Estonian soldier reacts to Battle of Midway

[@biscuitmaster6304]

I love how the US navy is the 2nd largest airforce right behind the actual US airforce

[@skull1161]

lol pretty funny when you think about it.

[@jdencemcbuilder2134]

@@skull1161 lmaoo yeah

[@blitzfrenzy2618]

Murica baby

[@jakethetake]

also, troops in Iraq call the navy most of the time for air support cuz their response time is actually quicker

[@mch000]

Don't forget the US Marine air wing.... The US Military has 4 branches (Army, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard). The US Navy has their OWN ground forces - the US Marines. The US Marines have their own air wings, including 9 small escort carriers (groups of 3, called ARGs or Amphibious Ready Groups), which fly attack helicopters and harrier jump jets and F-35 fighter bombers. Thus, my military has a navy, which has it's own army, which has it's own navy and it's own air force and carrier air wings.....

[@Googurz]

Even though early waves of US bombers did not score any hits, they did prevent the Japanese from conducting normal air operations. It really messed with their ability to manage their air assets effectively.

[@JediKnight19852002]

Additionally, with Nagumo having held back his best pilots from the initial Midway attack, the best pilots in the Kido Butai were effectively grounded, watching their carriers dodge poorly coordinated torpedo and high altitude bombing runs, and then helpless as dive bombers come screaming in.

[@thekhans2823]

@ Googurz , no way

[@sarahpatings6385]

In ww2 days there was no guided missles or anything like that. And like they are now, naval forces group in defensive formations to make effective antiair defenses. The only way to do any damage was to group in a giant mass and push through the antiaircraft weapons, which outranges the planes. That is why there was a lot of bombers shot down. Furthermore, ships have thick armor and machine guns wont do anything. They had to use explosives and the only they had were bombs and torpedoes

[@Googurz]

@@JediKnight19852002 Exactly, you can't launch and recover planes while you are executing high speed maneuvers to avoid bombs and torpedos.

[@jamesricker3997]

It also exposed two of the fatal weaknesses of the Imperial Japanese Navy. the Zero did not have a big enough ammunition load for the mission of fleet defense and the main Japanese anti-aircraft weapon the 25mm cannon was not an adequate weapon

[@thenekom]

Me: So what's on the docket today in covid lockdon? KZbin algorithm: How about an Estonian soldier discussing WWII Naval warfare? Me: That works.

[@sophiaschier-hanson4163]

Same thing happened to me. But you know what, I could listen to this guy talk about military history all day. Then again, I could listen to ANYBODY talk about military history all day.

[@TheBubba91]

Same here!!

[@frenstcht]

The KZbin recommendation algorithm really does kick up some gems now and again.

[@AlechiaTheWitch]

Same

[@Louieepicgamer2]

No he’s just reacting

[@tinameadows462]

They didn’t crack the language, they had people that spoke Japanese. What they cracked was actual code that the Japanese used.

[@cavscout888]

They only cracked bits of the code, and as they couldn't get the entire plan from radio traffic, and had to analyze all the deciphered intercepts. They even had to come up with their own ploy to get the Japanese to basically tell them the target was Midway.

[@crankyyankee7290]

And the US had a code no one cracked, known as the Navaho language(native tribe) speaking code in the Navaho speech, the usual reaction to that(in British English would be "Wot in Ell is 'at?"). Another little problem of Midway for the Japanese was their invasion of the Aleutians, they did take and hold 2 small islands, but while there one Zero was lost on a beach, in relatively good condition, picked up by the US, repaired, studied, and tested, revealing its strengths, and weaknesses improving the tactics of the Wildcats, and later Corsairsa and making the Hellcat even deadlier to Zeroes. As I recall Yamamoto warned the Japanese leaders that in a war, he could run rampant for about 6 months after which things would go badly for Japan-Midway was about 6 months after Pearl Harbor. While being congratulated on his victory Yamamoto said "I fear that all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant and fill him with a terrible resolve", quite the prophet he was, and then a lightning would later strike him down.

[@Branderwall2024]

"The largest uno reverse in military history" would be a better title lol

[@sirethanthegreat4069]

This is underrated.

[@hamburgersandfuriousanger6820]

My grandfather who was a veteran of the Solomon Islands and Saipan we owe our lives to each branch of the military.!Otherwise we’d either be speaking Japanese, German or Russian.

[@sirethanthegreat4069]

@JSENNER83 . Lol XD XD XD

[@jameslaverdiere7933]

The battle of uno

[@iamaloafofbread8926]

@@hamburgersandfuriousanger6820 you would technically be dead or not be born

[@weasle2904]

A lot of the US fighters and strategies were a little outdated this early in the war. Which makes sense, the US was not expecting to enter a world war, while Japan was preparing for years. On top of this Japan was expending all of their most experienced pilots on the front lines (which would later be a mistake as they all died). Later on in the war with the proliferation of the Hellcat, Corsair, and new strategies the US took the advantage. The Hellcat held a 19:1 kill ratio against the Imperial Japanese Navy, completely outclassing the Zero. The Corsair also held a 12:1 loss ratio against the Zero (These are Navy planes, the P51 Mustang also was extremely successful but was an Army Air Force plane and saw most of it's combat in Europe) People praise the few success early on by the Japanese, then ignore the US completely demolishing the Japanese after updating their fleet. This is what contributes to the US mentality of keeping their military constantly updated and more advanced.

[@RCXDerp]

Makes me want to buy the dodge now haha

[@weasle2904]

@@RCXDerp The Mustang also borrows it's name from the P51 Mustang. I think it's charming to see homage through America's automotive industry to the legendary aviation history in WW2. You'll see this referenced on the Mustang's speedometer "Ground Speed"

[@danielhenderson8316]

Add to the fact that at the beginning of the war, the Japanese also had more experienced pilots, but kept then in the front lines. After Midway, the US would cycle out experienced pilots to train new ones while the Japanese left the best out to die without thinking of how to replace them. Eventually it led to the kamakazi.

[@LordMekanicus]

Right on point Weasle. All you need do is compare the Wildcat to its successor the Hellcat and you get the picture. We feared the Zero at the start of the war because of how quick and nimble they were compared to ours at the time.

[@barnabydodd8956]

Good info.

[@ATownDown32]

Just so you know midway wasn't the largest naval battle of ww2 , the battle of leyte gulf and the battle of the Philippine sea were much bigger. Also if your interested in naval warfare and want to learn about the greatest ship in US history watch the show "battle 360" . Its a 10 episode documentary about the USS Enterprise CV-6 who fought in almost every major naval battle during ww2.

[@maryjoygelizon4268]

Before ww2 spain and usa wanted phillipines in ww2 japan wanted phillipones and now china wants phillipines,phillipines is very unlucky all the big countrys in asia wants it and theres nothing they can do cause its navy is still ships from ww2 even the planes and tanks and vehicles

[@CPny65]

Battle 360 was a great documentary....Very informative and well made.

[@eodyn7]

@@maryjoygelizon4268 It's strategic positioning to control water ways.

[@tristandiaz7949]

It may have not been the biggest, but Midway was pretty much the turning point in the Pacific

[@thelokiway4478]

@@tristandiaz7949 You are right about the turning point, that WAS the turning point. After Midway the Japanese were turned into a more defensive mindset and the US was attacking when and where they chose.

[@certautoserv]

The reason for bombing ships is partly because top deck is the least armored part of a ship

[@volon5]

Especially flat top carriers

[@rumpleteaser100]

In addition, you can't launch and recover aircraft if you are doing evasive maneuvers to avoid the high level bombers. The B-17's may not have scored any hits during the battle but they kept the japanese from launching and recovering aircraft for a crucial amount of time.

[@thedeadyoutuberscollector8447]

As well it is hard to get close with shipe

[@ji3194]

It depends on the design of the carriers, Royal Navy Carriers had heavily armoured flight decks compared to American and Japanese carriers.

[@rumpleteaser100]

@@ji3194 The planes are on the deck taking off or landing...... they aren't "heavily armored"...

[@folcotook3049]

Fun fact: the Germans had more success closer to the continental US than the Japanese. In the early part of the war, U Boats sank a lot of shipping within sight of the east coast of the United States. The US wasn't blacking out cities which silhouetted ships at night and many US merchant captains refused to participate in convoys thinking they could sneak through on their own.

[@user-dc5ti1is1s]

US you are being torpedoed constantly you need to do something, "Nah we just gonna ignore it for a while"

[@WG55]

Yes, it was Operation Paukenschlag (Drumbeat). One-fourth of all ships sunk by U-boats were during this single six-month period off of the US east coast and Gulf of Mexico.

[@_AKMOMO_]

You do know Japan invaded USA right? they invaded and occupied Alaska chain islands (Attu).

[@folcotook3049]

@@_AKMOMO_ as a diversion, yes, though remember at that point Alaska wasn't a state. The German U-Boats did far more significant damage to the war effort than the Japanese did in Alaska.

[@user-dc5ti1is1s]

@@folcotook3049 I mean main reason they did damage is because the US just decided to ignore the problem and keep New York lit up lmao.

[@memesforjjolatunji4155]

You need to learn about the p51 mustang. It’s such a cool plane with some great history

[@mohamedabdulla5414]

Did thy open up yet?

[@justanunluckyirishmaninabl5178]

Nah, do the p47 thunderbolt instead. It's the a10 warthog of ww2

[@nothing-mm8ui]

@Yusuf Mohamed Fbi open up! Cia go away. Head of state time and date? Kgb come with me. The ultimate uno reverse

[@TheDarkSpecter00]

The Mustang is a thing of beauty, but I'm still partial to the F4U. Nothing quite like it.

[@Mike-hq1xk]

shooting at a ship would only injure crewman cause the ships armor is to thick. Bombs are mostly for aircraft carriers because they want to put the flight deck out of commission. They use torpedoes from torpedo bombers to sink ships.

[@firghteningtruth7173]

Also, didnt they store their planes on deck at that time? The bombs blow the planes...annnnnnd useless ship.

[@chemislife]

@@firghteningtruth7173 no they where below deck where they where re arming their planes. The main reason the Americans used bombs instead of torpedoes is because A)their torpedoes where unreliable due to an unreliable supplier B)the pilots felt more comfortable with bombing

[@JiggleWiggleBagel]

@@firghteningtruth7173 Depends on the country mostly, the British for example used armorued carriers where the planes were stored in armorued shells below deck coupled with an armoured flight deck it proved difficult to actually knock out British aircraft carriers by damaging the flight deck. IIRC there was an account where a japanese airplane kamikazied one carrier and the flight crw effectively brushed the destroyed aircraft and all the debris off the side of the ship and they were good to launch again

[@RTStx1]

@@chemislife But during midway after it was started and got heavy, the Japanese had their planes on deck loaded with bombs for midway. After learning other air craft carriers were around they went to switch to torps, and were hit at that moment causing the deck and planes to go sky high.

[@kevin9218]

Shooting ships with bullets might damage planes on deck and kill crew members, but the decks, even wooden ones were too tough to really damage significantly with machine guns. Bombs could leave a massive hole in the deck, meaning aircraft can't drive over that area to take off or land. Also bombs could penetrate below deck to hit ammunition storage, fuel, engines etc. Torpedoes were more reliable to sink a ship, but bombing a ship and setting it on fire was just as effective as knocking it out.

[@AverytheCubanAmerican]

Fun fact: Midway is home to the world's oldest wild bird, a Laysan albatross named Wisdom. She lives within the world's largest albatross colony.

[@hypershock0762]

Interesting.

[@pierrewuranr6399]

nice fact

[@Stealthycessna]

I remember a vid or a article I think it was an article for school on that

[@obiohaz6023]

how do they taste?

[@michaelsmith-iu1be]

On google maps you can visit Midway, which is kinda cool. Nobody there but a bunch of birds.

[@mrdetached7720]

moment of silence for all them brave souls lost

[@DarkRipper117]

On both sides really....the Japanese naval pride was crushed at Midway...how demoralizing that must've been.

[@gdo3510]

DarkRipper117 you mess with the bull you get the horns

[@mekolame]

6:03 its a good thing our country (USA) contains so many different backgrounds of cultures, and at this time we still had Japanese Americans that knew the language at the time.

[@carloscolon1279]

True.. still heartbreaking how we treated the Japanese Americans at this time.

[@skull1161]

@@carloscolon1279 better safe than sorry?

[@d.johnson9957]

@@skull1161 Unfortunately true. Some of those Americans could still could have had family in Japan. Not to mention, a lot of immigrants who became citizens didn't do it because they lack loyalty to or love for their home country; they did it out of necessity. It's why you can find places throughout America like Little Italy or Chinatown. People from the same country tend to navigate towards one another and create their own cultural cluster. It reminds them of where they came from and for those who find it difficult to speak English, it gives them a comfortable place where they can communicate easily with people who speak the same language. Anyway, it can end up making them split their loyalty to their old country and their new country which puts them in a very precarious position. So I can understand why it was done. What I don't understand is why our government treated them like criminals and made them live in horrific conditions. They were still Americans and should have been treated with respect and given a proper place to stay. Not pinned up like cattle and treated like animals.

[@colincampbell767]

@@d.johnson9957 "Some of those Americans could still could have had family in Japan. " Of course people with family in Germany were not treated the same way. Also remember that the reason many of those Japanese people were locked up never because citizens was because there was a law passed that made it very difficult for Japanese immigrants to become citizens. And many of the people who were locked up were born and raised in the US. Trivia note: the reason the Japanese-Americans were interred by the Army was because the the senior managers in the Justice Department threatened to resign en mass if they were told to do it.

[@d.johnson9957]

@@colincampbell767 I didn't know any of this. It's not very often that someone takes the time in a comment to teach me something. Now, I'm eager to do a deeper dive into this to see what other information is out there. Thank you so much for sharing, you just made my day. 😊

[@wlfmansbro]

The US's torpedoes were terrible. The Japanese had great torpedoes. I think that played a role in the US sending more bombers

[@philipgates988]

The US developed effective torpedos later in the war. Study Leyte Gulf battles.

[@AlechiaTheWitch]

There magnetic detectors where thrown of by anomalies and the equator. Which is why they failed

[@remingtonwells5638]

Look up the battle of Leyte Gulf, America made much better torpedoes quickly after Midway.

[@PanzerMan332]

The topic of the failures of the Mark 14 and Mark 15 torpedoes is a long one, and I particularly recommend Drachinifel's video on it. While yes, the U.S. eventually fielded better torpedoes, there's no excuse for taking several years to fix the problems that could've easily been avoided with proper research and testing in the first place.

[@mikelafata1680]

The Zero was the best fighter in the Pacific until later in the war when the American Hellcat came on the seen. The Hellcat was the far superior plane for the remainder of the war.

[@bluelunarwolf2996]

Actually the F4U corsair was the superior plane in the war during the Pacific theater

[@Mason-zp8yb]

@@bluelunarwolf2996 The Corsair is truly a thing of beauty.

[@Durahan82]

P47 Thunderbolt & P-38 Lightning : are we Jokes to you ?

[@Redspeare]

@Hoocher Yep The US Army Air Forces used lots of P-38s and P-47s in the PTO. It was a P-38 pilot who shot down and killed Yamamoto. Also, the highest scoring USMC ace in the PTO, Captain Joe Foss scored all of his victories in an F4F Wildcat. The F4U had a kill to loss ration or 11:1. The F4F Wildcat had a 9:1 ratio, and the F6F Hellcat a 19:1 ratio.

[@Redspeare]

@@bluelunarwolf2996 "Actually" it was the F6F Hellcat with a 19:1 kill/loss ratio. :)

[@REXXltm14]

you need to learn about the enterprise carrier, the most decorated ship of the war

[@lainehuang9954]

Brooo yas !it was one of the best!

[@illegalalien4444]

@@lainehuang9954 USS Enterprise nicknamed the "Big E"

[@badmoth242xl3]

The one ship that carried the entire US Navy

[@billallen4793]

The Hornet is another great ship that is now a museum....from Wyoming USA 🔫🤠🇺🇸p.s stay safe and healthy everybody GOD BLESS OUR COUNTRY AND stop this foolishness ❤

[@willdezso1101]

The Enterprise is the greatest ship of the Pacific war.

[@MothMizzle]

24:50 - Yorktown damage control was so good the Japanese attacked it a second time thinking it was a different carrier. All the fires were out and the hole in the deck had been patched.

[@Dust210]

And it wasn't even the Japanese air attacks that sank it, a Japanese submarine stumbled upon her while she was being towed back to Pearl Harbor for repairs and fired 4 torpedoes at her. One missed, two hit the Yorktown, and one hit the destroyer that was alongside her at the time and blew it in half. She still might have survived all of that, but the destroyers depth charges went off and knocked out the auxiliary generator providing power to the repair crews and that was that for the ship which then finally sank, 14 hours later.

[@l8tr597]

Our damage control and fire suppression was far superior, also had fuel flushing systems to purge fuel lines to prevent the spread, again, unlike the enemy’s carriers.

[@weasle2904]

The US in general has better safety systems in their military across the board

[@hunterskidmore1672]

@@weasle2904 no one likes losing troops after all

[@kwek2798]

Me: *studies for an upcoming exam for 5 hours* “mom im done studying” My asian mom: 13:37

[@BH-rm1ch]

😂

[@Alcivv]

Bruh😂😂

[@Alcivv]

BuT wAS It EnOuGh

[@joshstock6591]

L33t

[@QuacksThePoet]

😭😭😭😭😭😭

[@jessicapope6977]

I think you need to watch the movie “MIDWAY”, it’s very accurate and more in-depth when it comes to the code breakers, uss enterprise and on the pilots!

[@stischer47]

Watch "Midway" (2019)...very well made. McClusky's decision wasn't "pure luck", he followed a Japanese destroyer hightailing it back to the carriers. The Japanese pilots were considered the best in the Pacific if not the world.

[@Seems12345]

I watched it the day it came out two days before my birthday. Best war film I’ve seen. Since I haven’t seen many. Really good

[@Dragonspirit223]

Definitely the best war film (Okay, maybe 2nd, Gettysburg remains the top, maybe a tie between the two), as far as I know, historically accurate, didn't add a stupid love story, character development (From what I remember) was good, while they also showed the Japanese, American, and even the Chinese sides (The last I personally have never seen, I knew that it existed, but it was the first time that I can remember it appearing on a big screen. Seems like we Americans seem to forgive the Japanese for the atrocities they committed (I mean, we did the same, not to the same degree, but we've always committed atrocities in war) because we nuked them twice. Just a observation I've seen from school and general media).

[@woody4077]

to be fair he did get "lucky" that a japanese ship was in that location

[@stischer47]

@@woody4077 OK, but in that case just about all battles are decided by "luck"

[@woody4077]

@@stischer47 point conceeded

[@cherylann9781]

You should watch the movie Midway, the70’s version. It’s a pretty good timeline of events.

[@raptortime4562]

I mean the new one is quite good

[@cherylann9781]

Oof Time I agree it’s a good movie, but the 70’s version has a better time line and is easier to follow as far as the actual battle goes.

[@chemislife]

@@cherylann9781 the problem with the 70s version is it has several inaccuracies in it's time line for instance the planes fueling on the top deck.

[@binyominsilverman1592]

The new one is better.

[@michaelusswisconsin6002]

2019 is also good

[@tirasbell4740]

Hey Artur. History buff here. Bombs were the most effective in taking out enemy ships. The torpedo bombers at the time were outdated, it required pilots to fly low and slow making it easy for anti aircraft to pick them off, plus the torpedoes were plagued with problems primarily the torpedoes fuses not going off. Bombing specifically divebombing was more effective. It had a higher success rate than torpedoes and was in comparison a lot safer. Edit: The TBD Devastator is a torpedo bomber not a dive bomber. The SBD Dauntless was

[@AlechiaTheWitch]

Magnetic detonators had trouble due to irregularities and beung near the equator

[@Ben-zh4nz]

I’ve been loving this channel recently, instant sub

[@20somthingdrifter11]

28:48 The Devastator was a torpedo bomber, and it was obsolete before the war started, combined with the fact that American torpedos were very unreliable at this stage, meant the devastator crews had little effect and were cut to pieces.

[@shack1943]

Artur you should check out Mark Felton Productions on KZbin. He has a lot of stuff on World War 2 that I think you would find very interesting.

[@thekhans2823]

@ Shack19 , Oh yes

[@casanmacaslang6245]

I support this...

[@TheBruceGday]

Shack19 then there is Drachinfel for naval history!

[@milagroscuevas1139]

“We didn’t win, Japan has awoken a sleeping giant..” Admiral Yamamoto after the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Thanks for the likes I guess.

[@mr.kamikaze8660]

There’s no evidence he ever actually said that quote, but it’s plausible since he did have that kind of mindset.

[@Andrew-ep4kw]

@@mr.kamikaze8660 yeah I think he said something to the effect that Japan just awoke a sleeping giant, but I don't know the exact quote. I believe Yamamoto's strategy for Midway was to destroy the US Pacific carrier fleet then negotiate a peace with the United States. He was educated in the US, had seen it's industrial potential and knew Japan would lose a protracted war.

[@weasle2904]

@@Andrew-ep4kw Strange to see a person who calls himself a man study in the US, a country with far more individual freedoms than Japan, then be perfectly okay fighting for the broken and immoral government in Japan... It would be like a North Korean living in the US, then coming back to North Korea and leading the war on the US

[@HardenJID]

Weasle well it’s very funny you bring up the North Korean example considering there have been North Korean defectors who suffer such a major culture shock and were so “brainwashed” that they actually preferred to go back and some did, now obviously this isn’t every defector or even most but it does happen.

[@USS_Grey_Ghost]

Said something to the effect of I can give you 1 maybe 2 years of free reign in the Pacific after that I cannot guarantee this

[@Navy89SEALs]

Early in the war, Japanese technology was superior. Planes could fly faster and turn sharper. Torpedoes almost always worked where ours failed to arm or hit. By the end of the war, our technology had caught up to and surpassed the Japanese. After the war, we silently swore to never allow a potential foe to have superior technology.

[@TheCsel]

If the Americans actually had functional torpedoes at the start of the war, it all would have turned out very differently.

[@JHNielson4851]

@@TheCsel - The Mark 14 torpedo was junk and the Navy's Bureau of Ordnance was to stubborn to listen to their submarine commanders. The aircraft at Midway use the Mark 13 torpedo but it was also a piece of junk.

[@SaltineChips]

@@JHNielson4851 I wonder if submarine commanders just simply began to not use then at all.

[@Navy89SEALs]

@@TheCsel Especially since the Japanese biggest mistake of Pearl Harbor was flying over the submarine base twice without dropping a single bomb. Our subs wrecked their shipping and supplies which kept us in the war. But just imagine if they had working torpedoes.

[@bbigjohnson069]

@@Navy89SEALs Their torpedoes were good ours weren't.

[@knightlife98]

"We meet at Midway!" "Naval War!"

[@ISS600]

FAR FROM SHORE, A PACIFIC WAR BOMBS ARE FALLING FROM THE SKY IT'S A BOMB RUN DAY, ITS THE NAVAL WAY A BLOOD RED SUN IS ON THE RISE

[@billburch1539]

the B17's were heavy bombers from midway. you're confusing them with fighters, dive bombers and torpedo bombers that are on carriers.

[@yeraymonzon6338]

Ever heard of B-17 666?

[@Andrew-ep4kw]

Between Pearl Harbor and Midway (about 6 months apart) a small group of US carriers roamed the Japanese Pacific almost like pirate ships, striking at island bases and disappearing. This was one of the reasons Japan thought up the Midway attack - to deal a death blow to the American carrier fleet that was causing so much trouble

[@JaayCeez]

Is there a name to search of ra video of them?

[@Andrew-ep4kw]

@@JaayCeez you can search the battle of midway which will give you a bunch of videos. The two best in my opinion are the one from the Japanese perspective and the Battlefield episode, which goes into depth about the battles that led up to Midway. Here's the link to that video kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z6iWYXmhiL2siqc

[@Rammstein0963.]

As to bombing ships? It's possible, in fact it's one of the reasons dive bombing was invented, it's easier on fat, slow ships though, such as Battleships and Carriers.

[@josephc8125]

General Joseph here

[@arturrehi]

Members (Generals) have early access ;) nice

[@2halliom]

seya hin

[@immortalnomad0341]

"If you don't like that, go away!" This is why I watch and love your videos 😂😂😂

[@cartermccauley7352]

I love how Artur talks about wars and stuff and doesn’t bring up politics it’s better than watching the history channel

[@bromixsr]

Nowadays, watching paint dry is better than watching the History Channel.

[@Rammstein0963.]

Btw, Artur, just a heads up.. Idk if you'll see this, but whenever you see the name "Harbaugh" it's generally pronounced "Har-baw"

[@captoscarmike9533]

Or if referring to Coach Jim Harbaugh just say, moron and that should cover it...JK!!!

[@jonathanbartron3658]

@@captoscarmike9533, I was gonna pretty much say the same thing.

[@afto7141]

torpedoes are a better than bombs but its still hard to hit the target.

[@nicholaswilson1851]

Fionn MacEachern not air-dropped torps they’re smaller than the kinds boats use

[@tarn1135]

The USA’s torpedos were temperamental at best. Our detonators work 1/3 of the time. Thankfully our dive bombers worked just fine.

[@landonfonke6082]

Back then, torpedoes were new so they were accident prone

[@budmeister]

@@landonfonke6082 The first effective self-propelled torpedo came out in 1866.

[@Nyx_2142]

@@tarn1135 No. The Mk. 14 torpedo was a dud 9 times out of 10. 1/3 is way too good for those pieces of junk.

[@jamesedwards2483]

Love Your Channel. You Should React To Taffy 3: The Battle Off Samar. US Destroyers, Destroyer Escorts, And Escort Carriers Against Japanese Battleships, Heavy Cruisers, Light Cruisers And Destroyers.

[@TheBruceGday]

James Edwards yes! Watch the Odds? What are Those? From Drachinfel. Love his video on Samar! kzbin.info/www/bejne/anLHlKl6nqZmoqc

[@CorsetGrace]

"The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" is the name of the book.

[@Embur12]

The zero was a superior fighter early in the war. US weapons systems like torpedoes, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers were all inferior. The Yorktown was rushed into battle in a few days after sustaining major damage in the battle of corral sea. They patched a huge hole in her deck with plywood, and the Yorky was lost in battle. but it was invaluable to be able to launch the sheer number of aircraft needed to destroy the Japanese carrier fleet.

[@Hello-ub8kt]

It was terrifying early in the war but superior weapons, including far superior fighters, were developed over the course of the war, and the Japanese couldn’t keep up

[@Baldeagle-tw2nv]

The Yorktown taking those multiple hits also had the Japanese thinking that they had taken down two American carriers instead of hitting the Yorktown multiple times. Yorktown was a tough gal and took more punishment than a ship should have, she stood firm when her nation and sailors needed her to and the presence of her also confused the Japanese as they thought it was impossible to have the Yorktown back in combat after the massive damage taken at Coral Sea. People also forget that repair teams were still on the ship when she left Pearl Harbor and participated in the battle.

[@kevinl2482]

Yup. The Yorktown was set on fire during the first attack and heavy damage was done. It was hit by 3 bombs and 2 torps I think. The repair crew then patched up the decks and did their damage control stuff and the Yorktown was almost good as new until the second attack, leading the Japanese to think they got 2 carriers, and then got attacked while refueling. Also, instead of only 200 people repair it afte Coral Sea, they had 1400 people repair it. It was estimated that it would take 2 weeks normally to repair it, but Nimitz needed it in 3 days, so they x7 peopled and repaired it in 2 days. They did patch a hole with Plywood, but as the Russians say, "Whatever works, works".

[@Ko_Kasumi]

@@Hello-ub8kt Not all the US weapons were superior tho, Japanese had better torps pretty much the whole war for both planes and ship based torpedoes. Also Japan had better night sights for most the war which made night engagements extra scary. The biggest difference though was manpower and training ideologies. US Aces became teachers while Japanese Aces fought till they died and never passed on knowledge.

[@Registered_Simp]

One thing they didn't mention regarding McClusky is that he didn't go just off of pure instinct. The Submarine Nautilus that was a fleet scout had been spotted and was being hunted by the Japanese destroyer Arashi. Arashi had finally called off the hunt after a few hours and was powering back towards the feet at flank speed, giving off an enormous wake. McClucky was betting that if he pointed his group in the general direction of this destroyer moving at flank speed, it would take him to the carriers

[@mljrotag6343]

Exactly right.

[@mickey3454]

I would highly suggest watching the movie "Midway" one came out in 2019 and in 1976. Watch either, but great story telling and explains all this in great action and detail. One of my favorite movies.

[@adamplez2498]

The Soviet Union's war industry couldn't have been successful without massive lend lease act. America provided tons of ammunition, provided the Soviets fuel for trucks and high octane aviation fuel, an entire military communications network with tens of thousands of radios, provided train tracks and railcars along with hundreds of thousands of trucks that provided the Soviets the ability to bring massive aid quickly to the fronts(apposed to the germans that relied on horses) and these trucks were also used to mount the feared soviet katyusha rocket system as well as pull towed artillery, these trucks also allowed them to out run the Germans and out supply them. The US help provide winter clothing as well as food to the Soviets (the germans were eating their own boots near the wars end). along with tanks and planes. for anyone questioning this, look at Stalins and Gorbachev's own memoirs on this, they essentially said the war on the Eastern front would have been lost without American and Western aid. do a video on this!

[@alreadyblack3341]

Not to mention, the Industrial Aid given to the Soviets pre-war. American contractors helped construct and design Soviet Factories, and these templates were copy and pasted essentially with the Industrial buildup of the Soviet's Central Asian sector.

[@alextjb]

You have to give the soviets credit for literally disassembling their factories in the west from Moscow and other cities and putting them on trains and rebuilding them in the East. It is an amazing feat of engineering to literally rebuild entire factories in just a few weeks. Without those factories the Russians have no tanks, rifles, ammunition, aircraft, etc etc.

[@l8tr597]

We gave them the Hearth Furnace technology inducing oxygen to make quality steel, which their t34s would have sucked without. Speaking of that, they also used Christie’s design (American from France) to make the T34s also, after our government turned the best tank design of the war down. Russia then, is like now, a paper tiger.

[@casanmacaslang6245]

Is there any good videos about this info

[@alreadyblack3341]

@@l8tr597 Well, their Armored core is dated and deteriorating, and they just don't have the economic or industrial capacity to withstand a major conflict against China, the U.S., or the E.U.

[@NoobNoobNews]

Artur, drink black tea with a little sugar instead of energy drink when tired.

[@aidenhuang7106]

“If you don’t like history... go away” 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@kie-skatemods4141]

Ki Muas here from San Francisco, I’m a US Marine Veteran. Thanks for giving some good different perspective for my country’s history

[@elexanderbauson]

So they used 3 Yorktown Class carriers to counter Akagi,Kaga,Hiryu,and Shoryu oh I love history

[@kickofftheboot]

That dude doesn’t look like he should have that voice.

[@AlechiaTheWitch]

I know right

[@huntclanhunt9697]

Fun fact: the son of the American President Franklin Roosevelt served on an anti aircraft gun on the island.

[@solarios9983]

wow

[@manictiger]

FDR: Hold my Pina Colada

[@Tommyturbo1981]

YOU NEED TO WATCH "BATTLE 360." Its the entire naval battle during ww2.

[@h3S3zl]

Where do you watch this

[@TheStig_TG]

Unforgiving 28 Tv

[@jndvs95]

As a former U.S. soldier, I cannot state enough how much I appreciate your videos and motivation to study history. It is bittersweet to see a foreign national show so much more respect to American history and history in general than many current Americans, but I enjoy it all the more for that. The world would have much to learn from seeing fellow soldiers of different nations interact when together. Race doesnt matter, nationality doesn't matter. It's everyone understanding and respecting each other for what they were and are. Perhaps that is what made the previous generation the "greatest generation." They had first hand experience that there are regular people everywhere with their own lives and problems. This has been evident in almost every major war as allies mingled. Videos like yours bring that to the public and bring a little bit more people in. Thank you. If you haven't yet. I recommend you find a video on the Red Tail squadron. There was a popular movie made about them, but they earned it.

[@Guildelin]

One "battle" I'm really impressed by is when we took down Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto ... Less of a battle and more of an assassination but still very impressive build up

[@james-io9nj]

There’s a great movie about this battle called “Midway” that is amazing and I highly recommend.

[@potatojuice5124]

Maybe next the battle off Samar next. It’s even more epic! Even if it wasn’t as important

[@pikamonketchumlol1237]

As a Filipino I am kinda offended, but the Battle of Leyte Gulf was the biggest naval war, if you haven't Artur please react to it!

[@dustypluskrat7423]

PikamonKetchumlol 123 definitely Leyte Gulf for the absolute mad lads in Taffy-3 a true David and Goliath story.

[@pikamonketchumlol1237]

@@dustypluskrat7423 we all know what happens after that, Japan surrenders and pays its debt with its anime

[@TheCsel]

In what should have been the most spectacular battleship engagement of the war, instead it was the main Japanese battlefleet against a few American support carriers and destroyers. And the Americans win.

[@TheBruceGday]

POTATO JUICE yes! Watch the Odds? What are Those? From Drachinfel. Love his video on Samar! kzbin.info/www/bejne/anLHlKl6nqZmoqc

[@whiphid437Official]

I was a boyscout in the USA and my troop spent two nights in the Yorktowns barracks. It it in a permanent cement anchor off our east coast and we snuck away in the night and crawled around a bunch of parts of the ship that we weren't getting to see otherwise. Very fun very special memory.

[@michaelriddick7116]

The 1976 movie "Midway" is outstanding, you should watch it :) Also: the Battle of Coral (May '42) sea was the first time the Imperial Japanese navy failed to win. It was a draw and set the stage for Midway (June '42)

[@Pasakid]

React to Taistelukenttä 2020. It's how Finland would go to war if it comes.

[@basketcase289]

The US didnt really have a fighter advantage until a bit later in the war when through a combination of developing specialized tactics to deal with the Zeros, attrition leaving the Japanese navy with few experienced pilots, and eventually superior designed fighters they eventually gained the advantage probably culminating in "The Great Marianas Turkey Shoot"

[@airsoftpopcorn]

Yeah, US fighters were a lot tougher and more resilient than japanese planes, but this meant they were less maneuverable. Especially earlier on in the war

[@terrypennington2519]

I think when the US had started using Hellcats they finally had a chance at dogfighting zeros, wildcats weren't very effective against them because US planes were designed to be much tougher at the cost of their maneuverability

[@redshirt5126]

Here's a link to a video that does a great job of explaining the advantages vs the disadvantages of the Japanese Mitsubishi Zero during the Pacific campaign. kzbin.info/www/bejne/d6Gyl5WupbFnesk

[@TheCsel]

Zeroes were good, but the Japanese never produced a great upgrade for them. Their design teams were working with too many constraints and as the war progressed their industry took hits. The Americans and British were able to field newer aircraft and they quickly outclassed the older Zeroes.

[@redshirt5126]

@@TheCsel It probably didnt help that the Zero had to be an extreamly balance airframe in terms of weight to get the best preformance out of it. Because of that, when the Japanese Navy started looking at adding upgrades, they found that anything they added would make the Zero overweight and unstable.

[@kryfriecookie7855]

Imagine if he saw Girls und panzer tank drifting

[@Durahan82]

25:15 The Wildcats were obsolete against the Zeros but after the Newer Hellcats , Thunderbolts and Lightnings came later in the war , the Zeros had no chance .

[@sgtpickles1319]

Please react to the Iowa-Class battleships, arguably the strongest warships of WWII. Served all the way until the 1990's

[@tediz_ftw2240]

Or the Yamato-class battleship which is the heaviest battleship ever made.

[@prodigalespace7299]

Spaceman here :)

[@arturrehi]

Hello General

[@prodigalespace7299]

@@arturrehi hello sir!

[@comunistpig9500]

Hello Sir @Artur Rehi

[@comunistpig9500]

@@SuperBobblehead77 no

[@comunistpig9500]

@@arturrehi Hello sir!

[@Patsy_Parisi]

Arthur: You are forgetting that Japan had access to a remarkable amount of resources. They had access to rubber from Malaya, oil from Indonesia, and steel from other conquered nations.

[@TheMyrmo]

Why bombers? Because they had bombers. Ideally against enemy ships of this era you would torpedo planes, but this whole thing went down pretty swiftly.

[@stischer47]

But at the time US torpedos had lousy reliability. The best were dive bombers. Which took out the carriers.

[@mikek0135]

The American torpedo reliability wasn’t bad enough that it would cause them to choose bombers instead. In this case they sent bombers because they sent everything they had (except fighters).

[@douglascampbell9809]

@@mikek0135 American torpedo reliability was horrible at the start of the war. In mid-1943 an analysis of 105 Mark 13 torpedoes dropped at speeds in excess of 150 knots showed clearly why aviators distrusted the Mark 13: 36 percent ran cold, 20 percent sank, 20 percent had poor deflection performance, 18 percent gave unsatisfactory depth performance, 2 percent ran on the surface, and only 31 percent gave a satisfactory run. You had to fly low and slow to make them work. Pretty much making sure AA takes out your aircraft.

[@stischer47]

@@mikek0135 I agree. They used what they had. But it was the dive bombers not the torpedo bombers that caused the damage, plus luck of the CAP leaving the carriers unprotected from high level bombing.

[@warbacca1017]

A small but crucial detail that one of my college history professors pointed out. Bear in mind that after the order given at 19:11 the decks of the Japanese carriers were covered, not only with planes, but bombs, torpedoes, and fuel lines. A perfect recipe for a battle disaster

[@gorbaggoescamping1329]

"Wind Talkers." Look into them!

[@tyhen8211]

Good one

[@Utoober729]

Navajo code talkers

[@Patriotusa44]

Don't forget the Choctaw code talkers from WWI.

[@OpRaven-62]

Small correction Artur: the British cracked the Enigma machine. The mathematician named "Alan Turing", along with his team, learned of a key word for the machines. The Germans became lazy, and overconfident in their coded devices, that they used the same code word. With this information, Alan created a computer to check all of the possibilities, until they got one single option. They compared this option to the weather report for the day (because the Germans would send a weather report out every day to let the commanders make sure their codes were ok), and checked to see if the message made sense. In this way, Alan, along with his team, cracked the Enigma. However, at the start of the war, the Polish did crack the code, but only for a few months. The Germans changed the scramble sets, completley changing the configuration for the code. The main difference, is that the Polish sort of made it obvious that they were in the code, the British tried to keep it as secret as possible, selectively choosing which attacks to prevent, and which attacks to let happen.

[@thekhans2823]

@ CommentControl , Yeah they should have changed it 3 times a day

[@ALRIGHTYTHEN.]

You mean the Poles.

[@thekhans2823]

@ ALRIGHTY THEN , it was the poles you fool !

[@mncharlie8455]

You might check this out. Without the help of the Poles, Turing would not have cracked the final version the Germans were using then. www.warhistoryonline.com/featured/polish-mathematicians-role-in-cracking-germans-wwii-codesystem.html

[@finnishintel3235]

Whereeee is taistelukenttääääää 2020

[@potatojuice5124]

I watched that and it’s very cool!

[@ssilent8202]

I wished they had gone more into detail about the intelligence and counter-intelligence parts of it. I’m pretty sure there is more to it than what was said.

[@tchoupitoulos]

This whole production was a very general overview, that misses a lot of detail.

[@sophiaschier-hanson4163]

I'm just amazed that there exists such clear colour footage of the Japanese attack on Midway. That was pretty damn cool. I've seen WWII-era colour footage before but colour combat footage is a little rarer as far as I know.

[@richardschwarzbauer201]

I love this man’s videos.

[@chaoticarcher9088]

react to the swedish metal band "sabaton-bismarck".

[@Firusdhf]

Power metal sucks

[@collincaperton6718]

@@Firusdhf I prefer heavy metal to power but sabaton is a good example of a powermeral band

[@Firusdhf]

Collin Caperton I like extremely metal like thrash, death and black

[@ahkillease4324]

“Countries with resources will win.” This is very true. One of the big advantages Rome had over other powers in the ancient world was the fact that it was a vast empire with a vast amount of resources and good logistics. The Roman Empire had a great military, but they absolutely did not win every battle. The Empire had great resilience that made up for some of their defeats.

[@l8tr597]

Their Roads had a lot to do with it also, agreed, logistics worked

[@ahkillease4324]

l8tr597 And many of said roads were built whilst on campaign

[@JSp4wN]

Artur, You should watch the movie "midway". You wont regret it.

[@TheDarkSpecter00]

I really like the newest one, despite the critics review.. The 1976 one is alright, but a lot of added drama. Haven't seen the other one.

[@NathanWilkie]

"Prisoners of Geography" is a great follow up book to put a finer point on how resources matter and how geography constrains the behaviors of nation states.

[@stevem2601]

By the way - your interest in American things is awesome. I congratulate you, our Estonian ally!!

[@Alex-xd7fr]

You should watch ww2 from space it covers everything but it's like an 1 hour to 1 hour and 30 min.

[@themoviedealers]

"Japan Attacked America, which nobody else had done before..." I thought you did a video on the War of 1812, where England attacked America.

[@IrishBiteGirl]

To be fair, the USA was barely even a nation of its own at that point, a few decades. That's like attacking a baby as an adult then when he is older trying to say you were the first to ever beat that man up. Even though he wasn't a man yet, just a baby.

[@leelendmccormick3538]

But the British didn’t fight the fighters wer te world’s unsung heroes the Canadians

[@rlmurray89]

At the time, the US bombers were older tech, and they were effectively sitting ducks.

[@jimmyjammgrijalva7847]

Hello my friend, nice reaction to this famous battle of Midway, it was the turning point of the war that we gained the advantage of beating the Japanese, which setup the next history making attack on mainland Japan. You must look at what the US was doing now from that point when they decided to build Fat Man and Little Boy during the Manhattan project and drop the only 2 Atomic bombs in battle by the B29 Bombers Enola Gay and Bockscar to end World War II. It is an amazing story.. By the way I am from Texas as well..

[@Jeeeter]

There's another great video of the battle of midway made by the youtube channel Montemayor. His video is told by the japanese perspective, it's a great video I highly recommend.

[@personmanman3071]

Japanese carrier go bye-bye

[@MrEd-qg8td]

Yorktown sunk by Japanese submarine night after battle, couple of months later US carrier go bye bye USS Wasp, USS Saratoga badly damaged by by Sub and Enterprise damaged and had to return to Pearl Harbor for 2 months reapair work. Battle of Santa Cruz October 1942 Enterprise returns to battle and Hornet sunk, Enterprise badly damaged again and nearly sunk. After that we had basically no battle ready carriers. But Japan lost most of it's trained pilots. But Essex launched December 1942 and relieved Enterprise. Now Japan was in bad shape and could not recover. It was basically over for them.

[@leevionpro]

React to taistelukenttä 2020 please artur

[@jsl151850b]

Would war be impossible if each side had total intelligence of the adversaries position? No 'Fog of War' at all?

[@jsl151850b]

Ohhhh. As long as the adversaries had comparable military resources it would be a stalemate. If one side had an overwhelming advantage they could lose equal quantities until one side ran out.

[@MDKMRMATT]

@@jsl151850b i would say yes still possible because like watching a boxing match between two equal fighters they would maneuver for position until there is an advantage and unlike boxing for sport two people fighting to the death one may take an intentional non critical blow to score a fatal hit like Ali in boxing with a rope a dope

[@Baldeagle-tw2nv]

Also all the intel in the world cannot account for individual action. That was what set the American forces apart from every other force in WWII, the sheer unpredictability of American forces made it difficult to handle them. The Germans knew the Americans would fight tooth and nail, but didn't know HOW they would fight. There was no set American dogma of action and the Germans made comment of it several times. They knew how the Commonwealth forces would act and had a general idea of how the Soviets would fight, but they couldn't figure out for the love of God how the Americans were going to act. When your military is made up of wildcards that constantly change tactics and plans on the fly all the intel in the world is rendered pointless.

[@jsl151850b]

@@Baldeagle-tw2nv Thanks everyone for your replies. I don't know who else I could have asked. B1787 ...I wasn't saying foreknowledge, just impossible transparency. Magical cameraless television. "Know-Ware".

[@CrimsonThunderSB]

20:28 yes, the Japanese Zeros were good, however they did have some serious flaws in its design that was later exploited later on, and when the F4U Corsair and the F6F Hellcat (which was basically a much improved Wildcat), they literally lost all the advantage they had. First off, the Zero had a floater carburetor that when inverted would temporarily starve the engine of fuel when inverted, 2nd the frame was so light that if they were too fast, they wouldn't be able to maneuver at all. Corsair and Hellcat pilots would be trained to dive away from them at a disadvantage, and they were trained to only use boom and zoom tactics, and never to get into a slow turning fight against a Zero.

[@Lechuga1815]

"They had attacked America which no Nation had done before" *Great Britain*: "Am I a joke to you?"

[@johannesvalterdivizzini1523]

My uncle Tom Reale was a B24 pilot who was posthumously decorated. Flying over the Pacific, his plane was hit by flack and caught on fire. He held it steady as most of the crew bailed out. He was literally burning up, but his job was to hold it steady. He saved the lives of six crew members before the flames caused the plane to blow up. I never knew him and there was no trace of his body. If you asked him if he was a hero, I know he would have said no; he died just doing his duty.

[@walletgamer7896]

I agree that you should learn more about The Grey Ghost but something that shouldn't be overlooked either was Yorktown's participation in this battle. They said it would take 2 weeks to repair her but she left dock after only 48 hours and went ahead to contribute to the battle heavily

[@royweyant4382]

Love your Channel. One little known fact that gave the American carriers an advantage in fire fighting was that the tanks holding aviation fuel were topped off with nitrogen gas as they used the fuel. That aided the carriers survival.

[@alexwerkmeister8625]

At 22:30, what really happened was they spotted a Japanese Destroyer that earlier broke off to chase a U.S. Sub.arine that earlier launched torpedoes at the Carriers. When they broke off the search and headed back to the Carrier group, McCluskey spotted this ship and followed him, just minutes after they reached the turn around point

[@sirethanthegreat4069]

I think the best answer to naval combat at the time is yes, using planes to shoot and also during the time dive bombing. You can also do ship to ship battles. That’s what I think. But your answer was good too.

[@EdgewiseSJ]

In response to your question asked at 10:11 When the B-17 was conceived, targeting ships was one of the ideas for it, but it never successfully hit a ship that was moving afaik, only ships sitting still. Partly because when it was first designed, fighters were much slower and anti-aircraft guns were very poor, so the idea was it could attack from much lower altitude. Carriers and carrier fighters were still very basic just a few years before WW2 happened.

[@conamer6738]

Search for "Montemayor" The Battle of Midway: The Aerican Perspective, The Japanese Perspective and Hiryu's Counterstrike. This is the most precise single source on the Battle of Midway. I have been a military history buff since I was a child and I am a 56 years old U.S. Army veteran.

[@kylefam9356]

Watch the movie called "Midway" it came out in 2019 and is a really good and informational movie.

[@Nidhoggrr]

Bombing back then was extremely inaccurate. However ships have very thin armor on their decking which means the best way to do heavy damage is to try and get a bomb to land on the deck.

[@thegreyghost5846]

10:20 yes bombing a ship is a very good option, as it has the least armor and has holes cut in it for the funnels, but not how the Americans were doing it at first. High level strategic bombers like the b-17 are probably the single worst type of plane to attack a fleet for several reasons: 1. Its moving. This isn't like bombing a moving convoy (on a road), a lot of the times that convoy will be limited to that road. Meanwhile not only does a ship move relatively quickly, but they can also turn freely in just about any direction. 2. Elevation. The high elevation not only means that your bombs will inherently be less accurate, but it also means they have a longer distance to fall so they spend more time in the air, which means your enemy has a large window for evasive maneuvers.

[@Galaar]

As referenced around 10:15 bombers are the way to go with attacking a ship if you don't want a surface battle because of the punch they can pack. Maybe for some of the ships of the time incendiary ammo would have been concerning, being wood-topped, but fighters would be little more than an annoyance to them. To this day sailors are trained in firefighting and damage control before they are taught their primary job upon enlisting, the Yorktown served as proof of their skill at the time.

[@anthonyusselman9463]

i know what truly happened, the American ships were late for the battle and didn’t launch their fighters from the carriers until later. 13:05 plus this battle was on the show “Battle 360.”

[@hawkmoon419]

At least one error in that video: The Douglas TBD Devastator was a TORPEDO bomber, not a dive bomber, and entering service in 1937, was slow and obsolete. Midway was its last major action (but the first for its replacement, the Grumman TBF/General Motors TBM Avenger). The Boeing B-17Es that sortied against the Japanese fleet bombed from high altitude with no hits, while the Martin B-26s closest thing to a hit was when one that was going down almost hit Akagi's bridge. The Mitsubishi A6M 'Zero, Zeke' was fast and highly maneuverable but at the expense of self-sealing fuel tanks and pilot armor while the Grumman F4F/General Motors FM Wildcat was better armed and better armored. Navy personnel used to refer to the manufacturer as 'Grumman Iron Works'. Keep up the videos!

[@grassulus158]

Rehi, I recommend that you watch a series on Amazon called “Battle 360”

[@zackmarkham4240]

@ 23:21 the analogy you were looking for is "Domino Effect", one thing sets off another, which sets off another, and another, on and on until nothing is left. The analogy 'Time Bomb' is something bad waiting to happen. 'Only a matter of time before it explodes'.