My father was on the USS Missouri when it was commissioned in 1944 and remained on the ship until the end of the war. He witnessed the Japanese surrender on September 2, 1945. He was always very proud of that and his service. Just before the ship was decommissioned for the last time at Long Beach in 1991. I was able to accompany him on a visit and tour of the ship. I will always treasure that memory, he was so happy to be aboard her again.
My brother served on USS Missouri during the first Gulf War. I held my first re-enlistment on USS Arizona Memorial in 1986. I attended the memorial service for the USS Iowa explosion victims in 1989.
My grandfather worked at the Philly navy yard. He gave me a picture of Battleship New Jersey, all the guns are facing the same direction and firing at the same time. Impressive picture
Envy of your personal connection notwithstanding lol, totally awesome picture of the ultimate broadside cannonade. Only the Yamatos live{d} in the Iowa's neighbourhood. Had Montana commissioned, what a sight she'd have been.
Mighty Mo was really cool, I got to go abroad Her while She was still in active service. Pretty astounding to see the guns traverse a little bit from close too, just unlikely to see such Brobdingnagian lengths of steel move so smoothly . . . I laughed excitedly and the two crew members who were walking me around, smiled and one said "Really something, ain't it?". They were happy that I was so excited to see everything, and I think were proud to show me. One thing I remember is how solid the deck was . . . lol. Then some years later, I got to have a tour on Kittyhawk, again while She was still in service. The officer taking us through the small bit we got to see was unfriendly, and not interested, and even when we all said thank you, didn't smile or really even answer us. I just smiled more pleasantly to him, thinking to myself "You let Her down, you mook" but didn't bother saying it out loud. How anyone could fail their duty to that degree, I will never know. He dishonoured himself, in my opinion.
@@RetiredSailor60 It was, in fact, immediately after she had been in action during that. Like, still in the theater immediately. :) I guess he was aboard.
Because I am and many in my family were Navy men (my uncle George was aboard the Missouri) I get a bit prideful when Navy oriented videos are posted (I get a bit choked up too). Today Muttley (on the left) gives you a proper (right handed) snappy salute. ;-)
My father's first ship upon entering the Navy was BB-43. Was on the Tennessee from 1930 thrrough '34. Never an overly emotional man, I knew he had a soft spot in his heart for the ship and was kinda "broken up" when he heard of her being scrapped.
Wonderful reminder at the end of what we still can and visit and support our Iowa Class Battleships. To keep them afloat and preserved as museums because there's nothing quite like being on board one in person. Our beautiful Black Dragon, the Big J Battleship New Jersey just came out of dry dock where she's been repainted and preserved to float another 50 years. Aboard her are pieces from other ships that could not be spared salvage that rebuild what it was like through many generations of war and service. She's right in New Jersey. Iowa is outside of Los Angeles CA, The USS Wisconsin is in Norfolk VA, and Mighty Mo watches over the USS Arizona forevermore in Pearl Harbor. Semper Fortis
Iv'e been on the NJ twice it's an impressive ship. Iv'e also been on the Intrepid twice and I just went on a cruise that left from NY and it was berthed right next to the escort carrier and let me tell you even though it's a jeep carrier, it's a big freaking ship. I can only imagine how impressive the fleet carriers are like standing close to one.
Had a friend bring to me a coin. He said his grandfather got it. I said do you know what you have? He said my grandfather was on the Missouri. I said put this coin up in a safe place and don't treat it like a token. It's a surrender coin. Some know what that is. Everyone on board the Missouri the day Japan surrendered, got a coin. He had no idea.
Saw the new Jersey as a kid in Japan. I think it affected me to the point I joined the Navy. Later I was recalled to active duty to serve during the conflict off the coast of Lebanon. Not nostalgic for more battleships but pictures don't really convey how beautiful they are... especially when underway.
I may be a bit partial to it, since it's named for my home state, but I'm going to say the USS Wisconsin. It fired the last shot from a battleship in a war during Operation Desert Storm, in 1991. It was also present for the surrender of Japan at the end of WWII. It is one of the last of the Great Battleships.
Though Missouri (BB63) was the last to be completed since it was designed to be a flagship and took a little longer to build than Wisconsin (BB64), Wisconsin was the last battleship to be stricken from the Navy list and so can rightfully be considered “the last battleship”. 😉
My uncle was a steamfitter at Puget Sound. I wish I could remember the stories he told to me when I was four and five years old. He described the Great Grey Ladies gliding through the mist and fog of the Sound,
Just prior to the US entering WW2, there was a British "Grey Lady" that entered Bremerton's Naval Shipyard. Apparently in late summer 1941, the HMS Warspite came in for repairs aftera scrape with the Germans in the Mediterranean. A taste for Bremerton of what was yet to come? Warspite was there during the attack on PH and even a few weeks after Christmas, 1941. Maybe your uncle helped patch up one of Britain's most beloved battleship.
Small error. 12:39 "Battleships Yamashiro and Mogami" Mogami was a cruiser. Fuso was the second battleship. Both of these were contemporaries of The Tennessee.
I was visiting my father near Brenerton, WA in the early 80's as a boy. He took me to see the Missouri while in mothballs there. It was about the coolest thing in the world for an 11 year old boy. It started a lifelong fascination for WW2 history and battleships in particular.
The intro to a classic A&E documentary on the German Battleship Bismarck (Sink the Bismarck (1996)) did a very good job summarizing the concept of the battleship. Three key traits define these great warships: Speed, Protection, and Firepower. Put the biggest gun possible you can on a ship. Make it go fast; and protect it with tons of steel armor. Battleships dominated naval warfare for over half a century starting with the advent of steam-powered screws, ironclad armor, and armor-piercing shells, between the 1880s and the 1940s, primarily because the cannon firing an armor piercing high-explosive shell was the most advanced military technology of the time. They eventually were superseded by first aircraft (Bismarck's steering was crippled by torpedo bombers, enabling British battleships to corner her and finish her off, the Brits crippled Italian battleships at the Battle of Taranto, the Japanese did the same to American battleships at Pearl Harbor, and even the largest and most powerful battleships ever built, Musashi and her sister Yamato, were both sunk by bombs and torpedoes dropped by American carrier planes), and later cruise missiles (which partially superseded aircraft carriers in their own right).
We love you Lance.. As I always comment, I am especially taken with the old battle wagons.. I never miss a "History Guy" post. However, when I see the word "battleship" I get butterflies. Thank you Lance. Thank you
I don’t know where requested subjects should be posted so I will try my luck here. In the 1920’s the government constructed concrete arrows to guide air mail pilots across country
Weird ask, any chance you could do an episode on sandblasting/ maybe related things? Started blasting at work and was curious if you had any insight to the topic
The DLG and later CG is a class of ships built in the 1960s that seems to have been lost to history. The only war they fought in was Vietnam which wasn't really a naval war. I had the honor to serve on three of this class and their history deserves to be remembered.
There is a push by some who now believe the use of bullets are much cheaper than very expensive missiles for battle within several miles of a ship to bring back big guns on ships. Modern advances with guns and ammunition makes this a very possible option. An example is to look at the advancements the army has made with their big guns. The type and design of the ships may be completely different, but you might witness the new ships within years. " Who knows " ?????????? Might and Maybe ??????????? " Who knows "
Just found your channel very impressed it shows that you put a lot time into research and it shows easy listening to and enjoyable and educational great pictures I enjoy naval history and you do a great job at it grade A in my opinion looking forward to the next one can't thank you enough for what you do thank you
From what I have seen/understand, the US NAVY could still bring back the Iowa class battleships. The museums are required to maintain the engineering/ engines in full working order and are inspected by the Navy regularly. That being said the remaining ships would need 1.5 to 2 years in dry dock for modernization/refit. And then there is USS. Texas she is the last ship on the list to be brought back if our country needed her. My source is the USS New Jersey RU-vid videos.
Why did the battleship keep swearing? It had turrets. I just read a book about building battleships. It was riveting. Why do Norwegians have barcodes on their battleships? So they can Scandinavian.
DL Giangreco's "Hell to Pay" uses the battle plans of both sides for the invasion of Kyushu for a sobering documentation based history that largely leaves the reader to use it for forming his own assessment of the scope of what "Operation Downfall" could have amounted to. The ruling Junta of Japan had invested it's total hoarded resources into a policy of "redoubt" to bleed the Allies in order to mitigate it's loss by forcing negotiations in which they hoped to remain in power. They were willing to sacrifice 20 million of their civilian population to that end. I don't think it's fully appreciated what the Emporer's directive to his forces to lay down arms saved us including the USSR whose invasion of Manchuria was largely funded by us and benefitted by the surrender of most of the Empire's forces defending it.
You made a error/mistake in that the battleship USS Tennessee BB-43 fought the most battles in WW 2. The TN earned 10 battle stars for battles she fought in during WW2. The USS North Carolina BB-55 earned 15 battle stars. One battle star for each battle. Shalom
The point of Tennessee's survival at Pearl Harbor being "paramount" in the Navy's success in the Pacific is overblown. The most important "good news" out of the Pearl Harbor raid was that the Navy's carriers--Lexington, Yorktown, and Enterprise--had not been there. And it was the carriers--not the slow, pre-North Carolina-class BBs--that won the naval war.
Everyone knows the survival of the carriers was critical. But the comparatively quick salvage and repair of the battleships demonstrated to the Japanese that they were up against an efficient industrial power with a strong and determined workforce and significant resources. The Japanese had been hoping that the attack on Pearl Harbor would hurt the Americans enough to keep them out of the Pacific conflict. Fouling up the timing of the declaration of war, failing to catch the carriers in port, and failing to destroy the fuel tanks, dry docks, and repair yards were also significant. A “sneak attack,” although never intended, was the strongest possible motivation for the American people. Whatever Congress asked for after that was provided. Sending their damaged battleships back into the fight was a massive morale booster. Battleships would provide firepower for shore bombardment, but more importantly their bulk and power would bolster the image of naval might for the same reasons the other combatant navies had built Yamato, Bismarck, Hood, King George V, Roma, and Richelieu.
Carriers played a pivotal role in defeating Japan, and none more so than the Big E. Hats off to her and her crew. However, an Iowa class battleship would instill a sense of both dread and finality in civilian members of the audience that no doubt filled the harbor area. An irresistible enemy at the gates, as it were. Remember, that ship had main battery turrets larger than the homes that many Japanese people lived in at the time... IE, it was done for psychological purposes. IMHO.
Please tell us your thoughts. You have studied and understand history better than almost anyone. Based on that knowledge, please share your intuitions for the future Thank you.
Love this channel. The History Guy does excellent and important work. Unfortunately, notable historical events just took place Saturday but The History Guy isn't covering it...
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel OK fair enough; so how long is "the test of time" ? 10 years? 20 years? 50 years? Saying you won't appears to suggest that no length of time will suffice.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel Fair point. You're certainly correct in referring to it as a current event and that you don't run a news channel. The implication then would be that once events are no longer current they become part of history. The question then is how long can events be considered "current"? Weeks? Months? Certainly no more than a year or so; would you agree? I'm enjoying this little discussion we're having here by the way, History Guy; and I respect your decision to cover whatever you feel is appropriate for your channel. I guess I'm just curious how you determine what's history and what isn't. Perhaps you can do a video on that; that is, an insight into your criterion for historical subject matter and what you prefer to focus on in your body of work.
Any battleship which cannot use her guns in a seaway when the waves are larger than flat calm is not going to be the best of anything. The long bow of the Iowas proved time and again a weakness lacking buoyancy especially in exercises in the Atlantic leading to water over the bow that prevented the use of A barbette in any significant wave height unlike the near contemporary HMS Vanguard which could use all of her guns in almost any weather
I wish the Navy could agree on what to replace them with. We simply don't have the shore bombardment capability today. Zumwalt hasn't turned out to be the replacement that was promised.
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel *Within 25 miles of shore, sure, they're great. But there's nothing that drones & missiles can do as well- better even, & at a fraction of the cost of operating a battle wagon. As Billy Mitchell proved proved with SMS Ostfriesland in 1921, the Japanese proved in December 1941 with Prince of Wales and reports, and the US Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor, & the USA proved over the next three and a half years... the Battleship's day is done... & it's only gotten more so with the Advent of precision-guided Munitions and Over the Horizon High Velocity missiles. Now they're just horribly vulnerable prestige pieces & vanity project ego trips.*
@@F-Man Would that you had a similar capacity for civility. One can't help but notice that, rather than engage in a discussion and debate comparing facts, you chose the sure sign of a losing argument; the personal attack.
