A Short History of Ships Cats - Floating Felines, Maritime Moggies and Kleptomaniac Kittens

[@jamespocelinko104]

"Abandon ship! Women and children first!" "But sir, this is a warship." "I was talking about Mitzy and her kittens."

[@silentassasin0575]

Bahaha we got a winner here

[@sillypuppy5940]

What a cat-astrophe!

[@Archangelglenn]

Okay that one had me laughing my ass off. *hits the like button while suitably still chuckling*

[@peppermintcatsass3141]

...stop Pussyfooting around & save the Meow meows!!

[@JENKEM1000]

Even if human women are present, kick them out of the lifeboat to make room for kitty. Priorities!

[@Wachtel0889]

"The black cat had apparently zero interest or terror of gunfire, apparently his favorite activity was to walk on top of the forward 12-inch turret when the gun was being fired." *I need this cat*

[@1TruNub]

Another notch in the belt of cats not giving a single fuck And frankly tired of our human bullshit

[@worldtraveler930]

I second that motion!!! 🤠👍

[@secretbaguette]

You gotta imagine though it's probably deaf as shit, whether it started that way or not.

[@robertmoore6149]

My gf said "I don't want to watch some war documentary. Find me a cat video." Hehehehehehe Loophole found. Thank you Drachinifel

[@bosox2318]

SAME

[@axelmilan4292]

Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.

[@stevew6138]

Bad ass move Bro

[@mgr_video_productions]

A brilliant idea. 😂

[@robertmoore6149]

@Eric Fapton She already has seen the Tank Chat series. (The original WWI German one that flips over is her favorite) So a video on a Tiger, Panther, Leopard, and especially a Mouse is out.

[@AtomicBabel]

His Majesty's Ship Cat, Blacky Last known position, Singapore Overdue, still on patrol

[@jwoellhof]

needs more thumbs up. i love this.

[@Questknight12]

It should read "Status: Overdue Current Orders: On eternal patrol

[@Stellar001100]

This cat wasn't stationed in a sub. It also didn't return to it's command in time, so technically Blacky was UA, then AWOL.

[@AtomicBabel]

@@Stellar001100 cats are not binded by any regulations (nor anything really) of humankind 🐱. Cheers

[@Stellar001100]

@@AtomicBabel Its that kind of logic that got ship cats banned from navy vessels.

[@FurobaOA]

Captain: "Why did we stop firing our main turret?" Gunnery: "Sir, Baldric just won't decide if he wants in or out of the anti-flash door..."

[@fabianzimmermann5495]

Beatty: "Just keep the damn thing open, if he can't decide."

[@moerukaze5464]

...And that's how the Hood sunk

[@maxkennedy8075]

Fabian Zimmermann Revealed: The real reason Beatty kept the flash doors open Should have installed a catflap

[@fabianzimmermann5495]

@@maxkennedy8075 A catflap made out of steel. If it would have been out of plastic, it wouldn't have been that effective.

[@maxkennedy8075]

Fabian Zimmermann Well, Beatty wasn’t the sort of person you could describe as effective when it came to his command.

[@arsarma1808]

"A Short History" Begins with the pseudo-domestication of cats in ancient Egypt.

[@Philistine47]

* the domestication of humans by cats in ancient Egypt.

[@philperry4699]

Dogs have masters, cats have staff. They domesticate us!

[@BigPuddin]

Drachnifel's original script for this video started out on several papyrus scrolls.

[@Oscuros]

Don't let me get in the way of your American literalism, but the first ship's cats were on Egyptian boats, because they carried grain on them to keep mice and rats down? Even I know that before watching the fucking video, and given that the title of the video is about a history of ship's cats, it'd be seen as relevant, but what the fuck would I know with my history degree, we need to bow in the majesty of another yank twat wanting to comment before thinking, even when it's literally relevant to a history of ship's cats.

[@BigPuddin]

​@@Oscuros No fucking shit, Sherlock. Get out of here with your fedora wearing ass, incapable of discerning facetiousness.

[@TheScorpionStrike]

I see the Egyptians followed the Pokemon school of naming things. "What is it?" "It says 'meow'." "We'll call it that, then." :D

[@mikecimerian6913]

Egyptian priesthood had a huge cat mummification racket going ... cats joined navies to get the hell out of Egypt.

[@scottleft3672]

@@mikecimerian6913 The mummy racket extended up until Napolions invasion.

[@mikecimerian6913]

@@scottleft3672 Napoo baby, bring me a cat. Josephine my heart we are going there to conquer. Sigh, you don't have to catch it yourself. OK my sweet, I'll bring you a mummy cat. Oh Napoo I love kittens thank you my love.

[@scottleft3672]

@@mikecimerian6913 I believe it...lol....she was a dolt.

[@foradain5211]

Followed it? They founded that school!

[@arkadeepkundu4729]

RN sailors leaving India: Finally, we get our proper ship cat, she'll be our mascot. Captain of HMS Tiger: What do you mean we've had to empty a storage hold for a tiger they brought in from Bengal?

[@andrewp8284]

RIP Simon, Able Seacat Strength under fire, determination in his mission, courage in the face of the enemy rodents-a true model for all of us.

[@Questknight12]

And buried with full military honors.

[@timothybentley8644]

@@Questknight12 The only cat to receive the Dickin medal

[@alexandremagalhaes1774]

I see drach restricted himself to talking about ship’s cats else he would have to revisit the wonderful adventures of Rozhestvensky and friends.

[@mikea2363]

Ship' snake reporting for duty!

[@malusignatius]

I laughed an evil laugh at reading this.

[@OnboardG1]

Mike A well, I guess some of the animals were cats. Mostly big ones though.

[@bkjeong4302]

Or Mongo the Elephant....

[@jameson1239]

Ships crocodile reporting for duty

[@korbell1089]

So how was your cruise? Unsinkable Sam: "The cruise was great but the transfers sucked!

[@shaunpater9662]

Why you going on about ships cats the British army and dogs and other animals that we pick up in war

[@e-care-books9867]

I love jokes like that.

[@richardcooper9417]

The Santissima Trinidad, 130 guns, was taken as a prize at Trafalgar, and its crew was battened down below decks. A mighty storm blew up, and the crippled ship was drifting towards the rocks. The Spanish crew was taken off, with the exception of the ship's cat. On finding itself deserted, the cat ran out along the aftermost gun and set up such a mewling that the British sailors who were struggling to manage the rescue boat in mountainous seas went back and rescued the poor creature.

[@BleedingUranium]

That's a wonderful story :)

[@RFTL]

The Royal Navy will never regain their old glories without the service of Ship Cats.

[@flazzorb]

Yes, that's why...

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

and rum... and maybe sodomy

[@davidb6576]

@@MaxwellAerialPhotography Wot, the cat!?

[@osado77]

In the future Space Royal Navy will carry Cats

[@larrygoerke9081]

@@MaxwellAerialPhotography Don't forget "The Lash."

[@godqueenbidoof]

I read that when a cat offers you a killed prey item it's them feeding you. In short Simon was telling those sailors "You look skinny, have a snack."

[@jrdougan]

"You are the most incompetent cat I have ever met, here is some food since you can't kill it yourself."

[@gaborferenc2276]

yeah, it's like their contribution to the kitchen budget

[@Redbird-dh7mu]

I mean, it makes sense, to a cat, that is actually a gift a cat would like.

[@stevemcdonald4885]

@@jrdougan Nailed it

[@TheOneTrueDragonKing]

The US Navy may not have cats any more, but the Coast Guard does! The Coast Guard's official mascot is in fact a cat!

[@MrMattumbo]

Yet another reason Coasties are cooler

[@inyobill]

@@MrMattumbo I was going to attempt a reply, but yours is better than I would have accomplished. It would almost be worth enduring outhouses to have gotten to serve on one of the old revenue cutters, preferably west coast.

[@pgtmr2713]

@@MrMattumbo Meh, we had Tomcats. The epitome of cool cats. 4 cats to fling them off the deck too!

[@boxman9033]

huh

[@marseldagistani1989]

To US Navy ships have goats as ship mascots?

[@ATtravel666]

My grandfather served on a British WWII submarine. The boat's cat had a litter of kittens. The men cursed the kittens because they would jump from man to man playing when they were trying to sleep. But they worshiped the cats on board. A crew mate had abused a cat on board, my grandfather was a little vague about the details. The crew mate disappeared off the boat 'lost overboard'. My father worked in a South Wales coal mine. He said about the antics of the pit pony. The pony would pinch fruit from the miners' food. It would chew up apples and suck the juice through their coat pockets. A manager had to drag an old miner off a young lad who was getting a vicious beating. The old miner faced the immediate sack and when he said he had caught the lad punching the pit pony, the lad was sacked. When the mine closed there were plans to shoot the pit pony rather than go to the bother of bringing the pony to the surface. When the men found out, the manager was told that if the pit pony was harmed the manager and the shooter would be staying in the pit with the pony. The pit pony was retired to a local farm.

[@tonymakin6805]

When my father was the captain of the destroyer HMCS Columbia in the 70's they had a ships cat named Clyde who had a habit of sleeping on the radar scope.The sailors sewed him his own life jacket as he would wander along dangerous bits of the ship but he never went overboard.

[@jamesbugbee6812]

Radar scope is both nice-n-warm, and a locus of attention.

[@tonymakin6805]

@@jamesbugbee6812 More than one junior officer put his face down to the shroud only to find Clyde staring back at hlm

[@XH1927]

@@tonymakin6805 The radar sir... it appears to be... CATTED!! Only one man would dare give me the Calico... LONE STARRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

[@taraswertelecki3786]

The sailors were kind men to make him a life jacket.

[@Questknight12]

@@tonymakin6805 Or Cat-butt.

[@seventytwo1001000]

You forgot Redlead, HMAS Perth’s ships cat. Name after walking in red paint and leaving paw prints on the deck. Lost at sea when Perth was sunk during the war. The Latest HMAS Perth has red paw prints painted on the deck to commemorate this fearless felines.

[@timonsolus]

seventytwo1001000 : 😂

[@thehoff1793]

There is a book about the cat. Survived the battle. Survived the sinking. Survived Japanese imprisonment... Died at age 20...

[@frostedbutts4340]

@Sean Price Not sad at all. Feral cats absolutely devastate our endangered native species, particularly birds. Cats are great but they don't belong in the bush.

[@jamesbugbee6812]

That's a class practise.

[@jamesbugbee6812]

@@frostedbutts4340 The native species are toast anyway; nothing materially survives forever- do you see that train a-coming?

[@SpectreOZ]

Cats leaving their "successful bounties" on people's beds (or doorsteps) is said to be a gesture of appreciation/affection 👍

[@Bobby-fj8mk]

The cat is bringing food for the family.

[@SynchroScore]

Or contempt. "I see you are incapable of catching your own food. I will demonstrate."

[@nektulosnewbie]

@@SynchroScore Not contempt, but instruction.

[@SynchroScore]

@@nektulosnewbie I suppose that works also.

[@michaeldelucci4379]

My cat Maya left a dead mouse on my bed.

[@Kingpin6100]

13:45 HIGH SPEED BOARDING CAT

[@donjones4719]

The crew just found an easy way to swab out the bore.

Look at me. I am the cat-tain now. tenor.com/view/captain-phillips-tom-hanks-captain-richard-phillips-barkhad-abdi-abduwali-muse-gif-5096442

[@robertadamcik9179]

Legend or not, naming a cat found floating in the ocean Oscar is hilarious!!!!! During man-overboard drills/actual emergencies, ships fly the OSCAR signal flag, and the dummy ships use during drills is named Oscar. Perfect!

[@whatgoesaroundcomesaround1376]

Yeppers! My brain didn't make that connection until the day after I first watched this episode. (Be nice. It's been 35+ years.) I suffered from a case of the giggles for the rest of the day. The Mrs. thought that I had lost another of my marbles.

[@em1osmurf]

21 years USN to 1993. and i too, never made that connection. and i have a leather bag hanging by my desk with all my marbles in it--they just don't go with me everywhere, so i don't have them all the time. 😅

[@jackthorton10]

Thank you for your service good sir:)

[@gigaflynn_]

There's a simple explanation for Oscar changing colours part way through his career: He was wearing his regulation Kriegsmarine Tabby uniform, and then changed into a Royal Navy black and white uniform when he changed sides.

[@thurin84]

plot twist; oscar never changed sides. he was under cover during his time on bismark.

[@MapletreePaper]

@@thurin84 No, he was a triple agent for the Soviets. 🤫

[@thurin84]

@@MapletreePaper no cat would be an agent for the soviets. soviets are too likely to be starving and eat him. cats dont dig being eaten.

[@crusadingtemplar]

Obviously...as if drachinfel didn't notice the buttons down the front of Oscars uniforms🤣🤣

[@gargravarr2]

@@thurin84 It turns out that there's no records or photos of him aboard Bismarck because he wasn't actually aboard during the first half of her voyage. He covertly boarded the ship during the Battle of the Denmark Strait. How? Well, like the cat he was, he landed on his feet after flying over 16 kilometers, propelled by the dramatic explosion of his previous home vessel, HMS Hood.

[@ifga16]

While serving aboard USS Nimitz, in the late 70s, there was a brief panic over finding rat leavings in the fo'c'sle. Without a ship's cat, many bulletins and morning quarters were posted and made regarding repelling rodents. I did my part during the crisis by going out and getting a publication, "Rats as Pets" and posted it upon the Division's Required Reading board. Such a shame that mascots are too unsanitary for modern ships. Cats can be much cleaner than many of the human crew.

[@cptjeff1]

Do modern ships still have buckets of sand lying around for fires? Between that and some kibble...

[@BigPuddin]

​@@cptjeff1 I don't think so. They have chemical extinguishers now. My brother was a sailor on a carrier, and he never mentioned such a thing.

[@Mishn0]

Predicting weather changes: we had a cat that hated thunder. She'd retire behind the couch about an hour before there was any human detectable thunder and come out again as soon as it had passed. Also, "The History Guy"'s channel has a video on this subject too, for all who haven't found his channel yet.

[@richmcgee434]

Used the same thumbnail, too. I spent a minute trying to figure out if I'd watched this one already and if it was a re-upload or something. You'd think with the internet theoretically being about 48% cat images there'd be more than one "naval kitty" image to work with. :)

[@Mishn0]

@@richmcgee434 Both thumbnails are kitties in guns but not the same image. THG's thumbnail was the same as the image that Drach has at about 7:00.

[@mathewkelly9968]

My cat Smokey is the same , hates the sound of lawn mowers and whipper snippers too , funnily enough is fine with guns and fireworks .

[@bkjeong4302]

Sadly, the History Guy isn’t as reliable as most assume. His Willie D video in particular shows awful research and rehashing of fabricated claims that are spread as fact.

[@dubuyajay9964]

Link?

[@tommeakin1732]

I can just imagine a battleship going into action, and after a few minutes it's clear that only nine of it's ten guns are firing at the enemy Captain: What the bloody hell's going on in B turret!? B turret: Erm...Officer Dibbles is in one of the barrels and he won't come out, captain.... Captain: Ah...very well - the enemy can wait. Secure Officer Dibbles and send him to my quarters!

[@malusignatius]

"DIIIBBIIILES!"

"Load a practise shell! Half charges! Launch the feline boarding party!"

[@misterangel8486]

Muhahahaaa 😂👍

[@hunterjames7786]

Tom Meakin honestly I could see a crew doing that just for lucks sake I doubt it’s good luck for a ships cat to die

[@tommeakin1732]

@@hunterjames7786 I'd do that just because it's a cat lol. I'd feel fucking awful if I shot a cat out of a 12 inch gun xD

[@usswestvirginiabb-48]

The black cat on HMS Lord Nelson was a madlad

[@onecertainordinarymagician]

Ships* Cats* Instant click and like

[@moonbrothers9098]

Same here!! I'm pretty sure I own 2 cats.....

[@thomas316]

Or...do the cats own you?

[@billylauwda9178]

I have one cat and he likes to screw me modelships and knock me model trains of the tracks and cause dellays to freight services on my model railroad.

[@spikespa5208]

My two favorite subjects. Kitties at sea!

[@Archangelglenn]

Pretty much. :)

[@Lintary]

The banning of cats onboard naval ships is truly sad, not only as mentioned will they deal with rodents they are also just great company :) As for Sam, sometimes if a story is that good, you just stick to it and enjoy it.

[@loganstroganoff1284]

Could do a great deal in boosting morale in the same way dogs did that were adopted by army and marine infantry units back in the day. Little things like having an animal mascot do wonders.

[@erichvondonitz5325]

@@loganstroganoff1284 There's also a chance breaking morale if the cat ever gets thrown overboard or got killed by a shell during combat

[@historytank5673]

@@erichvondonitz5325 no that’s a driving force. If the cat is killed, no mercy may be given to the enemy

[@keithlloyd2306]

My father was a commando, Gdsmn Charlie Lloyd 6 troop 2 Commando), who participated in Operation Chariot, the attack on the Noramandie dry dock, the only one large enough to hold the Tirpitz outside of Germany. Whilst moored in Falmouth during a days delay, the ships cat from ML268 repeatedly came aboard ML156, that which my father was on; this occurred so any times that they left the cat where it was aboard 156. When the attack began 268 was hit in the auxiliary fuel tanks, erupting into a ball of flame, there were 2, possibly 3 survivors picked up. ML156 was badly damaged, hydraulic steering destroyed, one engine only & operating only at maximum rpm whilst slowly sinking, she crabbed slowly down the Loire, fighting all the way when not hidden in fog. Meeting HMS Atherstone, 156 was abandoned, my father was about to ascend the scrambling net when he remembered the cat so he dashed below to grab the it from where it was curled up on his bunk, terrified by the gunfire & explosions. During a memorial service 38 years later, to the day, for those brave & valiant men who died at St. Nazaire, my father noticed a man staring at him &, being the man he was, approached his observer to ask what his interest was, the response being "Were you the fellow with the cat?" It was the sailor who had helped my father on to the deck of the Atherstone all those years before. That cat certainly seemed to have some foreknowledge of impending doom as it steadfastly refused to remain aboard its home boat. Dad said the first time the human cost of the operation hit him was going to breakfast on the morning of their return to Plymouth; there were place settings for the 25 men of 6 troop who had gone. There was 6 of them left, 5 PoWs & the dreadful toll of 14 dead. Words are inadequate to describe those men who went after being told it was, in all likelihood, a one way trip, not to expect to return. But the puss survived minus one life

[@brentgranger7856]

You forgot Jonesy, the ship's cat aboard the Nostromo in the film, "Alien."

[@rosiehawtrey]

NEVER go back for the cat! It's almost rule one.

[@malusignatius]

AKA. 'Shithead', according to Ripley. :P

[@richmcgee434]

Somewhere out there there's a ancient newspaper cartoon of a very, very angry Jones with a squirming chestburster pinned helplessly under its paws. The caption reads "And just what do you think you're doing with MY pets?" Next panel has him dragging the thing into an airlock by its tail, followed by a final panel of the baby xenomorph being blown into space while Jones presses the "Airlock Open" button. Would've been a very different (and much shorter) film if things had played out that way.

[@sirmalus5153]

The alien was lucky Jonesy was in a small caged box when they came face to face.

[@peppermintcatsass3141]

@@sirmalus5153 ...true!

[@rodento3220]

As a sailor of 21 years in the US Navy I will say this. Unsinkable Sam may be what we now a days call a "No $hitter" but so are a lot of "Tales" told and they all have their places. No matter what Unsinkable Sam was a ships cat and spent his later years at a home for sailors watching over them, God bless his furry little head says I.

[@jannegrey593]

Cat: "Meow" Egyptian: "Typical Godly Behaviour" Also what about Bears? Although he wasn't a ship pet, he was a soldier so I understand.

[@MrElis420]

Pollyanna the Reindeer was a gift from the Soviet Navy to the crew of the HMS Trident in 1941, and she spent 6 weeks aboard, originally being small enough to fit through a torpedo tube, she developed a taste for condensed milk and was too big to fit when the submarine got to port, so they used a winch and a crewman using a broom to pull her out of the sub and onto dry land. She's known for refusing to sleep anywhere else than under the captains bed, barrelling her way through the submarine and knocking everyone in her way over when the sub surfaced for fresh air, eating the navigation chart, and being well loved by the entire crew, even when she was acting like a diva haha. Pollyanna was given to Regents Park Zoo (now London Zoo), and was said to have ducked down for cover whenever she heard a siren or loud bell. She died in 1947, within a week of he HMS Trident being decommissioned and scrapped.

[@jannegrey593]

@@MrElis420 I didn't know that. Thanks.

[@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819]

Jan Negrey there was a Black Bear attached to a Polish Regiment that served with the British Army in WW2.

[@jannegrey593]

​@@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 That's why I wrote it, but thank you. His name was Wojtek. He was a Corporal.

[@bkjeong4302]

@@neildahlgaard-sigsworth3819 A brown bear, not a black bear.

[@operatorhoot470]

Ah, my 3 favourite things. Cats, Ships and Sarcasm, Bravo Sir!

[@scottgiles7546]

Are not cats naturally sarcastic, sarcasm itself?

[@philperry4699]

@@scottgiles7546 Considering that "sarcasm" is Greek for "to tear flesh"...

[@jeg5gom]

The unfairness of life: Uncle Drach pours his heart into each naval history video, with great research, insights, perspectives and even guests when applicable, and yet... it's these furball spewing scoundrels that steal one of the most memorable of all his superb shows thus far! Great video, thank you as always!! "England expects that every cat will do his duty!!!"

[@tamlandipper29]

If England expects anything of a cat except insolent self indulgence then England is a bloody fool.

[@jeg5gom]

@@tamlandipper29 That's exactly the duty of a cat, thus mission accomplished!

[@MajinOthinus]

@@jeg5gom It is clearly the superior species; expecting anything else from them is insolent heresy!

[@jeg5gom]

@@MajinOthinus being that I myself am merely permitted to live in my cat's house, I see your point!!!

[@The_New_IKB]

I am convinced that the cats actually domesticated us humans!

[@jefferyindorf699]

You are quite correct.

[@caninedrill_instructor5861]

Actually, there's mounting evidence that Dogs domesticated us, not the other way around. Mayhap, softening us up for their feline cousins.

[@inyobill]

I suspect that you live with cat(s).

[@caninedrill_instructor5861]

@@inyobill Two of them, and my Guide Dog.

[@inyobill]

@@caninedrill_instructor5861 service dogs are he best!

[@Narstak]

"Miou." -Drachinifel, 26th of february 2020

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Has anyone considered that Oscar (unsinkable Sam) was actually in the employ of the Germans? While mousing he may have been collecting information for the Kriegsmarine.

[@ENiceGeo]

@me hee He was transmitting coded information through his rhythmic purring to any listening German subs in the vicinity.

[@stevequerin2504]

You sank my Home Ship. Now, I am gonna sink This Ship via my presence.

[@malusignatius]

Oh, and the irony of naming a rat Mao Zedong... 'Mao' is Chinese for cat.

[@rooseveltbrentwood9654]

malusignatius meow zedong

[@smokerjim]

Almost as ironic is that a rat grabbed the attention - the symmetry of Mouse Zedong would have been very inviting if the subject had been a member of the Mus genus.

[@onelyone6976]

Eat that China!

[@CostaCola]

Chairman Mao's name does use a different character than the word for cat though.

I rescued a cat named "Moussie" a little over a year ago.... We renamed him in the end, my (Chinese) wife wouldn't get over the fact that he was called what sounded like "Mao Cie" (cat excrement). Ever since he was renamed and I made him a cat ladder so he can go outside when he likes, he has been raining down all kinds of hell on the local rodent population, with the counter stuck at 3 rats and 29 mice and a particularly dim-witted rabbit.

[@riderstrano783]

I’m a volunteer aboard a museum fireboat, and the skipper has 3 rescue cats aboard.

[@scottdrone-silvers5179]

Cats were once worshipped as gods. They have never forgotten this...

[@MajinOthinus]

Why would they? They are quite obviously the superior species!

[@Fitzwalrus06]

And they are terribly annoyed that most humans HAVE forgotten. ;D

[@mopokebonza729]

Ha ha . Very good

[@benjaminbrewer2569]

That sounds like a terry pratchett line.

[@MarkGoding]

It's the difference between cats and dogs.. dogs think: "Hey you feed me, you must be a god!" Cats think: "Hey you feed me, I must be a god".

[@KrzysztofDanielCiba]

Drach, you've made my day! ORP Burza - Kicia (Kitty) ORP Garland - Puszek (Fluffy) ORP Piorun - Żaba (Frog) and Tygrys (Tiger)

[@Gearhead221]

Another reason to love the Piorun

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Last time I was this early, the French Navy was still building ships for the British Navy. But anyway I knew within 90 seconds I'd love this video. Drach said "meow" and that was wholly unexpected. But a pleasant surprise nonetheless. What a fantastic video, fine work sir Personally I'd be terrified of a boarding cat....especially one coming at me at high speed. I'm also laughing at the thought of a fat black cat sunning himself on the top of a turret aboard HMS Lord Nelson as the guns are firing away.

[@chrisbruce5711]

Wait why did the French navy do that.. I honestly did not know this happened in history.

[@admiraltiberius1989]

@@chrisbruce5711 its sarcasm, referring to the rather large numbers of French ships that ended up serving the British Navy after being taken as prizes.

[@chrisbruce5711]

@@admiraltiberius1989 I have found out some weird things that happened in history so French building warships for the British to me seem not that weird. Well yes it's weird but it's not the weirdest thing I've heard in history...

[@admiraltiberius1989]

@@chrisbruce5711 as I said, it was wholly sarcasm

[@chrisbruce5711]

@@admiraltiberius1989 I know its just that I have a problem telling tone on the internet...

[@twokool4skool129]

*posts dozens excellent videos about warships* Internet: meh, these are ok I guess *posts one video about cats on warships* Internet: Now you're speakin ma language!

[@vipertwenty249]

You got that totally about face around the 2 minute mark Drach - the cats moved into the towns when the humans started storing grain - which attracted the rodents - and so began the slow process of domesticating humans. This process is still ongoing - it's proving a bit of a challenge.

[@TraditionalAnglican]

Viper twenty2 - “Dogs have owners, while cars have staff.”

[@vipertwenty249]

@@TraditionalAnglican Entirely correct indeed!

[@vipertwenty249]

On broadly the same subject, a customer of mine of many years ago was a retired air traffic controller from RAF Wyton in Cambridgeshire, England. She originally had 2 kittens, both of which were named by the pilots. Lightning was so named because of it's habit of racing across the lawn in front of the officers mess and going vertically straight up the wall - anyone who has seen an English Electric Lightning taking off will see why it got that name instantly. The other was named Jaguar - because it was "a low, fast and destructive piece it kit". One - I think it was Jaguar - was killed by being run over by a Canberra jet recon aircraft. It had developed the habit of sitting in the middle of the runway trying to outstare the jets as they came in to land.

[@johnjephcote7636]

Hmm...reminds me of a story about an uncle in RAF prewar Egypt. Station had tame lion (big cat) which slept on runway but this time runway was needed for designed purpose. It had a distinctive black mark on its mane, so uncle grabbed it and led it to 'kennel' (packing case?) only to discover a sleeping lion with black mane already there! I never did discover the sequel.

[@vipertwenty249]

@@johnjephcote7636 I clean set of underwear were most likely required!

[@timonsolus]

john jephcote 😂

[@GusCraft460]

If there are two Unsinkable Sams then it is very likely that their service records got mixed together into a single much more impressive record. Would it surprise anyone that there were two ship cats named Oscar in WWII? Probably not.

[@bkjeong4302]

Would certainly resolve most of the discrepancies. IMO, what happened was that some Kriegsmarine sailor smuggled a cat onto Bismarck, and when Bismarck was sunk Cossack picked it up (hence some of Cossak’s crew saying this did indeed happen) and that was the end of it for that cat; the other cat was on Ark Royal when she was lost, and someone apparently assumed the two cats were the same, possibly due to Ark Royal’s even closer connection with Bismarck than with Cossack or due to the fact all the ships in the narrative are directly or indirectly connected in some way or another.

[@joshdoz9234]

"THIS SHIP IS SINKING!!!!" Oscar: *meows smugly*

[@spacemutt1978]

HMS Amethyst was a Black Swan class sloop, not a frigate, and the engagement was the Yangtze Incident, not the Amethyst Incident. Apparently the captain who took over after Lieutenant Commander Skinner was wounded, didn't get on with Simon, but appreciated that he was important to the crew. Additional. The film "The Yangtze Incident" stars the actual HMS Amethyst. She was pulled off the scrap-heap for the film. Her sister ship Magpie was used for shots where she was moving as Amethyst's engine were out of commission.

[@pdoylemi]

I wish the US Navy had had ship's cats when I was serving. But my 27 foot sailboat has a "ship's cat". I got Bella used to sailing as a kitten, and she loves the boat. She loves to get on the boom and lay in the pocket of the mainsail, and has even learned to understand that when I say "prepare to come about" - it's time for her to jump down and switch sides.

[@BigLisaFan]

Used to take my cat on the road with me until she learned what the power window switch did. She learned to hop into her carrier or go to the back of the sleeper berth when we arrived at a stop. She would sit on the driver's seat with both paws on the steering wheel waiting for me. I often saw people taking pictures of her. Snooze on top of the dash or sit on her carrier watching the world go by. One morning I woke up and no sign of her. Looked everywhere then this black and white head popped up from the overhead storage shelf. She won that game of hide and seek. She even had her own bed on the top bunk

[@felixcat9318]

Your description of the cat walking on the gun turret of HMS Nelson and being utterly indifferent to the guns firing was outstanding! Its easy to see how the presence of a cat on board a vessel would improve morale amongst the Crew, especially if their cat was as nonchalant as the one on HMS Nelson!

[@secretbaguette]

"Don't duck, it doesn't do any good and upsets the men" -This cat, probably.

[@info_fox]

So these were the ships "Cat-ptain"? I'll see myself out.

[@Nonsense010688]

"you have disappointed me for the last time..." *pulls pistol"

[@Usmvalor3]

Or Meow-ficers.

[@twokool4skool129]

That pun was just pawful.

[@Heegaherger]

Booooo! Boo!

[@derrickrees8895]

One hand to the scruff of the neck - one hand to the seat of the trousers , and 'Good EVENING to you sir!'

[@Scoobydcs]

Simon sounds like a badass cat! And the 1 who sat on top of main gun turrets as they were fired and gave no shits haha

"Sail me closer! I also want to get my claws on the enemy's rats!"

[@merafirewing6591]

*Darth Vader laughing in the distance*

[@The_Viscount]

Regardless if Oscar existed, his story had to be based on at least one real cat. I hope that cat or those cats, were able to, eventually, live out their days chasing mice and sunning on the deck in peace.

[@lucidnonsense942]

Drach, you're going to break the internet...

[@FrostJaeger]

That black cat aboard the HMS Lord Nelson must have been deaf... XD

[@malusignatius]

That's not impossible.

[@weldonwin]

@@malusignatius Even then, discounting the noise, it was also completely heedless of the shockwave from the guns firing

[@malusignatius]

@@weldonwin Oh yes. Black Cat had no shits to give. :P

[@OnboardG1]

Given I’ve seen my idiot (and most definitely not deaf) feline staring out the window at thunder storms and fireworks I’d not put it past him to just not care.

[@Vojtokae]

Or, he´s been an personification, of perfect british officer as he wouldn´t let those pesky gun´s to interrupt his daily routine.

[@tyberfen5009]

"The cat, having not quite developed the same contempt for all human life, that most of its decendants would one day share" (around 1:15) Hahahaha, you got me there

[@shannonrhoads7099]

This tradition continued into the 2360's and 2370's, as several cats served aboard the USS Enterprise, a modestly well known Galaxy-class starship. The most famous would be Spot, who belonged to Lt. Commander Data. (grin)

[@davidrenton]

5:41 Cats "wouldn't talk back, cheat at cards or flog you for speaking out of turn" not the Cats i know :)

[@curvy4655]

I expect most cats would flog absolutely everyone they met if they had the hands to do so :)

[@zarabada6125]

Watch out for those 9-tailed cats.

[@chrismc410]

@@curvy4655 dont even get started on "not talking back" they most certainly can and do talk. Meows can mean many things if you listen and note the duration, body language, pitch, tempo of trills or purrs are heard. Meowing is a language all their own. Just because they dont speak human languages doesn't mean they can't talk.

[@dubuyajay9964]

@@zarabada6125 You watch Linfamy?

[@stevequerin2504]

@@curvy4655 ... Actually, Cats do flog People. When the Cat is lying down somewhere; and, People, or whatever, walks by the Cat; and, the Cat strikes at the person or whatever.

[@catfish552]

6:00 I appreciate that while a collar has been put on the cat, the cat has in turn deposited a large amount of hair on the man as well.

[@paulmcgregor6411]

A couple of cats that would have been worth a mention, Trim, first cat to circumnavigate Australia and a statue of Trim is located on a window ledge behind the statue of Matthew Flinders at the NSW State Library. The other cat is Red Lead, ships cat on HMAS Perth who survived the sinking of the ship and captivity in a Japanese P.O.W camp. Red Lead is commemorated on the current HMAS Perth by red paw prints around the bridge area, a link to how the name was created.

[@Depipro]

About the two different photos of Unsinkable Sam: it's also imaginable someone simply used any random cat photograph and called it Unsinkable Sam to impress his conversation partners.

[@chrischan8282]

“High speed boarding cat” - 40k boarding torpedo intensifies

[@Lord_Foxy13]

Drac is gonna drop a video on my birthday... cool, DRAC DROPPING A VIDEO ON SHIPS CATS, BEST BIRTHDAY GIFT EVER!!! THANKS YOU DRAC!!!

[@bryansmith1920]

Happy Birthday Whiskey-Fox31

[@Lord_Foxy13]

@@bryansmith1920 thank you very much Bryan

[@riderstrano783]

Happy birthday man

[@ieuanhunt552]

Happy birthday

[@Snowstrider0001]

Politicians probably became increasingly jealous of Ships' cats impressive war records and greater achievements than themselves.

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

I love how black cats are seen as unlucky on land yet on ships they seen as good luck

[@faeembrugh]

Black cats are considered lucky in the UK.

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

@@faeembrugh This has not been my experience i have a black cat and the first thing i get asked when i say this is "Aren't they unlucky?" I'm not saying your wrong it's just that's the first thing i get asked and i do live in the UK so maybe it's just different where you live to where i live.

[@michaelsullivan6127]

Toofless takes offense at the mere suggestion he is 'unlucky'.

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

@@michaelsullivan6127 my deepest apology to to toothless

[@michaelsullivan6127]

@@joshthomas-moore2656 Toofless snores at your apology, in his manner of acceptance.

[@PanzerMan332]

Simon surviving a blast of shrapnel from a naval shell is what we call "using one of nine lives".

[@callyfow9397]

Drach: bla bla bla Highspeed boarding cat bla bla bla DARPA: Write that down! Write that down!

[@BigPuddin]

"HE SAID THE C-WORD!!"

[@mbryson2899]

Our household has been owned by cats for decades. No vermin here! They have also given us earthquake warnings (California has a fair number of those), their reaction reflecting the upcoming intensity. Their calmness is amazing. When our next-door neighbor was shot our eldest simply got off my lap and meowed me to go check on him. Six loud gunshots one wall over and he was (unlike me) unshocked and unperturbed.

[@fridtjofriibe5961]

“Battleship mounted cats” I cannot get that image out of my head

[@andreassjoberg3145]

They're mewnitions for the Cat-a-pult!

[@demonorse]

The ship's cat aboard the "Karluk" was saved after the ship was stranded and crushed in the ice.

[@pagarb]

The HMS Amethyst had a cat on board when she was attacked on the Yangtze River. The cat did such a good job of keeping the rats at bay the crew awarded him a medal. I saw the Amethyst when she sailed into Hong Kong, judging from the damage this cat deserved the decoration.

[@maxkennedy8075]

7:48 here Stripy looks as if he’s about to swim over and kick the shit out of the Kreigsmarine himself

[@artcampbell5315]

Nothing like the grin on the officer in the background when Winnie was patting Blackie. edit: make that everyone in the background

[@wavepool4501]

“That’s a good cat right there, takes a pat like no problem.” - Winston Churchill, probably

[@stevelindstedt8858]

"Mrs. Chippie" (a male cat)....was ship's cat aboard Earnest Shackleton's "Endurance"...on the ill fated 1914-1917 Antarctic expedition. The cat was killed on Shackleton's orders, as the ship was crushed and sank by relentless pack ice. A bronze statue of Mrs. Chippie adorns the grave of the cat's benefactor (Endurance ship's carpenter Harry McNish) in New Zealand.

[@frankwerner6355]

Interestingly enough, Mrs. Chippa was a tom. He was called Mrs. because he followed the carpenter everywhere like a jealous wife.

[@BigLisaFan]

Poor kitty.

[@mursac1959]

Hah! Simon was probably leaving the sailors gifts. When I was an infant, one of my parent's cats pretty much adopted me. She would go out into the yard and hunt down assorted small animals, then drop them on the floor at the head of my crib. :)

[@Howlrunner82]

No official Cat on Bismarck? Well that explains the bad luck

[@19Thomium]

One cat of note, whilst not a warship's cat, is "Nigeraurak", the ship's cat of the Ill-fated "Karluk". She survived the time adrift on the ship, it's crushing, the ice marches to land and 8 months on Wrangel island before being rescued and surviving to a "grand old age"

[@KiloSierra213Sierra]

Hey Drach, I managed to find a photo of the Burza's Kicia (nice job on the pronunciation btw), along with two of her offspring, on Facebook. m.facebook.com/szeremietiew/photos/a.316937755027076/995564517164393/?type=3

[@kamiladankowska5145]

I loved this story :) Awww, Kicia looks so cute :) Thank you for story Drach and for cute foto Krzysiek :)

[@johnjephcote7636]

Doskonała robota!

[@zarabada6125]

Ah. You've found a colourised version. I posted a link to the original black and white version probably at about the same time. Here it is at the Imperial War Museum. www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205135145

[@benwilson6145]

Tiddles on HMS Argus must be photographed close to the bow. The Collision Regulations require that the Ships bell be placed in the fore part of the vessel. It is part of the regulations that on arrival in port a Derat certificate must be produced and a question answered if there is any evidence of rodent activity. The most famous of ships cats in the Royal Navy was surely "Trim" Mathew Flinders cat, sadly lost on Mauritius.

[@SoundslikePaulify]

Can't shake the feeling that the "magnificent specimen" might be drach's cat... He certainly has had one at some point based on his observations regarding their attitude 😊

[@glennricafrente58]

Man, the kill count of Unsinkable Sam was astonishing. A Tribal, a fleet carrier, a couple of transports. This former crew member of the Bismarck sank more ships than the Bismarck itself! Best secret agent ever.

[@stealthbanana]

What would be interesting is HMS Unicorn, the repair carrier that ended up being the only carrier to take part in shore bombardment.

[@kittymervine6115]

yes when is PART TWO?

[@robertnessful]

I recently visited the Ernest Hemingway House in Key West, Florida. The home is populated with fifty nine cats, most of which are polydactyl, descended from a ship's cat named Snowball. In addition to cats of maritime descent, the gardens feature a flower planter shaped like a Civil War era ironclad. Key West was a port of call on a cruise on the Disney Magic, which is a great example of how rodents can take over ships without cats.

[@clothar23]

Hadn't quite developed the same level of contempt it's descendants would.

[@donjones4719]

Sometimes I think cats look at us as food that hasn't stopped moving yet.

[@clothar23]

@@donjones4719 Would explain why my cat chews on me from time to time.

[@turbowolf302]

Shout out to those of us watching this with a kitty nearby, tolerating our presence

[@BigLisaFan]

Mine was not impressed, typical cat, with the video, but says to remember those cats too who lost their lives when their ships sank on the upcoming Remembrance Day.

[@JeffreyAu1]

The cats in their custom made hammocks are killing me. :)

[@skibumb220]

8:56 There’s a rule written by JBP to “put the damned cat”, though he says it better than that. Glad to see old Winston Churchill lived by the same rule. Great video, as always

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

1:24 imagine Drach as an anime catgirl when meowing like that.

[@SolmonGTrauth]

I swear to god if battleships where still in service I’d use you as ammunition

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

@@SolmonGTrauth Good luck erasing that mental image

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Bastard !!!!!

[@dsloop3907]

Show us your cat girl avatar, 225677th.

[@rosiehawtrey]

Apollo 13 - Gimbal Lock Drachists - Sphincter Lock That comment needs a couple of *cases* of xenomorph grade molecular acid - brain bleach isn't going to cut it..

[@JackBWatkins]

As for me, I will not besmirch the good name of Oscar, aka Unsinkable Sam, and I accept the accounts of his feline heroism at sea during World War II including his renouncing Hitler and joining the Royal Navy.

[@johnjephcote7636]

I believe that an 'Oscar' was noted falling from Ark Royal's flight deck into the oggin whilst in harbour and then calmly swimming to the steps and walking back onboard.

[@malcolmwatt4866]

I think oscar carried a grudge about being pressed.

[@larrygoerke9081]

"Oscar" is what we called the dummy used in "man overboard" drills. I have a hunch there's a connection here with Unsinkable Sam's original moniker. Also, "OSCAR" is the phoneticism of the letter 'O' - first letter in the word "Overboard." Being a Nuke, I was "down the plants" all the time, so I can't remember ... Perhaps a Signalman, Quartermaster or officer reading this will confirm, clarify or correct, but I think I recall that the 'O' signal flag is hoist during 'man overboard' scenarios, real or drill, to warn other ships nearby that unpredictable high speed maneuvers are or will be taking place, as the ship is conned to recover the victim or Oscar dummy. CHEERS BROTHERS!

[@Ben_not_10]

I can just see that face on a plank in the ocean and the thoughts in the cats are “Goddamn humans can’t make a ship to save their lives. Making such crap it takes one hit and sinks and leaves me having to look for a fucking piece of wood to live on while they get life rafts and like jackets and fuck off without me.”

[@Attlanttizz]

So it has come to this... 🐈

[@admiraltiberius1989]

The days of the end are nigh

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Oscar, aka Unsinkable Sam was the cat of Otto von Skorzeny and after WWII served on the INS Eliat and on the General Belgrano. ;)

[@WredFawks]

Pink Floyd also wrote a song about him.

[@hedgehog3180]

I was so concerned for that one cat when you talked about the Stuka attack.

[@peterhoulihan9766]

Just a point about the cat who moved her kittens to the stern, it was most likely because it's calmer there. With regular "pointy" displacement hulls, the bows are the roughest part of the ship in bad weather, the stern is the calmest, which was one of the reasons officers' quarters were located there.

[@mynameiswritinwater]

"very high speed boarding cat".... ouch.. but yeah that would scare even the Kriegsmarine^^ (never mind Simon of Able Seacat fame)

[@troopship12]

Cats know the secret of the universe, they just can't be bothered to tell anybody.

[@fredjones554]

Simon is a legend. He was also known for comforting wounded sailors

[@ZGryphon]

I initially misread that as "confounding" and it was still perfectly plausible. :)

[@catthomas3097]

- Captain "Enemy spotted, aim and fire a broadside!" - Crewmember number 1 "But sir, what if the cat is in the turret?!" - Captain "Ah of course belay that order and check for Mr Whiskers, we will fight them later."

[@Bassjunkie_1]

Scatters the cat on the Dreadnought looks like a proper badass alley cat.

[@jimmyjams9036]

I can't believe it. You actually got my wife to watch a military history documentary. Never felt closer. Thanks, Drach!!!