In Drydock 64 you answered a question about the Free Polish Navy in that light this question came to mind. You are Admiral Angelo Iachino on the bridge Vittorio Veneto just before Cape Matapan and you are told you are facing HMS Warspite and her sisters, as you consider your options on facing a ship which is legend for not sinking you are told Warspite is flying an unusual flag and not the white ensign you ask to confirm this and are told the flag is not that of the white ensign but the Free Polish Navy what is your response, Also change the Itlaians for the german Destroyers in Narvik?
It may be an older question, but could you make your best attempt at the Elbonia question like forgotten arms and the chieftain did? Basically your picks for each class of vessel by 1945 that while impressive to the beholder are in fact close to or are actually entirely obsolete to the untrained eye. Please make a mockery of the Elbonian navy with its unlimited budget! ++ The Emperor Protects ++
There's a side character in one of the Discworld novels who, when he dies and meets Death, complains about how inconvenient the whole thing is, since he really had no time for being dead right now... Death is genuinely impressed.
USS Midway in the 70s and 80s made regular visits to Fremantle in Western Australia. We had a dial a sailor line. We could phone the ship and and say we would like to have a sailor as a guest while they were here. Home cooked meals and being with a family was a real attraction. Also a lot of single women called to give a sailor an entertaining time for their liberty.
I was lucky enough, as a kid, to go on board the Midway 3 times when she visited Perth, West Australia during the 1970s. Obviously she was still in active service and it wasn’t that long after the Vietnam war. We were made to feel so welcome by the ships crew, Answering all my questions patiently. Fond memories I’ll always cherish. I believe she’s a museum ship in San Diego now, and one of my goals is to visit her again.
You should definitely visit. It has display aircraft from WWII right up through the end of the cold war. And since you would be near LA, you'd should also visit the Battleship Iowa museum ship in San Pedro.
I was with the Midway battle group in '79 when she visited Perth. My ship the USS Stein got to dock in Fremantle while the Midway had to anchor outside the harbour. Great city, reminded me a lot of San Diego where I and the Midway now live.
Sean Nordeen that’s the battleship I was thinking of, I’d love to check that out too, I think it’s next to the Queen Mary? My grandfather served on the HMS Belfast during ww2, he was on board during d day, that’s now a museum ship in the Thames, London.
John Knapp the Stein does ring a bit of a bell to me, destroyer I think? If she’s the ship I’m thinking of, quite sleek looking. I would have seen her. We used to get on the Midway by boat, on one trip it was a landing type of craft, the type where the front drops down so troops could scramble off. It was quite hair raising climbing on to the Midway out in the ocean, seamen would kind of steady us on a kind of pontoon from the ferry to the stairs of the ship. We were told she had to be out at sea in case she had to take off suddenly, not all the crew could be on shore at any one time etc. I believe they did get her into the harbour once, with inches to spare, but I’d left Perth for the eastern states when they did that. My fondest memory was sitting in a Corsair, the pilot answering my questions, a wide eyed 11 year old I was back then. Thank you for your service John 👍
Oh, just wait, the design fun for the Midway just doesn't stop. When you add blisters to improve stability and have it backfire on you. There is a small group of men who gets to wear the patch for the mighty roll she took and almost did not come back.
@@AtomicBabel From Midway's Wiki: "During a typhoon near the Philippines on October 8, 1988, the Midway, which was not supposed to be able to survive more than 24 degrees of roll, sustained a 26 degree roll and withstood it."
The Midway class were the first three US warships that were too large to go through the Panama Canal. Built at Newport News, Virginia they had to go around Cape Horn to get to the Pacific.
The rebuilt battleships Tennessee, California, and West Virginia all were too wide to go through the canal. Supposedly--and the sources of this range from fairly reliable to laughable--part of the money earmarked for the Montana-class battleships was meant to be spent on new locks for the canal capable of handling these much larger ships.
Correction: The midway was meant for the Pacific fleet but since she was commissioned on Sept 10th 1945, 8 days after Japan surrendered she remained in the Atlantic fleet and served as a deterrent to soviet aggression in the Mediterranean for almost 10 years. When she did enter the Pacific fleet in 1954 she sailed around the South Africas Cape of good hope. One year later in 1955 she entered Puget sound for her fist major reconfiguration where her first small angled flight deck was installed. Another correction regarding armored decks... yes she was built with a 3.5" armored flight deck but she also had 2" armor on both her hanger (Main) deck and on deck 3.
I've been on the ship a few times down here in San Diego. For the average person that looks huge. For anybody who's been the Navy in the last 20 years, it's small because we're used to the Nimitz class, which incidentally is right across the bay at Coronado.
I was on USS Midway from spring 73 to August 76, went with her to Japan. I've toured the Hornet in Alameda, and the biggest difference is hangar width, seems impossibly narrow on the Essex class. But both hangars are only two decks tall, 17+ feet, and the Forrestal at al have three deck tall hangars. They are probably somewhat wider to, but it's not nearly as dramatic.
though they will never have admitted it, some of the Hawks in the cabinet will have really begged to differ on the term inconvenient... if the world was as rife with conspiracists then as it is now, some might even have suggested 'too convenient' for a certain former Sea-Lord of slight stature and a bulldoggish tenacity... I think, If Roosevelt had lived a president for longer, the air of the Yalta accords and a general willingness to turn a blind eye to Stalin's actions would have lasted into the 50's; maybe even, without the joint Truman's and last-term Churchill's morally guided, stern, opposition to the USSR, there would not have been a cold war as we know it... continental Europe would have been basically largely soviet oriented, whilst America would have slowly drawn away back to a more Isolationist state of affairs. one really really big butterfly there....
Justin, I hereby designate you official collator of Drachisms. I do so with no authority whatsoever apart from a shared appreciation for creative language. Cheer!
What funny is that FDR was quite a socialist/capitalist or a socail domecrat what we call tases day, who ally with a communist and a Mornarch and I still hear the Nazi where socialist while those guy leave out FDR XD
The only US carriers built with 8 inch guns were the USS Lexington & Saratoga, which had them replaced with 5" ones at the beginning of WWII. From your video, it's clear that some in the navy still thought they should have been kept and added to the other carriers. They seemed to have taken the wrong lesson from the HMS Glorious fiasco. I'm glad that better minds went with the 5" guns that could contribute for AA which in hindsight was clearly more important. I wasn't aware that they had put that many 5" guns on the class though. Seems the tradition of adding guns to any empty space continued.
Idk how true it is but I heard... the guns on Midway where purpose built for the cancelled battleship Montana which would have had four 16in big guns accompanied by all these secondary batteries you see on Midway.
@@brainwashingdetergent4128 That is correct, the 5inch/54 was designed to be used in a twin mount for Montana class battleships. the 5/54 went on to be the basis for most of the modern 127MM cannons we see today.
One thing that non-shipbuilders don't understand is the difference between Length at Waterline (L.W.L.) vs Length Over All (L.O.A.). Although I'm retired, I still have my 50 ft., 100 ft., and 200 ft. measuring tapes. Speaking of waterlines, mark midship draft marks was straightforward, it was the bow an aft that where a pain.
At one point or another during my Navy career I did some support work for Midway and FDR and tagged along behind Coral Sea as 'Plane Guard destroyer.' Sea Story: While I was stationed in Hawaii we were tracking the Soviet response to a three carrier exercise. The birdfarms were Enterprise, Kitty Hawk (or Constellation) and Midway. The Soviets were more interested in the two larger CVs and not so much in Midway ... and the Midway Battlegroup Commander took exception to that. He made his battlegroup of about a dozen ships vanish. He parked Midway and her group under a weather front (similar to what the Japanese did prior to 7 December) and also instituted electronic silence and waited for Soviet paranoia to provide the entertainment. The Soviets verified they had fixes on the positions of Enterprise and Kitty Hawk ... but where was Midway? The Soviet Pacific Fleet and Pacific Air Force started turning the Northern Pacific upside down looking for her. She was the oldest carrier in the fleet by then, but like all the others was armed with nukes, and you don't JUST lose track of a nuclear threat. Midway stayed out of sight both visually (hiding in the weather) and electronically for nearly two days while the Soviets were getting more and more anxious and paranoid. Finally CINCPACFLT stopped laughing and ordered "enough fun ... Exercise complete. Midway head for Hawaii in company with Enterprise and Kittyhawk. Well done Midway." After the Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Vladivostok breathed a sigh of relief a couple of senior heads over there did roll.
That's ah ptetty damn good sea story Mate 👍 I served aboard CVA - 41 from late 73 - to late - 75 USN Camera Man At The Fall Of Saigon, what an epic shit storm....👎😵💫 But please remember Mate : Sea Stories Always Start Out With : "This Ain't No Shit"......🫡
@@bobwershing3505 "Nearly always" shipmate. This one happened and the Soviet response was one for the books. The "Red Banner Pacific Fleet" sortied not only surface ships and subs but also a number of maritime patrol aircraft trying to find the old girl and her battle group. I point to this exercise when people try to tell me that carriers "are too vulnerable and easy to find and thus destroy." Yes, sensors in use today are lightyears better than back then, but counters to them have been keeping pace as well.
After the war dad went to the Midway when it was new in 1945.It was painted Navy blue and had its ww2 airgroup on it.This is in his Division picture the took on the flight deck..
The USS Midway was the first of three carriers I served on between 1970 and 1984. I was a member of the recommissioning crew in 1970 and made the Vietnam cruise in 1971. Still look back very fondly on my two years on her.
My wife and I got to tour her last January during a trip to San Diego. She is an absolutely beautiful ship. The armored deck worried them though and they made the ceiling heights of her island very short. I had to be really careful at 6'3". Apparently the height limit for crew members was 6'8". -__-
In late 1988 or early 1989 I was stationed on the USS Saratoga CV-60 (Air Department/V-1/Fly 1). For about a week we were tied up next to the Midway in Norfolk after we left the shipyard in Portsmouth. It was quite the comparison standing on our flight deck looking down at the Midway's. Thanks Drach for bringing back a few fond old memories.
In the US Navy, carriers were originally considered a type of cruiser, hence the 'C' in 'CV'. The 'V' was the Navy designation for 'heavier than air craft' (regular, fixed-wing airplanes) as contrasted with 'lighter than air' dirigibles; so 'CV' indicated 'cruiser that operates regular airplanes'. This concept obviously still lingered with the consideration of 8" guns for independent raiding and surface action.
I was going to reply what absolute tosh, then provide a more accurate explanation, with references. Annoyingly, your explanation is confirmed by the best sources I could find, like www.navweaps.com/index_tech/index_ships_list.php Thank you for teaching me something today!
@@j_taylor Had you shown information that I was wrong, I would have gladly thanked you for providing correct information! :D They certainly saw things differently back then. Fast forward a few decades, and there's a glimmer of this when the Royal Navy used the term 'through-deck cruiser' to sell the Invincible class to Parliament, or the Japanese their 'helicopter destroyers' to get around restrictions for the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
I went on Midway in 90 around the time of desert storm, will never forget how choppy it was in the boat in HK harbour, and then how stable it was when we actually got on board. Made quite an impression. Thanks for doing these gives me something to watch! :)
Thank you for your wonder videos. Midway was my ship 1981-1985. Best ship I served on. Perhaps no other class of carriers was as heavily modified as the Midways.
Cool! My first ship when I joined the Navy. Still say "Good Morning Midway" (when I was aboard the ships CO used say that over the 1MC every morning) as I pass her on my way to work. Looking forward to the follow-up videos.
The Coral Sea visited Halifax in the late 80's, they gave public guided tours and I got to board her. She is the only carrier I have ever set foot on. I was in awe of her sheer size, even though she was smaller than Nimitz and Enterprise I was still very impressed with her.
The Coral Sea was the first of three ships I served on beginning in Sept. of '87 till the Spring of '89. I disembarked CV-43 about two weeks prior to the gun turret explosion on the USS Iowa during FLEETEX 3-89, the same exercise that the Coral Sea was participating in. I was an enlisted man, PO3, Electronic Warfare.
my late uncle was on the brand new FDR. his job was to wear the hot/heavy flame resistant suit, and climb aboard a crashed/burning aircraft and pull the aviator out the top. he was aboard her about a year. and eventually retired as a police sgt.
Best thing about the COVID lockdown those months ago, was discovering Drachinifel's channel here. Brilliant stuff!! Thanks for all the work you put into these uploads. Magnificent.
Yeah. An interim design between the Essex Classes and the Super Carriers beginning with CV-59. As I heard it, the FDR's angled flight deck, which was something of an experiment, was so large they filled the starboard empty spaces in the hull with concrete to counter balance it. I think it was the Midway that was the carrier home ported in Japan for so long it was nick named the Midway Maru. The US definitely got their money's worth out of these ships, with them (iirc) "soldiering" on long after the last of the Essex Classes were gone. They were big enough to use the F-4 Phantom's when the older Essex classes couldn't. .
I stayed a week aboard the USS Midway as a museum while in the cub scouts. It’s probably the coolest thing I ever did while a part of that organization.
For anyone wondering wether the USS Midway in San Diego is worth checking out I’d say that even if you aren’t too interested in carriers or museum ships she’s definitely worth visiting if you’re ever near the area. I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life and I’ve been on the USS Midway upwards of like eight times but I’m still learning more and more new stuff about it each time. Many of the guides/staff, and even some of the guests (at least when I’ve been there) have served on the ship too and each have their own stories to tell if you ask them, which makes it all the more interesting to me It’s also been kept in what I’d consider surprisingly good condition for a ship of its size, despite the admission fee being not a bad price and group coupons popping up from time to time. But I’m sure if they changed the pricing since last I went it’ll be on their website
@@NewtypeCommander I've spent the night on the Panpanito and on the Hornet over in Alameda. Both are great ships.(Ok one is a boat, I stand corrected lol).
Can't wait for the follow-up on this. That photo of the F-4 Phantom jets on the deck near the end is epic. The Essex class carriers also served long, into the 70s.
This was my first ship. I was stationed on it from January of 1990 to 1992 for decommissioning. It was the best ship during my four years in the U.S. Navy.
Awesome!! Huge soft spot for Coral Maru The Best in the West, The Ageless Warrior, USS Coral Sea CV-43! Looking forward to three separate videos on the sisters! 😉 I don't get it, a most enjoyable, excellent, informative, educational channel like this, still....only 168K subscribers!? 🤨🤔
Since I discovered the Midway, I love this carrier since (with the most angled deck) it is so unique and long lived. If I ever get back to San Diego, I will visit her!
The more I learn about us carrier development the more I think that some one probably had a dream of 16 inch armed carrier and was trying to slowly warm the more sane members of the navy to the idea. Start small 5 then, 6 then, 8 then, 12 then, 16 inch guns.
Can you do a story on the USS West Virginia, please. I've always been intrigued by her tale of sinking at Pearl Harbor, only to be moored next to the USS Missouri at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in 1945. One of the Pearl Harbor "Heroes"was Doris Miller, a Black cook aboard the West Virginia. We don't hear that much about him either.
This channel here has been a delight.....Last week I enjoyed watching a movie called Sink the Bismarck and afterwards enjoyed Drachinifel's Operation Rheinubung Video.... AWESOME !!!!
My Dad was a Blank Holder on th CV -42 FDR. Rear seat on a SB2c5e. Helldiver He is the one in the Arcive footage of the FDR's Maiden Voyage film, going off the Front on take off and crashing into the sea. Incident Report blames a Catapult Failure.
CG24, the Reeves! Hadn't heard that name in a long time. I was on Midway in '89 when one of the squadron F18s dropped a 500 lb bomb on Reeves by accident, think we were somewhere in the IO or N. Arabian Sea. That sucked. :-/
While we’re suggesting ships: I have great affection for the USN WWI flushdeck destroyers. You’ve already done one video, but I think they deserve more. Because they were so numerous, it seems anybody with a bright idea could get one to experiment with. They were converted into minelayers, minesweepers, fast attack transports, and seaplane tenders, among other things. They were traded to the Royal Navy for naval bases. USS Ward fired the first shot during the Pearl Harbor attack. The fictional USS Caine was a converted flushdeceker. I think they deserve another look. Take care.
Wait a (seven) minute!! I was just getting lathered up when you say "that's the subject for another video." Say what? I want my modifications and I want them now!!
Holding off the full history for later? U wot m8? U 'avin' a giggle there, m8? :P I hope one day to visit the Midway in her museum resting place. Already saw the Essex-class Yorktown, now I want to see the follow-up.
I once flew into San Diego where I had a great view of four (count them!) carriers - USS Midway (at its dock), USS John F. Kennedy (the older one), USS Enterprise, and USS Nimitz. When you tour the Midway an Essex class looks like a bathtub toy. Too bad we will never be able to tour any of the nuclear ones as they go to decontamination and scrapping.
@@kyle857 Yes, San Diego is the best. I was born in the Navy Hospital there during WW2, haven't been back as much as I would like. Did visit Midway the last time.
Intro music level still seems low relative to your voice, and to the ratio of intro/voice volume you've used in the past. The last few vids have been like that, maybe your shiny new PC has a setting a little different from your old setup! On the plus side though, that final *BOOM* on the intro that I always forget about, even after hundreds of videos, hasn't shredded my eardrums recently! I always remember a split-second before it happens and don't have time to pull my headphones out 🤪
Five minute guide, more or less on the ships in the intro. I always wonder what comes flying in the air on one shot and why the booms are different sounding
Was on USS Princeton (CG-59) during Desert Shield/Storm. We came over with the Ranger battle group, but were transferred to Midway's battle group not long after arrival in theater. Heard after all was over and done, that Midway had launched so many sorties, she wore her flight deck down to the armor plate. Not sure if true or not, but cool as hell if so.
Midway was proud to have kept up her sorties with just her 2 old catapults and 3 arrester wires viice the 4 n 4 that everyone else had. Told to me by her GW1 V-2 bos'n and then by her last V-2 bos'n. (V-2 has the Catapult and arresting gear ABEs). Would not be surprised if it were literal, the non- skid on the landing area gets beaten up pretty bad by the tires and the cables.
"Thus starting a new tradition in US Navy carrier names" I would say a boring tradition in carrier names. I much preferred naming our carriers after major battles in US history than mainly politicians. I also prefer more ambiguous naming schemes that give us names like Enterprise and Intrepid. On that note, I do actually like the name for CVN-81: USS Doris Miller. Also I heard rumors that Midway was built off of the keel from Montana (assuming they hadn't laid any machinery spaces out), any truth to that? Everything else I have read either doesn't mention that or says it's not true. I'd just like to know because someone I know likes to keep saying that but I am suspicious.
@@patl709 I agree. That's the naming system for Destroyers. A new "MIller" class would be even nicer. Naming ANY ship after a lying politician is an abomination!
Naming ANY ship after a lying politician is an abomination! I sure miss my Constellation and Ranger. ( CVs 64 and 61 ) I doubt they will ever show up again except on an LHA.
The Montana class battleships were never started. Official reason given was a steel shortage. Also killed off by the steel shortage was a third set of locks for the Panama Canal that would have allowed for larger ships to pass through.
Interesting. I served aboard USS Coral Sea from 1975 to 1978 and I had been led to understand that it had been built on a battleship hull and that it had originally been laid out as a battleship. Apparently not. Thanks for posting! Also was unaware of the differences between Coral Sea and Midway. Wish I could find a Coral Sea model kit. No one apparently makes them anymore. To get a pre-built model is over $1000!!!
Lived on USS Midway for many years, great ship......she's a museum in San Diego now, probably the last carrier museum you'll ever see since the nukes will have to be gutted like a fish to deactivate them...
To anyone. If you were building a Midway from scratch in the '40s, how would you fix or at least mitigate the seakeeping, rolling, and freeboard issues? Say you can't just build a Forrestal hull and call it a day. I assume you don't put the armor belt in to begin with, you do build a hurricane bow to limit shipping in water. How could you stabilize that ship knowing what we do now? Since Midway actually had excess aircraft capability initially, you can devote space to some stabilizer systems, to improve things.
Pinned post for Q&A :)
Which was the worse The Dauntless Devestator or the Albacore?
In Drydock 64 you answered a question about the Free Polish Navy in that light this question came to mind. You are Admiral Angelo Iachino on the bridge Vittorio Veneto just before Cape Matapan and you are told you are facing HMS Warspite and her sisters, as you consider your options on facing a ship which is legend for not sinking you are told Warspite is flying an unusual flag and not the white ensign you ask to confirm this and are told the flag is not that of the white ensign but the Free Polish Navy what is your response, Also change the Itlaians for the german Destroyers in Narvik?
How do you pronounce Prinz "Eugen"?
It may be an older question, but could you make your best attempt at the Elbonia question like forgotten arms and the chieftain did? Basically your picks for each class of vessel by 1945 that while impressive to the beholder are in fact close to or are actually entirely obsolete to the untrained eye. Please make a mockery of the Elbonian navy with its unlimited budget!
++ The Emperor Protects ++
Drachinifel didn’t the hull corkscrew making them hard to land on?
Naming a new ship class rolling out after a battle from the same war is one hell of a flex.
A well deserved flex I might add.
GaldirEonai imagine if the IJN called one their ships pearl harbor
@@Ricardowieringa I mean, its fine for the rest of the world, just not the Americans.
Could you imagine if USN keep the Midway and Coral Sea names on a pair of CVEs? That's was the original plan for the 2 named, on CVEs.
@@AtomicBabel That might be even more of a flex, really.
"Inconvient secession of existence " I laughed hard at this euphemism 😅🤣
'inconvenient cessation'... :)
TV tropes refers to it as a "critical existence failure".
I'll be _That Guy:_ the body was still there, so he still existed. I'd have said "inconvenient cessation of cardiopulmonary functionality".
@@RonJohn63 You were "that guy". You never be "that guy".
@@RonJohn63 "Unscheduled cessation of vitality" or "Sudden catastrophic failure of Animus"?
I’m glad that when Drach says ‘5 minute guide (more or less)’ he normally means more.
Always give me more drach!
“Last time I was this early the 5 minute guides were still under 5 minutes”
@@spakes6561 To date, only two have been under five minutes: 011 RN Dante Alighieri (4:32) and 145 HMCS Quebec (4:54).
Must admit I was disappointed it was only just over 7 minutes. I have got used to Drach's 5 minutes guides being major fractions of an hour:-)
always
The phrase "inconvenient cessation of existence" is a usage worthy of the most polished mafia Don.
Well done , Drach. 👍
I wonder if the Brits would have welcomed a similar simpering, derisive witticism regarding Winston Churchill's death.
@@spanky2888 Yeah, they would. Now get off your goddamn high-horse and GTFOH
There's a side character in one of the Discworld novels who, when he dies and meets Death, complains about how inconvenient the whole thing is, since he really had no time for being dead right now...
Death is genuinely impressed.
Thanks, you just gave me an image of Marlon Brando saying that with his accent?
Didn't Admiral Beatty say that phrase about the HMS Queen Mary?
USS Midway in the 70s and 80s made regular visits to Fremantle in Western Australia. We had a dial a sailor line. We could phone the ship and and say we would like to have a sailor as a guest while they were here. Home cooked meals and being with a family was a real attraction. Also a lot of single women called to give a sailor an entertaining time for their liberty.
You Aussies are great people. Thank you for being kind to our Sailors.
I got to spend some liberty time with Aussie sailors in Hawaii. Lively times at the Enlisted Club on base and downtown in Honolulu.
Served on her 79 - 84.
Not in 76...🥺
I was lucky enough, as a kid, to go on board the Midway 3 times when she visited Perth, West Australia during the 1970s. Obviously she was still in active service and it wasn’t that long after the Vietnam war. We were made to feel so welcome by the ships crew, Answering all my questions patiently. Fond memories I’ll always cherish. I believe she’s a museum ship in San Diego now, and one of my goals is to visit her again.
You should definitely visit. It has display aircraft from WWII right up through the end of the cold war. And since you would be near LA, you'd should also visit the Battleship Iowa museum ship in San Pedro.
I was with the Midway battle group in '79 when she visited Perth. My ship the USS Stein got to dock in Fremantle while the Midway had to anchor outside the harbour. Great city, reminded me a lot of San Diego where I and the Midway now live.
Totaly worth the visit. I went to see the Midway museum back in 2005 for my 9th birthday and had a blast.
Sean Nordeen that’s the battleship I was thinking of, I’d love to check that out too, I think it’s next to the Queen Mary? My grandfather served on the HMS Belfast during ww2, he was on board during d day, that’s now a museum ship in the Thames, London.
John Knapp the Stein does ring a bit of a bell to me, destroyer I think? If she’s the ship I’m thinking of, quite sleek looking. I would have seen her. We used to get on the Midway by boat, on one trip it was a landing type of craft, the type where the front drops down so troops could scramble off. It was quite hair raising climbing on to the Midway out in the ocean, seamen would kind of steady us on a kind of pontoon from the ferry to the stairs of the ship. We were told she had to be out at sea in case she had to take off suddenly, not all the crew could be on shore at any one time etc.
I believe they did get her into the harbour once, with inches to spare, but I’d left Perth for the eastern states when they did that.
My fondest memory was sitting in a Corsair, the pilot answering my questions, a wide eyed 11 year old I was back then.
Thank you for your service John 👍
Drach's teasing us us leaving us on that gorgeous shot of the angled flight deck right at the end of the video!
With Phantoms on the deck! Eph-Phours Phorever!
Was gonna say the same thing!
Yeah i wanted to hear about the ships service, only to have a vid about their design....
Oh, just wait, the design fun for the Midway just doesn't stop. When you add blisters to improve stability and have it backfire on you. There is a small group of men who gets to wear the patch for the mighty roll she took and almost did not come back.
@@AtomicBabel From Midway's Wiki: "During a typhoon near the Philippines on October 8, 1988, the Midway, which was not supposed to be able to survive more than 24 degrees of roll, sustained a 26 degree roll and withstood it."
The Midway class were the first three US warships that were too large to go through the Panama Canal. Built at Newport News, Virginia they had to go around Cape Horn to get to the Pacific.
The rebuilt battleships Tennessee, California, and West Virginia all were too wide to go through the canal. Supposedly--and the sources of this range from fairly reliable to laughable--part of the money earmarked for the Montana-class battleships was meant to be spent on new locks for the canal capable of handling these much larger ships.
Correction: The midway was meant for the Pacific fleet but since she was commissioned on Sept 10th 1945, 8 days after Japan surrendered she remained in the Atlantic fleet and served as a deterrent to soviet aggression in the Mediterranean for almost 10 years. When she did enter the Pacific fleet in 1954 she sailed around the South Africas Cape of good hope. One year later in 1955 she entered Puget sound for her fist major reconfiguration where her first small angled flight deck was installed.
Another correction regarding armored decks... yes she was built with a 3.5" armored flight deck but she also had 2" armor on both her hanger (Main) deck and on deck 3.
My Dad was XO of the Coral Sea's fighter squadron when she was launched.
I've been on the ship a few times down here in San Diego. For the average person that looks huge. For anybody who's been the Navy in the last 20 years, it's small because we're used to the Nimitz class, which incidentally is right across the bay at Coronado.
I was on USS Midway from spring 73 to August 76, went with her to Japan. I've toured the Hornet in Alameda, and the biggest difference is hangar width, seems impossibly narrow on the Essex class. But both hangars are only two decks tall, 17+ feet, and the Forrestal at al have three deck tall hangars. They are probably somewhat wider to, but it's not nearly as dramatic.
Drachism of the day, "President Roosevelt suffered an inconvenient cessation of existence."
though they will never have admitted it, some of the Hawks in the cabinet will have really begged to differ on the term inconvenient... if the world was as rife with conspiracists then as it is now, some might even have suggested 'too convenient' for a certain former Sea-Lord of slight stature and a bulldoggish tenacity...
I think, If Roosevelt had lived a president for longer, the air of the Yalta accords and a general willingness to turn a blind eye to Stalin's actions would have lasted into the 50's; maybe even, without the joint Truman's and last-term Churchill's morally guided, stern, opposition to the USSR, there would not have been a cold war as we know it... continental Europe would have been basically largely soviet oriented, whilst America would have slowly drawn away back to a more Isolationist state of affairs.
one really really big butterfly there....
Justin, I hereby designate you official collator of Drachisms.
I do so with no authority whatsoever apart from a shared appreciation for creative language.
Cheer!
How IJN Fleet of him...
What funny is that FDR was quite a socialist/capitalist or a socail domecrat what we call tases day, who ally with a communist and a Mornarch and I still hear the Nazi where socialist while those guy leave out FDR XD
The only US carriers built with 8 inch guns were the USS Lexington & Saratoga, which had them replaced with 5" ones at the beginning of WWII. From your video, it's clear that some in the navy still thought they should have been kept and added to the other carriers. They seemed to have taken the wrong lesson from the HMS Glorious fiasco. I'm glad that better minds went with the 5" guns that could contribute for AA which in hindsight was clearly more important. I wasn't aware that they had put that many 5" guns on the class though. Seems the tradition of adding guns to any empty space continued.
This was the part of the war where that kind of American shipbuilding became standard.
Idk how true it is but I heard... the guns on Midway where purpose built for the cancelled battleship Montana which would have had four 16in big guns accompanied by all these secondary batteries you see on Midway.
@@brainwashingdetergent4128 That is correct, the 5inch/54 was designed to be used in a twin mount for Montana class battleships.
the 5/54 went on to be the basis for most of the modern 127MM cannons we see today.
I’d argue the fact the Iowas were never cancelled is another case of the USN getting the wrong lesson from Glorious.
@@bkjeong4302 We needed the battleships for shore bombardment.
For anyone who happens to find themselves in San Diego post-pandemic, the USS Midway Museum is well worth a visit
There is so much to do in that beautiful city.
Next on the list:
-Graf Zeppelin
ah yes, the secondaries
For us Cobi builders, it's the primary
When will Led Zeppelin make the list? (for the Boomers out there...)
Or as Jingles says. "Let me get closer so I can hit you with my sword...."
ah yes, the soviet paper games!
You mean the nonexistence of Graf Zeppelin? haha
One thing that non-shipbuilders don't understand is the difference between Length at Waterline (L.W.L.) vs Length Over All (L.O.A.). Although I'm retired, I still have my 50 ft., 100 ft., and 200 ft. measuring tapes. Speaking of waterlines, mark midship draft marks was straightforward, it was the bow an aft that where a pain.
At one point or another during my Navy career I did some support work for Midway and FDR and tagged along behind Coral Sea as 'Plane Guard destroyer.'
Sea Story: While I was stationed in Hawaii we were tracking the Soviet response to a three carrier exercise. The birdfarms were Enterprise, Kitty Hawk (or Constellation) and Midway. The Soviets were more interested in the two larger CVs and not so much in Midway ... and the Midway Battlegroup Commander took exception to that. He made his battlegroup of about a dozen ships vanish.
He parked Midway and her group under a weather front (similar to what the Japanese did prior to 7 December) and also instituted electronic silence and waited for Soviet paranoia to provide the entertainment.
The Soviets verified they had fixes on the positions of Enterprise and Kitty Hawk ... but where was Midway? The Soviet Pacific Fleet and Pacific Air Force started turning the Northern Pacific upside down looking for her. She was the oldest carrier in the fleet by then, but like all the others was armed with nukes, and you don't JUST lose track of a nuclear threat.
Midway stayed out of sight both visually (hiding in the weather) and electronically for nearly two days while the Soviets were getting more and more anxious and paranoid. Finally CINCPACFLT stopped laughing and ordered "enough fun ... Exercise complete. Midway head for Hawaii in company with Enterprise and Kittyhawk. Well done Midway."
After the Pacific Fleet Headquarters at Vladivostok breathed a sigh of relief a couple of senior heads over there did roll.
That's ah ptetty damn good sea story Mate 👍 I served aboard CVA - 41 from late 73 - to late - 75 USN Camera Man At The Fall Of Saigon, what an epic shit storm....👎😵💫
But please remember Mate : Sea Stories Always Start Out With : "This Ain't No Shit"......🫡
@@bobwershing3505 "Nearly always" shipmate. This one happened and the Soviet response was one for the books. The "Red Banner Pacific Fleet" sortied not only surface ships and subs but also a number of maritime patrol aircraft trying to find the old girl and her battle group.
I point to this exercise when people try to tell me that carriers "are too vulnerable and easy to find and thus destroy." Yes, sensors in use today are lightyears better than back then, but counters to them have been keeping pace as well.
After the war dad went to the Midway when it was new in 1945.It was painted Navy blue and had its ww2 airgroup on it.This is in his Division picture the took on the flight deck..
The USS Midway was the first of three carriers I served on between 1970 and 1984. I was a member of the recommissioning crew in 1970 and made the Vietnam cruise in 1971. Still look back very fondly on my two years on her.
My wife and I got to tour her last January during a trip to San Diego. She is an absolutely beautiful ship. The armored deck worried them though and they made the ceiling heights of her island very short. I had to be really careful at 6'3". Apparently the height limit for crew members was 6'8". -__-
If you're taller than about 5'8" you have to do a lot of ducking. A six footer spends the entire cruise bent over.
Its also worth remembering that in general people were shorter back then.
In late 1988 or early 1989 I was stationed on the USS Saratoga CV-60 (Air Department/V-1/Fly 1). For about a week we were tied up next to the Midway in Norfolk after we left the shipyard in Portsmouth. It was quite the comparison standing on our flight deck looking down at the Midway's. Thanks Drach for bringing back a few fond old memories.
In the US Navy, carriers were originally considered a type of cruiser, hence the 'C' in 'CV'. The 'V' was the Navy designation for 'heavier than air craft' (regular, fixed-wing airplanes) as contrasted with 'lighter than air' dirigibles; so 'CV' indicated 'cruiser that operates regular airplanes'.
This concept obviously still lingered with the consideration of 8" guns for independent raiding and surface action.
I was going to reply what absolute tosh, then provide a more accurate explanation, with references.
Annoyingly, your explanation is confirmed by the best sources I could find, like www.navweaps.com/index_tech/index_ships_list.php
Thank you for teaching me something today!
@@j_taylor Had you shown information that I was wrong, I would have gladly thanked you for providing correct information! :D They certainly saw things differently back then. Fast forward a few decades, and there's a glimmer of this when the Royal Navy used the term 'through-deck cruiser' to sell the Invincible class to Parliament, or the Japanese their 'helicopter destroyers' to get around restrictions for the Maritime Self-Defense Force.
I went on Midway in 90 around the time of desert storm, will never forget how choppy it was in the boat in HK harbour, and then how stable it was when we actually got on board. Made quite an impression. Thanks for doing these gives me something to watch! :)
Thank you for your wonder videos. Midway was my ship 1981-1985. Best ship I served on. Perhaps no other class of carriers was as heavily modified as the Midways.
She was mine 82-85.
Cool! My first ship when I joined the Navy. Still say "Good Morning Midway" (when I was aboard the ships CO used say that over the 1MC every morning) as I pass her on my way to work. Looking forward to the follow-up videos.
My grandpa was a pilot on the Midway in Vietnam, cool to see it here finally
Did someone say Midway?
*Inhales*
_Far from shore, a Pacific war_
_Bombs are falling from the skies_
It's a bomb-run day, its the naval way!
Btw why did you change Exeter to London? Not complaining just wondering.
@@rogueleader7506 I like both
@@Big_E_Soul_Fragment Besides the obvious maid, I like Sheffield.
The 225677th Fragment of the Man-Emperor of Mankind )
@@rogueleader7506 A BLOOD RED SUN IS ON THE RIIIISE!
The Coral Sea visited Halifax in the late 80's, they gave public guided tours and I got to board her. She is the only carrier I have ever set foot on. I was in awe of her sheer size, even though she was smaller than Nimitz and Enterprise I was still very impressed with her.
I'm spoiled to see her almost every day on my runs at San Diego harbor.
The Coral Sea was the first of three ships I served on beginning in Sept. of '87 till the Spring of '89. I disembarked CV-43 about two weeks prior to the gun turret explosion on the USS Iowa during FLEETEX 3-89, the same exercise that the Coral Sea was participating in. I was an enlisted man, PO3, Electronic Warfare.
my late uncle was on the brand new FDR. his job was to wear the hot/heavy flame resistant suit, and climb aboard a crashed/burning aircraft and pull the aviator out the top.
he was aboard her about a year. and eventually retired as a police sgt.
Best thing about the COVID lockdown those months ago, was discovering Drachinifel's channel here. Brilliant stuff!! Thanks for all the work you put into these uploads. Magnificent.
His channel has been a sanity saver...and possibly a life saving one
Yeah. An interim design between the Essex Classes and the Super Carriers beginning with CV-59.
As I heard it, the FDR's angled flight deck, which was something of an experiment, was so large they filled the starboard empty spaces in the hull with concrete to counter balance it.
I think it was the Midway that was the carrier home ported in Japan for so long it was nick named the Midway Maru.
The US definitely got their money's worth out of these ships, with them (iirc) "soldiering" on long after the last of the Essex Classes were gone. They were big enough to use the F-4 Phantom's when the older Essex classes couldn't.
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I stayed a week aboard the USS Midway as a museum while in the cub scouts. It’s probably the coolest thing I ever did while a part of that organization.
For anyone wondering wether the USS Midway in San Diego is worth checking out I’d say that even if you aren’t too interested in carriers or museum ships she’s definitely worth visiting if you’re ever near the area.
I’ve lived in San Diego my whole life and I’ve been on the USS Midway upwards of like eight times but I’m still learning more and more new stuff about it each time.
Many of the guides/staff, and even some of the guests (at least when I’ve been there) have served on the ship too and each have their own stories to tell if you ask them, which makes it all the more interesting to me
It’s also been kept in what I’d consider surprisingly good condition for a ship of its size, despite the admission fee being not a bad price and group coupons popping up from time to time. But I’m sure if they changed the pricing since last I went it’ll be on their website
For anyone who likes tours of museum ships, you can visit the USS Midway in San Diego California... well, after the pandemic anyway.
Same goes for the Iowa in San Pedro, the Pampanito (a Balao-class submarine) in San Francisco, and other museum ships in the USA.
@@NewtypeCommander I've spent the night on the Panpanito and on the Hornet over in Alameda. Both are great ships.(Ok one is a boat, I stand corrected lol).
@@Xerethane Just remember though, subs are boats not ships. The sub I would like to see the most is the U-505 in Chicago.
I'd planned on visiting it while attending a convention this year.... Stupid pandemic...
Yeah, a lot of plans just fell out the windows. I hope you get to go sometime.
Can't wait for the follow-up on this. That photo of the F-4 Phantom jets on the deck near the end is epic. The Essex class carriers also served long, into the 70s.
The USS Lexington wasn't decommissioned untill 1991. She served as the carrier qualification carrier.
This was my first ship. I was stationed on it from January of 1990 to 1992 for decommissioning. It was the best ship during my four years in the U.S. Navy.
How well timed, visited this ship last Saturday. Even talked to a tour guide who had served on her during Korea. It was an excellent experience
Awesome!! Huge soft spot for Coral Maru The Best in the West, The Ageless Warrior, USS Coral Sea CV-43!
Looking forward to three separate videos on the sisters! 😉
I don't get it, a most enjoyable, excellent, informative, educational channel like this, still....only 168K subscribers!? 🤨🤔
USS Coral Sea I/O cruise, '79-'80. VMFA-531.
Coral Maru 87-decomm
Amazing how long lived they became. Long enough to see the F/A-18.
Anytime I hear an adult say "interesting" it's code for "Generally, it sucks".
"I would of never thought of doing it that way...." same code.
Since I discovered the Midway, I love this carrier since (with the most angled deck) it is so unique and long lived. If I ever get back to San Diego, I will visit her!
"inconvenient cessation of existence" XD
This is why I love your channel, cheers Drach!
Another great video, Drach!
Tho’ I have to say “inconvenient cessation of life” really caught my ear!
Awesome woodie at 1:35
The more I learn about us carrier development the more I think that some one probably had a dream of 16 inch armed carrier and was trying to slowly warm the more sane members of the navy to the idea. Start small 5 then, 6 then, 8 then, 12 then, 16 inch guns.
My father served on the Midway in the late 40s to early 50s. I will be looking forward to more information on this ship from you!
Can you do a story on the USS West Virginia, please. I've always been intrigued by her tale of sinking at Pearl Harbor, only to be moored next to the USS Missouri at the Japanese surrender in Tokyo Bay in 1945. One of the Pearl Harbor "Heroes"was Doris Miller, a Black cook aboard the West Virginia. We don't hear that much about him either.
Doris Miller is to have a Ford-class carrier named after him. Quite a tribute! en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Doris_Miller
I toured her a few years ago. Impressive ship.
I was fortunate to be able to see the Midway Magic first hand in the summer of 1991 in the gulf. Pretty cool to see the old girl in action
I visited Midway two weeks ago, she's in San Diego. It's a great museum.
The Midway had 3 armored decks. 3.5" on the flight deck, 2" on the Hanger Deck and 2" on the 3rd deck.
This channel here has been a delight.....Last week I enjoyed watching a movie called Sink the Bismarck and afterwards enjoyed Drachinifel's Operation Rheinubung Video.... AWESOME !!!!
I got to tour the Coral Sea. Sure it was mostly a tourist attraction at the time, headed for retirement, but it was an experience none the less.
My Dad was a Blank Holder on th CV -42 FDR. Rear seat on a SB2c5e. Helldiver
He is the one in the Arcive footage of the FDR's Maiden Voyage film, going off the Front on take off and crashing into the sea. Incident Report blames a Catapult Failure.
Aboard the Midway 1963 through 1965, first cruise to Viet Nam.
I was in Yokasucka, JA with the Midway in 83-85. Did a couple months TAD on her. I was on CG-24, Battle group Alpha.
CG24, the Reeves! Hadn't heard that name in a long time. I was on Midway in '89 when one of the squadron F18s dropped a 500 lb bomb on Reeves by accident, think we were somewhere in the IO or N. Arabian Sea. That sucked. :-/
Took a tour of the Midway in San Diego. Well worth it. FYI it was the carrier McCaine served on when he was shot down and captured.
While we’re suggesting ships:
I have great affection for the USN WWI flushdeck destroyers.
You’ve already done one video, but I think they deserve more.
Because they were so numerous, it seems anybody with a bright idea could get one to experiment with.
They were converted into minelayers, minesweepers, fast attack transports, and seaplane tenders, among other things.
They were traded to the Royal Navy for naval bases.
USS Ward fired the first shot during the Pearl Harbor attack.
The fictional USS Caine was a converted flushdeceker.
I think they deserve another look.
Take care.
I went on this ship yesterday
I was ship's company from 1980 -1984, some of the most memorable times of my life and wouldn't trade it for anything in the world
Wait a (seven) minute!! I was just getting lathered up when you say "that's the subject for another video." Say what? I want my modifications and I want them now!!
Have visited Midway in San Diego as Museum ship. Covered with various planes
Thanks I serve & decommission the USS Midway CV-41
Holding off the full history for later? U wot m8? U 'avin' a giggle there, m8? :P
I hope one day to visit the Midway in her museum resting place. Already saw the Essex-class Yorktown, now I want to see the follow-up.
I just got to see her. Hell of a ship. And San Diego is the best city in America.
I once flew into San Diego where I had a great view of four (count them!) carriers - USS Midway (at its dock), USS John F. Kennedy (the older one), USS Enterprise, and USS Nimitz. When you tour the Midway an Essex class looks like a bathtub toy. Too bad we will never be able to tour any of the nuclear ones as they go to decontamination and scrapping.
@@kyle857 Yes, San Diego is the best. I was born in the Navy Hospital there during WW2, haven't been back as much as I would like. Did visit Midway the last time.
The Midway is in nice shape, wish the Hornet had that level of funding.
Come aboard! She is still open for tours in San Diego.
I served on the Midway as an OS2. 7th Fleet, stationed in Yokosuka Japan.
I was waiting for this. I served on the Coral Sea during her last Mediterranean cruise. When I was onboard we called her. The ageless warrior.
MO as in AIMD?
@@AtomicBabel aimd im-4 my rate was aircraft support equipment.
@@Orvilleh69 from tunnel to jeti, pax to cnal, we must have mutual acquaintances.
@@AtomicBabel it's a good chance. I was only onboard from March of 89 to April of 90.
And yes my shop was on the starboard side of the tunnel to the fantail.
Ah, the proto-super carrier...now museum in San Diego. Take a peek if you are in the area, lovely ship.
That sweet woodie at 1:35 🔥
Hello again Midway I see you almost every day in San Diego! 👍
We're spoiled for sure!
I was actually stationed on that ship back in the 80s in Japan.
Drach, love the analysis, esp when it comes to what influenced the design. Love to see one on USS Pittsburgh, heavy cruiser.
Intro music level still seems low relative to your voice, and to the ratio of intro/voice volume you've used in the past. The last few vids have been like that, maybe your shiny new PC has a setting a little different from your old setup!
On the plus side though, that final *BOOM* on the intro that I always forget about, even after hundreds of videos, hasn't shredded my eardrums recently! I always remember a split-second before it happens and don't have time to pull my headphones out 🤪
I've been trying to boost the volume of the narrative itself. :)
Just thought I'd mention, today as this was starting - I was thinking how much I loved the video of those old Battleships.
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I prefer it this way...
Five minute guide, more or less on the ships in the intro. I always wonder what comes flying in the air on one shot and why the booms are different sounding
Was on USS Princeton (CG-59) during Desert Shield/Storm. We came over with the Ranger battle group, but were transferred to Midway's battle group not long after arrival in theater. Heard after all was over and done, that Midway had launched so many sorties, she wore her flight deck down to the armor plate. Not sure if true or not, but cool as hell if so.
Midway was proud to have kept up her sorties with just her 2 old catapults and 3 arrester wires viice the 4 n 4 that everyone else had. Told to me by her GW1 V-2 bos'n and then by her last V-2 bos'n. (V-2 has the Catapult and arresting gear ABEs).
Would not be surprised if it were literal, the non- skid on the landing area gets beaten up pretty bad by the tires and the cables.
Where were you when she hit the mine?
Served aboard USS MIDWAY from 1981 to 1985 with VF-161 F-4 phantom squadron
Midway is a great museum ship. I recommend it for anyone in the San Diego area.
"Thus starting a new tradition in US Navy carrier names" I would say a boring tradition in carrier names. I much preferred naming our carriers after major battles in US history than mainly politicians. I also prefer more ambiguous naming schemes that give us names like Enterprise and Intrepid. On that note, I do actually like the name for CVN-81: USS Doris Miller.
Also I heard rumors that Midway was built off of the keel from Montana (assuming they hadn't laid any machinery spaces out), any truth to that? Everything else I have read either doesn't mention that or says it's not true. I'd just like to know because someone I know likes to keep saying that but I am suspicious.
airplanenut89 Naming a carrier after Doris Miller imho is unjustified and no Midway was not built on a Montana BB keel.
@@patl709 I agree. That's the naming system for Destroyers. A new "MIller" class would be even nicer. Naming ANY ship after a lying politician is an abomination!
Naming ANY ship after a lying politician is an abomination! I sure miss my Constellation and Ranger. ( CVs 64 and 61 ) I doubt they will ever show up again except on an LHA.
Agreed, I like the old naming convention better. Destroyers were already named after people.
The Montana class battleships were never started. Official reason given was a steel shortage. Also killed off by the steel shortage was a third set of locks for the Panama Canal that would have allowed for larger ships to pass through.
"Inconvient secession of existence ". This is why i fucking love your videos.
Interesting. I served aboard USS Coral Sea from 1975 to 1978 and I had been led to understand that it had been built on a battleship hull and that it had originally been laid out as a battleship. Apparently not. Thanks for posting! Also was unaware of the differences between Coral Sea and Midway. Wish I could find a Coral Sea model kit. No one apparently makes them anymore. To get a pre-built model is over $1000!!!
the essex class were what was need in that situation. air power rules. more aircraft is the deciding force.
Lived on USS Midway for many years, great ship......she's a museum in San Diego now, probably the last carrier museum you'll ever see since the nukes will have to be gutted like a fish to deactivate them...
I like big decks I can not lie, it gives us a place from whence to fly!
Bout to spend half a day at the museum! Had to watch this before
Midway was CVA 41, You have more pictures of USS Coral Sea CVA 43 which I served on during Vietnam. : )
Midway Class stayed in service in some form into the 1980's. Almost as long as Iowa Class BB's.
Richard M She was decommissioned in 1992.
Seen her a few times in Halifax. Pretty ship.
Looking forward to the video on the history of the Midway Class carriers upgrades over the long careers.
If you're ever in San Diego, it's a great museum ship to visit. I can spend the whole day there.
1970 - 72 V-4 Division/ Fules ( CVA-41 )
Thank you ABF 🍇
I saw your Midway pic on Navysite.de
First aircraft carrier I ever built. In its 1946 configuration, covered with guns.
I’ve been waiting for this one!
To anyone. If you were building a Midway from scratch in the '40s, how would you fix or at least mitigate the seakeeping, rolling, and freeboard issues? Say you can't just build a Forrestal hull and call it a day. I assume you don't put the armor belt in to begin with, you do build a hurricane bow to limit shipping in water. How could you stabilize that ship knowing what we do now?
Since Midway actually had excess aircraft capability initially, you can devote space to some stabilizer systems, to improve things.
Looking forward to the rest of the story. Curious how FDR left the fleet in the 70s, while Essex class hulls continued on for some time.
Thanks Drach, love these 5ish min videos and your narration style!
I actually visited her its a amazing ship.
Let's not forget the US Navies decision to launch a V2 off the stern of a carrier.
I'd love to see Drachs take on that bit of maddness
Thanks drach