The collision between the USS Indiana and Washington had a direct effect on my family. My great uncle was one of the ones killed on the Indiana. Paul was my grandfather's baby brother. He was born in Heartville, MO in 1919. The family moved to Kansas City in 1923, and he joined the Navy in 1938. He was a Pearl Harbor during the attack, as he had gotten shore leave. He became a Plank Owner on the Indiana in 1942. He was asleep in the aft 40mm gun tub whenand never ma it happened. He was killed instantly, and was buried at see the next day. He was 24 years old, and never married.
My great uncle Clyde tried to administer aid to this man...Let me just say, it shook him up until his dying day..Hell it just shook me up remembering Clyde telling me what happened that day..I imagine both of them are swapping liberty port stories in eternity now, God Bless you and your family and know your uncle wasn't alone when he passed.
My father-in-law was a plank owner on the USS Indiana. He was aboard when the collision with USS Washington happened. He told us that the Indiana was lucky to survive the collision. He worked in the Medical Department on board. He served aboard from 4-42 till 11-44. He noted the incident in his diary. RIP Ken.
6 men &officers died on the Washington 4 on the Indiana ,Indiana's C.O. was court marshaled ,never served at sea again , Indians repair job was the biggest since dEC 7attack .she lost quad 40mmmount 9 20mm guns Kingfisher plane &catapult &range finder on turret 3 prop shaft & opened up to her keel , her picture in video , shows boiler plates covering her damage to get her to PH .
Sidenote on all of the battleship stuff your presentation skills have improved a lot, not that I would ever complain about them. Thanks for all the hard work to you and your team.
I remember when my dad taught me about right of way for airplanes, especially at smaller GA airports. A landing airplane always has the right of way. Because an airplane doesn't have to take off, but it does have to land once in the air. 😂
My dad was a private pilot and bought a new 1981 Cessna 172 . During the airtraffic controller strike at Baltimore's BWI were we told to go to position and hold on 33 L . It was daytime but we could see the landing lights of an L1011 on approach . The controller was quick to reply , 51 Gulf position and hold . My father replied, there is airtraffic on final . The controller replied, there's not supposed to be , and he then said , oh yeah I forgot about him, 51 Gulf hold present position . The pilot has last say on what his aircraft does . As it's his responsibility. Always make sure your clear . That certainly could have ended badly for us as a 172 is no match for a Locheed L1011 .
@@davedavis775 haha, that's a big plane. That would have squished y'all's plane real easy. I remember when Delta had those for a little while. My dad always wanted to fly them, but he hadn't worked his way up that high yet. Although, he did end his career flying the MD-11.
In the USAF, on the ground, the aircraft with the better visibility has to yield to other aircraft. While pulling alert duty, if you were first to taxi, the other aircraft were trapped where they were.
Yeah, we don't really have a "yield to tonnage" rule per se in aviation, though more maneuverable categories of aircraft do have to yield to less maneuverable ones. Basically, small UAVs yield to everything, ultralights yield to everything except small UAVs. Beyond that: When converging at the same altitude, except for head-on or nearly so: Aircraft in distress always has the right-of-way. Balloons have the right-of-way over all other aircraft categories. Gliders have the right-of-way over everything except balloons, then airships are next. When converging head-on or nearly so: both aircraft alter course to the right. When one aircraft is overtaking another, it must give way by altering course to the right well clear of the aircraft it is overtaking. Landing aircraft always have the right-of-way over anything except an aircraft in distress. When two or more aircraft are landing or on final to the same runway, the one in front has right-of-way. When two or more aircraft are on approach, the one at a lower altitude has the right-of-way, except that this is not to be abused to cut in front of an aircraft that is already on final. In theory, a 172 and an L-1011 are treated the same. In practice, GA aircraft tend to give way to airliners and such where feasible because we're way lighter and more maneuverable and a go-around for us doesn't take 15 minutes or cost thousands of dollars in fuel. There have also been incidents of ATC sending GA aircraft on short final around to prevent sending an airliner around behind them, though this is technically a violation of the federal aviation regulations.
On 3 June 1969 Australia's only carrier, HMAS Melbourne, collided with the destoyer USS Frank E. Evans. The only USN ship sunk by another navy since WW2. 74 dead On 10 February 1964 the Melbourne collided with the destroyer HMAS Voyager. 82 dead Both destroyers were completely cut in 2 before sinking.
I was there, on the USS Kearsarge CVS-33, when it happen. The Frank Evans was 1 of six of our destroyer escorts (not DEs). She had a very historical WWII record & she was always shipshape. BTW The USS KEARSARGES (as in both old & new) is having a reunion in Branson, Missouri in late May 2022. Anyone from our destroyer escorts are welcome. Event will be "spouse-user-friendly" . Reunion information is available in current DAV magazine.
When I was a kid, I wanted to be on a big battleship like the one presented in these videos. Sadly, that was not to be. I served on the opposite end of these great ships.... I served on boats in Vietnam.... circa 1968 and 1969.... and wouldn't change my fate for the world. The battleship would be miles off the coast lobbing her one tone shells onto targets.... for the most part, safely outside the range of enemy gunfire.... on the other hand, my boat rode off the coast or in river waters.... and when we commenced gun fire... everybody knew where we were. But, like the battleship, we came to play. Granted, we didn't have 16 inch guns... but our two m-60's and three .50 cal would keep the folks heads down.... and that's all we needed to escape.... no, I'd like to stay with small boats..... Mark Bell
I can't believe you didn't mention the most memorable outcome of the Washington/Indiana collision. While a number of Washington officers were killed in their quarters during the collision, Lieutenant B.H. Stooley, USNR, was thrown through an opening in the hull into the ocean and the battleship ran him over. Somehow he managed to survive and was picked up by the destroyer Caperton and returned to the Washington at Majuro, where the two battleships were being patched up prior to returning to the States. Stooley assumed that everything he owned had been lost with the front of the ship "Yet by the sheerest chance, something had been saved. A boat from Indiana arrived that night bearing his portable phonograph and small collection of records. They had been thrown through the ship and landed undamaged on Indiana's quarterdeck." (Source "Battleship at War" by Musicant) You can't invent stories like that.
My uncle was onboard USS Indiana served as a gunners mate in turret 3. He told me about the collision once.. Remembering the look on his face and the pain in his words just brought a shiver up my spine..
I remember a story about a pre dreadnought collision in the royal navy where the admiral ordered a maneuver that would result in a collision, and did, but the other ships officers were reprimanded for disobeying orders to try and avoid the collision.
HMS Victoria... Also known as 'the vertical shipwreck' because she rests bow first on the seabed. Really, really weird to see pictures of divers swimming around her sticking straight up like an arrow.
Naturally, the Admiralty is NOT ever going to allow for a claim of stupidity or incompetency to be placed against one of their own.That is just not British and they have a great reputation for covering up for their screw ups.
Great video thanks. I've visited USS Wisconsin and USS Alabama, Roll Tide! Wish I could visit them all. Some amazing engineering. The steel mill I work at has various machine tools and electrical motors that came from naval vessels crazy how old the stuff is and it still works.
My grandfather Daniel H. Gay was on the USS Wisconsin when it collided with Eaton and was asleep the collision occurred and "nearly thrown from his rack" at the time of the collision. At the time of the incident his duty station was the 5" battery fire control system, which he was in charge of. He would be discharged a few months after the repairs were made. My youngest sister would be born on the 37th anniversary of that event.
The Prow of USS Indiana is currently on permanent display at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington Indiana. It was saved from scrap and used in Berkeley California as a parking attendant booth. Thanks to yours truly and with support from Indiana University. It has joined the main mast and two of her anti aircraft mounts.😁
The pictured collision was with the DD USS Eaton. For me, the most noteworthy collision was between the Arizona & Oklahoma on 10/22/41 during fleet exercises. The Arizona required drydocking repairs at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, which delayed her departure for her scheduled overhaul on the west coast... the rest is history.
@@racer3886 The damage itself was relatively minor and didn't affect what happened to them at Pearl Harbor. The irony lies in the fact that the Arizona would've already been stateside by 12/7 had she not been held up for repairs.
@@DK-gy7ll RMS Titanic was lost due to similar circumstances. Her completion was delayed twice in order to repair damage sustained by her sister ship RMS Olympic, postponing her maiden voyage by something like a month IIRC.
There is a joke in the active modern Navy ... "Aircraft carriers have magnetic bows" that seem to draw other ships in to where the birdfarm can run them over. The one that comes most vividly to mind is when USS John F Kennedy (CV 67) thoroughly wrecked USS Belknap (CG 26) on 22 NOV 1975, killing 8 and sending the cruiser into the yards for about 4 1/2 years of rebuilding. The litany of collisions between battleships and other ships makes me think the joke could apply to them equally as well.
My Dad Edward F. Stevens was on the USS Eaton serving as a Chief Petty Officer Corpsman when it was hit. In the picture of the Chiefs standing in the hole he is the one on the left of the picture were the tear is in the picture. The hole in the Eaton is in the Chief's Galley if I remember correctly. I was 10 years old and was able to go on one of the short sea trials after it was repaired, one of the Best memories I have from my childhood as a Navy Brat. Dad was also on the Eaton when it hit a one of our Submarines. As the Corpsman on board he was dispatched with the longboat crew to pickup survivors incase the Sub sank. The pully system on the longboat broke and one end of the longboat fell into the Ocean, causing one injury that I remember.
My dad served aboard U.S.S. Abbot DD-629 from 1943-1945. "On October 17th, 1943, the Abbot got underway in company with a carrier group to conduct training operations. At 0210, on the morning of the 18th, the Abbot was directed to leave screening station and take plane guard station for night flight operations. At 0224, Abbot collided with the U.S.S. Cowpens CVL-25. Approximately thirty feet of her bow was twisted to a 70 degree right angle."
My dad served on the Indiana during WW2, and was there for the collision. He was recalled to duty for the Korean war, and served on the Abbot 51-52, although long after that collision.
Thank you for the photo of Indiana BB - 58 after her collision with Washington BB - 56 . I understand that Indiana was in danger of sinking but due to excellent damage control she survived.
When the liner Queen Mary was carring US troops to the UK, it cut a cruiser in half and the passengers only felt a bump wthout knowing that a ship had been cut in half. The cruiser was the HMS Curacoa a AA cruiser of 4,200 tons
Rules of navigation for BBs. 1. Look around for anything heavier than you. 2. Full speed ahead. 3. Don't ask random light bulb to change course 15 degrees South.
If you haven't seen it; "In Harms Way" is a great WW2 Navy film showing an example of "throwing out the book" when Captain of a Navy vessel. Great movie and a must-see!
Reminds me of an old joke which I'll keep short: Canadian ship, this is the USS ? Battleship. We're on a collision course. Recommend you change course 15 degrees south. The Canadians come back, no, we recommend you change course 15 degrees north. American ship comes back, I'm on the bridge of a XX ton battleship and suggest you change 15 degrees south. Canadian comes back, I'm in a lighthouse, your call.
Lets also not forget Tennessee and California's collision on the way to Espiritu Santo /the invasion of Peleliu. It's sad to think that had the Battleships been there, maybe they could have provided more cover to prevent such bloodshed
HMS Vanguard almost collided with the Still and West Pub at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour when she ran aground whilst being towed to the scrappers in 1960.
In 1893, HMS Camperdown and HMS Victoria collided during training in the Mediterrainian, Victoria capsized in 13 minutes and quickly thereafter sank with 358 lost, half of the crew. Battleships of the time wore rams, as battles of the US Civil War and the Battle of Lissa (1866) had shown their effectiveness However, lengthening gun ranges long before the 1890s had eroded the actual effectiveness, as the only ships actually close enough to be rammed were generally friendly. However, they were still being built, largely out of conservatism.
At night, you can't tell what ship is what. It's also very difficult to discern direction of travel of each. During the war, without running lights, collisions were much more likely to happen. Now, with running lights on, it becomes easier and the rules of navigation are very well spelled out. If you can see a red light, that means the ship is crossing you right to left and has the right-of-way. Red means stop. If you see only green, then you have right-of-way. If you can see both red and green, and no stern light, you are approaching head on and you are required to pass port-to-port, unless it is positively determined that present courses will be a safe starboard-to-starboard passing. Even with these rules, the collisions still happen, as shown by 2 of our Arleigh Burke class destroyers being hit and severely damaged. On 5 Apr 79, USS Ranger (CV-61) collided with a Liberian flagged tanker. This, even though the rules of the road gave right of way to the tanker. The OOD and Navigator were arguing about what to do and failed to call the CO, only 20 some feet in his at-sea cabin. Three Navy careers were ended in just a few seconds.
Try going through two hurricanes!!! Radar is useless and all the ships are going full speed to keep from rolling over! All you got is the lookouts that can't see in the rain anyway!!!
Feb. 1 1944 - Damage sustained by the USS Washington (BB-56) after her collision with the USS Indiana (BB-58). Indiana crossed the bow of Washington in the dark, resulting in the death of ten sailors. Aug. 24, 1944 USS California BB 44 and USS Tennessee BB 43 collided. Seven crewmen aboard California were killed in the accident, and several were trapped in their berthing compartment by bent bulkheads that had to be cut through to free them.
The one ship hit by Wisconsin is lucky it wasn't cut in half! It's crazy also that Oklahoma and Arizona that were sunk and never returned to service hit each other!
On 2 October 1942, Queen Mary accidentally sank one of her escort ships, slicing through the light cruiser HMS Curacoa off the Irish coast with a loss of 239 lives. Queen Mary was carrying thousands of Americans of the 29th Infantry Division to join the Allied forces in Europe.[26] Due to the risk of U-boat attacks, Queen Mary was under orders not to stop under any circumstances and steamed onward with a fractured stem.
@@mastermariner7813 Yes, Queen Mary only had slight damage to the bow. I saw Queen Mary ship Museum at Long Beach at that time Spruce Goose plane was there too.
The yield to tonnage rule is similar to an old saying my family said “when you’re a pedestrian you always have right of way, however in a fight between a pedestrian and a car the car always wins.”
On 23 August 1944 USS Tennessee had a steering malfunction and collided with the USS California (her sister ship). Seven men were killed on the California.
Interesting that the first two incidents you mention involve carrier operations and particularly the destroyer(s) acting as plane guard. The carrier HMAS Melbourne was involved in the sinking of two destroyers in her career despite never firing a shot in anger; one Australian and one USN. Both were acting as her plane guard and came under her bow while manoeuvring in formation. In the second instance the Captain of Melbourne brought the masters of all the ships in the formation to a dinner at the start of the exercise and specifically briefed them on the previous collision with HMAS Voyager. He gave specific instructions on the conduct of the escorts to mitigate the risks. Despite this the USS Frank E Evans managed to turn in front of Melbourne and get cut in half.
I was on USS Ranger CVA / CV 61. One time, as we were pushed sideways to dock by tugs, the elevator was lowered and was low enough to tip over a truck on the pier. Whoops!
Hearing about BB vs DD collisions makes me wince, as I served on DD-566 during Vietnam. I remember during unrep in heavy seas, coming SCARY close to the oiler.
The lighthouse and naval vessel urban legend. For those who have never heard of this, it describes an encounter between a large naval ship and what at first appears to be another vessel, with which the ship is on a collision course.
The Indiana was severely injured and it showed a design flaw in that if the Washington had hit her at just a bit faster speed she would have been almost certainly lost fairly quickly due to uncontrollable flooding. The Indiana repair job was the biggest job _completed_ at Pearl Harbor during the war. Very interesting story. Also, the destroyer Franks which had the collision with New Jersey was decommissioned in early 1946 and never went to sea again. She was scrapped in the 70s.
My aunt and uncle was once on collision course with a strange object in their sail boat in the middle of the Baltic sea. As they were under sail they staid on course. The Soviet submarine did turn to avoid collision.
In talking with the last MPA (Main Propulsion Assistant) from decommissioning crew, He was wondering if you've been through the uptake spaces where engineering stored pipes and steel for repairs, it may still be there for the taking.
US Navy night flight operations actually began on escort carriers in the Atlantic. VADM (then Captain) Dan Gallery started night flight ops in the Spring of 1944 aboard the USS Guadalcanal. U-boats spent most of the day submerged and surfaced at night to charge their batteries so flying at night was a more productive use of aircraft. I don't know if Gallery was the first to start round the clock flight ops but he was certainly one of the earliest to adopt the practice.
Note: Upper bow of Iowas were all the same as built (where 20 mm A/A mounts were) but Now Missouri and New Jersey were updated with cleaner lines and Wisconsin and Iowa have the original build - upper bows.
@@DEAR7340 The top of the bows of Missouri and New Jersey are flush with hull where the top of the bows on Iowa and Wisconsin - over hang slightly like a casting. Missouri and New Jersey were originally built that way but, were changed - updated to look more sleek with bow. Take care! You maybe able to see splicing bow lines for USS North Carolina in Wilmington - you can see approx. area were an approx. 18 x 32 foot hole was where a torpedo hit her.
I was on board DD 694 USS Ingraham headed East out of Norfolk what we saw the Wisconsin towing the Eaton by a long line stern-to-stern headed West. The 60 something foot gap in the Wisonsin's bow was clearly visible, and the Eaton had a low freeboard with the forward section almost under water. We thought the front of the Eaton back almost to the bridge was missing. There were about a dozen fatalities on the Eaton, as I recall. Sad. Made me nervous during lights- out maneuvers where near collisions were fairly common. We were almost run down by the carrier Forrestal one night that I was on bridge watch.
Just sharing some Ingraham history. My grandfather was on the Ingraham DD-444. He went down with the ship when it collided with a tanker. My grandmother was pregnant with my dad and went to Norfolk to be there when was supposed to come into port, only yo never have the ship arrive. When she found out he didn’t survive, she went into labor and my dad was born. Initially, the Navy told my grandmother that his ship was sunk by a German sub. It was years before we found out the truth. If I remember correctly, survivor statements said that the depth charges on the Ingraham caused the internal explosions. ……. USS Ingraham (Cdr. William Mccall Haynsworth, Jr., USN) sank after a violent collision with the Navy oil tanker USS Chemung in 'pea-soup fog' off the coast of Nova Scotia in position 42º34'N, 60º05'W. The Ingraham was part of Task Force 37 escorting Convoy AT-20 to the United Kingdom. An internal explosion caused the ship to blaze from stem to stern. It was all over in a flash, the burning wreck vanishing beneath the waves taking the lives of 218 of her crew. There were only 11 survivors, one officer and 10 ratings all rescued by the Chemung's boat crews.
@@MichelleHotchkissArt Michelle, thank you for your very interesting an poignant story about your family. I am caregiving at home for my wife who is dying of dementia and cancer, and your note lifted my spirits this early Thursday morning. Here is a poem I wrote about my ship: Robert M. Redmond, Sr. IN GRECIAN WATERS My old ship is asleep in the deep, I hear My old home away from home finally fell Its usefulness weakened by decades of steaming Rust won the battle with red lead and gray paint My old rack and locker are down in the dark Grecian waters where we served at one time How I remember approaching the coast at Athens Twilight defeated by lights on the Acropolis At first seen from a distance through glasses Then closer, creamy limestone viewed unaided A moment so fraught with a sense of history A sight viewed by sailors many centuries ago And now my sweet vessel, once so constricting Lies under those same blue Mediterranean waters Near sunken triremes and other such treasures I know I will not see her again in this lifetime But I will remember her always as DD-694 The USS Ingraham, a steaming son-of-a-gun And a greyhound of the seas for the U.S. Navy.
USS Chicago CA 29 - Heavy Cruiser Collision: On 24 October 1933, Chicago collided with the British freighter Silver Palm in dense fog off Point Sur, California. Three officers aboard Chicago were killed in their quarters during the collision, and an enlisted man's arm had to be amputated as well. Silver Palm penetrated around 18 feet into the cruiser's port bow, forward of the Number 1 gun mount. At the time of the incident damage was estimated to be around $200,000 ($4 million today).[7] The vessel was repaired at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, departing there on 24 March 1934
Ryan of the Battleship USS New Jersey Museum and Memorial - the collision of the Battleship USS Oklahoma with the Battleship USS Arizona- caused the Arizona to delay her trip to the US Naval Facility at Bremerton, WA - which the Arizona was supposed to be at Bremerton Naval Facility on December 7, 1941 and not at then ( Naval Station) now Joint Base Pearl Harbor.
Another famous battleship collision was HMS Victoria & HMS Camperdown in 1893. The Mediterranean Fleet was making a port visit to Tripoli, Lebanon. They were in 2 columns, one led by the Flagship HMS Victoria and the other led by HMS Camperdown. Admiral Tryon ordered the 2 columns to turn towards each other. As they were only 1,100 metres apart, this confused everyone as their turning circles would intersect. The Admiral repeated the order and everyone obeyed. Luckily only the 2 lead ships collided, with Camperdown 's bow hit the starboard side of Victoria. This was especially nasty as Camperdown had a ram in her bows. Vitoria quickly capsized and sank, taking 356 souls with her. It is unclear as to why Tryon gave this order and what he thougt would happen. He went down with the ship.
There's some thought that Tryon might've mentally mixed up his ships' turning circles' radii and diameters, leading him to think he needed half the space he actually needed.
Correction on the Eaton-Wisconsin collision: the Eaton WAS NOT on plane guard duty. A different destroyer had that duty. There were four destroyers in a diamond formation around the capital ships in that formation: the carrier Coral Sea was in the center bracketed by the Wisconsin on her port while the heavy cruiser Des Moines was on the starboard side. The Eaton was off to the Wisconsin’s port. The reason why the Eaton cut in front of the Wisconsin was because the destroyer commodore was on the Eaton and he wanted to be the one to do the rescue. He radioed to the other destroyers his intentions but not the entire fleet and then he ordered the OOD “ahead full, hard to starboard.” This caused the collision to happen. To make matters worse, IIRC the radars on one of the ships were down either for repairs or maintenance, can’t remember which.
Your account is very close to what I was told on my tour of Battleship Wisconsin. Pretty much the difference is that the Commodore was on board Wisconsin, was giving orders to the support ships, and then made the bad order to the Wisconsin Helmsman to add speed and turn causing the collision and all this was countermanding the orders of the Captain. Because of the Commodores interference the Navy doesn't allow anybody to give orders over the Captain of a ship. At least this is what I recall. We might have someone reading along that knows more,
@@thomasmoore8142 I’m one of the tour guides on the Wisconsin so I can say with confidence that you are confusing ships. It’s impossible for that situation to happen as we have two bridges, one for the captain and his crew to command the ship, and a separate bridge for flag officers and their staff to command the fleet. It was designed to SPECIFICALLY AVOID AN EATON STYLE SITUATION FROM HAPPENING.
You made reference to a video on the Arizona in this video so I clicked on that video. You covered a lot of details of the Arizona but one I find interesting but not mentioned was the Arizona triple gun turret vs current three gun turrets. Lots of videos on three gun turret but the best (albeit Hollywoodized) depiction of Arizona's triple gun turret is in the movie " Here comes the navy" a lot of which movie was actually shot on and in the Arizona before and after the drydocking.
The conning towers were always a contentious feature. The ship designers wanted them and wanted ships to be conned from them in combat because bridges were too vulnerable, and in USN dreadnought designs the bridges were cut down to almost nothing. Commanders wanted the bridge because they wanted to see no matter the risk. At Manila Bay Captain Gridley of the Olympia was in the cruiser's conning tower while Dewey was on the bridge for just that reason. By WWII the fighting officers won because air attacks and surface combat (and the sheer upper deck weight of conning towers) meant that on many ships conning towers were removed.
I was thre when this collision occured; abiard USS North Carolina in the same task unit with sister BB Washington. I remember it well and your description of the incident is accurate. As to the New Jersey vs. Franks collision, if Capt. Stevens' injuries were too severe for treatment aboard the oiler, why wasn't he transferred to the BB New Jersey, whose hospital and medical personnel might have been better able to handle the injury:
All of these instances seem to stem from someone doing something that they weren’t supposed to be doing. I can’t imagine that is conducive to one’s continued service in the navy.
Some other examples of collisions between large warships (not just BBs) HMS King George V and HMS Punjabi IJN Mogami and IJN Mikuma KMS Prinz Eugen and KMS Leipzig There were many more involving smaller ships and merchant vessels. Many of these were mainly due to bad weather.
The loss of HMS Victoria probably should have got a named mention, yes pre-dreads so less relevent but it really is the ultimate (and unfortunate) example of what a ram can do.
and then theres HMS King George V who sailed straight through HMS Punjabi, sinking the destroyer and while sinking her Depth Charges went off which then slightly USS Washington as she had to sail in between Punjabis Halves. tbf, it was heavy fog and the Cpt of Punjabi unfortunately ordered a 15 Turn Manuever which caused them to end up directly in KGVs Path
There is a famous collision between a Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier The Melbourne and a destroyer the Voyager where the destroyer was cut in half. It is worth googling.
On 30 October, 1942, while avoiding a submarine contact, SOUTH DAKOTA and USS MAHAN (DD 364) collided, causing damage to both ships. Both ships continued to Noumea where USS VESTAL (AR 4) repaired SOUTH DAKOTA's collision and battle damage.
I know it wasn't a battleship, but the worst collision in Australian memory was the voyager disaster when the aircraft carrier Melbourne broke the destroyer voyager in two causing massive loss of life. Unfortunately it wasn't the only time this ship had a major collision either and left a deep scar on the Australian psyche.
A story I heard was of a battleship in port, and her insufficient number of lines parted due to high winds. She drifted across the harbor and turned a wood pier into kindling.
"Yield to tonnage". One of all of two things that the person administrating my drivers license test commented on was this. He literally stated that it was good practice to yield to bigger vehicles even when you have the right of way. I really wish pedestrians would learn this lesson. edit: For what it's worth this was Connecticut in the late 90s.
I heard about an incident during World War 2 in which an aircraft carrier was refueling destroyers. One of the destroyers was coming around the fantail of the carrier, cut the turn a little to close, and brushed against the stern of the carrier. The captain of the carrier sent a message to the destroyer saying, "I don't know what kind of ship you think I am, but if you touch me there again I shall scream!"
A very well done video. Comment on "Yield to tonnage" - more frequently stated as "Law of Gross Tonnage". Of Note - There are formal published rules of the road for at sea, and this rules is NOT at all included there. In fact they way the rules are written - from a legal standpoint - an investigation after a collision will NEVER result in the cause/fult resting 100% with a single party.
I've always been told to yield to the less maneuverable vessel so a heavier speedboat needs to yield to the smaller slower sailboat, its just easier that way.
I'm reminded of a (possibly apocryphal) story that goes around about a US Navy battlegroup. It is night and they are steaming ahead when the lookouts spot a light ahead. Signals are sent warning the other vessel to clear their path. The reply indicates that it is not possible for them to maneuver and that the approaching ship should change course. At which time the ship states "I am a US Navy aircraft carrier." To which they receive the reply. "I am a lighthouse." My island outweighs your birdfarm! ;)
@@cherokee43v6 the exact wording is even better: „this is nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise! Get out of my way or I will ram you“. Answer: „this is … light house. Your call.“
The collision between the USS Indiana and Washington had a direct effect on my family. My great uncle was one of the ones killed on the Indiana. Paul was my grandfather's baby brother. He was born in Heartville, MO in 1919. The family moved to Kansas City in 1923, and he joined the Navy in 1938. He was a Pearl Harbor during the attack, as he had gotten shore leave. He became a Plank Owner on the Indiana in 1942. He was asleep in the aft 40mm gun tub whenand never ma it happened. He was killed instantly, and was buried at see the next day. He was 24 years old, and never married.
My great uncle Clyde tried to administer aid to this man...Let me just say, it shook him up until his dying day..Hell it just shook me up remembering Clyde telling me what happened that day..I imagine both of them are swapping liberty port stories in eternity now, God Bless you and your family and know your uncle wasn't alone when he passed.
My father-in-law was a plank owner on the USS Indiana. He was aboard when the collision with USS Washington happened. He told us that the Indiana was lucky to survive the collision. He worked in the Medical Department on board. He served aboard from 4-42 till 11-44. He noted the incident in his diary. RIP Ken.
God bless your father-in-law
@@philipcasa7379 YES
6 men &officers died on the Washington 4 on the Indiana ,Indiana's C.O. was court marshaled ,never served at sea again , Indians repair job was the biggest since dEC 7attack .she lost quad 40mmmount 9 20mm guns Kingfisher plane &catapult &range finder on turret 3 prop shaft & opened up to her keel , her picture in video , shows boiler plates covering her damage to get her to PH .
My father was serving aboard USS Washington when this occurred. He was an aviation radioman and flew on the OS2U Kingfisher scout plane.
My uncle was on the Washington when the collision occurred. He was a Marine gunner on a 5 inch turret.
Sidenote on all of the battleship stuff your presentation skills have improved a lot, not that I would ever complain about them. Thanks for all the hard work to you and your team.
Practice makes perfect
I really think this was one of the best episodes yet...
I remember when my dad taught me about right of way for airplanes, especially at smaller GA airports. A landing airplane always has the right of way. Because an airplane doesn't have to take off, but it does have to land once in the air. 😂
My dad was a private pilot and bought a new 1981 Cessna 172 . During the airtraffic controller strike at Baltimore's BWI were we told to go to position and hold on 33 L . It was daytime but we could see the landing lights of an L1011 on approach . The controller was quick to reply , 51 Gulf position and hold . My father replied, there is airtraffic on final . The controller replied, there's not supposed to be , and he then said , oh yeah I forgot about him, 51 Gulf hold present position . The pilot has last say on what his aircraft does . As it's his responsibility. Always make sure your clear . That certainly could have ended badly for us as a 172 is no match for a Locheed L1011 .
@@davedavis775 haha, that's a big plane. That would have squished y'all's plane real easy.
I remember when Delta had those for a little while. My dad always wanted to fly them, but he hadn't worked his way up that high yet. Although, he did end his career flying the MD-11.
In the USAF, on the ground, the aircraft with the better visibility has to yield to other aircraft. While pulling alert duty, if you were first to taxi, the other aircraft were trapped where they were.
Yeah, we don't really have a "yield to tonnage" rule per se in aviation, though more maneuverable categories of aircraft do have to yield to less maneuverable ones. Basically, small UAVs yield to everything, ultralights yield to everything except small UAVs. Beyond that:
When converging at the same altitude, except for head-on or nearly so:
Aircraft in distress always has the right-of-way.
Balloons have the right-of-way over all other aircraft categories.
Gliders have the right-of-way over everything except balloons, then airships are next.
When converging head-on or nearly so: both aircraft alter course to the right.
When one aircraft is overtaking another, it must give way by altering course to the right well clear of the aircraft it is overtaking.
Landing aircraft always have the right-of-way over anything except an aircraft in distress. When two or more aircraft are landing or on final to the same runway, the one in front has right-of-way. When two or more aircraft are on approach, the one at a lower altitude has the right-of-way, except that this is not to be abused to cut in front of an aircraft that is already on final.
In theory, a 172 and an L-1011 are treated the same. In practice, GA aircraft tend to give way to airliners and such where feasible because we're way lighter and more maneuverable and a go-around for us doesn't take 15 minutes or cost thousands of dollars in fuel. There have also been incidents of ATC sending GA aircraft on short final around to prevent sending an airliner around behind them, though this is technically a violation of the federal aviation regulations.
@@davedavis775 now if it was a SP172 🤷🏻♂️🤣🤣🤣🤦🏻♂️
Great video. Hats off to the viewer who suggested this subject!
On 3 June 1969 Australia's only carrier, HMAS Melbourne, collided with the destoyer USS Frank E. Evans. The only USN ship sunk by another navy since WW2. 74 dead
On 10 February 1964 the Melbourne collided with the destroyer HMAS Voyager. 82 dead
Both destroyers were completely cut in 2 before sinking.
That opening footage was HMAS Melbourne
I was there, on the USS Kearsarge CVS-33, when it happen. The Frank Evans was 1 of six of our destroyer escorts (not DEs). She had a very historical WWII record & she was always shipshape. BTW The USS KEARSARGES (as in both old & new) is having a reunion in Branson, Missouri in late May 2022. Anyone from our destroyer escorts are welcome. Event will be "spouse-user-friendly" . Reunion information is available in current DAV magazine.
HMAS Melbourne seemed to have a curse of collision. Wondering if she should be classified as a "aircraft carrier ram" lol
I think the Melbouorne hit a Manly ferry too?
When I was a kid, I wanted to be on a big battleship like the one presented in these videos. Sadly, that was not to be. I served on the
opposite end of these great ships.... I served on boats in Vietnam.... circa 1968 and 1969.... and wouldn't change my fate for the world.
The battleship would be miles off the coast lobbing her one tone shells onto targets.... for the most part, safely outside the range of
enemy gunfire.... on the other hand, my boat rode off the coast or in river waters.... and when we commenced gun fire... everybody
knew where we were. But, like the battleship, we came to play. Granted, we didn't have 16 inch guns... but our two m-60's and three
.50 cal would keep the folks heads down.... and that's all we needed to escape.... no, I'd like to stay with small boats.....
Mark Bell
You were in it!!!
How many time did you sing to the song: Fortunate One, by CCR?
I can't believe you didn't mention the most memorable outcome of the Washington/Indiana collision. While a number of Washington officers were killed in their quarters during the collision, Lieutenant B.H. Stooley, USNR, was thrown through an opening in the hull into the ocean and the battleship ran him over. Somehow he managed to survive and was picked up by the destroyer Caperton and returned to the Washington at Majuro, where the two battleships were being patched up prior to returning to the States. Stooley assumed that everything he owned had been lost with the front of the ship "Yet by the sheerest chance, something had been saved. A boat from Indiana arrived that night bearing his portable phonograph and small collection of records. They had been thrown through the ship and landed undamaged on Indiana's quarterdeck." (Source "Battleship at War" by Musicant) You can't invent stories like that.
My uncle was onboard USS Indiana served as a gunners mate in turret 3. He told me about the collision once.. Remembering the look on his face and the pain in his words just brought a shiver up my spine..
Cool story, THANKS
Thats an amazing story WoW ! @@thomasmoore8142
A very interessant Video! I like your videos. Stay on....
I remember a story about a pre dreadnought collision in the royal navy where the admiral ordered a maneuver that would result in a collision, and did, but the other ships officers were reprimanded for disobeying orders to try and avoid the collision.
HMS Victoria... Also known as 'the vertical shipwreck' because she rests bow first on the seabed. Really, really weird to see pictures of divers swimming around her sticking straight up like an arrow.
Naturally, the Admiralty is NOT ever going to allow for a claim of stupidity or incompetency to be placed against one of their own.That is just not British and they have a great reputation for covering up for their screw ups.
@@richardcline1337 but they did. Blame was placed on those responsible and it's clear in the post accident report.
Great video thanks. I've visited USS Wisconsin and USS Alabama, Roll Tide! Wish I could visit them all. Some amazing engineering. The steel mill I work at has various machine tools and electrical motors that came from naval vessels crazy how old the stuff is and it still works.
My grandfather Daniel H. Gay was on the USS Wisconsin when it collided with Eaton and was asleep the collision occurred and "nearly thrown from his rack" at the time of the collision. At the time of the incident his duty station was the 5" battery fire control system, which he was in charge of. He would be discharged a few months after the repairs were made. My youngest sister would be born on the 37th anniversary of that event.
Awesome
The Prow of USS Indiana is currently on permanent display at Memorial Stadium in Bloomington Indiana. It was saved from scrap and used in Berkeley California as a parking attendant booth. Thanks to yours truly and with support from Indiana University. It has joined the main mast and two of her anti aircraft mounts.😁
The pictured collision was with the DD USS Eaton. For me, the most noteworthy collision was between the Arizona & Oklahoma on 10/22/41 during fleet exercises. The Arizona required drydocking repairs at the Pearl Harbor Naval Shipyard, which delayed her departure for her scheduled overhaul on the west coast... the rest is history.
I wonder if the damage to both ships contributed to the loss of both ships weeks later.
@@racer3886 The damage itself was relatively minor and didn't affect what happened to them at Pearl Harbor. The irony lies in the fact that the Arizona would've already been stateside by 12/7 had she not been held up for repairs.
Oh wow. I didnt know that. Cool piece of history there. Appreciate it.
@@DK-gy7ll RMS Titanic was lost due to similar circumstances. Her completion was delayed twice in order to repair damage sustained by her sister ship RMS Olympic, postponing her maiden voyage by something like a month IIRC.
This ought to be a smashing time!
There is a joke in the active modern Navy ... "Aircraft carriers have magnetic bows" that seem to draw other ships in to where the birdfarm can run them over. The one that comes most vividly to mind is when USS John F Kennedy (CV 67) thoroughly wrecked USS Belknap (CG 26) on 22 NOV 1975, killing 8 and sending the cruiser into the yards for about 4 1/2 years of rebuilding.
The litany of collisions between battleships and other ships makes me think the joke could apply to them equally as well.
My Dad Edward F. Stevens was on the USS Eaton serving as a Chief Petty Officer Corpsman when it was hit. In the picture of the Chiefs standing in the hole he is the one on the left of the picture were the tear is in the picture. The hole in the Eaton is in the Chief's Galley if I remember correctly. I was 10 years old and was able to go on one of the short sea trials after it was repaired, one of the Best memories I have from my childhood as a Navy Brat. Dad was also on the Eaton when it hit a one of our Submarines. As the Corpsman on board he was dispatched with the longboat crew to pickup survivors incase the Sub sank. The pully system on the longboat broke and one end of the longboat fell into the Ocean, causing one injury that I remember.
My dad served aboard U.S.S. Abbot DD-629 from 1943-1945.
"On October 17th, 1943, the Abbot got underway in company with a carrier group to conduct training operations. At 0210, on the morning of the 18th, the Abbot was directed to leave screening station and take plane guard station for night flight operations. At 0224, Abbot collided with the U.S.S. Cowpens CVL-25. Approximately thirty feet of her bow was twisted to a 70 degree right angle."
My dad served on the Indiana during WW2, and was there for the collision. He was recalled to duty for the Korean war, and served on the Abbot 51-52, although long after that collision.
Thank you for the photo of Indiana BB - 58 after her collision with Washington BB - 56 . I understand that Indiana was in danger of sinking but due to excellent damage control she survived.
Outstanding video Ryan thank you
I think i helped inspire this video! Thanks for the follow up on my question Ryan!!
When the liner Queen Mary was carring US troops to the UK, it cut a cruiser in half and the passengers only felt a bump wthout knowing that a ship had been cut in half. The cruiser was the HMS Curacoa a AA cruiser of 4,200 tons
Ryan, it’s you and your crew are why I continue to come back. Great work. Love the old war stories!
Very outstanding video. Great job friend. Thanks a lot. SC Navy vet.
Rules of navigation for BBs. 1. Look around for anything heavier than you. 2. Full speed ahead. 3. Don't ask random light bulb to change course 15 degrees South.
Ryan, you are doing good. I appreciate you. I tune in daily. So keep it up sir.
If you haven't seen it; "In Harms Way" is a great WW2 Navy film showing an example of "throwing out the book" when Captain of a Navy vessel. Great movie and a must-see!
Reminds me of an old joke which I'll keep short:
Canadian ship, this is the USS ? Battleship. We're on a collision course. Recommend you change course 15 degrees south.
The Canadians come back, no, we recommend you change course 15 degrees north.
American ship comes back, I'm on the bridge of a XX ton battleship and suggest you change 15 degrees south.
Canadian comes back, I'm in a lighthouse, your call.
Lets also not forget Tennessee and California's collision on the way to Espiritu Santo /the invasion of Peleliu. It's sad to think that had the Battleships been there, maybe they could have provided more cover to prevent such bloodshed
My grandfather was a gunnersmate on the Washington when it collided with the Indiana
HMS Vanguard almost collided with the Still and West Pub at the entrance to Portsmouth Harbour when she ran aground whilst being towed to the scrappers in 1960.
The RN still had a grog issue at that time, did it not?
Or was the Vanguard thirsty because it had been stopped.
In 1893, HMS Camperdown and HMS Victoria collided during training in the Mediterrainian, Victoria capsized in 13 minutes and quickly thereafter sank with 358 lost, half of the crew. Battleships of the time wore rams, as battles of the US Civil War and the Battle of Lissa (1866) had shown their effectiveness However, lengthening gun ranges long before the 1890s had eroded the actual effectiveness, as the only ships actually close enough to be rammed were generally friendly. However, they were still being built, largely out of conservatism.
At night, you can't tell what ship is what. It's also very difficult to discern direction of travel of each. During the war, without running lights, collisions were much more likely to happen. Now, with running lights on, it becomes easier and the rules of navigation are very well spelled out. If you can see a red light, that means the ship is crossing you right to left and has the right-of-way. Red means stop. If you see only green, then you have right-of-way. If you can see both red and green, and no stern light, you are approaching head on and you are required to pass port-to-port, unless it is positively determined that present courses will be a safe starboard-to-starboard passing. Even with these rules, the collisions still happen, as shown by 2 of our Arleigh Burke class destroyers being hit and severely damaged. On 5 Apr 79, USS Ranger (CV-61) collided with a Liberian flagged tanker. This, even though the rules of the road gave right of way to the tanker. The OOD and Navigator were arguing about what to do and failed to call the CO, only 20 some feet in his at-sea cabin. Three Navy careers were ended in just a few seconds.
Try going through two hurricanes!!!
Radar is useless and all the ships are going full speed to keep from rolling over!
All you got is the lookouts that can't see in the rain anyway!!!
Feb. 1 1944 - Damage sustained by the USS Washington (BB-56) after her collision with the USS Indiana (BB-58). Indiana crossed the bow of Washington in the dark, resulting in the death of ten sailors. Aug. 24, 1944 USS California BB 44 and USS Tennessee BB 43 collided. Seven crewmen aboard California were killed in the accident, and several were trapped in their berthing compartment by bent bulkheads that had to be cut through to free them.
Since you mentioned battleship-versus-destroyer collisions, i am surprised you didn't also mention HMS Dreadnought and its encounter with SM U-29
My Fathers ship USS PECOS AO 65 brought Washington into the Atoll where temporary repairs where made, The PECOS served as the anchor over night.
Great video from the battleship.
We have Wisconsin here in Norfolk
Great presentation,
Thanks
The one ship hit by Wisconsin is lucky it wasn't cut in half! It's crazy also that Oklahoma and Arizona that were sunk and never returned to service hit each other!
On 2 October 1942, Queen Mary accidentally sank one of her escort ships, slicing through the light cruiser HMS Curacoa off the Irish coast with a loss of 239 lives. Queen Mary was carrying thousands of Americans of the 29th Infantry Division to join the Allied forces in Europe.[26] Due to the risk of U-boat attacks, Queen Mary was under orders not to stop under any circumstances and steamed onward with a fractured stem.
It is said, at 83,000 tons, most on board QM never realized the collision happened with the about 6,000 ton cruiser.
@@mastermariner7813 Yes, Queen Mary only had slight damage to the bow. I saw Queen Mary ship Museum at Long Beach at that time Spruce Goose plane was there too.
The yield to tonnage rule is similar to an old saying my family said “when you’re a pedestrian you always have right of way, however in a fight between a pedestrian and a car the car always wins.”
Admiral Lord Horatio D'Ascoyne's collision in "Kind hearts & Coronets" is a classic.
On 23 August 1944 USS Tennessee had a steering malfunction and collided with the USS California (her sister ship). Seven men were killed on the California.
Interesting that the first two incidents you mention involve carrier operations and particularly the destroyer(s) acting as plane guard. The carrier HMAS Melbourne was involved in the sinking of two destroyers in her career despite never firing a shot in anger; one Australian and one USN. Both were acting as her plane guard and came under her bow while manoeuvring in formation.
In the second instance the Captain of Melbourne brought the masters of all the ships in the formation to a dinner at the start of the exercise and specifically briefed them on the previous collision with HMAS Voyager. He gave specific instructions on the conduct of the escorts to mitigate the risks. Despite this the USS Frank E Evans managed to turn in front of Melbourne and get cut in half.
You're doing well. I look forward to the daily.
Thank you.
I was on USS Ranger CVA / CV 61. One time, as we were pushed sideways to dock by tugs, the elevator was lowered and was low enough to tip over a truck on the pier. Whoops!
Hearing about BB vs DD collisions makes me wince, as I served on DD-566 during Vietnam. I remember during unrep in heavy seas, coming SCARY close to the oiler.
The lighthouse and naval vessel urban legend. For those who have never heard of this, it describes an encounter between a large naval ship and what at first appears to be another vessel, with which the ship is on a collision course.
The Indiana was severely injured and it showed a design flaw in that if the Washington had hit her at just a bit faster speed she would have been almost certainly lost fairly quickly due to uncontrollable flooding. The Indiana repair job was the biggest job _completed_ at Pearl Harbor during the war.
Very interesting story.
Also, the destroyer Franks which had the collision with New Jersey was decommissioned in early 1946 and never went to sea again. She was scrapped in the 70s.
43 seconds in is a view of HMAS Melbourne after one of her collisions. Melbourne was a light fleet carrier.
My aunt and uncle was once on collision course with a strange object in their sail boat in the middle of the Baltic sea. As they were under sail they staid on course. The Soviet submarine did turn to avoid collision.
In talking with the last MPA (Main Propulsion Assistant) from decommissioning crew, He was wondering if you've been through the uptake spaces where engineering stored pipes and steel for repairs, it may still be there for the taking.
US Navy night flight operations actually began on escort carriers in the Atlantic. VADM (then Captain) Dan Gallery started night flight ops in the Spring of 1944 aboard the USS Guadalcanal. U-boats spent most of the day submerged and surfaced at night to charge their batteries so flying at night was a more productive use of aircraft. I don't know if Gallery was the first to start round the clock flight ops but he was certainly one of the earliest to adopt the practice.
Wisconsin got an “alligator jaw”
That would be a pain in the neck to fix
saw a quick blip about the NJ collision during 1000 episode special, had to find more info
Thanks team :D
Note: Upper bow of Iowas were all the same as built (where 20 mm A/A mounts were) but Now Missouri and New Jersey were updated with cleaner lines and Wisconsin and Iowa have the original build - upper bows.
Can Wisconsin be visually differentiated from other Iowas, because of the "splicing" of the bow from Kentucky?
@@DEAR7340 The top of the bows of Missouri and New Jersey are flush with hull where the top of the bows on Iowa and Wisconsin - over hang slightly like a casting. Missouri and New Jersey were originally built that way but, were changed - updated to look more sleek with bow. Take care! You maybe able to see splicing bow lines for USS North Carolina in Wilmington - you can see approx. area were an approx. 18 x 32 foot hole was where a torpedo hit her.
In the USCG, every break in coxswain understand that no matter what the NAVRUL’s say you always follow the “Law of Gross Tonnage”.
I was on board DD 694 USS Ingraham headed East out of Norfolk what we saw the Wisconsin towing the Eaton by a long line stern-to-stern headed West. The 60 something foot gap in the Wisonsin's bow was clearly visible, and the Eaton had a low freeboard with the forward section almost under water. We thought the front of the Eaton back almost to the bridge was missing. There were about a dozen fatalities on the Eaton, as I recall. Sad. Made me nervous during lights- out maneuvers where near collisions were fairly common. We were almost run down by the carrier Forrestal one night that I was on bridge watch.
Just sharing some Ingraham history.
My grandfather was on the Ingraham DD-444. He went down with the ship when it collided with a tanker. My grandmother was pregnant with my dad and went to Norfolk to be there when was supposed to come into port, only yo never have the ship arrive. When she found out he didn’t survive, she went into labor and my dad was born. Initially, the Navy told my grandmother that his ship was sunk by a German sub. It was years before we found out the truth.
If I remember correctly, survivor statements said that the depth charges on the Ingraham caused the internal explosions.
…….
USS Ingraham (Cdr. William Mccall Haynsworth, Jr., USN) sank after a violent collision with the Navy oil tanker USS Chemung in 'pea-soup fog' off the coast of Nova Scotia in position 42º34'N, 60º05'W. The Ingraham was part of Task Force 37 escorting Convoy AT-20 to the United Kingdom. An internal explosion caused the ship to blaze from stem to stern. It was all over in a flash, the burning wreck vanishing beneath the waves taking the lives of 218 of her crew. There were only 11 survivors, one officer and 10 ratings all rescued by the Chemung's boat crews.
@@MichelleHotchkissArt Michelle, thank you for your very interesting an poignant story about your family. I am caregiving at home for my wife who is dying of dementia and cancer, and your note lifted my spirits this early Thursday morning. Here is a poem I wrote about my ship:
Robert M. Redmond, Sr.
IN GRECIAN WATERS
My old ship is asleep in the deep, I hear
My old home away from home finally fell
Its usefulness weakened by decades of steaming
Rust won the battle with red lead and gray paint
My old rack and locker are down in the dark
Grecian waters where we served at one time
How I remember approaching the coast at Athens
Twilight defeated by lights on the Acropolis
At first seen from a distance through glasses
Then closer, creamy limestone viewed unaided
A moment so fraught with a sense of history
A sight viewed by sailors many centuries ago
And now my sweet vessel, once so constricting
Lies under those same blue Mediterranean waters
Near sunken triremes and other such treasures
I know I will not see her again in this lifetime
But I will remember her always as DD-694
The USS Ingraham, a steaming son-of-a-gun
And a greyhound of the seas for the U.S. Navy.
Thanks!
Love your channel. More like when planets collide. Thanks.
USS Chicago CA 29 - Heavy Cruiser Collision:
On 24 October 1933, Chicago collided with the British freighter Silver Palm in dense fog off Point Sur, California. Three officers aboard Chicago were killed in their quarters during the collision, and an enlisted man's arm had to be amputated as well. Silver Palm penetrated around 18 feet into the cruiser's port bow, forward of the Number 1 gun mount. At the time of the incident damage was estimated to be around $200,000 ($4 million today).[7] The vessel was repaired at the Mare Island Naval Shipyard, departing there on 24 March 1934
Ryan of the Battleship USS New Jersey Museum and Memorial - the collision of the Battleship USS Oklahoma with the Battleship USS Arizona- caused the Arizona to delay her trip to the US Naval Facility at Bremerton, WA - which the Arizona was supposed to be at Bremerton Naval Facility on December 7, 1941 and not at then ( Naval Station) now Joint Base Pearl Harbor.
You have gotten a lot better at doing these videos. I hope you go back and redo some of your older videos. I love your content
Great video Ryan and crew.
Another famous battleship collision was HMS Victoria & HMS Camperdown in 1893. The Mediterranean Fleet was making a port visit to Tripoli, Lebanon. They were in 2 columns, one led by the Flagship HMS Victoria and the other led by HMS Camperdown. Admiral Tryon ordered the 2 columns to turn towards each other. As they were only 1,100 metres apart, this confused everyone as their turning circles would intersect. The Admiral repeated the order and everyone obeyed. Luckily only the 2 lead ships collided, with Camperdown 's bow hit the starboard side of Victoria. This was especially nasty as Camperdown had a ram in her bows. Vitoria quickly capsized and sank, taking 356 souls with her. It is unclear as to why Tryon gave this order and what he thougt would happen. He went down with the ship.
There's some thought that Tryon might've mentally mixed up his ships' turning circles' radii and diameters, leading him to think he needed half the space he actually needed.
Beat me to it
That crew must have hated their CPT if dumped on an oiler
Correction on the Eaton-Wisconsin collision: the Eaton WAS NOT on plane guard duty. A different destroyer had that duty. There were four destroyers in a diamond formation around the capital ships in that formation: the carrier Coral Sea was in the center bracketed by the Wisconsin on her port while the heavy cruiser Des Moines was on the starboard side. The Eaton was off to the Wisconsin’s port. The reason why the Eaton cut in front of the Wisconsin was because the destroyer commodore was on the Eaton and he wanted to be the one to do the rescue. He radioed to the other destroyers his intentions but not the entire fleet and then he ordered the OOD “ahead full, hard to starboard.” This caused the collision to happen. To make matters worse, IIRC the radars on one of the ships were down either for repairs or maintenance, can’t remember which.
Your account is very close to what I was told on my tour of Battleship Wisconsin. Pretty much the difference is that the Commodore was on board Wisconsin, was giving orders to the support ships, and then made the bad order to the Wisconsin Helmsman to add speed and turn causing the collision and all this was countermanding the orders of the Captain. Because of the Commodores interference the Navy doesn't allow anybody to give orders over the Captain of a ship. At least this is what I recall.
We might have someone reading along that knows more,
@@thomasmoore8142 I’m one of the tour guides on the Wisconsin so I can say with confidence that you are confusing ships. It’s impossible for that situation to happen as we have two bridges, one for the captain and his crew to command the ship, and a separate bridge for flag officers and their staff to command the fleet. It was designed to SPECIFICALLY AVOID AN EATON STYLE SITUATION FROM HAPPENING.
@@lightspeedvictory I guess I misunderstood, thanks for the reply.
@@thomasmoore8142 no problem.
What rescue?
For some context, the new moon was April 2nd 1945. So the collision between New Jersey and Franks was under very dark skies.
Ships would assign the men with the best night vision to the night time watches.
You made reference to a video on the Arizona in this video so I clicked on that video. You covered a lot of details of the Arizona but one I find interesting but not mentioned was the Arizona triple gun turret vs current three gun turrets. Lots of videos on three gun turret but the best (albeit Hollywoodized) depiction of Arizona's triple gun turret is in the movie " Here comes the navy" a lot of which movie was actually shot on and in the Arizona before and after the drydocking.
British battleship KGV collided with destroyer Punjabi on 1st of May 1942. Completely cut in two!
The conning towers were always a contentious feature. The ship designers wanted them and wanted ships to be conned from them in combat because bridges were too vulnerable, and in USN dreadnought designs the bridges were cut down to almost nothing. Commanders wanted the bridge because they wanted to see no matter the risk. At Manila Bay Captain Gridley of the Olympia was in the cruiser's conning tower while Dewey was on the bridge for just that reason.
By WWII the fighting officers won because air attacks and surface combat (and the sheer upper deck weight of conning towers) meant that on many ships conning towers were removed.
Part of the Arizona super structure was recovered and is on display in Phoenix. Is that the same color the rest of the ship was painted?
I was thre when this collision occured; abiard USS North Carolina in the same task unit with sister BB Washington. I remember it well and your description of the incident is accurate. As to the New Jersey vs. Franks collision, if Capt. Stevens' injuries were too severe for treatment aboard the oiler, why wasn't he transferred to the BB New Jersey, whose hospital and medical personnel might have been better able to handle the injury:
Hot ship-on-ship action. ;-)
All of these instances seem to stem from someone doing something that they weren’t supposed to be doing. I can’t imagine that is conducive to one’s continued service in the navy.
Quite the underbite.
Some other examples of collisions between large warships (not just BBs)
HMS King George V and HMS Punjabi
IJN Mogami and IJN Mikuma
KMS Prinz Eugen and KMS Leipzig
There were many more involving smaller ships and merchant vessels. Many of these were mainly due to bad weather.
The loss of HMS Victoria probably should have got a named mention, yes pre-dreads so less relevent but it really is the ultimate (and unfortunate) example of what a ram can do.
Scuse me. I think you should always yield to the battleship even if your ship outweighs it.
I swear the thumbnail makes it look like Wisconsin has a smile.
Another excellent job Ryan. Love the qirky comments
and then theres HMS King George V who sailed straight through HMS Punjabi, sinking the destroyer and while sinking her Depth Charges went off which then slightly USS Washington as she had to sail in between Punjabis Halves.
tbf, it was heavy fog and the Cpt of Punjabi unfortunately ordered a 15 Turn Manuever which caused them to end up directly in KGVs Path
Battleship colliding and the first ship you show is HMAS Melbourne who collie with HMAS Voyager in 1964 and USN Frank E Evans some years later.
There is a famous collision between a Royal Australian Navy aircraft carrier The Melbourne and a destroyer the Voyager where the destroyer was cut in half. It is worth googling.
World of waships teaches that if two battleships bows just bearrrly kiss, both instantly explode and sink.
And it made the whisky punch the longest Iowa class battleship
BB64
87-91 Plank Owner
3rd division
On 30 October, 1942, while avoiding a submarine contact, SOUTH DAKOTA and USS MAHAN (DD 364) collided, causing damage to both ships. Both ships continued to Noumea where USS VESTAL (AR 4) repaired SOUTH DAKOTA's collision and battle damage.
I know it wasn't a battleship, but the worst collision in Australian memory was the voyager disaster when the aircraft carrier Melbourne broke the destroyer voyager in two causing massive loss of life. Unfortunately it wasn't the only time this ship had a major collision either and left a deep scar on the Australian psyche.
Those Iowas are huge knives. Eaton looks like it was on a chopping block.
More like a hydraulic press with a wedge-bit inserted if you ask me. But i suppose a knife also is a somewhat apt comparison.
A story I heard was of a battleship in port, and her insufficient number of lines parted due to high winds. She drifted across the harbor and turned a wood pier into kindling.
Say There was a almost collision HIJN Yamato and Her Sister Musoshi around early 1942
"Yield to tonnage". One of all of two things that the person administrating my drivers license test commented on was this. He literally stated that it was good practice to yield to bigger vehicles even when you have the right of way.
I really wish pedestrians would learn this lesson.
edit: For what it's worth this was Connecticut in the late 90s.
I heard about an incident during World War 2 in which an aircraft carrier was refueling destroyers. One of the destroyers was coming around the fantail of the carrier, cut the turn a little to close, and brushed against the stern of the carrier. The captain of the carrier sent a message to the destroyer saying, "I don't know what kind of ship you think I am, but if you touch me there again I shall scream!"
You should do a video about the event that got a newspaper to report that new jersey sunk and island
Just found this video (4/20/2024) Thank you
My grandfather was on the USS Eaton during that collision.
A very well done video. Comment on "Yield to tonnage" - more frequently stated as "Law of Gross Tonnage". Of Note - There are formal published rules of the road for at sea, and this rules is NOT at all included there. In fact they way the rules are written - from a legal standpoint - an investigation after a collision will NEVER result in the cause/fult resting 100% with a single party.
I've always been told to yield to the less maneuverable vessel so a heavier speedboat needs to yield to the smaller slower sailboat, its just easier that way.
Not even if one of the ships _deliberately rams_ the other?
@@BlackHawkBallistic I'm not a mariner but it sounds odd to me that a smaller speedboat would be LESS maneuverable?
I'm reminded of a (possibly apocryphal) story that goes around about a US Navy battlegroup. It is night and they are steaming ahead when the lookouts spot a light ahead. Signals are sent warning the other vessel to clear their path. The reply indicates that it is not possible for them to maneuver and that the approaching ship should change course. At which time the ship states "I am a US Navy aircraft carrier."
To which they receive the reply. "I am a lighthouse."
My island outweighs your birdfarm! ;)
@@cherokee43v6 the exact wording is even better: „this is nuclear aircraft carrier Enterprise! Get out of my way or I will ram you“. Answer: „this is … light house. Your call.“