8:49 It wasn't a rudder, it was actually a *sail* they whipped up to get the Intrepid home. The rudder was hosed, and they needed a way to keep the bow pointed the right way-- without the sail, in the prevailing winds the ship tended to point directly toward Tokyo, where they most definitely did not want to go at that time. The gigantic Intrepid "sailing" into Pearl was an interesting sight.
Loved the video! My dad was aboard the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) which was hit by two kamikaze planes. It was knocked out of the battle but did not sink. She was being repaired when the war ended.
My father flew a Hellcat from the USS Randolph CV15 during WW2 and later from the USS Tarawa CV40 for several years after. Essex-class is part of the family.
A continent away from the fronts, hence the undisrupted production rate. Unless Latin America joins Axis and stretching and stressing out American labourers.
@@Joshua_N-A Latin America didn't have the industrial capacity of the US or Canada. They wouldn't have been able to ship anything overseas to Germany or Japan without getting blown out of the water by the US, Canadian and Royal navies. Their economies were tied to the allied cause. Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia had also declared on Germany.
My dad was a Marine stationed on the Essex and the Princeton in WWII, he always spoke of those times as some of his favorite. No matter how deadly the situations were he said he was in with all his brothers and he was sure they would prevail.
A great historical tragedy was scrapping the Enterprise. The Big E had taken a few hits and was on the west coast under repair when the war ended. Her career is worth a video.
My Dad did donuts around Cuba on the CVS-9 USS Essex. He went through the Suez, and the Mediterranean, around the Atlantic and back to Mayport with variations over his 4 years. I went with my scout troop to spend the night on the Yorktown, her sister ship. Him being a former telephone man and firefighter he knew all the shortcuts and what was behind secured hatches. If you ever get a chance, it's like the Grand Canyon. You can't convey in words appropriately the scale of it all.
I've visited the Yorktown a couple of times. I know she wad smaller than the super carriers that came after, but man it doesn't look like it when you're walking up to her. ABSOLUTE UNIT
I enjoyed my trip there with my brother a few years ago. We had a better time there than when we (and my dad) visited the USS Iowa but that was our fault due to getting there so late. We got to that again sometime and get our special tour for being Iowans.
Yeah! That's great. I plan maybe next year of going to see her. My father who served in the Navy from 1940 to 1960 served on hornet. In fact he was on it on the way to Japan when I was born.
The current Wikipedia article, "Essex Class Aircraft Carriers" includes a photo, (USS Philippine Sea- CVA-47, underway 1955)... I can almost see my dad waving from the island, as he enjoyes his first WestPac tour...
I got to visit the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi not too long after her decommissioning. If you ever have a chance to see one of these ships, please do. They're a military history lesson in port, usually with a mix of aircraft from throughout their careers, from single piston engine fighters from the Second World War to the jets that would expose the vessels' weaknesses due to their small size. All four remaining ships had angled decks added during post-war refits to accommodate the higher landing speeds of jets, as well as catapults for launching their ever-heavier weight.
My Great Grandfather was a Chief Fire Controlman on USS Ben Franklin (Big Ben) CV-13, the most heavily damaged ship to ever return to port under it's own power. It practically sank without sinking. His story was incredible. He was a member of the 704 club (704 sailors who remained on ship instead of abandoning) and battled the fires that nearly sank the ship.
Simon, Brickworks... How all the bricks were made to build the UK, London, Manchester and so on. All the buildings, viaducts, canals, culverts and sewers. Where did they all come from, billions of them. Check out the Bursledon Brickworks for a start. Stay safe, Stay strong.
@Jayo Delaware They also policed it with their civil servants and large volunteer recruited army. Indians also settled its length and breadth from Trinidad via the Cape to Fiji in the South Pacific.
It is pretty cool to see this video being a carrier sailor myself. I was on the Nimitz and that ship was huge. In all my time onboard, I maybe saw 30% of the ship.
Caveat to the Lexington history -- While she was THE LAST OPERATIONAL Essex-class carrier, the majority of her career was spent as the training carrier. After the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), in which Lexington was used as part of the blockade, she was never deployed frontline again. From 1963 onward, USS Lexington/CV-16/CVS-16/AVT-16 was strictly a training carrier. The actual last Essex-class carrier used in frontline service (armed and fully ready for war) was the USS Oriskany/CV-34. She was retired in 1976, sunk as an artificial reef in 2006. Lexington/CV-16 was the third aircraft carrier museum established. Hornet/CV-12 proved to be the last (and fourth) Essex-class ship preserved as a museum ship. USS Midway/CV-41 was the last carrier museum established (2004) in the US, PERIOD, and will likely be the last aircraft carrier museum in the US period, owing to economics and security realities of later supercarrier designs. The Midway is the only American carrier museum ship that is NOT an Essex-class vessel. There's too much of the basic designs of the earliest supercarriers being still used in the later nuclear-powered vessels. This is a huge reason why all the retired ships from Forrestal-onward have been scrapped or are in the process of being demolished. It's also tremendously expensive to preserve any ship as a museum ship; the situation gets aggravated the larger the preserved ship is! No light or escort carriers have been preserved as museum ships in the United States.
This would be good too, considering how secretive the army was about protecting them. They'd be pulled from planes and stored in locked armories after flying a mission.
it was a ridiculous project. It was like the f35’s development with “good ideas” and changes constantly thrown into and expanding budget. But it redefined mechanized warfare into something totally different. I mean I only see an oil-soaked bullet magnet but that’s just me
@@MrSpartanicusYeah, the design flaw is that there wasn't about ten feet of solid armor between the ship and the bombs and torpedoes blowing holes her.
@@MrSpartanicus there probably was a flaw mushashi only had a 1/4 to a 1/3 the planes hit her 240 to 270 some compared to 800 if memory serves! my bet would be in the ammo handling system! i bet you it didn't have enough or the right kind of interlocks to prevent flash travel to the magazines.
What’s really cool is that the Intrepid museum has the Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle on its flight deck. You can actually walk under the shuttle and really get a sense of how big the thing is. And it’s on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier!
USS NC-1701 starship enterprise. Captains, Jonathan Archer, James Tiberius Kirk and Jean Luc Picard. Space... The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.
@@theenzoferrari458 yeah, when you walk into the exhibit they actually have front and center the picture of Gene Roddenberry and the cast at the rollout. It’s pretty awesome!
@@georgehill8285 The Federation of United planets. Was founded in 2161. It is a representive republic using the monetary currency of federation credit. The Paris France is the executive branch capital and San Francisco California United States is the legislative branch capital. The UFP consisted of up to 350 chartered members in the alliance. The UFP collapsed in 3061. The last remnants of the UFP consisted of 38 members who held to the federations core values until 3189.
Forget the supercarriers of today, the Essex class will always be among the top in my books. Also, not sure if it has been covered already, but perhaps a mega/sideproject covering the allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat during WWII?
It's not just how capable the carriers are that influences my opinion of them, it includes other things like historical context, the fights it participated in, -personality- etc.
What really made the Essex carriers special was their damage control systems, Several Essex carriers were heavily damaged in the war but none were sunk
Yes the 4 Essexes Franklin, Intrepid, Lexington and Essex contributed the attack on Musashi and the Cabot (Independence Light Carrier) as well. Also the Gray Ghost CV-6 as well, so 3 classes of carriers sunk one giant Battleship
It’s lovely to have an Essex-Class carrier, Lexington, stationed as a museum in Corpus Christi, but I wish the Big “E” Enterprise would’ve been made into a museum of her own. She was one of the few that saw a lot of the fighting against the Japanese and became the first carrier used for night time operations with designation CVN.
the first question every President asks, when security of the Nation is concerned " Where are the Carriers at right now?" no country foe, ever wants a carrier stationed off their coast.
@@anydaynow01 depends on the needs as well. During the SF earthquake in 1989, we disabled the reverse power interlocks from the shore power connections and fed power to the city. It was enough to power a few vital services. The reactors onboard are huge for the ship. For a city, we had to be picky on what services were being supplied. Having 10 of those beasts is awesome. Like it was said, those platforms can provide incredible services to hard hit areas. Think of a self-contained level 1 trauma center that is portable along with a huge full-service hospital.
You should've mentioned the upgrades and modernizations the Essex class underwent, particularly the angle deck shown in several of your photos. That's why they lasted so long, they were flying jets into the 1970s, F-8 Crusaders, A-4 Skyhawks, and A-3 Skywarriors, along with the last of the prop jobs, the A-1 Skyraider. Steam catapults allowed this. Lexington was useful as a training ship into the 90s because she could operate jets, and had it not been for the post Cold War draw down she'd still be useful today. Bigger and heavier aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom and F-14 Tomcat could not operate from an Essex class and required the bigger supercarriers.
I knew aircraft carriers were the king cobra of the pacific, then they had mini carriers, but nobody ever talks about the Escort carriers. around 100 escort carriers were built, and they were just the little guys but they sent planes into combat, and they closed the air-cover gap that allowed Uboats to hammer USA cargo to UK. See the tom hanks movie. The escort carriers ended that because they could slowly launch planes and scout for subs, most of which were diesel subs and needed air to fill
Still hoping to see Denver International Airport! The second largest airport in the world by land (though tbh King Fahd shouldn’t count since it has a third of the runways as DIA!)). It’s one of the busiest in the world and has some of the more unique architecture and interior design among airports. There’s also a few interesting controversies around it, as well as a massive blue bronco we love to call “Bluecifer.” Seriously worth looking at! Edit: IF you want a bit of an in depth look at carriers and the Essex class, go check out Drachinifel! He covers them extremely well and is really entertaining.
I've been through the DIA and there's actually a subway train connecting the terminals, it's that big. They also hilariously lean in to the conspiracy theories about them, having some signage on remodeling-area walls showing hard-hats with illuminati symbols, pictures of aliens, etc.
Idea for a Megaproject or Sideproject video. History of the ships named Enterprise. From HMS Enterprise (1705), to CV-6 Enterprise (WW2), CVN-65 Enterprise aka the "Mobile Chernobyl", USS Enterprise OV-101 Space Shuttle, to the planned USS Enterprise CVN-80 Gerald R Ford super carrier.
Their should be one on the American Escort Carrier program during the war. The goal was to have 100 carriers in it but in the end the last were cancelled due to manpower shortages. HMS Argus was the Worlds first through deck carrier (you could safely land and take off from it with a fixed wing aircraft). It was launched in 1918 (converted Passenger Liner). I've read it was intended to launch a torpedo attack on the German Fleet at anchor. The USS Intrepid (The Evil I) is now a museum ship in New York.
There was a 1 hour documentary on the Oriskany that was on American Heros Channel (Formerly The Military Channel) or some other PBS Channel. It was very detailed and very informative .
They were, both only Enterprise lasted long. I think also that since this is megaprojects channel.... Well the Yorktown class weren't really a "mega" project.
@@JJsMuvieHole but a lot of what made the Essex-Class so effective. Was that most of their design included concepts and features that either evolved from the Yorktowns. Or were kept from them due to the restrictions imposed by the Washington and London Naval Treaties. Essentially, not only were they a step in the evolution of the US Aircraft Carrier design. But one of the best carriers based on the pre-war doctrine. Keep in mind that the Midway-Class was based off combat experiences from both US Navy and Royal Navy carriers during World War 2.
@@ph89787 One thing I think a lot of people miss when comparing Japanese and US design philosophies with the British is that the IJN and USN were building for the Pacific theatre while the RN was designing for the Mediterranean. With that in mind the decision for the IJN and USN to prioritise strike power and the RN to prioritise survivability both make sense. And as you point out the Naval Treaties of the time limited the possibility of doing both.
And worth mentioning, while the USN was building these carriers the 4 Iowa class battleships, and countless destroyers, cruisers and liberty ships were hitting the high seas.
Wasp cv7, and Ranger cv5 were one off ships, quite a bit smaller then the others, built to use the remaining allotment of Washington naval treaty tonnage.
How about a video on WWII era escort carriers. Smaller than Essex class carriers, they made up 2/3rds of the US fleet of aircraft carriers during the war. My grandpa served on the 1st of its class of this type of vessel, CVE-1, USS Long Island. Long Island never served in combat but was used in training pilots in San Deigo, then used on several trans pacific voyages to supply new aircraft to the pacific front. Vital ship to the war effort, grandpa talked about hitting a typhoon that almost sunk the ship, said it rolled to about 20-25 degrees before righting itself a few times
You could also mention the catastrophic losses aboard USS Bunker Hill too. Both sadly had their services cut short due to the frightening destructive power of the kamikaze
You should do a video on the Yorktown class carriers which arguably bought the US Navy the time and space for the Essex carriers to launch from the slipways. Includes the USS Enterprise (CV-6) which was the most decorated US war ship of WW2 as well as the Hornet (CV-8) which launched the Doolittle raid. Enterprise was also the first carrier to be equipped for and carry out night missions in the US navy during WW2 as well.
I’ve been the museum ship USS Intrepid and still have fond memories of that. Really want to visit the other three Essex class ships still around sometime in the future.
4:07 When Chuck Wepner knocked Ali down he turned to his corner and told them they were in for a pay day, they replied “you’d better turn around because he’s getting back up, and he looks angry” Yamamoto probably had a similar feeling when he found out there wasn’t a single aircraft carrier in Pearl Harbor.
Would have been worth noting that one of the post war technological advances to the Essex class ships was the fitting of the angled deck. During the war they all had straight decks then angled decks were added which allowed planes to take off and land at the same time.
Not really the angle deck allowed missed landings to go around and avoid planes parked forward. While takeoffs and landings were possible on a limited scale due to space constraints. Also allowed more space on deck to handle planes during both operations.
He should do a video on how horrendous Russian logistics were, like Jesus Christ you must be kidding me they were so bad- do the point that it sparked the "the other man picks up the rifle and shoots", they had more than enough rifles they just never got them to the front line 💀
Interesting side note is the Kamikazi attacks on the British carriers was pretty innefective as they had armoured decks. The Japanese were expecting wooden decks like the American carriers but they hit 3" steel and mostly bounced off leaving a dent, i believe the Americans ere pretty impressed with this at the time
I was watching a documentary about the battle of midway and thought i saw wooden decks on the American aircraft carriers and just thought i was mistaken and did not realize that were actually wood, interesting info thanks for posting that.
While some Americans were impressed by armored decks, the wooden decks of American carriers were easily replaced without the need to return to a shipyard... The USS Enterprise's flight deck was rebuilt time and time again in New Caledonia and Hawaii...
It's a design trade-off -- more deck strength vs. larger complement of strike aircraft. Of course, with the Midway class, they just made the darn thing bigger so they could have both.
Simon you made me think with this video. Most Naval fighter aircraft were "Radial" air cooled engines and the Army Air Corps fighters were mostly inline water cooled, wonder why. Thanks to you and your team for posting your work.....
The Essexs had 3 Elevators, the one on the side one and two on the flight deck. 8 of the Carriers the US navy lost were Escort carriers, Merchant ship hulls with a flight deck.
I don’t know how the carrier CV-15 USS Randolph was left out of this presentation. I served aboard the Randolph in 1954-56. In November of 1954, just 2 months prior to a 6 months cruise in the Mediterranean,we were torn up by Hurricane Edna. We spent nearly 2 months in dry dock being repaired from hurricane damage. In the Med we were participating in NATO exercises as the Korean War was undergoing peace negotiations.
During WWII, an US Naval intelligence officer was always on duty at Radio City Music Hall in NYC as the elevator stage technology was used in the carriers in WWII
My "old man" was aboard the Essex class, aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) towards the end of the Pacific campaign of WWII. He was there when a Japanese plane dropped a bomb on the ship (the only time the ship was hit by a bomb during the war). It killed around five sailors and my dad witnessed the aftermath damage and his personal locker on the ship received some flak strikes and holes from the bomb (thankfully he wasn't around where the bomb hit or I may not be writing this now!).
Went for a tour on the Yorktown in South Carolina 2017 summer. It was amazing, I got that feeling that I was standing in a lot of places where a lot of things happened. I could have stayed from open to close. A big thanks to your Dad and all the other fine Americans of that time!!
@@christophersaba3585 Thanks for your comment regarding my dad. Fortunately my sister and I took my dad to visit his ship at Patriot's Point, Charleston, S.C. in 1991 seven years before he passed away. It is indeed an amazing WWII era aircraft carrier to see and tour.
@@christophersaba3585 My dad loved seeing the Yorktown after having been away from it for about 45 years. He was able to show us areas of the ship where he worked (he was an electronics mate and consequently worked in much of the ship for repairs and modifications), where his bunk and locker were and where the bomb had struck the ship. I'm glad I took over an hour's worth of video of my dad while we were walking through the Yorktown.
Fun fact about American output during ww2: If you run the numbers, the US averaged 5-6 warships a week for the entirety of the war. The vast majority were destroyers and destroyer escorts (far far far smaller than carriers), but still a pretty crazy number, esp when you realize that it means later in the war you were getting multiple ships a day (which makes up for the slower production earlier in the war). As someone more clever than I am said: A destroyer a day keeps the Japanese at the bottom of the bay.
Yamato was really a non-factor in the war. She was only involved in 3 actions -- Midway (as a command ship too far away from the action to engage US forces), the Battle Off Samar (the ONLY time she really fired her guns offensively, and even then she was driven off by smaller destroyers), and Ten-Go. She didn't even operate as a fleet-in-being like Tirpitz did...Yamato was a massive waste of material. Musashi a little less so. Shinano was sunk 10 days after commissioning, so even less of a factor there. Yamato saw far more action in anime than she ever dud in real life.
Both US and Japanese saw the potential and lessons after Taranto raid, for Japan opportunity to strike a US anchorage, while for the US as a defensive measures for Pearl Harbor but never realized and mostly downplays the potential attack on their anchorage.
Nice shot of Ark Royal (II) out of the back of that plane taking off. Suggestion: The introduction of the angled flight deck and how it vastly improved efficiency of all air operations thereafter.
The British probably invented the Angled Deck concept but they never largely used it for their modern Carries like Invincible and QE class, as they're equipped with ski jump and STOVL configuration, whilst Angled deck is more Catapult asisted launch/take off and arresting wire for landings/recoveries.
However Hemes & the Hosho were the first ships designed and built as Aircraft Carriers. However the worlds first Air Craft Carrier was HMS Argus commissioned in November 1918
Lexington is the first of the Lexington class, but also one of the Essex class. USS Wasp was the only ship of the Wasp class (a reduced Yorktown), but also one of the Essex class. USS Hornet was also a Yorktown class and an Essex class. These carriers were all sunk earlier in the war and reborn as Essex class ships.
I was stationed on a Nimitz class carrier. I can't imagine how tiny an Essex class would have been! I mean it's half the weight and under powered 😋 the sinking of the Oriskany documentary was really good.
8:49 It wasn't a rudder, it was actually a *sail* they whipped up to get the Intrepid home. The rudder was hosed, and they needed a way to keep the bow pointed the right way-- without the sail, in the prevailing winds the ship tended to point directly toward Tokyo, where they most definitely did not want to go at that time. The gigantic Intrepid "sailing" into Pearl was an interesting sight.
Loved the video! My dad was aboard the USS Bunker Hill (CV-17) which was hit by two kamikaze planes. It was knocked out of the battle but did not sink. She was being repaired when the war ended.
My father flew a Hellcat from the USS Randolph CV15 during WW2 and later from the USS Tarawa CV40 for several years after. Essex-class is part of the family.
My paternal grandfather was on CV-19 (by then CVA-19) USS Hancock in Vietnam.
"The juggernaut that was the US manufacturing sector"
Well put.
I like potential historys line about sicking the economy on the economy to fix the economy lol
A continent away from the fronts, hence the undisrupted production rate. Unless Latin America joins Axis and stretching and stressing out American labourers.
@@Joshua_N-A Latin America didn't have the industrial capacity of the US or Canada. They wouldn't have been able to ship anything overseas to Germany or Japan without getting blown out of the water by the US, Canadian and Royal navies. Their economies were tied to the allied cause. Brazil, Colombia and Bolivia had also declared on Germany.
My father served on Intrepid from 1963 to 1965. He was very proud to have been there. I have her 20th anniversary yearbook and treasure it greatly.
My dad was a Marine stationed on the Essex and the Princeton in WWII, he always spoke of those times as some of his favorite. No matter how deadly the situations were he said he was in with all his brothers and he was sure they would prevail.
A great historical tragedy was scrapping the Enterprise. The Big E had taken a few hits and was on the west coast under repair when the war ended. Her career is worth a video.
My Dad did donuts around Cuba on the CVS-9 USS Essex. He went through the Suez, and the Mediterranean, around the Atlantic and back to Mayport with variations over his 4 years. I went with my scout troop to spend the night on the Yorktown, her sister ship. Him being a former telephone man and firefighter he knew all the shortcuts and what was behind secured hatches. If you ever get a chance, it's like the Grand Canyon. You can't convey in words appropriately the scale of it all.
I have visited Yorktown twice and Laffey as well ,, excellent experience
My great grandpa was on the uss Essex near the end of the war he was a photographer of a marine squadron of corsairs
I've visited the Yorktown a couple of times. I know she wad smaller than the super carriers that came after, but man it doesn't look like it when you're walking up to her. ABSOLUTE UNIT
So lucky to have the USS Hornet right on my backyard. Such a monumental piece of engineering
My grandpa served on the USS Hornet that is now a museum. I remember when we drove down to it how happy he was being back on the ship. He loved it.
I enjoyed my trip there with my brother a few years ago. We had a better time there than when we (and my dad) visited the USS Iowa but that was our fault due to getting there so late. We got to that again sometime and get our special tour for being Iowans.
Yeah! That's great. I plan maybe next year of going to see her. My father who served in the Navy from 1940 to 1960 served on hornet. In fact he was on it on the way to Japan when I was born.
The current Wikipedia article, "Essex Class Aircraft Carriers" includes a photo, (USS Philippine Sea- CVA-47, underway 1955)... I can almost see my dad waving from the island, as he enjoyes his first WestPac tour...
I got to visit the USS Lexington in Corpus Christi not too long after her decommissioning. If you ever have a chance to see one of these ships, please do. They're a military history lesson in port, usually with a mix of aircraft from throughout their careers, from single piston engine fighters from the Second World War to the jets that would expose the vessels' weaknesses due to their small size. All four remaining ships had angled decks added during post-war refits to accommodate the higher landing speeds of jets, as well as catapults for launching their ever-heavier weight.
I would LOVE to see a megaproject on the sinking of the USS Oriskany. The process of decommissioning a ship as an artificial reef is mind boggling.
It's on youtube I watched it, boring mostly .
This video is pretty good about the Oriskany ua-cam.com/video/F2-Aew7SMO8/v-deo.html
There is a good doc about this subject on utube
There is a good doc about this subject on utube
Oh, like the Bismarck or Yamato
1:30 - Chapter 1 - Pre war
2:05 - Chapter 2 - Early aircraft carriers
3:05 - Chapter 3 - WWII
4:20 - Chapter 4 - Development of the essex class carriers
6:05 - Chapter 5 - The carriers
8:10 - Chapter 6 - WWII Operations
11:10 - Chapter 7 - Post WWII
12:20 - Chapter 8 - End of the road
My Great Grandfather was a Chief Fire Controlman on USS Ben Franklin (Big Ben) CV-13, the most heavily damaged ship to ever return to port under it's own power. It practically sank without sinking. His story was incredible. He was a member of the 704 club (704 sailors who remained on ship instead of abandoning) and battled the fires that nearly sank the ship.
Simon, Brickworks... How all the bricks were made to build the UK, London, Manchester and so on. All the buildings, viaducts, canals, culverts and sewers. Where did they all come from, billions of them. Check out the Bursledon Brickworks for a start. Stay safe, Stay strong.
Hands, face, space, stay safe 🤤
"When you hear about all this brick shite... you'll be shittin' bricks, innit"
Jayo Delaware the irony in this comment
@Jayo Delaware
They also policed it with their civil servants and large volunteer recruited army.
Indians also settled its length and breadth from Trinidad via the Cape to Fiji in the South Pacific.
Sam from Wendover heard this and he’s panting
It is pretty cool to see this video being a carrier sailor myself. I was on the Nimitz and that ship was huge. In all my time onboard, I maybe saw 30% of the ship.
My grandfather served on the Lexington around 1960, so this was a neat one to see. Never realized it was the last Essex in action.
Lexington was in active service right up to the early 1990s. She was used as a dedicated training carrier for pilot training.
Caveat to the Lexington history --
While she was THE LAST OPERATIONAL Essex-class carrier, the majority of her career was spent as the training carrier.
After the Cuban Missile Crisis (1962), in which Lexington was used as part of the blockade, she was never deployed frontline again. From 1963 onward, USS Lexington/CV-16/CVS-16/AVT-16 was strictly a training carrier.
The actual last Essex-class carrier used in frontline service (armed and fully ready for war) was the USS Oriskany/CV-34. She was retired in 1976, sunk as an artificial reef in 2006.
Lexington/CV-16 was the third aircraft carrier museum established. Hornet/CV-12 proved to be the last (and fourth) Essex-class ship preserved as a museum ship. USS Midway/CV-41 was the last carrier museum established (2004) in the US, PERIOD, and will likely be the last aircraft carrier museum in the US period, owing to economics and security realities of later supercarrier designs. The Midway is the only American carrier museum ship that is NOT an Essex-class vessel.
There's too much of the basic designs of the earliest supercarriers being still used in the later nuclear-powered vessels. This is a huge reason why all the retired ships from Forrestal-onward have been scrapped or are in the process of being demolished. It's also tremendously expensive to preserve any ship as a museum ship; the situation gets aggravated the larger the preserved ship is!
No light or escort carriers have been preserved as museum ships in the United States.
@@AvengerII The nuclear reactors in the later carriers also factor heavily into the problems of turning them into museums.
Lexington was my first ship in 1988. Left right before she decommissioned. It was quite awe inspiring to see her do 30+ knots being that old.
Another idea do the norden bomb sight it was a fully functional analogue computer that took control of the plane for the last bit
This would be good too, considering how secretive the army was about protecting them. They'd be pulled from planes and stored in locked armories after flying a mission.
You do know the captured B-17 or B-29 bomber crews were interrogated extensively by the Germans or Japanese to gain information about the Norden
Sweeeeeeeeeet
Bringing back Cold War projects:
A10
Bradley IFV development
Yes, he should do one on the Bradley!
that movie about making the bradley reality(the pentagon wars) is hillaious!
@@mho...
It outlines pentagon office politics well but what it doesn't take into account is that the bradley was supposed to be multi role
it was a ridiculous project. It was like the f35’s development with “good ideas” and changes constantly thrown into and expanding budget. But it redefined mechanized warfare into something totally different.
I mean I only see an oil-soaked bullet magnet but that’s just me
I'm all about that A-10 life!
The way he described the moment of transfer of power by Yamato sinking…. Chills.
oh it didn't just sink it was blown clean in two when the forward magazine detonated!!!
Musashi also suffered from a magazine detonation. Makes you wonder if it was a design flaw.
"There was now a new king of the seas" sounds the most chilling to me
@@MrSpartanicusYeah, the design flaw is that there wasn't about ten feet of solid armor between the ship and the bombs and torpedoes blowing holes her.
@@MrSpartanicus there probably was a flaw mushashi only had a 1/4 to a 1/3 the planes hit her 240 to 270 some compared to 800 if memory serves! my bet would be in the ammo handling system! i bet you it didn't have enough or the right kind of interlocks to prevent flash travel to the magazines.
YEEEEEESSSSSSSSS I suggested this one, I've been waiting aaaaaaages lol 😁😁😁
Thx. Great suggestion 👌
Did you marry Essex, and that's why you suggested it? 😂
@@NnH_Kairyu Essex is best waifu. Worth it to oath😉
@@hiddenporcupine932 My first was Intrepid.
@@NnH_Kairyu she also nice. I remembered a tour visit of her real life ship 10 years ago.
Bagger 293 please! I believe it is a mega project if for no other reason than it is the largest land vehicle ever!
Absolutely
Now that sounds like something Simon would tackle
Up. Simon dont miss this one please.
I like Simon how he uses straight forward explanations for history.
What’s really cool is that the Intrepid museum has the Space Shuttle Enterprise test vehicle on its flight deck. You can actually walk under the shuttle and really get a sense of how big the thing is. And it’s on the flight deck of an aircraft carrier!
USS NC-1701 starship enterprise. Captains, Jonathan Archer, James Tiberius Kirk and Jean Luc Picard. Space... The final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. It's continuing mission, to explore strange new worlds. To seek out new life and new civilizations. To boldly go where no one has gone before.
@@theenzoferrari458 yeah, when you walk into the exhibit they actually have front and center the picture of Gene Roddenberry and the cast at the rollout. It’s pretty awesome!
Intrepid took part in the sinking of both Musashi and Yamato
@@georgehill8285 The Federation of United planets. Was founded in 2161. It is a representive republic using the monetary currency of federation credit. The Paris France is the executive branch capital and San Francisco California United States is the legislative branch capital. The UFP consisted of up to 350 chartered members in the alliance. The UFP collapsed in 3061. The last remnants of the UFP consisted of 38 members who held to the federations core values until 3189.
@@theenzoferrari458 yeah, I saw Disco season 3 too. Should be interesting to see what a reconstructed Federation looks like in season 4.
You should do an episode on the USS enterprise. What a aircraft carrier
CVN 65..
Both where or are scrapped, sorry for the update.
The Essex class were mighty ships with a powerful, often knock-out punch. Those men manning these did their job and did it well.
Forget the supercarriers of today, the Essex class will always be among the top in my books.
Also, not sure if it has been covered already, but perhaps a mega/sideproject covering the allied efforts to counter the U-boat threat during WWII?
Really? I can assure you the carriers today would outmatch the Essex class quite easily.
It's not just how capable the carriers are that influences my opinion of them, it includes other things like historical context, the fights it participated in, -personality- etc.
Simon, do the Iowa-class battleships!
The Oriskany was the last Essex class to operate in a combat zone. The Lexington lived out the rest of her days training pilots for the Navy.
What really made the Essex carriers special was their damage control systems, Several Essex carriers were heavily damaged in the war but none were sunk
FYI : The MUSASHI was also sunk by carrier base aircraft during the battle of Leyte gulf.
Yes the 4 Essexes Franklin, Intrepid, Lexington and Essex contributed the attack on Musashi and the Cabot (Independence Light Carrier) as well. Also the Gray Ghost CV-6 as well, so 3 classes of carriers sunk one giant Battleship
It’s lovely to have an Essex-Class carrier, Lexington, stationed as a museum in Corpus Christi, but I wish the Big “E” Enterprise would’ve been made into a museum of her own. She was one of the few that saw a lot of the fighting against the Japanese and became the first carrier used for night time operations with designation CVN.
the first question every President asks, when security of the Nation is concerned " Where are the Carriers at right now?" no country foe, ever wants a carrier stationed off their coast.
Everyone one of China’s neighbors want American carriers nearby because they’re all scared of China
Apart from North Korea that is
They have also done humanitarian missions (e.g., off the coast of Indonesia after the tsunami of Dec. 36, 2004).
@@davidlium9338 Not to mention their reactors can provide enough power for an entire town!
@@anydaynow01 depends on the needs as well. During the SF earthquake in 1989, we disabled the reverse power interlocks from the shore power connections and fed power to the city. It was enough to power a few vital services. The reactors onboard are huge for the ship. For a city, we had to be picky on what services were being supplied.
Having 10 of those beasts is awesome. Like it was said, those platforms can provide incredible services to hard hit areas. Think of a self-contained level 1 trauma center that is portable along with a huge full-service hospital.
My wife's grandfather was a plank owner of the Intrepid. She was known as the"Evil I" as she was always catching it from the Japanese.
I was on the USS ShangriLa CVA 38 It was the most miserable time in my life
Cheers on this one Simon. My grandfather served on a few of these carriers throughout the Pacific campaign of WWII.
My dad served on the Kearsarge from 1964 - 1968. RIP CV-33 and Petty Officer JD Klein (1943 - 2014)
You should've mentioned the upgrades and modernizations the Essex class underwent, particularly the angle deck shown in several of your photos. That's why they lasted so long, they were flying jets into the 1970s, F-8 Crusaders, A-4 Skyhawks, and A-3 Skywarriors, along with the last of the prop jobs, the A-1 Skyraider. Steam catapults allowed this. Lexington was useful as a training ship into the 90s because she could operate jets, and had it not been for the post Cold War draw down she'd still be useful today. Bigger and heavier aircraft such as the F-4 Phantom and F-14 Tomcat could not operate from an Essex class and required the bigger supercarriers.
Intrepid is now a museum in the Hudson River, NYC. Well worth the visit!
I knew aircraft carriers were the king cobra of the pacific, then they had mini carriers, but nobody ever talks about the Escort carriers. around 100 escort carriers were built, and they were just the little guys but they sent planes into combat, and they closed the air-cover gap that allowed Uboats to hammer USA cargo to UK. See the tom hanks movie. The escort carriers ended that because they could slowly launch planes and scout for subs, most of which were diesel subs and needed air to fill
Enterprise-senpai!
Still hoping to see Denver International Airport! The second largest airport in the world by land (though tbh King Fahd shouldn’t count since it has a third of the runways as DIA!)). It’s one of the busiest in the world and has some of the more unique architecture and interior design among airports.
There’s also a few interesting controversies around it, as well as a massive blue bronco we love to call “Bluecifer.”
Seriously worth looking at!
Edit: IF you want a bit of an in depth look at carriers and the Essex class, go check out Drachinifel! He covers them extremely well and is really entertaining.
Oh yeah, definitely want to see!
I've been through the DIA and there's actually a subway train connecting the terminals, it's that big. They also hilariously lean in to the conspiracy theories about them, having some signage on remodeling-area walls showing hard-hats with illuminati symbols, pictures of aliens, etc.
Idea for a Megaproject or Sideproject video. History of the ships named Enterprise. From HMS Enterprise (1705), to CV-6 Enterprise (WW2), CVN-65 Enterprise aka the "Mobile Chernobyl", USS Enterprise OV-101 Space Shuttle, to the planned USS Enterprise CVN-80 Gerald R Ford super carrier.
Should be an entire video just on CV-6, what a ship!
Got a nice chuckle seeing Simon talk about Taranto while showing F4U Corsairs.
Simon please do a Video About The Yorktown Class Aircraft Carrier.
We had one of our school dances on the hangar deck of the USS Lexington in the late 90s.
Their should be one on the American Escort Carrier program during the war. The goal was to have 100 carriers in it but in the end the last were cancelled due to manpower shortages. HMS Argus was the Worlds first through deck carrier (you could safely land and take off from it with a fixed wing aircraft). It was launched in 1918 (converted Passenger Liner). I've read it was intended to launch a torpedo attack on the German Fleet at anchor. The USS Intrepid (The Evil I) is now a museum ship in New York.
Ah Yes Finally. The Horde known as Essex and her Sisters. Also don't let her near Lemons
Or liquor!
Lemons?...
@@jehoiakimelidoronila5450 Weeb joke
Ah, a fellow SKK of culture.
If she finds some Lemons... Keep her away from Enterprise.
Thank you. Nice summary of the Essex calss
Thanks
I don't have anything interesting to contribute, I just love WW2 videos and your videos are must-clicks.
Try the World War Two channel with Indy Neidel
There was a 1 hour documentary on the Oriskany that was on American Heros Channel (Formerly The Military Channel) or some other PBS Channel. It was very detailed and very
informative .
What about the Yorktown class? They were the work horse at the beginning.
They were, both only Enterprise lasted long. I think also that since this is megaprojects channel.... Well the Yorktown class weren't really a "mega" project.
@@JJsMuvieHole but a lot of what made the Essex-Class so effective. Was that most of their design included concepts and features that either evolved from the Yorktowns. Or were kept from them due to the restrictions imposed by the Washington and London Naval Treaties. Essentially, not only were they a step in the evolution of the US Aircraft Carrier design. But one of the best carriers based on the pre-war doctrine. Keep in mind that the Midway-Class was based off combat experiences from both US Navy and Royal Navy carriers during World War 2.
Essex Class ships were basicly enlarged, improved Yorktowns.
Y’all would know better than me, however, wasn’t the Texas the first naval ship to launch aircraft?
@@ph89787 One thing I think a lot of people miss when comparing Japanese and US design philosophies with the British is that the IJN and USN were building for the Pacific theatre while the RN was designing for the Mediterranean.
With that in mind the decision for the IJN and USN to prioritise strike power and the RN to prioritise survivability both make sense. And as you point out the Naval Treaties of the time limited the possibility of doing both.
Megaprojects idea (or maybe Sideprojects, depending on your ego) - "The Decade Whistler Stole UA-cam"
Cringe
Yeah it's meant to be pal.
Accurate, this man has more channels then I have hobbies.
he's a drop in the ocean dude
r/whoosh
Mega Project suggestions: Benban Solar Park, Aswan High Dam, Bar Lev Line and Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam.
As a new yorker i have a love for the Intrepid and its history
And worth mentioning, while the USN was building these carriers the 4 Iowa class battleships, and countless destroyers, cruisers and liberty ships were hitting the high seas.
Glad to see this I had the good fortune to serve on the Essex, Yorktown and Lexington. Didn’t know I was part of history back then.
My dad’s first ship was USS Wasp CV-7, he was on it when it sank September 15,1942. He stayed enlisted for 20 years.
Wasp cv7, and Ranger cv5 were one off ships, quite a bit smaller then the others, built to use the remaining allotment of Washington naval treaty tonnage.
How about a video on WWII era escort carriers. Smaller than Essex class carriers, they made up 2/3rds of the US fleet of aircraft carriers during the war. My grandpa served on the 1st of its class of this type of vessel, CVE-1, USS Long Island. Long Island never served in combat but was used in training pilots in San Deigo, then used on several trans pacific voyages to supply new aircraft to the pacific front. Vital ship to the war effort, grandpa talked about hitting a typhoon that almost sunk the ship, said it rolled to about 20-25 degrees before righting itself a few times
ITER deserves a Megaproject !
if that thing works as intended it will change the world forever!
You left out the strongest showing from a Essex class carrier.. the USS Franklin. It's nicknamed the ship that wouldn't sink.
BB-36 Nevada
operation crossroads
You could also mention the catastrophic losses aboard USS Bunker Hill too.
Both sadly had their services cut short due to the frightening destructive power of the kamikaze
All have been scrapped.
You need to do a video on the USS Enterprise CVN-65. Or even Cv-6 on another channel.
You should do a video on the Yorktown class carriers which arguably bought the US Navy the time and space for the Essex carriers to launch from the slipways. Includes the USS Enterprise (CV-6) which was the most decorated US war ship of WW2 as well as the Hornet (CV-8) which launched the Doolittle raid. Enterprise was also the first carrier to be equipped for and carry out night missions in the US navy during WW2 as well.
Episode idea: the German battleship Bismark and the operation to hunt her down.
This is actually on none of his channels. Very surprising.
i'm sure that's already been done .. either on here or one of Simons other 74 channels
@@888johnmac This is one on none of his channels.
Drachinifel covered that one pretty well.
Many great docs on YT about it.
It's surprising god damn Sabaton beat him to that.
I’ve been the museum ship USS Intrepid and still have fond memories of that. Really want to visit the other three Essex class ships still around sometime in the future.
I've had the opportunity to tour all four Essex class ships, Hornet is my favorite and well worth a visit if you're in the San Francisco Bay area.
4:07
When Chuck Wepner knocked Ali down he turned to his corner and told them they were in for a pay day, they replied “you’d better turn around because he’s getting back up, and he looks angry”
Yamamoto probably had a similar feeling when he found out there wasn’t a single aircraft carrier in Pearl Harbor.
I was on the Lake Champlain CVS 39 and the Lexanton Cva 16 in the lare 50s and early 60s
HELLO from las Vegas Nevada, you have a very good list of videos, this to me is the BEST, thank you and GOD BLESS YOU AND YOUR FAMILY.
One of your best presentations yet. Very informative!
Apparently the ones built in WW2 had timber decks. The Brits used a thick steel deck which performed better is carrier struck with bombs, planes, etc.
Yes, the Americans later adopted both this and the angled-flight deck, the latter was developed by the British sfter WW2.
Would have been worth noting that one of the post war technological advances to the Essex class ships was the fitting of the angled deck. During the war they all had straight decks then angled decks were added which allowed planes to take off and land at the same time.
Not really the angle deck allowed missed landings to go around and avoid planes parked forward. While takeoffs and landings were possible on a limited scale due to space constraints. Also allowed more space on deck to handle planes during both operations.
5:18 2. Plane infront of the Turret, mad parking skills
Could you cover the operation to capture Berlin by the Red Army? The logistics for that were insane.
It just lots of ppl
@@haidweng7948 he could do it on warographics
He should do a video on how horrendous Russian logistics were, like Jesus Christ you must be kidding me they were so bad- do the point that it sparked the "the other man picks up the rifle and shoots", they had more than enough rifles they just never got them to the front line 💀
The HMS Invincible class could be an interesting topic. As could the Soviet Navy's 'Kiev' class carrier.
Great video. In follow up you need to do a video on the most deadly aircraft to launch from an Essex. The F4U-Cosair both beautiful and feared.
Interesting side note is the Kamikazi attacks on the British carriers was pretty innefective as they had armoured decks. The Japanese were expecting wooden decks like the American carriers but they hit 3" steel and mostly bounced off leaving a dent, i believe the Americans ere pretty impressed with this at the time
I was watching a documentary about the battle of midway and thought i saw wooden decks on the American aircraft carriers and just thought i was mistaken and did not realize that were actually wood, interesting info thanks for posting that.
@@ATomRileyA You will find this link very interesting then, great chanel.
ua-cam.com/video/5p6Ll7PKepA/v-deo.html
Yeah, they just pushed them overboard, brushed off the debris and carried on. Too bad they didn’t get to war much.
While some Americans were impressed by armored decks, the wooden decks of American carriers were easily replaced without the need to return to a shipyard... The USS Enterprise's flight deck was rebuilt time and time again in New Caledonia and Hawaii...
It's a design trade-off -- more deck strength vs. larger complement of strike aircraft. Of course, with the Midway class, they just made the darn thing bigger so they could have both.
Simon you made me think with this video. Most Naval fighter aircraft were "Radial" air cooled engines and the Army Air Corps fighters were mostly inline water cooled, wonder why. Thanks to you and your team for posting your work.....
The Essexs had 3 Elevators, the one on the side one and two on the flight deck.
8 of the Carriers the US navy lost were Escort carriers, Merchant ship hulls with a flight deck.
The USS Yorktown (CV-10) is a museum ship in South Carolina. It’s one of my favorite places to visit.
I don’t know how the carrier CV-15 USS Randolph was left out of this presentation. I served aboard the Randolph in 1954-56. In November of 1954, just 2 months prior to a 6 months cruise in the Mediterranean,we were torn up by Hurricane Edna. We spent nearly 2 months in dry dock being repaired from hurricane damage. In the Med we were participating in NATO exercises as the Korean War was undergoing peace negotiations.
During WWII, an US Naval intelligence officer was always on duty at Radio City Music Hall in NYC as the elevator stage technology was used in the carriers in WWII
My "old man" was aboard the Essex class, aircraft carrier USS Yorktown (CV-10) towards the end of the Pacific campaign of WWII. He was there when a Japanese plane dropped a bomb on the ship (the only time the ship was hit by a bomb during the war). It killed around five sailors and my dad witnessed the aftermath damage and his personal locker on the ship received some flak strikes and holes from the bomb (thankfully he wasn't around where the bomb hit or I may not be writing this now!).
Went for a tour on the Yorktown in South Carolina 2017 summer. It was amazing, I got that feeling that I was standing in a lot of places where a lot of things happened. I could have stayed from open to close. A big thanks to your Dad and all the other fine Americans of that time!!
@@christophersaba3585 Thanks for your comment regarding my dad. Fortunately my sister and I took my dad to visit his ship at Patriot's Point, Charleston, S.C. in 1991 seven years before he passed away. It is indeed an amazing WWII era aircraft carrier to see and tour.
@@WAL_DC-6B How was your Dad when he revisited? Did he like what they did with it?
@@christophersaba3585 My dad loved seeing the Yorktown after having been away from it for about 45 years. He was able to show us areas of the ship where he worked (he was an electronics mate and consequently worked in much of the ship for repairs and modifications), where his bunk and locker were and where the bomb had struck the ship. I'm glad I took over an hour's worth of video of my dad while we were walking through the Yorktown.
Fun fact about American output during ww2: If you run the numbers, the US averaged 5-6 warships a week for the entirety of the war. The vast majority were destroyers and destroyer escorts (far far far smaller than carriers), but still a pretty crazy number, esp when you realize that it means later in the war you were getting multiple ships a day (which makes up for the slower production earlier in the war).
As someone more clever than I am said: A destroyer a day keeps the Japanese at the bottom of the bay.
The uss Lexington is in my hometown as a "floating" museum! I've been there so many times as a kid and am always in awe even going now.
For a Mega. Project. The National Ignition Facility at Lawerence Livermore Laboratory.
Yamato was really a non-factor in the war. She was only involved in 3 actions -- Midway (as a command ship too far away from the action to engage US forces), the Battle Off Samar (the ONLY time she really fired her guns offensively, and even then she was driven off by smaller destroyers), and Ten-Go.
She didn't even operate as a fleet-in-being like Tirpitz did...Yamato was a massive waste of material. Musashi a little less so. Shinano was sunk 10 days after commissioning, so even less of a factor there.
Yamato saw far more action in anime than she ever dud in real life.
or maybe ITER, looks interesting even tho still under construction.
THANK YOU for bringing up Taranto. So many think that Pearl Harbor was a new idea.
Both US and Japanese saw the potential and lessons after Taranto raid, for Japan opportunity to strike a US anchorage, while for the US as a defensive measures for Pearl Harbor but never realized and mostly downplays the potential attack on their anchorage.
Props for mentioning lady lex the USS lexington
Two mega projects I'd love to see videos on: the heavy press program, and the raising of the battleships at Pearl Harbor
Have you watched Drach's 3-part special on the Pearl Harbor Salvage effort?
@@Rocketsong yup
How about more stories about British tech!!!
Visiting the USS Hornet museum was the highlight of my trip to the bay area a few years ago 🤩
Nice shot of Ark Royal (II) out of the back of that plane taking off.
Suggestion: The introduction of the angled flight deck and how it vastly improved efficiency of all air operations thereafter.
The British probably invented the Angled Deck concept but they never largely used it for their modern Carries like Invincible and QE class, as they're equipped with ski jump and STOVL configuration, whilst Angled deck is more Catapult asisted launch/take off and arresting wire for landings/recoveries.
However Hemes & the Hosho were the first ships designed and built as Aircraft Carriers. However the worlds first Air Craft Carrier was HMS Argus commissioned in November 1918
very cool seeing the mark 37 directors, didnt know rangfinders where in use so long ago
I’ve been able to see this Megaproject in person with the USS Yorktown CV-10 in Charleston Harbor
Yorktown is the first of Yorktown class, but also one of the Essex class, nice and straight forward
Lexington is the first of the Lexington class, but also one of the Essex class. USS Wasp was the only ship of the Wasp class (a reduced Yorktown), but also one of the Essex class. USS Hornet was also a Yorktown class and an Essex class. These carriers were all sunk earlier in the war and reborn as Essex class ships.
@@sunshaker01 nice, repeating the name in similar ships, so close together does make things interesting
Very interesting video Simon,can you please do a long video about the aircraft carrier USS Enterprise.
I was stationed on a Nimitz class carrier. I can't imagine how tiny an Essex class would have been! I mean it's half the weight and under powered 😋 the sinking of the Oriskany documentary was really good.