Heh, for what it's worth I too was about to name the very same ship (Warspite) as an obvious candidate for preservation given her acclaimed history! Her scrapping (of which to be fair wasn't exactly conventional in the circumstances) really was/is lamentable. :(
We in the US are extremely fortunate to have many examples of battleships from dreadnaught (U.S.S. Texas) through W.W.2 (U.S.S. Missouri). It's a shame that governments can be so shortsighted.
You mention the Texas. If it is not dry berthed soon it may sink. The U.S.S. Missouri looks good now but it was relatively recently transferred as a museum ship. I would hate to see it in a 100 years. Eventually it will be realized that these ships need large government maintenance to survive.
I find a shame that the Big E wasent preserved, there would be no better ship to represent the USN in WW2. From defeat to Victory. Through the darkerst days. A floating battlefield.
Agree with all the comments. After the war Britain was not just broke, it was bankrupt! We had used all our gold reserves, traded away our foreign bases to the USA. The Warspite was worth more as 20 grands worth of scrap than it was as a national monument. Those times were much different to now. There was little concept of leisure time to go to a museum. Working people worked - they did not have holidays. They were deep, dark days that would be completely unrecognizable to today's generation. Scrapping the Warspite WAS a national disgrace. But we needed the steel to make cars to export. The Brits never got the chance to buy them for years. They all went on the boats out to the colonies. Awful days!
I hate this argument, as the long term gain of preservation far outweighs the short term scrap gain. People are just too shortsighted and greedy to see this.
Benters Extremely interesting, I've always wondered what the British people went through after World War II and for how long, is there any book out there that you would recommend reading that I could get a better Insight.?
Apparently, during WW2, the British Government asked the Barrow on Furness people to change the name os a street called ‘Mikasa Street’ to something more patriotically English. They refused, citing the benefit that building the Mikasa had been to their working population.
Being from barrow I can confirm this, it is on walney island across the channel from barrow in a place called vickerstown which was built to house the ship builders
It is truly a shame that Britain doesn´t honour the memory of the navy that once ruled the waves.. Such engineering marvels as HMS Dreadnought should have been preserved for posterity.
steve08717 coincidentally HMS Belfast is moored up at the embankment by the river Thames as a memorial to older battleships she is a light Cruiser maintained by the Ministry of Defence.
Probably the most disappointing failure to preserve a warship is USS Enterprise, the most highly decorated American ship of WWII. That ship took a lot of punishment. Can also be argued she saved the war in the Pacific on more than one occasion. Yet, despite well intentioned efforts to preserve her after the war the money wasn't there and the Navy sold her for scrap.
Unfortunately, the Enterprise was decided to be scrapped just a few years before the movement to turn ships into museum ships. In fact, people could say the Enterprise's scrapping was the spur for people to start pushing for museum ships.
The USS Enterprise, the USS Nevada, USS Pennsylvania...all are examples of ships that should've been saved but were scrapped. I'm glad that we now have a system in place to save such ships.
I was over in America several years ago visiting relations in N Carolina. I managed to get a trip in to see the State Namesake USS N Carolina at Wilmington, and a day later visited the USS Yorktown in Charleston, along with USS Laffey and submarine USS Clamigore. Both were fantastic trips well worth the drives from Raleigh. My boy asked me the same question "why dont they keep the big RN ships as well preserved as these in the UK. Of course I didnt have an answer.
I believe US Admiral Chester Nimitz also helped in the preservation of the Mikasa, and in 2009, sailors of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz re-painted the Mikasa.
I was stationed in Yokosuka on the USS Kitty Hawk in the late 90s and was able to tour IJN Mikasa several times. She is kept in great condition. Kannonzaki park is also an interesting place to visit. It is just southeast of Yokosuka and is a late 19th century - WWII series of coastal artillery batteries at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. It is now a beautiful history park.
Ahhh the Mikasa...one of the most beautiful dreadnaughts ever. The history is just incredible on this ship...I am very glad she was preserved. Will have to visit her someday.
I went to visit good old Belfast when I visited London 2 yrs back. Bought a shirt and talked to some of the museum staff there. I mentioned Warspite and a slightly older staff who showed me the bridge looked forlorn at the front and said to me: "Tis a shame." I told him: "Yet the Grand Old Lady remained defiant to the last when she ran aground." Then he smiled and continued the tour. Best memory of my vacation. Would have bought a model scale of Belfast if they sold one 😔
Huh it's typical in America to have monument ships. There is even a U-boat preserved in Chicago as a monument ship close to where I live. I didn't realize Britain didn't do the same. Seems strange.
Britain has HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar and HMS Warrior, the first fully iron hulled warship. But money was too desperate after WW2 to do much saving unfortunately.
I have been inside the U-505 Sub many times over the years. She is inside the Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago and is well preserved. c1.staticflickr.com/8/7474/15799663217_8a81277cc4_b.jpg
Your videos are extremely informative, they may not be flashy cartoons but they get the job done. I love this style, it never takes and sides or leaves out any information. Real history taught by a real historian.
I was on shore duty as a Navy MP in Yokusuka , CFAY Security in 1990 -91. Mikasa Park to the left of the main gate on Yoko Yoko Road . The Ginza ran up the hill from Mikasa Park , Honcho 4 on the left side and Honchos 1through 3 on the right side . Great memories of Yokosuka.
Just in my home state alone, Massachusetts, the Battleship USS Massachusetts, the Destroyer USS Cassin Young, the Heavy Cruiser Salem, the Destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, USS Lionfish, 4 PT boats, 1 East German Missile Boat, and the USS Constitution. Those are just the Navy ships. From the Nantucket Light Ship, Mayflower II, 150 year old Clipper ships and a replica of the trade ship Beaver, who's Tea was thrown overboard, all of them are popular and amazing to explore.
You've hit it out of the park again! I'll definitely be telling my father about this one that I'm next to certain he hasn't heard about. He loves this kind of material. I guess that he comes by it naturally, having a father (my Gramps) who earned the OBE for saving a ship of the Canadian Merchant Navy that ran up and down the east coast of North America from Halifax during WWII. Keep up the great work!
I was stationed in Yokosuka on board a forward deployed vessel in 1993-1994 and toured the Mikasa. It is a a beautiful ship and was Admiral Togos flagship in the Russo-Japanese war-John from Texas:)
In japan it has the same meaning as "The fate of the Empire rests on the outcome of this battle. Let each man do his utmost." and is a symbol of national pride.
I visited this ship when I was in Japan. It was so awesome, and now that I have seen this video, I am ever more the grateful that I took the time to visit. For anyone going to Japan, it's well worth it, and very close to Yokohama. It's almost next to the U.S. Naval Base.
Irritating beyond words that English Heritage pour millions into ANOTHER manor house, ANOTHER abandoned church etc etc. When the basic and historic tools of an island nation are left to rot. Gone is the Plymouth, the Venerable. The City of Adelaide a rare example of composite construction had to be towed to Australia for salvation. Last year, the President, one of only three WW1 Royal Navy vessels still in existence was denied £330k to save her, on the 100th anniversary of the end of the conflict. She now swings at her mooring in the Medway, where £330 wont buy a decent semi detached house. Scandalous.
Great video. I've always been fascinated by the predrednaught ships. I read about the Russo Japanese war when I was a kid. Later I was in Yokuska for a brief time when I was in the Navy and got the opportunity to see the Mikasa. I remember that they also had a nice automated miniature model display/diorama of the battle of Tsushima inside the ship. It was a big thrill for me to be on such an historic vessel.
Reminds of of a WWI German Moltke-class battlecrusier that existed from 1912 until 1973. It's the German battlecruiser Goeben. She bombarded French and Russian positions and even dodged French, British and Russian attacks. In the end, the ship was handed from the German navy to the Turkish navy and changed name from Goeben to Yavuz. She was supposed to be handed over to the British as a war prize, but a civil war broke out in Turkey and messed up the agreement, in the end, Yavuz was saved. What was strange is nobody could not understand why the Germans refused the offer for Turkey to return Yavuz to Germany in 1963; in the end, Yavuz was scrapped from 1973-1976. Despite this, it was quite an achievement for a WWI battlecrusier to survive for almost 62 years (the longest for a battlecruiser) , encounter a French, Russian and British fleet and survived, even exchanging gun salutes with U.S.S. Missouri in 1946 to return the remains of a dead Turkish, more ridiculous for this ship existing longer than the duration of Imperial Germany. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Goeben
My farther served on HMS Warspite and HMS Conqueror and served in the Falklands war sinking the Belgrano . HMS Conqueror should be the one to preserve as she is the first nuclear submarine to sink a ship in battle and also carried out the daring raid to acquire the Russian towed array from their vessel without discovery. I believe she is decommissioned and sat with her conning tower removed. Her time in the Falklands war is very exciting and interesting story and would make a good film i think.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO TELL THE WHOLE INTERNET IN WHAT YOUR FATHER SERVED.
5 років тому+7
Preserving a nuclear submarine is not impossible , but would need effort to cut down the reactor area and replace it with another section HMS Coureagous and FS Redoutable are still open to visit. For Coureagous , it's just the sister ship of HMS Conqueror.
My understanding is that all of our former nuclear subs are still sat with conqueerer as they're still unsure how to dispose of them due to the reactors etc? A lot of history down there
I have been aboard her. When I first read about the battle of Tsushima when in high school, I had never thought that only a few years thereafter, I would walk her decks.
Really loved the video it truly makes happy to see someone else that is fascinated and wants to let people know of history that should never be forgotten
New sub here. The amount of history in the Royal Navy is amazing. So interesting to study all the different things that Great Britain 🇬🇧 has done with its Navy
Mark, I share your view of this historical ship being of significance to the testimony of British shipbuilding expertise. A real shame that HMS Belfast and now Caroline seem to be the only surviving ships from the ‘battleship’ era, and cruisers to boot. The Americans’ proactive stance on preserving their national naval heritage is a world away from the neglectful attitude of Britain’s “penny pinching” successive governments. A very interesting film indeed. Thanks for showing this.
I'm surprised to hear of the lack of preservation of notable ships in Britain. It seems like every coastal city of any size in America has at least one historic ship moored or on display. The Missouri is on display in Hawaii and while they set up charitable foundation I just know their is a great deal of govt. money taking care of her. It's just a very expensive proposition.
Unlike the US which emerged from WW2 unscathed the UK barely survived the war. In the years after WW2 the British Empire was on the ropes. They had no money. War rationing was still in effect ten years after the war had ended in 1955. Even after rationing was lifted the economy remained sluggish throughout the 60s and 70s going in and out of recession. It wasn't until about 1980 one could say the UK had finally gotten over the post war doldrums. By then all the old Battleships had been sold for scrap. Even the luxury liner RMS Queen Mary was sold to the Americans and turned into a Museum in Long Beach California.
There are lots, not a lot of world war era ones though. A lot are ships of the line or late Victorian sloops. And they're mainly docked in major ports, rather than any port town
HMS Audacious is off the coast of Ireland right now. It struck a mine in the opening days of WW1 but sunk without loss of life so isn't a war grave. She should be raised and put on display like the Mary Rose. It's not ideal, but it's something. If necessary in parts, stuck to some kind of steel frame to give the general outline.
Great video thanks! I think ths ship was featured on a World of Warships YT Vid, but I had no idea it was UK built. Yes pretty sad that we dont have any decent preserved big ships here. But I guess the Navy has trouble getting funding for its ever decreasing fleet anyway!
While not British myself, I've always found a keen interest in the Navy's of the world, and by association the Royal Navy, and its a damn shame that so many of them were scrapped. I've seen several preserved pieces of British ship building... but none of them actually in Britain. It seems the buyers rather than the builders were more interested in preserving these massive and beautiful works of craftsmanship. We're very proud of our Haida here in Canada, I even managed to visit it myself recently.
@@sherrielong6795 haida is a Canadian destroyer that served in ww2 tho it was built in britain it saw a lot of good service and is a naval legend in Canada it is in Hamilton
I think its unfair to vilify the British government for scrapping its 20th century battleships in a time of bankruptcy, even though a (small) number of warships throughout British history have been preserved (Belfast, Sparrow and Victory come to mind). I think its also very important to note that in countries like the US, many museum ships are maintained by Non-Profit Organuzations and rich philanthropists - there was a huge public fundraising campaign in Chicago to save the U-505. The lack of museum ships in the UK is not simply because of "penny-pinching governments," it is also due to economic situations and a lack of public interest. Edit: *organizations
I don't think that the United Kingdom was ever bankrupt during the time when the last of its battleships were scrapped. During that time the National Debt increased enormously. You don't lend money to an organisation which is bankrupt. Given the size of government spending at the time, the money needed to save one battleship would have been a relatively small amount of money. And the money gained from scrapping these ship would hardly have financed much public expenditure.
@@mikeryan3701 Do you have any idea how much the preservation/conservation and maintenance of a "museum ship" costs? I suggest you take a gander across the pond at the state of the American museum ships. They are struggling to keep them afloat and in semi safe condition.
Mike Ryan Britain was on its arse after WW2, we had to pay America a vast sum of money which was only finished about a decade ago, Additionally, fighting 2 world wars in less than 35 years put a huge strain on Britain, Britain was struggling after WW1 and WW2 effectively finished the British empire. The loss of the empire led to Britain being financially broke, look at the British armed forces, in the space of 70 years, Britain went from having the biggest and best navy in the world that could fight two world powers navies by ourselves to a modern day navy that struggles to operate about 15 submarines, 6 type 45 destroyers, about 10 - 15 frigates, 2 assault ships and 1 ex helicopter assault ship sold to Brazil as well as 2 incoming aircraft carriers that will never have enough f35s to operate from them. Additionally, the RAF has no maritime patrol aircraft because the Conservative government scrapped them as they left the factory and while they were being built. The harriers were scrapped, Tornados are getting scrapped next year leaving Britain with Typhoons, a few f35s and hawk trainer aircraft that can be used as light attack/ fighter aircraft. The British army has mothballed nearly half of the Challenger 2 tank fleet because of cuts, the warrior ifv mid life program is under threat of being scrapped. The ajax ifv are under threat as we may produce less of them than intended. The brand new wildcat helicopters might get scrapped as a possible option of saving money and the ah64 apache and c130j Hercules might be scrapped to bring down the defense budget as well as cutting some of the Royal marines units. As much as I would love to walk the decks of Warspite, Renown, Nelson, Rodney, KGV class or R class battleships, vanguard or any of the carriers, we just couldn't do it after WW2. HMS Hermes was a possibility of becoming a museum ship as India offered it back to Britain recently and nothing came of it even though it is historically important as being one of the 2 carriers used in the Falklands war. Last I heard was Hermes would become a museum ship in India.
Mihai Bica That’s pretty untrue, “mate.” I’ve been on the Wisconsin, the North Carolina, the Missouri, the Iowa, the Texas, the Lexington, The Midway, and the Yorktown, and all of those ships are in damn good condition for the most part, especially the Iowa class BB’s because they were retrofitted in the 80’s, to say they are falling apart is a grievous lie. I visited the Norfolk Naval Museum where the Wisconsin is moored, the memorial dedicated to her upkeep is very well funded as was explained to me by one of the guides who was a former captain of the Wisconsin. It costed me about $100 for all three tours that got me through basically the entire ship, and I do t regret spending that at all. Every penny that is made from those tours goes to the upkeep of the ship, and let me tell you, there were probably a couple thousand people in that museum through a 3 hour period, multiply that by the base cost of a tour, which is $35 and that’s more than enough to keep the ship in good repair. That’s how museum ships work in the US bud, they aren’t given money by the government, most are nonprofits that make their own funding, and people here happily fund them trough donations or just visiting. So do research before you make egregious claims.
I saw the Mikasa from a distance when visiting Yokosuka, though didn't have time on my itinerary to go on board for a visit. Thanks for sharing this story on her history, and interesting how England seafaring culture and naval prowess was projected across the oceans though not saved at home as a memorial to those that served.
I visited England in 1966 with my mother & younger brother. My mother was born and raised in London. We visited her home area in Clapham Common in London. While visiting with my mothers brothers we saw areas of London that were still strewn with bricks and debris caused by the German bombing from 20 years before. It took some time economically for the British to recover. The Japanese & Germans lost the war, but won the peace economically over the British.
Since there's a lot of talk about various museum ships in comments, I'll throw this in there. I've been to visit quite a few USN museum ships over the years. By far the one in most pristine condition was USS KIDD, a Fletcher-class destroyer at Baton Rouge LA. Many such ships are well preserved...for a museum ship. It's pretty obvious when onboard that the vessel is not in the same state as she was in active service. KIDD, however, is an exception. Maintained by a non-profit organization of ex-destroyer sailors, she is maintained to active-duty standards. Fresh bearing grease on all the fully-functional AA mounts, not a hint of rust anywhere. I was afforded the privilege of climbing down into one of her boiler rooms (normally off-limits to visitors), and it was immaculate. This is revealing...even a complex space not open to normal visitation was painstakingly kept in tip-top condition. KIDD appeared as if all she needed was to take on some fuel and provisions, and would be ready & able to steam down the Mississippi into the Gulf on her own power. At very least, that's how she looked in 2000; I fervently hope KIDD continues to enjoy the same level of TLC today.
This is an outstanding video! Great find. I'm overjoyed to see that a specimen of this class of vessel survives anywhere! Thanks for making this video. Have a beautiful day :) - Warm regards from Glenn in Rochester, NY, USA
Amazing video as always. If you ever visit the US we have all kinds of ships as museum ships open for tours. I enjoy history and have toured many different types of past naval vessels.
Another good one Mark. Sad that so many great historical vessels were lost or scrapped. As an aside: a friend I worked with in London in the '80's grew up in a very poor part of Glascow. His family home was built from steel taken from the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow with a single layer of brick and plaster. He said they were awful to live in (can you imagine?), hot as hell in summer, like fridges in the winter and with rust stains on the walls.
@@MAAAAAAAAAA123 Yes, ex SMS Goeben (Yavuz Sultan Selim) was scrapped in 1973 after the West German government refused to repurchase it from Turkey. That would have been a good museum ship. You could have bought them for DM 9 million. But the offer was in 1953 and I think Germany had more important things to do during that time. Eight years after the devastating Second World War, there was no interest in buying an old 1909 warship. One would have lynched the politicians to spend so much money. I think that was the case in the UK the same. The post-war era was a new era in all countries, but there was no point in historical affairs, that came later, often too late.
@@nordic5628 The offer to take the ship back was made in 1953 - West German economy took off from 1955 to 1965. Also it would have been hard to explain to the population why the government would spend DM 9 Million+ on something considered useless Militarism just eight years after WW2. Germans back then were done with everything military.
What a great video. Mikasa was the flagship of the japanese fleet at the battle of Tsushima. Although outnumbered by the Russians, the 4 Japanese battleships of the Mikasa class were capably supported by 8 armoured cruisers The disciplined Japanese fought as a cohesive force, annihilating the Russian fleet. The Russian battle ships were of French design and the Japanese were British. There was some cross channel rivalry here that was not really placated until the German empire became more prominent. Impressed by the success of their cruisers, the japanese designed a new more powerful class with battleship caliber 12 inch guns. In many respects, these were the predecessor of the battlecruisers but were not completed until after the Invincible class were launched in the UK. Even as these new ships were being planned, a revolution was in the making. The year of Tsushima (1905) was when the HMS dreadnought was laid down in total secrecy. Just 11 months later she was completed. The following year, saw the appearance of a battleship that rendered all others obsolete.
HMS Vanguard, Brittans last battleship should have been preserved. Ready after world war 2 and scrapped in 1960, when it still was in perfect condition. What a waste.
Fun fact America almost scraped the USS Massachusetts. But it’s sailers stoped it. They repainted it and fixed it up. You can visit it today in well Massachusetts. It’s called battleship cove and if you like WW2 I would recommend going there. They have destroyers, PT boats, a submarine, and yes a battleship.
Its truly a shame, here in Brazil we got a WW1 tugboat (thats still seaworthy and makes pleasure trips around the bay) and a Edsall-class DE, the Be-4 Bauru moored at the Navy Historical Center in Rio de Janeiro, I have been onboard those ships many times. I kind of feel sad knowing that neither of the two Minas Geraes class BB (2nd dreadnought type BB to be launched after HMS Dreadnought herself), the Marcilio Dias/Greenhalgh class DDs (brazilian variant of the Mahan modified), A class/ Amazonas DDs (british G class hull with american DD like superstructure) or Minas Geraes A-11 (last colossus class CVL in operation) were preserved. Well theres a rumor about turning the São Paulo A-12 (ex-Foch) into a museum so its not that bad. But a BB would have been pretty awesome too.
The current São Paulo didn't exactly have an illustrious history in Brazil, since she was already in such bad shape by the time France sold her to you. Minas Gerais with her four decades of service would've been a much better candidate. But oh well.
I live in the city where Tirpitz was sunk, compared to bismarck it was sunk on very low waters, and could have been repaired and turned over agian and it would be one of the best battleship museums in the world. But we decided to scrap it when it was upside down and now u can only see the wooden frame in the middle, it don’t even look like it did back in the 1940’s... Edit: Its also just a little bit of the wooden frame, and its only visible when the water is at its lowest.
Britain should have preserved one of the 45:000 tonne KG5 Classes.I was on HMS Belfast on a recent trip to London,and while very impressive.I would have been in awe at being next to those massive guns of HMS Duke of York,Anson,KG5 or Howe.
What % of the restoration was with original parts recovered, & how much had to be fabricated new? I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but as a restoration buff of WWII aircraft, It's pure curiosity. Ultimately, who cares? The restoration work is magnificent. Well done ⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓
Scrapped by penny pinching governments. British Battleships are not the only ones. Their ocean liners were the same as well. Mauretania, Aquitania, and even Olympic (by far the most important and badass troop transport to ever sail the seas) were given the same fates.
@@dougie5073 Battleship are primarily Big Gun ships. Today it is Destroyers and Aircraft Carriers. Not the same really. The Japanese T-AKE Class ships (Stores, Ammunition, Fuel) are larger than any WW2 ship including Carriers. US T-AKEs are incredibly massive as well. They can keep fighting ships out to sea for 3 months or resupply a Marine Battalion for months.
Exactly. Trying to claim Mikasa as a British battleship is typical of the bullshit British provincialism that defines this historically clueless channel.
@@exexpat11 yes, the advent of the aircraft carrier (and to a degree, the submarine) made the battleship obsolete. The Bismarck was effectively doomed by a torpedo dropped from a biplane. Capital ships such as Hood, Tirpitz etc were massive investments requiring enormous crews and hence became prestigious targets - navies became reluctant to commit them to open battle, preferring to use them for shore bombardment prior to landing an invasion force.
Interestingly, while the Mikasa is the last remaining British-built Battleship, it's not the only survivor of Tsushima, the Russian Protected Cruiser Aurora is also preserved.
I am always amazed by people who those who berate national healthcare, education, low cost housing, infrastructure, etc. as expensive or waste of money often want the government to preserve obsolete weapons, especially those used by colonial powers to expand their empires and control their colonists. How would a debt ridden Britain, the empire in a shambles, justify keeping battleships and aircraft carriers afloat for an empire that no longer existed at the expense of a public still on war rations? Honor the men and women who served, not the machinery.
USS Olympia is in deplorable condition! She is in Philadelphia ..I wish the US Government would take her and appropriate money for an extensive restoration. USS Alabama is deteriorating in Mobile Bay, her hull below the water line is rusted down to the thickness of a dime in spots, and idiots have pumped concrete around it so I'd call her a total loss, unless they can get her out of the concrete and dry dock her. Museum ships should be kept on land on blocks.
the last British battleship was scrapped for about 20 thousand pounds or somthing stupid like that. if they had dry docked and made her a museum i am sure it would have made its money back long by now. :/ it makes me so sad how little history was preserved
Unfortunately, governments tend to look at the immediate payout of scrapping an obsolete ship rather than the long-term payout that might be achieved by preserving it.
Skreezilla Britain was almost destroyed economically by world war 2 so had to scrap the ships, world war 2 had such a big affect on Britain that Britain hadn’t recovered for decades after
Very good video. I know that the United Kingdom has quite a few "museum ships"; but, never realized that none of them were battleships (or dreadnoughts). If I ever visit Japan, this will be a must stop.
All the people commenting about the HMS Belfast
He's talking about battleships
The HMS Belfast is a light cruiser
BuT CrUiSeRs ArE BaTtLeShIpS cOs ThEy Go InTo BaTtLe
It's sad that so many of the great ships were scrapped. The Warspite at least should have been made into a museum...
I think its a national disgrace!
Sadly the British were in no position to preserve anything after the war, as they were broke.
Heh, for what it's worth I too was about to name the very same ship (Warspite) as an obvious candidate for preservation given her acclaimed history!
Her scrapping (of which to be fair wasn't exactly conventional in the circumstances) really was/is lamentable. :(
The considered it.
But after having won two world wars Britain was broke as a joke, so the decision was made to scrap it :(
@@MarkFeltonProductions Have you seen this ua-cam.com/video/Db6bgu0gs-g/v-deo.html
We in the US are extremely fortunate to have many examples of battleships from dreadnaught (U.S.S. Texas) through W.W.2 (U.S.S. Missouri). It's a shame that governments can be so shortsighted.
You mention the Texas. If it is not dry berthed soon it may sink. The U.S.S. Missouri looks good now but it was relatively recently transferred as a museum ship. I would hate to see it in a 100 years. Eventually it will be realized that these ships need large government maintenance to survive.
I find a shame that the Big E wasent preserved, there would be no better ship to represent the USN in WW2. From defeat to Victory. Through the darkerst days. A floating battlefield.
Sadly, the texas is sinking in harbor. Slowly, but surely. History is dying..
Don't forget BB-64
Atleast North Korea maintains the captured stuff from the war
Agree with all the comments. After the war Britain was not just broke, it was bankrupt! We had used all our gold reserves, traded away our foreign bases to the USA. The Warspite was worth more as 20 grands worth of scrap than it was as a national monument. Those times were much different to now. There was little concept of leisure time to go to a museum. Working people worked - they did not have holidays. They were deep, dark days that would be completely unrecognizable to today's generation.
Scrapping the Warspite WAS a national disgrace. But we needed the steel to make cars to export. The Brits never got the chance to buy them for years. They all went on the boats out to the colonies. Awful days!
Warspite lives on in some old car left in a barn somewhere
Well said. Good reminder
I hate this argument, as the long term gain of preservation far outweighs the short term scrap gain. People are just too shortsighted and greedy to see this.
Benters Extremely interesting, I've always wondered what the British people went through after World War II and for how long, is there any book out there that you would recommend reading that I could get a better Insight.?
@@ArenBerberian They aren't greedy, they just want to recover from the war.
Apparently, during WW2, the British Government asked the Barrow on Furness people to change the name os a street called ‘Mikasa Street’ to something more patriotically English. They refused, citing the benefit that building the Mikasa had been to their working population.
Interesting
That is crazy. Let's rename old iron sides while we are at it.
Being from barrow I can confirm this, it is on walney island across the channel from barrow in a place called vickerstown which was built to house the ship builders
the fact that the Mikasa is still around despite efforts by the Soviets to have her dismantled is a double deuce to the Russians.
Ya and the Americans had her stripped and turned into a club so what's your point?
At least we saved her.
All the Iowa class are Museums now and so History preserved.
Connor McLernon 웃기네
The Russians didn’t have much juice in occupied Japan. They were peeing up a tree.
-Marky
It is truly a shame that Britain doesn´t honour the memory of the navy that once ruled the waves.. Such engineering marvels as HMS Dreadnought should have been preserved for posterity.
Dreadnought def should have been preserved. And at least one aircraft carrier. Madness!
They have preserved HMS Victory at least. A commissioned ship-of-the-line to boot.
hms caroline a c class cruiser that was at jutland is still around shes in Belfast at Harland and wolfs
Dean Fawcett there’s also the Hms trincomalee just down the road from me at Hartlepool, she’s a beautiful ship.
steve08717 coincidentally HMS Belfast is moored up at the embankment by the river Thames as a memorial to older battleships she is a light Cruiser maintained by the Ministry of Defence.
Probably the most disappointing failure to preserve a warship is USS Enterprise, the most highly decorated American ship of WWII. That ship took a lot of punishment. Can also be argued she saved the war in the Pacific on more than one occasion. Yet, despite well intentioned efforts to preserve her after the war the money wasn't there and the Navy sold her for scrap.
Douglas Lally I’d argue that there were a few British ships that deserved to be saved more then uss enterprise
Unfortunately, the Enterprise was decided to be scrapped just a few years before the movement to turn ships into museum ships. In fact, people could say the Enterprise's scrapping was the spur for people to start pushing for museum ships.
The USS Enterprise, the USS Nevada, USS Pennsylvania...all are examples of ships that should've been saved but were scrapped. I'm glad that we now have a system in place to save such ships.
I was over in America several years ago visiting relations in N Carolina. I managed to get a trip in to see the State Namesake USS N Carolina at Wilmington, and a day later visited the USS Yorktown in Charleston, along with USS Laffey and submarine USS Clamigore. Both were fantastic trips well worth the drives from Raleigh. My boy asked me the same question "why dont they keep the big RN ships as well preserved as these in the UK. Of course I didnt have an answer.
If it is any *small* consolation, the navy did save a porthole from the Big E, and made it part of the nuclear powered CV Enterprise.
I believe US Admiral Chester Nimitz also helped in the preservation of the Mikasa, and in 2009, sailors of the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz re-painted the Mikasa.
I was stationed in Yokosuka on the USS Kitty Hawk in the late 90s and was able to tour IJN Mikasa several times. She is kept in great condition. Kannonzaki park is also an interesting place to visit. It is just southeast of Yokosuka and is a late 19th century - WWII series of coastal artillery batteries at the mouth of Tokyo Bay. It is now a beautiful history park.
A British-born Japanese ship was saved by an American Englishman
I have toured the Makasa some years ago. She is encased in concrete but otherwise in excellent condition. A fine Lady from a bygone era.
Ahhh the Mikasa...one of the most beautiful dreadnaughts ever. The history is just incredible on this ship...I am very glad she was preserved. Will have to visit her someday.
I went to visit good old Belfast when I visited London 2 yrs back. Bought a shirt and talked to some of the museum staff there. I mentioned Warspite and a slightly older staff who showed me the bridge looked forlorn at the front and said to me: "Tis a shame."
I told him: "Yet the Grand Old Lady remained defiant to the last when she ran aground." Then he smiled and continued the tour. Best memory of my vacation. Would have bought a model scale of Belfast if they sold one 😔
Huh it's typical in America to have monument ships. There is even a U-boat preserved in Chicago as a monument ship close to where I live. I didn't realize Britain didn't do the same. Seems strange.
Well there is HMS Belfast happily sat on the Thames. Granted, she's only a light cruiser, but really quite an attractive ship.
The USA is rich enough to preserve multiple battleships
Martin McClure The MREs are the accurate. -Some random fucker from minnasota
Britain has HMS Victory, Nelson's flagship at Trafalgar and HMS Warrior, the first fully iron hulled warship. But money was too desperate after WW2 to do much saving unfortunately.
I have been inside the U-505 Sub many times over the years.
She is inside the Museum of Science and Industry here in Chicago and is well preserved.
c1.staticflickr.com/8/7474/15799663217_8a81277cc4_b.jpg
Your videos are extremely informative, they may not be flashy cartoons but they get the job done. I love this style, it never takes and sides or leaves out any information. Real history taught by a real historian.
I do try!
Mark Felton Productions - you do it well!
I toured that ship when I was in the Navy....It is located right next to the U.S. Naval base in Yokosuka Japan.
I was on shore duty as a Navy MP in Yokusuka , CFAY Security in 1990 -91. Mikasa Park to the left of the main gate on Yoko Yoko Road . The Ginza ran up the hill from Mikasa Park , Honcho 4 on the left side and Honchos 1through 3 on the right side . Great memories of Yokosuka.
Just in my home state alone, Massachusetts, the Battleship USS Massachusetts, the Destroyer USS Cassin Young, the Heavy Cruiser Salem, the Destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, USS Lionfish, 4 PT boats, 1 East German Missile Boat, and the USS Constitution. Those are just the Navy ships. From the Nantucket Light Ship, Mayflower II, 150 year old Clipper ships and a replica of the trade ship Beaver, who's Tea was thrown overboard, all of them are popular and amazing to explore.
You've hit it out of the park again! I'll definitely be telling my father about this one that I'm next to certain he hasn't heard about. He loves this kind of material. I guess that he comes by it naturally, having a father (my Gramps) who earned the OBE for saving a ship of the Canadian Merchant Navy that ran up and down the east coast of North America from Halifax during WWII. Keep up the great work!
Thanks for sharing
I was stationed in Yokosuka on board a forward deployed vessel in 1993-1994 and toured the Mikasa. It is a a beautiful ship and was Admiral Togos flagship in the Russo-Japanese war-John from Texas:)
The signal flag at the yard arm 2:04....code flag Zulu: "I require a tug!"
Monochromatic Lightsource - Don’t we all from time to time?
In japan it has the same meaning as "The fate of the Empire rests on the outcome of this battle. Let each man do his utmost." and is a symbol of national pride.
The lone Zulu flag IIRC was the signal of the Imperial Japanese Navy until it was broken up after WW2
GET ME OUTTA THIS GODDAMN CONCRETE!!!
Is it wrong?
I visited this ship when I was in Japan. It was so awesome, and now that I have seen this video, I am ever more the grateful that I took the time to visit. For anyone going to Japan, it's well worth it, and very close to Yokohama. It's almost next to the U.S. Naval Base.
Irritating beyond words that English Heritage pour millions into ANOTHER manor house, ANOTHER abandoned church etc etc. When the basic and historic tools of an island nation are left to rot. Gone is the Plymouth, the Venerable. The City of Adelaide a rare example of composite construction had to be towed to Australia for salvation. Last year, the President, one of only three WW1 Royal Navy vessels still in existence was denied £330k to save her, on the 100th anniversary of the end of the conflict. She now swings at her mooring in the Medway, where £330 wont buy a decent semi detached house.
Scandalous.
Great video. I've always been fascinated by the predrednaught ships. I read about the Russo Japanese war when I was a kid. Later I was in Yokuska for a brief time when I was in the Navy and got the opportunity to see the Mikasa. I remember that they also had a nice automated miniature model display/diorama of the battle of Tsushima inside the ship. It was a big thrill for me to be on such an historic vessel.
Reminds of of a WWI German Moltke-class battlecrusier that existed from 1912 until 1973. It's the German battlecruiser Goeben. She bombarded French and Russian positions and even dodged French, British and Russian attacks. In the end, the ship was handed from the German navy to the Turkish navy and changed name from Goeben to Yavuz. She was supposed to be handed over to the British as a war prize, but a civil war broke out in Turkey and messed up the agreement, in the end, Yavuz was saved. What was strange is nobody could not understand why the Germans refused the offer for Turkey to return Yavuz to Germany in 1963; in the end, Yavuz was scrapped from 1973-1976.
Despite this, it was quite an achievement for a WWI battlecrusier to survive for almost 62 years (the longest for a battlecruiser) , encounter a French, Russian and British fleet and survived, even exchanging gun salutes with U.S.S. Missouri in 1946 to return the remains of a dead Turkish, more ridiculous for this ship existing longer than the duration of Imperial Germany.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SMS_Goeben
Ironic that Mikasa became an aquarium after she helped turn the Russian Fleet into fish sanctuaries?
My farther served on HMS Warspite and HMS Conqueror and served in the Falklands war sinking the Belgrano .
HMS Conqueror should be the one to preserve as she is the first nuclear submarine to sink a ship in battle and also carried out the daring raid to acquire the Russian towed array from their vessel without discovery.
I believe she is decommissioned and sat with her conning tower removed.
Her time in the Falklands war is very exciting and interesting story and would make a good film i think.
WHY DO YOU WANT TO TELL THE WHOLE INTERNET IN WHAT YOUR FATHER SERVED.
Preserving a nuclear submarine is not impossible , but would need effort to cut down the reactor area and replace it with another section
HMS Coureagous and FS Redoutable are still open to visit. For Coureagous , it's just the sister ship of HMS Conqueror.
My understanding is that all of our former nuclear subs are still sat with conqueerer as they're still unsure how to dispose of them due to the reactors etc? A lot of history down there
I never would have guessed the last British Dreadnought would be a museum ship in Japan. Your channel taught me something today, well done!
Sarah Claydon yeah mikasa is a pre dreadnought tho
I have been aboard her. When I first read about the battle of Tsushima when in high school, I had never thought that only a few years thereafter, I would walk her decks.
Really loved the video it truly makes happy to see someone else that is fascinated and wants to let people know of history that should never be forgotten
New sub here.
The amount of history in the Royal Navy is amazing. So interesting to study all the different things that Great Britain 🇬🇧 has done with its Navy
Thanks for joining
A brilliant piece of Anglo Japanese history...thank you,
The Mikasa!!! What a great story that ship tells.
the sip that should of been saved was HMS Warspite the ship with the most battle honors ever
Mark, I share your view of this historical ship being of significance to the testimony of British shipbuilding expertise. A real shame that HMS Belfast and now Caroline seem to be the only surviving ships from the ‘battleship’ era, and cruisers to boot. The Americans’ proactive stance on preserving their national naval heritage is a world away from the neglectful attitude of Britain’s “penny pinching” successive governments. A very interesting film indeed. Thanks for showing this.
I'm surprised to hear of the lack of preservation of notable ships in Britain. It seems like every coastal city of any size in America has at least one historic ship moored or on display. The Missouri is on display in Hawaii and while they set up charitable foundation I just know their is a great deal of govt. money taking care of her. It's just a very expensive proposition.
Mooooohamsalad The Iowa is in LA, And the USS Midway is in San Diego saw both this summer, and the Theodore Roosevelt was there for resupply
USS North Carolina in Wilmington, USS Yorktown a destroyer and submarine in Charleston SC, USS Alabama in Mobile, USS Intrepid in NewYork
Mooooohamsalad we've got the New Jersey in well... New Jersey, Camden nj
Unlike the US which emerged from WW2 unscathed the UK barely survived the war. In the years after WW2 the British Empire was on the ropes. They had no money. War rationing was still in effect ten years after the war had ended in 1955. Even after rationing was lifted the economy remained sluggish throughout the 60s and 70s going in and out of recession. It wasn't until about 1980 one could say the UK had finally gotten over the post war doldrums. By then all the old Battleships had been sold for scrap. Even the luxury liner RMS Queen Mary was sold to the Americans and turned into a Museum in Long Beach California.
There are lots, not a lot of world war era ones though.
A lot are ships of the line or late Victorian sloops.
And they're mainly docked in major ports, rather than any port town
HMS Audacious is off the coast of Ireland right now. It struck a mine in the opening days of WW1 but sunk without loss of life so isn't a war grave. She should be raised and put on display like the Mary Rose. It's not ideal, but it's something. If necessary in parts, stuck to some kind of steel frame to give the general outline.
Well done Mr Felton- yet another little historical piece I have thoroughly enjoyed.
Great story and history! It's a crying shame that none of the Royal Navy's many superb battleships or battle cruisers was preserved.
Great report! Unbelievable... A witness from the Tsushima Straits naval battle, an event that rocked the world back in its day... Thanks for sharing.
Great video thanks! I think ths ship was featured on a World of Warships YT Vid, but I had no idea it was UK built. Yes pretty sad that we dont have any decent preserved big ships here.
But I guess the Navy has trouble getting funding for its ever decreasing fleet anyway!
One of the best of your many outstanding videos. Many thanks for posting it, and keep up the stellar performance!
Thank you
Incredible research Mark, always knowing high validity in your accounts. Keep up the good work. Excellent video and work!!!!!
HIJMS Mikasa. I went aboard her in 1962 when my ship, the USS Lexington CVA 16 was in Yokosuka navy yard.
While not British myself, I've always found a keen interest in the Navy's of the world, and by association the Royal Navy, and its a damn shame that so many of them were scrapped. I've seen several preserved pieces of British ship building... but none of them actually in Britain. It seems the buyers rather than the builders were more interested in preserving these massive and beautiful works of craftsmanship.
We're very proud of our Haida here in Canada, I even managed to visit it myself recently.
Sounds great, where is it located at? I want to go to see it.
Must have been cool, eh?
Can't have been to London or Portsmouth or Plymouth then
@@sherrielong6795 haida is a Canadian destroyer that served in ww2 tho it was built in britain it saw a lot of good service and is a naval legend in Canada it is in Hamilton
I think its unfair to vilify the British government for scrapping its 20th century battleships in a time of bankruptcy, even though a (small) number of warships throughout British history have been preserved (Belfast, Sparrow and Victory come to mind). I think its also very important to note that in countries like the US, many museum ships are maintained by Non-Profit Organuzations and rich philanthropists - there was a huge public fundraising campaign in Chicago to save the U-505. The lack of museum ships in the UK is not simply because of "penny-pinching governments," it is also due to economic situations and a lack of public interest.
Edit: *organizations
I don't think that the United Kingdom was ever bankrupt during the time when the last of its battleships were scrapped. During that time the National Debt increased enormously. You don't lend money to an organisation which is bankrupt. Given the size of government spending at the time, the money needed to save one battleship would have been a relatively small amount of money. And the money gained from scrapping these ship would hardly have financed much public expenditure.
@@mikeryan3701 Do you have any idea how much the preservation/conservation and maintenance of a "museum ship" costs? I suggest you take a gander across the pond at the state of the American museum ships. They are struggling to keep them afloat and in semi safe condition.
Mike Ryan Britain was on its arse after WW2, we had to pay America a vast sum of money which was only finished about a decade ago, Additionally, fighting 2 world wars in less than 35 years put a huge strain on Britain, Britain was struggling after WW1 and WW2 effectively finished the British empire. The loss of the empire led to Britain being financially broke, look at the British armed forces, in the space of 70 years, Britain went from having the biggest and best navy in the world that could fight two world powers navies by ourselves to a modern day navy that struggles to operate about 15 submarines, 6 type 45 destroyers, about 10 - 15 frigates, 2 assault ships and 1 ex helicopter assault ship sold to Brazil as well as 2 incoming aircraft carriers that will never have enough f35s to operate from them. Additionally, the RAF has no maritime patrol aircraft because the Conservative government scrapped them as they left the factory and while they were being built. The harriers were scrapped, Tornados are getting scrapped next year leaving Britain with Typhoons, a few f35s and hawk trainer aircraft that can be used as light attack/ fighter aircraft. The British army has mothballed nearly half of the Challenger 2 tank fleet because of cuts, the warrior ifv mid life program is under threat of being scrapped. The ajax ifv are under threat as we may produce less of them than intended. The brand new wildcat helicopters might get scrapped as a possible option of saving money and the ah64 apache and c130j Hercules might be scrapped to bring down the defense budget as well as cutting some of the Royal marines units. As much as I would love to walk the decks of Warspite, Renown, Nelson, Rodney, KGV class or R class battleships, vanguard or any of the carriers, we just couldn't do it after WW2. HMS Hermes was a possibility of becoming a museum ship as India offered it back to Britain recently and nothing came of it even though it is historically important as being one of the 2 carriers used in the Falklands war. Last I heard was Hermes would become a museum ship in India.
I've seen the U-505, an advantage of living in Illinois, and I had no idea German subs we're that big.
Mihai Bica That’s pretty untrue, “mate.” I’ve been on the Wisconsin, the North Carolina, the Missouri, the Iowa, the Texas, the Lexington, The Midway, and the Yorktown, and all of those ships are in damn good condition for the most part, especially the Iowa class BB’s because they were retrofitted in the 80’s, to say they are falling apart is a grievous lie. I visited the Norfolk Naval Museum where the Wisconsin is moored, the memorial dedicated to her upkeep is very well funded as was explained to me by one of the guides who was a former captain of the Wisconsin. It costed me about $100 for all three tours that got me through basically the entire ship, and I do t regret spending that at all. Every penny that is made from those tours goes to the upkeep of the ship, and let me tell you, there were probably a couple thousand people in that museum through a 3 hour period, multiply that by the base cost of a tour, which is $35 and that’s more than enough to keep the ship in good repair. That’s how museum ships work in the US bud, they aren’t given money by the government, most are nonprofits that make their own funding, and people here happily fund them trough donations or just visiting. So do research before you make egregious claims.
Another veteran of the Battle of Tsushima still survives in St. Petersburg, the light cruiser Aurora, which has had an equally eventful history.
PSPaaskyen not a light cruiser but yeah it had quite the history
I saw the Mikasa from a distance when visiting Yokosuka, though didn't have time on my itinerary to go on board for a visit. Thanks for sharing this story on her history, and interesting how England seafaring culture and naval prowess was projected across the oceans though not saved at home as a memorial to those that served.
I've been aboard Mikasa and it's astounding to know that it had 800 crew.
An excellent piece Mr. Felton, well done. USN Retired here.
My father served in HMS Vanguard, the last of the Royal Navy's battleships.
I'm Australian and I have to say that America is so lucky to have so many ships preserved or become museum or a floating museum.
A very interesting place to visit in Yokosuka Japan. I had the pleasure several years ago and found both the ship and its history fascinating.
I personally visited the Mikasa battleship (2006) while I was working for the US Navy in Yokosuka Japan. I found it fascinating..
"All the stories, have been told, of kings in days of old, but there's no England now....." The Kinks
It was lovely to see so many people walking around the ship, enjoying the history of the ship
Battleship turret rings were reused when Jodrell Bank Radio Telescope was built.
I didn't know that
I visited England in 1966 with my mother & younger brother. My mother was born and raised in London. We visited her home area in Clapham Common in London. While visiting with my mothers brothers we saw areas of London that were still strewn with bricks and debris caused by the German bombing from 20 years before. It took some time economically for the British to recover. The Japanese & Germans lost the war, but won the peace economically over the British.
Some crazy stuff in always learning on your channel. Great research.
Thanks
Since there's a lot of talk about various museum ships in comments, I'll throw this in there. I've been to visit quite a few USN museum ships over the years. By far the one in most pristine condition was USS KIDD, a Fletcher-class destroyer at Baton Rouge LA. Many such ships are well preserved...for a museum ship. It's pretty obvious when onboard that the vessel is not in the same state as she was in active service. KIDD, however, is an exception. Maintained by a non-profit organization of ex-destroyer sailors, she is maintained to active-duty standards. Fresh bearing grease on all the fully-functional AA mounts, not a hint of rust anywhere. I was afforded the privilege of climbing down into one of her boiler rooms (normally off-limits to visitors), and it was immaculate. This is revealing...even a complex space not open to normal visitation was painstakingly kept in tip-top condition. KIDD appeared as if all she needed was to take on some fuel and provisions, and would be ready & able to steam down the Mississippi into the Gulf on her own power. At very least, that's how she looked in 2000; I fervently hope KIDD continues to enjoy the same level of TLC today.
Thankfully the government didn't sell the HMS Victory for use as firewood.
A lot of people said it was a crying shame hms vanguard was never preserved as she was a fine ship even if she just missed WW2
I love your videos! Could you make more naval related videos? Thanks!
Undoubtedly I will!
This is an outstanding video! Great find. I'm overjoyed to see that a specimen of this class of vessel survives anywhere! Thanks for making this video. Have a beautiful day :) - Warm regards from Glenn in Rochester, NY, USA
Many thanks for watching
To the list of lost naval vessels we could also add Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth, QE2, Canberra etc. We have lost pride in this nation.
Very cool video. Thanks Mark.
Amazing video as always. If you ever visit the US we have all kinds of ships as museum ships open for tours. I enjoy history and have toured many different types of past naval vessels.
Another good one Mark. Sad that so many great historical vessels were lost or scrapped. As an aside: a friend I worked with in London in the '80's grew up in a very poor part of Glascow. His family home was built from steel taken from the German High Seas Fleet at Scapa Flow with a single layer of brick and plaster. He said they were awful to live in (can you imagine?), hot as hell in summer, like fridges in the winter and with rust stains on the walls.
The German Government had a chance to save the SMS Goeben but they didn't when the Turks offered to give it back
@@MAAAAAAAAAA123 You got that right.
@@arthurmilmore7685 west germany had the money to save it this was the 70s when the west german economy was doing very well
@@MAAAAAAAAAA123 Yes, ex SMS Goeben (Yavuz Sultan Selim) was scrapped in 1973 after the West German government refused to repurchase it from Turkey. That would have been a good museum ship. You could have bought them for DM 9 million. But the offer was in 1953 and I think Germany had more important things to do during that time. Eight years after the devastating Second World War, there was no interest in buying an old 1909 warship.
One would have lynched the politicians to spend so much money. I think that was the case in the UK the same. The post-war era was a new era in all countries, but there was no point in historical affairs, that came later, often too late.
@@nordic5628 The offer to take the ship back was made in 1953 - West German economy took off from 1955 to 1965. Also it would have been hard to explain to the population why the government would spend DM 9 Million+ on something considered useless Militarism just eight years after WW2. Germans back then were done with everything military.
@@arthurmilmore7685 Hopefully, the Germans will get rid of Merkel and restore the Kaiser to the throne.
What a great video. Mikasa was the flagship of the japanese fleet at the battle of Tsushima. Although outnumbered by the Russians, the 4 Japanese battleships of the Mikasa class were capably supported by 8 armoured cruisers The disciplined Japanese fought as a cohesive force, annihilating the Russian fleet. The Russian battle ships were of French design and the Japanese were British. There was some cross channel rivalry here that was not really placated until the German empire became more prominent. Impressed by the success of their cruisers, the japanese designed a new more powerful class with battleship caliber 12 inch guns. In many respects, these were the predecessor of the battlecruisers but were not completed until after the Invincible class were launched in the UK.
Even as these new ships were being planned, a revolution was in the making. The year of Tsushima (1905) was when the HMS dreadnought was laid down in total secrecy. Just 11 months later she was completed. The following year, saw the appearance of a battleship that rendered all others obsolete.
HMS Vanguard, Brittans last battleship should have been preserved. Ready after world war 2 and scrapped in 1960, when it still was in perfect condition. What a waste.
Fun fact America almost scraped the USS Massachusetts. But it’s sailers stoped it. They repainted it and fixed it up. You can visit it today in well Massachusetts. It’s called battleship cove and if you like WW2 I would recommend going there. They have destroyers, PT boats, a submarine, and yes a battleship.
Its truly a shame, here in Brazil we got a WW1 tugboat (thats still seaworthy and makes pleasure trips around the bay) and a Edsall-class DE, the Be-4 Bauru moored at the Navy Historical Center in Rio de Janeiro, I have been onboard those ships many times. I kind of feel sad knowing that neither of the two Minas Geraes class BB (2nd dreadnought type BB to be launched after HMS Dreadnought herself), the Marcilio Dias/Greenhalgh class DDs (brazilian variant of the Mahan modified), A class/ Amazonas DDs (british G class hull with american DD like superstructure) or Minas Geraes A-11 (last colossus class CVL in operation) were preserved.
Well theres a rumor about turning the São Paulo A-12 (ex-Foch) into a museum so its not that bad. But a BB would have been pretty awesome too.
I'm thinking these will show up in World of Warships. They have the Nueve de Julio.
The current São Paulo didn't exactly have an illustrious history in Brazil, since she was already in such bad shape by the time France sold her to you. Minas Gerais with her four decades of service would've been a much better candidate. But oh well.
Fernando Marques i heard that sao paulo is going to be scrapped
@@RedXlV to be bad that Minas Gerais was scrapped 19 year ago
I live in the city where Tirpitz was sunk, compared to bismarck it was sunk on very low waters, and could have been repaired and turned over agian and it would be one of the best battleship museums in the world.
But we decided to scrap it when it was upside down and now u can only see the wooden frame in the middle, it don’t even look like it did back in the 1940’s...
Edit: Its also just a little bit of the wooden frame, and its only visible when the water is at its lowest.
Britain should have preserved one of the 45:000 tonne KG5 Classes.I was on HMS Belfast on a recent trip to London,and while very impressive.I would have been in awe at being next to those massive guns of HMS Duke of York,Anson,KG5 or Howe.
I have been on this ship and it is an excellent museum and really fascinating.
As an English man, Its hard to watch many of your videos, it all makes me very sad, keep up the good work though.
It's nice to come across something different on youtube and this little gem will be on my list sights too see in Japan :-)
Damn, you can tell Mark is livid
I love the lines on those older dreadknots just a beautiful ship. She's like a work of art I'm glad they restored her.
If nothing else, this was worth keeping because the Soviets wanted it destroyed.
Thoroughly enjoyed the short video and also to learn of her career. Excellent.
What % of the restoration was with original parts recovered, & how much had to be fabricated new? I'm pretty sure I know the answer, but as a restoration buff of WWII aircraft, It's pure curiosity. Ultimately, who cares? The restoration work is magnificent. Well done ⚓⚓⚓⚓⚓
Wow that ship been though some tough times amazing it's here at all ... Nice 1 mark enjoyed this 1
Many thanks
Scrapped by penny pinching governments. British Battleships are not the only ones. Their ocean liners were the same as well. Mauretania, Aquitania, and even Olympic (by far the most important and badass troop transport to ever sail the seas) were given the same fates.
Wow, I've never heard of this, thanks for informing and sharing with us!!
Could you do a video about HMS Caroline the largest surviving british ship from Jutland still afloat?
The Belfast is a Cruiser. Love your productions. Thank you Mr Felton.
I so hope HMSVictory is still there in England?
Fascinating stuff, and well researched. I will visit - great to see a British-built battleship in Japan.
Thank you
*the last british made battleship
Nono there making big shit now I'm talking the big one there changing
@@dougie5073 Battleship are primarily Big Gun ships. Today it is Destroyers and Aircraft Carriers. Not the same really. The Japanese T-AKE Class ships (Stores, Ammunition, Fuel) are larger than any WW2 ship including Carriers. US T-AKEs are incredibly massive as well. They can keep fighting ships out to sea for 3 months or resupply a Marine Battalion for months.
HMS Vanguard was, it was built in Clydebank Scotland. commissoned 1946. decomissoned 1960
Exactly. Trying to claim Mikasa as a British battleship is typical of the bullshit British provincialism that defines this historically clueless channel.
@@exexpat11 yes, the advent of the aircraft carrier (and to a degree, the submarine) made the battleship obsolete. The Bismarck was effectively doomed by a torpedo dropped from a biplane. Capital ships such as Hood, Tirpitz etc were massive investments requiring enormous crews and hence became prestigious targets - navies became reluctant to commit them to open battle, preferring to use them for shore bombardment prior to landing an invasion force.
I visited the Mikasa a couple of times when I lived in Tokyo it's a fantastic museum and I would strongly recommend it to anyone visiting Japan
Interestingly, while the Mikasa is the last remaining British-built Battleship, it's not the only survivor of Tsushima, the Russian Protected Cruiser Aurora is also preserved.
I am always amazed by people who those who berate national healthcare, education, low cost housing, infrastructure, etc. as expensive or waste of money often want the government to preserve obsolete weapons, especially those used by colonial powers to expand their empires and control their colonists. How would a debt ridden Britain, the empire in a shambles, justify keeping battleships and aircraft carriers afloat for an empire that no longer existed at the expense of a public still on war rations? Honor the men and women who served, not the machinery.
USS Olympia is in deplorable condition! She is in Philadelphia ..I wish the US Government would take her and appropriate money for an extensive restoration. USS Alabama is deteriorating in Mobile Bay, her hull below the water line is rusted down to the thickness of a dime in spots, and idiots have pumped concrete around it so I'd call her a total loss, unless they can get her out of the concrete and dry dock her. Museum ships should be kept on land on blocks.
The USS Texas is not in much better condition according to current reports.
Thanks for sharing!
the last British battleship was scrapped for about 20 thousand pounds or somthing stupid like that. if they had dry docked and made her a museum i am sure it would have made its money back long by now. :/ it makes me so sad how little history was preserved
Unfortunately, governments tend to look at the immediate payout of scrapping an obsolete ship rather than the long-term payout that might be achieved by preserving it.
what, vanguard was scrapped for 560k
Skreezilla Britain was almost destroyed economically by world war 2 so had to scrap the ships, world war 2 had such a big affect on Britain that Britain hadn’t recovered for decades after
no, they were sold for 560,000. Adjusted to inflation that is £12,250,000
agreed nearly every one would love a real preserved battleship in the UK
Another great video!
Im gonna build a battleship for our navy watch!
Very good video. I know that the United Kingdom has quite a few "museum ships"; but, never realized that none of them were battleships (or dreadnoughts). If I ever visit Japan, this will be a must stop.