Back in the spring, we decided to reduce the number of specials we were uploading. We did this mainly because we wanted to keep producing our core content at a high quality during a time of difficulty in both the economy in general and the TH-cam world specifically. Those difficulties haven't really got any easier, but we've decided to return to producing more specials anyway. We want to new audiences and keep giving our current audience the holistic coverage of the War they deserve. It's been a challenge to get this part of our work up and running again but we're on the right track. You might have noticed more specials coming out recently anyway and you'll be seeing a lot more of them soon with topics ranging from the Allied Polish Forces to Himmler and his Neo-Paganism. In the new year, we'll be producing even more nonserial episodes to take our reportage to new heights. Make sure you check your subscription feeds so you can watch the latest! As with everything else we do, upping our volume in this way wouldn't be possible without the TimeGhost Army. Our community has always been the reason why we're able to do what we do, especially now that ad revenue from TH-cam has plummeted so much. A big shout out to them and thanks to all of you for watching. Sign up at: bit.ly/WW2_221_PI - Francis, Editorial Lead
I second the motion of Spindrift _21 hours ago... "You can make it up to the incomparable USS Enterprise (whose place in the Gilberts raid naval roster is mistakenly attributed to the by-then-sunk Lexington) by dedicating a TimeGhost special to one of the greatest fighting ships of all time ;)"
At 02:48... Wow... Did the Navy recovered from the bottom of the Pacific the USS Lexington??? No... It's the Grey Ghost CV6 that is coming back to h(a)unt the IJN....😁
Ah yes, DD-579 (my account's namesake) William D. Porter Probably the US ship with the most tomfoolery, nearly killing FDR with a botched torpedo demo, and sinking after it went and struck a downed Japanese kamikaze AFTER IT HAD ORIGINALLY EVADED THE PLANE THAT CRASHED INTO THE WATER and eventually detonating the plane's bomb
2:42 The "good old Lexington" was sunk at Coral Sea in 1942. The USS Lexington in Task Force 50 is one of the four Essexes (the others being USS Essex herself, USS Yorktown, and USS Bunker Hill). The other old carrier in the force is the USS Enterprise.
Correct. The original Saratoga did survive the war and was sunk at the Bikini Atoll A-bomb test in 1946. Both the original Lexington and Saratoga were conversions from Battlecruisers in the 1920's, forbidden by the Washington Naval Conference, as were the Japanese Akagi and Kaga (originally planned to be a huge Battleship).
I was about to point this out. I hope this can be edited and corrected so it's the "good old Enterprise" . When Indy said lexington I rewound it twice to make sure that I heard what I thought I heard!
@@M4A3ShermanLover Yes, Enterprise is the most sunk aircraft carrier in history; The Japanese "sunk" it 3 or 4 times, so it got the nickname "gray ghost" it would be good if they made a special about the Enterprise and its history
What I find surprisingly is that almost killing FDR is somehow only one massive blunder in the list of blunders, incompetences and bad luck in general pulled off by the crew of the USS William D. Porter. Even the reason the commander of it didn't wanted to break radio silence is because they had accidentally did it before, so he wanted to avoid another bashing on top of the one for the accidental live torpedo.
@@WorldWarTwo please do not include unsubstantiated stories about her, like her fabled firing at a commander’s front lawn. She is a ship who’s name has been wrongly tarnished. The depth charge story didn’t happen, the firing at a commander’s house also didn’t happen. There’s no sources for these stories (such as being included in her logs) because they’re old wives tales made up to pile on her after the mishap in the torpedo drill. Her whole crew wasn’t arrested; only the man on the station was. The fact that you presented the stories about the depth charges and the ship’s arresting as fact only to later say “but maybe that didn’t happen” is disingenuous. Again, the bad information is hearsay, and if you don’t have primary sources, maybe it shouldn’t be included. She shot down her fair share of planes during the war and lost no crew in her unlucky sinking, please give her the story she deserves, not the one she does not.
Very true! The whole logistics effort of the Western allies in WW2 is simply amazing. The Western allies were not just having to do crazy logistics efforts to support their own forces during WW2, over to that point unheard of lengths but they also were supplying many other allied nations with the vast majority of their logistics efforts (Such as the USSR , China and later France). The recent Russian war in Ukraine really makes it clear how important the Western allied logistics system and supplies were to the USSR during their counter attack. I 100% don't think the USSR was capable of making a counter attack on Germany the way they did without the West's help. The USSR would have been capable of defending against the Axis attacks on their own as their own supply lines shorted and the Axis supply lines got longer and longer the further the Axis pushed in. But then when it would of been time for the USSR to counter attack they would not have had the supply logistics to support continued counter attacks on the Axis on their own. Especially with the Axis destroying the local logistics systems on their retreat back West. I fully feel the war in Eastern front would have turned into a stalemate without the Wests help. That can be seen when Molotov is pushing for the West to launch a front in Western Europe prior to the Allied invasion of Italy. The US secretary of State told Molotov they can launch the attack on Western Europe faster if they stop supplying the USSR with supplies . When presented with that option Molotov quickly backtracked and supported the delay in the West's invasion of Europe as he didn't want to be the man who cut the USSR off from Western supplies.
@@John-ru5ud That is my favorite quote from WW2 by 5 star US General of the Army, Omar Bradley. Though the actual quote is a little bit different. The actual quote from Bradley was "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics" .
Liberty ships featured pretty often in my engineering classes this semester. Especially the brittle material some were made of, and how they would just snap clean in half in the Arctic waters from the cold. Allied command had no explanation until such an instance happened in a Canadian harbor I believe. Before that they just assumed the Germans must have been throwing every submarine they had into the Arctic to sink so many ships, and without any kind of detection! Moral of the story is that if you're going to be cranking out ships on a weekly basis, try and use some good materials.
The problem was that the ships were welded. This meant that the hull acted as if it were made as one metal. This meant crack propagation travelled between plates and can cause the hull fail due to the cold with some breaking while still at port.
Metallurgy took great leaps forward during WW2 out of necessity. It was the problems with the liberty ships welded construction that lead to the identification of Hydrogen enbrittlement. This led to low hydrogen welding processes and better steel manufacturing methods.
Dad was sent to Europe on a Liberty ship and was in the top bunk in the hold where he could look up at some of the worst welding he had ever seen. That any of the ships lasted beyond the end of the war is amazing, but the extra metal they patched on in later production to stop the cracks helped quite a bit.
An interesting thing to note on November 16 1943 is that the English village of Tyneham will begin eviction of its inhabitants by the British War Office, as they had acquired the village as well as the surrounding areas for use as firing ranges for training troops. This eviction was supposed to be temporary for the duration of the war, but its inhabitants would never return as the British Army made a compulsory purchase order on the land and remains in use as a military training ground ever since.
Tyneham is - now - accessible one day a year, when buses ( Preserved & current London buses ) do special runs in to the village. It's a wonderful day out & is to be recommended
@@gsvick I mean - geographically yes, but in spirit as soon as you leave the lovely safety of the Carpathians and the Vistula river it is like fighting a land war in Asia.
You can make it up to the incomparable USS Enterprise (whose place in the Gilberts raid naval roster is mistakenly attributed to the by-then-sunk Lexington) by dedicating a TimeGhost special to one of the greatest fighting ships of all time ;)
Really good episode team. I'm really glad you guys pointed out the issues with that story of FDR almost getting killed by a US torpedo. I feel like that story has really blown up in popularity over the last 15 or so years. But when you look into the story in detail as you guys did the closeness of FDR getting killed has really been overblown to make the admittedly interesting story even more interesting.
@@tihomirrasperic Iowa probably would have been able to finish the trip to Casablanca under its own power with just a single hit. A couple of months is probably all that would have been needed to patch up the damage, or possibly less than that given the speed of wartime ship construction.
It should also be noted that while the torpedo was speeding towards the Iowa, Roosevelt was having a grand old time seeing everyone panic. Probably because he knew that it'd take a lot more than a single torpedo to sink the Iowa lol
I had never heard of the Iowa incident until this popped up in Time Ghosts instagram. What you did not mention here is that Roosevelt seemed to have stayed pretty calm in this whole incident. Very brave, considering he could not walk and in worst case was totally dependent on the aide of others.
@@briancooper2112 FDR was 100% dependent on others in this situation, however. So was most of the crew, really. That's the funny thing about evasive maneuvers on a ship. Almost none of the crew are in charge of that, and the rest of the crew depend on the people who handle that.
FDR had someone push him in his wheelchair to the rail so he could see the action. He was very entertained. If you tour the Iowa now, you can still see the cabin he made this trip in. The cabin including the bath, was set up to accommodate his need for a wheelchair.
13:50 I read an account of this. I remember reading about other US Navy ships in the same convoy turn their guns toward destroyer William D. Porter ready to FIRE, after the torpedo was accidentally launched with live war head.
Thank you for the additional map window that shows practically the entire easter front. It really does make identifying where the action is taking place much easier.
Glad he wasn't on the Porter itself, those guys had a rough time after this! And before... Did he ever share the story with you? I'd love to hear it! - T.J.
I went to the Liri Valley in 2019. My guide was an Italian man who lived in Canada as a child then moved back to Italy after High school and was very knowledgeable about the Italian campaign. He was not a fan of Clark lol But when you go there, it is very easy to see why the Liri Valley was so hard to take, especially with La Defensa, Monte Sammucro, and Monte Camino.
I gotta tell you this is why I am so hooked on your vids and am binge watching them.... I learn stuff I didn't know. Especially the USS William Porter story- I am a Retired Navy Chief who served 20 years and NEVER, EVER heard that story before- WELL DONE, INDY!!!
1:53 Sounds like it is time to revisit Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault again upon hearing of Tarawa Atoll. On the other hand. Makin Atoll brings back memories of both Call of Duty: World at War and Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (again). I guess we will have to wait till next week's episode to see if the U.S. Marine Corps will be able to take it without needing "a million men in a hundred years".
The carriers returning to action are USS ENTERPRISE CV-6, the BIG E, CV-3, Saratoga joining the four new ESSEX classes, and the independence light carriers.
You're right! Indy was making a little jab at the IJN about the "unsinkable" nature of U.S. Navy carriers. You might remember that, at Midway, they thought they had sunk the USS Yorktown (CV-5) at least two times before they actually got her, and now the Navy has renamed her new carrier the USS Lexington (CV-16) in honor of the first. They're also right now in the process of reviving the spirit of the USS Hornet (CV-8) which was sank at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands last year, but will now be in the spirit of the USS Hornet (CV-12), and you'll see more of her next year!
Another great episode. Was curious about task force 50 with six battleships. I wondered if any were salvaged from Pearl. The six BBs of task force 50 were the six fast BBs of the North Carolina (2) and South Dakota (4) classes. Three of these battleships, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Alabama, still exist as museums/tourist attractions. When I had to go to Pascagoula for the navy, I visited the Alabama. The sixteen inch shells were huge. I also found that there was another task force, 52, which was also involved at Makin and included four Great War era battleships for fire support: Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Mississippi and Idaho. Of these, only the Pennsylvania was at Pearl when the Japanese attacked.
Tarawa was a unnecessary debacle. The actor Eddie Albert earned a Bronze Star for his bravery for rescuing stranded Marines on the reefs off the Island.
I ALWAYS consult Vizzini before contemplating a land battle. My, this war is getting tiresome and I'm only watching the videos. How horrible for those actually impacted and those generations later. Thank you for this and all your videos.
Thank you for watching! Honestly it means a lot that you have the awareness just to think about some of their perspectives, so please keep following with us and keep thinking!
USA in the Pacific 1942: We don't have enough stuff! What do we do? USA in the Pacific 1943: We have too much stuff! What do we do? The William Porter: Oh, shit... Goebbels: Damn, where did they get all that stuff... Stalin: Uh, I guess you haven't noticed that our Motherland is a lot bigger than your Fatherland. Plus, we have cooler allies. Just sayin'...
Being a Navy vet myself, it's mind-boggling to me the number of ships the U.S. Navy has by this point in the war compared to just a year before. Task Force 50 might well be the most powerful fleet to ever sail the waves.
Very cool of FDR to pardon Dawson all things considered, although he and the rest of Carnival Cruise Line were sent to Alaska where there were fewer things to ruin by being themselves.
And later in the war when transferred over to the Pacific after doing a number of exercises in the alaskans to recertify, in a party before joining the main fleet fired its main 5-inch gun landed in the bass commanders yard while he was having a party. Of which also none of that was in the log
Watched your show for years now, I commend you for the fine work you do and would like to express my gratitude. In the future when it is in timeline, if it is possible and would be something that you find appropriate I would like to ask if you could explore the subject of Allied Bombing of country of Montenegro and other cities on the Mediterranean coast and close to it? I would really appreciate you could look into the matter, since "folkstories" are truly insane. Once again thank you for the fine work you are doing.
A minor error in the video at 2:48 - while it was the good old Saratoga, the Lexington was not the old one. That one (CV-2) was scuttled due to damage taken at the Battle of the Coral Sea, in May 1942. The Lexington used for this operation was another new-build Essex-class, CV-16. Looking at the detailed order of battle (per en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Islands_naval_order_of_battle), you seem to be right that it was four Essexes and two older carriers, but the older ones were Saratoga and Enterprise. There were also eight escort carriers in the attached Task Forces 52 and 53 (the direct support forces for the two landings), so there were a total of 19 carriers all-in, not 11. But to be fair, the CVEs were pretty tiny - 27 planes, as opposed to an Essex's 90-100.
It was sarcasm- hence the *good ol'". I thought it would be a good easter egg for fans. I do write these episodes too, you know, like... the Battle of the Coral Sea if you'll remember, when Lady Lex went down. I should remember that this is the internet.
@@Southsideindy I'm used to your jokes being a bit more obvious, like Jose Paulus, and I'm not used to seeing "good ol' X" as a marker for sarcasm (unless it's something new, or obviously terrible). And hey, you're one guy, and that was a year and a half ago. Mistakes happen to everyone. But fair enough - if it was a joke, you got me. (A good deadpan is a weakness of mine, tbh.)
I have been perfectly okay in this whole series admitting errors when they are pointed out, and thanking the pointers, since the accuracy of this- which we’re doing for future generations as well- is way more important than my ego. If I “didn’t remember” (and how would I not? It’s a big deal) that Lexington had been sunk and another carrier Re christened Lexington, I would admit it.
@@Southsideindy Yeah, you're good about that. I've flagged a few things of yours as far back as 1915, and generally gotten reasonable responses. I trust you, just explaining why I missed it.
If anyone is interested in the whole Willy D. Porter Story, theres a great video from Sam O´Nella Academy about it that describes the very hilarious servicetime of the Porter in a comedic way.
Just met a WWII vet this weekend that was on the USS Yorktown. Glad there are still some among us!
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04:33 Wasnt war Plan Orange superseded by the Rainbow Plans shortly before WW2 and so this would be the initiation of a Part of those Rainbow Plans ? And of course, excellent Episode, as always :)
Bingo! We're talking CV-16, baby! The original USS Lexington was CV-2, so this new one is at least EIGHT TIMES the carrier that that one was! Realistically though, I'm glad you noticed Indy's wink at the way American naval shipyards like to rename ships in honor of others. The new Lexington was originally going to be called the Cabot, but the workers there requested the name change and it was approved. Other workers, constructing the carrier Kearsarge have also recently gotten that carrier renamed to Hornet, in memory of the Hornet lost last year. A slight spoilery side note, that new Hornet (CV-12) is now a museum ship in Alameda, CA and is well worth visiting!
The William D. Porter is relatively well-known for its horrible luck. Sam O' Nella and Potential History both did some pretty entertaining videos on her.
How come I had never heard about this series of events with FDR?! I had no idea, it's crazy to think how close to disaster he came. Unbelievable. Thank you for this bit of information.
The Lexington you mention here was not the Saratoga's sister ship. That good old original Lexington was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.
This week in French politics. The 13th, after warning Laval that he wanted to dismiss him to regain political control and try to make a Badoglio situation, Pétain tries to make a speech at the radio to promulgate a constitutional act confirming the sovereignty of the National Assembly to designate his successor but the German banned it. Pétain is now trying to make is last move, not signing any order from the government. But, in effect, he has lost any influence on the government, and he already let all his allies get imprisoned or being sent away from him. It is of note that an act from the 27th of September was written but not promulgated to designate the interim for the Head of State, if Pétain was prevented (not dead). It was a college of seven men, all loyal to Pétain, the Rear Admiral Gabriel Auphan; Yves Bouthillier, Attorney General to the Court of Audit; Pierre Caous, Attorney General to the Court of Cassation; Gilbert Gidel, Rector of the University of Paris; Léon Noël, ambassador of France (anti-German, secretly anti-Vichy); Alfred Porché, Vice-President of the Council of State and Weygand. If he was dead, then the College would convoke the National Assembly and the Interim given in 1941 would end. This act shows that at the end of 1943, Pétain is willing to let his power go because the war is not going toward the Axis side anymore and that Laval doesn’t have the same political agenda. The act from the 13th was even stronger as case of his death, his power goes directly to the National Assembly without any College. Secondly the National Assembly would now be free to have their right to reunion. Pétain is now finally writing the Constitution after 2 years without almost any work in that direction, knowing that from now on, he must try make himself look like he is on the winning side, the republican one, and that he always was “a secret resistant leader”, which he was not. This first draft reestablishes the separation of power, elected legislative bodies, strong executive but a Republic. If I could, I would speak about the Lebanon crisis but it’s already too long. To summarize: Lebanon declared its independence, the CFLN can’t (the SDN doesn't recognise as government of France) and won’t accept it so it imprisons most Lebanese politicians. The 16th, De Gaulle makes a speech to explain the situation to the Assembly. He reminds it that Free France promised it in 1941 but needs the agreement of the SDN and there are still negotiations for French bases. The 19th, English secretary of State in Cairo sends an ultimatum to Catroux to liberate Lebanese’s President and its ministers or British troops will proclaim martial law.
It seems the only who had his feets in reality was the octogenarian leader. Of course, it seems by this time, Petain is already rehearsing his "I was a secret resistant" defense. With all the setbacks of the Axis, is strange to think that anyone in the Vichy regime thought victory was possible. Something I wonder during this period is what is the power of Darnand? What did they expected from a nazi victory?
It's a crazy surreal world that the Nazi's and their collaborator allies began to live in in 1943. The war had now clearly turned against the Axis and unless a miracle happened Germany was going to lose the war. And anyone collaborating with them would end up on the executioner's block too. Whatever Petain or Laval were going to do was irrelevant as they would end up either dead on in prison. Unless they pulled an Italy and bailed on the Germans in time. Then again the Italian leaders only managed to save themselves and the Allied occupied (as in being there) southern parts. Unless Petain and Laval had fled to Algiers after Operation Torch and switched sides together with Darlan their role to save their necks was now over and done with. They must have known this yet somehow convinced themselves that somehow they still had a role to play that could lead to a different outcome.
@@differentboy9697 Yes, now Pétain sees what is to come. He was just as blinded as with Franco. (+ ideological bias) In a way, the one who still believe in the Axis' victory follow the same path as Nazi's leadership. But it's really hard to guest what every one was thinking and i'm definetly not an expert on collaborationists. From a general perspective there in 1943/44 is two threads at least : 1, you're already too bloody and need to continue, 2 ) you still believe a nazi victory is a victory for a new France (and in this, you've really misred the nazi ideology) Of course there is still the pursue of more power for power.
14:14 My Dad was one of those guys! Albeit in the Royal Navy rather than the U.S. Navy, and a couple of years after the war finished, on the last ever battleship to be newly commissioned anywhere in the world, H.M.S. Vanguard.
Its really a interesting story op the ship William D Porter. If you want to know what happened more with the crew the captain and the ship. Sam o nella has a great video about it. Thank you so much to mention this event in this ww2 video. Keep up the good work
"Enterprise" and Saratoga. Lexington at this point is one of the Essex CVs as the original one sunk in the Coral Sea. Please correct or create a dedicated episode about Enterprise to make up for this BIG error.
Lexington (cv-2) was sunk in battle of coral sea. CV-16 is an Essex class, I'm not sure it was in that action or not. also I'm not sure where the enterprises was at during this week of 1943.
What’s Amazing is that the Mk 14 Torpedo Detonated At All ..!! they were Notoriously Bad Torpedoes..! Sometimes with 12-16 failures in a row during a single attack…! It had 3 major flaws, 1 poor depth control, 2 Wonky Magnetic detonator, 3 unreliable contact detonator… and the Admiral in charge of its development refused to believe that his torpedo had Any Problems…..
This part of the war feels like everyone is catching their breath for the next year. The amount of truly massive battles in 1944 is staggering, as are their consequences.
I loved that game! I don't remember that mission though, but I do remember playing Battlestations: Midway in college and having to spend hours planning out my strategy in a notebook to beat the final mission on hard. I might need to go pull Battlestations: Pacific back out just to follow Indy through the Pacific now! - T.J.
Good ol' USS Lexington in 1943 would not have been Lexington CV2. It would have been Lexington CV-16, an Essex Class carrier. Flag ship of Task Group 58 and Admiral Mitchener. CV-16 later became the Navy's training carrier until 1991. I served proudly onboard the Lady Lex 89-91. Awesome old ship, I loved that girl. She's a museum nowadays in Corpus Christy Texas, visit, it's way cool.
I'd love and episode that fully explains what US shipbuilding has been like in 1943. For the weekly viewers, it just kind of seems like the US went from not having capital ships to having capital ships. A similar breakdown about ships to the one that was done about land and air vehicles made by the US would be appreciated!
Dude, half the stuff on your channel I've never even heard of before and I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into all of your videos. But you forgot to mention that the Willie D shot down a Kamikaze and then accidentally drove over it resulting in the Kamikaze plane exploding underneath it. Resulting in the ship sinking, there was no loss of life. In fact to my knowledge only one crew member of the William D ever died during the war and he was washed overboard by a rogue wave. I especially like the fact you mentioned there was nothing in the ship's log about the depth charge and no official reports on everyone being arrested. Not like those 8 Minute animated History Channels who overstate the unluckiness of the William d. From the videos I've browsed about the Willie D you and Drachinifel are the only ones that seem to have done their homework thoroughly on the subject of the William D Porter. Once again thanks, thumbs up and have a nice day.
I didn't forget to mention it, it hasn't happened yet! I'm only in 1943, I'm not going to cover things that 'may' happen in the future until such time as they actually happen! But thanks for writing in and I'm glad you like what I do.
Also not surprising is the wanting to imprison the sailor for 14 years basically as a scapegoat . There is definitely a class system at play. No regard for a lowly sailor. Doesn't matter that there were lots of mistakes made by officers.
Back in the spring, we decided to reduce the number of specials we were uploading. We did this mainly because we wanted to keep producing our core content at a high quality during a time of difficulty in both the economy in general and the TH-cam world specifically.
Those difficulties haven't really got any easier, but we've decided to return to producing more specials anyway. We want to new audiences and keep giving our current audience the holistic coverage of the War they deserve. It's been a challenge to get this part of our work up and running again but we're on the right track. You might have noticed more specials coming out recently anyway and you'll be seeing a lot more of them soon with topics ranging from the Allied Polish Forces to Himmler and his Neo-Paganism. In the new year, we'll be producing even more nonserial episodes to take our reportage to new heights. Make sure you check your subscription feeds so you can watch the latest!
As with everything else we do, upping our volume in this way wouldn't be possible without the TimeGhost Army. Our community has always been the reason why we're able to do what we do, especially now that ad revenue from TH-cam has plummeted so much. A big shout out to them and thanks to all of you for watching. Sign up at: bit.ly/WW2_221_PI
- Francis, Editorial Lead
I second the motion of Spindrift _21 hours ago...
"You can make it up to the incomparable USS Enterprise (whose place in the Gilberts raid naval roster is mistakenly attributed to the by-then-sunk Lexington) by dedicating a TimeGhost special to one of the greatest fighting ships of all time ;)"
Multiweekly request to please update the series playlists, particularly the regular episodes and WAH, both of which are many months out of date
You often refer to your "Day-by-day Instagram channel"
I can't find it any more.
What's the URL/location, please?
At 02:48... Wow... Did the Navy recovered from the bottom of the Pacific the USS Lexington??? No... It's the Grey Ghost CV6 that is coming back to h(a)unt the IJN....😁
"Never get involved in a land war in Asia"...unless you're the Mongols.
Never attribute to conspiracy events that can be chalked up to incompetence.
Hanlon's razor
Conspiracy is just a secret plan, nothing more. Competency is not necessary for secret plans.
Ah yes, DD-579 (my account's namesake) William D. Porter
Probably the US ship with the most tomfoolery, nearly killing FDR with a botched torpedo demo, and sinking after it went and struck a downed Japanese kamikaze AFTER IT HAD ORIGINALLY EVADED THE PLANE THAT CRASHED INTO THE WATER and eventually detonating the plane's bomb
The way I always heard it was "Never assign to malice that which can be equally explained by stupidity."
Words to live by in 2022.
2:42
The "good old Lexington" was sunk at Coral Sea in 1942. The USS Lexington in Task Force 50 is one of the four Essexes (the others being USS Essex herself, USS Yorktown, and USS Bunker Hill). The other old carrier in the force is the USS Enterprise.
Exactly correct.
Correct. The original Saratoga did survive the war and was sunk at the Bikini Atoll A-bomb test in 1946. Both the original Lexington and Saratoga were conversions from Battlecruisers in the 1920's, forbidden by the Washington Naval Conference, as were the Japanese Akagi and Kaga (originally planned to be a huge Battleship).
I was about to point this out. I hope this can be edited and corrected so it's the "good old Enterprise" . When Indy said lexington I rewound it twice to make sure that I heard what I thought I heard!
Yep... It's the Grey Ghost CV6 that is back into action to h(a)unt the IJN...😋
@@M4A3ShermanLover Yes, Enterprise is the most sunk aircraft carrier in history;
The Japanese "sunk" it 3 or 4 times, so it got the nickname "gray ghost"
it would be good if they made a special about the Enterprise and its history
What I find surprisingly is that almost killing FDR is somehow only one massive blunder in the list of blunders, incompetences and bad luck in general pulled off by the crew of the USS William D. Porter. Even the reason the commander of it didn't wanted to break radio silence is because they had accidentally did it before, so he wanted to avoid another bashing on top of the one for the accidental live torpedo.
"Don't shoot, we're Republicans!"
I think the one time they finally had some good luck was the ship got sunk in battle, because from what I heard none of the crew died
Don't even act like you didn't learn about this from Sam O'Nella.
@@Unknowngfyjoh Guilty!
Ironically when she was sunk, not a single member of her crew was lost with the ship, at least she had some good luck.
The funniest naval blunder since "Do you see torpedo boats?"
Kinda weird how every funny thing in the sea has to do with torpedos
The William D Porter's career is one heck of an adventure tbh.
It started crazy before this, and it will go on continuing to be crazy after this, to be sure!
@@WorldWarTwo please do not include unsubstantiated stories about her, like her fabled firing at a commander’s front lawn. She is a ship who’s name has been wrongly tarnished. The depth charge story didn’t happen, the firing at a commander’s house also didn’t happen. There’s no sources for these stories (such as being included in her logs) because they’re old wives tales made up to pile on her after the mishap in the torpedo drill. Her whole crew wasn’t arrested; only the man on the station was. The fact that you presented the stories about the depth charges and the ship’s arresting as fact only to later say “but maybe that didn’t happen” is disingenuous. Again, the bad information is hearsay, and if you don’t have primary sources, maybe it shouldn’t be included.
She shot down her fair share of planes during the war and lost no crew in her unlucky sinking, please give her the story she deserves, not the one she does not.
Potential History has a fantastic video about the Porter.
The Fat Electrician has a great video about it too.
Kamchatka vibes
Logistics in the Pacific were amazing.
Another great episode.
Very true! The whole logistics effort of the Western allies in WW2 is simply amazing. The Western allies were not just having to do crazy logistics efforts to support their own forces during WW2, over to that point unheard of lengths but they also were supplying many other allied nations with the vast majority of their logistics efforts (Such as the USSR , China and later France). The recent Russian war in Ukraine really makes it clear how important the Western allied logistics system and supplies were to the USSR during their counter attack.
I 100% don't think the USSR was capable of making a counter attack on Germany the way they did without the West's help. The USSR would have been capable of defending against the Axis attacks on their own as their own supply lines shorted and the Axis supply lines got longer and longer the further the Axis pushed in. But then when it would of been time for the USSR to counter attack they would not have had the supply logistics to support continued counter attacks on the Axis on their own. Especially with the Axis destroying the local logistics systems on their retreat back West. I fully feel the war in Eastern front would have turned into a stalemate without the Wests help. That can be seen when Molotov is pushing for the West to launch a front in Western Europe prior to the Allied invasion of Italy. The US secretary of State told Molotov they can launch the attack on Western Europe faster if they stop supplying the USSR with supplies . When presented with that option Molotov quickly backtracked and supported the delay in the West's invasion of Europe as he didn't want to be the man who cut the USSR off from Western supplies.
"Amateurs study tactics. Professionals study logistics." The building of advance bases was something that the IJN had never imagined.
@@John-ru5ud That is my favorite quote from WW2 by 5 star US General of the Army, Omar Bradley. Though the actual quote is a little bit different. The actual quote from Bradley was "Amateurs talk strategy. Professionals talk logistics" .
meh, the eastern front logistics were much more amazing
@@Jeyeyeyey They were terrible on both sides, not sure what’s amazing about it
Liberty ships featured pretty often in my engineering classes this semester. Especially the brittle material some were made of, and how they would just snap clean in half in the Arctic waters from the cold. Allied command had no explanation until such an instance happened in a Canadian harbor I believe. Before that they just assumed the Germans must have been throwing every submarine they had into the Arctic to sink so many ships, and without any kind of detection!
Moral of the story is that if you're going to be cranking out ships on a weekly basis, try and use some good materials.
The problem was that the ships were welded. This meant that the hull acted as if it were made as one metal. This meant crack propagation travelled between plates and can cause the hull fail due to the cold with some breaking while still at port.
Metallurgy took great leaps forward during WW2 out of necessity. It was the problems with the liberty ships welded construction that lead to the identification of Hydrogen enbrittlement. This led to low hydrogen welding processes and better steel manufacturing methods.
To paraphrase the old adage, a job can be done fast, it can be done cheaply, or it can be done right - pick two out of three.
Dad was sent to Europe on a Liberty ship and was in the top bunk in the hold where he could look up at some of the worst welding he had ever seen. That any of the ships lasted beyond the end of the war is amazing, but the extra metal they patched on in later production to stop the cracks helped quite a bit.
Understand lots of them had. To go to shipyards in England to be fixed
An interesting thing to note on November 16 1943 is that the English village of Tyneham will begin eviction of its inhabitants by the British War Office, as they had acquired the village as well as the surrounding areas for use as firing ranges for training troops. This eviction was supposed to be temporary for the duration of the war, but its inhabitants would never return as the British Army made a compulsory purchase order on the land and remains in use as a military training ground ever since.
Is that related to Imber or is it a separate area?
Tyneham is - now - accessible one day a year, when buses ( Preserved & current London buses ) do special runs in to the village.
It's a wonderful day out & is to be recommended
@@GregTingey Interesting, thank you for the additional information.
@@timmyp34 why does my dog smell so bad?
Great episode Indy & team. The Princess Bride reference was delightful.
But it's wrong, since the eastern front was still in Europe, not in Asia. What a blunder.
INCONCEIVABLE!!!
@@michaelgreaves2375 Yes it is.
@@gsvick I mean - geographically yes, but in spirit as soon as you leave the lovely safety of the Carpathians and the Vistula river it is like fighting a land war in Asia.
My name is Indy Montoya. You stole my necktie. Prepare to die!
ah, he's survived. I'm glad that after this near miss there will probably be nothing to stop Roosevelt from seeing the war to its conclusion
He lives long enough to ensure Henry Wallace isn't president anyways...
@@scottaznavourian3720 lucky given Henry Wallace's relationship with his guru and feelings towards the Soviet Union pre-1948 election
@@Nootathotep yeah well him getting us thru the end of world War 2 would have Beena debacle in itself
You can make it up to the incomparable USS Enterprise (whose place in the Gilberts raid naval roster is mistakenly attributed to the by-then-sunk Lexington) by dedicating a TimeGhost special to one of the greatest fighting ships of all time ;)
@@timmyp34 Ahh, yes. I remember when Kirk and Spock disabled the 3rd Reich...by rescuing some old guy.
Hear hear.
@@Philbert-s2c I thought they defeated them by allowing someone to get killed in a car accident by stopping Bones from rescuing her.
Really good episode team. I'm really glad you guys pointed out the issues with that story of FDR almost getting killed by a US torpedo. I feel like that story has really blown up in popularity over the last 15 or so years. But when you look into the story in detail as you guys did the closeness of FDR getting killed has really been overblown to make the admittedly interesting story even more interesting.
it's not exactly that a single torpedo can sink the battleship Iowa, but that it can put it out of use for a long time
@@tihomirrasperic Iowa probably would have been able to finish the trip to Casablanca under its own power with just a single hit. A couple of months is probably all that would have been needed to patch up the damage, or possibly less than that given the speed of wartime ship construction.
It should also be noted that while the torpedo was speeding towards the Iowa, Roosevelt was having a grand old time seeing everyone panic. Probably because he knew that it'd take a lot more than a single torpedo to sink the Iowa lol
"Never stop supporting a project you believe in." Great episode, as always.
I had never heard of the Iowa incident until this popped up in Time Ghosts instagram. What you did not mention here is that Roosevelt seemed to have stayed pretty calm in this whole incident. Very brave, considering he could not walk and in worst case was totally dependent on the aide of others.
A lot of it was that ever since he was assistant secretary of the navy he was a massive ship nerd. So he thought all of this was awesome.
@@briancooper2112 FDR was 100% dependent on others in this situation, however. So was most of the crew, really. That's the funny thing about evasive maneuvers on a ship. Almost none of the crew are in charge of that, and the rest of the crew depend on the people who handle that.
FDR had someone push him in his wheelchair to the rail so he could see the action. He was very entertained.
If you tour the Iowa now, you can still see the cabin he made this trip in. The cabin including the bath, was set up to accommodate his need for a wheelchair.
Indy: "Let me explain...." *dramatic reflective pause* "No, there is too much. Let me sum up."
Great, now every episode when I see Indy's recap of the previous week I'm going to see him as Inigo Montoya XD
@@WorldWarTwo Inconceivable! 😂
@@WorldWarTwo it would be great if you guys could start sneaking in Princess Bride references into videos. The more hidden the better.
You'll see a lot more of them once war breaks out between Florin and Gilder!
@@user-vp8em7jq9g Challenge accepted
13:50
I read an account of this.
I remember reading about other US Navy ships in the same convoy turn their guns toward destroyer William D. Porter ready to FIRE, after the torpedo was accidentally launched with live war head.
It sounds like quite the faux pas to make on your first meeting with the President, doesn't it?
Thank you for the additional map window that shows practically the entire easter front. It really does make identifying where the action is taking place much easier.
I enjoyed the "nothing atoll" joke.
I did too, but be careful, using too many puns can take atoll on one's ability to be invited to social gatherings after a while. :P
My dad witness this event 13:11. He was on the Porters sister ship the USS 580 Young
Glad he wasn't on the Porter itself, those guys had a rough time after this! And before...
Did he ever share the story with you? I'd love to hear it!
- T.J.
I went to the Liri Valley in 2019. My guide was an Italian man who lived in Canada as a child then moved back to Italy after High school and was very knowledgeable about the Italian campaign. He was not a fan of Clark lol But when you go there, it is very easy to see why the Liri Valley was so hard to take, especially with La Defensa, Monte Sammucro, and Monte Camino.
"The amphibious boss" has to be one of the most impressive titles that I've ever heard!
Consult Vizzini? Inconceivable!
I gotta tell you this is why I am so hooked on your vids and am binge watching them.... I learn stuff I didn't know. Especially the USS William Porter story- I am a Retired Navy Chief who served 20 years and NEVER, EVER heard that story before- WELL DONE, INDY!!!
1:53 Sounds like it is time to revisit Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault again upon hearing of Tarawa Atoll. On the other hand. Makin Atoll brings back memories of both Call of Duty: World at War and Medal of Honor: Pacific Assault (again). I guess we will have to wait till next week's episode to see if the U.S. Marine Corps will be able to take it without needing "a million men in a hundred years".
I congratulate Indy on getting 2+ years into Barbarossa before making that Princess Bride joke.
The carriers returning to action are USS ENTERPRISE CV-6, the BIG E, CV-3, Saratoga joining the four new ESSEX classes, and the independence light carriers.
Loving the Princess Bride reference at the end.
Where was I? Oh yes, Australia
It's always a good idea to throw in a Princess Bride reference, that's how you build up an immunity to inaccurate history... And iocane powder.
@@WorldWarTwo The Soviets, and the British in Egypt, did not allow the Germans to make the mistake of getting involved in a land war in Asia!
@3:00 That's good, the landings at Tarawa should be uneventful then.
Great episode. Never heard the torpedo story before…thanks as always.
Hey Joe, thank you so much for watching! Nice to know you enjoyed the episode.
Thanks!
The Lexington was a new carrier, the old one was sunk at Coral Sea.
You're right!
Indy was making a little jab at the IJN about the "unsinkable" nature of U.S. Navy carriers. You might remember that, at Midway, they thought they had sunk the USS Yorktown (CV-5) at least two times before they actually got her, and now the Navy has renamed her new carrier the USS Lexington (CV-16) in honor of the first. They're also right now in the process of reviving the spirit of the USS Hornet (CV-8) which was sank at the Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands last year, but will now be in the spirit of the USS Hornet (CV-12), and you'll see more of her next year!
A Princess Bride reference. Now I consider you the best WW2 site ever... Not just one of the best...
Another great episode. Was curious about task force 50 with six battleships. I wondered if any were salvaged from Pearl. The six BBs of task force 50 were the six fast BBs of the North Carolina (2) and South Dakota (4) classes. Three of these battleships, Massachusetts, North Carolina and Alabama, still exist as museums/tourist attractions. When I had to go to Pascagoula for the navy, I visited the Alabama. The sixteen inch shells were huge. I also found that there was another task force, 52, which was also involved at Makin and included four Great War era battleships for fire support: Pennsylvania, New Mexico, Mississippi and Idaho. Of these, only the Pennsylvania was at Pearl when the Japanese attacked.
The team behind the maps are next level
Thanks for the kind words!
That was awesome Indy, my family love's that movie we watch it a couple times a year. Great job on the episode as well.
The OG Lexington wasn't around in 43. Zhed been sunk at Coral Sea the year before
Tarawa was a unnecessary debacle. The actor Eddie Albert earned a Bronze Star for his bravery for rescuing stranded Marines on the reefs off the Island.
With the eyes of today, probably but at the time it was deem important
@@potato88872 Yes, you are probably right. Hindsight is always 100%.
Of course the one working type 14 torpedo decides to work at that point as well xD
"Anything that can go wrong, will."
Especially with torpedoes :P
I ALWAYS consult Vizzini before contemplating a land battle. My, this war is getting tiresome and I'm only watching the videos. How horrible for those actually impacted and those generations later. Thank you for this and all your videos.
Thank you for watching! Honestly it means a lot that you have the awareness just to think about some of their perspectives, so please keep following with us and keep thinking!
USA in the Pacific 1942: We don't have enough stuff! What do we do?
USA in the Pacific 1943: We have too much stuff! What do we do?
The William Porter: Oh, shit...
Goebbels: Damn, where did they get all that stuff...
Stalin: Uh, I guess you haven't noticed that our Motherland is a lot bigger than your Fatherland. Plus, we have cooler allies. Just sayin'...
Being a Navy vet myself, it's mind-boggling to me the number of ships the U.S. Navy has by this point in the war compared to just a year before. Task Force 50 might well be the most powerful fleet to ever sail the waves.
Very cool of FDR to pardon Dawson all things considered, although he and the rest of Carnival Cruise Line were sent to Alaska where there were fewer things to ruin by being themselves.
16:10 not to mention that the Porter also decked into it another destroyer upon exiting the harbor on the same convoy
And later in the war when transferred over to the Pacific after doing a number of exercises in the alaskans to recertify, in a party before joining the main fleet fired its main 5-inch gun landed in the bass commanders yard while he was having a party. Of which also none of that was in the log
Drachinifel mentions the William B. Porter in one of his videos.
Holy cow, talk about a close call! Wonderfully done crew, this episode was quite the nail biter!
Watched your show for years now, I commend you for the fine work you do and would like to express my gratitude. In the future when it is in timeline, if it is possible and would be something that you find appropriate I would like to ask if you could explore the subject of Allied Bombing of country of Montenegro and other cities on the Mediterranean coast and close to it? I would really appreciate you could look into the matter, since "folkstories" are truly insane. Once again thank you for the fine work you are doing.
A minor error in the video at 2:48 - while it was the good old Saratoga, the Lexington was not the old one. That one (CV-2) was scuttled due to damage taken at the Battle of the Coral Sea, in May 1942. The Lexington used for this operation was another new-build Essex-class, CV-16.
Looking at the detailed order of battle (per en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gilbert_Islands_naval_order_of_battle), you seem to be right that it was four Essexes and two older carriers, but the older ones were Saratoga and Enterprise. There were also eight escort carriers in the attached Task Forces 52 and 53 (the direct support forces for the two landings), so there were a total of 19 carriers all-in, not 11. But to be fair, the CVEs were pretty tiny - 27 planes, as opposed to an Essex's 90-100.
Thank you for providing a source.
It was sarcasm- hence the *good ol'". I thought it would be a good easter egg for fans.
I do write these episodes too, you know, like... the Battle of the Coral Sea if you'll remember, when Lady Lex went down.
I should remember that this is the internet.
@@Southsideindy I'm used to your jokes being a bit more obvious, like Jose Paulus, and I'm not used to seeing "good ol' X" as a marker for sarcasm (unless it's something new, or obviously terrible).
And hey, you're one guy, and that was a year and a half ago. Mistakes happen to everyone.
But fair enough - if it was a joke, you got me. (A good deadpan is a weakness of mine, tbh.)
I have been perfectly okay in this whole series admitting errors when they are pointed out, and thanking the pointers, since the accuracy of this- which we’re doing for future generations as well- is way more important than my ego. If I “didn’t remember” (and how would I not? It’s a big deal) that Lexington had been sunk and another carrier Re christened Lexington, I would admit it.
@@Southsideindy Yeah, you're good about that. I've flagged a few things of yours as far back as 1915, and generally gotten reasonable responses.
I trust you, just explaining why I missed it.
My great-uncle James Rindfleisch was on the bridge of the Iowa during this
Another brilliant Princess Bride reference! I get the feeling Indy and the Time Ghost Army are big time fans!
Thanks Indy and Team Interesting week and episode
How I miss this (I've fallen way behind in keeping up with the week-week episodes). Great work Timeghost!
Hi Joseph, have you turned on the notification bell? That might help with keeping track of the episodes. Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
If anyone is interested in the whole Willy D. Porter Story, theres a great video from Sam O´Nella Academy about it that describes the very hilarious servicetime of the Porter in a comedic way.
Posting a link to support your thesis is widely considered to be good internet etiquette.
th-cam.com/video/zz0PYzzfixY/w-d-xo.html
That's a hilarious video, and it does add a lot more depth to the story of the unfortunate story of the Willy Dee!
Well this seems like good teamwork here to me!
- T.J.
His wife was cheating on him?
Indy is such a dork, referencing the Princess Bride. I love it.
The History Guy has done a video about the USS William D Porter and its many mishaps...it was called "The unluckiest ship in the US navy"
Just met a WWII vet this weekend that was on the USS Yorktown. Glad there are still some among us!
04:33 Wasnt war Plan Orange superseded by the Rainbow Plans shortly before WW2 and so this would be the initiation of a Part of those Rainbow Plans ?
And of course, excellent Episode, as always :)
Lexington, at Tarawa? The Essex class carrier of that name, I assume, since the original carrier Lexington went down in the Coral Sea.
Bingo! We're talking CV-16, baby!
The original USS Lexington was CV-2, so this new one is at least EIGHT TIMES the carrier that that one was!
Realistically though, I'm glad you noticed Indy's wink at the way American naval shipyards like to rename ships in honor of others. The new Lexington was originally going to be called the Cabot, but the workers there requested the name change and it was approved. Other workers, constructing the carrier Kearsarge have also recently gotten that carrier renamed to Hornet, in memory of the Hornet lost last year.
A slight spoilery side note, that new Hornet (CV-12) is now a museum ship in Alameda, CA and is well worth visiting!
The William D. Porter is relatively well-known for its horrible luck. Sam O' Nella and Potential History both did some pretty entertaining videos on her.
Love a good Princess Bride reference from out of nowhere!
How come I had never heard about this series of events with FDR?! I had no idea, it's crazy to think how close to disaster he came. Unbelievable. Thank you for this bit of information.
Lol. Samonella made a video about that hilarious event a few years ago. It's funny seeing it pop up in this channel as well.
Lexington would also be an Essex carrier since the old one was at the bottom of the Coral sea..
I’ve never heard this FDR story before… that’s totally crazy.
The Lexington you mention here was not the Saratoga's sister ship. That good old original Lexington was sunk at the Battle of the Coral Sea in May 1942.
"The amphibious boss."
Damn, that is a hell of a title !
This week in French politics.
The 13th, after warning Laval that he wanted to dismiss him to regain political control and try to make a Badoglio situation, Pétain tries to make a speech at the radio to promulgate a constitutional act confirming the sovereignty of the National Assembly to designate his successor but the German banned it. Pétain is now trying to make is last move, not signing any order from the government. But, in effect, he has lost any influence on the government, and he already let all his allies get imprisoned or being sent away from him.
It is of note that an act from the 27th of September was written but not promulgated to designate the interim for the Head of State, if Pétain was prevented (not dead). It was a college of seven men, all loyal to Pétain, the Rear Admiral Gabriel Auphan; Yves Bouthillier, Attorney General to the Court of Audit; Pierre Caous, Attorney General to the Court of Cassation; Gilbert Gidel, Rector of the University of Paris; Léon Noël, ambassador of France (anti-German, secretly anti-Vichy); Alfred Porché, Vice-President of the Council of State and Weygand. If he was dead, then the College would convoke the National Assembly and the Interim given in 1941 would end. This act shows that at the end of 1943, Pétain is willing to let his power go because the war is not going toward the Axis side anymore and that Laval doesn’t have the same political agenda. The act from the 13th was even stronger as case of his death, his power goes directly to the National Assembly without any College. Secondly the National Assembly would now be free to have their right to reunion. Pétain is now finally writing the Constitution after 2 years without almost any work in that direction, knowing that from now on, he must try make himself look like he is on the winning side, the republican one, and that he always was “a secret resistant leader”, which he was not. This first draft reestablishes the separation of power, elected legislative bodies, strong executive but a Republic.
If I could, I would speak about the Lebanon crisis but it’s already too long. To summarize: Lebanon declared its independence, the CFLN can’t (the SDN doesn't recognise as government of France) and won’t accept it so it imprisons most Lebanese politicians. The 16th, De Gaulle makes a speech to explain the situation to the Assembly. He reminds it that Free France promised it in 1941 but needs the agreement of the SDN and there are still negotiations for French bases. The 19th, English secretary of State in Cairo sends an ultimatum to Catroux to liberate Lebanese’s President and its ministers or British troops will proclaim martial law.
Don't shy away from putting in a detailed post about the Lebanon crisis, would be more than happy to read it. 👍
It seems the only who had his feets in reality was the octogenarian leader. Of course, it seems by this time, Petain is already rehearsing his "I was a secret resistant" defense. With all the setbacks of the Axis, is strange to think that anyone in the Vichy regime thought victory was possible. Something I wonder during this period is what is the power of Darnand? What did they expected from a nazi victory?
It's a crazy surreal world that the Nazi's and their collaborator allies began to live in in 1943. The war had now clearly turned against the Axis and unless a miracle happened Germany was going to lose the war. And anyone collaborating with them would end up on the executioner's block too. Whatever Petain or Laval were going to do was irrelevant as they would end up either dead on in prison. Unless they pulled an Italy and bailed on the Germans in time. Then again the Italian leaders only managed to save themselves and the Allied occupied (as in being there) southern parts. Unless Petain and Laval had fled to Algiers after Operation Torch and switched sides together with Darlan their role to save their necks was now over and done with. They must have known this yet somehow convinced themselves that somehow they still had a role to play that could lead to a different outcome.
@@differentboy9697 Yes, now Pétain sees what is to come. He was just as blinded as with Franco. (+ ideological bias)
In a way, the one who still believe in the Axis' victory follow the same path as Nazi's leadership.
But it's really hard to guest what every one was thinking and i'm definetly not an expert on collaborationists. From a general perspective there in 1943/44 is two threads at least : 1, you're already too bloody and need to continue, 2 ) you still believe a nazi victory is a victory for a new France (and in this, you've really misred the nazi ideology)
Of course there is still the pursue of more power for power.
Yet another masterpiece of an episode.
Inconceivable!
You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
14:14 My Dad was one of those guys! Albeit in the Royal Navy rather than the U.S. Navy, and a couple of years after the war finished, on the last ever battleship to be newly commissioned anywhere in the world, H.M.S. Vanguard.
17:07 INCONCEIVABLE!!!
Thank you for the lesson.
You should do a special episode on the (mis)adventures of USS William D Porter
As a big fan of this channel AND of the movie, Princess Bride, I loved the quote and recognized it before you had half of it spoken. 🤣
Hey Indy you never spoke about the northern front (finland, Murmansk, leningrad...) Are you going to do some special episodes about that?
I am sure he will talk about the north in Dec1943/Jan 194 when the offensive starts.
Thank you for excellent video
Thank you for watching and commenting!
Its really a interesting story op the ship William D Porter.
If you want to know what happened more with the crew the captain and the ship.
Sam o nella has a great video about it.
Thank you so much to mention this event in this ww2 video.
Keep up the good work
Inconcievable!
I would like to see a special on the William d porter because it does have a reputation as being a bad luck ship
"Enterprise" and Saratoga. Lexington at this point is one of the Essex CVs as the original one sunk in the Coral Sea. Please correct or create a dedicated episode about Enterprise to make up for this BIG error.
Love the Princess Bride reference!
We "as you wished" it too!
Lexington (cv-2) was sunk in battle of coral sea. CV-16 is an Essex class, I'm not sure it was in that action or not. also I'm not sure where the enterprises was at during this week of 1943.
With respect to Task Force 50, Think you mean the older carriers Enterprise and Saratoga.
What’s Amazing is that the Mk 14 Torpedo Detonated At All ..!! they were Notoriously Bad Torpedoes..! Sometimes with 12-16 failures in a row during a single attack…! It had 3 major flaws, 1 poor depth control, 2 Wonky Magnetic detonator, 3 unreliable contact detonator… and the Admiral in charge of its development refused to believe that his torpedo had Any Problems…..
This part of the war feels like everyone is catching their breath for the next year. The amount of truly massive battles in 1944 is staggering, as are their consequences.
What a terrific end to this very fascinating episode
Thank you!
Loved the Princess Bride reference. bravo!!!
Another great episode
Love that desk lamp.
Cracked me up when he started pulling in the Princess Bride reference.
Tarawa atoll is also one of the battlestation pacific mission
I loved that game! I don't remember that mission though, but I do remember playing Battlestations: Midway in college and having to spend hours planning out my strategy in a notebook to beat the final mission on hard.
I might need to go pull Battlestations: Pacific back out just to follow Indy through the Pacific now!
- T.J.
@@WorldWarTwo yeah, I also playied that game when I was younger, some of the mission were just straight unfair
Tarawa is the first island that my grandfather fought on. Then Saipan, and finally Tinian.
Good ol' USS Lexington in 1943 would not have been Lexington CV2. It would have been Lexington CV-16, an Essex Class carrier. Flag ship of Task Group 58 and Admiral Mitchener. CV-16 later became the Navy's training carrier until 1991. I served proudly onboard the Lady Lex 89-91. Awesome old ship, I loved that girl. She's a museum nowadays in Corpus Christy Texas, visit, it's way cool.
Even if the torpedo had struck Iowa, it's extremely unlikely that Roosevelt would have been killed.
the crew o9n the Porter wouldnt have gotten away with a week's arrest in balmy Bermuda! LOL
@@ericcarlson3746 I wonder if they would just have been sunk
Great episode ….
I'd love and episode that fully explains what US shipbuilding has been like in 1943. For the weekly viewers, it just kind of seems like the US went from not having capital ships to having capital ships. A similar breakdown about ships to the one that was done about land and air vehicles made by the US would be appreciated!
Here is information on US carriers in WII en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_aircraft_carriers_of_World_War_II
Dude, half the stuff on your channel I've never even heard of before and I really appreciate all the time and effort you put into all of your videos. But you forgot to mention that the Willie D shot down a Kamikaze and then accidentally drove over it resulting in the Kamikaze plane exploding underneath it. Resulting in the ship sinking, there was no loss of life. In fact to my knowledge only one crew member of the William D ever died during the war and he was washed overboard by a rogue wave. I especially like the fact you mentioned there was nothing in the ship's log about the depth charge and no official reports on everyone being arrested. Not like those 8 Minute animated History Channels who overstate the unluckiness of the William d. From the videos I've browsed about the Willie D you and Drachinifel are the only ones that seem to have done their homework thoroughly on the subject of the William D Porter. Once again thanks, thumbs up and have a nice day.
What are these 'kamikaze' you speak of? It's 1943!
@@tams805 June 10th 1945, the William D Porter shot down a kamikaze and then drove over it. But hey yo, thanks for the response. Have a nice day.
I didn't forget to mention it, it hasn't happened yet! I'm only in 1943, I'm not going to cover things that 'may' happen in the future until such time as they actually happen!
But thanks for writing in and I'm glad you like what I do.
Also not surprising is the wanting to imprison the sailor for 14 years basically as a scapegoat . There is definitely a class system at play. No regard for a lowly sailor. Doesn't matter that there were lots of mistakes made by officers.
I do not think it means what you think it means...
When the joke is so bad that you just have to hang up the phone 😆