ramage's wild ride" lol
I just discovered this amazing channel. The quality of the research is amazing. More than that, it focuses on fresh (for me) areas of history and not the tired rehashes. Putting you in the league of Drachinfel.
Thanks very much. Drach is the best in the business when it comes to naval history so that’s high praise
WOW. Ramage and crew were awesome!
That was some skillful sailing there!
Albeit one has to also aknowledge that the Japanese were utter crap at ASW throughout the war. If, in 1944, a German sub had tried this on a British convoy they would have been sunk or blown to pieces 10.000 yards out from the first transport. Japanese ASW escorts were easy mode, to use a gamer term. ;)
Great respect to Commander Ramage for giving credit to his crew - I bet they were happy to serve under such a commander, being skillful and kind.
A side note: USS Parche (SSN-683) Parche is said to be "the most highly decorated vessel in U.S. history.
My nephew served on her.
"Said to be" is inaccurate language. She was; is, if you consider her on Eternal Patrol. The 683 that is. 9 PUCs. The 384 conning tower is on Subbase Pearl. The 683 sail is in Bremerton.
My father was on the Parche and told me about that battle stating they were so close they were swearing at each other!! I've got a picture of him on the bridge as a lookout somewhere. He didn't like to talk about the war. RIP Dad.
I found that was true with my relatives as well. Somehow they didn't find the idea of killing other human beings as "cool" as I did as a small boy.
That’s what the military calls a “Target rich environment.”
_"Well, they got surrounded. That simplifies things."_ Lt. Gen. Lewis "Chesty" Puller, USMC. Sure he was a jarhead, but it still applies.
Badass Captain and crew! Weaving in-between the middle of the convoy with all that fire going on and reloading the torpedoes with all that surface turbulence.
My ex gfs father was stationed on a sub at pearl from 44 to 47...he had a few good tales but his boat was never forward deployed and the war ended soon after....in 2003 i was with a group of workers that were on oahu for a weeks training before returning to johnston atoll....i had lived on iahus north shore for y years before so i got the job of driver and tourguide for 3 ithers who were from washinton state....on a saturday that was our only free day on this trip ...we decided to go to see the battleship missouri...also the bowfin museum....so after touring thru the missouri and standing in the very spot where the japanese surrender took place
We the went to the bowfin museum...and also into the inside of the sub itself.....after this and nearing the end of our day i walked out to an open area overlooking pearl harbor the arizona memorial and the missouri....there is a memorial to all the submarines lost during ww2 and an individual station for each....it is as large as a baseball stadium with each memorial placed apart...the names of each crew member are listed below the names of the boat....i had never realised how many we lost...how many had given their lives to help defeat japan.
That was 19 years ago and i think it was that part of my visit there that still stands out the most!
Its a very deep emotional journey to stand there and imagine oneself in their shoes...
May they rest in peace forever AMEN
Had the honor of serving aboard his name sake, DDG-61 USS Ramage.
Good point on USN submarines using the exact tactics of the U boats of Germany. This is why at the end of the war during the Nuremberg trials that Adm Donitz was not charged with any war crime(s) for the actions of the U boats...the USN admitted that we employed the same tactics against the Empire of Japan, just a shame we hadn't brought along better torpedoes for our submarines to use.
The problem with the torpedoes is both True and False. The issue with the Torpedoes, the infamous Mark 14's, was a problem from 1941 to 1943. By the point of the engagement, the Mark 14's issues were mostly fixed.
Reminds me of the game battle station pacific where there is one mission where you basically go to town with a us submarine, sinking convoys, bombard a Japanese base and at the end sink a heavy cruiser
What a classic. I wish there were game like that one nowadays. I can't even play it cause it's broken on PC, stupid games for windows live..
@@intruative If you have an Xbox 1 I know it’s available on there, that’s where I played it.
Everytime I see this I just feel like yelling ,"RAMPAGE!"
Excellent production. The history of Germany’s u-boats in the North Atlantic overshadowed the American submariners’ extraordinary achievements in an even more treacherous arena, the Japanese-controlled Pacific. Their bravery cannot be imagined by regular people. So please, more stories like this one, please!
As a veteran of a fast attack Sub in the late 70's early 80's, we heard of the exploits of previous subs during WWii and we were proud of that fighting spirit. U.S.Navy Submarine Fleet did some serious damage to Japanese shipping.
We continue to be the cream of the crop and second to none.
If you cannot hear us, then we are not there, but we are there and know exactly where you are. For enemy ships that has got to be so disheartening, knowing in a matter of seconds you will be in the water, at best !
There are only two types of ships - submarines and targets. USS Drum 70-74.
@@michaelwarren2391
God bless
Thank you for your service.
@@michaelwarren2391 Exactly, my bubble-head friend. Trepang SSN 674 and Archerfish SSN 678.
@@olingillis4630 The Drum was SSN 677. If memory serves, the Drum and Archerfish were technically sister ships, despite being built on opposite coasts.
@@michaelwarren2391 I served with former Drum sailors at one point or another. Was the Drum a 'stretch-hull' 637? I thought the Archerfish was the first, but I could be wrong.
Good story. Having seen your 'making of' video, appreciate the effort in making these animations to tell the story.
The Mark 14 torpedo had a lot of problems early in WW-II. I believe a lot of problems were due to getting the torpedoes to run at the correct depth. The problems were probably a mix of insufficient training and incorrect procedure combined with a finicky control system. Apparently the bugs were being ironed out by the time of Ramage’s Rampage, which demonstrated a very successful hit rate for the Mark 14 in this engagement.
@ wtmayhew
The Mk14 torpedoes suffered from a variety off issues early in the war.
The complex systems controlling depth and the detonation systems were quite faulty and had never been thoroughly tested or debugged. The Bureau of Ordnance ignored all reports of failed torpedoes and accused the submariners of poor aiming, etc.
It took several commanders returning from war patrols with few hits complaining loudly to ComSubPac before action was taken and decent tests performed at the sub base in Pearl Harbor.
It took a while but the issues were finally ironed out.
@@danielmcneil6342 Thank you very much for the detailed reply.
The relative "heavy weight" torpedos acquired by the RN had the same problem. Took months to convince the guys carrying scrambled egg on their hats and then having to argue the toss with the contractors that their fish were missing more than they they struck. The contracors were testing a small proportion of fish, deaf to all criticism. Turned out to be the sonar was being swamped by the target echoes.
Without a doubt these men were part of the Greatest Generation and they should Never be forgotten as they saved the World from tyranny.
@12:54 "Climax" and "Knees" in the same sentence makes me weak in the knees.😆
Yet another brilliant video. Please keep up the excellent work next year.
Recommend -Thunder Below by Eugene B. Fluckey documenting the war patrols of the submarine USS Barb. Great read. Barb caused utter carnage for Japanese merchant shipping on 5 war patrols.
@ zoidberg444
It’s a great book. Lucky Fluckey was quite a commander!
I think when your name is Ramage, you need to go on a rampage at least once in your life
Ramage went about doing maximum damage!
man i can't get enough of these naval videos, good job man!
Its (morbidly) funny, i can hear him saying something like "Oh, so Pappy Boying's an ace, eh? Well watch this!"
The Silent Service on name only for it's accomplishments were monumental in turning the tide of Wotld War iI two Ocean Wars & the unfotgetable bravery of its submariners fleets.
Outstanding result sinking that troop carrier with 50% of the troops going down with it.
Likewise the tanker, whose loss of cargo would have been felt.
The convoy protection vessels didn't acquit themselves very well that night!
Now that’s a lot of Damage from Ramage’s Rampage.
I appreciate the Cap going as far as to get certificates for his crew, and to dedicate his Medal of Honor on the crew. That’s a captain.
I remember talking to an Admiral "Red" Damage through amateur radio on or about 15 November 1981 who acknowledged being a sub skipper in WWII. A very interesting conversation !!