And both stories could be true at the same time. If they were outgunned, damaged, sinking, and happened to be pointing at the enemy vessel, "RAMMING SPEED" would be a perfectly Valiant thing to order. War brings out the best in men, while bringing out the worst in men. And I second the 'Sandworm' nomination. It is from the movie Dune, and is one badass worm.
To be fair, glowworms are pretty vicious predators in their "worm" larval state (and they hunt larger and better armored snails, which seems fitting here). I can't speak for you, but to me the main reason they sound whimsical is those "Glo Worm" toys from the 80s.
@@Merennulli Good points - I think it probably was those toys that give me that impression. In any case, THIS particular Glo Worm was about as aggressive and deadly a predator as I can imagine.
As much as I love anything to do with Titanic, It's extremely refreshing to see videos about ships that aren't the Titanic thank you Mike for you're unbridled love for seafaring vessels
Imagine going toe-to-toe, ferociously and getting either rammed or sunk, then learning that the ship that gave you so much trouble was called the Glow Worm.
And THAT is probably exactly how they had a German commander write a letter of commendation for the captain, and pick up their crew, AND do the plaque commemorating the battle. I mean, you'd almost HAVE to if you were an honorable sort of person. "...HMS WHAT rammed you and tore open the side of the ship?!" "I know, and that after chasing two of our destroyers AND fighting for over an hour *before* she did that! It's not like our guns weren't hitting her, either!" "Well, I see why you picked them up that's for sure. ONE destroyer did all that?!" "Exactly! One TINY little cutesy-glow-worm did all that! We found a MOUNTAIN LION of a Glowworm when we thought we were going to pick up a helpless kitten!"
Have give the German Captain credit for his appreciation for bravery and sacrifice. Even if it was the enemy. Does not happen very often and to go a step forward and recommend the Victorian Cross is amazing
Many of the Kriegsmarine were first and foremost honourable people, they fought for the fatherland, even if they did not exactly like the current head, but they went to do what they saw was duty. The honour they had for the captain and crew was foremost, they went in against overwhelming odds, and did not ever consider backing down or retreating, thus the sending via a diplomatic channel the request for this from the captain and officers.
@@SeanBZA I absolutely agree. That includes the Luffwafe after everyone realizes or hears about the Charlie Brown & Franz Stiegler Incident, which the rock band Sabaton highlights in their No Bullets Fly song.
The story of Glow Worm and Hipper is one of my favorites...annoyingly obscure though. So nice to see another naval history channel on RU-vid. You and Drachinifel should do a collaboration.
While LT-CDR Roope was awarded the Victoria Cross on the recommendation of Kaptain Heye, the only surviving British officer, LT Ramsey, was awarded the Distinguished Service Order.
@@peterhobson3262 Good to hear, a DSO's nothing to sneeze at either. I hope the rest of the surviving crew of Glowworm were properly recognized as well.
@@eri3726 Wikipedia.....Battle of Surigao strait. Americans were vastly outnumbering the Japanese "Southern Force". Overwhelming odds. 2 Japanese Battleships sank with 10 survivors each
What an absolutely incredible story. The men on the somewhat strangely named Glowworm were brave men who did their best to at least go down like heroes. And the Victoria Cross suggestion from Captain Hellmuth Heye is truly incredible. Shows that on either side there were men who honored impressive services, regardless of their heritage. Having the understanding that both parties at this battle only served their motherland and did their best and the capability to honor actions by the enemy is insanely powerful and strong. In war, there are only losers. Both the allied and the axis had incredible people in their ranks and it’s also incredible that humanity wasn’t lost in this absolutely horrifying conflict.
I never get sick of this story no matter how many times I see a new video about it or I read about it. I also think about Glowworm is one of the coolest names ever.
Would you ever consider a video on the Whilhelm Gustlav? One of the survivors of the sinking was Eric Braeden who ended up playing JJ Astor in the 1997 Titanic film. Quite honestly I believe it to be the worst maritime disaster.
Thank you Mike for giving the GLOWWORM’s crew the dignity heroes truly deserve! Again you videos are so informative and respectfully done. THANK YOU, for all your hard work.
Lieutenant-Commander Gerard Broadmead Roope VC RN was a posthumous British recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. Born: 13 March 1905, Taunton Died: 8 April 1940, Trondheim, Norway
The heart and bravery of the men who crewed the “little ships,” like Glowworm, more than made up for their diminutive size. USS Johnston and Samuel B. Roberts have already been mentioned. Another amazing story of bravery that resulted in a VC by the recommendation of the enemy is that of Sgt. Thomas Frank Durrant on HM Motor Launch 306 during Operation Chariot.
The only Victoria Cross awarded on evidence solely provided by the enemy was for a New Zealand pilot, Lloyd Allan Trigg, who died sinking _U-468._ The submarine's captain recommended him for the award; the u-boat's survivors were later picked up, awaiting rescue in an inflatable dinghy from Trigg's crashed aircraft.
I know this story well.. First being made aware of the action back in the early 70s having read the excellent Larry Forrester novel, 'Battle of the April Storm', based on this event.. Through the decades I came to know a number of senior naval officers, all of which hold this action to be possibly the pinnacle of what can be expected of a commander and a ship's crew. Your excellent summation of this engagement is without doubt the most comprehensive and factual I've encountered. Well-balanced and no doubt as accurate of the events as is possible to expect at this distance. Well done sir.
I love the sound of that horn you use in the intro when your channel name and portrait or whatever are shown. It sounds so large, even thru my tiny phone speaker. I love it.
Mike, this is one of my favorite WWII stories. As always, Your unique presentation of the story is a welcome addition. In my opinion, Both Captains were absolute class acts! Thank You !:-) 🙏💜⚡
Always excellent content. Many thanks. Have seen many articles and videos on Glowworm, but this assessment includes ample information on the ship itself and the action’s context.
Once again I, terrified of the ocean and profoundly disinterested in recent wartime history, am brought to tears by our friend Mike Brady's recounting of brave little ships and the courageous souls who crew them. 🫡 Fantastic channel you have here. I also cannot imagine being on the Hipper and watching this tiny thing fighting like it was in your same class. Phenomenal.
An amazing story, one of many from WW2, there is a great deal of information of historic fighting ships and battles on Drachinifel's and Dr Alexander Clarke's RU-vid channels. For anyone who hasn't seen them I would highly recommend both, their knowlage is immense and present in differing ways, so you learn from both. Mike it would be very interesting to look at the designs of some of the main warship classes of both world wars, if that is at all possible. Thanks for always making engagong videos.
Thank you for sharing these stories of history, they are incredible. Your video creation and narration are first class. Amazing to learn of the ships, and the lives of the young, brave men who fought so hard.
You must read about the Polish submarine ORP "Orzeł" [eagle], and the escape from Tallinn in 1939. Perhaps you will have interesting material for a new episode.
I appreciate that naval vessels and engagements aren’t ostensibly Mike’s thing, so it’s a special occasion when he dips into that world for a moment to give it the Oceanliner Designs treatment.
Fantastic video, though I'd heard of the Glowworm and it ramming a german ship before I hadn't heard the full story before now. Keep up the great work, been really enjoying your videos since recently discovering the channel. The destroyer USS Samuel B Roberts would make for a good video, the destroyer that fought like a battleship. She's also the deepest known shipwreck.
I have heard of the Glowworm, and that she had been lost, but not the details. This is a fascinating story to be told. A light weight destroyer going up against a heavy cruiser. Definitely a one sided fight.
Nice to see the" battle of the April storm "related so well, here's to 'the Mighty Maggot' her incredible Captain and crew and thanks to the Enemy who risked their lives trying to save fellow seamen, even though they were the enemy, in the highest traditions of both Navies. Well narrated.
That is such an amazing story. You've had a couple like this, that I've seen, recently. Liners, converted to Q ships, and now this little destroyer, all going after much larger foe. Thanks so much for sharing these tales. Well done.
Indeed, the tragedy of war is not being able to properly keep survivors of a ship like that safe and get them out of the combat area as soon as possible.
The backstory of the invasion of Norway actually reminded me of Admiral Hipper’s sister Blücher, which was infamously sunk by a Norwegian fortress dating back to the late 19th century. It was notable not only for being one of the first big defeats suffered by the then seemingly unstoppable Nazi war machine, but also for the damage it done to the Kriegsmarine‘s reputation.
I didn't like the film 'Greyhound' when I found out it was pure fiction (albeit based on true life convoy destroyer experiences). The reason why I didn't like it was that I was pretty sure there must have been actual TRUE stories that could have been used instead, and here is such a story which I never knew about before. Thanks for posting this, it was fascinating!
So many un noticed engagements of the war go unrecognized and thanks to you this one is now told and we salute the gallantry of these men along with all the other unsung hero's who fade into the obscurity of history.
I've seen nearly all your videos, becoming obsessed with Naval history now, where it was mostly just a passing iteresting before. Thank you for the high-quality videos!
Incredible story ! Is there anything more epic than using your actual ship as a weapon and to _ram_ your enemy with it, regardless of your own survival ? Respect to the German officer for his honesty.
Hey Mike Thank you for putting this one together, I often enjoy watching your content, but this one was really good! What an amazing story from history 👏
It's stories like this, where ostensible enemies still have some respect for each other and commend each other for some acts. This situation is one and another that comes to mind is when Allied captains gave evidence for Admiral Dönitz at Nuremberg that allied ships had done some things that Dönitz was on trial for.
Thank you for showing this amazing piece of history, especially for ships that are less well known. Reminds me there are lots of videos about Queen Mary, but none about Queen Elizabeth
Have you ever considered doing a video on the dutch minelayer Abraham Crijnssen? The ship that disguised itself as an island, or the dutch gunboats Flores and Soemba, two relatively small ships who fought so ferociously and effectively the allied nicknamed them ''The Terrible Twins''?
Dear friend, Mike Brady, this story of being outgunned and ounumbered reminds me of the Battle off Samar. I know its a pretty large story to detail, but I know you can tell that story with the justice it deserves. Thank you for your consideration and have a wonderful day.
I love learning about WWII battleships my grandpa was in the us navy during the war he fought in the pacific no one alive now can remember the name of the ship he was on.
Very much in the tradition of his contemporaries such a Vian and Hill. Destroyer captains in both the first and second world wars saw themselves as death or glory, damn the torpedoes and heave the odds to hell.
The chivalry of Vice Admiral Hellmuth Guido Alexander Heye to recommend an enemy captain for the Victoria Cross is an outstanding story. It's something that I would do if I had been in his shoes, and it's very admirable.
Hipper never recovered. Badly damaged, she limped to Wilhelmshaven She was docked at once, however with the opening of the Russian campaign, and the need to fit out Tirpitz and build U Boats, she was still there two years later when the RAF blasted her into wreck. Post war, she was partly scrapped and then buried. She is now part of a car park!
You are getting confused with Hipper's damage in 1942 in action at Battle of Barents Sea where she had an engine room wrecked by a shell from HMS Sheffield. Hipper was repaired just fine after this action and went on to be one of the most successful German surface warships.
Roope (captain of Glowworm) even made it to a rope hanging over Hippers side, but he was unable to climb it because of size and weight of his steel balls he proved he had.
