Galley equipment was always my biggest headache as a destroyer Chief Engineer...COs are normally fairly understanding when it comes to major propoulsion or electrical casualties - they know that it's high on your priority list to fix, and the equipment is well supported logistically. Galley equipment...not so much. Logistical support is usually poor, especially if the Supply Officer procured it outside of normal channels, and it tends to fall to the bottom of the Division Officer or Chief's priority list unless you make it their priority. Plus, because it's habitability, it gets a lot of attention on Eight O'Clock reports. The worst argument I had with my best friend (who was the Supply Officer) during one of my tours was over a recalcicrant salad bar that refused to work despite out best efforts.
Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for all of the excellent, well researched, thoughtful, and entertaining content in 2024. I hope you, Mrs. Drach, and baby Drach have a very successful, enjoyable, safe, and happy 2025!
Here's wishing a happy and prosperous 2025 to Drach, Mrs. Drach, and mini-Drach! Thanks for your continuing efforts toward the preservation of naval history.
1:00:25 The training of the crew also wasnt complete, having only had 9 out of the mandated 12 months of training. Her guns also had calibration issues that weren't adressed. The aft turret trainer was sent to report the watertable and so wasnt there for the battle. The aft turret captain took his place and so the operation of the aft turret was not meaningfully impeded. Thonburi suffered quite a bit of bad luck during the battle as well . The first hit from the French cruiser took out the command crew and started a fire which soon destroyed the data cables to the guns and forced the director to be evacuated, shattered her one fire main, and probably killed the assembled damage control team. She was also bombed by friendly aircraft from the Chantaburi squadron. The bomb damage wasnt catastrophic, but didnt help either. Due to fog during the early part of the engagement, the Lamotte Picquet fired a salvo of torpedos as an island, mistaking it for a ship. Thats where the misconception of the Sri Ayyudtaya being there comes from. She went back to Sattahib a few days before, and was ordered to give chase but as was said in the video, she didnt make it in time. However, Thai sources dispute the results of the battle, claiming that Thonburi drove the French cruiser away with a pair of last minute hits where the forward turret under local control landed two 8" hits, one between the aft mast and 3rd turret, and one between the 4th turret. Eye witnesses from the battle attest to these hits, but the French deny it, claiming that they weren't hit at all. I've been doing research on this to the best of my ability but I'm at an impasse. Only post battle photos (which seem to be missing despite there being a photo of the Lamotte Picquet before the battle, and a picture of the torpedoboat Songkhla burning during the battle) will be able to confirm anything as to whether it was a one sided slaughter, or the little ship that could chasing away an enemy twice her size at the cost of her life. The French logs say that the last salvo from Thonburi landed 50 meters short. The Thai navy really clings to the latter narrative. I'm doing my best to prove or disprove it right now. Sources : เมื่อธนบุรีรบ (Mue-Ton-Buri-Rob) ; The time Thonburi fought by Admiral Jitt Sangkhadul (aft turret captain at the battle) A lire : Campagnes lointaines, dans les replis du Dragon - Carnet de bord du croiseur Lamotte-Picquet
I made it though a Patreaon dry dock though I refuse to admit how many cups of coffee it took Thank you for all your hard work through out the years in educating we your faithful minions and all the best to yourself, that angel Mrs Drach and of course Mini Drach
As I have commented in the past on several videos, When I was a youngster I spent time aboard the Ex HMS Neave the last WW2 steam powered ship in operation, an Isles class Admiralty Trawler converted to a civilian role as a tank cleaning ship under the name of SS Tulipbank. They were quite large vessels, the size of a small corvette. Anyway, until it was converted after the war it had a coal fired galley, refitted in the 60s to propane power from gas cylinders situated above it on the aft deckhouse. There was still a coal bunker on the deck outside the galley.
@@jeebusk Triple expansion with a Scotch Return Tube boiler. She was built in Beverley in East Yorkshire. The engine is preserved in the National Maritime Museum. She was finally scrapped in the late 80s. There is a good Wikipedia entry on the Isles class and a google image search for tulipbank.1840 turns up a couple of pictures of her after conversion. Also quite a few pictures while still in service if you search for HMS Neave
In the novel "The Ship" by C. S. Forester (set aboard a WW2 British cruiser in the Mediterranean) the oil used to fire the galley's cooking ranges is drained below when the ship is at action stations, but it is still able to provide steam-heated hot food. I understand Forester was actually allowed aboard a cruiser when researching the novel so I presume this is factual.
Thanks Drach for a great year. Happy New Year to you and yours. Best looking warship. My favorite has always been The North Carorlina class 55 and 56. The Hood is #2. The USS Franklin crew. My best friends Uncle Marion McSmith Seaman 1ST class was in the galley when it was hit. He survived the war. A true American Hero. Looking forward to 2025.
25:50 Older metric radars (wavelengths on the order of metres) are rather unlikely to see a battleship shell, it being rather smaller than their wavelength. This type of radar would most likely be used for sea search and as such would rotate slowly, making it even more unlikely. Later-war centimetric radars (wavelengths on the order of 10cm) would probably detect a shell, and they would more likely be used for air search with high rotation speeds, improving their chances. Japan, so far as I know, did not have access to high-frequency & power radar and even Germany was struggling. But, as Drachinifel says, to be able to react to this and plot an intercept with even the greatest WW2 computers and proximity fuses seems implausible. Modern-day CIWS do not have it easy with supersonic missiles, and a battleship shell would be coming in at well in excess of Mach 1 even at extended range.
I read of the battle in which Bismarck was sunk, probably in Kennedy's book, that on the bridge of DoY the radar detected incoming shells. Perhaps more modern kit would have the return signal doppler shifted out of the receiver's range.
01:00:25 to add more onto that, the readiness of Thonburi at the time was questionable at best, so you can have even better ship and still end up with that result the night before, Thonburi's fire control was acting up and the test fire to re-calibrate the guns was scheduled for that morning - which of course the French attacked before dawn some of the rear turret crew were also ordered to survey the coast to set up firing range for gun calibration, and thus were not onboard as Thonburi set sail the flotilla also received signal from fleet headquarters - which was an absolutely horrible intelligence report along the line of "enemy ships in port, expect no action", even the commanding officer of the Sri Ayutthaya, Cdr Luang Chamnan, was transferred to shore duties that night she's basically unfitted for action but was there because of terrible intelligence and mismanagement of assets (somebody just had to have the bright idea of breaking up the already small flotilla into even smaller detachments, and throw away initiative by putting them close to French territory and order it not to attack, instead allowing French squadron to attack it piecemeal) ...it also didn't help that the first hit from Lamotte-Picquet took out the director tower, and so for most of the engagement the guns were relying on local control taken from a diary of then-Capt Luang Sangwon (published at the time of his funeral), the flotilla commander who was onboard Sri Ayutthaya that morning as she rushed to join Thonburi (that ship was on station at Koh Chang the night before returning to port as Thonburi arrived to relieve her, so French report suggested there were 2 ships present, people got this wrong a lot - you're probably the fist one I saw nailing this), and of the rear turret captain, then-SubLt Chitt Sangkadul ref: "Published in Memorial of the Cremation of Rear Admiral Luang Sangwon Yuttakij DCh PM (Sangwon Suwannacheep)". (1973). Bangkok, Chuanpim, pp.101-105. "As Thonburi Fights: Published in Memorial of the Cremation of Admiral Chitt Sangkadul". (1995). Bangkok, Royal Thai Naval Institute.
Thanks for the source. I'll need to hunt down a copy of Adm. Sangworn's memorial book. The most notable crew of the aft turret that left to report the watertable was the turret trainer. The aft turret captain took his place, causing a minor delay in syncing the turret up with the gun director but it didnt meaningfully hamper the operation of the aft turret.
The funny thing is.... a king (especially today in the UK) _definitely_ has less power over you than your captain would have when you get back aboard your ship. So yeah, the captain is pretty much God 😂
In the US military as a whole today, 3-star and 4-star flag/general officer ranks aren't 'permanent' ranks. These ranks are tied to an officer's position; get assigned to a 3-star billet, you get promoted to 3-star rank for the duration of that assignment. So, if a Rear Admiral is assigned to a Vice Admiral's billet, so the officer is promoted to Vice Admiral. If at the end of that tour of duty he's assigned to another Vice Admiral's billet he retains his rank, if he's assigned to a Rear Admiral's billet he reverts to his 'permanent' rank of Rear Admiral. If he's promoted to a full Admiral's posting, he'll likewise get a promotion to Admiral. If an officer in a 3-star or 4-star billet retires at the end of his tour of duty in his posting, he's allowed to keep that rank in retirement, otherwise her reverts to a 2-star rank. Yeah, it's kinda confusing, but it seems to work okay.
at about 59:42, why I-26 might not have been willing to try to fire 5 of rather than all 6 forward torpedo tubes... it could have been something as simple as the outer doors for the each side being designed such that each side had three torpedo tubes which utilize 1 common outer door (the one outer door opens to expose the bank of 3 torpedo tubes on that side of the bow). Another such reason could be a safety interlock switch which would prevent outer doors from being opened and/or impulse air for any/all of the forward tubes from being fired until after all six of the inner doors for all six tubes were closed and sealed. A design schematic for the I-26 could hold the information which would answer the question of why the I-26 waited until the sixth tube was properly loaded. But yes, an interlinked facet of the tubes' operation is a very reasonable reason for the delay firing until the loading issue with 6th tube was resolved, especially interlinked safety measures and/or interlinked air-pressure-loss-prevention or noise-control measures. Recall also that the IJN was using a very volatile and explosive fuel (liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen if I recall correctly) in their torpedoes: safety protocol very well could have dictated that the 6th torpedo get loaded without delay and all 6 torpedoes (not just the 5 properly loaded torpedoes) get fired asap in order to minimize risk of an internal fire and explosion arising to destroy the forward torpedo compartment and sink the I-26; such was the hazard of liquid oxygen-hydrogen fuels and peroxide fuels that most other navies avoided using those as fuels for torpedoes, simply based on the high safety risks associated with those volatile and explosive fuels.
Enterprise and Warspite you can argue. Became as feared as they did because of the efforts of their crews. As well as the two surviving the damage that was inflicted on them.
In reading about the battle of Savo Island one of the things that stood out to me was how Admiral Crutchley handled turning over command temporarily to captain Bode of USS Chicago. Seems like "Surprise conference! I'm leaving and you're in charge of these spread out ships in addition to your own until I get back" Were there any other battles during WW2 where a similar situation happened? What was the largest fleet in the 20th century the senior ships captain was in charge of by design that was successful?
One of the ways to perhaps preserve an Abdiel class ship is to have one or two build late in the war in anticipation of far east service and then placing it into reserve while they used the surviving earlier abdiel as a flagship. If it can be justified on reserve status for 30 years, which it could, since "this thing can run 1000 miles with useful cargo in LESS than a day alone". Then it might be reactivated for Falklands. And at that point it is likely getting preserved since the class has a ton of WWII history and this new Abdiel would be adding Falkland history.
It is about 5 min to midnight on the US east coast, on the 31st, I managed to get this one done in 2024, Happy New Year to all of us in Drach's Shipless Navy,
Hey drac, Modern USN ships use 2nd hand steam for heating. It’s low pressure from the condensation loop. Cooks don’t have good temp control, but you can’t burn a soup with steam. At least as of uss stenis.
Can you make a video about the battle of Empress Augusta bay? I think it would be rather interesting to go over the events of this lessee known battle involving cruisers and destroyers.
It would be cool to see a video on the differences between nelsons guns layout and configuration vs Richelieu and jean barts or even a video on south American battleship design and ideas they had back in the 1900s
I served on post ww2 us navy steam turbine powered ship. I worked in the main spaces, propulsion, electrical, fresh water, steam distributed for "hotel loads". Some steam from the boilers is reduced to 150psi was run throughout the ship for water heaters, heating, galley, etc. I did not service equipment outside the main spaces so not as much knowledge of specific galley equipment. I would imagine temperature could be controlled for cooking by controlling how much steam pressure admitted to it. Some food preparation is better served by electricity such as toasters and coffee pots so it is used also. Steam used for that purpose is negligible compared to power for main engines. Even if electric powered, it still comes from boilers by way of steam turbine electrical generators. Also the steam used for hotel loads doesn't require a great volume of "free flowing" steam because the steam is held in the equipment (water heaters, heaters, cooking) until it is condensed and a steam trap lets only the condensed water drain back for re-use.
If memory serves, some of the ships in the Pacific were able to track both the shells _and_ the vortex behind them. I think at least one photograph exists of a radar screen showing this at Coral Sea Edit: I see you used the correct class of destroyer for the picture illustration is that _Yukikaze_ ?
at 12:20, regarding magazines being located immediately next to machinery spaces and supposedly subject to high temperatures..... what those diagrams did not show you is the ventilation and air-conditioning ductwork. I can't speak directly to the Iowas, South Dakotas, etc of the WW2 era; however, I can speak to the 1990's and temperature modulation in main battery magazines: temperature control was present in the main battery magazine on the ship I served on as a gunners' mate, via lining the compartment(s) with insulation and via the utilization of air conditioning/ventilation ducts which passed through the magazine, which was situated with the exhaust stacks located on the other side of the magazine's aft bulkhead. A/C systems and positive-pressurization (maintaining ambient pressure at slightly above 1 ATM, 1 ATM being the air pressure present at sea level) were utilized on US Navy ships beginning at around the interwar period (if I recall correctly, the Omaha's were the last US Navy ships designed and outfitted without A/C and heating systems; if not, then the Pensacolas were the last; the desperate need for internal temperature control was starkly recognized during the deployment of the Omahas to tropical and subarctic climates). Ryan on Battleship New Jersey likely can confirm whether the Iowas were designed with temperature-controlled ventilation present throughout the ship, including the vast majority of the magazines (with a possible exception being small void-type magazines/storage compartments such as might be used for small-arms ammunition, grenades, pyrotechnics, and the like); based on experience, I strongly suspect that all main battery, all secondary battery, and all AA magazines were insulated, temperature controlled, and pressure-controlled, via pumping pressurized temperature-controlled air throughout the magazines (as well as the remainder of the ship's non-void-type compartments using the ventilation ducts; Ryan likely can confirm whether he's observed this to be the case both with his own eyes and according to ship schematics.
@whodat7523 pretty much all pre-dreadnought and later ships had cooling systems for the magazines, the issue was the capacity of those systems. Magazines right next to a boiler room for example turned out to need massively greater systems, which of course is weight and space. Some of the early 10 gun US dreadnoughts found their middle turrets had different performance to the fore and aft guns as the middle magazines, between machinery spaces, were being cooled but their overall temperature was still higher and this affected the propellant. Modern systems are likely far more compact and powerful.
Admiral numbers: two other considerations: government's willingness to fund the position (and the promotion chain to support it: hence costs way more than the position itself)... and to prevent senior officers of one service being outnumbered/outranked (ie monstered/mobbed) by the other services
I like the all forward design because if the ship is pointed directly at the target to close the distance, it gives a much smaller target profile to aim for. And the Captain ordering 20° to port or starboard should throw off their aim considerably.
Coal fired cast iron stoves and ovens. Note the flues behind. Similar to large restaurant stoves of the period. Great for cooking very basic foods, very basically.
22:00 Ethel Beatty was an heiress to the Marshall Field fortune, a very substantial amount of money. She spent freely to move up socially. Ethel Beatty came from Chicago. Sorry, David.
According to Robert Massie, she never lost her accent, so the British swells were treated to hearing her call, "JAAAHHHCK!" at various social functions.
8:58 Is the "evaporation and distilling room" used to convert Seawater to steam then condensed into a liquid to make fresh drinking water? What other things could it be used for?
Damn it, I learned something! I was all confused on the 'Rio Grande' when Drach mentioned it is in Brazil, since I only knew about the {U.S. / Mexico} 'Rio Grande' - to find out there is more than one lol. The one Drach mentions is actually the 'Rio Grande (Paraná River tributary)': For Context It would be like finding out that the {U.S. / Canada} 'Niagara Falls' isn't the only one and that somehow there is another 'Niagara Falls' in the {U.S. / Mexico} lol
Re Lady Beatty; in adddition to the points mentioned, by the time that they were married the practice of american heiresses marrying into impoverished british aristocracy was sufficienty common as to have become something of a trope. It was used as a comical device by a number of authors including Mark Twain and P G Wodehouse. It was still something of a social black mark, but was more acceptable than marrying into local 'trade' or the footlights barrier; both of which were professional death (at least in the army) up to WWII.
I served on Coast Guard Cutter Campbell #32 just a decade before she decommissioned. I think we had electric grills and three steam kettles. We cooked a lot a stuff in them big ass pots.
@ 0:57:18, Perhaps the inside torpedo door on that 6th tube was open and they had a concern that they could if they launched the other 5 torpedos could cause the tube to flood....?
Makes some sense, bit it should be multiple interlocks, at least one mechanical and one electrical to prevent both doors to open. And your torpedo crew should also tag the tube for ready, same way as gun crew has to tag gun for ready, if say the loading tray got stuck the gun will not fire even if broadside is ordered.
@@magnemoe1 I was thinking of a pressure pulse when the other tubes "fired". When the inner door is closed there is a contained volume to prevent noticeable ingress, but the way most, if not all, WW2 Outer (torpedo) Doors opened, I could see it being pushed "in" far enough to allow for flooding.... That's because I don't see a Submariner giving up such a chance with a 5 torpedo spread for a 6 top spread at a much longer range!
Great stuff as usual. I just have one quick question. when will we se any videos from the nordic tour you had this summer ? (this addict needs his bofors fix :) )
If you were building a ship with six 13.5" guns, would it be better to build it with three twin turrets, or two triples? The triple turrets would give you a somewhat useful (though not optimal) 'ranging' salvo from each turret; wouldn't two turrets instead of three give a smaller citadel, and thus let the same weight of armor be a bit thicker?
Since you’ve already done a bunch of other songs about naval battles in the period the channel covers in previous Drydock episodes, can you comment on the historical accuracy of Derek Warfield’s The Hunley? (I think it may be based on an older, more period, song but I'm not sure)
Idk4 sure, but I would think that the question about I-26 not firing on Saratoga at point blank range with 5 torpedoes & waiting for the 6th tube to be loaded probably had some problem with the water tight door. When a sub fires its torpedoes it has to open outside doors to the sea. And if something happens to the inside door that would prevent that tube from flooding the chamber then that door would need to be made water tight before you could open the outer doors to fire. And I don't presume to know or understand exactly how the outer & inner doors of Japanese submarine torpedo tubes work but I would have to think that either the Captain had ordered a 6 torpedo spread & so even though it took longer the torpedo room was just following orders. Or there was a technical reason that the 6th torpedo tube was being loaded & the inside door could not be shut. Therefore the other 5 outer doors could not be opened because it would also open the 6th outer door which if it was opened would flood the torpedo room.
Drach please put a warning in these videos if we are going to be getting into hydraulic calculations. Year 3 of civil engineering school was not a fantastic time
Actually, would the Thai navy be better off with a single but bigger ship with 6 guns or same size with 6x6"? The readiness of only one ship would be terrible but Chile and Turkey seemed to make do somewhat.
Question: has anyone made good finite-element models of battleships to see how well all those designers did, pre-powerful-computer-era, in optimizing designs for various critical functions? Of course, these functions (speed, fuel efficiency, mechanical stability, armor protection, weapons accuracy, damage control, etc.) Would depend upon the tactics of the day of the protagonist and antagonist
Good-looking warships: - Hood. Enough said. Has the capabilities to back it up too and was massively revolutionary. - Call me biased because I've been on Haida, but the Tribals don't look too bad. - As much as I hate them and wish they never existed, all 29 battleships of the WWII generation certainly look pretty good, massive but also sleek and elegant. Too bad their actual strategic value fails to live up to their looks or capabilities. - The Mogamis looked pretty good before they were refitted with 8" guns.
The question about Beatty's marriage and their travels in the upper echelon of British society is easily explained by Edward VII complete lack of personal morality, which passed on to the aristocracy. Afterall Edward, as Prince of Wales, had a private room in Paris' most elite brothel, and in order to accommodate his morbid obesity, special furniture was crafted that allowed him to take full advantage of the French ladies of the evening. Also numerous members of the British peerage, needed the wealth brought to a marriage by an American heiress. Especially after WWI. Britain, like most class based aristocratic systems, has more titles than money. So in order to live up to the high living standards expected of their class, these titled paupers sought out a wealthy American heiress with a very large dowry.
Would you consider a collab with someone like Ebroin’s Miniatures? I think you describing an action as he builds the diorama of it could be interesting. I particularly like his work that has lighted explosions, but this seems a more appropriate example for you: th-cam.com/video/Y5TSWs6tHfw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=IHONsWgqT5KDZS3U
Please change this intro. I've listened countless times. For years. I like to listen to videos while I fall asleep and these hammer sounds wake me up. I've been wondering about it for ages. Please consider. Even if I try to plan, if YT tries to auto load your video, I have no choice. It may auto-load a video from you that has that loud hammer sound. Please!
when do we get Japanese Submarines post Coral Sea? The Japanese Submarine Campaign of WW2 - Origins to Coral Sea th-cam.com/video/ZeIjzvQmfDw/w-d-xo.html the original video also is not on the Submarines playlist Submarines playlist th-cam.com/play/PLMK9a-vDE5zGU_x78918nF_4u1i8lB_CA.html
when do we get Japanese Submarines post Coral Sea? The Japanese Submarine Campaign of WW2 - Origins to Coral Sea th-cam.com/video/ZeIjzvQmfDw/w-d-xo.html the original vide also is not on the Submarines playlist Submarines playlist th-cam.com/play/PLMK9a-vDE5zGU_x78918nF_4u1i8lB_CA.html
It took all of the question and far too much of the answer for me to figure out that question 1 was about the ship’s food preparation spaces, and not the oar-powered rams and heavy gun ships of ye olden dayes. Oops.
a happy new year to all and sundry! the Beatty question... Beatty was also a consummate and shamelessly self-promoting political animal. Nelson was anything but.
Not necessarily. Nelson was certainly not above showboating and self-publicity. There is an account of Wellington (then simply Arthur Wellesley) bumping into Nelson at the Colonial Office. Wellesley said that Nelson, by then a national hero ... "Entered at once into a conversation with me, if I can call it a conversation, for it was almost all on his side and all about himself, an in, really a style so vain and silly as to surprise and almost disgust me." At this point, Nelson left the room, presumably to ask the door-keeper who the hooky-nosed bugger in the next room was. At any rate, he re-entered the room and made quite a different impression on Wellesley, who continued, "He was altogether a different man, both in manner and in matter. All that I had thought a charlatan style had vanished ... and he talked of the state of the country and of the aspect and probability of affairs on the Continent with a good sense and knowledge of subjects ... that surprised me equally and more agreeably than the first part of the interview had done".
A full video on the development galley technology would be very interesting.
It'd be a solid fun Friday video.
I agree.
Absolutely. Perhaps do something with Max from Tasting History.
Galley equipment was always my biggest headache as a destroyer Chief Engineer...COs are normally fairly understanding when it comes to major propoulsion or electrical casualties - they know that it's high on your priority list to fix, and the equipment is well supported logistically. Galley equipment...not so much. Logistical support is usually poor, especially if the Supply Officer procured it outside of normal channels, and it tends to fall to the bottom of the Division Officer or Chief's priority list unless you make it their priority. Plus, because it's habitability, it gets a lot of attention on Eight O'Clock reports. The worst argument I had with my best friend (who was the Supply Officer) during one of my tours was over a recalcicrant salad bar that refused to work despite out best efforts.
hmm @@rackstraw
how does a salad bar refuse to work 😅
Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU for all of the excellent, well researched, thoughtful, and entertaining content in 2024. I hope you, Mrs. Drach, and baby Drach have a very successful, enjoyable, safe, and happy 2025!
Here's wishing a happy and prosperous 2025 to Drach, Mrs. Drach, and mini-Drach! Thanks for your continuing efforts toward the preservation of naval history.
Thank you for an interesting year Drach. I am looking forward to many more.
Thanx for another great year of historical goodness! I'm looking forward to 2025!
1:00:25
The training of the crew also wasnt complete, having only had 9 out of the mandated 12 months of training. Her guns also had calibration issues that weren't adressed.
The aft turret trainer was sent to report the watertable and so wasnt there for the battle. The aft turret captain took his place and so the operation of the aft turret was not meaningfully impeded.
Thonburi suffered quite a bit of bad luck during the battle as well . The first hit from the French cruiser took out the command crew and started a fire which soon destroyed the data cables to the guns and forced the director to be evacuated, shattered her one fire main, and probably killed the assembled damage control team. She was also bombed by friendly aircraft from the Chantaburi squadron. The bomb damage wasnt catastrophic, but didnt help either.
Due to fog during the early part of the engagement, the Lamotte Picquet fired a salvo of torpedos as an island, mistaking it for a ship. Thats where the misconception of the Sri Ayyudtaya being there comes from. She went back to Sattahib a few days before, and was ordered to give chase but as was said in the video, she didnt make it in time.
However, Thai sources dispute the results of the battle, claiming that Thonburi drove the French cruiser away with a pair of last minute hits where the forward turret under local control landed two 8" hits, one between the aft mast and 3rd turret, and one between the 4th turret. Eye witnesses from the battle attest to these hits, but the French deny it, claiming that they weren't hit at all. I've been doing research on this to the best of my ability but I'm at an impasse.
Only post battle photos (which seem to be missing despite there being a photo of the Lamotte Picquet before the battle, and a picture of the torpedoboat Songkhla burning during the battle) will be able to confirm anything as to whether it was a one sided slaughter, or the little ship that could chasing away an enemy twice her size at the cost of her life. The French logs say that the last salvo from Thonburi landed 50 meters short.
The Thai navy really clings to the latter narrative. I'm doing my best to prove or disprove it right now.
Sources :
เมื่อธนบุรีรบ (Mue-Ton-Buri-Rob) ; The time Thonburi fought by Admiral Jitt Sangkhadul (aft turret captain at the battle)
A lire : Campagnes lointaines, dans les replis du Dragon - Carnet de bord du croiseur Lamotte-Picquet
I made it though a Patreaon dry dock though I refuse to admit how many cups of coffee it took
Thank you for all your hard work through out the years in educating we your faithful minions and all the best to yourself, that angel Mrs Drach and of course Mini Drach
Drach even works in the magic time between Christmas and New Year. So amazing! Part II
Part 2 complements the contents of Part 1.
Drach - Happy New Year to you and your family! Thank you so much for your world class coverage of Naval history....
As I have commented in the past on several videos, When I was a youngster I spent time aboard the Ex HMS Neave the last WW2 steam powered ship in operation, an Isles class Admiralty Trawler converted to a civilian role as a tank cleaning ship under the name of SS Tulipbank. They were quite large vessels, the size of a small corvette.
Anyway, until it was converted after the war it had a coal fired galley, refitted in the 60s to propane power from gas cylinders situated above it on the aft deckhouse.
There was still a coal bunker on the deck outside the galley.
triple expansion or turbine?
@@jeebusk Triple expansion with a Scotch Return Tube boiler.
She was built in Beverley in East Yorkshire.
The engine is preserved in the National Maritime Museum. She was finally scrapped in the late 80s.
There is a good Wikipedia entry on the Isles class and a google image search for tulipbank.1840 turns up a couple of pictures of her after conversion.
Also quite a few pictures while still in service if you search for HMS Neave
In the novel "The Ship" by C. S. Forester (set aboard a WW2 British cruiser in the Mediterranean) the oil used to fire the galley's cooking ranges is drained below when the ship is at action stations, but it is still able to provide steam-heated hot food. I understand Forester was actually allowed aboard a cruiser when researching the novel so I presume this is factual.
Thanks Drach for a great year. Happy New Year to you and yours. Best looking warship. My favorite has always been The North Carorlina class 55 and 56. The Hood is #2. The USS Franklin crew. My best friends Uncle Marion McSmith Seaman 1ST class was in the galley when it was hit. He survived the war. A true American Hero. Looking forward to 2025.
25:50 Older metric radars (wavelengths on the order of metres) are rather unlikely to see a battleship shell, it being rather smaller than their wavelength. This type of radar would most likely be used for sea search and as such would rotate slowly, making it even more unlikely. Later-war centimetric radars (wavelengths on the order of 10cm) would probably detect a shell, and they would more likely be used for air search with high rotation speeds, improving their chances. Japan, so far as I know, did not have access to high-frequency & power radar and even Germany was struggling. But, as Drachinifel says, to be able to react to this and plot an intercept with even the greatest WW2 computers and proximity fuses seems implausible. Modern-day CIWS do not have it easy with supersonic missiles, and a battleship shell would be coming in at well in excess of Mach 1 even at extended range.
I read of the battle in which Bismarck was sunk, probably in Kennedy's book, that on the bridge of DoY the radar detected incoming shells. Perhaps more modern kit would have the return signal doppler shifted out of the receiver's range.
Fantastic!
Keep up the good work Drach!
01:00:25 to add more onto that, the readiness of Thonburi at the time was questionable at best, so you can have even better ship and still end up with that result
the night before, Thonburi's fire control was acting up and the test fire to re-calibrate the guns was scheduled for that morning - which of course the French attacked before dawn
some of the rear turret crew were also ordered to survey the coast to set up firing range for gun calibration, and thus were not onboard as Thonburi set sail
the flotilla also received signal from fleet headquarters - which was an absolutely horrible intelligence report along the line of "enemy ships in port, expect no action", even the commanding officer of the Sri Ayutthaya, Cdr Luang Chamnan, was transferred to shore duties that night
she's basically unfitted for action but was there because of terrible intelligence and mismanagement of assets (somebody just had to have the bright idea of breaking up the already small flotilla into even smaller detachments, and throw away initiative by putting them close to French territory and order it not to attack, instead allowing French squadron to attack it piecemeal)
...it also didn't help that the first hit from Lamotte-Picquet took out the director tower, and so for most of the engagement the guns were relying on local control
taken from a diary of then-Capt Luang Sangwon (published at the time of his funeral), the flotilla commander who was onboard Sri Ayutthaya that morning as she rushed to join Thonburi (that ship was on station at Koh Chang the night before returning to port as Thonburi arrived to relieve her, so French report suggested there were 2 ships present, people got this wrong a lot - you're probably the fist one I saw nailing this), and of the rear turret captain, then-SubLt Chitt Sangkadul
ref:
"Published in Memorial of the Cremation of Rear Admiral Luang Sangwon Yuttakij DCh PM (Sangwon Suwannacheep)". (1973). Bangkok, Chuanpim, pp.101-105.
"As Thonburi Fights: Published in Memorial of the Cremation of Admiral Chitt Sangkadul". (1995). Bangkok, Royal Thai Naval Institute.
Thanks for the source. I'll need to hunt down a copy of Adm. Sangworn's memorial book. The most notable crew of the aft turret that left to report the watertable was the turret trainer. The aft turret captain took his place, causing a minor delay in syncing the turret up with the gun director but it didnt meaningfully hamper the operation of the aft turret.
Have a great new year Drachinifel, I hope you had a good one
I think the Yamatos are beautiful and very sleek and streamlined
Excellent analogy drawn between a king and a Captain... though even then, while a king is still merely a monarch, a Captain is closer to being a God.
The funny thing is.... a king (especially today in the UK) _definitely_ has less power over you than your captain would have when you get back aboard your ship.
So yeah, the captain is pretty much God 😂
In the US military as a whole today, 3-star and 4-star flag/general officer ranks aren't 'permanent' ranks. These ranks are tied to an officer's position; get assigned to a 3-star billet, you get promoted to 3-star rank for the duration of that assignment. So, if a Rear Admiral is assigned to a Vice Admiral's billet, so the officer is promoted to Vice Admiral. If at the end of that tour of duty he's assigned to another Vice Admiral's billet he retains his rank, if he's assigned to a Rear Admiral's billet he reverts to his 'permanent' rank of Rear Admiral. If he's promoted to a full Admiral's posting, he'll likewise get a promotion to Admiral.
If an officer in a 3-star or 4-star billet retires at the end of his tour of duty in his posting, he's allowed to keep that rank in retirement, otherwise her reverts to a 2-star rank. Yeah, it's kinda confusing, but it seems to work okay.
at about 59:42, why I-26 might not have been willing to try to fire 5 of rather than all 6 forward torpedo tubes... it could have been something as simple as the outer doors for the each side being designed such that each side had three torpedo tubes which utilize 1 common outer door (the one outer door opens to expose the bank of 3 torpedo tubes on that side of the bow). Another such reason could be a safety interlock switch which would prevent outer doors from being opened and/or impulse air for any/all of the forward tubes from being fired until after all six of the inner doors for all six tubes were closed and sealed. A design schematic for the I-26 could hold the information which would answer the question of why the I-26 waited until the sixth tube was properly loaded. But yes, an interlinked facet of the tubes' operation is a very reasonable reason for the delay firing until the loading issue with 6th tube was resolved, especially interlinked safety measures and/or interlinked air-pressure-loss-prevention or noise-control measures. Recall also that the IJN was using a very volatile and explosive fuel (liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen if I recall correctly) in their torpedoes: safety protocol very well could have dictated that the 6th torpedo get loaded without delay and all 6 torpedoes (not just the 5 properly loaded torpedoes) get fired asap in order to minimize risk of an internal fire and explosion arising to destroy the forward torpedo compartment and sink the I-26; such was the hazard of liquid oxygen-hydrogen fuels and peroxide fuels that most other navies avoided using those as fuels for torpedoes, simply based on the high safety risks associated with those volatile and explosive fuels.
Enterprise and Warspite you can argue. Became as feared as they did because of the efforts of their crews. As well as the two surviving the damage that was inflicted on them.
In reading about the battle of Savo Island one of the things that stood out to me was how Admiral Crutchley handled turning over command temporarily to captain Bode of USS Chicago. Seems like "Surprise conference! I'm leaving and you're in charge of these spread out ships in addition to your own until I get back" Were there any other battles during WW2 where a similar situation happened? What was the largest fleet in the 20th century the senior ships captain was in charge of by design that was successful?
One of the ways to perhaps preserve an Abdiel class ship is to have one or two build late in the war in anticipation of far east service and then placing it into reserve while they used the surviving earlier abdiel as a flagship. If it can be justified on reserve status for 30 years, which it could, since "this thing can run 1000 miles with useful cargo in LESS than a day alone". Then it might be reactivated for Falklands. And at that point it is likely getting preserved since the class has a ton of WWII history and this new Abdiel would be adding Falkland history.
Lady Astor springs to mind.
I had a current person come to mind.
It is about 5 min to midnight on the US east coast, on the 31st, I managed to get this one done in 2024, Happy New Year to all of us in Drach's Shipless Navy,
Hey drac,
Modern USN ships use 2nd hand steam for heating. It’s low pressure from the condensation loop.
Cooks don’t have good temp control, but you can’t burn a soup with steam.
At least as of uss stenis.
On the flip side you can do horrible things to steaks even with that limitation, at least the cooks on the Theodore Roosevelt managed to.
"Second Hand Steam"? Who signed off your ESWS? You meant Auxiliary Steam.
Can you make a video about the battle of Empress Augusta bay? I think it would be rather interesting to go over the events of this lessee known battle involving cruisers and destroyers.
It would be cool to see a video on the differences between nelsons guns layout and configuration vs Richelieu and jean barts or even a video on south American battleship design and ideas they had back in the 1900s
Thanks Drach
I served on post ww2 us navy steam turbine powered ship. I worked in the main spaces, propulsion, electrical, fresh water, steam distributed for "hotel loads". Some steam from the boilers is reduced to 150psi was run throughout the ship for water heaters, heating, galley, etc. I did not service equipment outside the main spaces so not as much knowledge of specific galley equipment. I would imagine temperature could be controlled for cooking by controlling how much steam pressure admitted to it.
Some food preparation is better served by electricity such as toasters and coffee pots so it is used also.
Steam used for that purpose is negligible compared to power for main engines. Even if electric powered, it still comes from boilers by way of steam turbine electrical generators.
Also the steam used for hotel loads doesn't require a great volume of "free flowing" steam because the steam is held in the equipment (water heaters, heaters, cooking) until it is condensed and a steam trap lets only the condensed water drain back for re-use.
I would suggest that the crew of WWII USS Enterprise had a really good crew, particularly some helmsmen.
If memory serves, some of the ships in the Pacific were able to track both the shells _and_ the vortex behind them. I think at least one photograph exists of a radar screen showing this at Coral Sea
Edit: I see you used the correct class of destroyer for the picture illustration is that _Yukikaze_ ?
All depends on the wavelength of the radar and the angle of view relative to the shell :)
@Drachinifel that's really cool. Thanks for the explanation.
at 12:20, regarding magazines being located immediately next to machinery spaces and supposedly subject to high temperatures..... what those diagrams did not show you is the ventilation and air-conditioning ductwork. I can't speak directly to the Iowas, South Dakotas, etc of the WW2 era; however, I can speak to the 1990's and temperature modulation in main battery magazines: temperature control was present in the main battery magazine on the ship I served on as a gunners' mate, via lining the compartment(s) with insulation and via the utilization of air conditioning/ventilation ducts which passed through the magazine, which was situated with the exhaust stacks located on the other side of the magazine's aft bulkhead. A/C systems and positive-pressurization (maintaining ambient pressure at slightly above 1 ATM, 1 ATM being the air pressure present at sea level) were utilized on US Navy ships beginning at around the interwar period (if I recall correctly, the Omaha's were the last US Navy ships designed and outfitted without A/C and heating systems; if not, then the Pensacolas were the last; the desperate need for internal temperature control was starkly recognized during the deployment of the Omahas to tropical and subarctic climates). Ryan on Battleship New Jersey likely can confirm whether the Iowas were designed with temperature-controlled ventilation present throughout the ship, including the vast majority of the magazines (with a possible exception being small void-type magazines/storage compartments such as might be used for small-arms ammunition, grenades, pyrotechnics, and the like); based on experience, I strongly suspect that all main battery, all secondary battery, and all AA magazines were insulated, temperature controlled, and pressure-controlled, via pumping pressurized temperature-controlled air throughout the magazines (as well as the remainder of the ship's non-void-type compartments using the ventilation ducts; Ryan likely can confirm whether he's observed this to be the case both with his own eyes and according to ship schematics.
@whodat7523 pretty much all pre-dreadnought and later ships had cooling systems for the magazines, the issue was the capacity of those systems. Magazines right next to a boiler room for example turned out to need massively greater systems, which of course is weight and space. Some of the early 10 gun US dreadnoughts found their middle turrets had different performance to the fore and aft guns as the middle magazines, between machinery spaces, were being cooled but their overall temperature was still higher and this affected the propellant.
Modern systems are likely far more compact and powerful.
15:00 getting somewhere quickly and actually hitting a top speed are two separate goals, acceleration certainly may be an important sometimes.
Admiral numbers: two other considerations: government's willingness to fund the position (and the promotion chain to support it: hence costs way more than the position itself)... and to prevent senior officers of one service being outnumbered/outranked (ie monstered/mobbed) by the other services
Regarding ship stability, the ship also needs to account for free surface effect in addition to the weight of fuel, lubes and water tanks consumed.
Well I know I am in the minority but I think the Nelson & the Rodney were outstandingly handsome ships
I like the all forward design because if the ship is pointed directly at the target to close the distance, it gives a much smaller target profile to aim for. And the Captain ordering 20° to port or starboard should throw off their aim considerably.
Some "elements" of the Nelsons looked very good, like the superstructure, while i find the tall freeboard and hull shape less so !
Blucher was also hit by at least 13 six inch shells, and some 57mm, after the 11 inchers and the torpedoes, all at point blank range !
@0:06:16 The magazines were also Air Conditioned!
Sssssheyenne, (no hard 'C'). Your work is amazing. Thanks from Denver Colorado..
1:43:35 TBF, most of the big lake boats made of wood more than 300' also ended up sinking / coming apart.
That galley from the USS IOWA is primitive ... Beastly so .
Coal fired cast iron stoves and ovens. Note the flues behind. Similar to large restaurant stoves of the period. Great for cooking very basic foods, very basically.
22:00 Ethel Beatty was an heiress to the Marshall Field fortune, a very substantial amount of money. She spent freely to move up socially. Ethel Beatty came from Chicago.
Sorry, David.
According to Robert Massie, she never lost her accent, so the British swells were treated to hearing her call, "JAAAHHHCK!" at various social functions.
@Charliecomet82 What accent? You guys are the ones that sound like the Beatles.
@@PaulfromChicago "Da Bearss."
8:58 Is the "evaporation and distilling room" used to convert Seawater to steam then condensed into a liquid to make fresh drinking water? What other things could it be used for?
Boiler feed water
As an American, I really would have liked to save a Wickes/Clemson or three. More for historical reasons than engineering though.
Damn it, I learned something! I was all confused on the 'Rio Grande' when Drach mentioned it is in Brazil, since I only knew about the {U.S. / Mexico} 'Rio Grande' - to find out there is more than one lol. The one Drach mentions is actually the 'Rio Grande (Paraná River tributary)': For Context It would be like finding out that the {U.S. / Canada} 'Niagara Falls' isn't the only one and that somehow there is another 'Niagara Falls' in the {U.S. / Mexico} lol
The crew of the El Glorioso always seemed very competent to me.
Re Lady Beatty; in adddition to the points mentioned, by the time that they were married the practice of american heiresses marrying into impoverished british aristocracy was sufficienty common as to have become something of a trope. It was used as a comical device by a number of authors including Mark Twain and P G Wodehouse.
It was still something of a social black mark, but was more acceptable than marrying into local 'trade' or the footlights barrier; both of which were professional death (at least in the army) up to WWII.
I served on Coast Guard Cutter Campbell #32 just a decade before she decommissioned. I think we had electric grills and three steam kettles. We cooked a lot a stuff in them big ass pots.
"...unless you get an upgrade." Dont know why but I found that quite funny
@ 0:57:18, Perhaps the inside torpedo door on that 6th tube was open and they had a concern that they could if they launched the other 5 torpedos could cause the tube to flood....?
Makes some sense, bit it should be multiple interlocks, at least one mechanical and one electrical to prevent both doors to open.
And your torpedo crew should also tag the tube for ready, same way as gun crew has to tag gun for ready, if say the loading tray got stuck the gun will not fire even if broadside is ordered.
@@magnemoe1 I was thinking of a pressure pulse when the other tubes "fired". When the inner door is closed there is a contained volume to prevent noticeable ingress, but the way most, if not all, WW2 Outer (torpedo) Doors opened, I could see it being pushed "in" far enough to allow for flooding....
That's because I don't see a Submariner giving up such a chance with a 5 torpedo spread for a 6 top spread at a much longer range!
So nice that we end the year with the 330th episode of The Drydock
And then begin the 331th episode in the new year!
My great uncle Philip Walsh was lost on Franklin.
I would add at least one of the escorts in the Battle Off Samar to the list of Extremely Competent Crews.
I suspect Mitchell was talking about Native American medicine men or shamans manipulating the weather through magic.
Mitchell reminds one of the old quip, "If you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle 'em with bull___ ."
Great stuff as usual. I just have one quick question. when will we se any videos from the nordic tour you had this summer ? (this addict needs his bofors fix :) )
Staring in the spring :)
If you were building a ship with six 13.5" guns, would it be better to build it with three twin turrets, or two triples? The triple turrets would give you a somewhat useful (though not optimal) 'ranging' salvo from each turret; wouldn't two turrets instead of three give a smaller citadel, and thus let the same weight of armor be a bit thicker?
Lady Curzon is an excellent example of an American marrying into the aristocracy. Born in Chicago and wife of the Viceroy of India.
Since you’ve already done a bunch of other songs about naval battles in the period the channel covers in previous Drydock episodes, can you comment on the historical accuracy of Derek Warfield’s The Hunley? (I think it may be based on an older, more period, song but I'm not sure)
Idk4 sure, but I would think that the question about I-26 not firing on Saratoga at point blank range with 5 torpedoes & waiting for the 6th tube to be loaded probably had some problem with the water tight door. When a sub fires its torpedoes it has to open outside doors to the sea. And if something happens to the inside door that would prevent that tube from flooding the chamber then that door would need to be made water tight before you could open the outer doors to fire. And I don't presume to know or understand exactly how the outer & inner doors of Japanese submarine torpedo tubes work but I would have to think that either the Captain had ordered a 6 torpedo spread & so even though it took longer the torpedo room was just following orders. Or there was a technical reason that the 6th torpedo tube was being loaded & the inside door could not be shut. Therefore the other 5 outer doors could not be opened because it would also open the 6th outer door which if it was opened would flood the torpedo room.
Drach please put a warning in these videos if we are going to be getting into hydraulic calculations. Year 3 of civil engineering school was not a fantastic time
So Mitchell was kind of like all those people writing books and making videos about "Secret Weapons of the Luftwaffe".
The best looking ship was SMS Tegetthoff. No doubt ;-)
The "heiress" was the daughter of Marshall Field, who was at the top of the early 20th Century American social order.
Keels. How have they evolved?
Last question see- simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rain_dance
Actually, would the Thai navy be better off with a single but bigger ship with 6 guns or same size with 6x6"? The readiness of only one ship would be terrible but Chile and Turkey seemed to make do somewhat.
Question: has anyone made good finite-element models of battleships to see how well all those designers did, pre-powerful-computer-era, in optimizing designs for various critical functions?
Of course, these functions (speed, fuel efficiency, mechanical stability, armor protection, weapons accuracy, damage control, etc.) Would depend upon the tactics of the day of the protagonist and antagonist
What is Greenland’s strategic value?😄
Good-looking warships:
- Hood. Enough said. Has the capabilities to back it up too and was massively revolutionary.
- Call me biased because I've been on Haida, but the Tribals don't look too bad.
- As much as I hate them and wish they never existed, all 29 battleships of the WWII generation certainly look pretty good, massive but also sleek and elegant. Too bad their actual strategic value fails to live up to their looks or capabilities.
- The Mogamis looked pretty good before they were refitted with 8" guns.
If you think the Mogamis were good looking with 155 mm guns, I have to ask how you think the Brooklyns looked.
@@kemarisite Also pretty good, but not quite as good for some reason.
Any top 3 good looking list should have the Alaska class, IMO.
you're an Alaska Class my dear 😅
The question about Beatty's marriage and their travels in the upper echelon of British society is easily explained by Edward VII complete lack of personal morality, which passed on to the aristocracy. Afterall Edward, as Prince of Wales, had a private room in Paris' most elite brothel, and in order to accommodate his morbid obesity, special furniture was crafted that allowed him to take full advantage of the French ladies of the evening.
Also numerous members of the British peerage, needed the wealth brought to a marriage by an American heiress. Especially after WWI.
Britain, like most class based aristocratic systems, has more titles than money. So in order to live up to the high living standards expected of their class, these titled paupers sought out a wealthy American heiress with a very large dowry.
Would you consider a collab with someone like Ebroin’s Miniatures? I think you describing an action as he builds the diorama of it could be interesting. I particularly like his work that has lighted explosions, but this seems a more appropriate example for you: th-cam.com/video/Y5TSWs6tHfw/w-d-xo.htmlsi=IHONsWgqT5KDZS3U
Please change this intro. I've listened countless times. For years. I like to listen to videos while I fall asleep and these hammer sounds wake me up. I've been wondering about it for ages. Please consider. Even if I try to plan, if YT tries to auto load your video, I have no choice. It may auto-load a video from you that has that loud hammer sound. Please!
when do we get Japanese Submarines post Coral Sea?
The Japanese Submarine Campaign of WW2 - Origins to Coral Sea
th-cam.com/video/ZeIjzvQmfDw/w-d-xo.html
the original video also is not on the Submarines playlist
Submarines playlist
th-cam.com/play/PLMK9a-vDE5zGU_x78918nF_4u1i8lB_CA.html
🚢
when do we get Japanese Submarines post Coral Sea?
The Japanese Submarine Campaign of WW2 - Origins to Coral Sea
th-cam.com/video/ZeIjzvQmfDw/w-d-xo.html
the original vide also is not on the Submarines playlist
Submarines playlist
th-cam.com/play/PLMK9a-vDE5zGU_x78918nF_4u1i8lB_CA.html
It took all of the question and far too much of the answer for me to figure out that question 1 was about the ship’s food preparation spaces, and not the oar-powered rams and heavy gun ships of ye olden dayes. Oops.
17th, 29 December 2024
a happy new year to all and sundry!
the Beatty question...
Beatty was also a consummate and shamelessly self-promoting political animal.
Nelson was anything but.
Not necessarily. Nelson was certainly not above showboating and self-publicity.
There is an account of Wellington (then simply Arthur Wellesley) bumping into Nelson at the Colonial Office. Wellesley said that Nelson, by then a national hero ...
"Entered at once into a conversation with me, if I can call it a conversation, for it was almost all on his side and all about himself, an in, really a style so vain and silly as to surprise and almost disgust me."
At this point, Nelson left the room, presumably to ask the door-keeper who the hooky-nosed bugger in the next room was. At any rate, he re-entered the room and made quite a different impression on Wellesley, who continued,
"He was altogether a different man, both in manner and in matter. All that I had thought a charlatan style had vanished ... and he talked of the state of the country and of the aspect and probability of affairs on the Continent with a good sense and knowledge of subjects ... that surprised me equally and more agreeably than the first part of the interview had done".
Billy Mitchell was 100% idiot but an idiot occasionally might be right.
Ignore this