Armed Merchant Cruisers & Raiders - Bearing Deadly Cargo

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@SolmonGTrauth]

You get to save one ship from any navy of any time period which would it be ?

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

I believe the Stephen Hopkins was the only American surface ship to take down a German surface ship in the Atlantic during World War II. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

[@gunner678]

Fascinating video!

[@NetTopsey]

Can you shed any light on the modern habit of having security forces on board ships in high-risk areas and actions that have taken place, for example oil tankers near Somalia or other danger areas, that you might be aware of?

[@pekkamakela2566]

Did anyone ever equip armed merchant raider with torpedo armed float planes? Ship like that could find and strike at more ships and crucially without revealing its location to anyone listening on radio.

[@scottdrone-silvers5179]

Carmania v. Cap Trafalgar: When Hotels Go to War - Round 2

[@davidrenton]

the French where gonna come but they couldn't move the Paris Ritz.

[@bigblue6917]

@@davidrenton She was still getting a refit at the time.

[@yukatoshi]

@@davidrenton They're French. Far too busy surrendering in a neutral port.

[@darrellsmith4204]

When warehouses think they are war horses..

[@jimtalbott9535]

"When hotels *ACTUALLY* go to war."

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

"three-legged, drunken elephant tIhat had started running downhill and suddenly discovered gravity was not, in fact, it's friend." This is a very well written episode. I enjoyed your sentence gymnastics.

[@Pooyuck]

Most of his videos are equally well written.

[@eric24567]

When you realize most American really do suck at English.

[@JaneCobbsHat]

That's "obese, three legged drunken elephant...."

[@kieranh2005]

Love the dry humour

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

@@JaneCobbsHat THANK YOU!!! I couldn't make it out. Thus, the mid-sentence edit.

[@sirrliv]

My only disappointment in this episode is that Drach couldn't find a moment to cram in the voyage of the SMS Seeadler, Imperial Germany's armed windjammer. Or if you want to be more romantic about it, the last hurrah of the Age of Sail.

[@brendonbewersdorf986]

I really hope he gets a chance to talk about it it's such a cool story and an epic adventure to say the least lol possibly the last case of a masted ship raiding the seas

[@michaelpielorz9283]

Better you did not ask him about a incident when a merchantcruiser sank a regular cruiser.,that never happened !!

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Cap Trafalgar and RMS Carmania looking for an open space to duke it out is basically every Dragonball Z fight.

[@SolmonGTrauth]

Still haven’t forgotten the mental image of darch meowing like an anime girl

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

@@SolmonGTrauth You're welcome ;)

[@SolmonGTrauth]

The 225677th Fragment of the Man-Emperor of Mankind this isn’t over...... THIS ISNT OVER YA EAR ?!?

[@totalwar1793]

Solmon I thought that was an actual cat lmaoo

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

@@SolmonGTrauth nekodrach say: "Nya"

[@FirstMetalHamster]

"Don't mind that ship over there, that's just us".

[@vaclav_fejt]

Insert Groucho Marx in Duck Soup mirror scene.

[@Loweko1170]

That moment you play TF2 as a disguised spy and suddenly someone the same class as you stops and stares across the map.

[@datadavis]

At least its not a japanese torpedo boat

[@sarjim4381]

As shown by the _Hopkins_ , the US 4"/50 was a hard hitting and deadly gun in the hands of a well trained Crew. The naval armed guard was led by Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth Martin Willett, and he drilled his crew constantly in loading and firing. He also trained volunteer merchant mariners in ammunition passing and as backup loaders. The standard rate of fire for a well trained crew was nine rounds a minute. According to one of the gunnery officers on _Steir_ who was directing fire from the forward 5.9" guns thought its rangefinder, and was closely observing return fire from _Hopkins_ , that ship fired 16 rounds in the first minute, an astounding rate of fire for a hand loaded weapon. Even as more and more men were being mowed down by the 20mm cannon aboard _Steir_ , others ran to take their place, most of them being killed after getting off a few rounds. Finally, after the intense six minute battle, there were no more left to man the still intact gun, with the few survivors taking to a single lifeboat. The German ship moved in closer to asses the situation, sure that resistance had ceased. They didn't count on Merchant Marine Cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara. The survivors in the lifeboat watched in amazement as the mortally wounded O'Hara somehow dragged himself to the gun. There were still three shells in the ready rack. O'Hara dragged all three shells over to the gun, hiding behind remnants of the shot up gun tub. He must have been in great pain as he lifted the first round and rammed it home. He was able to reach down to the firing pedal and pressed it home with his hand. The first round was on its way before the Germans knew what hit them. OHara repeated the feat with the second round in about nine seconds. He had the last round loaded and either fired the gun and it exploded, or the gun emplacement was hit by a 5.9" round from _Steir_ . Either way, when the smoke had cleared, neither O'Hara nor the gun were to be seen. Although this is disputed, it's possible O'Hara's last round may have severed the steering controls of the _Stier_ . Drifting and unable to respond to the helm, the captain realized his ship was doomed. With the supply ship standing by, the crew was moved to the supply ship in lifeboats, then _Stier_ was sunk with scuttling charges. Merchant Marine Academy Cadet O'Hara, only along for a training cruise, was awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal while Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth Martin Willett, USNR, was awarded the Navy Cross for this action. Very few ships, naval or merchant marine, have ever fought such a gallant battle in the finest naval tradition of sink the enemy or be sunk trying.

[@Questknight12]

To Valhalla with this sailor, Odin would welcome such a sailor as one of his.

[@richardrichard5409]

Wouldn't that be a 4"/100?

[@colbeausabre8842]

The US Merchant Marine Academy is the only Federal Academy to have been awarded battle honors as its cadets had to complete the required training cruises, even in war time, before graduating and being awarded their licenses as 3rd Mates or 3rd Assistant Engineers.

[@RileygoodVideos]

As a US Merchant Mariner seeing this on my dash made very happy

[@DavidBernhard]

Remember cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara

[@notknightbean]

Personally I would have gone with the title: armed merchant ships: when literal hotels go to war

[@captainseyepatch3879]

Well Hotels or Warehouses.

[@IronWarhorsesFun]

or: when your ship captain is a 2nd amendment cannon owner!

[@77thTrombone]

CaptainsEyePatch - from the stories I've heard, they're like hotels for the crew, at least compared to Navy ships. So yes to both hotels and warehouses.

[@datadavis]

Literal is such a raped word

[@BB.61]

3:27 Shout out to SS Red Oak Victory! Though it was not an armed auxiliary nor has any notoriety, it is one of the few remaining victory ships still extant. It was named after a town in Iowa (where I'm from) that had a disproportionately large number of casualties in WWII. Thanks for including it on your video!

[@Drachinifel]

No worries, it's also a good example of the basic self defence armament given to many merchants, not a armed auxiliary for sure, but that didn't stop the Hopkins :)

[@koboldparty4708]

There’s also the SS American zvictory in Tampa bay. Visited her myself...around the time this video was posted, actually.

[@BHuang92]

"Cap Trafalgar and RMS Carmania exist" *Insert Spider-Man Pointing at Spider-Man meme*

[@catfish552]

I, too, watched the video.

[@yourearidiculouslunatic8435]

That you captain obvious

[@ColonelFrontline1152]

9:25 9:25 9:25 - 9:33 9:33 9:33 9:25 9:25 9:25 - 9:33 9:33 9:33 9:25 9:25 9:25 - 9:33 9:33 9:33

[@Gunninator]

The line about a 3 legged elephant and gravity had me burst out laughing in the middle of the office. Thanks Drachs

[@tonyk8592]

That, and the quip about the rudder control equipment "decorating a bulkhed". LOL

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

Same. But I was waiting at the DMV.

[@datadavis]

We need more office workers, the regular ones are just watching Drachinifel at work😂

[@martijnreicher3274]

The results of combat between commerce raiders kind of remind me of this saying about knife fights: "The loser dies in the street, the winner dies on the way to the hospital." With the lethality of the weaponry in WW1 and WW2, and their lack of armor and damage control, any confrontation with an enemy that can fight back is extremely risky for a commerce raider, and even if you "win" you are still likely to lose.

[@nadtz]

Me at the start: "this one might be boring." 29 minutes later Me: "More!" Great vid as always.

[@Paladin1873]

Was there ever a braver or more determined crew than that of the SS Stephen Hopkins? Captain Buck was posthumously awarded the Merchant Marine Distinguished Service Medal for his actions, as was US Merchant Marine Academy cadet Edwin Joseph O'Hara, who single-handedly fired the last shots from the ship's 4-inch gun after everyone else had been killed. Navy reservist Lt. (j.g.) Kenneth Martin Willett, gun boss for the 4-inch gun, was posthumously awarded the Navy Cross. In my book every man on that shipped deserved the Medal of Honor.

[@gtarulli]

The athletic building at the United States Merchant Marine Academy was named after cadet O'Hara, with the painting shown in the video of O'Hara manning the 4" gun hangs in the lobby. That story inspired me while at the academy and reminds me every day...It's not the size of the dog in the fight but the fight in the dog!

[@Paladin1873]

@@gtarulli I read an article about his deed in a magazine that contained the painting. From everything I've read and heard over the years (admittedly not that much), the Merchant Marines of WWII really got the short end of the stick. They were repeatedly denied veteran's benefits long after the war even though Congress authorized them for other civilian organizations such as the WASPs. I guess they never had the glamor and popular support they deserved, especially in the early years of WWII when their casualties exceeded those of the US military. I also read that in the British Merchant Marines you did not receive pay, benefits, or medical care if your ship was sunk by enemy action because you failed to honor your contract obligation. This kind of treatment makes sweat shops look attractive.

[@blackrabbit212]

@@Paladin1873 Your remark about the British merchant seamen not receiving pay after they were sunk is quite correct. It applied even if the ship went down because of weather conditions, etc. As for bravery, look up the 'Jervis Bay'.

[@Paladin1873]

@@blackrabbit212 True sea lions.

[@Paladin1873]

@@blackrabbit212 I just realized something; a long time ago I watched a movie titled "San Demetrio London", which recounted the adventure of one ship that survived the shelling of Convoy HX84 - the convoy that the Jervis Bay was guarding. I never realized until now that it was a true story. I am impressed.

[@cyroostetherington3335]

American liberty ship: outgunned and gun crew getting slaughtered, captain: good, it’s a fair fight

[@haroldcarfrey4206]

No American in World War 2 was willing to give up without a fight. Remember the civilians in the Phillipines and Wake Island, the Alamo Scouts, and civilian OSS agents.

[@lawrencewestby9229]

My father's training ship after joining the RCNVR was the merchant cruiser HMS Voltaire, a former passenger liner. He served in her in early 1940, the exact dates unknown. The Voltaire was lost on 4 April 1941 in a battle with the German merchant raider Thor about 900 nm west of the Cape Verde Islands. By this time my father was "safely" serving in corvettes on convoy escort duty.

[@MegaBoilermaker]

My father took me around a visiting Russian Cargo vessel in the Port of Avonmouth in the early 60's and pointed out that all the Derrick winch mounting positions had the same bolting down arrangement as would be used to mount a Gun and could be converted for such a purpose in between 12 and 24 hours. I later learned that this was quite a common feature on some Russian built merchant vessels until the late 70's.

[@OtakuLoki]

Just a shoutout for the NS Savannah you've got shown at 27:49 - one of the very few nuclear powered merchant vessels ever built and operated. Not a warship, but from what I understand having pretty much the engineroom and reactor plant analogous to one of the Long Beach CGN9's as her power plant. I'd love to hear your five minute guide to her, even though she's not a warship - although very much a national project.

[@drtidrow]

Thought I recognized her... as far as I know, the only nuclear-powered freighter, though she won't be the last if people are really serious about eliminating fossil fuel consumption. After all, container ships will have to use _something_ to power their engines, as it sure as heck won't be wind.

[@OtakuLoki]

@@drtidrow There were four nuclear powered vessels built with some cargo capacity: Otto Hahn a German vessel; Mutsu, a Japanese vessel, and a Russian vessel the Sevmorput, as well as Savannah. As far as I can tell three of them did ship cargo, but the Mutsu never carried any cargo. Both Mutsu and Otto Hahn had their nuclear power plants removed and replaced with a different power plant. Sevmorput seems to be operation, after a long period awaiting disposal, and then an extensive refit/rebuild. Here's a recent article about it, saying it's due to be heading to Antarctica. thebarentsobserver.com/en/industry-and-energy/2020/02/nuclear-powered-container-ship-sevmorput-gears-antarctica-voyage

[@jimtaylor294]

Diesel is unlikely to be going from marine container shipping anytime soon. Using a cleaner fuel for the job though... that'd be doable.

[@drtidrow]

@@jimtaylor294 IIRC, LNG tankers burn the boil-off from the cargo in their engines - about as clean as you can get fossil-fuel-wise.

[@jimtaylor294]

@@drtidrow "IIRC"?

[@KPen3750]

Speaking of Merchant raiders, I highly recommend the book called "The Wolf" about arguably the most successful merchant raider of WW1, the SMS Wolf. It is a fantastic tale about a fantastic ship. Also a good candidate for a Drachinifel Guide or special

[@RedSky1895]

May I also recommend Under Ten Flags, about the raider Atlantis in WW2.

[@Nightdiver20]

I really enjoyed that book

[@lewisirwin5363]

"The Black Raider" about the first voyage of KMS Orion in WW2 is a compelling read as well.

[@myopiniongoodyouropinionbad]

The cruise of the Raider Wolf by Roy Alexander is another good one. Written from the perspective of a captured sailor. I'm just here for the reading list. Thanks for the contributions gentleman.

[@michaelpielorz9283]

You forfgot those are german ships! imagine Drachinifel giving german ships credit for anything.

[@Donald.W.Rissler-ARTS]

I've always had a fascination about german raiders ever since reading a book about the raider Atlantis back in the'70s. Would love to see an individual video series on all the raiders/Q-ships and the variations in guises. Every Drach vid is just a teaser for wanting much more on each subject, thus many lost hours revisiting books i've forgotten about or purchasing something new.......Well done.

[@blackrabbit212]

One of the ships I sailed on had a supply of dazzle paint, a de-gaussing ring to combat magnetic mines and, as Drach said, strengthened decks for guns.

[@petej8556]

Have you considered doing a video of the "Shetland Bus" operations? It was the boat's which covertly ran from the Shetland Islands (most northern British lands) to Norway for the duration of WW2. They ran Norwiegen fishing vessels until gifted 3 American Sub-Chasers in 43/44 & were involved in some extremely interesting operations. They towed the underwater Chariots which were to be used against Tirpitz across however on reaching Norway ran into bad weather in a fjord & they broke free. This was just one operation & they were usually transporting agents, guns, explosives etc etc. Although they weren't actually RN ships, they were run by the Admiralty & under the command of an RN Officer. The ship's mostly being crewed by Norwegian volunteers. It's an interesting subject & I would like to see your take on it.

[@BetterAircraftFabric]

Yeah the story of the "Arthur" alone is worth an episode!

[@michaeltruett817]

This reminds me of the Oregon files by Clive cussler. The question of how many guns can I hide on my ship before anyone notices continues!

[@petertyson1112]

My second cousin was Chief engineer on the "Arabistan" when she was sunk by the German raider "Michel". He and a 17 year old Deck Cadet were the only survivors. They were picked up the following morning by the "Michel" and were subsequently handed over to the Japanese. Only my cousin survived the prison camp.

[@Optionsaregood]

I find the careers of the armed merchant raiders of both world wars really interesting. Thanks for posting this.

[@patrickcox9201]

It would be interesting to hear your analysis of the Union-Castle liner, RMMV (HMAMC) Carnarvon Castle’s encounter with the Thor. Equally interesting would be a look at the voyage of the Llangibby Castle and the Arundel Castle in their roles. Llangibby managed to steam over 2,000 miles minus her stern after being torpedoed, and the Arundel Castle did a lot of trooping, but then was involved in voyages to the Skaggerak as a “repatriation” ship carrying wounded and sick German PoWs. Her sister, Windsor Castle was sunk by aerial torpedo 80 miles North of Algiers carrying troops ...

[@sreckocuvalo8110]

Alternative lesson: stick rangefinder and a gun with the longest optimal range you can find to the stern of the ship and keep your distance while shelling the enemy

[@coffeestainedwreck]

Ah, kiting - there's a reason why it's the oldest trick in the book.

[@alistairsamson299]

Jervis Bay was balls out double brave, Every year she’s celebrated in the Scarborough naval displays.

[@StrategosKakos]

I hope it is pretty ladies displaying their navels down in Scarborough? *SCNR*

[@ianwilkinson4602]

Wasn't there another similar incident involving the armed merchantmen Rawalpindi ?

[@brianmorgan5739]

SMS Seeadler (Ger: sea eagle) was a three-master steel-hulled sailing ship. She was one of the last fighting sailing ships to be used in war when she served as a merchant raider with Imperial Germany in World War I. Built as the British-flagged Pass of Balmaha, she was captured by the German submarine SM U-36, and in 1916 converted to a commerce raider. As Seeadler she had a successful raiding career, capturing and sinking 15 ships in 225 days until she was wrecked, in September 1917, in French Polynesia.

[@simonolsen9995]

Suggestion for a video: Protection of ships from blast damage from their own guns. Eg. the standard intro video featuring main guns firing - many times I have replayed that to try and work out what all the bits and pieces of the ship flying apart when the big guns recoil. Also I recall many breif mentions of ships being unable to deploy guns as intended without self-harm. Perhaps worth a 5 minute vid on this topic? Love your work BTW Drac, Thanks.

[@Panzerless_SG]

I will never forget the story of yhe Dutch Merchantmen Ondina who was sailing with the Corvette HMIS Bengal who took on two Japanese armed merchant Cruisers and sank one. Bengal and Ondina were heading for India when they were intercepted, inniatally Ondina turned to get away and Bengal moved to engage to buy the Oil tanker time. However when the Captain of Ondina realized they would never be able to outrun the Cruises so turned again to stand and fight together with Bengal (Ondina only carried a single outdated 120 mm gun and a few machine guns). In the brawl Ondina managed to place a shell right in Hokaku Maru ammo storage wich set it alight like a Christmas tree. The Bengal fought like a beast but ran out of ammo and turned to get out of fire, Aikoku Maru managed to heavily damage the Ondina afterwards and actually forced the crew to abandon ship after ammunition for the 120 ran out. (The Japanese then fired on the life boats with machine guns but eventually went to rescue the survivors of Hokaku Maru). While Ondina was thought lost it's crew actually climbed back onboard after the Japanese left and managed to put out the fires and return to Australia safely. Truely one of my favorite war stories

[@memadmax69]

I served on the modern day equivelent of a armed merchant called the USS Camden(AOE-2). Large, fast, and equipped with 8 missiles and 2 CIWS guns, this ship could take on 1 of anything for a short battle. But, we were always tagged behind the stern of a carrier when deployed or in "combat zones" so the chances of us actually being in battle were very remote. However, the armament was nice to have, just in case.

[@tomhsia4354]

Well, one example of the large size of merchant ships and passenger ships vs warships is how the RMS Olympic sunk SM -U103. She attempted to ram the submarine, only to have the submarine dive out of harm's way... then get thrashed by her massive propellors. It helped that the torpedoes the submarine had were defective. Olympic return to port with two dents.

[@paterickcutts5601]

"Additionally, the engines were dying, water was coming in, and the rudder control systems, somewhere deep in the ship, were decorating a bulkhead..." Yikes! (25:11)

[@knutdergroe9757]

Awesome episode !!! My Father while on recruiting duty for the U.S.M.C.(having all of North Texas)in 1940-1942. Was given extra duty(in Galveston Texas). Training Sailors in drill, military customs and regulations. He said it was all the training the Sailors received, before being assigned a ship. So the Sailors were given hair cuts, uniforms, and a week of training before being sent to sea. Most do not understand the lack of preparations for WWII in the U.S.A.

[@revenvrake7412]

Aww I was hoping you would talk about the Wolf, the infamous German Raider that spent over a year at sea causing havoc for the Allies. But man, there is something about these lightly armed and unarmored tin cans slugging it out that should have a movie or something made about them.

[@alanreese2990]

Interesting that in modern times highly effective and long ranged anti ship cruise missiles could be easily hidden aboard any merchant ship making them just as dangerous as any real warship.

[@frosty3693]

Long range anti ship missiles would need long range targeting systems, that can be detected and tracked. Modern communication and ship surveillance systems used now that can track shipping would make that a short mission. Communication systems development in history has made sea warfare vastly different than in early days where there was none. The down side is that it creates a system where people can "control" a situation without the benefit of "being there"

[@oceanhome2023]

Frosty Yes they have taken all of the fun out of it !

[@USAFraimius]

The sensor and communication requirements would be pretty high, and likely hard to conceal. ...unless you had a spotter ship feeding you targeting information..."distributed lethality"

[@jwenting]

@Ron Lewenberg correct, and not just cruise missiles. One scenario is Iran or North Korea (for example) mounting ballistic missiles on mobile launchers in fake shipping containers on board merchant ships and launching them from a few hundred miles out to sea. Crude but effective if you have nuclear warheads, less so with conventional ones as the accuracy won't be very good. Both those countries certainly have the technology (except possibly the nuclear warheads for their IRBMs), and false flagging merchant vessels isn't hard.

[@mouse454]

I don't know why he thinks armed raiders wouldn't work today. Pull along side unarmed, jammers and a concealed 30mm to knock out comms, order them to stop and put holes in them until they stop. The only problem is assembling prize crews.

[@WalterReimer]

I recall reading an article in (of all things) Reader's Digest about the battle between the Carmania and the Cap Trafalgar. The Cap Trafalgar's captain was, according to the article, a fan of Admiral Nelson.

[@powdermonkey7697]

You need to take a look at SMS Seeadler (1888) and Felix von Luckner, one of the last fighting sailing ships and a WW1 era merchant raider.

[@Accipiter1138]

And it had torpedo tubes! They were never used, but the mental image of a tall ship making a torpedo run at an enemy ship is amazing.

[@powdermonkey7697]

Accipiter1138 I know, you told me on Reddit a month ago when I posted a painting of her on warshipporn.

[@Accipiter1138]

@@powdermonkey7697 Bahaha, small world.

[@anaveragesoviettankfromthe70s]

Ah yes, that moment when an US merchant ship screwed up a German commerce raider, and that other moment when a Jerry screwed up an Aussie Leander.

[@Eric_Hutton.1980]

The History Guy did a video about the SS Stephen Hopkins and her one and only battle with the Stier.

[@drawn2myattention641]

Two cruise ships blasting away at each other: the whole thing was so dangerous, why is it I feel like laughing?

[@mathewkelly9968]

The Odina and a Indian Navy Bathurst class corvette (whose name I forget) manned by Aussies vs 2 Japanese merchant cruisers (who's name I couldn't spell) in the Indian Ocean , would be another good one to cover

[@vadaszsch0360]

Can you make a video about a German merchant raider SMS Möwe?

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

I read that as sms meow lol

[@rictusmetallicus]

@@USSAnimeNCC- ain't as funny as you might think. The german SMS Möwe translates to His Majesty's ship Seagull

[@Bizzon666]

Or SMS Wolf!

[@jimtaylor294]

@@rictusmetallicus Come to think of it: almost none of the great number of ships named after birds in history... have actually possessed aircraft of any kind XD.

[@ramseybarber8312]

@@Bizzon666 Hi SMS Wolf now there is a story to be told on this channel it still amazes me how she survived and the amount of luck she had . cheers

[@rollosnook]

HMAS Sydney, a haunting image, slowly disappearing into the darkness on fire, never to be seen again. The Hopkins story should be a movie. At least some R&R in Brazil at the end of it all... well deserved.

[@tiger2eye]

Another good battle to feature between armed merchant vessels would be the two Japanese armed merchant cruisers Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru against the Dutch tanker Ondina and the Royal Indian Navy corvette Bengal on November 11, 1942.

[@benwilson6145]

Its a very interesting tale

[@TiddleIX]

This is fascinating. I have read a lot about naval warfare, but have never come across merchant ship v. merchant ship. I hope you will be doing "Seeadler" soon in your excellent series. And the Other Battle of Lissa, William Hostes' astonishing victory in the Napoleonic War.

[@ianmilne6214]

This is a subject I have been waiting for and did actually request. Good to hear some of the history of these ships but I am surprised that the German raider 'Atlantis' of WW2 wasn't mentioned as I thought it was the most notorious of the breed by racking up a high score of sunken tonnage.

[@kiwihame]

Superb Video. Thanks so much. There's as Piratical aspect to these ships which I really enjoy. Loved the two stories too as I hadn't heard either before. Please do more videos on Q-ships and Merchant Raiders/Armed Merchantmen. The Odina and Bengal vs the Jap Commerce Raiders Aikoku Maru and Hokoku Maru is also a fantastic story, worthy of a movie. Cheers from NZ.

[@bronzedivision]

The NS Savannah is an interesting choice of image for an archetypal 1950's merchant ship.

[@radzewicz]

How about doing a presentation on the Battle of Sluys, the awesome naval battle that kicked off the 100 years war that no one expected Edward III 's England to surviive? I cant think of a more important beginning to England's naval prowess than Sluys yet I can find so little about the battle.

[@EdMcF1]

A salute to the AMC HMS Rawalpindi and Captain Cloverley Kennedy RN, whose reported last order was, on engaging Gneisenau and Scharnhorst 'We shall stand and fight them both, and we shall be sunk, and that will be that. Goodbye!'.

[@jamespfp]

24:00 -- *SO YEAH,* I have often wondered where the WW2-era song "Praise the Lord (And Pass The Ammunition)" got its inspiration. This story sounds like a darn good fit. "Down went the gunner / a bullet was his fate / down went the gunner / and then the gunner's mate / up jumped the sky pilot, gave the boys a look / manned the gun himself and tossed aside his Book ... " The song is dated to 1942, but other legends place the inspiration for its lyric to December 1941, and the attack on Pearl Harbor. SEE ALSO: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jGOVZIeLZZhleqc

[@trinalgalaxy5943]

the best confirmed story, both in terms of the crew and eventually the chaplain in question, puts the line as coming from the attack on Pearl. said chaplain was by law unable to fight, but apparently was directing the crews running ammo from the magazines to the guns since the mechanical systems were shut off. that line apparently was when he was encouraging the men to keep it up

[@jamespfp]

@@trinalgalaxy5943 Aye; I also didn't think that chaplains were regular features on a merchant vessel, so in all likelihood it would have to be a military naval vessel. ; )

[@trinalgalaxy5943]

@@jamespfp he wasnt even part off the official crew, just there for the sunday services aboard. but when hell opens its gates, all must answer the call

[@jamespfp]

@@trinalgalaxy5943 Stuck between Perdition and the Deep Blue Sea, aye sir!

[@3ftsteamrwy12]

Now I've heard of the engagements with Jervis Bay and Rawldipindi, but I hadn't heard of the third AMC fighting a german surface unit before...thank you

[@johnshepherd8687]

Armed merchantman have made something of a comeback near the Horn of Africa in the past decade albeit the armarment tends to be of the M14/M16, M60 or Ma Deuce variaty.

[@OtterTreySSArmy]

God can you imagine if one of those giant oil tankers or cargo ships just said fuck it and slapped one or 2 16" gun turrets on them and sailing around Somalia? Those pirates would probably shit themselves

[@haroldcarfrey4206]

Israeli merchantmen tend to be a little better armed than that.

[@fatherglyn]

Just a small point. At 5.30 you say that the crews of an Armed Merchant Cruiser were regular or reservist navy. In the U.K. this was not the case. My father served on HMS Salopian and he was a merchant sailor serving on a T124X contract. This meant that he retained his merchant classification but came under naval discipline. The difference is that when his ship was sunk by U98 the RN personnel onboard continued to be paid (RN rules) whilst the T124X personnel (merchant sailors who had the specialist knowledge required to operate a merchant ship) had their pay stopped (MN rules) at the moment of sinking. To add insult to injury, my father also discovered that the cost of the survival clothing, issued to him on rescue, was deducted from a subsequent pay packet. A fact he complained about for the rest of his days :). Excellent video btw - thank you for exploring a subject which is often over looked. As others have mentioned elsewhere, I was also supposed to be doing something else then saw this video - no contest!

[@Drachinifel]

Minor Pedantic Nitpick - I did say 'generally', not 'completely'. :) But you do raise a perfectly valid point, although the navy preferred to crew HM ships with naval personel, where they could not spare or did not have the expertise available for key roles then merchant crew would be retained as was the case of your father. Glad to hear he survived!

[@garyhoffman6067]

Hopefully to be followed by an episode on the SMS Seeadler, an armed merchant cruiser, and the last sail powered warship.

[@anatolib.suvarov6621]

...and yet now, we are beginning to see a re-emergence of small arms on commercial ships with the increase of piracy in some shipping routes.

[@charlesbechen821]

Carmania: "You can't be me, I'm me"

[@K9TheFirst1]

Can you do a video on Olympic? She was a key player in rescuing the crew of HMS Audacious, vital in Allied Victory as a Troopship, only Ocean Liner to sink an enemy warship when she rammed U-103, and shrugged off a torpedo by glaring at it so hard that it became a dud.

[@PaulfromChicago]

Painted up east indiamen? Time for you to Suffren my puns.

[@andrewfanner2245]

Although the fictional version in HMS Surprise is also fun.

[@DardanellesBy108]

I only learned about Armed Merchant Cruisers and Raiders within the last ten years when I bought a game, “Atlantic Fleet”. The German ship Pinquin, Atlantis, and Kormoran are in the game. Kormoran is the best armed of the three. This video was the most informative one I’ve watched so far on the topic. Thanks Doctor! “The History Guy” has a very good video on the SS Stephen Hopkins Liberty Ship battle. Incredible perseverance and bravery shown by those merchant marine sailors.

[@misterjag]

Although the U.S. Merchant Marine suffered a per capita casualty rate greater than those of the U.S. Armed Forces, merchant mariners who served in World War II were denied such veterans recognition until 1988 when a federal court ordered it.

[@bullettube9863]

Once again the training and determination of the crew play a more important part in a battle instead of the technical specifications.

[@mochaholic3039]

Do a vid on USCGC Taney. That ship saw a heck alot action during WW2 and had a long career after the war, not too shabby for a Coast Guard cutter.

[@Rayrard]

Imagine how odd that would be if RMS Olympic was armed and we got to see the Kronprinz fight it. Two four funnelled luxury liners duking it out. The insanity of these ships designed for luxury being gutted by gunfire. Also it may have been fitting for the Olympic to go that way given how the odd ways the Titanic and Britannic went

[@sirboomsalot4902]

RMS Olympic actually was armed during the later half of WW1 with 4 12-pounder and 4.7 inch guns, and later a pair of 6-inch guns

[@Mondo762]

As a retired engineer (USMM) from the West Coast I'd like to point out the Engine Cadet made the last kill shot from the gun on the SS Stephen Hopkins, a West Coast Liberty Ship. That ship achieved more than the entire US Navy by sinking the German Raider.

[@mastermariner7813]

Cadet Edward J. O'Hara USMMA. The Academy's Gym is named for him.

[@wamyx8Nz]

I've always said the way to take on the Somali pirates would be to take a luxury yacht, armor the hell out of it, and fit it with Hidden naval artillery and radar-guided gatling guns of the type found on modern warships. Just cruise up and down the Somali coast blasting disco music with all the lights on. When the pirates come out to play, make a very bloody example out of them and make the others think twice. Easy target, or bait? This is also where some of our old battleships could come in. We know the ports the pirates operate out of, for every raid lob a few 16" shells at their facilities. It's not like a few AKs and RPGs are going to do anything more than bounce off battleship armor. The general population would get really tired of them really fast.

[@petej8556]

Perfect timing! Earlier today I was actually looking for armed merchant raider videos & ended up watching the Kormoran v HMAS Sydney video (for the 3rd/4th time)! Excellent work! Your dedication & hard work is certainly very much appreciated! Thank You.

[@KVIIcolt45]

I have been waiting for this video for quite a while. So happy.

[@DomTheDumb]

We've heard a lot about Western Naval Warfare from many videos and channels. So, my humble request to you is to review naval warfare in Asia, particularly Indian carrier operations in the 1971 Indo-Pak War and Indian missile attacks in the same. Attempt #1

[@moritamikamikara3879]

Sorry link, I cant give credit. Come back when you're a little... MMMMMMMMMM Richer!

[@tcofield1967]

Surprised you didn't mention the Kormoran in this article. She managed to surprise and sink the HMAS Sydney, as you know.

[@Drachinifel]

I did, briefly :)

[@nomar5spaulding]

Nice photo there at the end of the NS Savannah. When I was at Maine Maritime Academy I had a professor who sailed on the Savannah for a couple years as Chief Mate.

[@lonjohnson5161]

My grandfather was a merchant marine in WWII. I heard stories of how merchant marines would sometimes take cargo, a tank for instance, and strap it to the deck to give the ship something more than wishful thinking for defense.

[@ZurLuften]

Fight against Liberty ship "Stephen Hopkins" is quite interesting, but what about kriegsmarine auxiliary cruiser Thor (Displacement 3.862 tons, second smallest WW2 german auxiliary cruiser) and its fight against British auxiliary cruiser HMS Carnarvon Castle (20,122 tons) and HMS Alcantara (22,200 tons), plus sinking the HMS Voltaire (13.245 tons)?

[@DiggingForFacts]

Likely coming in a future video about merchant ships versus actual warships, as mentioned by Drach at the end of the video.

[@erehwon80]

My maternal grandfather emigrated to Australia post-WW2 on the HMAS Kanimbla, which has been an AMC during the war.

[@RemoteViewr1]

The most amazing stories, and their fascinating telling are all yours. A subject I find utterly without interest, boats. Educated, erudite, exquisitely detailed with illuminating context. A great teacher. I watch them all. The American ship sank due to the weight of the huge balls of its sailors. No quit in those men.

[@ELCADAROSA]

Drachinifel, your colorful narration makes your videos much more enjoyable to view. Well done!

[@edwardharding8005]

Thank you for this video. I knew of the battle between the Carmania and the Cap Trafalgar but not the one between the Stephen Hopkins and the Stier. A liberty ship fighting Liberty.

[@briananthony4044]

Long ago I read a novel on the exploits of the German raider Orion during WW2. Armed with 6 x 5.9 inch WW1 vintage cannons, plus smaller weapons, torpedo tubes, and several hundred mines and several float planes with a 13 knot top speed, it was very successful, it ranged over the seas as far south as NZ where it laid several minefields that sunk several merchant ships. It's boilers used seawater so had to be regularly scraped of salt deposits inside. It was coal fired. It sometimes had hundreds of prisoners from sunk ships onboard. Great novel.

[@McNubbys]

Well done Drac, amazingly enjoyable as always😊 Neptune smiles on you😀

[@jahmanoog461]

Another excellent episode. I like how you point out the crews,,a large ship with a small crew, taking damage and lots of work to do, all of which is time critical. Isn't this the quintessential valor in a naval battle? Not even a gun shield. Your substantial range of topics is enlightening (like the Cruiser episode, I was ,fuzzy on their origins and development and appreciated your research). The detail shows you are a true and credible naval historian. Again, thank you.

[@Torus2112]

Imagine if WW3 broke out and they started bolting AEGIS systems to Carnival cruise ships and sending them on patrol in the South Pacific.

[@kmech3rd]

100% chance the bar will be the first casualty!

[@Dave_Sisson]

No chance in the real world, unless there is a repeat of the Falklands War where they did use three cruise ships with heli pads built over the swimming pools and AA guns bolted on. But if there is access to a friendly airport, a couple of Airbus A380s could carry the same number of personnel and they would have a vastly smaller chance of being shot down than a cruise ship would have of being sunk. Cruise ships and passenger aircraft don't have the capacity to carry much freight, so supplies would need to be dispatched in container ships either way, if the troops and support staff travelled by ship or plane.

[@mediamattersismycockholste562]

I recall reading a book about a German merchant Raider that was sinking cargo ships in the Pacific and taking the crews as prisoners, eventually having a boatload of prisoners from various nations in extremely ill health, for a year or more too. I think it was WW1. Wish I could remember the name of the book. edit: 'Under Ten Flags' and 'The Wolf' mentioned below, I'll look em up.

[@Kwolfx]

About fifteen - twenty years ago, I met a WW2 veteran who told me an interesting story about being a member of a gun crew on a civilian merchant ship. (He was U.S. Navy.) His ship was in a port on the Western coast (or maybe North Western coast) of Australia. He probably said the name of the port, but I don't recall it. The ship had an engine problem which required it to remain an extra day or two, when a report came in of a Japanese auxiliary cruiser raiding in the Indian Ocean. The ship's captain refused to leave port until the Japanese raider had been dealt with or had left the area, but he failed to notify the ship's corporate owners that he was remaining in port, which probably would have cost them considerable port fees. The captain told the commander of the gun crew that the ship's radio was broken, but that he had radio'd from a shore station that the ship hadn't left port, which simply wasn't true. So when the vessel was scheduled to arrive at its next destination; after several days and when it didn't answer any radio calls, it was declared overdue and presumed lost, because the Japanese auxiliary cruiser had attacked and sunk a ship or two. So eventually word came in that it was safe to leave and no one thought anything of the delay; except how boring it had been, until they arrived at their next destination. It was then that the U.S. Navy gun crew found that they had been declared missing in action. For a few days they couldn't receive their pay, though the gentleman who told me this story said this was cleared up pretty quickly. A much bigger problem was their families weren't notified that they were still alive for about three months. He told me a letter he sent home through U.S. military channels in India beat the official notification from the U.S. Navy to his family by about a week. In between the M.I.A. notice and sometime after the declaration they were still alive, this man and his fellow gun crew members didn't receive any more mail from home, for the obvious reason that you don't write letters to someone you think is dead. He told me his gun crew latter trained the ship's own sailors to man the gun and he was eventually transferred to regular duty aboard a warship, but said the worst time of the war for him had been when he learned what his parents had been put through by that false report.

[@robertf3479]

Excellent episode sir. I learn something new (to me) about naval history with every offering.

[@augustosolari7721]

Carmania Is only a 20.000 Ton vessel if you consider its gross tonnage usually used for ocean liners. The displacement figure used for war ships was not the same.

[@Yordleton]

Great vid! I like to imagine the typing and clicking sounds in the background are you just casually playing a game or browsing the internet while you're perfectly reciting facts off of the top of your head.

[@kayaphus4303]

This NEEDS to be a movie!

[@frosty3693]

Maybe back in the 1950s, but the movie developers are anti patriot so nothing good will appear. Add to that the appalling lack of interest in history of the younger generations too.

[@petej8556]

@AVNgn. Hollywood wouldn't do this story ANY justice atall! It would be far-fetched, glorified nonsense with every single American portrayed as the ultimate hero & basically everyone else being bad! Probably be starring Steven Segall too!

[@DavidConnor]

There is a naval movie opening this May, "Greyhound", starring Tom Hanks, a patriot. Based on the excellent novel "The Good Shepard" by C.S. Forester (Horatio Hornblower series.) I'm hoping it will be even a bit as good as the novel. Will view it on the big screen. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greyhound_(film)

[@arkadeepkundu4729]

Meanwhile, Chinese crews ramming 9000 tonner destroyers with 120,000 tonner container ships in 2018: *Write that down*

[@luisparga5707]

Arkadeep Kundu

[@professionaltaxevader4638]

Thank you for doing a video on this topic. I got to know this obscure fact from a book of stories from world war 2. It has since lived rent free in my head. It´s like an organized mad max or water world pirate of the caribbeans.

[@tomaszbartkow3552]

I really like this episode. Seems like you enjoyed making them as much as I watching. More please...

[@rogerwilco2]

Very interesting stories. I really like these. Very heroic.

[@lezardvaleth2304]

SMS Trafalgar, a German liner, pretending to be the British RMS Carmania, hiding in ambush off Argentina. *PARKOUR!*

[@surfxx9685]

Can you make a video about the dutch gunboats "soemba & flores" AKA the terrible twins? Get some love for the royal dutch navy⚓⚓

[@nemom225]

Oh lol, just read about the second battle and now the best naval historian out there is recanting it as well! Glad I did my homework !

[@formisfunction1861]

Fascinating! The Hopkins built close to my old 'hood, in Richmond California.

[@dannyhare6951]

Excellent dissertation. I quite enjoyed it and all your videos. Greetings from LA. Peace upon you and yours. D.