Attacking Battleship North Carolina Was a Bad Idea (duh) | Channel Markers

[@BearingStraight]

Thanks for watching! Comment below if you have a topic you'd like us to review in the future!

[@lynnmcculloch-m4h]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@manilajohn0182]

Topic suggestion- USS Jarvis DD- 393...

[@manilajohn0182]

Topic suggestion- IJN Shigure of DesDiv 27...

[@RickRussell-wq7cm]

@@manilajohn0182Great suggestion!

[@RickRussell-wq7cm]

@@manilajohn0182Great suggestion!

[@nickporto7014]

My father was a gunner's mate on "The Showboat". His foot locker is on display with his name on it. We're all very proud of his service and being a plank owner.

[@BearingStraight]

Thanks for watching and letting us know about your father. North Carolina was a favorite of the fleet, in part because she was our first new battleship in 18 years, but mainly because her crew was considered one of the best in the US Navy. Almost all her commanding officers became admirals too. If you're inclined to talk further about your father with us, we'd like to be in touch at [e-mail] ... Thanks again!

[@nickporto7014]

@@BearingStraight My father and I were supposed to visit the ship but he passed before we could go. Something always seamed more important. It's my biggest regret. He was so proud of that ship.

[@RickRussell-wq7cm]

@@nickporto7014I’m working on a Battleship North Carolina book project. Maybe there’s a photo or something else we could add to acknowledge your father. If so, please email at the EM address above. Thanks!

[@ColKorn1965]

​@@RickRussell-wq7cmI'd buy that book! I can't get enough of the NC Class

[@NOT_a_skinwalker]

She still sits in Wilmington, NC as a museum. I've been going since i was a kid, still love to go

[@donarthiazi2443]

Me too. My first visit was in the 5th grade in 1976 and in my 59 years I've lost count of my trips to the _Showboat._ I'll be there with my son and his wife and three children this coming weekend. I'm glad there are others that love her so much!!

[@dallasmars2]

Too bad they scrapped her sister ship uss Washington bb56

[@Weesel71]

I recall reading a book ages ago that may have described this action. Supposedly some aircraft were returning to a US carrier and they were told: Stay away from that big sonofabitch. He's shooting down everything in sight.

[@bkjeong4302]

It should be noted that the seven Japanese pilots were breaking protocol as IJN doctrine had carriers attack enemy carriers FIRST, and then move onto the battleships after the carriers were dealt with. The IJN (and everyone else) mistakenly assumed battleships were important, but they didn’t make them the first priority.

[@BearingStraight]

Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment! I believe they must have had a difficult decision to make, which in the end boiled down to attacking something big or risk being shot down before reaching a carrier. 37 aircraft isn't many in the scheme of things, especially with 53 Wildcats in the air, which we didn't mention in this video.

[@clintonreisig]

Amazing crews, airmen, officers, and ships. I want to go see N. Carolina some day

[@ColKorn1965]

I've practically lived on this ship. When I was a kid we lived a few miles from the memorial and visited often

[@01ZO6TT]

I’ve been to the “Showboat” twice. It is a beautiful site to see. A hung THANK YOU to all the men who served on her.

[@roberthilton5328]

Seeing the film footage of USS North Carolina's flat trajectory AA fire @ 2:45 must have been both impressive and frightening to the IJN aircrew making their dives and then pulling out a low altitude to egress the scene!

[@BearingStraight]

Right! Most of the planes shot down were hit after completing their dives. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@Hawkeye2001]

(Regarding the intense AA fire) - Somewhere I remember reading that in this action, one of the other ships signaled to North Carolina; "Are you on fire?"

[@tomellis4750]

" No matter how low on fuel or ammo, they wanted a piece of the action," heros all.

[@jeddkeech259]

she was our only operational battleship after pearl harbor

[@diddlebug7241]

You are correct on that one sir and I saw a documentary on this ship when it entered Pearl Harbor right after the attack and sailors that were there at that time cheered when the ship came. It was such a morale booster to see an intact capital ship arrive.

[@MichaelPelestano-it4ym]

Congrats on over 4000 subscribers 😊

[@Marine12178]

my father george alton bennett sr 18 year old kid was their I have his dairy he fought under Admiral Hasley ass the way to Japan My uncle Sam was also in the task force I'am 78 year old retired Marine I'am proud of my ancestors God Bless America no generation paid such a high price for our freedom Let's never forget them.

[@alanniederlitz8630]

my grandfather served during ww2 on a destroyer escort. Atlantic AND Pacific. i have a great pic of him and some pals under a 40mm bofors twin cannon...

[@BearingStraight]

Do you have the name of his DE? Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@johnpower8356]

Great ship with a great battle record

[@paulyokoyama7162]

This shows how effective US anti-air was compared to the Japanese. When Musashi and Yamato were similarly attacked by planes, they only managed to shoot down a few of them. Of course they didn't have any fighter cover. The 25 mm AA gun they had was nowhere near as good as the Bofors and Oerlikons.

[@aviral3464]

Remember one thing 25-30 vs 300-400 planes. Sometimes it’s not the gun or the men, it’s the situation that they are forced into. When your enemy has more planes than you have guns, it ain’t gonna matter if you have allied or axis aa. You’re royally screwed, no matter what. No allied ship with any luck or technology advancement could survive even half of what those ships went through.

[@Wick9876]

@oldrabidus2230Proximity fuses entered service 1/5/43, which was five months after the battle in this video.

[@JeffreyWilliams-dr7qe]

Retroactive Cheer Squad.

[@jeffreyevans6892]

Thank you.

[@jackrussell3818]

Classic example of FAFO

[@SGusky]

Well done! Subscribed

[@BearingStraight]

Thanks very much and thanks for taking the time to comment!

[@SGusky]

@@BearingStraight no problem I'm currently writing a small campaign for this battle using blood red skies & the last will be the attack on the enterprise and North Carolina. Hopefully, I'll be posting it on my channel soon. Thank you for your hard work.

[@aleccrombie7923]

North Carolina could fire 24000 shells a minute. Not bullets, shells! Guess what, no kamikaze ever hit her.

[@ezrabrooks12]

Good Video, Info.

[@patriciakeith6755]

I'm one of those NC school kids that contributed 10 cents to help bring her home. I, like so many other kids, own a part of her. I live over 200 miles from Wilmington so I have only walked her decks twice. But now she is sinking into the mud and the state is trying to come up with a plan to raise her back up.

[@BearingStraight]

Yes, she is one of our favorite ships. They've been busy in Wilmington working to solve the flooding problem, as you say. Always a fun visit to BB-55. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@TWayneD1020]

Thank you so much ❤!!

[@BearingStraight]

You're welcome 😊 Thanks for watching!

[@marcatteberry1361]

Atlanta, 8 Turrets? Really? Did they have the Radar/Proximity heads on AA yet?

[@RickRussell-wq7cm]

Good question. Proximity fuses weren’t introduced yet. We should cover that. 👍

[@ronbell7920]

I think they did. It was a closely held secret throughout the war.

[@Wick9876]

No, that was 1/5/43.

[@ronbell7920]

@@Wick9876 thanks for the clarification!

[@thevoiceofthelordpastorkei7165]

@ Bearingstraight; Thanks so much. New sub. My dad was on this ship as well as the Destroyer USS NEWCOMB in the Atlantic theatre when 5 kamakosi planes hit the deck causing my dad to lose a lung. Is there ANYWAY you could research this a try & find the footage bc i know its out there somewhere! They had to tow her back in. Ever grateful!

[@BearingStraight]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! As you and your dad well know, it was much better to serve in a new battleship than a new destroyer! The photos of the damage done to NEWCOMB are just horrendous. So glad he pulled through. We'll definitely add NEWCOMB to our list. Finding film on individual smaller ships is often much harder, so bear with us. If you want to stay in touch about it, then feel free to email us at [e-mail] ... Thanks again!

[@manilajohn0182]

Three weeks later, it was a good idea.

[@BearingStraight]

Ha! Good one. She was escorting HORNET in one task force when a Japanese submarine attacked WASP in another. A tip of the hat to long-running Japanese torpedoes, scoring by total accident one of the most effective torp salvoes of the war. Of the three ships hit, only NORTH CAROLINA survived. Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment!

[@manilajohn0182]

@@BearingStraight You bet. You have a good channel. I'll go out on a strong limb and predict that it will definitely improve with time...

[@davidmehling4310]

Don't touch the boats

[@BearingStraight]

Especially the one with the flight deck! Thanks for watching!

[@jimpuglisi7973]

The North Carolina is an hour from my house been their twice but I need to go again it’s a great ship and an important piece of history 👍🏻👍🏻🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸