The torpedoing of USS North Carolina - 15th September 1942 

Pinned post for Q&A :)

Just wanted to take a second to reminisce about when Drac was too shy to use his own voice in the reviews, and now here he is in person doing interviews So proud of you bro

Well, I was stunned to hear the name of my civilian flight instructor mentioned during this video. Clint Odell trained me for both my Private Pilot's License and later, my instrument rating. While I knew he was a plank holder on the North Carolina, I hadn't known he served as a fireman on the ship. He did tell me a story about going topside one day to catch a much needed smoke in an area, which while it wasn't dangerous to do so, it was against regulations to. As he hunted for a light, a sleeve with four stripes on it, held out a lit match for his cigarette. He and Capt. Ford shared a companionable smoke for a time before they went back to their respective duties. He was an interesting character and an excellent flight instructor.

Free historical lessons from a Rear Admiral. Thanks, Drach

Drach: Nice job, shipmate. Thanks for giving me an opportunity to be on your channel. You do great work keeping the memory alive.

Probably one of the most effective torpedo attacks in history.

Robovoice 5 min guides to flag officer guests and features at naval history associations. Congratulations Drach.

My father-in-law was part of a 5" crew on the port side when BB55 took the hit. In his words, that's when he decided he'd rather be on the shooting end and finished with 5 war patrols on Sterlet. It was truly an honor to see his name engraved on the crew roster as we entered North Carolina during a visit a few years back.

Five hits out of six torpedoes, mortally wounding a carrier, seriously wounding a battleship, and damaging a destroyer...the Japanese sub captain was a LUCKY A SON-OF-A-B*TCH!

Dad was on the Showboat from her commission in April 1941. He talked about this a lot when I was growing up. Said those guys banged on the bulkheads for a couple of days but they couldn't open up that part of the bow after the torpedo hit. Dad said they had to fumigate the entire ship by the time they got to drydock for repairs. Thanks for making this video... dad would have turned 100 years old this year. He passed in 1997.

Drach, this is a *fantastic* video! I may be biased because I have just finished the chapter on the North Carolinas in Friedman's US Battleship Design History. The book talked about the damage in more detail, specifically the deformation of the plating in the decks above, but did not provide nearly as much information about the damage control or repair efforts. Thanks for this, and thanks to Adm. Henderson!

My uncle served on NC during this time. He told me they were under radio silence on the trip back to Pearl Harbor and outside of the usual routes. He said when they enter the harbor all the ships were saluting them, horns and sailors cheering. It was a huge welcoming for them, something he wouldn’t forget.

Thank you Admiral Henderson for honoring those lost. Your respect of their sacrifice is appreciated.

I walked those spaces and touched the steel that made the repair. You can easily tell where the hit was made. Two of the dead were in the shower space close to the torpedo impact. The freaky part of that was that there were three men in that compartment. The survivor was standing between the two that perished in the blast. He found himself naked on top deck with no memory how he got there. The bulk patch installed in Pearl Harbour is easy to spot. It is made out of galvanized sheet metal. It hates paint till this day. I guess that's all that was available at the time.

I always enjoy the experts you bring into the mix. You are so very good at your job. Cheers

My dad, who served on the North Carolina for 3 years, told me this story many times; thank you, guy, for letting me hear it again.

The O'Brian that was Torpedoed with Wasp was an excellent example of whiplash so badly it caused the ship to founder as it was towed back to the states if I remember correctly.

As a Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, I often decided to spend Saturdays at the North Carolina. As a boy I had visited numerous times and then again many more times as an adult. I love this ship and I'm glad to see it getting the attention it deserves. I can still navigate my way through the ship in my mind and hope to go back some day. Thanks for making this Drach.

Thank you Admiral for talking with Drach (and us) about North Carolina's most damaging hit and what the crew had to do to deal with it. I've visited the ship and am thoroughly impressed by her state of preservation. I didn't get a chance to visit and see everything I wanted to so my wife and I plan to visit again in the not too distant future. She is an absolutely beautiful Lady.

These videos remind me of what the History channel used to be for a short, bright time. Thank you and keep it up!

To underline a point made by Admiral Henderson, the platform ("Stryker's Bridge") added to the 0-7 level of the foremast structure (BATT TWO / Secondary Conn) gave the XO far more ability to see what was going on. Inside the tower at that level, there are actually four very small compartments which each have two or three small portholes. When you consider how many people who have been on this level in these small spaces (12 Enlisted, 5 Officers according to the signage on the level), it is easy to imagine how little the Executive Officer would have been able to see for himself. The exterior platform gives great all around vision (except for directly aft where the funnels obscure your view). And to underline another point the Admiral made, the "Hidden Battleship" tour is very well worth signing up for when it is offered - it's the tour on which you get to go up into the forward superstructure and see Stryker's Bridge. (The regular tour route takes you up to the bridge on the 0-4 level. The "Hidden Battleship" tour takes you to the 0-10 level and above into the Mk 38 Director.)

Quite the coincidence that USS New Jersey has two episodes recently, one about torpedo defense design and another about damage control. Great minds stream alike!

I swear, sometimes it seems like Drach has been cloned... Right now he's touring the States getting tons of footage, while meeting with the fans and hopefully having a good time of it (and doubtlessly imparting a fair amount of encyclopedic historical and engineering knowledge) and at the same time continuing uploads on his channel. Time management skills for days... Truly impressive skills and dedication. And this coming from someone who was in the US Army LoL.

North Carolina or Massachusetts are my absolute favorite.. I wished we had Tennessee as a museum ship. Thank you as always for all you do!

Very,very interesting! 80 years ago when my father was in the Navy and I was on the way. My wife and I visited her in the 60s and found she had a watch dog or watch gator who stopped by for leftovers from the snack bar every evening. They would lower leftover sandwiches from the fantail to the gator. True story! It was a snack bar on shore. I was stationed in North Carolina on and off during the 60s between tours in Vietnam and before VN.

Takakazu Kinashi. THE pro gamer in the IJN submarine force.

Hello Admiral it's pleasure and privilege to see you!

Thank you Admiral Henderson for your commentary. My nephew and brother in law enjoyed their boy scout stay there as well! He's been interested in all aspects of the military thanks to your startup in his journey. Drach, another great video, can't thank you enough.

After my Dad done his basic training on the USS Indianapolis at the very beginning of 1942 he remained on the Showboat till the war ended. Being a Pipefitter, he was part of the 1st crew the US sent in to help rebuild Japan. Crazy times no doubt. Thank you so much for posting this vid!

Many years ago I had the Revell kit of the North Carolina and you could get a 33 1/3 rpm record about the "Showboat". Wish I still had both! While in Wilmington on business in the 2000's there was time to visit the ship so I went aboard. The late 1930's/early 1940's technology was still impressive. The Alabama is also quite impressive...

I can't praise the "Hidden Battleship" tours enough! You get to visit numerous sections of the ship that few people ever have the opportunity to see. You can visit the repaired section and see bent beams and the unpainted repair plates marked for BB55 that the Pearl Harbor repair crews had prepared while the ship was enroute there for the repairs. I always try to schedule my visits to the coast to coincide with a hidden battleship tour. Totally worth the effort!

Your guest is tailor made for YT appearances. Clear, concise and explains things in an orderly and intuitive fashion. Would love to see him again. Also would love to see an episode focused on the loss of Wasp herself. Tip of the cap to I-19. Has to be the most devastating torpedo spread of the war.

Excellent video - many thanks to Admiral Henderson for participating and sharing his knowledge and experience. The 'Stryker's Bridge' puts me in mind somewhat of the preference for open bridges on RN ships during WW2. As far as I recall, the view expressed by commanding officers afloat was that, despite the weather issue associated with it, "when fighting against aircraft it is useful to be able to see them".

North Carolina was the first museum ship I visited and has remained my favorite every since. This was a very interesting vid. Thanks!

Very interesting as always…That 6th torp aka “Golden BB” almost sank three ships with one spread! North Carolina is well worth the visit too…Been aboard her twice.

I visited USS North Carolina November 2013. It is such a beautiful ship, which is being maintained magnificently.

You bring us so many fascinating guests, Drach; thank you!

American Battleships seem able to take some major damage. When they are not tethered together in a harbor during peace time. When a combination of design and damage control teams can keep the ship at speed. Despite a gaping hole in her side.

Drach: This is a superb follow-up to your recent video tour of USS _North Carolina,_ and the human dimension it adds brings the torpedo incident to life, cranking up the depth & meaning to 11. As the video began to wrap up, I thought, "What?!? Already???" Many thanks to Adm. Henderson for his commentary. I couldn't help thinking that there was a lot more detail he could have added, and I look forward to any future interviews with him. Well done, as always! 😎

Thank you Rear-Admiral Henderson for your valued commentary.

Don't know whether this is a coincidence but this perfectly complements yesterday's Battleship New Jersey video on torpedo protection.

Still of the view that the torpedo damage to North Carolina was a contributing factor to the loss of Hornet at Santa Cruz.

Thats a true salty USN Chief PO for you. "Give me a half a bottle of whiskey and I will go get them" That has to be one of the most classic quotes from a US Navy Chief ever...

Yes. That was nice to see another _North Carolina_ video. As I mentioned last time - I was born in North Carolina and my father returned to Camp Lejeune en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marine_Corps_Base_Camp_Lejeune for his last assignment (which included sitting on a boat off Cuba in 1962). The day he retired we went to the _North Carolina_ memorial on our way out. This was also the second model ship I ever built. So - I've always had an attachment to this ship and it's nice to see another video on it. One thing. As I mentioned last time - I dropped dimes in a can when I was 9 years old to help buy the _North Carolina_ . I can understand why South Dakota didn't buy their ship as it would be somewhat difficult to get her there - but - I can't excuse Washington for not buying there's. .

Amazing account and detail. NCs defense of BIG E is almost never talked about. Hearing it from a rear admiral reminds us of the many unsung heros of the pacific fleet.

Admiral Henderson actually led the Hidden Battleship Tour I took yesterday (group 3).

Outstanding. The admiral was clear and concise. A very enjoyable brief.

One of the first models that I built was North Carolina, making it a sentimental favorite. As always, thanks, Drach and guest!

This guy is a great guest / story teller ! Love this one

Just visited the North Carolina, my first ever experience on board a WW2-era ship, and my guide touched base on this incident without going into too much detail. Came straight to this channel afterward hoping that I'd find a video on it, and, as always, Drac never disappoints. Thank you for doing so much in-depth research into the naval battles of the war, I know I'm not the only one with an immense appreciation for your content and attention to detail.

Great interview and discussion! Ron's a great guy, and has done a crazy amount of research on the North Carolina.

Such unique insight! Drach, you're making great contributions to preserving naval history and making it much more readily available. THANK YOU!

Thank you and Rear-Admiral Henderson for creating and uploading this excellent (as usual) video.

I enjoy hearing exerts on a subject share their knowledge. Thank You Adm Henderson.

My goodness, I could listen to the Admiral all day!

Thank you both for a very interesting episode on USS North Carolina.

The US Navy is somewhat famous for getting things done for favors. We traded two 40 pound cans of coffee for a $35k dollar transmitter (1960's dollars), I 'm not sure how we paid the crane operator to move it from one mothballed ship to ours. Whisky may have been involved.

When you go board the USS North Carolina BB-55, be sure to take a trip about 4 hours south to visit Patriots Point Charlestown, SC and board the Yorktown, CV-10. It's worth the drive if you have the time.

If I’m not mistaken there are 2 additional tours in addition to the hidden battleship tour that take place on the North Carolina. One of them was called firepower and was all about the main guns. Not sure if the other 2 are still offered. I’m North Carolina Born and raised. When I was young the did a light show at the battleship during the spring and summer. It started after dark and they had flame throwers mounted in the muzzle of all 9 main guns to simulate firing. The also had a bunch of .50 calls on the bow that would be fired remotely. When they were telling the story of the torpedo hit what I can only assume was a small charge would go off under the water along side the ship that would send a big geyser into the air. It was an awesome experience.

Drach, great video! Thank you for continuing to bring us wonderful naval history content, and I greatly appreciate you as an interviewer. You contribute very meaningfully without getting in the way of your guests and what they have to share.

My question is a question for the engineers out there. Considering all of the countries that participated in World War 2, it seems that the Italians, and the Japanese both had some of the best Torpedoes available. My question is what the Japanese Torpedoes been just as good in the Atlantic Ocean as they were in the Pacific, or would they have had malfunctions like everybody else due to the different climates and other variables?

In the late 80's I was at the North Carolina during a commemoration of historical events involving the Ship. There was a mock air attack by WW2/post WW2 era piston aircraft. It was quite a show but another event occurred that afternoon that wasn't advertised beforehand. A group of Japanese men, all wearing suits and ties walked up the gangplank and then amidships, turned and faced the grandstand. It was then announced these men were survivors of the I-19 who came all the way from Japan (with their families) to face the surviving crew of the North Carolina to apologize for the torpedoing of their ship. That prepared statement was made, they saluted the crew in the grandstand and received a return of salute and standing ovation from the crowd. There was only a handful of these men left from the I-19. I recall they were all very kind. Glad I got to witness that event.

Hello Drach, my favorite ships are the USN 4-piper destroyers built after WW1 and their use in WW2. I would very much like to see a show about USS Ward (DD 139, APD 16) or USS Borie (DD 215), or about the various conversions to other types of ships they underwent. Thanks!

"The first report is always wrong." . That gets added to the Book Of Axioms.

An excellent video very informative and well done. nice Job by the Rear Admiral too.

WOW! That has to be the most successful spread of torpedos in naval warfare history!

A point of correction. Abandon ship was ordered 35 mins after the initial torpedo hits not 12 hours later according to the 15 Sept 42 Loss in Action report. Also the Torpedo that hit O’Brien did not blow her bow off but rather blew a chunk of the lower section off. The Torpedo hit caused whipping and shock damage that compromised her structure and the result was after repairs that were supposed to see her back to the states she suffered progressive major structural failure in moderate seas leading to the loss of the ship. Her loss in action report is also available online and makes interesting reading. But the facts of her loss are very different from what the Admiral describes.

I just recently visited her last month, it was amazing, I’m hoping to visit all of the battleships by the end of next year, I only have Missouri and Alabama left.

Awesome breakdown of the torpedoing of the US ships including obviously the North Carolina with the Admiral, great content and interview as always 👍

As a young man, one of my co-workers (a bartender) was on-board the North Carolina when she was torpedoed and talked with me about this.

BB NC Also remains the only USN capital ship to have sunk a restaurant

The Japanese long lance torpedoes had a very long range and were very powerful .

My favorite channel since the day I discovered it; A pleasure to watch and pleasure to share with my friends (many of whom are now subscribers) spreading the word as well.

My wife and I toured the North Carolina about twenty-five years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. Our favorite place in the ship was probably not what one would think of and that is probably why we liked it so much and that was the galley. There was a mixer in there similar in looks to one my father had in his donut shop only it was about 100 times larger. We marveled at the size of that thing but considering that when you were going to mix up some batter or bread dough you were going to be doing it for about 1400 (guessing) people at a time. The entire ship was great though, not just the galley. Two other great ships to tour are the carrier Lexington in Corpus Christi (an Essex class carrier) and the carrier Midway in San Diego.

Great video I've visited North Carolina, but the story of the fireman handle probably was due to the fact that the Navsea bureaucracy doesn't work as much during wartime. From a former US sailor.

Speaking of Washington and Enterprise, I remember hearing a story that, early in the war there was obviously a shortage of battleships to escort carriers but eventually Enterprise was joined by Washington and the taskforce ran into the Japanese where Washington opened up with a full broadside from her 16in guns. Enterprise, unaccustomed to the thunder, flash, and smoke of battleship guns, signaled Washington wondering if she'd been hit. I always found that kind of funny.

My grandfather was on the BOFORS mount located behind and above turret 2, by the bridge. He was on the opposit side of the impact, and had a perfect view of it. He said the blast made the ship shudder like a wet dog and the column of water was higher than he was. I have a picture of the bow of the ship taken from his station if you are interested, as well as a very interesting story about an event in WW2 not many people know of.

This is another absolutely great video, just like so many others where you bring in a person with extreme knowledge and experience in the US Navy. This US admiral was quite excited to tell you/us all about the torpedoing of the USS Carolina. His detail and maps were terrific as well. You do an amazing job of getting these type of interviews, which reflects only on your well-known reputation.

Great interview Drach! Thanks as always! Now ship suggestion. BB-42, USS Idaho. She was involved in nearly every major bombardment in the Pacific and was the only boat in her class to get the 5-in/38 gun upgrade. I think she's also the only BB to run herself completely out of main gun armament in a bombardment. I'd love to see a video from you on her. Cheers!

As much as I love those colabs, I bit missed the episodes made solely by You, Drach... Those are the real bread and butter, meat and potatoes, sausages and beans of this channel 😉

Excellent upload this week! Love it when you have guests like this....even better that his sound setup doesn't make my ears bleed! ( I listen on headphones and sad to say most of the guys you have as guests don't have nearly as nice a sound quality as the good Admiral Henderson here )

I found out a few years ago that my dad had served on this ship at that time as a Machinist's Mate, but he never said anything to me about his naval service during the war.

"North Carolina has a torpedo defense system that is pretty good." "The torpedo defense austen worked pretty well. It was designed against a 600lb warhead and it was hit by a nearly 900lb torpedo and the vitals weren't breached." Meanwhile, in WoWS, there are heavy cruises with almost as much TDS XD

Having served from 1961 to 1965,,,on destroyer render USS Yellowstone AD27,, I had the privilege of not only seeing and admiring the beauty of Adams class destroyers,,but serviced them as well. Would like very much to have you do a piece on the Adams class exclusively. R.M. Elwell OM2

@Drachinifel I am so happy to see talk more about my favorite ship of all time. The USS North Carolina!

Excellent narrative of the torpedoimg of my state's namesake. The mention of the cemetery on Tonga with the bodies of her crewmen was interesting. When you were in North Carolina, did you have a chance to visit the British cemetery on Ocracoke Island containing the bodies of sailors from HMS Bedfordshire?

I've taken my parents and my immediate family to visit this grand old fighting ship several times since the 1970's. Thanks for the fascinating backdrop and the inside glimpses of its wartime history.

My ex wife's grandfather served on the showboat and talked to me about his service in the pacific. Ronald "Frascona" Johnson. He said that one of the counter flooded departments housed a platoon of Marines. It was his job to clean out the bodies of the men who drowned to death after they drained it. I can guarantee more people parished on that ship on an account of that torpedo. Ron was an incredible and inspiring man, served on the enterprise, hornet, and Yorktown as a tail gunner on a Dauntless TBD. He finished his career on the NC after he beat up his pilot who splashed them in the water for a 2nd time, "because the man couldn't fly worth a damn".

Seen very few films about after damage in battle. On site interior filming of damage , extent of damage in areas that suffered damage and what crew does after the ship is under repair

I GOT TO SEE HER ON SATURDAY APRIL 15,1972. THE SOUND AND, LIGHT SHOW IS FANTASTIC.

IJN: *torps USS North Carolina* USS NC: "I'll be back, and with better guns."

Excellent presentation! Admiral Henderson did an excellent job describing what some historians call the "luckiest torpedo shot in history". Of course, the IJN I--19 was commanded by Commander Kinashi, and he had at his disposal a very lethal weapon in the Long Lance torpedo, which many Allied ships would fall victim to in the Solomons Campaign. It would be interesting to hear Adm. Henderson to go more into detail on damage control efforts on the Wasp.

Gloriously American answer 'sea operations are normally in support of land operations - either directly or indirection' Mahan would be proud ;-)

Fabulous video. Love seeing these types of video with guests. The interaction between Drach and the Admiral was very good.

Excellent Work ..Really enjoyed the drone shots and technical drawings, not to mention top shelf guest and this fascinating story .. I believe this channel is the go to source for Naval History .. Touche Drach ..!

Grandpa calls it North Cakilaki❤

Thanks, Admiral, Drach and team. Never a waste of time.

36:16 I think that's a really good point that is often overlooked, that the energy of the shell impact and explosion still has to go somewhere even if it doesn't penetrate the armor. Kinda reminds me of scenes in Star Trek where there's damage in the ship even though the shields are still up. Which makes more sense why they were included in the show, given that Trek was originally written partly by WW2 Navy Vets

Those are AMAZING diagrams

I had a professor who was a Wasp survivor. He retired after serving in WW2, Korea, & Vietnam