My great grandfather, a British navel engineer, designed the Renowned and the repulse. My great grandmother christened both ships - I have one of the diamond pendants presented to her by the king for this task.
Amazing. Thank you for sharing. Renown is one of my all time favorite ships. The original design had such virtues that it lent itself well to modernization, and in her final form HMS Renown was a fine ship that served with distinction in WW II.
My father Patrick O'Hare survived the sinking of HMS Repulse. He was an AB with his action station in the 30ft rangefinder. Being above deck probably saved his life although getting the armoured door open as the ship listed was nearly impossible. He spent 2 hours in the sea before being rescued by HMAS Elektra. He escaped Singapore before the surrender and served on MGB 659 in the Mediterranean until the end of the war. He passed over the bar in 2019 aged 96
@@mastermariner7813 Thanks Tim Yesterday the 10th December was the 79th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Repulse. RIP to all who were lost on that day
1. I truly believe that these two battlecruisers are among the most beautiful warships ever build; 2. After this video, I understand why they had nicknames "Rebuild" and "Renovation".
A lot of ships spent a lot of time undergoing refits and repairs. Look at the history of the Warspite. Others also had numerous upgrade's and spent time in docks.
In case you didn’t know, the Japanese Kongo-Class Battlecruiser Hiei became Emperor Hirohito’s personal yacht in the 1930’s to prevent her from being scrapped as per the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.
Excellent video. I am from Uruguay, 85. Wish to add that the German pocket battleship Graf Spee was scuttled by her crew off Montevideo on Dec 17, 1939, the very day of my first birthday. She had battled the British cruisers HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles on Dec 13. (Battle of the River Plate). Needless to say, nobody was at home but my mother and I ; crowds had gathered on the coast to watch the outcome, including my father.
“ decommissioned and scrapped” it saddens me for a few moments every time I hear that. I know they can’t all be museum ships but it just doesn’t seem like a fitting way to go😞
My uncle served on the Renown, one of his anecdotes was of being shelled by the Sharnhorst on his 18th birthday he also lost a good mate on operation Torch.
My dad severed on this ship during the 2nd world war as a radio operator in the North Sea, but contracted TB and was invalided out of the navy and sent home.
@@christrinder1255 My Dad was also on the Renown, he was also a radio operator. He listened to morse code and could touch type the messages. I wonder if they knew each other?
My Grandfather served as Chief Petty officer aboard HMS Renown,serving as head chef.My Grandmother told me he organised a meal for Winston Churchill and was congratulated personally by him afterwards.
@@yakumoyukari4405 Pardon me, I was thinking of the Revenge, and since it's name started with R, I always thought they were the same class. I commented before watching the video and forgot about it.
@@yakumoyukari4405 But still, when you're playing around with 15" guns, as long as you can hit the target, that'll do. An extra turret wouldn't make the fire directors any better.
What is interesting is that the RAF fighter commander in Singapore had organised full fighter cover for the Repulse and Prince of Wales in their mission where they were sunk. It may have only been Brewster Buffalos, but against unescorted high level bombers, they would have had a field day. But the Navy never informed the RAF that the ships had sailed, and so they were sunk.
@@rutabagasteu That's not true. It's not like they had an easy time of it - but their reputation was worse than they deserved. Their real problem was poor tactics on the part of their pilots for fighting Zeros and being heavily outnumbered. In any case - they were certainly better than nothing - and were more than good enough to do some serious damage to the bombers the Japanese were using against these two ships. .
The loss of Repulse and Prince or Wales was a result of the Navy's lack of understanding that the age of naval air power had arrived. There was a belief in the statement "no capital ship under way, has ever been sunk by aircraft attack", true up to that point but badly out of date. The Royal Navy simply had not moved with the times and been left behind in thinking, still believing that big guns were the deciding factor in war at sea.
Tango6nf that simply isn’t true, the Royal navy was well aware of the threat of naval air power, which was why they had the most carriers in the entire world at the time. The Admiralty had explicitly warned Churchill against the idea of sending two capital ships to Singapore because they knew two capital ships without air cover would be sitting ducks. The Royal navy had itself been explicitly preparing to use carriers extensively in surface actions since the 1920’s, they had the first purpose-built aircraft carrier design(the Japanese launched theirs faster but the Brits designed it first), they had a developed doctrine of strike carriers, battle carriers, and escort carriers, they developed carrier fighter direction techniques such that British CAPs were more efficient than any other navy, they had trained extensively in night actions with aircraft, they carried out the first significant carrier strike on enemy ships in port with the Taranto raid, etc, etc. The loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse lies largely at the feet of Churchill who should not have interfered in naval matters.
Love your videos but the 8th Revenge class battleship would have been HMS Resistance not Resolution. HMS Resolution was completed and served in both World Wars. Small point but your videos are usually so accurate.
Jeez, they stuck AA anywhere it would fit as time went on. You can see the threat of planes getting serious as more AA was put on. 100 orlikons (so) is a serious upgrade.
The one ship aside from Queen Elizabeth/Warspite that should most definitely have been saved as s museum ship. Both classes being serving both world wars. The Renown had the speed and roomy hull to serve as fleet flagships or mount new experimental systems. Though crew size was an issue, new technology such as automation and reducing the AA suite should have reduced her manpower requirements. But alas, the UK was flat broke
@@AugustGreen_ And here we Americans are, with all the money in the world, with 3 fast battleships still in good condition, and the only dreadnought still afloat in the world in the form of the mighty USS Texas. Hell, we're so sentimental, we couldn't even bring ourselves to let go of the wreckage of the Arizona.
Yes, its where you buy your ferry tickets to go down to Waiheke Island. The landform behind is the North shore of the Waitemata Harbour, at this point not crossed by the bridge built in the 1950s.
I've also seen photos of HMS Hood tied up on Princes Wharf too, possible during the same tour. Looking at the wharf now gives a good indication of how huge these ships were.
i think my grandpa was a stokesman on HMS renown, but I’ll have to check with my granddad. I never got to meet my grandpa myself, but my granddad tells me stories that he was told as a child. he told me they used to bake potatoes down in the engines (or the part where you put coal into the ships to keep them going) on the pipes, seeing as they were hot enough for that. along with that, i have original newspapers, ration cards, and national identity cards, belonging to my grandpa. we also have his dog tag, with his name on it, but the irony is, his name was spelt wrong. i mean, the middle of a war, and they spelt his name wrong, lol. my grandma also worked making bombs and in the factories. A story i was told about her, was she was supposed to go to work, but my great grandma, (her mother) convinced her to stay home. my great grandma saved her life, seeing as while she was having lunch, the factory was bombed. i will always love the wartime, and will always respect all soldiers that fought, and all lives that were lost, wether they were on the allied side or not. thank you for sharing the stories of these amazing ships! much love, stay safe. (EDIT) Just checked, he was on renown! he luckily survived everything!
I played multiple scenarios of the Renown-class versus all of the "battlecruiser" derivatives in the old SSI game- "Fighting Steel" (up to and including the last mod version 10.09). The Renown consistently performed well by comparison. It seems that it really was the perfect balance of speed, protection and firepower..................................
The frame at 3:39 is HMS REPULSE on the World Tour with HMS HOOD.. She is inbound to Vancouver harbour, passing between Stanley Park (Vancouver side) and West Vancouver (opposite shoreline) and the mouth of the Capilano River.. Well before our any bridge crossing over (Lions Gate Bridge in 1937/38) My Grandfather was British Columbia Provincial Police in those days and he was part of the security at that time.. He also got a few pictures as a 25yr old novice photographer..
My grandfather was a in Gun A and then a sticker after it's accident.... He fought in the far East and then left the Navy in 1948 after serving since 1936.. he love the Battlecruiser Renown... And wore a cap with it's ensign his whole life..
The picture of her art 3:38, was on the tour with HMS Hood, as she was entering what is known here as the first narrows.. The Capilano River mouth is on the opposite side and the small cottage Municipality of West Vancouver which in years to come, would become the most expensive real estate in Canada. My later grandfather also took pictures and was with the British Columbia Police Force, which had the duty security for their visit..
Thanks, one question though: The book "Battle-cruisers: A History 1908-1948" the author (Ronald Bassett) writes that Renown and Repulse didn't receive their thicker main belt until well after the Great War. Quote: "Renown and Repulse joined the Grand Fleet for working up in September 1916, and met critical eyes as they steamed into Scapa Flow. Their armour had been based on the scale provided for Indefatigable, and everyone knew what had happened to her. Along the entire length of the of each new battle-cruiser were two uninterrupted rows of scuttles, which meant hull almost devoid of protection; above a 6-inch belt that extended only 26 inches below the waterline, the sides were of merely 1½-inch plating. These two ships, well gunned, fast, and outstandingly beautiful were 'tin cans'. It was an assessment not ignored by Jellicoe. In October he recommended heavier deck protection for the crowns of the magazines and over the engine-rooms. This reinforcement was carried out at Rosyth - adding 500 tons to their tonnage calculated at design stage - before they were allocated to Beatty's Battle-Cruiser Force. Nothing however, could be done about that paultry side-armour." After the war: "In May 1923 a refit costing £979,927 increased Renown's armoured belt from six to nine inches, using steel plates taken from the battleship Amirante Cochrane, initially intended for Chile. Magazine protection was strengthened, and concession to the crew included Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers improved by cushioned seats. Garden seats from reading rooms placed in men's smoking place and cinema house." "Renown resumed less regal activities in home waters in 1928, but eight years later was subjected to another refit which amounted another major refit which amounted almost to a rebuild from the bare hull. It cost £3,088,008, or only £30,000 less than her cost of her construction, but when she steamed out she was to all intents and purposes a new warship, well protected, re-engined and fast, achieving 29.93 knots in post-refit trials. Neither her sister Repulse nor Hood would enjoy such a lavish expenditure. Following an armour-strengthening refit in 1918-20 (costing £860,684 and also utilising steel from the converted Almirante Cochrane), Repulse joined Hood in visiting Rio de Janeiro for the Brazilian centenary celebrations". This opens up a few question marks; while I find his book be excellent sources of information and generally extremely accurate, I don't doubt that the ships had their side-armour replaced and improved after the war; I just find it debatable if Admiral Cochrane could be the sole "donor" for both ships, especially since Admiral Cochrane was a shorter ship than both. And I don't think they used soft steel from Admiral Cochrane and bundled it together, it must have been armour belt. I think evidence is clear looking at pictures and also the source of Ensign series of books the upgrade was done inter-war period, I think Admiral Cochrane wasn't the only donor, in fact several of the battleships taken over from South American and Turkish navy had a similar 9-inch belt, so it might have been one of them as many were scrapped post Washington Treaty. Would you agree that is more likely?
Hello, you are correct about the timing of the belt refit. Unfortunately given the need for brevity I had to incorporate the collective half-dozen or so refits between launch and the early '20's into a couple of sentences. With regards to the donor material, Cochranes total 9 inch coverage is less that the total area of the two Renown's 9 inch coverage, so combined with the different hull forms I suspect they used the midships belt material for Cochrane and supplemented with new and/or recycled materials towards the ends. So by surface area Cochrane was probably the primary donor, but not solely responsible.
@@Drachinifel If we only had the time and the shell expansion drawing for all ships to compare and see where the shapes fit, that would be something of a task... ;)
My Great Uncle Lieu, (llewellyn Scillitoe) was a commissioned gunner on HMS Renown from 1939 - 1941 and was on her in the SA in the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee. He was also on her in the North Sea in the action of early Apr 1940 off the Lofoten Islands, Norway and was awarded an MBE. He later went on to serve on HMS Duke of York and was a Lieutenant Gunnery Officer on her which engaged the KMS Scharnhorst which resulted in her sinking. If you are remotely interested in the history and actions these capital ships took part in you should search out their relative war diary logs which are accessible on the web.
My Star Trek Online fleet has a USS Renown, a Tier 6-X Inquiry Class Battlecruiser, similar to the Zheng He from Star Trek Picard. Fitting name for the fastest, toughest ships Starfleet ever built. Love the Royal Navy ships of WW1 and WW2. Proud vessels with proud histories.
The whole thing boiled down to money. Postwar conditions in Britain were quite Spartan with the government straining due to returned veterans, lost colonies, food shortages, etc. It's fortunate that the HMS Belfast was saved. It is also much to the credit of the people that they managed to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
Thanks for the video! Again tho it’s a crying shame the Brits don’t have a heavy unit preserved as a museum. IMHO, Renown would have been a fine choice since she wasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, seriously damaged during WW2 like Warspite. And she’s such a beautiful ship...as was Churchill’s hobbyhorse HMS Vanguard. Oh well, we have a lot of naval museums in the states. Battleship Cove in Massachusetts is on my bucket list because in addition to USS Massachusetts there’s a plethora of smaller ships...even an East German corvette if I remember correctly.
I would like to see more historical battlecruisers and I think Renown would be a good candidate. Tier 6 perhaps? Repulse at tier 5? I especially love the look of those ships before the rebuilds.
@@Nexus1356 Renown at T9 doesn't make much sense. In terms of armament, it's comparable to the Gneisenau (both have six 15-inch guns in three double turrets). In terms of armor, it's somewhere in between the Kongo and the Hood. If you want my best guess, I would probably place the Renown at either T6 or T7.
my grandfather served on the renown up until 1941 , he was in gunnery. i think he spent time in the med on her . he went on to serve in hms Welshman , on convoys in med , then hms Abercrombie at the salerno landings ......... he was one tough hard man .
Damn, but the Brit's built some great ships. And when they occasionally didn't, they learned, fixed problems, refitted ships, and incorporated that knowledge into new designs. The Royal Navy was and is a paramount example of naval excellence. This American loves the Royal Navy and Marines. No other force works so closely and well with our navy. The new Queen Elizabeth carrier is impressive and modern. It is a thing of beauty and lethal efficiency. I miss the old Invincible of the 1980's, but the new carrier is orders of magnitude more advanced. Yesss! Britannia is getting back into it! We (ANZUS) need the UK in the Pacific. I am also glad that there are US Marine f-35's on board, working and risking shoulder to shoulder in the pursuit of common goals.
@@Makeyourselfbig If they were used for their intended purpose and also if they maintained fireproof integrity during action they could have survived. Leaving powder bags lying about to speed gunnery operations made these battlecruisers into giant bombs.
But, they were also really stupid designs. 'Speed is armour'. No, an incoming shell is a LOT faster than any battlecruiser. And, the exceptionally stupid triple 4 inch mounts that this class and the two Courageous class had inflicted on them were utter garbage. That Repulse still had three of those absurd mounts on board when she went down says a lot about how poorly the RN updated even their major ships.
The only thing that was not scrapped was Renowns bell which was mounted in an ornate frame and used to to summon all to grace before and after a meal in my old school.
I have a great love for the HMS Repulse, as it was the first model ship I built. I fell in love with the aesthetic of the design, and the idea of a Battle Cruiser. Also love her ill-starred partner, HMS Prince of Wales. Just the opinion of a Pleb but, their end was not only a tragedy for the loss of life, but also how it went down. It really seems like who ever called the shots on sending them, knowingly sent them to their deaths. I gotta figure that Admiral Phillips, along with Captains Leach and Tennant, plus the Destroyer Commanders had to feel the same as Admiral Doorman would feel at the Java Sea...."There is little to no chance for survival, let alone victory". But he, and every Man in that little Fleet just did the best they could with what they had, and maybe get a lucky few hits and slow them down. Again, I know Jack and shit, and Jack left town, but I would have taken the Hermes along....crawling along so an old timer of a Carrier, seems wiser then to have no air cover at all. Any archaic airplane that could still fly, and could be of even minimal use, give it to the task force. But I of course must yield to the hindsight law. Reading after battle reports of engagements that occurred years ago, gives one insight into a battle that none of the Commanders could see at the time.
Certainly Capt Leach was under no illusions; seen an interview with one of his children who confirmed this sentiment. I think also the problem was, despite Pearl Harbour and the Brits' own Taranto attack, there was a feeling that attacking a capital ship at see defending itself was no simple matter at all. The ease of coordinating ground based air cover was also overestimated, and that's before we consider the considerable problems of inter-service comms that plagued the Brits (consider the 'Channel Dash' as a wonderful later illustration of the issue). All in all very sad. Churchill also must bear considerable responsibility, as the Admiralty was not at all in favour of sending both ships to Singapore but got overruled.
They were sent to Indonesia before war with Japan broke out. They were intended as a deterrent. Combined with the 8 battleship fleet of the USA they would have seemed overwhelming in a traditional naval conflict. The Japanese had different ideas however. When they sailed to intercept Japanese forces invading indonesia, the admiral did not want the RAF to provide cover because he was hoping for surprise. Even though the RAF forces were weak and equipped with an inferior fighter, intercepting the attacking twin engine bombers may have disrupted the attack sufficiently to where one or both ships could have survived.
Let's not forget too that Japan, starting in the 1920s and very much in the 1930s stopped sharing military information on their latest warship and warplane technology. Their secrecy was so successful the British weren't even sure if they could build their own monoplanes or not (For warships it was a little harder to hide their tech since you know.,.. the British did build the Kongos for them and Japan still had to import some ship parts but they could build their warplanes from scratch in Japanese factories). Until the Dec.07th surprise attacks some still thought they might be fighting Japanese biplanes. The Chinese told them that Japanese planes were very good, but the Chinese air force was poorly trained, and constantly losing, so their reports were ignored because everyone thought the Chinese were saying this to save face.
There was tremendous racism against Asia at the time. It was felt Japan was an inferior futal society with little to no technical capability. 1941 was a huge awakening. Japan however still never had a real chance, technology was good, but the industry could never keep up. Had a British carrier been present, it would have been priority 1 and easily destroyed. The two gunned ships may have survived for a little while, but the royal navy would never survive in the far East, their aviation was by far the worst of the 3 real naval powers of the war. Once British decks were full of American planes they caught up.
Renown..."the tinclad that became an Ironclad". She was a handsome ship with that tower bridge. As for her run in with the Scharnhorst & Gneisnau (sorry for the bad spelling...long day at work today!) Her Captain never hesitated to attack! I heard a quip about this action as, "Renown...the mouse that roared". Don't know if that is true, but it's amusing. Too bad she wasn't escorting Glorious when they pounced on her. That's a role she would've excelled at! Especially after that heavy AA refit! (In war games, that's how I always use Renown, Repulse, & Hood. They're perfect for the job!)
I for one would enjoy seeing a more in depth comparison of HMS Renown and a Kongo, say Haruna, as modernized. It is interesting that while Japan reclassified their modernized battlecruisers as battleships, the Royal Navy retained the designation of battlecruiser for Renown. While she did indeed have a belt lighter than some of the newest battleships, the overall qualities of her armor as modernized does give the argument for her being a fast battleship some merit. With both Renown and Haruna being ships of British design and both being commissioned within a year and a half of one another.....and both being modernized and fighting throughout WW II in many major battles throughout the war...I think they make a interesting study for comparison. Not a ship per se, but I would enjoy an examination of the American "concrete battleship" Fort Drum. In particular, I have always wanted to know more about Drum's guns. Some sources list it's 14" AP shells as 1200 lbs rounds, some say 1650 lbs AP. This would make a big difference in just how dangerous those guns were to modern warships. An Army fortification built in the shape of a battleship on an island, with powerful heavy guns designed to engage heavily armored warships is quite fascinating. The only "battleship" ever built by the U.S. Army! Irresistible subject for me.
My grandfather served on the renown, he worked In the boiler rooms. It must of been terrifying down in the lower decks, not knowing what was going on. Sadly he died very young in a lorry accident shortly after the war.
I recall a story of a naval surgeon who was also something of a mathematician. According to his estimates, the Renown would start planing once her speed reached 86 knots!
Q & A I'm a little late to the game, but I was just watching your Drydock episode 07, and you mentioned you were an engineer. I'm a mechanical engineering student myself, and I just wanted to say you did a nice job of explaining the boiler situation. Based on your explanation, it sounds like you are a mechanical engineer, and I was curious if this was the case. Whether you are a mechanical engineer or not, I am curious what your area of specialization is, ie thermofluids, design, etc for example if you are a mechanical engineer, soils, structural analysis for a civil engineer and so on. Likewise I hope I was able to articulate this properly, and I just wanted to say I really enjoy your content, and look forward to your seeing future content.
I really enjoy your videos, especially since you scuttled the robot voice. I was just wondering, given your knowledge and expertise, if you have naval service in your resume.
Personally, I do not unfortunately, however, I know several people who are close friends who have been/are in the navy, and a family history of naval (and other) millitary service.
These are great and very interest docs Drachinfel but I hate the endings, always sad, the breaking up these great ladies after such fine service always breaks my heart, I know im a sad old bastard, but im an English sad old Bastard and proud of it!
With her pleasing lines, double stacks and he new super structure the Renown is my favorite battleship design. It is a pity she could not deal with the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at the time. It would have save a lot of humiliation later.
Renown by herself against S & G together is a fight of 1 against 2 of equal firepower, but with the S & G being the more resilient ships. That fight, had it gone on, and been fought in clearer conditions, would not have gone well for Renown.
@@David-vi4ne Thank you. Consider that while S & G's guns fired much lighter shells, they had 18 guns versus 6 on Renown, and S & G's guns could fire at a rate almost double that of Renown's 15 inchers. Plus, S & G had far more and better arranged armour than Renown did.
The Russians renamed Royal Soveriegn and handed it back with the main shells rusted in firing position, which kind of reminds one of their jittery fleet firing at trawlers thinking them a Japanese battle fleet, but of course this is not serious history, the Russians probably wanted to honour Squire Rust.
@@Andrei613 I'm well aware. Thanks for the link. We needed more people like Drach to teach people what the RCN actually had instead of forgetting about it. That is why I said it a year ago.
The Stevens Battery. You said you were going to do episode on this. I thought you were going on with the ironclad series you started, as this would fit well there.
@@ArcticuKitsu Not a long career. Four and a half years in the 1940s, and five years in the 1950s. That's her total active time not laid up in reserve. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Uganda_(66)
My father was serving on the Renown before war broke out and served on her throughout WWII.. I have a book of his technical drawings. I'm still not sure what I should do with it. I didn't know about operation Torch so I'll have a look at that..
My father served on Renown as Fleet Signals Officer to the Pacific Fleet in 1944/5, prior to that he was Flotilla signals officer to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla until the sinking of his ship (HMS Kelly) off Crete on 23/05/1941. You have done many excellent discourses on Naval ships but not the J/K class, the most modern destroyers on the outbreak of war, could you do a program on them?
Not so sure an improved Anti Aircraft armament would have made much difference when Repulse was lost ... PoW was much better equipped with AA but still succumbed to Japanese air attack.
The Anti-Air armament would have made a huge difference for both if it was functioning properly, unfortunately the tropical weather had done their radars and cordite no favors so there was no ability to repeat their good performance in the Med. When this is combined with the fact that their planned carrier escort, HMS Indominable, had run aground and the alternative HMS Hermes was considered too slow you get a mix of supreme misfortune and reckless rush that doomed Force Z.
@@AmurTiger Hermes had a maximum capacity of 15 aircraft. Even if those had been all fighters, that would not have been anywhere near enough to defend Force Z.
Prince of Wales and Repulse were supposed to have a carrier with them - but it ran aground ... didn't make the trip and wasn't replaced. So - the ships were dependent on Land Based Air - and that just never seems to work - does it? en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Indomitable_(92) .
My grandfather was on HMS Renown & HMS Repulse in WW2. He died in the 1990s but left behind so much memorabilia of both ships. Does anyone know of any museum who would like some/all of it?
My grandfather went through two world wars, had at least three ships sunk under him and a cold stay in Narvic when the ship he was on was so damaged that they ran it aground so it could still fireits guns. He served on Q ships and so many others that i cannot remember them all. He had a wooden box called a ditty box in which were all his medals and service records, he was gazzetted three times and had some really outstanding medal which my mother agreed to let the war museum have to put on show, that is all but four which were willed to me. I served in the navy but only went to two active service times one on Cyprus and then in Aden but nothing like the sort of conflict my grandfather saw. It might be worth your while taliking the the war museum.
My great grandfather, a British navel engineer, designed the Renowned and the repulse. My great grandmother christened both ships - I have one of the diamond pendants presented to her by the king for this task.
That’s awesome
Amazing. Thank you for sharing. Renown is one of my all time favorite ships. The original design had such virtues that it lent itself well to modernization, and in her final form HMS Renown was a fine ship that served with distinction in WW II.
Your grandfather designed belly buttons?
Your great-grandfather was Eustace Tennyson-D'Eyncourt?
@@garyhill2740Die Renown war das Schiff vor dem die beiden hochgejubelten Schlachtschiffe Gneisenau und Scharnhorst den Schwanz eingezogen haben.
My father Patrick O'Hare survived the sinking of HMS Repulse. He was an AB with his action station in the 30ft rangefinder. Being above deck probably saved his life although getting the armoured door open as the ship listed was nearly impossible. He spent 2 hours in the sea before being rescued by HMAS Elektra. He escaped Singapore before the surrender and served on MGB 659 in the Mediterranean until the end of the war. He passed over the bar in 2019 aged 96
R.I.P Patrick. Thank you for your naval service.
@@mastermariner7813 Thanks Tim Yesterday the 10th December was the 79th anniversary of the sinking of HMS Repulse. RIP to all who were lost on that day
My dad was a radio operator on the Renown but only in the North Sea. He contracted TB and was invalided out of the Navy and sent home.
Fair winds and calm seas Patrick.
The Greatest Generation was just unstoppable.
1. I truly believe that these two battlecruisers are among the most beautiful warships ever build;
2. After this video, I understand why they had nicknames "Rebuild" and "Renovation".
Imagine if the Hood survived and received a modernisation similar to the Renown's. Oh, well. One can dream.
A lot of ships spent a lot of time undergoing refits and repairs. Look at the history of the Warspite. Others also had numerous upgrade's and spent time in docks.
@@andrewclayton4181 Yes but warspite needed it after mooning the entire German fleet
Repair and Refit.
Ironic that the Royal Navy had some of the most beautiful ships afloat and at the same time had Nelson and Rodney.
A BATTLECRUISER for a royal yacht... The perks of the Empire lol...
I think your simple mind took that term too literally. But that's what happens to a generation of people who refuse to read history.
SuperSix Delta
Don’t be such a 🔔🔚
In case you didn’t know, the Japanese Kongo-Class Battlecruiser Hiei became Emperor Hirohito’s personal yacht in the 1930’s to prevent her from being scrapped as per the terms of the Washington Naval Treaty.
I wish that was my royal yacht
@@firefightergoggie I think they were just new to the term and hadn't heard it used before
Excellent video. I am from Uruguay, 85. Wish to add that the German pocket battleship Graf Spee was scuttled by her crew off Montevideo on Dec 17, 1939, the very day of my first birthday.
She had battled the British cruisers HMS Exeter, Ajax, and Achilles on Dec 13. (Battle of the River Plate). Needless to say, nobody was at home but my mother and I ; crowds had gathered on the coast to watch the outcome, including my father.
Soy australiano, pero vivo en BsAs. Langsdorff está enterrado en el cementerio de chacarita, no muy lejos. Siempre queria ver su tumba.
The Hood was often referred to as 'The Most Beautiful Warship in the World'. Actually these two looked much more sleek and balanced.
Pre refit Warspite was a looker but Vanguard just edges her.
@@PeteCourtier Warspite after her refit is beautiful.
@@samuel10125 I know😀 She looked more purposeful with the massive new superstructure but her original form looks nicer. Awesome ship.
The bows look too low. Crying out for an Atlantic bow.
@@PeteCourtier not a fan of vanguard
“ decommissioned and scrapped” it saddens me for a few moments every time I hear that. I know they can’t all be museum ships but it just doesn’t seem like a fitting way to go😞
Yep this ship or the Warspite or both should have been museum ships
Agreed, but the island of Britain would grow bigger at the edges, then rust away because we cannot afford the paint.
Don't remind me, it is very sad. I could cry about what they did to Warspite after all the service she gave.
Guess they can't just put it within a land warehouse or something like that lol
My uncle served on the Renown, one of his anecdotes was of being shelled by the Sharnhorst on his 18th birthday he also lost a good mate on operation Torch.
My dad severed on this ship during the 2nd world war as a radio operator in the North Sea, but contracted TB and was invalided out of the navy and sent home.
My grt uncle was a petty officer on renown served in the war I have photos an medals we are so proud
@@christrinder1255 My Dad was also on the Renown, he was also a radio operator. He listened to morse code and could touch type the messages. I wonder if they knew each other?
My Grandfather served as Chief Petty officer aboard HMS Renown,serving as head chef.My Grandmother told me he organised a meal for Winston Churchill and was congratulated personally by him afterwards.
Renown and Repulse are the most beautiful battlecruisers I've ever seen. Purposeful and cleanly executed.
I'll take one as a private yacht. Thanks!
I think these ships are absolutely beautiful, particularly before their rebuilds
Yes but I think it need one more turret.
@@yakumoyukari4405 Why? 4 turrets and 8 15" guns was plenty of firepower.
@@magisterrleth3129 excuse me ? They had 3 turrets and 6 15" Mark I
@@yakumoyukari4405 Pardon me, I was thinking of the Revenge, and since it's name started with R, I always thought they were the same class. I commented before watching the video and forgot about it.
@@yakumoyukari4405 But still, when you're playing around with 15" guns, as long as you can hit the target, that'll do. An extra turret wouldn't make the fire directors any better.
Thank the Fates for the British Shipyards and their lovely children! And Drachinifel for bringing their memories to life.
What is interesting is that the RAF fighter commander in Singapore had organised full fighter cover for the Repulse and Prince of Wales in their mission where they were sunk. It may have only been Brewster Buffalos, but against unescorted high level bombers, they would have had a field day. But the Navy never informed the RAF that the ships had sailed, and so they were sunk.
As the US military learned, Brewster Buffaloes should never have been in combat with Japanese Zeros.
@@rutabagasteu That's not true. It's not like they had an easy time of it - but their reputation was worse than they deserved. Their real problem was poor tactics on the part of their pilots for fighting Zeros and being heavily outnumbered. In any case - they were certainly better than nothing - and were more than good enough to do some serious damage to the bombers the Japanese were using against these two ships.
.
rutabagasteu better than nothing tbh.
The loss of Repulse and Prince or Wales was a result of the Navy's lack of understanding that the age of naval air power had arrived. There was a belief in the statement "no capital ship under way, has ever been sunk by aircraft attack", true up to that point but badly out of date. The Royal Navy simply had not moved with the times and been left behind in thinking, still believing that big guns were the deciding factor in war at sea.
Tango6nf that simply isn’t true, the Royal navy was well aware of the threat of naval air power, which was why they had the most carriers in the entire world at the time. The Admiralty had explicitly warned Churchill against the idea of sending two capital ships to Singapore because they knew two capital ships without air cover would be sitting ducks. The Royal navy had itself been explicitly preparing to use carriers extensively in surface actions since the 1920’s, they had the first purpose-built aircraft carrier design(the Japanese launched theirs faster but the Brits designed it first), they had a developed doctrine of strike carriers, battle carriers, and escort carriers, they developed carrier fighter direction techniques such that British CAPs were more efficient than any other navy, they had trained extensively in night actions with aircraft, they carried out the first significant carrier strike on enemy ships in port with the Taranto raid, etc, etc. The loss of Prince of Wales and Repulse lies largely at the feet of Churchill who should not have interfered in naval matters.
Love your videos but the 8th Revenge class battleship would have been HMS Resistance not Resolution. HMS Resolution was completed and served in both World Wars. Small point but your videos are usually so accurate.
I appreciate these uploads they give comprehensive data and information on these ships from another age which protected Britain for over 300 years
My grandad Horace Winchester was a boy seaman aged 17 on HMS Renown when it was in Malta.
Ive always liked the Renown & Repulse. Their very smart looking ships.
Totally agree. Great speed for their times as well.
Same
The Renown was Churchill's favourite ship.
Always had a soft spot for Renown ever since I was a boy. Can't quite put my finger on why. Just a great looking ship.
Jeez, they stuck AA anywhere it would fit as time went on. You can see the threat of planes getting serious as more AA was put on. 100 orlikons (so) is a serious upgrade.
Renown just soldiered on through six years of war, getting the job done all over the world.
Decommissioned and scrapped! So sad to hear that. She served her best but doomed to be tear apart.
The one ship aside from Queen Elizabeth/Warspite that should most definitely have been saved as s museum ship. Both classes being serving both world wars.
The Renown had the speed and roomy hull to serve as fleet flagships or mount new experimental systems. Though crew size was an issue, new technology such as automation and reducing the AA suite should have reduced her manpower requirements. But alas, the UK was flat broke
I think one of Renown's 15 inch guns is mounted outside The Imperial War Museum
@@peterbrazier7107 Almost, from memory it is from an R Class battleship - same 15" gun. I think it is Revenge?
British Navy 101: Did the ship do famous things? Who cares?! Scrap it!
@@AugustGreen_ And here we Americans are, with all the money in the world, with 3 fast battleships still in good condition, and the only dreadnought still afloat in the world in the form of the mighty USS Texas. Hell, we're so sentimental, we couldn't even bring ourselves to let go of the wreckage of the Arizona.
That photo of Renown at 4:15 shows her tied up at Princess Wharf, Auckland, NZ. That little Tudor style shelter is still there.
awesome
Yes, its where you buy your ferry tickets to go down to Waiheke Island. The landform behind is the North shore of the Waitemata Harbour, at this point not crossed by the bridge built in the 1950s.
I've also seen photos of HMS Hood tied up on Princes Wharf too, possible during the same tour. Looking at the wharf now gives a good indication of how huge these ships were.
Thanks for that, I was wondering where that was.
I luv, luv, luv, your series on the ships of the REAL NAVY. Thank you so much for all your research and hard work!!!
i think my grandpa was a stokesman on HMS renown, but I’ll have to check with my granddad. I never got to meet my grandpa myself, but my granddad tells me stories that he was told as a child. he told me they used to bake potatoes down in the engines (or the part where you put coal into the ships to keep them going) on the pipes, seeing as they were hot enough for that. along with that, i have original newspapers, ration cards, and national identity cards, belonging to my grandpa. we also have his dog tag, with his name on it, but the irony is, his name was spelt wrong. i mean, the middle of a war, and they spelt his name wrong, lol. my grandma also worked making bombs and in the factories. A story i was told about her, was she was supposed to go to work, but my great grandma, (her mother) convinced her to stay home. my great grandma saved her life, seeing as while she was having lunch, the factory was bombed. i will always love the wartime, and will always respect all soldiers that fought, and all lives that were lost, wether they were on the allied side or not. thank you for sharing the stories of these amazing ships! much love, stay safe. (EDIT) Just checked, he was on renown! he luckily survived everything!
There are some beautiful shots of Renown and Hood in Fremantle harbour part of their world cruise along with a number of light cruisers.
I played multiple scenarios of the Renown-class versus all of the "battlecruiser" derivatives in the old SSI game- "Fighting Steel" (up to and including the last mod version 10.09). The Renown consistently performed well by comparison. It seems that it really was the perfect balance of speed, protection and firepower..................................
Another interesting informative vid, thanks ;).
Just bought a spoon that was sold onboard....rare item....I really like this ship class not sure why but always did,
I have a original ashtray from Renowned battleship
The frame at 3:39 is HMS REPULSE on the World Tour with HMS HOOD.. She is inbound to Vancouver harbour, passing between Stanley Park (Vancouver side) and West Vancouver (opposite shoreline) and the mouth of the Capilano River.. Well before our any bridge crossing over (Lions Gate Bridge in 1937/38) My Grandfather was British Columbia Provincial Police in those days and he was part of the security at that time.. He also got a few pictures as a 25yr old novice photographer..
My grandfather was a in Gun A and then a sticker after it's accident.... He fought in the far East and then left the Navy in 1948 after serving since 1936.. he love the Battlecruiser Renown... And wore a cap with it's ensign his whole life..
Oh I cracking up --- just yesterday I finally caved in and watched the older post with robot voice... aarrrgh!
The picture of her art 3:38, was on the tour with HMS Hood, as she was entering what is known here as the first narrows.. The Capilano River mouth is on the opposite side and the small cottage Municipality of West Vancouver which in years to come, would become the most expensive real estate in Canada. My later grandfather also took pictures and was with the British Columbia Police Force, which had the duty security for their visit..
Thanks, one question though:
The book "Battle-cruisers: A History 1908-1948" the author (Ronald Bassett) writes that Renown and Repulse didn't receive their thicker main belt until well after the Great War.
Quote:
"Renown and Repulse joined the Grand Fleet for working up in September 1916, and met critical eyes as they steamed into Scapa Flow. Their armour had been based on the scale provided for Indefatigable, and everyone knew what had happened to her. Along the entire length of the of each new battle-cruiser were two uninterrupted rows of scuttles, which meant hull almost devoid of protection; above a 6-inch belt that extended only 26 inches below the waterline, the sides were of merely 1½-inch plating. These two ships, well gunned, fast, and outstandingly beautiful were 'tin cans'.
It was an assessment not ignored by Jellicoe. In October he recommended heavier deck protection for the crowns of the magazines and over the engine-rooms. This reinforcement was carried out at Rosyth - adding 500 tons to their tonnage calculated at design stage - before they were allocated to Beatty's Battle-Cruiser Force. Nothing however, could be done about that paultry side-armour."
After the war:
"In May 1923 a refit costing £979,927 increased Renown's armoured belt from six to nine inches, using steel plates taken from the battleship Amirante Cochrane, initially intended for Chile. Magazine protection was strengthened, and concession to the crew included Petty Officers and Chief Petty Officers improved by cushioned seats. Garden seats from reading rooms placed in men's smoking place and cinema house."
"Renown resumed less regal activities in home waters in 1928, but eight years later was subjected to another refit which amounted another major refit which amounted almost to a rebuild from the bare hull. It cost £3,088,008, or only £30,000 less than her cost of her construction, but when she steamed out she was to all intents and purposes a new warship, well protected, re-engined and fast, achieving 29.93 knots in post-refit trials.
Neither her sister Repulse nor Hood would enjoy such a lavish expenditure.
Following an armour-strengthening refit in 1918-20 (costing £860,684 and also utilising steel from the converted Almirante Cochrane), Repulse joined Hood in visiting Rio de Janeiro for the Brazilian centenary celebrations".
This opens up a few question marks; while I find his book be excellent sources of information and generally extremely accurate, I don't doubt that the ships had their side-armour replaced and improved after the war; I just find it debatable if Admiral Cochrane could be the sole "donor" for both ships, especially since Admiral Cochrane was a shorter ship than both.
And I don't think they used soft steel from Admiral Cochrane and bundled it together, it must have been armour belt.
I think evidence is clear looking at pictures and also the source of Ensign series of books the upgrade was done inter-war period, I think Admiral Cochrane wasn't the only donor, in fact several of the battleships taken over from South American and Turkish navy had a similar 9-inch belt, so it might have been one of them as many were scrapped post Washington Treaty.
Would you agree that is more likely?
Hello, you are correct about the timing of the belt refit. Unfortunately given the need for brevity I had to incorporate the collective half-dozen or so refits between launch and the early '20's into a couple of sentences.
With regards to the donor material, Cochranes total 9 inch coverage is less that the total area of the two Renown's 9 inch coverage, so combined with the different hull forms I suspect they used the midships belt material for Cochrane and supplemented with new and/or recycled materials towards the ends. So by surface area Cochrane was probably the primary donor, but not solely responsible.
@@Drachinifel If we only had the time and the shell expansion drawing for all ships to compare and see where the shapes fit, that would be something of a task... ;)
My Great Uncle Lieu, (llewellyn Scillitoe) was a commissioned gunner on HMS Renown from 1939 - 1941 and was on her in the SA in the hunt for the Admiral Graf Spee. He was also on her in the North Sea in the action of early Apr 1940 off the Lofoten Islands, Norway and was awarded an MBE. He later went on to serve on HMS Duke of York and was a Lieutenant Gunnery Officer on her which engaged the KMS Scharnhorst which resulted in her sinking. If you are remotely interested in the history and actions these capital ships took part in you should search out their relative war diary logs which are accessible on the web.
Thank you for sharing.🙂🙂
My Star Trek Online fleet has a USS Renown, a Tier 6-X Inquiry Class Battlecruiser, similar to the Zheng He from Star Trek Picard. Fitting name for the fastest, toughest ships Starfleet ever built. Love the Royal Navy ships of WW1 and WW2. Proud vessels with proud histories.
This is a request to cover HMS Ark Royal in WW2.
Will do, it's on the list
The whole thing boiled down to money. Postwar conditions in Britain were quite Spartan with the government straining due to returned veterans, lost colonies, food shortages, etc. It's fortunate that the HMS Belfast was saved. It is also much to the credit of the people that they managed to pull themselves up by the bootstraps.
@@scottlange9544 What does that have to do with the WW2 carrier Ark Royal, as she was sunk in late 1941 ?
Thanks for the video! Again tho it’s a crying shame the Brits don’t have a heavy unit preserved as a museum. IMHO, Renown would have been a fine choice since she wasn’t, to the best of my knowledge, seriously damaged during WW2 like Warspite. And she’s such a beautiful ship...as was Churchill’s hobbyhorse HMS Vanguard.
Oh well, we have a lot of naval museums in the states. Battleship Cove in Massachusetts is on my bucket list because in addition to USS Massachusetts there’s a plethora of smaller ships...even an East German corvette if I remember correctly.
Thanks for this 👍
I'd love to see Renown in World of Warships
WoWs has been taking too long to add so many fine ships. Rather adding the fake Russian navy
I would like to see more historical battlecruisers and I think Renown would be a good candidate. Tier 6 perhaps? Repulse at tier 5? I especially love the look of those ships before the rebuilds.
@@Nexus1356 Renown at T9 doesn't make much sense. In terms of armament, it's comparable to the Gneisenau (both have six 15-inch guns in three double turrets). In terms of armor, it's somewhere in between the Kongo and the Hood. If you want my best guess, I would probably place the Renown at either T6 or T7.
@@NewtypeCommander gneisenau had nine 11 inch in the triples. 15 inch upgrade was cancelled due to war.
How about Repulse?
English Admiral: Check out our slick boat!
American Admiral: Needs more guns.
Thank you Mr. Peabody.
My all time favourite ship.
A beautiful class of BC....
Love your work, can you please do a clip for the destroyer HMS Impulsive my grandfather served on in the Arctic Convoys? Thanks
An interesting comparison at the end there.
These are some of my favourite ships
my grandfather served on the renown up until 1941 , he was in gunnery. i think he spent time in the med on her . he went on to serve in hms Welshman , on convoys in med , then hms Abercrombie at the salerno landings ......... he was one tough hard man .
Please can you produce a guide for Hms Manxman and Welshman too. My father sailed on the former and was impressed by her. Thank you.
Damn, but the Brit's built some great ships. And when they occasionally didn't, they learned, fixed problems, refitted ships, and incorporated that knowledge into new designs. The Royal Navy was and is a paramount example of naval excellence.
This American loves the Royal Navy and Marines. No other force works so closely and well with our navy.
The new Queen Elizabeth carrier is impressive and modern. It is a thing of beauty and lethal efficiency. I miss the old Invincible of the 1980's, but the new carrier is orders of magnitude more advanced.
Yesss! Britannia is getting back into it! We (ANZUS) need the UK in the Pacific. I am also glad that there are US Marine f-35's on board, working and risking shoulder to shoulder in the pursuit of common goals.
Well... I served on the USS Constellation and the USS Coral Sea during the Vietnam War.
My dad served on the USS Coral Sea and USS Essex during Korea, but they were based in the Med.
Jackie Fisher’s battle cruisers were the most beautiful ships
Small comfort after it's just blown up with you on it.
@@Makeyourselfbig If they were used for their intended purpose and also if they maintained fireproof integrity during action they could have survived. Leaving powder bags lying about to speed gunnery operations made these battlecruisers into giant bombs.
@@ONECOUNT Coulda, woulda, shoulda.
didn’t
But, they were also really stupid designs. 'Speed is armour'. No, an incoming shell is a LOT faster than any battlecruiser. And, the exceptionally stupid triple 4 inch mounts that this class and the two Courageous class had inflicted on them were utter garbage. That Repulse still had three of those absurd mounts on board when she went down says a lot about how poorly the RN updated even their major ships.
I got a pleasant surprise to see my home town Auckland at 4:14
My great grand father spent most of his time during the second world war upon renown as an AB
The only thing that was not scrapped was Renowns bell which was mounted in an ornate frame and used to to summon all to grace before and after a meal in my old school.
a very elegant design line!
Good old Refit and Repair
I have a great love for the HMS Repulse, as it was the first model ship I built. I fell in love with the aesthetic of the design, and the idea of a Battle Cruiser. Also love her ill-starred partner, HMS Prince of Wales. Just the opinion of a Pleb but, their end was not only a tragedy for the loss of life, but also how it went down. It really seems like who ever called the shots on sending them, knowingly sent them to their deaths. I gotta figure that Admiral Phillips, along with Captains Leach and Tennant, plus the Destroyer Commanders had to feel the same as Admiral Doorman would feel at the Java Sea...."There is little to no chance for survival, let alone victory". But he, and every Man in that little Fleet just did the best they could with what they had, and maybe get a lucky few hits and slow them down.
Again, I know Jack and shit, and Jack left town, but I would have taken the Hermes along....crawling along so an old timer of a Carrier, seems wiser then to have no air cover at all. Any archaic airplane that could still fly, and could be of even minimal use, give it to the task force. But I of course must yield to the hindsight law. Reading after battle reports of engagements that occurred years ago, gives one insight into a battle that none of the Commanders could see at the time.
They where supposed to have an aircraft carrier, but it ran aground so they had none.
Certainly Capt Leach was under no illusions; seen an interview with one of his children who confirmed this sentiment.
I think also the problem was, despite Pearl Harbour and the Brits' own Taranto attack, there was a feeling that attacking a capital ship at see defending itself was no simple matter at all. The ease of coordinating ground based air cover was also overestimated, and that's before we consider the considerable problems of inter-service comms that plagued the Brits (consider the 'Channel Dash' as a wonderful later illustration of the issue).
All in all very sad. Churchill also must bear considerable responsibility, as the Admiralty was not at all in favour of sending both ships to Singapore but got overruled.
They were sent to Indonesia before war with Japan broke out. They were intended as a deterrent. Combined with the 8 battleship fleet of the USA they would have seemed overwhelming in a traditional naval conflict. The Japanese had different ideas however. When they sailed to intercept Japanese forces invading indonesia, the admiral did not want the RAF to provide cover because he was hoping for surprise. Even though the RAF forces were weak and equipped with an inferior fighter, intercepting the attacking twin engine bombers may have disrupted the attack sufficiently to where one or both ships could have survived.
Let's not forget too that Japan, starting in the 1920s and very much in the 1930s stopped sharing military information on their latest warship and warplane technology. Their secrecy was so successful the British weren't even sure if they could build their own monoplanes or not (For warships it was a little harder to hide their tech since you know.,.. the British did build the Kongos for them and Japan still had to import some ship parts but they could build their warplanes from scratch in Japanese factories).
Until the Dec.07th surprise attacks some still thought they might be fighting Japanese biplanes. The Chinese told them that Japanese planes were very good, but the Chinese air force was poorly trained, and constantly losing, so their reports were ignored because everyone thought the Chinese were saying this to save face.
There was tremendous racism against Asia at the time. It was felt Japan was an inferior futal society with little to no technical capability. 1941 was a huge awakening. Japan however still never had a real chance, technology was good, but the industry could never keep up.
Had a British carrier been present, it would have been priority 1 and easily destroyed. The two gunned ships may have survived for a little while, but the royal navy would never survive in the far East, their aviation was by far the worst of the 3 real naval powers of the war. Once British decks were full of American planes they caught up.
Renown..."the tinclad that became an Ironclad". She was a handsome ship with that tower bridge.
As for her run in with the Scharnhorst & Gneisnau (sorry for the bad spelling...long day at work today!) Her Captain never hesitated to attack! I heard a quip about this action as, "Renown...the mouse that roared". Don't know if that is true, but it's amusing.
Too bad she wasn't escorting Glorious when they pounced on her. That's a role she would've excelled at! Especially after that heavy AA refit! (In war games, that's how I always use Renown, Repulse, & Hood. They're perfect for the job!)
And that reduction in draught despite an additional 4,500 tons, damn clever those orientals
I for one would enjoy seeing a more in depth comparison of HMS Renown and a Kongo, say Haruna, as modernized. It is interesting that while Japan reclassified their modernized battlecruisers as battleships, the Royal Navy retained the designation of battlecruiser for Renown. While she did indeed have a belt lighter than some of the newest battleships, the overall qualities of her armor as modernized does give the argument for her being a fast battleship some merit. With both Renown and Haruna being ships of British design and both being commissioned within a year and a half of one another.....and both being modernized and fighting throughout WW II in many major battles throughout the war...I think they make a interesting study for comparison.
Not a ship per se, but I would enjoy an examination of the American "concrete battleship" Fort Drum.
In particular, I have always wanted to know more about Drum's guns. Some sources list it's 14" AP shells as 1200 lbs rounds, some say 1650 lbs AP. This would make a big difference in just how dangerous those guns were to modern warships.
An Army fortification built in the shape of a battleship on an island, with powerful heavy guns designed to engage heavily armored warships is quite fascinating. The only "battleship" ever built by the U.S. Army! Irresistible subject for me.
My grandfather served on the renown, he worked In the boiler rooms. It must of been terrifying down in the lower decks, not knowing what was going on. Sadly he died very young in a lorry accident shortly after the war.
I recall a story of a naval surgeon who was also something of a mathematician. According to his estimates, the Renown would start planing once her speed reached 86 knots!
hey man love your vids,but coud you do some longer vids, thx m8
Still remember finding out about the Repulse and it's British ascent captain in battlestations midway.....only for it to sink >_>
Q & A
I'm a little late to the game, but I was just watching your Drydock episode 07, and you mentioned you were an engineer. I'm a mechanical engineering student myself, and I just wanted to say you did a nice job of explaining the boiler situation. Based on your explanation, it sounds like you are a mechanical engineer, and I was curious if this was the case. Whether you are a mechanical engineer or not, I am curious what your area of specialization is, ie thermofluids, design, etc for example if you are a mechanical engineer, soils, structural analysis for a civil engineer and so on. Likewise I hope I was able to articulate this properly, and I just wanted to say I really enjoy your content, and look forward to your seeing future content.
I really enjoy your videos, especially since you scuttled the robot voice. I was just wondering, given your knowledge and expertise, if you have naval service in your resume.
Personally, I do not unfortunately, however, I know several people who are close friends who have been/are in the navy, and a family history of naval (and other) millitary service.
These are great and very interest docs Drachinfel but I hate the endings, always sad, the breaking up these great ladies after such fine service always breaks my heart, I know im a sad old bastard, but im an English sad old Bastard and proud of it!
With her pleasing lines, double stacks and he new super structure the Renown is my favorite battleship design. It is a pity she could not deal with the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau at the time. It would have save a lot of humiliation later.
Renown by herself against S & G together is a fight of 1 against 2 of equal firepower, but with the S & G being the more resilient ships. That fight, had it gone on, and been fought in clearer conditions, would not have gone well for Renown.
@@Andrei613 i think you have a good point there.
@@David-vi4ne Thank you. Consider that while S & G's guns fired much lighter shells, they had 18 guns versus 6 on Renown, and S & G's guns could fire at a rate almost double that of Renown's 15 inchers. Plus, S & G had far more and better arranged armour than Renown did.
The eighth Revenge-class was to have been called Resistance.
The Russians renamed Royal Soveriegn and handed it back with the main shells rusted in firing position, which kind of reminds one of their jittery fleet firing at trawlers thinking them a Japanese battle fleet, but of course this is not serious history, the Russians probably wanted to honour Squire Rust.
3:39 is the 1st narrows in Vancouver BC
Great Video. Is there any chance of doing an Imperial Japanese Aircraft Carrier in the future? Perhaps Akagi or Kaga?
Sure :)
@@Drachinifel Thanks!
If I may, would it be possible to do a video on the H.M.S. Victoria and the questionable maneuver that led to her loss. Thanks
I honestly hope HMCS Uganda is on the list somewhere. She had a nice fair career which I would love to learn more about.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Uganda_(66)
@@Andrei613 I'm well aware. Thanks for the link. We needed more people like Drach to teach people what the RCN actually had instead of forgetting about it. That is why I said it a year ago.
The Stevens Battery. You said you were going to do episode on this. I thought you were going on with the ironclad series you started, as this would fit well there.
Nobody:
Renown and Repulse: Ight ima get a repair and refit.
HMCS Bonaventure? I’d love to see a full breakdown of her career
I believe she is on the list.
I shall keep my ears open
HMCS Uganda? She had a fair career. I hope HMCS Uganda is on there, unless I missed it.
@@ArcticuKitsu Not a long career. Four and a half years in the 1940s, and five years in the 1950s. That's her total active time not laid up in reserve. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Uganda_(66)
My father was serving on the Renown before war broke out and served on her throughout WWII.. I have a book of his technical drawings. I'm still not sure what I should do with it. I didn't know about operation Torch so I'll have a look at that..
A very useful ship done her bit inWW2 and that's all the thanks she gets scrapped should have been preserved with KGV and the other like warspite ect.
This was the Everton version to our Liverpool Crafts..
Like the human voice nice touch 👍
My father served on Renown as Fleet Signals Officer to the Pacific Fleet in 1944/5, prior to that he was Flotilla signals officer to the 5th Destroyer Flotilla until the sinking of his ship (HMS Kelly) off Crete on 23/05/1941. You have done many excellent discourses on Naval ships but not the J/K class, the most modern destroyers on the outbreak of war, could you do a program on them?
Handsome ships.
Can you do if you have not already have done, Do the Kongo class Japanese Battle Cruiser class and the Fuso class!
7:54 Looks like one of the Carley Floats was randomly launched into the air.
My grandfather/pop was stationed on the renowned
Mine too,what did he do?Mine was Chief Petty Officer, in the galley.
What are the various turning circles of Royal Navy Ships through the steel hulled ages to modern day ,please
Not so sure an improved Anti Aircraft armament would have made much difference when Repulse was lost ... PoW was much better equipped with AA but still succumbed to Japanese air attack.
The Anti-Air armament would have made a huge difference for both if it was functioning properly, unfortunately the tropical weather had done their radars and cordite no favors so there was no ability to repeat their good performance in the Med.
When this is combined with the fact that their planned carrier escort, HMS Indominable, had run aground and the alternative HMS Hermes was considered too slow you get a mix of supreme misfortune and reckless rush that doomed Force Z.
@@AmurTiger Hermes had a maximum capacity of 15 aircraft. Even if those had been all fighters, that would not have been anywhere near enough to defend Force Z.
HMS Vesper
According to my Grandad got about a bit 😃
The photo at 5:43 with the awnings makes it look like a houseboat.
Prince of Wales and Repulse were supposed to have a carrier with them - but it ran aground ... didn't make the trip and wasn't replaced. So - the ships were dependent on Land Based Air - and that just never seems to work - does it?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HMS_Indomitable_(92)
.
A&A. When did the practice of paying prize money for capturing enemy ships stop? , Thanks.
it hasn't, technically, also its REALLY hard to capture ships nowadays
04:29 that is a paddlewheeler pulling away isn't it...although it has a pretty frothy stern wake...
Do you have the link at 8:48 seconds of the full armement of the renown as wiki is not showing its final form !
I still think that when the thought of building vanguard with the guns from R class should have been updated renowns in their final form.....
One of a few British ships that should of been saved, plus also the last of the British battle cruisers
My grandfather was on HMS Renown & HMS Repulse in WW2. He died in the 1990s but left behind so much memorabilia of both ships. Does anyone know of any museum who would like some/all of it?
The National Maritime Museum or Portsmouth Historic Dockyard would be the first ports of call IMO
My grandfather went through two world wars, had at least three ships sunk under him and a cold stay in Narvic when the ship he was on was so damaged that they ran it aground so it could still fireits guns.
He served on Q ships and so many others that i cannot remember them all.
He had a wooden box called a ditty box in which were all his medals and service records, he was gazzetted three times and had some really outstanding medal which my mother agreed to let the war museum have to put on show, that is all but four which were willed to me.
I served in the navy but only went to two active service times one on Cyprus and then in Aden but nothing like the sort of conflict my grandfather saw.
It might be worth your while taliking the the war museum.
Would you please add the following to your "5 minutes": USS Colorado, USS Denver, and USS Connecticut. Thanks
Coloradoan
If you could squeeze in HMS FEARLESS L10 she’s got a bit of a story
Looks like a lot of firepower good for smaller prey
Good