You guys need to get these uploaded to the Internet Archive so they are not lost in the coming decades. These videos are priceless and need to be saved for future generations.
This is definately stellar work. I love it. But I would actually trust Google's AI over almost any other archive. The only problem is if the changing tastes of the world gets it removed like it did Ukraine videos and Riefenstahl's Triumph Des Willes (which I use for teaching to avoid a repeat!)
Your channel is number one in my books. I am 70 years old and have read on the pacific war over one pickup load of books from our local thrift store. After I began viewing your channel I have watched every episode some 2 or 3 times. Your modern day hero’s for devoting the time and effort to bring this information about how great the generation that sacrificed for our freedom. Your series should be taught in schools so that this generation can understand how great our country really is.
Seth and Bill have produced uniquely informative and entertaining podcasts in all their presentations of the Pacific war. An astounding achievement which has given me many hours of enjoyment and filled a huge gap in my knowledge of the USA's fight against Japanese imperialism. Their masterclasses have undoubtedly been enhanced by guest speakers,- Jon being one of the best of course. Thank you so much !
Thank You. - Birth to H.S. Grad., I was in the Military, specially living in mostly Base Housing. I've witnessed all the Good & Bad, times & things of being in that situation, it's when people you know don't return, or return badly mauled is when war for the homebodies becomes real, this series means a lot to me.
The pride of the IJN: The largest, most heavily armed, and armoured battleship that chewed up a lot of fuel and spent most of its time in port because of its lack of tactical and strategic interest. The pride of the USN: A treaty-era aircraft carrier that had seen everything in the war.
US Navy retired submariner here. After sea duty, I did my first shore tour at CSG-7/CTF 74 in Yokosuka. While I was there I had the lucky fortune of going on an “international cross-decking” exercise on the JDS Akishio for 10 days. What I remember most about the trip was: The food! Miso soup with all four meals and wagyu steak the night before we pulled back into port. Nikon made the periscopes. You could turn the periscope by pushing it with your pinkie finger; as compared to a US periscope that had “torque-assist” buttons because they were so crudely made and installed it took a weightlifter to get them to rotate without the torque-assist. The Japanese bridge box. The Japanese bridge box was installed in the bridge. None of the modern US Navy nonsense of having the Auxiliary Electrician Forward carry up a 20 foot long, 1.5” thick rigid cable up the bridge trunk and fighting to get the portable bridge box into the poorly constructed mounting. It’s nice to see my “old boat” has been made i to a museum ship.
Super glad to hear that Jon mentioned the 2005 Japanese movie “Yamato” I’ve not seen it yet, but as I went down the wiki-hole during the episode I saw some of the pictures from the set…. They built a portion of 1:1 scale for the set.
I agree with Bill Toti about the shirts. I love your show. Believe it or not, I am 59 years old naturalized citizen from Somalia. I love ww2 stories. There is a reason they called “the greatest generation “ and will never see them again. I love offensive language spoken by the soldiers back then. Patton would have never slapped soldiers. America shined ww2 , that is what makes my favorite
With all due respect to Cap’n Bill, there are no “better-looking shirts” for _The Three Amigos._ Frankly, a bit of well-intentioned levity is welcomed during these tales of tragedy, so brilliantly and vividly told.
there's a Japanese movie on Amz Prime called The Great War of Archimedes about the design of Yamato and the attitudes toward her, with an interesting take which I will not spoil. Maybe it will be mentioned.
S P O I L E R The semi-fictional antagonist characters' (based on Hiraga Yuzuru) flanking logic of building Super Battleship for IJN, hence Japan would lose the War and served the necessary humble pie is too much for me.
I know they were the enemy but I feel sorry for that beautiful ship and her proud crew. They had to die basically because "it would be a shame if you don't." War truly is madness.
It's important to note that the large number of 25mm AAA on the Yamato was a poor choice because, besides the lack of protection for the gun crews, the 25mm gun had about the same effective range as the .50 caliber machine guns on the US attack aircraft, which allowed the aircraft to get in close to strafe the crews. Also, the 25mm guns had box magazines that required changing, stopping the firing of that gun during the change. This compares with the 40mm Bofors on US Navy ships which had much longer ranges and a continuous top down manual gravity feed system.
If anyone is wondering why the Yamato-class battleships used 18.1" guns, compared with the 18" guns used on HMS Furious and planned for the N3 class battleships, it's because the Japanese (after converting to metric in 1917) were almost as obsessed with the centimeter as the Germans were. Existing gun designations were rounded to the nearest whole centimeter, so 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns magically became "8 cm" guns, 14-inch (356 mm) guns became "36 cm" guns, etc. The Yamato-class was built with 46.0 cm guns from the outset, converting to the 18.1-inch measurement.
Just remember the German high Seas fleet in October 1918. the Admirals also planned a Deathride to the Channel to save the Honor of the Fleet. But the Men were aware that the war was lost long ago (Hundred Day offensive) and started the Mutiny. The self destroying of the interned ships followed the same logic. to save the Honor. Even if the value of the sunken ships was then added to the reparation sum
That passage about 1:28:07 about the remains of the aft AA fire control position reminds me of something Richard Frank quoted in his description of the bomb hit in the aft starboard 5" gun gallery on Enterprise at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in 1942. He talked about the gun crews being carbonized in place at their positions, with a gun captain leaning forward in such and such a pose with his arm resting on thus and such part of the gun.
The battleships built in and just before WWII were in general beautiful ships. This includes the British King George V class, Germany's Bismarck and Tirpitz, the Italian and French battleships, and the US Iowa class battleships. But Yamato and Musashi have to take the cake. The sweep of the deck, the superstructure, and the massive guns gave them a look that was both elegant and awe inspiring. Japan, thankfully, made a mistake in holding these ships back from combat in the Solomons. Iron Bottom Sound was a tight space for even 35,000-45,000 ton battleships, let alone any at 68,000 tons, but had either or both of these been at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, it is hard to see how the US Navy would have come out ahead. The Marines on Guadalcanal remember the night when two battleships mounting 14-inch guns bombarded Henderson Field as a terrifying experience. How would things have turned out if there had been a second bombardment by 18-inch guns throwing shells with twice the explosive power? would South Dakota and Washington have survived if Yamato and / or Musashi had been at the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal?
Jon: “…speechless…” I concur…it is the only word I can muster. Yamato is indeed a symbol, but not just to the Japanese people. I built model planes as a kid; never ships. But I have resolved to build a model of Yamato as a lasting reminder-a symbol of the senseless tragedy and stupidity of war.
50° 27' 0.0036'' N and 30° 31' 23.9988'' E DAY 1000 Gents, The "Unauthorized History of the Pacific War" podcast is rapidly taking on the look and feel of a 19th century secret society. Have you considered making those eye popping kaleidoscopic shirts available online? All that's missing is a catchy Latin moniker and a 'secret' handshake! No need for logos, per se. Another delightful and informative episode. A nice diversion. Thank you. V/r - IB An American in Ukraine (2019 - Present)
So far this morning we have covered from Australia to Albania. A to A. Maybe we shall yet hear from Zanzibar. Yet another ode to war's insane, inane tales and trails resulting in the deaths of young men who were lied to by men in authority who betrayed their trust. I have seen this in my own life by men in our government, so it's not limited to totalitarian regimes.
Your accounting of the horrific IJN casualties that resulted from Yamato’s Death Ride shines a spotlight on what could have happened if the sailors of the Kaiserliche Marine had not mutinied and had not refused to participate in 1918’s intended Seagoing Gotterdammerung.
Great episode, guys. Appreciate the details you brought in about the flying units/aviators. My father's first cousin, Charles A Hooper flew with VT-21 off the Bealleau Wood. Another cousin was in VBF-17 off the Hornet. Very glad that you included the stories of these aviators!
Ugaki’s diary is redolent with references to lack of fuel for the fleet even as early as the end of 1942. He even puts the retreat by Centre Force from Leyte Gulf down to the need for fuel. (Some of the destroyers almost ran out of fuel before reaching the tankers.)
Leyte Gulf and Ten Go were both do or die. Retreating because you are running out of fuel instead of trying to accomplish the mission is the worst of excuses.
@ The question is: what was the mission? Ugaki’s diary records that Centre Force were informed that the U.S. ships had left the landing beach and that there were few targets left there. That came before they entered San Bernardino Strait. He also says that they went after the carriers which they found by accident (Japanese sighting report arrived after the battle) and then got word of a U.S. force to the north and turned north to go after that. As the operation was to be “the decisive battle” (as Ugaki labeled it), that makes sense until the U.S. force is reported to be out of reach. At that stage they do their fuel calculations and turn for home. After they enter San Bernardino straight on the way back, they receive orders from Tokyo to head back - again according to Ugaki. Jon would know if the IJN signals confirm his diary sequence.
@@mkaustralia7136 it does not make any sense in any way. Maybe to the crazies on the Imperial Council but not to anyone with a hint of sanity. You do know that had a pretty good idea just what the force was that we had out there, right? One battleship no matter how powerful is JUST A TARGET. Practice for hundreds of aircraft and nothing more. I seriously doubt the people actually being sent were given any clue about what was waiting for them. The idea that somehow they could get close to the carrier force to actually accomplish something is the height of insanity. To start with EVERY SINGLE SHIP OF THE US NAVY had radar, and very good radar for all the ships in the fifth fleet. Not to mention the carriers were all six full knots faster than Yamato, and had a massive screening force. so finding them at night and getting close to them was simply wishing on a star. No matter how anyone tries to excuse it, this was never anything more than a suicide run to die honorably. Nothing else.
Hi John I am not trying to justify the IJN, (the bods in Tokyo were out of touch like Hitler in his bunker) just simply listing what Ugaki says in his diary as to what they were doing and why. Leyte Gulf Centre Force still had 3 battleships and several cruisers. Ugaki does not say that they knew that the U.S. force to the north was heading away from them. Leyte would have been a do or die, but there was nothing left to do in Leyte Gulf itself as the US ships had already left the anchorage. The do was to attack the U.S. fleet. On that, Ugaki’s diary lists what they thought was out there, but also the losses they thought they had inflicted - which were wildly off (a destroyer damaged reported as a BB sunk for example). So if they are told the U.S. fleet is to the north, heading towards it might have them meet it - if it is heading south. Would they have been wiped out if that were the case? Most assuredly. The Ten Go excursion was idiotic as the team amply demonstrated and the captains of the ships involved predicted.
@@mkaustralia7136 Kurita in the end did not have the stones for the job. Now maybe getting sunk had something to do with it, but the IJN kept right on screwing up by the numbers. They should have picked the most hard core Admiral they had left to lead that task force. and certainly needed better staff officers that could not tell the difference between jeep carriers and fleet carriers. That is part of that battle that always mystified me; how in the world could they not tell the difference. And truly who in the world could mistake a destroyer for a BB?
Guys, where can we we get shirts like yours? I think you should make them your "Official/Unofficial shirt of the Unofficial History of the Pacific War." Fantastic show as usual!
"Worked out our torpedo problems", in fact the torpedo squadrons had dramatically refined their technique. Instead of dropping torpedoes from a thousand yards at 120 knots and under 100 feet, they were now able to drop in a shallow dive at 250 knots, 5,000 feet, and 4-5,000 yards, safely outside the range of short and medium range AA guns.
Great episode, as always. Thank you for expressing the humanity of both sides, especially the crew of the Yamato. Officers and crew are put into the bind of culture, the instinct to live, and the responsibility of comand.
Just looked up your book John. Definitely buying a copy. Expected a Pacific focus, but you are covering the whole war, in every active theater. Stalingrad and Guadalcanal were the decisive struggles and each resulted in the Axis going onto the defensive. Great choice of subject matter.
Musashi and Yamato were never handled boldly or decisively... both had ignonomious ends. Like everyone says, if they had been sent as a pair to the Solomons in '42 with some air cover the big ships would have been a tough nut to crack. Instead, even the Japanese navy called them "The Yamato Hotel" left to aimlessly hang around Truk...
Thankfully, the Japanese had incompetent leadership. If they had sent a task force of the two monsters with air cover off of guadacanal, things might have gone differently. As an American, I thank God we had the leaders we had.
Sorry for the text but Bill just said something quite profound but rather subtle in speech, at the start we were saving every aircraft corpse possible for cannibalized parts because logistics sucked, now at this time if the aircraft comes back unusable but only slightly shot up it was just pushed over the side & replaced.
The amount of damage that Yamato and Musashi absorbed as compared to, say, Prince of Wales (an equally modern battleship albeit half the size) is noting short of amazing. Repulse doesn't count because she was a relatively lightly armored WW1 battlecruiser, not expected to take a pounding from modern torpedoes. Well-known research (as summarized by Wayne P Hughes in "Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations" for example) has shown that damage tolerance scales less than linearly with displacement, so based on those generally accepted scaling principles we would expect Yamato or Musashi to absorb less than double the damage that PoW did. The reality is quite different though, and that is a testament to these ships' designs and especially their underwater protection systems. For that matter even Kirishima took an enormous pounding from Washington before sinking. The Japanese had some well-built dreadnoughts in their fleet.
It's like watching a Tragedy. The guys going out know that they're doomed. They know that they will die pointlessly. They know that the operational planning from the Staff is so utterly senseless and delusional that, in a later age, the Staff might have rightfully been accused of drafting it from two crack rocks and three hits of acid. And yet, they must go out anyway. I'm tempted to weep at the waste of lives.
Big fan of the Yamato here. Visited Hiroshima and the Kure museum in 2015. Just bought the Requiem to the Battleship Yamato off Amazon while watching this video. Great job.
Jon Parshall, Seth and Bill. Wonderful way to learn. The lessons are tough and show the depths of human stupidity. My love for sea lore began as a teen with a book called "The Cruel Sea". Really glad I found your channel,
Awesome stuff guys, what a great episode. I know IJN doesn't always deserve respect, but I loved the fact that you did in this case. These sailors were true warriors even if misguided ones!
"Star Blazers," the Americanized dub of the anime "Space Battleship Yamato," was my entry into Japanese animation when it aired in the 70s--I would watch that show religiously after coming home from school. On the US dub, the ship was renamed Argo when it became a space battleship, so I didn't realize that it was actually the Yamato for years. I think I only realized when I was reading up on the actual ship using a source that mentioned it as a "by the way" factoid. I do recall thinking that WW2 might have gone differently if Yamato had been equipped with the show's Wave Motion Gun, my all-time favorite sci-fi weapon. Thanks for another great presentation. (I think I'm focused on the anime to avoid being infuriated by the callous and idiotic way that the IJN treated the lives of their own men--what an utterly monstrous thing to send those sailors out knowing full well that they had no chance in hell to accomplish a single meaningful thing...and since I'm now starting to feel that fury I was trying to avoid, I'll shut up now)
Fabulous episode once again. Handled exactly right: a tragedy for the IJN and for all those lost. We feel your anger as any thoughtful human being would. I need one of those shirts too.
Another excellent episode gentlemen. My introduction to Yamato was when I was in high school in the 80s and read Russell Spurr's "A Glorious Way To Die". I would love to see the house trailer sized model in Kure.
Given how massive 5th Fleet was by this point. Does anyone have an image of Admiral Spruance upon finding out Yamato had sortied, called his Task Force COs and had them draw straws?
Been fascinated by both Yamato and her sister ship Musashi since I was maybe 7 or 8 after I saw a picture of Yamato and thought to myself that is a beautiful ship. Asked for and got the Tamiya model for Christmas. That was over 50 years ago and I'm even more fascinated with them now.
The slip case of Yoshimura’s book Battleship Musashi says: “…Yamamoto, … said that the three great follies of the world were the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, and the battleship Musashi.” Given Yamato was a sister ship …
Great episode as always guys! I really like the mix of tactics, strategy, weaponry, etc., combined with the personal stories and experiences your videos bring to the table.
Great job once again you guys. The end of Yamato and her escorts again sadly illustrates the great loss of human life. The great sadness, futility, and abject waste of war . Yamato was a beautiful warship that was doomed the day her keel was laid down.
I thought I understood the insanity of war after watching WWII videos for 10+yrs. Than I started watch the Pacific War. 😳 I knew nothing of Insanity. RIP 🙏🏼🇺🇸 The Greatest Generation. Excellent job Gentleman 🤙🏽
And upon coming out of a multi day power outage, I witnessed a three shirt rainbow as a sign of The Lord's covenant... Also, the guys reveal the team jerseys, in time for Christmas!
The fact that Hara was only light cruiser skipper in 1945 tells about his habit of speaking out loud. And Yahagi was not much bigger than biggest destroyer leaders. Man was there almost in every knife fight of Ironbottom sound as skipper of Amatsukaze during 1942, and destroyer division commander aboard Shigure till spring 1944 on further Solomons campaign. The fact he did survived war is miracle. His book also contains memories of serious boozing among crew before suicide mission, and Hara himself never spit to sake glass. His book is old, and not best reference, but sincerely written, at time only from his own memory and memory of surviving friends. It was propably Amatsukaze who crippled Juneau, leading later to her loss.
The quotation of the young lieutenant abotvthe need to sacrifice the Yamato to hammer home the idea that the war is lost and lead the way for an end to the war and give a new possibility and future to japan is an idea which was mentioned in the Japanese movie of 2021 "the great war of Archimedes" where the Japanese "battleship admiral" is trying to push through the construction of Yamato and her sister exactly for this scope.
Re: 34:58 The most prescient and insightful quote of the entire war. And it was made by a young IJN Lieutenant, not any one of "The Big Six" or Hirohito. What a moment in history for you to capture and relate here Seth. Just one more reason why this channel has grabbed and held our attention for years. Thanks to you Gentlemen!
2:11:53 - to Capt. Bill's point about a USS United States or HMS Great Britain.... in 1940 Hitler decided to change the name of the battle cruiser “Deutschland” to “Lützow” recognizing that the sinking of a warship was a propaganda disaster if it bore the name of its country
Well done Gentlemen. Informative but with genuine reverence for a legendary ship albeit an enemy ship. You should look in to having this episode dubbed into Japanese for the Japanese. I'm sure your viewership would go through the roof.
For Jon and others who are fans of Japanese warships: take comfort that, according to the several TV series and a movie, in about 175 years from now, Yamato will be salvaged, converted in to a Space Battleship, and fly off into the galaxy to save Earth from the evil aliens attacking us. :)
Gentlemen, outstanding episode as always. Looking forward to Mr. Parshall's book on 1942, although sadly it will be too late for me to use for background research for the 4th book in my 'Republic of Texas Navy' alternate history series. Shattered Sword was excellent.
Fantastic episode right from the start--everyone in uniform (now I can see Jon since this isn't camo :)).What a waste of so many sailors. Seth, I wonder if ADM Spruance was sending the old battlewagons out for Pearl Harbor revenge? Jon they must do things differently in MN. When I was building ships in 5th and 6th grade, I wanted no part of anything that wasn't USN. Build a ship of the enemy? Other question I have for you Jon is this--is the 1942 book a competition with John McManus and his 3 volumes on the Pacific? Excellent program today guys. Thx Seth, Bill, and Jon. Nice learning history from 3 guys having a good time in a bar.
Possibly. Given the amount of novel engineering techniques that went into her design I think there’s a pretty good change that the Allies would have held onto her for a while to see what they could learn.
I think Jon meant "Throw weight" when he said "Through-Put" re: the Yamato's degrading flak capacity - but his point is well taken. Great Job, As Always, Guys! Such a tragic story & such a heartless waste on the part of the IJN. It remains a knife in the gut of civilized people; just how utterly callous the Axis Powers were toward humanity, both those who came under their respective spheres of influence and their own people. It reinforces that Eternal Vigilance against such inhumanity is the only course to follow if we would not see such horrors return in our own time. Bravo Zulu! Corpsman Out!
Seth, Cap’n Bill, Jon: I know-we all know-that this show is a labor of love…no, wait-of *_passion,_* which is perfectly evident in the surpassing quality of these superbly presented episodes. We all know it ain’t about money. Nevertheless, you guys should at least consider making some merch available. For starters, you can sign me up for at least three of those psychedelic _Three Amigos_ shirts.-Vito 😎🙏
You guys need to get these uploaded to the Internet Archive so they are not lost in the coming decades. These videos are priceless and need to be saved for future generations.
Pure history. You are so right
@@NorthrnsnowSeth, Bill & John do their job magnificently.
100% agree.
I highly concur I love this show I look forward to Tuesday's while waiting I watch some of the episodes I like more
This is definately stellar work. I love it. But I would actually trust Google's AI over almost any other archive. The only problem is if the changing tastes of the world gets it removed like it did Ukraine videos and Riefenstahl's Triumph Des Willes (which I use for teaching to avoid a repeat!)
2 + hours, matching shirts, and Jon Parshall... hell yes!
Yep, gonna be a good Tuesday.
Yes indeed!
Those are beautiful shirts.
Oh cripes! Is this is what we have come to? Shirts? Really? I guess so!
The scuttlebutt is that they're working on matching wallpaper as well.
The boys are in Uniform !
Dazzle camouflage, when discussing a naval topic, is so appropriate.
Consider me dazzled!
Your channel is number one in my books. I am 70 years old and have read on the pacific war over one pickup load of books from our local thrift store. After I began viewing your channel I have watched every episode some 2 or 3 times. Your modern day hero’s for devoting the time and effort to bring this information about how great the generation that sacrificed for our freedom. Your series should be taught in schools so that this generation can understand how great our country really is.
I keep watching the wonderful video The Night The Giant Roamed Iron Bottom Sound!
It is a great show and a great victory!
Seth and Bill have produced uniquely informative and entertaining podcasts in all their presentations of the Pacific war.
An astounding achievement which has given me many hours of enjoyment and filled a huge gap in my knowledge of the USA's fight against Japanese imperialism.
Their masterclasses have undoubtedly been enhanced by guest speakers,- Jon being one of the best of course.
Thank you so much !
Thank You. - Birth to H.S. Grad., I was in the Military, specially living in mostly Base Housing. I've witnessed all the Good & Bad, times & things of being in that situation, it's when people you know don't return, or return badly mauled is when war for the homebodies becomes real, this series means a lot to me.
The pride of the IJN: The largest, most heavily armed, and armoured battleship that chewed up a lot of fuel and spent most of its time in port because of its lack of tactical and strategic interest.
The pride of the USN: A treaty-era aircraft carrier that had seen everything in the war.
You mean Saratoga CV-3, the former battle cruiser design? The torpedo magnet? Certainly not the gray ghost, CV-6, Enterprise.
Shirley your not Serious...I am Serious and don't call me Shirley.
This was the last battleship. In coming wars, when will be the last carrier. Hmmm.
"Pride"
US Navy retired submariner here. After sea duty, I did my first shore tour at CSG-7/CTF 74 in Yokosuka. While I was there I had the lucky fortune of going on an “international cross-decking” exercise on the JDS Akishio for 10 days. What I remember most about the trip was:
The food! Miso soup with all four meals and wagyu steak the night before we pulled back into port.
Nikon made the periscopes. You could turn the periscope by pushing it with your pinkie finger; as compared to a US periscope that had “torque-assist” buttons because they were so crudely made and installed it took a weightlifter to get them to rotate without the torque-assist.
The Japanese bridge box. The Japanese bridge box was installed in the bridge. None of the modern US Navy nonsense of having the Auxiliary Electrician Forward carry up a 20 foot long, 1.5” thick rigid cable up the bridge trunk and fighting to get the portable bridge box into the poorly constructed mounting.
It’s nice to see my “old boat” has been made i to a museum ship.
That must have been a treat!
Super glad to hear that Jon mentioned the 2005 Japanese movie “Yamato”
I’ve not seen it yet, but as I went down the wiki-hole during the episode I saw some of the pictures from the set…. They built a portion of 1:1 scale for the set.
Seen it pretty good
Very good movie. Awesome production.
@@davidkiefer6553 The scale replica was actually on display at the museum in Kure for a while before it had to be torn down.
The James Cameron "TITANIC" film wishes it could be as good as that film!
I agree with Bill Toti about the shirts. I love your show. Believe it or not, I am 59 years old naturalized citizen from Somalia. I love ww2 stories. There is a reason they called “the greatest generation “ and will never see them again. I love offensive language spoken by the soldiers back then. Patton would have never slapped soldiers. America shined ww2 , that is what makes my favorite
With all due respect to Cap’n Bill, there are no “better-looking shirts” for _The Three Amigos._ Frankly, a bit of well-intentioned levity is welcomed during these tales of tragedy, so brilliantly and vividly told.
there's a Japanese movie on Amz Prime called The Great War of Archimedes about the design of Yamato and the attitudes toward her, with an interesting take which I will not spoil. Maybe it will be mentioned.
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The semi-fictional antagonist characters' (based on Hiraga Yuzuru) flanking logic of building Super Battleship for IJN, hence Japan would lose the War and served the necessary humble pie is too much for me.
Consistently outstanding...you always surprise me with how good you are. You should all be very proud of your work. Thanks.
I know they were the enemy but I feel sorry for that beautiful ship and her proud crew. They had to die basically because "it would be a shame if you don't."
War truly is madness.
Fire off an email to Comrade Putin while the line is still hot. It will probably cause tĥe same response as with the Japanese command. Nuthin'.
@flparkermdpc Try to stay on the topic at hand.
If the Yamato and Bismarck had survived the war and were anchored as museum ships I’d gladly hop on a plane to go see them.
It's important to note that the large number of 25mm AAA on the Yamato was a poor choice because, besides the lack of protection for the gun crews, the 25mm gun had about the same effective range as the .50 caliber machine guns on the US attack aircraft, which allowed the aircraft to get in close to strafe the crews. Also, the 25mm guns had box magazines that required changing, stopping the firing of that gun during the change. This compares with the 40mm Bofors on US Navy ships which had much longer ranges and a continuous top down manual gravity feed system.
If anyone is wondering why the Yamato-class battleships used 18.1" guns, compared with the 18" guns used on HMS Furious and planned for the N3 class battleships, it's because the Japanese (after converting to metric in 1917) were almost as obsessed with the centimeter as the Germans were. Existing gun designations were rounded to the nearest whole centimeter, so 3-inch (76.2 mm) guns magically became "8 cm" guns, 14-inch (356 mm) guns became "36 cm" guns, etc. The Yamato-class was built with 46.0 cm guns from the outset, converting to the 18.1-inch measurement.
Thank you!
The Japanese converted to modern measurements in 1917.. looking at you America!
Hey you can look all you want, there's no metric on the moon!
@@Tancred73 So, the metric IJN was defeated by the US & British inch, foot, mile.
The Japanese adopted the metric system very early & enthusiastically. 🙂
Just remember the German high Seas fleet in October 1918. the Admirals also planned a Deathride to the Channel to save the Honor of the Fleet. But the Men were aware that the war was lost long ago (Hundred Day offensive) and started the Mutiny.
The self destroying of the interned ships followed the same logic. to save the Honor. Even if the value of the sunken ships was then added to the reparation sum
That passage about 1:28:07 about the remains of the aft AA fire control position reminds me of something Richard Frank quoted in his description of the bomb hit in the aft starboard 5" gun gallery on Enterprise at the Battle of the Eastern Solomons in 1942. He talked about the gun crews being carbonized in place at their positions, with a gun captain leaning forward in such and such a pose with his arm resting on thus and such part of the gun.
The battleships built in and just before WWII were in general beautiful ships. This includes the British King George V class, Germany's Bismarck and Tirpitz, the Italian and French battleships, and the US Iowa class battleships. But Yamato and Musashi have to take the cake. The sweep of the deck, the superstructure, and the massive guns gave them a look that was both elegant and awe inspiring. Japan, thankfully, made a mistake in holding these ships back from combat in the Solomons. Iron Bottom Sound was a tight space for even 35,000-45,000 ton battleships, let alone any at 68,000 tons, but had either or both of these been at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, it is hard to see how the US Navy would have come out ahead. The Marines on Guadalcanal remember the night when two battleships mounting 14-inch guns bombarded Henderson Field as a terrifying experience. How would things have turned out if there had been a second bombardment by 18-inch guns throwing shells with twice the explosive power? would South Dakota and Washington have survived if Yamato and / or Musashi had been at the Second Naval Battle of Guadalcanal?
I am not a big fan of Yamato's design, but the sweep of her deck from the bow to A turret is truly a thing of beauty
@@glenchapman3899also while it’s not exclusive to just Yamato, but the curved funnels hnnnnnng. Makes me want to act up
@@SpiritOfMontgomery Ha we are a sad bunch lusting over old warships.
Jon: “…speechless…”
I concur…it is the only word I can muster.
Yamato is indeed a symbol, but not just to the Japanese people. I built model planes as a kid; never ships. But I have resolved to build a model of Yamato as a lasting reminder-a symbol of the senseless tragedy and stupidity of war.
50° 27' 0.0036'' N and 30° 31' 23.9988'' E
DAY 1000
Gents,
The "Unauthorized History of the Pacific War" podcast is rapidly taking on the look and feel of a 19th century secret society. Have you considered making those eye popping kaleidoscopic shirts available online? All that's missing is a catchy Latin moniker and a 'secret' handshake! No need for logos, per se.
Another delightful and informative episode. A nice diversion. Thank you.
V/r - IB
An American in Ukraine
(2019 - Present)
Nah, put the shows logo on the chest. Small. Tasteful.
I'll buy 5
@@unluckyirish2763 : Whatever works!
Jon Parshall: "Nerding out." Me: Bring. it. on.
He is great
An astonishing sacrifice for absolutely nothing. Great episode, I always learn.
The Yamato episode finally!! Excellent. Great start to the day. Perhaps this day won’t be so dreadful after all. :)
The shirts alone make this show immortal 😀
CADDYSHACK- "Thats the worst shirt ive ever seen. It looks good on you though!"
I thought he was talking about his hat.
I love this channel. Greetings from Australia.
So far this morning we have covered from Australia to Albania. A to A. Maybe we shall yet hear from Zanzibar. Yet another ode to war's insane, inane tales and trails resulting in the deaths of young men who were lied to by men in authority who betrayed their trust. I have seen this in my own life by men in our government, so it's not limited to totalitarian regimes.
Your accounting of the horrific IJN casualties that resulted from Yamato’s Death Ride shines a spotlight on what could have happened if the sailors of the Kaiserliche Marine had not mutinied and had not refused to participate in 1918’s intended Seagoing Gotterdammerung.
Great episode, guys. Appreciate the details you brought in about the flying units/aviators. My father's first cousin, Charles A Hooper flew with VT-21 off the Bealleau Wood. Another cousin was in VBF-17 off the Hornet. Very glad that you included the stories of these aviators!
I heard those shirts before I saw them.
Good morning gentlemen, greetings from Albania
Ugaki’s diary is redolent with references to lack of fuel for the fleet even as early as the end of 1942.
He even puts the retreat by Centre Force from Leyte Gulf down to the need for fuel. (Some of the destroyers almost ran out of fuel before reaching the tankers.)
Leyte Gulf and Ten Go were both do or die. Retreating because you are running out of fuel instead of trying to accomplish the mission is the worst of excuses.
@ The question is: what was the mission?
Ugaki’s diary records that Centre Force were informed that the U.S. ships had left the landing beach and that there were few targets left there. That came before they entered San Bernardino Strait.
He also says that they went after the carriers which they found by accident (Japanese sighting report arrived after the battle) and then got word of a U.S. force to the north and turned north to go after that. As the operation was to be “the decisive battle” (as Ugaki labeled it), that makes sense until the U.S. force is reported to be out of reach. At that stage they do their fuel calculations and turn for home.
After they enter San Bernardino straight on the way back, they receive orders from Tokyo to head back - again according to Ugaki. Jon would know if the IJN signals confirm his diary sequence.
@@mkaustralia7136 it does not make any sense in any way. Maybe to the crazies on the Imperial Council but not to anyone with a hint of sanity. You do know that had a pretty good idea just what the force was that we had out there, right? One battleship no matter how powerful is JUST A TARGET. Practice for hundreds of aircraft and nothing more. I seriously doubt the people actually being sent were given any clue about what was waiting for them. The idea that somehow they could get close to the carrier force to actually accomplish something is the height of insanity. To start with EVERY SINGLE SHIP OF THE US NAVY had radar, and very good radar for all the ships in the fifth fleet. Not to mention the carriers were all six full knots faster than Yamato, and had a massive screening force.
so finding them at night and getting close to them was simply wishing on a star. No matter how anyone tries to excuse it, this was never anything more than a suicide run to die honorably. Nothing else.
Hi John
I am not trying to justify the IJN, (the bods in Tokyo were out of touch like Hitler in his bunker) just simply listing what Ugaki says in his diary as to what they were doing and why.
Leyte Gulf Centre Force still had 3 battleships and several cruisers. Ugaki does not say that they knew that the U.S. force to the north was heading away from them.
Leyte would have been a do or die, but there was nothing left to do in Leyte Gulf itself as the US ships had already left the anchorage. The do was to attack the U.S. fleet. On that, Ugaki’s diary lists what they thought was out there, but also the losses they thought they had inflicted - which were wildly off (a destroyer damaged reported as a BB sunk for example).
So if they are told the U.S. fleet is to the north, heading towards it might have them meet it - if it is heading south. Would they have been wiped out if that were the case? Most assuredly.
The Ten Go excursion was idiotic as the team amply demonstrated and the captains of the ships involved predicted.
@@mkaustralia7136 Kurita in the end did not have the stones for the job. Now maybe getting sunk had something to do with it, but the IJN kept right on screwing up by the numbers. They should have picked the most hard core Admiral they had left to lead that task force.
and certainly needed better staff officers that could not tell the difference between jeep carriers and fleet carriers. That is part of that battle that always mystified me; how in the world could they not tell the difference. And truly who in the world could mistake a destroyer for a BB?
Guys, where can we we get shirts like yours? I think you should make them your "Official/Unofficial shirt of the Unofficial History of the Pacific War."
Fantastic show as usual!
"Worked out our torpedo problems", in fact the torpedo squadrons had dramatically refined their technique. Instead of dropping torpedoes from a thousand yards at 120 knots and under 100 feet, they were now able to drop in a shallow dive at 250 knots, 5,000 feet, and 4-5,000 yards, safely outside the range of short and medium range AA guns.
We could drop torps from 5,000 feet?
Great episode, as always. Thank you for expressing the humanity of both sides, especially the crew of the Yamato. Officers and crew are put into the bind of culture, the instinct to live, and the responsibility of comand.
Just looked up your book John. Definitely buying a copy.
Expected a Pacific focus, but you are covering the whole war, in every active theater. Stalingrad and Guadalcanal were the decisive struggles and each resulted in the Axis going onto the defensive. Great choice of subject matter.
Musashi and Yamato were never handled boldly or decisively... both had ignonomious ends. Like everyone says, if they had been sent as a pair to the Solomons in '42 with some air cover the big ships would have been a tough nut to crack. Instead, even the Japanese navy called them "The Yamato Hotel" left to aimlessly hang around Truk...
Thankfully, the Japanese had incompetent leadership. If they had sent a task force of the two monsters with air cover off of guadacanal, things might have gone differently. As an American, I thank God we had the leaders we had.
Another magnificent episode! Never heard this battle explained with such detail and loved it.
Gents, thanks for this podcast. National treasures.
Sorry for the text but Bill just said something quite profound but rather subtle in speech, at the start we were saving every aircraft corpse possible for cannibalized parts because logistics sucked, now at this time if the aircraft comes back unusable but only slightly shot up it was just pushed over the side & replaced.
I never fail to learn things from these episodes, even though I’ve bern reading about the Pacific war for decades. Thank you, guys!
The amount of damage that Yamato and Musashi absorbed as compared to, say, Prince of Wales (an equally modern battleship albeit half the size) is noting short of amazing. Repulse doesn't count because she was a relatively lightly armored WW1 battlecruiser, not expected to take a pounding from modern torpedoes.
Well-known research (as summarized by Wayne P Hughes in "Fleet Tactics and Naval Operations" for example) has shown that damage tolerance scales less than linearly with displacement, so based on those generally accepted scaling principles we would expect Yamato or Musashi to absorb less than double the damage that PoW did. The reality is quite different though, and that is a testament to these ships' designs and especially their underwater protection systems.
For that matter even Kirishima took an enormous pounding from Washington before sinking. The Japanese had some well-built dreadnoughts in their fleet.
Good morning folks. Have a good one 👍
It's like watching a Tragedy. The guys going out know that they're doomed. They know that they will die pointlessly. They know that the operational planning from the Staff is so utterly senseless and delusional that, in a later age, the Staff might have rightfully been accused of drafting it from two crack rocks and three hits of acid. And yet, they must go out anyway. I'm tempted to weep at the waste of lives.
Check out what the German sailors did when the admirals wanted to send the High Seas Fleet to a battle with the Royal Navy at the end of WW I.
If I grew up in the 60's and experimented with LSD, I'd believe I'm having flashbacks...those shirts are outstanding!
Big fan of the Yamato here. Visited Hiroshima and the Kure museum in 2015. Just bought the Requiem to the Battleship Yamato off Amazon while watching this video. Great job.
Jon Parshall, Seth and Bill. Wonderful way to learn. The lessons are tough and show the depths of human stupidity.
My love for sea lore began as a teen with a book called "The Cruel Sea". Really glad I found your channel,
The words of an erstwhile enemy spoke to all of you, and us, about the universal cost of war. Respect to you for showing the effect of his words.
Awesome stuff guys, what a great episode. I know IJN doesn't always deserve respect, but I loved the fact that you did in this case. These sailors were true warriors even if misguided ones!
"Star Blazers," the Americanized dub of the anime "Space Battleship Yamato," was my entry into Japanese animation when it aired in the 70s--I would watch that show religiously after coming home from school. On the US dub, the ship was renamed Argo when it became a space battleship, so I didn't realize that it was actually the Yamato for years. I think I only realized when I was reading up on the actual ship using a source that mentioned it as a "by the way" factoid. I do recall thinking that WW2 might have gone differently if Yamato had been equipped with the show's Wave Motion Gun, my all-time favorite sci-fi weapon. Thanks for another great presentation. (I think I'm focused on the anime to avoid being infuriated by the callous and idiotic way that the IJN treated the lives of their own men--what an utterly monstrous thing to send those sailors out knowing full well that they had no chance in hell to accomplish a single meaningful thing...and since I'm now starting to feel that fury I was trying to avoid, I'll shut up now)
Fabulous episode once again. Handled exactly right: a tragedy for the IJN and for all those lost. We feel your anger as any thoughtful human being would. I need one of those shirts too.
Thank you for another fine episode!
Another excellent episode gentlemen. My introduction to Yamato was when I was in high school in the 80s and read Russell Spurr's "A Glorious Way To Die".
I would love to see the house trailer sized model in Kure.
Given how massive 5th Fleet was by this point. Does anyone have an image of Admiral Spruance upon finding out Yamato had sortied, called his Task Force COs and had them draw straws?
Thanks to this comment, I now have that mental image of admiral Spruance holding a bunch of straws towards his various COs.
Outstanding episode! I was riveted to the broadcast and horrified at the same time.
Been fascinated by both Yamato and her sister ship Musashi since I was maybe 7 or 8 after I saw a picture of Yamato and thought to myself that is a beautiful ship. Asked for and got the Tamiya model for Christmas. That was over 50 years ago and I'm even more fascinated with them now.
The Pacific War History A-team! Thanks guys!
The slip case of Yoshimura’s book Battleship Musashi says:
“…Yamamoto, … said that the three great follies of the world were the Great Wall of China, the Pyramids, and the battleship Musashi.”
Given Yamato was a sister ship …
When I first saw Seth in the shirt, I thought, that doesn't seem like your style. Then I saw you all, what a bunch of nuts 😂
Definitely NOT my style. But, when in Rome...
You need to go back and watch the episodes you missed. Those great shirts have been rocked before.
Another enlightened day, good morning.
Great episode as always guys! I really like the mix of tactics, strategy, weaponry, etc., combined with the personal stories and experiences your videos bring to the table.
Great combination guys
I been looking forward to this one for a while
Great job once again you guys. The end of Yamato and her escorts again sadly illustrates the great loss of human life. The great sadness, futility, and abject waste of war . Yamato was a beautiful warship that was doomed the day her keel was laid down.
Love it, you guys are awesome.
I thought I understood the insanity of war after watching WWII videos for 10+yrs. Than I started watch the Pacific War. 😳
I knew nothing of Insanity.
RIP 🙏🏼🇺🇸 The Greatest Generation.
Excellent job Gentleman 🤙🏽
And upon coming out of a multi day power outage, I witnessed a three shirt rainbow as a sign of The Lord's covenant... Also, the guys reveal the team jerseys, in time for Christmas!
Yahagis skipper was Hara Tameichi, an veteran of Solomons campaign, and realist like Ito. I still remember reading his book in early 80s.
The fact that Hara was only light cruiser skipper in 1945 tells about his habit of speaking out loud. And Yahagi was not much bigger than biggest destroyer leaders. Man was there almost in every knife fight of Ironbottom sound as skipper of Amatsukaze during 1942, and destroyer division commander aboard Shigure till spring 1944 on further Solomons campaign. The fact he did survived war is miracle. His book also contains memories of serious boozing among crew before suicide mission, and Hara himself never spit to sake glass. His book is old, and not best reference, but sincerely written, at time only from his own memory and memory of surviving friends. It was propably Amatsukaze who crippled Juneau, leading later to her loss.
I bought one of those shirts after you guys wore them the last time!
From which individual? Okay, that joke was uncalled for and I will chastise myself.
@ lol!
The quotation of the young lieutenant abotvthe need to sacrifice the Yamato to hammer home the idea that the war is lost and lead the way for an end to the war and give a new possibility and future to japan is an idea which was mentioned in the Japanese movie of 2021 "the great war of Archimedes" where the Japanese "battleship admiral" is trying to push through the construction of Yamato and her sister exactly for this scope.
One of your best episodes
Another fantastic program guys, thank you.
The British and Australian navy too!!!! Great stuff!!! Thanks for this channel
Re: 34:58 The most prescient and insightful quote of the entire war. And it was made by a young IJN Lieutenant, not any one of "The Big Six" or Hirohito. What a moment in history for you to capture and relate here Seth. Just one more reason why this channel has grabbed and held our attention for years. Thanks to you Gentlemen!
Your treatment of this subject was exceptional. You bring it to life and it is humbling. I salute you all.
2:11:53 - to Capt. Bill's point about a USS United States or HMS Great Britain....
in 1940 Hitler decided to change the name of the battle cruiser “Deutschland” to “Lützow” recognizing that the sinking of a warship was a propaganda disaster if it bore the name of its country
Great video as usual guys ! 👌
How about a video on the sinking of Shinano ? and the crew of the Archerfish !
Well done Gentlemen. Informative but with genuine reverence for a legendary ship albeit an enemy ship. You should look in to having this episode dubbed into Japanese for the Japanese. I'm sure your viewership would go through the roof.
For Jon and others who are fans of Japanese warships: take comfort that, according to the several TV series and a movie, in about 175 years from now, Yamato will be salvaged, converted in to a Space Battleship, and fly off into the galaxy to save Earth from the evil aliens attacking us. :)
Loving the shirts boys….befitting episode!
If Jon really wanted to mess with us, he would cgi different wallpaper on occasion...😂
Gentlemen, outstanding episode as always.
Looking forward to Mr. Parshall's book on 1942, although sadly it will be too late for me to use for background research for the 4th book in my 'Republic of Texas Navy' alternate history series. Shattered Sword was excellent.
Your podcast has become my #1.. THANK YOU.
Great video! Appreciate all your efforts, these are a joy to watch.
Fantastic episode right from the start--everyone in uniform (now I can see Jon since this isn't camo :)).What a waste of so many sailors. Seth, I wonder if ADM Spruance was sending the old battlewagons out for Pearl Harbor revenge? Jon they must do things differently in MN. When I was building ships in 5th and 6th grade, I wanted no part of anything that wasn't USN. Build a ship of the enemy? Other question I have for you Jon is this--is the 1942 book a competition with John McManus and his 3 volumes on the Pacific? Excellent program today guys. Thx Seth, Bill, and Jon. Nice learning history from 3 guys having a good time in a bar.
Popcorn and Wings ready!
Always a treat!!
Thanks! If the Yamato had survived the war, she would probably been destroyed during the atomic tests at Bikini.
Possibly. Given the amount of novel engineering techniques that went into her design I think there’s a pretty good change that the Allies would have held onto her for a while to see what they could learn.
Thank you Bill Seth and Jon.
You guys are flying in formation with those awesome shirts! I knew it was only a matter of time before you all three formed up.
I think Jon meant "Throw weight" when he said "Through-Put" re: the Yamato's degrading flak capacity - but his point is well taken.
Great Job, As Always, Guys!
Such a tragic story & such a heartless waste on the part of the IJN. It remains a knife in the gut of civilized people; just how utterly callous the Axis Powers were toward humanity, both those who came under their respective spheres of influence and their own people. It reinforces that Eternal Vigilance against such inhumanity is the only course to follow if we would not see such horrors return in our own time.
Bravo Zulu!
Corpsman Out!
I will undoubtedly listen to this video a thousand takes over the next 2 years.
You guys do fantastic work. Thank you.
Just when I thought there was no interesting content on Tuesday, This episode pops up. Thanks so much for your dedication!
Seth, Cap’n Bill, Jon: I know-we all know-that this show is a labor of love…no, wait-of *_passion,_* which is perfectly evident in the surpassing quality of these superbly presented episodes. We all know it ain’t about money. Nevertheless, you guys should at least consider making some merch available. For starters, you can sign me up for at least three of those psychedelic _Three Amigos_ shirts.-Vito 😎🙏
adaychic.com/collections/abstract/products/abstract-mens-shirts-with-pocket-90?variant=46184254243089
I’ll second that!
The shirts 👕 there wearing today alone I will take a dozen 😂
Finally caught up to almost real time. Keep up the great work!
Superb. Thanks gentlemen. War sucks.
Another excellent program. My Dad ran one of the MB powder lifts on BB-44 also did Damage Control.
Another first class drama episode from this wonderful podcast team. Illustrates once again the futility and ugliness of war. Thanks Guys.
Thank you gentleman for such a great show and for keeping me company on a -25 F temperature day
Really enjoy your show
I don't know what is more despicable, how the Japanese treated their enemies or how they treated their own people!