Golden Gate Torpedo Attack - Japanese Assault on San Francisco 1941
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- Опубліковано 27 вер 2024
- This video is sponsored by Hunting Clash - download it for free here:
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In June 1946, a WWII Japanese torpedo was discovered close to San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge. In this video, I solve the mystery of the Japanese submarine attack on the famous American landmark in December 1941.
Dr. Mark Felton is a well-known British historian, the author of 22 non-fiction books, including bestsellers 'Zero Night' and 'Castle of the Eagles', both currently being developed into movies in Hollywood. In addition to writing, Mark also appears regularly in television documentaries around the world, including on The History Channel, Netflix, National Geographic, Quest, American Heroes Channel and RMC Decouverte. His books have formed the background to several TV and radio documentaries. More information about Mark can be found at: en.wikipedia.o...
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Disclaimer: All opinions and comments expressed in the 'Comments' section do not reflect the opinions of Mark Felton Productions. All opinions and comments should contribute to the dialogue. Mark Felton Productions does not condone written attacks, insults, racism, sexism, extremism, violence or otherwise questionable comments or material in the 'Comments' section, and reserves the right to delete any comment violating this rule or to block any poster from the channel.
Credits: US National Archives; San Francisco Public Library; Christian Mehlfuhrer; Frank Schulenburg
Thumbnail Images: Edward Tambunan & Frank Schulenburg
This video is sponsored by Hunting Clash - download it for free here: huntingclash.onelink.me/LNzZ/MarkFelton
A spare minute for my question?
Sellout!
@@kyboy5 can't he make a living... Sell out what a stupid thing to say.
Thank You Mark For This As, I Grew Up and Still Live Here In "Central California" Not Far From The Fabled City By The Bay Runyard Kipling once said, "Tiss Hard To Leave" !.......I Grew Up With The Stories From My "Greatest Generation Grandparent's" About Their Contributions To The War By Way Of Their Operations Through The "Southern Pacific Railroad" In The Now Former "Tracy Yard & Shops" in Tracy, CA And The Damn Disgusting Incarceration Of Their Japanese-American Classmates & Neighbors over "War Nerves" !
@@theculturedthug6609 He definitely can, but this game is a bit distasteful… even more so in light of what the channel is about.
If Mark uploaded a 5 hour documentary about watching paint dry I would sit down immediately and watch the whole thing.
He is the only youtuber I don't skip thru the ads.
Don't tempt him, a grass growing episode would soon follow...👀
count me in too man
Honestly that would still be more exciting than most people's "content"
I think Dr. Felton would charge a door fee for that upload.
This video convinced me to jump on Patreon.
Historical storytellers as talented as Mark deserve better than mobile game sponsorships.
Those sponsorship ads are not going anywhere, Patreon or not. With over 1.5 millions subs and hundreds of thousands of views for each video, this channel alone earns more money in a week than you probably make in a month. Doing sponsored ads and milking people on Patreon is just a way to make even more money.
As a boy I devoured every book about WWII that could be found in three separate local libraries. I never had a single resource that could compare with this channel.
Alexander Newman has been trying to delete WWII, please sign this petition to stop more Local Library books from being eaten!
@@michaelomalley1856 they say it’s not about how many books you get through, but rather how many books go through you
@@michaelomalley1856 oh my that is very concerning
@@michaelomalley1856 Imagine the indigestion!
And his mother: "Alexander! Don't you DARE devour another book this late in the afternoon! I've been slaving over a hot stove for hours to cook dinner, and I just will not stand hearing you say you're not hungry again tonight!"
@@vk2ig I hope Alexander paid for all the books he ate
I'm a second-generation native San Franciscan, and am very surprised never to have heard of this event until now. My mother lived in SF all through WW2; I remember her telling me of her anxiety whenever she crossed the Golden Gate Bridge in those years, as it was generally believed that it would be a prime target for enemy attack. Little did she know that an attempted attack had actually taken place! Even so, look carefully at the photos of the bridge, and you'll see the formidable concrete bases for each tower, high, wide and thick enough that they would most likely have effectively insulated the towers from torpedo attacks.
Yes, bridge supports in a sea lane tend to be designed to be protected from ship collision. Which makes them fairly resistant to torpedo attacks. Plus the torpedos, being unguided would need amazing luck to hit due to the extreme currents in that area.
Ironically, if a torpedo were found now, calling the police would be fruitless because they've been de-funded, and calling the military wouldn't work either, they're too busy defining hate speech and specifying proper pronoun usage.
1941 film was made. I remember watching this attack.
@@kdrapertrucker True but it probably would have worked like the Doolittle raid did to Japan. They had to keep resources (planes, ships, etc and everything needed to support them) at home that they needed elsewhere. I doubt it would cause any real damage but it probably would've been like a second hit psychologically coming right after Pearl Harbor. Just my 2 cents.
I was born in SF in 1953. I never heard this till now. My mom lived there from the 20s on. And she never told me that???!,🤔🤔🇺🇸🌹💖✌️🌉
Ironically enough this is actually the second time an enemy ship has tried to attack San Francisco. In August, 1865 as the American Civil War as in its final days, the Confederate commerce raider CSS Shenandoah planned a bombardment on Fort Point, followed by a raid on the city itself to capture gold been held in local banks. The raid was cancelled at the last minute on August 3, after the crew learned of the Confederacy's collapse in May. Instead they stowed their deck guns, repainted the ship, and sailed around Cape Horn and ultimately to Liverpool on November 6, where the crew was ordered to raise their naval ensign for legal reasons (ships were not permitted to enter Liverpool without a flag), thus making it the last Confederate flag ever raised or furled, before surrendering the ship to the local government.
Lucky for them as the fort and batteries on Alcatraz and at the Presidio were built, armed and manned for exactly this eventuality. Even in August 1865 they were still manned and troops were near the city, not least because the Shenandoah was know to be in the Pacific. It would have been a suicide mission and the government would have had full justification in hanging any survivors as pirates. I wonder if the captain of the Shenandoah was fully aware of this. There are existing photos of the very intimidating artillery on Alcatraz, long before it became a prison.
In any case, their acceptance at Liverpool led to an interesting and landmark legal case against Great Britain for constructing and supplying pirate vessels against the United States, which was settled under the Grant Administration largely in favor of America. I remember because on my very first time in Europe, during a school tour by my high school band, I was given a tour of the room where this was negotiated and signed in Geneva.
If I had a nickle for how many times san Francisco was attacked I would have two nickles. It's not a lot but it's weird it happened twice.
Great story. Never read about it. Thank you.
You should really proofread your posts. All the errors in your comment makes me want to ignore the story as a whole.
Interesting, though I don't see where the irony lies.
Who TF at Hunting Clash thought to themselves "Yeah, Dr Mark Felton would really be the best guy for this."?
lmao
Their marketing team sucks.
@@darnit1944 agreed 😂
Hey money is money
@@Tayd0g Exactly! They're keeping the good doctor in business! Shut up before they hear you!
Mark Felton Productions is the best documentary channel on UA-cam hands down!
Closely followed by joeybtoonz.
History matters exist
Fascinating. I was stationed in San Francisco in the USCG for 3 years and was never aware of this story. Spent a great deal of time around and under the Golden Gate in part to ward off any attacks post 9/11. Thanks for the video and another great history lesson.
is it true there are submarines down there under the bridge
@@RareFilesMusicit is true, i am the golden gate bridge and can confirm
I live in the peninsula near San Francisco. The Marin Headlands (the mountainous area immediately north of the Golden Gate Bridge) has the ruins/remnants of several old military gun batteries. You're able to walk or climb through them. These existed to protect the San Francisco Bay. Whenever friends and family members visit, we take them to this area (which feels rather remote in comparison with the city). Most visitors tell us that it is one of the favorite places they've visited during their trips.
Victoria BC has the same
I went to summer camp twice at Point Bonita.
I love telling people that my "summer camp" consisted of old military barracks vs roughing it in tents.
The only thing Dr. Felton can't do is disappoint us
He disappointed me here. Opening for a WWII story and get a shitty hunting animals ad. So I should shut up and pay up for watching this history program instead of him being in need of this lousy game's support!
@@carolynking1625 He needs to be paid for his work
@@nicck He showed many other history stories he was paid for without claiming the history story will come on then a commercial appeared instead.
I dunno man, met mark at a bar, took him home we were tipsy and when we wend down he was a bit short.
But that's ok because we had a good conversation about other country's beside germany that had concentration camps.
Or maybe actually learn how to pronounce things like Marin
Mark Felton is a genius at finding these priceless and underreported stories about World War II
You sir, are the greatest historical detective of our generation. Maybe of all time. Amazing that you are able to find these obscure stories buried beneath sixty plus years of history and then set to investigating the incident. Great work yet again.
I've lived in San Francisco all my life and thought I knew every part of this city and its history. This story was quite fascinating and well presented. I am amazed to have learned something new and will definitely remember this event for the rest of my days. Thank you Mr. Felton.
Check out the Sydney Ducks and the San Francisco Committee of Vigilance of 1851. That is a pretty crazy story if you have never heard of it.
Hi from San Francisco. That area just outside of the Golden Gate Bridge is called by local sailors the "Potato Patch" because if the strong swirling currents and upwelling that occurs there. So a torpedo could very easily be misdirected by that. I'll keep an eye out for the other torpedoes. 😉
Since I sail these waters, just for laughs I pulled up the nautical chart to have a look (probably hasn't changed too much). It's probably a good assumption the Japanese sub commander would have had one too, but maybe Dr. Felton would know if they had access to such materials. The entrance to the Golden Gate and SF Bay is tricky, as in addition to the Potato Patch to the North you have another deeper shoal just to the south, the modern shipping channel runs right in between them. A smart sub commander would probably want to stay just outside these two shoals and fire between them. If you look at how the tide flows out, it would absolutely be striking a torpedo fired at the south tower just off the nose of it's port side- directing it just to the right where Marshall's beach is located. He would be far from the last to be caught out by the tricky currents of the Golden Gate- which in this case might have saved the Bridge!
Probably washed out to sea
I'll bet the sub was positioned slightly to the north to get a good angle on the South Tower and if the tide was ebbing it would have pushed a torpedo off course to the South. The ebb tide is no joke. It regularly hits 6 kts.
Those currents were a big reason Alcatraz was considered escape proof.
Thx for the local insight. Too bad about your city.
I live in San Francisco and didn’t even know about this! Haha now I can strike up conversations with my fellow historians >:D and my teacher just might give me extra credit! Thanks Mark!!
Average History UA-camrs: “There’s no way we would be able to find out which Japanese sub fired a random torpedo that didn’t explode during the Second World War!?
Mark Felton: “Hold my beer bro.”
Wow I can't believe my history teacher never taught me about Hunting Clash!
Your history teacher was paid by the state to indoctrinate you!
Thank you Dr. Felton for reinvigorating my interest in history you have so much knowledge of ww2 operations that never get any spotlight
A video on the german u boat attack on Bell Island, Canada would be interesting......
.... anything Alaskan WWII is my vote.
I think it got sunk and is still there
Or the German u boats on the coast of Florida
Yaaaasssss
Get me that info !!!
Yes, U boats attacked twice on Bell Island , Conception Bay Newfoundland. CA.
Had Mark Felton lived during WW2 he would have made a fantastic military analyst for the allies. This type of background research and objective speculation would have served well.
Superb story, Mark. As some who has lived many years in Sausalito, CA. I can attest to the incredibly power tides that occur under the GG bridge. The tides typically ebb at near 12 knots. It would not surprise me that a torpedo shot at distance could be washed off course.
Anyone else imagine that when Mark said he'd "finally solved this mystery", he was wearing a detectives hat and smoking a pipe, with all the suspects gathered around him in the drawing room?
Ishikawa's skeleton at the bottom of the ocean:
"It ain't over yet Yanks! Theres still two more torpedoes!"
I subscribe to the two or three topedo spread theory. However, I believe they struck rocks and exploded. Residents might have even heard the explosions and/or felt the ground shake a bit. But, not realizing what it was, dismissed it as a minor earth tremor or something else.
Would he still be saying that nowadays, or realise how silly it would be considering Chinas possible effect on his grandchildren?
@@Simonsvids im not sure i understand your comment, care to expand on that?
@@garypulliam3740 Rocks. Or some dolphins or some big fishes. Same occurred for Batman and Robin once.
Reading my comment whilst sober I don't have a clue either sorry.
Absolutely stellar research Mark Felton. Thank you for an incredible story that I never would have known without your work
I've NEVER heard of this before. Well Done!
You make a very valid point, WW2 is still a mystery to so many people. My son who was born in 1997 is a big WW2 buff and can talk and debate about many of the battles and events of war. It astounds me the interest that young people have about it. Many much younger even then him know about WW2. I have asked what they know about WW1 and the usual response is; " Their was a WW1?"
Hollywood pounds and pounds on WWII. Why? Ask Kanye West.
I wish the Japanese submarine operations were talked about more in school. It’s context for the hysteria that caused the interment camps.
@Bobb Grimley god no. This event and others like it caused mass hysteria that led to the incident. The context of an event should be known so future generations can understand and prevent making the same mistakes.
The Democrat Party leadership and their RINO allies that interned my godfather's family and tens of thousands of other Japanese Americans were following an existing playbook they had used before. During WWI they imprisoned, interned and seized the property of tens of thousands of German American citizens, many of whom not coincidently were registered Republicans. My great grandfather in Los Angeles was one of them. He lost his property and business and was never compensated. He never even got an apology.
Which is why my grandmother, aside from common human decency, used her property to store as many of her neighbor's goods as they could until they returned to our heavily Japanese American area in Gardena, Los Angeles County. My mom used to tell me when I was growing up about how, as a young girl with my grandmother and her stepdad, they made long and difficult trips, in a old car with wartime rationing of gas and tires and before the modern highways were built, to bring needed items to their friends and neighbors in Manzanar.
In the 1830's President Jackson and the Democrat Party, in defiance of the Supreme Court and the Whigs (a predecessor of the Republican Party which wasn't founded until the 1850's) in Congress drove the Five Civilized Tribes from their lands in the Southeast, recognized by treaties, to what is now Oklahoma on the far fringes of settled lands. They lost their lands, their goods and many lives on the Trail of Tears. In the 1890's under the Grover Cleveland second administration, also a Democrat President, their Oklahoma lands were also mostly seized without compensation over Republican objections in the Great Land Rush. Grifters like Elizabeth Warren's great grandfather even claimed Cherokee descent to seize some the remaining lands the tribes held. Many families, like my brother-in-law's, were forced out of their property and had to relocate again.
My immediate family and my relatives have been the victims of all four of these Democrat actions. Don't blame the American people in general, as many of them strongly objected at the time. Blame the same party who started the Civil War for chattel slavery and created the Black Codes when they regained political power after the Civil War. Now they are talking about using the Covid crisis to intern Americans who resist them again. Don't frigging whine about the past. Stop the same organization and the intellectual, and in many cases the actual, descendents of those who did this before from doing it again. Specifically I mean those unapologetic descendents of slave owners Joe Biden and fake black Kamala Harris.
@@brianmccarthy5557 The Republicans were just as guilty - the Spanish American war and Indian wars of the 1870’s occurred under Republican administrations.
The Seminole wars were started under Andrew Jackson - and the party he was a member of split into the Whig and Democratic Parties. Jackson is a hero to the Republican Party faithful…
During WW2 an entire division worth of German descended American citizens served with the Wehrmacht.
@@allangibson2408 this is probably the strangest toxic political debate I’ve read in a while
@@stevebean1234 It is certainly a bit of a weird debate. I mean, speak to someone from outside the USA and ask how they'd see things, and they'd just go, "The USA did this to us, then did this to us, and finally did this other thing to us." They don't care whether it's Republican or Democrat, they just know it as "American".
" ....so many mysteries yet to be explained." Dr. Felton is just the right person to do it, too.
Never knew a Torp was found out here in SF. I was born, raised, and live out here now in Fremont (a city 35 miles east of SF.) Never heard of this, and cant imagine the outcome IF that Torp did infact strike the bridge's south tower. I visit SF every October for Fleet Week. Just might head over to Marshall Beach after the airshow this year. Great content as always Mr. Felton.
Same here and I'm from the Central Coast.
deb king 94..Stayed at the fisherman's wharf Holiday Inn in the middle 80s and the Missouri came in right underneath the bridge... beautiful grey,battleship,beautiful International orange bridge, absolute classic ! ! !
@@roryvonbrutt7302 its USS Mizzurah
@@ramal5708 I'm from California, it's the USS Missouri ! !
Yeah I grew up in San Jose during the 1970s and 1980s, only 25 to 35 years after WWII, and never once did I hear about this, until now that is.
You have taught me more about history than all my teachers combined. I thank you immensely good sir. 👍 keep up the amazing content.
Mr. Felton you are a world class documentarian; I, along with many others, thank you for your pursuit of the historical facts. Please keep up the great work, sir.
And Dr. Felton is the one to discover and explain WWII mysteries, old and new.
Mark Felton's documentaries are worthy to watch. Thank you Dr. Felton for the information. God bless you more!
Another amazing and yet little known historical gem presented to us by the amazing and extremely talented professor Felton!
Tell me you want a pinned comment without telling me you want a pinned comment hahaha
One of your best WWII researchs and Videos for sure.
Thank you Mr. Felton!!!
Hey Mark I hope you see this, your content is amazing and I've watched your for over a year and a half now and your content still keeps me enthralled. So keep up the great work man.
Also that ad at the beginning was unexpected XD
Most Americans have no idea how close we came to getting very badly hit. Japan could have destroyed West Coast infrastructure and caused terror, started wildfires galore with those "bomber balloons", and taken other crucial strategic areas if Midway failed. And just IMAGINE what Nazi Germany could have done to Boston or New York if a longer range V-2 rocket was perfected. We had a lot of good luck and good timing.
Very glad to see that Mark’s channel is monetized. I hope that he makes a lot of money for his extraordinary history videos. He has certainly earned it.
Mark Felton and Hickok45 are the only two youtubers that could make a 2 hour video feel like 5 minutes
Oh my gosh! Finally, part 3 of the Japanese "Invasion" of America!! I've been waiting over a year for this! Thanks so much Mark!
the history channel should be paying Dr. felton
The Japanese “Long Lance” torpedo was a fantastic weapon. The US torpedoes in the early years of WW2 were a couple of generations behind in terms of speed, range and warhead size. In addition, the US torpedoes most often wouldn’t explode! The Japanese destroyers with their specially picked lookouts that often bested early radar in the close waters off Guadacanal with their magnificent torpedoes gave the Americans several humiliating defeats. The Japanese got their money’s worth out of their destroyers so much better than their battleships!
they certainly got their money's worth out of it when you consider that a salvo of six sunk the carrier USS Hornet then the rounds that missed would hit and sink the destroyer USS O'Brien and damage the battleship North Carolina
@@Necrodermis it took several engagements for the US Navy with considerable suspicion on the part from several officers to realize how good the Japanese Long Lance torpedoes were. They knew their own torpedoes couldn’t have done that much mayhem!
@@Necrodermis hornet was scuttled, the U.S. after being unable to tow her, tried to scuttle her, but couldn't. Then the Japanese found her, searched her for any intelligence then sank her.
Mark Felton should own the History Channel.
Always a great day when Mark Felton puts up a new video!
Mark Felton brings back sooooo many historical events, as well as ones I never knew about, that I've learnt more from him than all of my years in school. History that everyone should know. Great work Mark. Cheers
This was brilliant! I love the mystery of history. This chapter is particularly fascinating. Thank you.
Fascinating stuff. Personally, I'm inclined to think this torpedo had been fired at a ship and missed. By the way, at the risk of being nit-picky, the torpedoes carried by I-15 ( and other IJN subs ) were not the Type 93 'Long Lance'. Rather, they were the Type 95, a smaller version of the Type 93.
How does Dr Felton have time to eat breakfast after all the research he has to do for these uploads .Great Job Mark ,Thanks.
A true historian, thourough research without any bias and great narration, thanks!
Fascinating video, thanks Mark. Japanese submarines also launched reconnaissance plane missions over Sydney, NSW, on the east coast of Australia, and did a bit of shelling, too.
BTW, regarding the mysteries of WW2 - there are people today using PCs to decrypt German Enigma transmissions which were copied by the Allied intercept stations but never decrypted during or after WW2 (probably due to lack of resources, and being from low-level, not-so-important sources). So new information is emerging all the time.
Thank you Mark!! Chronicling events during the most turbulent time in modern human history with great respect for accuracy.
That WW2 must've been terrifying. I'm just glad no one got hurt.
I am not surprised that I had never heard of this, Mark. You keep coming up with so many untold stories. Great research work.
Always unbelievable how much you know about the WW2. You won't run out of topics.
I think it's far more likely that the torpedo found was a missed shot at a Navy or Merchant ship headed south out of the bay. The concrete piers that support the towers are massive and it's unlikely a single torpedo would do much damage. "Golden Gate Bridge Attack" sounds way cooler than "Missed Torpedo Hits Sand Bank" i must admit
I heard people living along the beachfront in Santa Monica were selling their houses cheap because of incursions such as this. Great work Mr. Felton.
Brilliant as always! I'm watching this in S.F. too!
But have you seen it ..... on weeeeeeeed?
Mark Felton is just unparalleled in knowledge about WW2 ❤️👑
Another great history lesson I had no idea , outstanding work as always sir
Not only is Mark the best source for WW2 history, he's now uncovering and solving history that even the 'historians' don't know much about! Incredible.
Absolutely fascinating Dr. Mark "Sherlock" Felton!!
Never a dull moment with Mark.
There is no limit to Mark Felton's talent!
Bravo Dr. Felton, another brilliant bit of history I did not know about. Thank you for all your hard work and sharing it with us in such an informative and easy to understand story. 😊👍
Dear Dr. Felton, I suspect the torpedo was launched toward a merchant ship near the bridge but missed target because of the extreme tidal currents at this site. Love your shows. You are awesome, thanks Professor. Denny Breese
Former crew USS Nautilus SSN-571.
Hey Mark! Great video. I find it incredible the torpedo sat there for many years before being picked up! What an unexpected thing to learn today, thank you for teaching me!
Mark Felton... ICON ! ! !
A few things are unclear to me:
- How many torpedoes would it take to sufficiently damage the massive concrete pillars of the Golden Gate bridge. I have zero expertise in the domain but I suspect the number would be very high.
- What's the evidence the Golden Gate was the actual target? Does the location and angle of the torpedo support this statement? From the maps and pictures it's not clear to me.
- If multiple torpedoes have been fired like Mark Felton suspects, what are the chances that none of them hit their target nor exploded?
- Do we actually know the torpedo was launched? Could it have been a torpedo from a submarine wreck which in turn washed up the beach?
So many questions and so little evidence to work with.
These are questions i wish i could answer
But the Golden Gate Bridge as a target question, the Japanese sub could of been targeting a ship or a misfire. Idk im not the mastermind of subs.
Mark, I know many people have said as much in many of your comment sections, but in my opinion, this is the most insightful, most informative, most thoroughly researched, most entertaining, and most important history channel on the internet. Thank you for all of your hard work.
The problem for the Japanese Long Lance torpedoes was it was dangerous to the user. Because of the oxygen. If an IJN ship carrying the torpedoes was hit the Long Lance could catch fire and detonate. Their own torpedoes destroying the IJN ship.
I think I would rather have the Long Lance than the crap we had early in the war. This coming from an ex-submariner.
@@chriscarbaugh3936 ….I was on USS Flasher, 1977-81. Japanese torpedoes worked from the start. Took almost two years of war before US torpedoes were reliable. Bureau of Ordinance denied and blamed everyone but themselves. Took two five star admirals demanding BuOrd to fix it!
Didn't the Russians use a similar oxygen torpedo, which exploded sinking the Russian sub Kursk.
@@xyzxyz7042 I think the Russian torpedo used high concentration of hydrogen peroxide. It is so reactive it can corrode many alloys, then detonate.
@@davidkermes393 correct. Keep in mind these are all just theories, too, but this one is definitely likely.
I live in San Francisco for 30 years. I loved to walk with my dogs in that exact area.
I never knew anything about this incident.
Glad they didn't just leave it there, but why not put the story out?
I think it would have enhanced the historic attraction of the area.
I suspect the story was buried by the powers-that-be so as not to frighten the civilians.
Interesting Story Mark! I love hearing these little known bits of History ! Jolly Good show My Friend!!
My family has been in San Francisco for over 110 years now and in fact my great grandfather Roman Razura was one of those brave me who worked on the Golden Gate Bridge back in the 1930's. I had known about the attack on the oil rigs down south at Devereux Beach back in 1942 since I lived in Goleta in the late 1980's but I had not known about the attack on the Golden Gate Bridge wow! That's why your the best Dr. Felton.
I think checking south of the bridge would be the best place to find the other torpedoes. I think it was probably the tidal currents under the bridge that pushed the longlance off course. The tidal forces there are famously strong and could easily alter tbe course of a longlance
Much like that Liberty Ship sunk near London, still loaded with explosives. The Navy is going to let sleeping dogs alone unless spotted. As was stated in his narrative. The Japanese explosive was compromised by salt water corrosion. Still doesn't mean it's not dangerous if found today. But Time's marching on is probably going to get rid of it.
I subscribe to the two or three topedo spread theory. However, I believe they struck rocks and exploded. Residents might have even heard the explosions and/or felt the ground shake a bit. But, not realizing what it was, dismissed it as a minor earth tremor or something else.
I too spent countless hours at the library as a child reading books about world war two. Over time I kind of realized that alot of books cover the classic battles, D-day, Pearl Harbor , battle of the bulge, ect the "popular" battles. What makes me absolutely love your channel and what you do for us all, is that you fill in the cracks with all of these stories that otherwise we would never know, and it brings in a sense of reality and comprehension towards the war.
Wow! the wonderful science of "Historic military forensics"? so cool! Fantastic gumshoe work Mark!
This is why I watch this channel. Cheers, Mark
I was touring Point pinos lighthouse museum on the California coast. One of the display items was opened up on the lightkeepers was daily log in which he documented sighting a Japanese submarine off the coast.
Dr Felton is the best way to start Saturday morning in New Zealand! Cheers for the video bro!
Thanks for the insight on this completely new to me mystery! Goes great with lunch
Mark Felton never misses! The greatest historian on YT
He could have been targeting the bridge. He could also have been targeting a ship. There really isn't much to go on, but it does give some ideas of how a mysterious Long Lance torpedo ended up in San Francisco.
Mr. Felton I realy like you often unheard off historical accounts. Thank you and keep it up with your hidden rare historical factual fims
12:00 The currents running through the Golden Gate are extremely strong. I remember once being on a sail boat and we miss timed the tide arriving at the Golden Gate at max ebb. The water coming out of the bay was going so fast we had to wait until the ebb was complete before we could sail inti the bay. Our boat had a top speed of a bit over 6 knots.
More than one ship has been pushed off course and nearly collided with the bridge.
Thumbs up 4 Mark Felton!
Why people keep referring to an “Aircraft Hangar” as “Hanger” is beyond me.
A Hanger is something we hang our clothes on……a HangAR is a building we put our aircrafts in.
Really well done history clip. Thanks.
I ordered your book Dr. Felton. I didn't know you had a Doctorate OR that you authored so many books . 😁👍
My family lived in Long Beach, California throughout WWII.
The cover-ups pushed by Coastal Command during that time became the stuff of legends.
An example was the night the air-raid sirens blared, the spotlights tracked across the skies, and anti-aircraft guns all over the city fired for almost 20 minutes.
Not all the shells exploded in the air, and some fell back to earth blowing off the roofs of houses. The next morning, large flat-bed trucks covered in heavy tarps and guarded by soldiers with rifles and mounted bayonets escorted the trucks away from downtown.
Naturally, reporters wanted to know what had happened. Coastal Defense Command's response was " Nothing happened last night".
I am pretty sure the navy knew of the attack on SF, but did not want to admit that the Japanese had been able to get that close to shore.
Mark Felton's ad reads are great lol He's the only one whose ad's I'll watch.
I’ll admit to have watched the ad from start to finish lol
History guy does decent ad reads too
Life will be complete when I hear him say, "it is in fact your boy, Raid Shadow Legends"
Dr. Felton’s the theory make perfect since. All the pieces fit.
I wish I could take a history class with Mr. Felton.
Interesting theory although that would have to be some practically impossibly bad aiming, I think what's more likely is it tried to hit a merchant ship and missed.
@@stevebean1234 just to preface this you think that the tides and current in San franscio travel at 26 knots.... in reality they get up to a max of 6 knots.
Now back to the rest of your inane comment it doesn't have to be a lazer beam to hit something that huge and that doesn't move, the tides and currents in san franscio get to a mx of 6 knots and the thing about tides is they go both ways... and a novice submariner would know about them. The tides and current would have more effect on the stationary sub than a 52 knot torpedo. Please if you have no knowledge of the topic don't waste my time.
Actually the opposite is true. The shot would be very difficult. The bridge is quite a ways in from the ocean and the two piling are not very wide. Slim chance of actually hitting one of them from the ocean with enough room to turn around. And not worth risking going into the mouth of the bay to fire because in order to turn around to exit the bay they would have to go under the bridge and a ways into the bay. Very dangerous to try. There were lots of US navy ships in the SF bay at the time that could be on top of them in an instant.
Of course it could also have been a missed shot at a merchant ship, but not because hitting the bridge would have been easy.
I actually get paid a not insignificant amount of money to design ocean systems for the navy since graduating with a degree in aeronautical engineering. I’ve been doing it for 12 years now. You should probably call them up and let them know that the ~20 miles of fiber optic cable they use to guide modern Mk 48 Mod 7 Advanced Capability torpedos is unnecessary, because we were able to make shots at greater distance using torpedos designed in 1932. It would save taxpayers billions of dollars. You’d certainly pull in a higher salary than me, I’m not smart enough to figure it out.
You should probably let submariners know they’re doing their job wrong, too, and that we should be launching our torpedos at max speed against fixed targets. Current practice is to default to cruise speed to maximize endurance and navigation performance.
Consider that the I-15’s patrol area around Farralon Islands is 47 km from the Golden Gate Bridge. They could fire the torpedo at 52 knots for a maximum range of 22 km, or they could fire the torpedo at 33 knots for a maximum range of 40 km. Hmmmmm - guess they chose the fast speed because “We say no pay to win” said so.
Call up the guys at Commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command and let them know they’re slacking - that novice Japanese submariners in WW2 understood the currents in San Francisco so well in 1939. What are we paying them and NOAA so much money for ?
Doubt you’ve been on the water a day in your life. Currents do a lot more than “go both ways”. The San Francisco bay is famous for its eddies, chaotic currents, and tidal race. And that’s all just at surface level. Currents vary by depth, too.
Doubt you have the faintest idea of how subsea navigation is done. Error stacks on relative position measurements surprisingly fast - and it does so at an increased rate with vehicle speed. Meaning your 52-knot torpedo is taking an accuracy hit for going that fast…on top of its 1933 SWaP-limited inertial navigation technology… pre-Kalman filter… Bet you don’t understand how critical absolute position fixes are. Bet you don’t even know what an absolute fix is or what is used to get one. Bet you don’t know that the modern ubiquitous method didn’t even exist back then. Bet you don’t know most RF can’t penetrate water anyway.
You’re right, I mixed up units on my 12 km/h current data. God forbid. The currents are only 20% the torpedo speed not 50%
At least I have your pleasant attitude to cheer up my day. Wait, no…
Good riddance, ignoramus. Life is a little brighter knowing I don’t have to deal with people like you on a regular basis.
Bravo. Another fantastic, enthralling moment in history, thank you Mark.
Wow!!! Mark this one hit even close to home, I live about an hour N.E. of San Francisco and never knew about this attack. Learn something new everytime I listen to your channel, thanks again!!!!
Another excellent post Mr. Felton, Thank You!
Amazing detective work! It is extremely doubtful that a 1000 pound warhead would have caused any damage at all to the towers, especially the south tower which is protected by a barrier to prevent ships from ramming the base. I think it is more likely they did fire at and miss a ship.
Being from the U.S., I've been a student of History since my high school days back in the late 60's early 70's and WWII in particular always was of special interest to me. The high school teachers of today would be doing their students a service by including your videos in their curriculum when teaching WWII history. Mark thank you for another interesting video!
I agree with many other commenters here in saying that I've never heard of this before. I have several friends who live in The Bay Area, and I don't think this isn't even part of San Francisco's colorful local lore (of which there is no shortage). If you think that you've read or seen it all about WWII, Dr. Felton has the resources and skills to prove that there is more to know and show. Once again, thanks for yet another remarkable and amazing report on one of the most obscure incidents of WWII, now committed to history as only you are able to present.
Who dislikes Mark Felton? He is a treasure.
Lol good video, never knew about this. One thing, it’s pronounced muh-rin for Marin colloquially
Yes, I caught that too. Accent on the second syllable as well: muh-RIN
It's adorable when Mark pronounces American placenames. I got a bit of a chuckle at hearing him pronounce "Montana" in the ad.