@Charles Yuditsky If Ensign Liebovitz was smart he would remind you that a turret has ARMOR, the 5-inch do NOT, and it was a MOUNT not a TURRET!!! Most USN BB's had only 3/4 turrets (main guns) and the rest of the ships guns were in MOUNTS! They could throw mind boggling amounts of steel (either air or surface) but not exactly well protected (their protection was to use that curtain of steel to keep the bad guys from hitting them in the first place)! As for the JO he probably said, "Yessir! Mount Captain, mount 53 sir!
The California was scheduled for inspection on Monday. All her hatches were wide open from the top to her bilge hatches. That is why she couldn't be kept from sinking. It was to dangerous for repair crew to be inside her without power for lighting and pumps and under threat of air attack.
@@wyominghorseman9172 No, not quite. Some water tight integrity was compromised. However she was up to steam and ready to get underway when burning fuel oil drifting down battleship row threatened to overtake the ship (www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor-raid/battleship-row-during-the-pearl-harbor-attack/uss-california-during-the-pearl-harbor-attack/NH-97399.html) . So the captain ordered her abandoned. Which means the engineering detail would have closed all the fuel valves and opened the pressure reliefs. When the crew re-boarded her the steam plant was now cold meaning electrical power was now offline. This meant self powered portable pumps or pumps from other vessels where the only pumping available which couldn't keep up with the ingress of water from the two torpedo hits and the bomb near miss. And thus she settled to the bottom.
My father enlisted on December 8, 1941 and joined the California at Pearl Harbor right after boot camp. He was with the ship all through the war and laid her up in mothballs in Philadelphia at the end. Thank you for the story.
The USS California and other Pearl harbor survivors suffered an ignominious end at the hands of bean counters who refused to shell out and have her brought to Sacramento. It would have been easy to bring her to the states capitol via the Ocean access cannel system still used today and there be enshrined for all to see and visit as she so richly had deserved but was denied.
I am saddened by this sort of thing sometimes, but then I count the number of ships we DID preserve and I compare that number to that the Brits saved, and I feel a lot better.
Couple of points. The US saved a few ships - the preservation of some of these has been a fiasco, due to lack of cash for upkeep. The Brits (hello!) have only saved a few - mainly by retaining them in the navy eg HMS Victory is still the nominal flagship. Apart from that there is HMS Warrior and HMS Belfast - good choices, but not holding onto HMS Dreadnought was a travesty. Trouble is battleships are filled with high grade steel and navies need cash. Victory and Warrior only survived by being strong enough to survive being left to rot and used as cheap storage huks, until we woke up to what we had. Here's what we have saved en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Museum_ships_in_the_United_Kingdom
@@pd4165 I know you guys were SORELY strapped for cash, especially after the wars, but it still crushes me that a nation with such a record for absolute naval supremacy didn't do more to preserve some of your warships. I'll grant you that some of the ships we've saved here are in varying states of financial crisis, but that tends to be the exception to the rule, and they always manage to pull through on the backs of generous donors and loving patrons, and it saddens me that you guys didn't have at least that chance.
@wut it is mate Hell, I've got one in the back of my pickup truck. Other nations just don't understand. It's ok, we really don't care what they think. Results speak for themselves.
IIRC, when her hull was launched from Mare Island it slid so easily and rapidly into the water that it managed to build up enough speed to cross the Napa river (Which was rather narrow at that point) and smash into the docks on the Vallejo side of the river, sending bystanders scrambling for safety. Damage to the ship was minor.
Spencer Jones: This was true of all the ships then in port. The fuel tanks were wide open and most were empty, so they filled with water as well. California's crew also made things worse by spraying water around the ship to keep burning oil away, the water found it's way into the decks below through open port holes.
Yes, this is true. My Grandfather was on her and everything was opened up. Also, non gunnery personnel were commanded to abandon ship, w/ regard to the burning surface oil from other ships (I think the W. Virginia or Oklahoma) before they were fully engulfed, but it was pushed away w/ the water hoses and wind. Then they were called back with half the crew already ashore or swimming there. Needless to say, most didn't swim back aboard to save her at the crucial time.
So just to get it right: "We got to remove that secondary gun. The ship is overcrowded!". later: "Why is there an empty space on that ship? Put a gun there!!!"
@@polygondwanaland8390 as to quote the USS Alaska episode "and to give the Crew the opportunity to practice their 2nd Amendment right in the face of the enemy"
I've always thought that the Tennessee/Colorado class ships after the refit were some of the best looking warships of WW2. Too bad they were slower than a 3 legged cow stuck in quicksand.
My grandfather was on the Helena when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor. He then spent time working to repair the California after it was sunk and raised. He eventually got transferred to the Cal and spent the rest of the war on it. He was a radio engineer I believe.
My father served on the California from 1932 to 1940 as Electricians Mate and on the race boat crew competing against other ships . Some of his close friends were killed at Pearl, where he said a bomb went straight through his bunk. He tried to rein list but was told told they would put him in the Army. Instead he went to work at Todd Shipyard in Long Beach where he helped to develop the smart bullets that the Japanese were unaware of and he said was his payback for his lost shipmates.
My cousin, Billy Joe Dukes, was killed on the California at Pearl Harbor while passing ammo from below to his High School buddy who was manning a gun during the Japanese attack - they joined the Navy together and managed to stay together until he was killed. His brother was on the Lexington when it was sunk - he survived the war
My uncle Peter Deustermars was a Sailor on USS California on Dec 7th. The navy told his mother for several months that he was missing. He survived the war
The sweet Justice of most of the pearl Harbor survivors getting to sink Japanese battleships in combat While Also performing the last ever crossing the T
I think the "crossing of the T" gets WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY overplayed in history books... what few people fail to mention about the "greatness" of the action was simple odds... SIX BATTLESHIPS VS ONE... not much of a fight imho.
Mithrennon of Aegwynn well the T was one of the most effective strategies for any big gun vessel. The ability to bring your full broadside against the enemy who can only have their first few ships fire their front guns is extremely useful. You limit your opponent’s ability to fight and do damage to you, while you give yourself the biggest chance to sink the the enemy.
My grandpa fought on this ship an survived the kamakazi strike on her, but was knocked unconscious. He worked in the main turrets. I use to love hearing him tell his stories.
My husbands grandfather also survived a kamakazi strike on California with burns. he wrote down his endeavors on California and i’m so grateful he did :)
My grandfather was a gunner’s mate stationed on the California during Pearl Harbor and mentioned ONCE about this kamikaze and spoke once about Pearl Harbor. That was the only time he talked about it and we practically had to beg him to tell us. So thankful he did it once at least. He also swears it was hit by the 3rd torpedo, but so much was happening. Saved some men locked behind a hatch that were about to drown. He talked about some other pretty disturbing stuff, I don’t want to mention here but I understood why he didn’t want to talk about and why I heard him having nightmares every night when he lived with us.
Other things about the California. The ship was hit in one of its screws by a practice torpedo during peacetime manuvers. On a peacetime training cruise to panama the ship could not keep up with the rest of the fleet which drove the chief engineer crazy it turns out the ship hit a whale and it was stuck on the bow until it stopped and removed it.
These two Tennessee class ships and West Virginia, both after the refit, are now my favorite looking ships. Their bridge structure kinda confuses me, as I can't seem to find windows unlike on North Carolina which has similary designed super structure, though, overall their super structures look really modern with everything gathered in the middle forming a triangler shape, and to me, they might look even more modern than Iowa class sometimes, from some angles. I don't think they'd stand out if you throw these three retrofitted ships in a fleet of modern destroyers and stuff.
Thanks for the video. I knew she has sunk at Pearl Harbour then refloated but not what happened to her subsequently. So it was very interesting to find out what a big part she played during the war.
My grandfather, Auburn Pierce Holton was assigned to this ship. Not during Pearl Harbor though, in early 1944. The story I heard was that it took part in the pacific theater where it was hit at least once by kamikaze pilots and subsequently was part of the occupying force in Japan following the bombings of HIroshima and Nagasaki. I just found this out about him yesterday so I'm still doing my research. Would love to be able to find a ship roster or naval records on him.
@@maxenra My Uncle Jerry Grotte, was in the Engineering Division of the Battleship USS California when she was sunk at Pearl Harbor om December 7.1941, he was trapped in the hull, I assume at his duty station in the Engineering spaces for some time before he and others were cut out of the hull, he lived until 2005.
I think most people today don't appreciate the difficulty of getting anything close to up-to-date info or mail from people deployed halfway around the world in the 1940s. One of my uncles was in the USAAF in Burma and it literally took months for mail to make the trip.
The father of one of my classmates in high school served on the California. He was at the Battle of Surigao Straight. He told me once that "We had been doing mainly shore bombardment. When they cut loose with those amour piercing shells, I thought they'd blew up the guns."
Love the videos even the do-overs without C3PO. One minor disagreement\error: The video seems to imply that California and Tennessee were the first BBs with "all or nothing" armor. Nevada class was as I understand it. As a matter of fact I think I have read references to that type of armor as the "Nevada Plan".
Great video talking about my home state's ship. Just a little thing for you to chew on regarding the turbine, generator, electric motor design of American ships. (Granted, I pieced this together from watching shows on how the US electrical industry got off the ground.) Now, to build ever larger warships that used the turbine / transmission design, required specialized knowledge and industrial plan to build all the parts and pieces. Now the only countries that had that, driven by both warship and domestic ships, was Britain, Italy, Germany, and France. I'm not sure about Japan. Now given the US was a leader in the whole electrical industry designing highly efficient turbines, generators, and electric motors, it would make sense that those proven and cutting edge technologies would be employed in warship design. In addition, even if your power conversion ratio is not as good as a turbine / transmission design, I assume that you had the capacity to shift power loads to allow for all motor driven shafts to operate when a given turbine /generator went down. Once again, I never read that anywhere, but pondered why the US did not follow suite with the European powers.
Two quick points that I came up with after reading and observations. 1. The all or nothing design philosophy helped Naval designers / engineers to figure out how to cram the required power plant, magazines, and critical parts into the armored box. This helped focus designers on what was important vs what was "nice to have" which would fall outside the armored protection. 2. The whole turbine to generator to electric motor layout was more driven by the lack of industry in the United States to churn out the required gear sets. YET, the United States was a leader in designing electrical plants. This would provide an advantage over Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan. In addition, I would "assume" it was possible to shift electric current between various generators to electric motors driving the ship. This means that even if one of your turbine sets went down, you could still provide propulsion to the shafts.
The only downside is the low fuel efficiency - you can cram your gensets wherever you want (see HMSs Queen Elizabeth and Price of Wales) and power lines are naturally armoured, being solid metal. A long 'live' steam line is vulnerable to vibration and puncturing (live steam is very unpopular around living creatures) and it needs to still be live when it gets to the turbine, so needs protection from cold. Obviously big curent/voltage isn't water friendly but if the ducting/insulation is intact then that electrickery is going to the right place. And you can tune your system easily - every powerplant has a sweet spot so you could keep one at that, and supply all the screws, while keeping the other gensets at idle/stand-by. I'm thinking of living on a boat - a hybrid power system is an attractive solution (I'd love a Stirling engine).
The title "The prune barge" was totally appropriate along with the fact that native born Californians are also referred to as "Prune pickers", among many other names depending of course on you're point of view. l am a "prune picker" and have a few choice names that l use for Californians (native or transplants).
Just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack all of her watertight hatches has been loosened for an inspection. After the torpedo hits, the crew on the ship decided to counter flood the ship and as a result she settled in the mud upright. (“Day of Infamy” Walter Lord)
The USS Mississippi (BB-41) fired the last battleship main battery rounds in history - at the Battle of Surigao Straits. She also earned 8 battle stars in WW2 and took two kamikaze hits. That would be a good followup video subject to this one. Missy also destroyed the Shuri Castle on Okinawa
Minor nitpick - last battleship main battery rounds against an enemy battleship. There was still plenty of shore bombardment to be done between end of October, 1944 and August, 1945. I think it was Massachusetts that fired the last main battery rounds shelling targets in Japan - fitting, since IIRC she fired the *first* battleship main battery rounds of the war for the US during her duel with Jean Bart at Casablanca.
A Chief Water-Tender who's battle station was in damage control, refused to abandon ship even as compartments around his station were flooded. He stayed behind, counter-flooding as the ship continued to take water. In a letter to his wife and a log (detailing every valve he opened, exactly how much water, he pumped into which tanks) he stated that his goal was to make sure the ship was easy to raise as possible, knowing that she was sinking anyway. When she did settle to the bottom she sank at less than ONE DEGREE OF LIST (most ships IN SERVICE LIST MORE THAN THAN). She was placed FOURTH in the line of ships to be raised initially till the head of the USN salvers took a look at her as he realized that she was very very simple to re-float due to her orientation. Her actual resurfacing took less than four days (again due to her orientation). When the CPO's station was opened he was found still at his controls with the log and letter nearby. He has lasted three days before the lack of air finally killed him, he was awarded the Navy Cross, and then President Bush (jr) awarded him the Medal Of Honor.
According to the list of medal of honor recipients for the Pearl Harbor attack, the only Chief Water-Tender to receive the medal was en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tomich of the Utah. The FOUR members of the California's crew to receive that medal (3 posthumously) do not match the account provided above. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients_for_the_Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
Best line in the whole video. "Question. Is there an empty space on that ship. If yes. Why is there and empty space on that ship. Put a gun there you idiot."
Just finished reading _Battleship Sailor_ by Theodore Mason (c. 1982), the best up-close & personal account you'll find of what it was like to be in the crew of one of these behemoths. His battle station on Dec. 7th was the radioman assigned to the California's main top, where he spent the entire two hours of the attack with his headphones plugged into a dead circuit, helplessly watching the show from the best bird's-eye view in Pearl Harbor.
Great video overall but the top and side drawings of the ship are those showing her after a massive modernization (following heavy damage at Pearl Harbour) which totally changed her appearance.
I would love to see a guide on the USS Salt Lake City (and related class). It's been mentioned in a previous video, and it was the ship my great grandfather served on.
My dad, Charles K. Anderson, USN Pharmacist's Mate, was about 200' away from the USS California at Ford Island's Building 72 Medical Dispensary on 12/7/41. He saw the torpedoes hit her and watched the sinking. I can only imagine what that was like....
In my case it was my fathers brother & their parents, my grandparents got a telegram that Jerry was missing in action, I assume that when he was rescued hours or several days later, he was trapped in the Engineering spaces & as I understand it had to be removed, with others, by cutting into the hull, that my grandparents were informed that he was alive
It was noted that during the Pearl Harbor attack California used her fire hoses to force burning oil away from the ship, but some burning oil actually entered the ship through open port holes. Port holes were always considered a necessary evil and they were to be eliminated on future battleships. All of the ships at Pearl Harbor were slated for a general inspection on Monday and as a result watertight inspection hatches had been opened. This would be a factor in the sinking of the various ships, though 5 torps into The Oklahoma and 7 into the West Virginia was also a major factor.
The California and her sister ship; Tennessee along with the identical ships with 16in guns; the Colorado class, made up what was known as the "Big Five", and were probably the finest example of a pre-war dreadnought you'll ever see. Too bad, known of them were saved, especially the Pennsylvania!
The North Carolina was designed with 12 14" guns in three 4 gun turrets. They were replaced with 9 16" guns when the escalator clause of the second London Naval treaty was invoked.
Given how improved the ships sunk at Pearl Harbor and then re-floated were (not counting old Oklahoma), you can argue that the IJN in 1944 would have been better off it they had left those ships alone.
Not only that, Oklahoma still had triple expansion reciprocating engines at that point instead of turbines, and those were old enough that the ship was a bit of a dog and struggled to make 19 knots.
@@lunatickoala I was just thinking about the USS Arkansas, the last of the 12" BBs. Totally obsolete in 1941 yet the USN got so much service out of her for convoy duty and fire support at both French invasions, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The IJN didn't get that much use out of any of their BBs except the Kongos.
Always enjoy your ship videos. How much did the Tennessees, and Colorados, benefit from analysis of Jutland? The oldest copy of Jane's at the local library is the 1958 edition, which lists the deck armor of both classes, presumably after their WWII updates, as 3 1/2" on the upper deck and 2 1/2" on the lower deck, with the more extensively reconstructed West Virginia having 9" of deck armor. Other than West Virginia, this amount of deck armor is far short of the later classes that were built in the 30s, and short of the British N3s, which were designed after the analysis of Jutland. It's interesting that, while the RN pressed on with construction of Hood, the other three ships of that class were suspended, and ultimately cancelled as it was reportedly deemed not feasible to update them. Yet the USN pressed on with laying the Maryland down a year after Jutland, and her three sisters, three years after Jutland, while the RN was going back to the drawing board. For that matter, the final design of the Lexingtons appears comparable to the Hood, but they were laid down after the RN knew it didn't want any more ships as thin skinned as the Hood. Seems that the USN would have been well advised to finish up the Tennessees as they were already building, but cancel the Colorados and Lexingtons before they were laid down, and go straight to the 1920 South Dakotas. What are your thoughts?
Hood was too advanced on the stocks to economically cancel so they had to rework the ship, the others were less advanced and could be pulled. Fully applied lessons from Jutland in the USN started with the Tennesee's (some modifications to the New Mexico's were made but they were already well advanced). A lot of lessons came out of Jutland beyond the 'exploding ships = bad" aspect and many of the changes made involved extending the range of ships guns and improving torpedo defences. The Colorado's were useful ships that fell in line with warship development, the 1920's SoDak's straight from the Tennessee's would probably have caused a lot of eyebrows to be raised in Congress and would also leave a gap in the fleet whilst the design was prepared. Interestingly that would've meant the USN might have had to come up with their own version of the Nelson to get a treaty-compliant 35,000t ship built as the SoDak's wouldn't have been allowed.
Thank you for your reply. It appears that I can request my local library to transfer in a 1919 edition of Jane's, so I can look into this further. A 1920 or 21 edition would be preferable, but none are available in my area. I don't think Congress would have objected to going straight from the Tennessees to the SoDaks. Congress approved the SoDaks as designed, and the Colorados were not that much of an advance over the Tennessees. The Colorados had the advantage of being within the 35KT limit of the 1922 treaty, so the US was able to swap the Delawares for Colorado and West Virginia, as the Brits swapped 4 older BBs the treaty allowed them to keep for the clean sheet design Nelsons. Yes, the SoDaks exceeded the treaty limit by some 7-8KT. As carriers, the Lexingtons exceeded the treaty limit of 27KT, but the US got a clause added to the treaty allowing 2 conversions at 30KT, and apparently they were allowed another 3KT for their torpedo protection. How could the SoDak's displacement be reduced? The first thing that comes to mind would be deleting the #1 and #4 16" turrets with their associated barbettes, magazines, and extensions of the armor belt, then shortening the barbettes of #2 and #3 turrets to lower them to deck height. Somewhere between the flexibility in displacement cap, the allowance for torpedo protection and putting the SoDaks on a displacement reduction program, two SoDaks probably could have been completed, maybe three. If the entire Colorado class had been cancelled, the USN would be some 90KT short of the RN's battleship tonnage. Add the 40KT of the two Delawares to the existing 90KT deficit and there would be tonnage available for three SoDaks. Have you done a piece on the SoDaks? I haven't seen one.
Found your video on the SoDaks. Very interesting, especially the chart comparing armor with the preceding classes. Found a new book I will need to read "The Battleship Holiday"
My dad was a Radioman on the Tennessee. He joined the ship at Bremerton after she was sent there for repairs and upgrades following Pearl Harbor. He left the ship shortly before the Kamikaze struck the Radio Room at Okinawa. He remembered a story when all the main armament of both Tennessee and California were aimed at a single Japanese soldier at Saipan.
My father Louis E Tully served on her from 1932 to 40 Electrians Mate 1st class. He was so mad After Pearl he went to work at Todd's shipyard in Long Beach working on the the smart bullets He loved that ship
Sad part is all these old ships like USS California did not get the respect they deserved for years of service. California along with the other Capital Ships, and the large ships like the Alaska-class should have been made museums, not scrapped out. Not even getting the money back that was put in to it, first for building her, and then for saving her after Pearl Harbor. They would be good reminders of the war, and the lives it took. But the Washington bureaucrats who think themselves military leaders, said they are old, and outdated time for them to go. Not caring about the history of these ships,
My father Louis Tully served on her from 1933 to 1940 electricians mate first class and on the race boat crew he got so mad after the Pearl Harbor attack went to work at Todd shipyard and designed the heat seeking smart bullet used on the new Ships
Armour belt it worthless with all those port holes it in it. ;p Hate to look out one when a 16" shell is screaming towards you! Im sure there is a reason for it. She stayed afloat
You said that the USS California ( BB- 44) was the only dreadnought battleship built on the West Coast when you should have said the only dreadnought battleship completed on the West Coast. The USS Montana ( BB 41 ) was being built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard CA Scrapped before completion.
From a gunners perspective; I am glad they didn't put any light AA gun right in front of the main boom sticks (which we have seen in other American ships), but I can't help but feel sorry for the poor guys manning the forward 20 mm guns, just under the 40 mm guns and in front of the 5" secondaries. Imagine when a hostile aircraft makes an approach from the bow intent on damaging the California and you have the 5" firing right behind you and the 40 mm just over your head! From the angle at 00:05:35 onward she looks almost like a junkyard or possibly a porcupine.
IIRC the mounts immediately forward of the main guns (as on the Iowa class) weren't manned if the main guns were firing. I suspect the concussion from the main guns would be lethal if they were firing above and directly behind you.
Ship builder - How many guns do you want? America - YES! Ship builder - So... maybe a dozen? America - I said yes you idiot, ALL OF THE GUNS! Ship Builder - Is 60 bofors, and 70 Orelikin good? America - Fine, that’ll have to do until next time she’s in port.
Dock boss: ok, so we have the California in repair. Would you like to modify her? US Navy: yes DB: ok, more guns? USN: Yes DB:Which ones? USN: YES DB: How many? USN: Y.E.S.
Noticed an apparent error: "She was refloated on the 25th of March, 1942, and *after two months* of basic repairs was sent back to the United States for a major upgrade..." disagrees with Wikipedia's "On 25 March 1942, California was refloated and dry-docked at Pearl Harbor for repairs. *On October 10*, 1942, she departed under her own power for Puget Sound Navy Yard..." So Wikipedia says Oct 10, but you say two months after Mar 25. Which is correct? I noticed that Wikipedia has no source for that particular line. But then again, you cited no sources either. Maybe this is a good time to ask you, what are your sources for this and your videos in general?
Good morning, I based my initial assessment on the ships repair logs which indicated her patching in drydock finished in early June, followed by refloating and the start of upgrade work (including the reinstall of the main battery). Although there is a small error in that this upgrade work started in Pearl, not mainland USA.
!959 seemed to be the year of scrapping WW2 warships like the California and the Uss Enterprise. Enterprise was the last remain Yorktown class carriers, after that the US built 24 Essex class cariers, not all of them in time to take part in WW2. Eisenhower was President when the ships were scrapped, and my mom would tell me that Eisenhower was basically a President that did nothing, except to begin the US involement in the Vietnam war. Oh yes, and it was his and the CIA's plan to invade Cuba. President Kennedy leaned quickly from ths as he was a brand new President and inherited the plan for the Bay of Pigs. With the CIA constantly chirping in his ear, he went ahead with the Bay of Pigs and it's consequences. And went on tv and owned up to it.
An example of another class of US warship that should've had at least 1 member saved as a museum ship. We saved ALL FOUR Iowa class battleships, so why not save the Tennessee or California? That's not to mention the MUCH more obvious choice to have saved the USS Enterprise, the most heavily decorated US warship, and one of only 2 US fleet carriers built before the war to have not been sunk, and to survive the war, while taking part in EVERY major Pacific battle, suffering bombs, torpedoes, kamikaze hits, etc, yet nobody seemed to have thought she was as important to save as late war carriers that only took part in the last, less dangerous battles, when the Japanese navy and air forces were practically non existent....
She was a good looking BB with all those updates!
The New Mexicos and Tennessees were two of the best looking battleship classes we had, IMO.
I prefer the original design
@Charles Yuditsky If Ensign Liebovitz was smart he would remind you that a turret has ARMOR, the 5-inch do NOT, and it was a MOUNT not a TURRET!!! Most USN BB's had only 3/4 turrets (main guns) and the rest of the ships guns were in MOUNTS! They could throw mind boggling amounts of steel (either air or surface) but not exactly well protected (their protection was to use that curtain of steel to keep the bad guys from hitting them in the first place)! As for the JO he probably said, "Yessir! Mount Captain, mount 53 sir!
@Charles Yuditsky well the Bridge Design does kinda look like that of the Iowa's
@Charles Yuditsky I’m partial to YAMATOOOOOO
Empty space is space where you can put some dakka. Never enuff dakka.
For the EMPEROR!
Another example of why sinking ships in harbor next to their repair facilities is not ideal.
In the short term it makes sense, but unless you do something irreparable like the Arizona it won't make a difference long term
The California was scheduled for inspection on Monday. All her hatches were wide open from the top to her bilge hatches. That is why she couldn't be kept from sinking. It was to dangerous for repair crew to be inside her without power for lighting and pumps and under threat of air attack.
@@wyominghorseman9172 No, not quite. Some water tight integrity was compromised. However she was up to steam and ready to get underway when burning fuel oil drifting down battleship row threatened to overtake the ship (www.history.navy.mil/our-collections/photography/wars-and-events/world-war-ii/pearl-harbor-raid/battleship-row-during-the-pearl-harbor-attack/uss-california-during-the-pearl-harbor-attack/NH-97399.html) . So the captain ordered her abandoned. Which means the engineering detail would have closed all the fuel valves and opened the pressure reliefs.
When the crew re-boarded her the steam plant was now cold meaning electrical power was now offline. This meant self powered portable pumps or pumps from other vessels where the only pumping available which couldn't keep up with the ingress of water from the two torpedo hits and the bomb near miss. And thus she settled to the bottom.
@@Cragified Thanks for that.
Attacking a country who's industrial capacity dwarfs your own isn't ideal either.
My father enlisted on December 8, 1941 and joined the California at Pearl Harbor right after boot camp. He was with the ship all through the war and laid her up in mothballs in Philadelphia at the end. Thank you for the story.
David Yeroshek was your father a marine? On December 7th 1941?
The USS California and other Pearl harbor survivors suffered an ignominious end at the hands of bean counters who refused to shell out and have her brought to Sacramento. It would have been easy to bring her to the states capitol via the Ocean access cannel system still used today and there be enshrined for all to see and visit as she so richly had deserved but was denied.
I am saddened by this sort of thing sometimes, but then I count the number of ships we DID preserve and I compare that number to that the Brits saved, and I feel a lot better.
Couple of points.
The US saved a few ships - the preservation of some of these has been a fiasco, due to lack of cash for upkeep.
The Brits (hello!) have only saved a few - mainly by retaining them in the navy eg HMS Victory is still the nominal flagship.
Apart from that there is HMS Warrior and HMS Belfast - good choices, but not holding onto HMS Dreadnought was a travesty.
Trouble is battleships are filled with high grade steel and navies need cash.
Victory and Warrior only survived by being strong enough to survive being left to rot and used as cheap storage huks, until we woke up to what we had.
Here's what we have saved
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Museum_ships_in_the_United_Kingdom
@@pd4165 I know you guys were SORELY strapped for cash, especially after the wars, but it still crushes me that a nation with such a record for absolute naval supremacy didn't do more to preserve some of your warships.
I'll grant you that some of the ships we've saved here are in varying states of financial crisis, but that tends to be the exception to the rule, and they always manage to pull through on the backs of generous donors and loving patrons, and it saddens me that you guys didn't have at least that chance.
If still around, her guns could be replaced with a bunch of homeless people from Los Angeles and San Francisco. That would be a real poop deck.
R Belotti That Britain was still breaking up or just scuttling Napoleonic-era ships of the line *after World War 2* is heartbreaking.
It wasn't that the US Navy liked extra guns, they really hated Japanese aircraft.
Why not both?
As an American I can definitely say that we like more guns theres no kill like over kill
We want everyone shooting, it’s American. Why we’re at it, give my GGGGG grandfather’s rifles back Col John Thomas, there in the Royal Collection.
@wut it is mate Hell, I've got one in the back of my pickup truck.
Other nations just don't understand. It's ok, we really don't care what they think. Results speak for themselves.
@@hawkticus_history_corner thank you, Tony stark
IIRC, when her hull was launched from Mare Island it slid so easily and rapidly into the water that it managed to build up enough speed to cross the Napa river (Which was rather narrow at that point) and smash into the docks on the Vallejo side of the river, sending bystanders scrambling for safety. Damage to the ship was minor.
I believe the Vallejo Ferry sits where California beached across from the slipway.
Sir I found you, finally a person who pronounced surigao properly thank you,you made my day, good pronounciation from a actual 100% Pilipino!
If I recall correctly the only reason California sank was that she was due for an inspection so her watertight doors were not able to be closed.
All were wide open to her bilges.
Not only hatches but portholes also, this caused salvagers a few headaches also.
Spencer Jones: This was true of all the ships then in port. The fuel tanks were wide open and most were empty, so they filled with water as well. California's crew also made things worse by spraying water around the ship to keep burning oil away, the water found it's way into the decks below through open port holes.
Yes, this is true. My Grandfather was on her and everything was opened up. Also, non gunnery personnel were commanded to abandon ship, w/ regard to the burning surface oil from other ships (I think the W. Virginia or Oklahoma) before they were fully engulfed, but it was pushed away w/ the water hoses and wind. Then they were called back with half the crew already ashore or swimming there. Needless to say, most didn't swim back aboard to save her at the crucial time.
So just to get it right:
"We got to remove that secondary gun. The ship is overcrowded!".
later:
"Why is there an empty space on that ship? Put a gun there!!!"
secondaries gave way to useful anti-aircraft guns.
Who needs empty deckspace when you can put a gun there?
@@Evirthewarrior the 5" guns had the neat distinction of being useful and capable in both roles.
That is ‘merica
@@polygondwanaland8390 as to quote the USS Alaska episode "and to give the Crew the opportunity to practice their 2nd Amendment right in the face of the enemy"
I've always thought that the Tennessee/Colorado class ships after the refit were some of the best looking warships of WW2. Too bad they were slower than a 3 legged cow stuck in quicksand.
I would pay good money to see a 25knot three legged cow.
"Too bad they were slower than a 3 legged cow stuck in quicksand." funny comment
@@pd4165 Standards might do 25 knots if you throw them off a cliff.
Agree on Tennessees, the standards Nevada>Tennessee were stunning, 2 barrel turrets look odd to ! on a USN vessel.
My grandfather was on the Helena when it was attacked at Pearl Harbor. He then spent time working to repair the California after it was sunk and raised. He eventually got transferred to the Cal and spent the rest of the war on it. He was a radio engineer I believe.
I’m going to be honest. This is now my go to channel to listen to while playing War Thunder
Thank you, once again, for your excellent work, Drach. So very happy the world of history has you!
My father served on the California from 1932 to 1940 as Electricians Mate and on the race boat crew competing against other ships . Some of his close friends were killed at Pearl, where he said a bomb went straight through his bunk. He tried to rein list but was told told they would put him in the Army. Instead he went to work at Todd Shipyard in Long Beach where he helped to develop the smart bullets that the Japanese were unaware of and he said was his payback for his lost shipmates.
My father would have been his shipmate from 1937 to 1940. He was a boiler man.
My cousin, Billy Joe Dukes, was killed on the California at Pearl Harbor while passing ammo from below to his High School buddy who was manning a gun during the Japanese attack - they joined the Navy together and managed to stay together until he was killed. His brother was on the Lexington when it was sunk - he survived the war
My uncle Peter Deustermars was a Sailor on USS California on Dec 7th. The navy told his mother for several months that he was missing. He survived the war
The sweet Justice of most of the pearl Harbor survivors getting to sink Japanese battleships in combat While Also performing the last ever crossing the T
I think the "crossing of the T" gets WAAAAAAAAAAAAAY overplayed in history books... what few people fail to mention about the "greatness" of the action was simple odds... SIX BATTLESHIPS VS ONE... not much of a fight imho.
Mithrennon of Aegwynn well the T was one of the most effective strategies for any big gun vessel. The ability to bring your full broadside against the enemy who can only have their first few ships fire their front guns is extremely useful. You limit your opponent’s ability to fight and do damage to you, while you give yourself the biggest chance to sink the the enemy.
My grandpa fought on this ship an survived the kamakazi strike on her, but was knocked unconscious. He worked in the main turrets. I use to love hearing him tell his stories.
My husbands grandfather also survived a kamakazi strike on California with burns. he wrote down his endeavors on California and i’m so grateful he did :)
My grandfather was a gunner’s mate stationed on the California during Pearl Harbor and mentioned ONCE about this kamikaze and spoke once about Pearl Harbor. That was the only time he talked about it and we practically had to beg him to tell us. So thankful he did it once at least. He also swears it was hit by the 3rd torpedo, but so much was happening. Saved some men locked behind a hatch that were about to drown. He talked about some other pretty disturbing stuff, I don’t want to mention here but I understood why he didn’t want to talk about and why I heard him having nightmares every night when he lived with us.
pleasew if you have any story share it to me, would love to hear
Other things about the California. The ship was hit in one of its screws by a practice torpedo during peacetime manuvers. On a peacetime training cruise to panama the ship could not keep up with the rest of the fleet which drove the chief engineer crazy it turns out the ship hit a whale and it was stuck on the bow until it stopped and removed it.
Fantastic channel indeed! Thank you for your effort and knowledge sharing!
These two Tennessee class ships and West Virginia, both after the refit, are now my favorite looking ships. Their bridge structure kinda confuses me, as I can't seem to find windows unlike on North Carolina which has similary designed super structure, though, overall their super structures look really modern with everything gathered in the middle forming a triangler shape, and to me, they might look even more modern than Iowa class sometimes, from some angles. I don't think they'd stand out if you throw these three retrofitted ships in a fleet of modern destroyers and stuff.
Thanks for the video. I knew she has sunk at Pearl Harbour then refloated but not what happened to her subsequently. So it was very interesting to find out what a big part she played during the war.
USS California ---- Built with pride at Mare Island Naval Shipyard --- Captain Edward Beach Sr. commanding
My grandfather, Auburn Pierce Holton was assigned to this ship. Not during Pearl Harbor though, in early 1944. The story I heard was that it took part in the pacific theater where it was hit at least once by kamikaze pilots and subsequently was part of the occupying force in Japan following the bombings of HIroshima and Nagasaki. I just found this out about him yesterday so I'm still doing my research. Would love to be able to find a ship roster or naval records on him.
@@maxenra My Uncle Jerry Grotte, was in the Engineering Division of the Battleship USS California when she was sunk at Pearl Harbor om December 7.1941, he was trapped in the hull, I assume at his duty station in the Engineering spaces for some time before he and others were cut out of the hull, he lived until 2005.
@@stevengrotte2987 Very interesting, thanks!
My mother had a cousin on the California at Pearl Harbor (he survived the war). It took awhile to find out if he was ok after the attack.
I think most people today don't appreciate the difficulty of getting anything close to up-to-date info or mail from people deployed halfway around the world in the 1940s. One of my uncles was in the USAAF in Burma and it literally took months for mail to make the trip.
The father of one of my classmates in high school served on the California. He was at the Battle of Surigao Straight. He told me once that "We had been doing mainly shore bombardment. When they cut loose with those amour piercing shells, I thought they'd blew up the guns."
Another outstanding presentation. Well done!
Love the videos even the do-overs without C3PO. One minor disagreement\error: The video seems to imply that California and Tennessee were the first BBs with "all or nothing" armor. Nevada class was as I understand it. As a matter of fact I think I have read references to that type of armor as the "Nevada Plan".
I did say that the Standard type was what had introduced all-or-nothing armour, which of course started with the Nevada class. :)
@@Drachinifel My misunderstanding. Thanks.
The California came back to haunt the Japanese
Great video talking about my home state's ship.
Just a little thing for you to chew on regarding the turbine, generator, electric motor design of American ships. (Granted, I pieced this together from watching shows on how the US electrical industry got off the ground.)
Now, to build ever larger warships that used the turbine / transmission design, required specialized knowledge and industrial plan to build all the parts and pieces. Now the only countries that had that, driven by both warship and domestic ships, was Britain, Italy, Germany, and France. I'm not sure about Japan. Now given the US was a leader in the whole electrical industry designing highly efficient turbines, generators, and electric motors, it would make sense that those proven and cutting edge technologies would be employed in warship design. In addition, even if your power conversion ratio is not as good as a turbine / transmission design, I assume that you had the capacity to shift power loads to allow for all motor driven shafts to operate when a given turbine /generator went down.
Once again, I never read that anywhere, but pondered why the US did not follow suite with the European powers.
A HUMAN NARRATOR and a correspondingly massive reduction in the number of mispronunciations!
Two quick points that I came up with after reading and observations.
1. The all or nothing design philosophy helped Naval designers / engineers to figure out how to cram the required power plant, magazines, and critical parts into the armored box. This helped focus designers on what was important vs what was "nice to have" which would fall outside the armored protection.
2. The whole turbine to generator to electric motor layout was more driven by the lack of industry in the United States to churn out the required gear sets. YET, the United States was a leader in designing electrical plants. This would provide an advantage over Britain, France, Italy, Germany, and Japan. In addition, I would "assume" it was possible to shift electric current between various generators to electric motors driving the ship. This means that even if one of your turbine sets went down, you could still provide propulsion to the shafts.
The only downside is the low fuel efficiency - you can cram your gensets wherever you want (see HMSs Queen Elizabeth and Price of Wales) and power lines are naturally armoured, being solid metal.
A long 'live' steam line is vulnerable to vibration and puncturing (live steam is very unpopular around living creatures) and it needs to still be live when it gets to the turbine, so needs protection from cold. Obviously big curent/voltage isn't water friendly but if the ducting/insulation is intact then that electrickery is going to the right place.
And you can tune your system easily - every powerplant has a sweet spot so you could keep one at that, and supply all the screws, while keeping the other gensets at idle/stand-by.
I'm thinking of living on a boat - a hybrid power system is an attractive solution (I'd love a Stirling engine).
I bet you could go from "Full Ahead" to "Full Astern" (and vice-versa) much faster as well.
Guns guns and more guns. The American Way of life.
Damn straight !!
Since 1775!
Is there a problem here?
Yup.
In London it's knives knives and more knives. You know what trumps a knife attack? A gun.
The title "The prune barge" was totally appropriate along with the fact that native born Californians are also referred to as "Prune pickers", among many other names depending of course on you're point of view. l am a "prune picker" and have a few choice names that l use for Californians (native or transplants).
Just prior to the Pearl Harbor attack all of her watertight hatches has been loosened for an inspection. After the torpedo hits, the crew on the ship decided to counter flood the ship and as a result she settled in the mud upright. (“Day of Infamy” Walter Lord)
The USS Mississippi (BB-41) fired the last battleship main battery rounds in history - at the Battle of Surigao Straits. She also earned 8 battle stars in WW2 and took two kamikaze hits. That would be a good followup video subject to this one. Missy also destroyed the Shuri Castle on Okinawa
Minor nitpick - last battleship main battery rounds against an enemy battleship. There was still plenty of shore bombardment to be done between end of October, 1944 and August, 1945. I think it was Massachusetts that fired the last main battery rounds shelling targets in Japan - fitting, since IIRC she fired the *first* battleship main battery rounds of the war for the US during her duel with Jean Bart at Casablanca.
A Chief Water-Tender who's battle station was in damage control, refused to abandon ship even as compartments around his station were flooded. He stayed behind, counter-flooding as the ship continued to take water. In a letter to his wife and a log (detailing every valve he opened, exactly how much water, he pumped into which tanks) he stated that his goal was to make sure the ship was easy to raise as possible, knowing that she was sinking anyway. When she did settle to the bottom she sank at less than ONE DEGREE OF LIST (most ships IN SERVICE LIST MORE THAN THAN). She was placed FOURTH in the line of ships to be raised initially till the head of the USN salvers took a look at her as he realized that she was very very simple to re-float due to her orientation. Her actual resurfacing took less than four days (again due to her orientation). When the CPO's station was opened he was found still at his controls with the log and letter nearby. He has lasted three days before the lack of air finally killed him, he was awarded the Navy Cross, and then President Bush (jr) awarded him the Medal Of Honor.
Got a source for that?
According to the list of medal of honor recipients for the Pearl Harbor attack, the only Chief Water-Tender to receive the medal was en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Tomich of the Utah. The FOUR members of the California's crew to receive that medal (3 posthumously) do not match the account provided above. Source: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Medal_of_Honor_recipients_for_the_Attack_on_Pearl_Harbor
Too many of Drachinifel's videos end with the words "she was placed in reserve and eventually scrapped"
No Ship !!
Right, he forgets to mention "then a 5 minute video (more or less) was posted to TH-cam"
@Gripen Draken except Warspite as she gave a fight in her last breath
THE MOST IMPORTANT WW2 ship that was FOOLISHLY scrapped was the USS Enterprise!...followed by the USS Nevada....and then the USS Franklin.
@@tbamagic USS Nevada was not scraped, she had been used in operation crossroads, than was shot at by Iowa, and was finally sunk by torpedos.
Best line in the whole video. "Question. Is there an empty space on that ship. If yes. Why is there and empty space on that ship. Put a gun there you idiot."
Just finished reading _Battleship Sailor_ by Theodore Mason (c. 1982), the best up-close & personal account you'll find of what it was like to be in the crew of one of these behemoths. His battle station on Dec. 7th was the radioman assigned to the California's main top, where he spent the entire two hours of the attack with his headphones plugged into a dead circuit, helplessly watching the show from the best bird's-eye view in Pearl Harbor.
Stick a gun in every empty spot!! Love it! She was a warship after all lol. And AA was a major concern at the time.
Great video overall but the top and side drawings of the ship are those showing her after a massive modernization (following heavy damage at Pearl Harbour) which totally changed her appearance.
A very smart looking ship at the end.
I would love to see a guide on the USS Salt Lake City (and related class). It's been mentioned in a previous video, and it was the ship my great grandfather served on.
I really love this channel!
My dad, Charles K. Anderson, USN Pharmacist's Mate, was about 200' away from the USS California at Ford Island's Building 72 Medical Dispensary on 12/7/41. He saw the torpedoes hit her and watched the sinking. I can only imagine what that was like....
My mother’s brother was a California crewman on December 7th. My grandmother didn’t know for months that her son was alive after the attack.
In my case it was my fathers brother & their parents, my grandparents got a telegram that Jerry was missing in action, I assume that when he was rescued hours or several days later, he was trapped in the Engineering spaces & as I understand it had to be removed, with others, by cutting into the hull, that my grandparents were informed that he was alive
It was noted that during the Pearl Harbor attack California used her fire hoses to force burning oil away from the ship, but some burning oil actually entered the ship through open port holes. Port holes were always considered a necessary evil and they were to be eliminated on future battleships. All of the ships at Pearl Harbor were slated for a general inspection on Monday and as a result watertight inspection hatches had been opened. This would be a factor in the sinking of the various ships, though 5 torps into The Oklahoma and 7 into the West Virginia was also a major factor.
Yeah, once you run a can opener the length of the hull all the watertight integrity in the world isn't going to save your ship. 😐
The California and her sister ship; Tennessee along with the identical ships with 16in guns; the Colorado class, made up what was known as the "Big Five", and were probably the finest example of a pre-war dreadnought you'll ever see. Too bad, known of them were saved, especially the Pennsylvania!
We Americans do love our guns, big ones, little ones, medium size ones, anything that goes bang.
The North Carolina was designed with 12 14" guns in three 4 gun turrets. They were replaced with 9 16" guns when the escalator clause of the second London Naval treaty was invoked.
Given how improved the ships sunk at Pearl Harbor and then re-floated were (not counting old Oklahoma), you can argue that the IJN in 1944 would have been better off it they had left those ships alone.
Not only that, Oklahoma still had triple expansion reciprocating engines at that point instead of turbines, and those were old enough that the ship was a bit of a dog and struggled to make 19 knots.
@@lunatickoala I was just thinking about the USS Arkansas, the last of the 12" BBs. Totally obsolete in 1941 yet the USN got so much service out of her for convoy duty and fire support at both French invasions, Iwo Jima and Okinawa. The IJN didn't get that much use out of any of their BBs except the Kongos.
@terry waller I think the Utah was demilitarized into some sort of training ship years prior to the attack.
Always enjoy your ship videos. How much did the Tennessees, and Colorados, benefit from analysis of Jutland? The oldest copy of Jane's at the local library is the 1958 edition, which lists the deck armor of both classes, presumably after their WWII updates, as 3 1/2" on the upper deck and 2 1/2" on the lower deck, with the more extensively reconstructed West Virginia having 9" of deck armor. Other than West Virginia, this amount of deck armor is far short of the later classes that were built in the 30s, and short of the British N3s, which were designed after the analysis of Jutland. It's interesting that, while the RN pressed on with construction of Hood, the other three ships of that class were suspended, and ultimately cancelled as it was reportedly deemed not feasible to update them. Yet the USN pressed on with laying the Maryland down a year after Jutland, and her three sisters, three years after Jutland, while the RN was going back to the drawing board. For that matter, the final design of the Lexingtons appears comparable to the Hood, but they were laid down after the RN knew it didn't want any more ships as thin skinned as the Hood. Seems that the USN would have been well advised to finish up the Tennessees as they were already building, but cancel the Colorados and Lexingtons before they were laid down, and go straight to the 1920 South Dakotas. What are your thoughts?
Hood was too advanced on the stocks to economically cancel so they had to rework the ship, the others were less advanced and could be pulled. Fully applied lessons from Jutland in the USN started with the Tennesee's (some modifications to the New Mexico's were made but they were already well advanced). A lot of lessons came out of Jutland beyond the 'exploding ships = bad" aspect and many of the changes made involved extending the range of ships guns and improving torpedo defences.
The Colorado's were useful ships that fell in line with warship development, the 1920's SoDak's straight from the Tennessee's would probably have caused a lot of eyebrows to be raised in Congress and would also leave a gap in the fleet whilst the design was prepared. Interestingly that would've meant the USN might have had to come up with their own version of the Nelson to get a treaty-compliant 35,000t ship built as the SoDak's wouldn't have been allowed.
Thank you for your reply. It appears that I can request my local library to transfer in a 1919 edition of Jane's, so I can look into this further. A 1920 or 21 edition would be preferable, but none are available in my area. I don't think Congress would have objected to going straight from the Tennessees to the SoDaks. Congress approved the SoDaks as designed, and the Colorados were not that much of an advance over the Tennessees. The Colorados had the advantage of being within the 35KT limit of the 1922 treaty, so the US was able to swap the Delawares for Colorado and West Virginia, as the Brits swapped 4 older BBs the treaty allowed them to keep for the clean sheet design Nelsons. Yes, the SoDaks exceeded the treaty limit by some 7-8KT. As carriers, the Lexingtons exceeded the treaty limit of 27KT, but the US got a clause added to the treaty allowing 2 conversions at 30KT, and apparently they were allowed another 3KT for their torpedo protection. How could the SoDak's displacement be reduced? The first thing that comes to mind would be deleting the #1 and #4 16" turrets with their associated barbettes, magazines, and extensions of the armor belt, then shortening the barbettes of #2 and #3 turrets to lower them to deck height. Somewhere between the flexibility in displacement cap, the allowance for torpedo protection and putting the SoDaks on a displacement reduction program, two SoDaks probably could have been completed, maybe three. If the entire Colorado class had been cancelled, the USN would be some 90KT short of the RN's battleship tonnage. Add the 40KT of the two Delawares to the existing 90KT deficit and there would be tonnage available for three SoDaks. Have you done a piece on the SoDaks? I haven't seen one.
Found your video on the SoDaks. Very interesting, especially the chart comparing armor with the preceding classes. Found a new book I will need to read "The Battleship Holiday"
Great battleship duel, or last great battleship smack down.
My dad was a Radioman on the Tennessee. He joined the ship at Bremerton after she was sent there for repairs and upgrades following Pearl Harbor. He left the ship shortly before the Kamikaze struck the Radio Room at Okinawa. He remembered a story when all the main armament of both Tennessee and California were aimed at a single Japanese soldier at Saipan.
IIRC when the California was launched from Mare Island Shipyard the California stuck onto the opposite shore of the Napa River
My father Louis E Tully served on her from 1932 to 40 Electrians Mate 1st class.
He was so mad After Pearl he went to work at Todd's shipyard in Long Beach working on the the smart bullets
He loved that ship
The bell is preserved on the grounds of the CA State Capitol in Sacramento, CA.
Got to love America and her ships
Ngl, she and Tennessee were dummy thicc after their rebuilds. Absolutely amazing the differences there were prior and post.
when was the last time a us navy capital ship transited oceans via around the south american horn?
Loose Prunes sink ships!
"Loose Prunes sink ships!"
Especially if the plumbing isn't working properly.
Sad part is all these old ships like USS California did not get the respect they deserved for years of service. California along with the other Capital Ships, and the large ships like the Alaska-class should have been made museums, not scrapped out. Not even getting the money back that was put in to it, first for building her, and then for saving her after Pearl Harbor.
They would be good reminders of the war, and the lives it took. But the Washington bureaucrats who think themselves military leaders, said they are old, and outdated time for them to go. Not caring about the history of these ships,
In California, the refit of the USS California is what we call "Goin' out huntin' loaded for bear!" !:-) 🖖
Drac, you wonderful limey!!! You did a video on my favorite battleship🤩🤩🤩🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸👍👍👍. THANK YOU!!!
Would love to see a video on CVE 68 USS Petroff Bay, an escort carrier. My dad was a sailor on her.
Handsome ship for the time.
My father Louis Tully served on her from 1933 to 1940 electricians mate first class and on the race boat crew he got so mad after the Pearl Harbor attack went to work at Todd shipyard and designed the heat seeking smart bullet used on the new Ships
Heat seeking smart bullets huh? In ww2 you say? Ummmm no, that most definitely is a big pile of BULLSHIT!!!!!
I am beginning to think you have gun tube envy!
yeah sad fate of a lot of the great ships.. end up as Spam cans and razor blades.
Armour belt it worthless with all those port holes it in it. ;p Hate to look out one when a 16" shell is screaming towards you! Im sure there is a reason for it. She stayed afloat
You said that the USS California ( BB- 44) was the only dreadnought battleship built on the West Coast when you should have said the only dreadnought battleship completed on the West Coast. The USS Montana ( BB 41 ) was being built at Mare Island Naval Shipyard CA Scrapped before completion.
How about a video about the cruiser California that became the San Diego and was sunk off NY/NJ durning WW I.
Dockyard workers: How many guns you want on the ship?US Navy: Yes.
After the refit which resulted in a wider beam without an increase in length what was the top speed. It would have had to decrease but by how much?
George Distel I remember reading that it dropped a knot in speed.
Scrapped in 59, I wondered what happened to her.
As rebuilt she was goddamn beautiful
I served aboard the California CGN 36
Could you do a pair of videos one on Large Sitting Ducks & the other on Large Slow Targets? (LSDs & LSTs)
Is there empty space if yes add guns if no add guns anyway
From a gunners perspective; I am glad they didn't put any light AA gun right in front of the main boom sticks (which we have seen in other American ships), but I can't help but feel sorry for the poor guys manning the forward 20 mm guns, just under the 40 mm guns and in front of the 5" secondaries.
Imagine when a hostile aircraft makes an approach from the bow intent on damaging the California and you have the 5" firing right behind you and the 40 mm just over your head!
From the angle at 00:05:35 onward she looks almost like a junkyard or possibly a porcupine.
IIRC the mounts immediately forward of the main guns (as on the Iowa class) weren't manned if the main guns were firing. I suspect the concussion from the main guns would be lethal if they were firing above and directly behind you.
Ship builder - How many guns do you want?
America - YES!
Ship builder - So... maybe a dozen?
America - I said yes you idiot, ALL OF THE GUNS!
Ship Builder - Is 60 bofors, and 70 Orelikin good?
America - Fine, that’ll have to do until next time she’s in port.
what intro music is that? love it.
do you have a review of the Baltimore class heavy cruiser class
Love the cameo this old girl got in Windtalkers, factually inaccurate movie, but how often do you see older US Battleships get screentime?
Dock boss: ok, so we have the California in repair. Would you like to modify her?
US Navy: yes
DB: ok, more guns?
USN: Yes
DB:Which ones?
USN: YES
DB: How many?
USN: Y.E.S.
I’ve always wondered, what was the reasoning behind the basketweave masts on United States battleships?
It was supposed to be for Vizza Bility.
My great grandpa was on that ship during ww2
Noticed an apparent error:
"She was refloated on the 25th of March, 1942, and *after two months* of basic repairs was sent back to the United States for a major upgrade..." disagrees with Wikipedia's "On 25 March 1942, California was refloated and dry-docked at Pearl Harbor for repairs. *On October 10*, 1942, she departed under her own power for Puget Sound Navy Yard..."
So Wikipedia says Oct 10, but you say two months after Mar 25. Which is correct? I noticed that Wikipedia has no source for that particular line. But then again, you cited no sources either. Maybe this is a good time to ask you, what are your sources for this and your videos in general?
Good morning, I based my initial assessment on the ships repair logs which indicated her patching in drydock finished in early June, followed by refloating and the start of upgrade work (including the reinstall of the main battery).
Although there is a small error in that this upgrade work started in Pearl, not mainland USA.
Wikipedia is not a good source and can be very unreliable
@@Drachinifel That's pretty much an unbeatable source, I love it.
!959 seemed to be the year of scrapping WW2 warships like the California and the Uss Enterprise. Enterprise was the last remain Yorktown class carriers, after that the US built 24 Essex class cariers, not all of them in time to take part in WW2. Eisenhower was President when the ships were scrapped, and my mom would tell me that Eisenhower was basically a President that did nothing, except to begin the US involement in the Vietnam war. Oh yes, and it was his and the CIA's plan to invade Cuba. President Kennedy leaned quickly from ths as he was a brand new President and inherited the plan for the Bay of Pigs. With the CIA constantly chirping in his ear, he went ahead with the Bay of Pigs and it's consequences. And went on tv and owned up to it.
Home state boat...while playing World of Warships😊
How about the IJS Fuso and it's disappearing crew after it sank.
An example of another class of US warship that should've had at least 1 member saved as a museum ship. We saved ALL FOUR Iowa class battleships, so why not save the Tennessee or California?
That's not to mention the MUCH more obvious choice to have saved the USS Enterprise, the most heavily decorated US warship, and one of only 2 US fleet carriers built before the war to have not been sunk, and to survive the war, while taking part in EVERY major Pacific battle, suffering bombs, torpedoes, kamikaze hits, etc, yet nobody seemed to have thought she was as important to save as late war carriers that only took part in the last, less dangerous battles, when the Japanese navy and air forces were practically non existent....
People went for technical pinnacle of the era instead of historical significance. Sad, I know.
Did california land any hits on the yamashiro?
Which German ships had 2-4-2 gun layouts?
I'm going to miss the CG voice....
humour from a computer, a not unsubstantial achievement
We Americans love our guns!!!!
Anything on the Pickering?
How did U.S.S. Calforina BB 44 Near miss an Bomb But Hit By Two Torpedoes And 1 Direct Bomb hit? I don't get it?
Out of two bombs dropped toward the USS California, one was a near miss and one was a direct hit.
Can you do a 5 minute guide to the uss San Diego arc-6
Pug Henrys ships from the Winds of War :)