The Toughest Battleship Hunter that Came Out of Nowhere

Рет қаралды 84,505

Күн бұрын

Пікірлер: 142

@jefferyroy2566 Ай бұрын

My father flew the TBM-3 in multiple variants as a member of the wordy "Naval Air Station Joint Reserve Base Willow Grove" at Willow Grove, PA. He never participated in any active conflict as a member of this wing from 1953-63. He did search for Soviet subs in the Mid-Atlantic zone during that time, never disclosing any actual contacts with foreign vessels as this info was "classified." He was qualified on the Corsair for carrier duty, and was disappointed at first with his assignment to the "Turkey," but grew to love the fact it was "solid, reliable and not that hard to fly," in words to that effect. He did claim the electronics for conducting searches were not nearly as reliable as the aircraft, and the earliest generations of sonobuoys were also part of the problem.

@Kyler9999 Ай бұрын

The last Avengers didn't leave service as Firefighter aircraft until 2012. A long and proud history of service.

@delten-eleven1910 Ай бұрын

Grumman's ingenious stow wing design utilized again two decades later on the E-2 Hawkeye; love watching it

@guyh.4553 Ай бұрын

Theres only 1 aircraft that I love more than Avenger & that is the F4U Corsair. The Avengers were beasts. Great bird!

@aerialcat1 Ай бұрын

A friend of mine’s father Lt George Ferguson was awarded three Navy Crosses for the sinking of three IJN carriers flying an Avenger, and went on to become a Navy acceptance test pilot.

@aaroncarter4089 Ай бұрын

3 aircraft carriers? By himself? Hmmm

@aerialcat1 Ай бұрын

@@aaroncarter4089 I doubt it he was an element leader and I’ve no idea what awards others involved received.

@TheOsfania Ай бұрын

Really?

@James-zp5po Ай бұрын

He wasn't worth shit

@ET-jv1wm Ай бұрын

Only Navy cross I could find awarded to a Lt George Fergusson was as follows- Battalion: Bombing Squadron 6 (VB-6) Division: U.S.S. Hancock (CV-19) GENERAL ORDERS: Commander 2d Carrier Task Force Pacific: Serial 01701 (September 3, 1945) CITATION: The President of the United States of America takes pleasure in presenting the Navy Cross to Lieutenant George Edward Ferguson (NSN: 0-145846), United States Naval Reserve, for extraordinary heroism in operations against the enemy while serving as Pilot of a carrier-based Navy Dive Bomber of Bombing Squadron SIX (VB-6), attached to the U.S.S. HANCOCK (CV-19), in action against Japanese forces at Yokosuka Naval Base, Japan, on 18 July 1945. Given the lead of his and other attacking groups of dive bombers and fighters after taking off from his base on a mission against major units of the Japanese Fleet, including a battleship, many destroyers and other warships, Lieutenant Ferguson skillfully led the entire flight through devastating anti-aircraft fire both from enemy warships in the harbor and the many batteries on shore in a successful attack which resulted in extensive damage to the battleship. His outstanding courage and devotion to duty were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service.

@PantherBlitz Ай бұрын

Dark Skies didn't include the footage of the rescue of the Senior Bush as he was hoisted out of a tiny raft onto a submarine?

@BP-1988 Ай бұрын

Note to the Dark Skies channel - You better check your facts. USS Hornet's torpedo squadron VT-8 in the Battle of Midway did not fly TBFs. They were still flying the TBD Devastators led by LCDR John C. Waldron. The only TBFs at Midway flew off Midway Island. Admiral Nimitz send six of the new TBFs to Midway Island because TBFs were new to the fleet and the crews of these planes had not been trained in carrier operations. Also, they arrived too late to get them on to the USS Hornet before the battle. I believe there is confusion because these six TBFs were designated as part of VT-8. My father was part of VS-8 flying a SBD from the USS Hornet at the Battle of Midway. About 30 minutes after all the Hornets planes were airborne, my father and his rear gunner saw Waldron break formation and lead his squadron directly to the Japanese carriers. And as my father used to say about VT-8 - "And the rest is history".

@RichardKroboth Ай бұрын

Correction, 6 crews from VT8 flew TBFs from Midway Island. They didn’t fly from the Hornet because they didn’t get aboard in time. They were delivered to Hawaii and the 6 crews flew them to Midway with extra fuel tanks in the bomb bay to reach Midway. After they landed the extra fuel tanks were removed and replaced with torpedoes. Three crew members from VT8 survived the mission, George Gay from the Hornet’s group and Burt Ernst and Harry Ferrier from the Midway group. Ernst and Ferrier would continue to fly with other VT8 crews during the Guadalcanal campaign. The book A Dawn Like Thunder tells their story.

@fredburley9512 Ай бұрын

Grumman excellence: from Wildcat to Tomcat 🐈‍⬛

@robertf3479 Ай бұрын

The nickname "Grumman Iron Works" tells you a lot about the ruggedness and durability of the aircraft this company produced.

@stephenhall3515 Ай бұрын

Aspects of the Avenger, at a smaller size, were incorporated into the amazing Fairey Gannet ASW and maritime radar aircraft from 1949 to 2000 in various navies. This masterpiece design had 2 turboprop engines but to a single front shaft and the props contra rotated, allowing for ranges measured in hours. The Avenger's folding wings mechanism was refined into a double fold such that the wings formed a 'Z' shape viewed from the front and this allowed for more compact stowage below decks as well as a downwards pivot to allow for aircraft to warm engines un-tethered then spread wings fully for take off in seconds for attack runs. It gradually evolved into one of the earliest EW and AWACS assets and was much used by Indonesia and Australia as well as in the Atlantic and European waters. The USA and Canada also acquired the Gannet for various purposes and, into the 21st century, many are used for forest fires in Canada.

@bradfordeaton6558 2 күн бұрын

They might be great airplanes, but they are butt ugly!

@robertdragoff6909 Ай бұрын

A flight of Avengers on a training mission off of Florida’s east coast supposedly disappeared into the Bermuda Triangle….. In the Movie Close Encounters of the third kind a team finds the planes intact and in perfect condition, but no crew. Cool movie!

@jeffapplewhite5981 Ай бұрын

Good episode!

@lndshrk6628 Ай бұрын

Blessed to hear then see an Avenger fly out of KJOT.

@robertf3479 Ай бұрын

The Military Air Museum here in Virginia Beach, VA has a TBM-3 in its collection along with an FM2 Wildcat and an F4U Corsair with these and many other WWI and WWII Allied and Axis models flying regularly.

@Grygus_Triss Ай бұрын

This is an epic craft. Saw one at an airshow earlier this year. You don't realise how huge it is until you're up close.

@45CaliberCure Ай бұрын

Quite a few Helldivers photo-bombed the footage.

@pibbles-a-plenty1105 28 күн бұрын

And a Hellcat for good measure.

@rossbabcock3790 Ай бұрын

Your videos are great! Factual, engaging and the narrator has a good voice. Good cadence, timbre and modulation. I'm so tired of AI narration. Bravo Zulu crew!

@timbrwolf1121 Ай бұрын

Yes an avenger really shot down a v1. Yes the v1 is faster than the avenger. It was spotted by the gunner behind the avenger. When it passed them by the pilot shot it down.

@oneshotme Ай бұрын

I very much enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

@rodneyadamson8270 Ай бұрын

They did the same with the A10, built the aircraft around ordnance or a Gatling cannon 😊

@Rotorhead1651 Ай бұрын

It's not a Gatling. It's a rotary cannon. Gatling was the original manufacturer and design. It was also a MUCH smaller caliber.

@mclarenscca Ай бұрын

This aircraft was the grunt of its time!

@johnreilly8672 Ай бұрын

I've seen the Avenger at airshows and I'm still amazed that even with the R2800 could get that large hulking air frame up in the air! But it did and was an excellent torpedo bomber.

@leester9487 Ай бұрын

Ha Ha. @DarkDocsSkies I'm so used to your speedy delivery, now I have to turn my playback speed up cause it just doesn't sound the same. 😃

@8zero90 Ай бұрын

He sounds depressed or like its hard for him to speak doesn't he? Could that be the reason for the sudden switch to Ai? If so I hope hes ok. I hope im wrong.

@JetsMakeWoosh Ай бұрын

1.25 is ideal

@leester9487 Ай бұрын

@@8zero90 I think he records it normal and then slows it down.

@8zero90 Ай бұрын

@@leester9487 its not the speed that has me thinking that its the shakiness in his voice at some points he sounds like hes forcing himself to finish his line more than normal, and with this sudden switch to AI on his other channels has me wandering if something is wrong. I hope im wrong and its nothing. Ive been around since Dark 5 back in 2013 before he starts to narrate his videos. His voice has been ingrained in my head ever since he started adding it.

@Yokes27 Ай бұрын

@8zero90 so now you've got me really paying attention and I swear I hear some real big breaths at the end of each sentence. And other times a quick breath where a comma would be in a sentence. It's not always tho. Man I hope I'm wrong, been a fan for a long time. Will watch a channel til I finally doze off after a couple hours

@raulcastro925 Ай бұрын

I love these girls. Each and every one when it relates to birds from back then.

@omar_segura Ай бұрын

It is a pity host did not mention the infamous Flight 19 over Bermuda Triangle, 1945-12-05... Else, very nice video on the Avenger. Thanks. 🤔🐻‍❄🐾

@thesmirkingwolf Ай бұрын

Mother of god, somebody is paying for bot traffic based on these comments

@outinthesticks1035 Ай бұрын

I was wondering what your comment was referencing, then I looked at some of the other comments

@youtubasoarus Ай бұрын

They've infested youtube man. Been there for a while. KZbin should have been able to auto-ban all of them but for some reason lets them continue to wreak havoc on the site.

@vincedibona4687 Ай бұрын

Why do you think they are paying them? These look like the spammy porno sexbots that just want one to click their profile, then click the inevitable link to their PornlyFans site. They aren’t getting paid, they use the comments section of popular videos as free advertising.

@rubberbandman200 Ай бұрын

Haha yea I had to go and see for myself. You are right

@glennnickerson8325 16 күн бұрын

Years ago I was driving down the back roads of New Brunswick Canada and I saw 5 or 6 Avengers painted orange parked along a tree line. My jaw dropped to my knees! I believe they were used for fire fighting duty. Another use the designers never envisioned.

@kcaKamakazi Ай бұрын

Turret mounted 50 inch machine gun. Think that should be .50 cal 11:55

@CAROLDDISCOVER-1983 19 күн бұрын

Interesting video 👍

@svaz2006 Ай бұрын

I love the diagram at 4:15, it really gives scale to the plane. On the outside it looks like a big fat fighter, but the scale leaves no doubt that this is a tactical bomber.

@c.rogers4394 Ай бұрын

Look up C. Vern Higman, 'Round Trip Ticket', USS Ticonderoga. Vern was one of the funniest men I was blessed to be around.

@Rotorhead1651 Ай бұрын

Did you meet him during or after the war? My older uncles on both sides of the family served. My Godfather was an electrician in the USN.

@Rotorhead1651 Ай бұрын

Did you meet him during or after the war?

@c.rogers4394 Ай бұрын

@@Rotorhead1651 He was a good friend's uncle, and brother of a woman that was like granny to me. It was a close family, and there'd be big card games. Vern's sister was married to the park ranger near where I grew up. I can still hear his voice, what a hoot! He was a real character. I hope you took a look at his plane. I went to his 80th Birthday Celebration, and met more family.

@michaellinner7772 Ай бұрын

At 15:25 it appears that the plane has quite a pronounced goiter. Seriously though, I love these videos and compliment the professional, no nonsense presentation of a lot of interesting information.

@mnkyman478 Ай бұрын

I was just wondering if you had an avenger video. Nice

@doylehargrave233 29 күн бұрын

I sat in the cockpit of the Avenger President Bush 1 flew in WW2. The control surfaces were huge!

@RemusKingOfRome Ай бұрын

Great video. Rear turret needed twin 50 cals.

@wardjohnson2812 Ай бұрын

A mention in dispatches? Seems like he should have gotten at least a pint out of it.

@JohnGeometresMaximos Ай бұрын

A Grumman TBF Avenger just flew over my house!

@Rotorhead1651 Ай бұрын

Are you certain it's not a Dauntless?

@babuzzard6470 Ай бұрын

One of the first models I built as a kid and had the privilege to see one fly here in Australia in the 90’s, love the Avenger.

@colmcc-ij3nn Ай бұрын

These guys had balls of steel😮

@pjny21 Ай бұрын

One of the cooler designs.

@adamford8708 Ай бұрын

A great video about a great plane. It sounded like you slowed the pacing of your narration, and I think there’s a marked improvement.

@Not_So_Weird_in_Austin Ай бұрын

Coupled with accoustic torpedoes and sona buoy the Avenger decimated the Atlantic war in WW2

@longrider42 Ай бұрын

If I am not mistaken, the Avenger holds the distinction of being the largest single engine aircraft, used on a carrier.

@lancerevell5979 Ай бұрын

I always thought the Douglas A-1 Skyraider had that honor?

@ricochetrimshot6450 Ай бұрын

Well, just about ready to go to sleep with this narration.

@andreemurray7039 Ай бұрын

A brilliant plane

@robertf3479 Ай бұрын

The Avenger could operate from any carrier the USN or RN had including the small CVEs and saw a lot of service in the Atlantic hunting U-Boats from CVEs, carrying Depth Charges in that big bomb bay. IIRC it also functioned as a radar equipped Night Fighter along with the F4U Corsair, operating from USS Enterprise (CV 6.)

@ScienceFan1859 Ай бұрын

You couldn’t find six more seconds of avenger footage? Filled in with helldiver (and a couple of hellcats)? Doesn’t matter great, informative vid. TY

@chrislong3938 Ай бұрын

For some reason, I always thought it was Devastators that got slaughtered at Midway!

@cyrillawless 26 күн бұрын

From what I have read the avengers were slaughtered by the zeros and there most effective use was to draw the zeros down to sea level so that it gave the dive bombers a clear shot.

@markmorris2207 Ай бұрын

My Dad was on the U.S.S. Bogue! He had a piece of rubber from a sub they sunk!

@rafalganowicz1939 Ай бұрын

A 50 inch machine gun? I think you meant .50 cal BMG

@moosifer3321 Ай бұрын

With that weapon the V1 STOOD NO CHANCE!

@arkie14 Ай бұрын

@@moosifer3321 With that weapon you could fly alongside any battleship and sink it in a couple of hits 🤣🤣

@moosifer3321 Ай бұрын

@@arkie14 Amazing Uncle Adolf didn`t try to perfect such a weapon - the Pilot would have severe problems getting airbourne and learn to fly backwards when engaging!

@annehersey9895 Ай бұрын

It took over a year of complaints by the torpedoes users to get the Navy to actually start improving them. As usual, the brass thought they knew better than those who actually used and had experience with the weapon!

@johngalt9737 Ай бұрын

Pilot is so high up, looks like he is standing in the cockpit

@prowlus Ай бұрын

Wasn’t a Avenger responsible for accidentally shooting down Butch O Hare along with a Betty?

@mingfanzhang4600 Ай бұрын

😊😊😊😊😊

@mingfanzhang8927 Ай бұрын

😊

@antlamaki1108 Ай бұрын

That plane in 1:29 isn't Avenger, that's Hellcat.

@mattkeating7446 Ай бұрын

Did you post this vid at .75 speed?😅

@thebobloblawshow8832 Ай бұрын

Looking for a 1/72 plastic model kit of this plane right now.

@lancerevell5979 Ай бұрын

Amazon has the 1/72 kit by Academy, and a couple variants by Sword. The Sword kits are better detailed.

@mingfanzhang8927 Ай бұрын

😊😊😊😊😊😊😊😊

@mingfanzhang4600 Ай бұрын

😊

@rdubs1705 Ай бұрын

Bot farm?

@mingfanzhang4600 Ай бұрын

Happy birthday 🎈🎂🎁🎉🎊

@aurobindoghosh5744 Ай бұрын

is this why grumman is now nowhere in existence?

@Pudentame Ай бұрын

Why are all these film clips out of focus?

@bradfordeaton6558 2 күн бұрын

An awful lot of SB2Cs in this presentation on TBFs

@jay.a9992 Ай бұрын

Thank God it's not that AI voice 😊

@umarongiu Ай бұрын

Wasn't it an Avenger to hit Saburo Sakai?

@aaronmiller620 Ай бұрын

No. It was the rear gunner of an SBD. He supposedly had mistaken a formation of Dauntless's for fighters. Attempted a stern attack and, found out his mistaken identity the hard way.

@Happy11807 Ай бұрын

@@aaronmiller620Another embellishment of Sakai’Military record,a good pilot but one of many questions on his record of victories!

@MrInjun382 28 күн бұрын

The torpedoes wouldn't detonate so this was all for nothing

@EugeneMurray-z1b Ай бұрын

Bermuda Triangle

@chrislong3938 Ай бұрын

Dude! Who are you whispering to?

@benvandermerwe4934 Ай бұрын

👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻⚡🥃

@JSFGuy Ай бұрын

Get your notice right here

@Happy11807 Ай бұрын

Wrong 6 were launched from Midway,and 5 were shot down with no hits on the Japanese!

@brianniegemann4788 Ай бұрын

Future president George H.W. Bush was shot down in an Avenger, in the little-known battle of Chichi Jima. It was the most remote island that the Japanese claimed as their territory. He ditched the plane successfully, but then a race ensued beween a Japanese longboat and a US submarine, each trying to reach the crash site first.The longboat was closer, but the submarine was faster. Bush went on to become a poor speaker and a mediocre president.

@iconoclastic12007 Ай бұрын

How come everyone forgets he was Chief Spook for a year?

@brianniegemann4788 Ай бұрын

@@iconoclastic12007 oh yeah, that's right. Maybe knowing where the bodies were buried helped him get elected.

@UkrainianPaulie Ай бұрын

Still better than Obozo , Slick Willy, and Shit for Brains Brandon.

@rdubs1705 Ай бұрын

Technical no. All republicons end their terms with the economy in shambles, Dems leave the economy way better than they started. Accepting reality was never something Maga has ever been good at.

@eazy1488 Ай бұрын

First you went ai now ur paying for comments

@Rotorhead1651 Ай бұрын

Why are you here? It certainly isn't to learn about the topic at hand. Maybe you're just one of those loser trolls with nothing else to do. Either way, get a life.

@johnennis7173 Ай бұрын

Narrator sounds like hes talking to himself. Sounds like someone reading to themselves. His other videos don't sound like this.

@frenzalrhomb6919 Ай бұрын

00:53 9 Likes 2 views

@jamesscully7108 Ай бұрын

👀🇮🇪👍⚓

@ronaldbrouhard1247 Ай бұрын

Wait a minute, a TBM chasing down V-1 Buzz Bombs? Eeeeh, hard to do when your plane is about 50 + mph slower than the V-1. Yeah, great plane. Not fast enough for V-1s as P-47s, Spit Mk9s & P-51s.

@timbrwolf1121 Ай бұрын

It happened. An avenger gunner noticed the v1 flying behind them. The pilot shot it down as it passed by. Was a British avenger. People tend to forget the avenger was the main torpedo bomber for most of the allied nations

@knabdank Ай бұрын

and yet in warthunder if you get a tiny little shrapnel hole you cant fly anymore. god that games dogshit.

@TheFunkhouser Ай бұрын

Why are you whispering?? LOL and the Avenger NEVER took on the V1 flying bomb, where the hell did you get that info from mate!?? 🤣🤣

@ntabile Ай бұрын

He said something that it's an unofficial anecdote. I'll google it and reply back if I found it.

@ntabile Ай бұрын

Google "Avenger hit V1 rocket", and it will lead you to Quora.

@TheFunkhouser Ай бұрын

@@ntabile that aircraft would never have been fast enough lol

@timbrwolf1121 Ай бұрын

It happened. A fleet air arm avenger gunner saw a v1 flying behind them. The v1 was faster than the avenger so the pilot shot it down as it flew by them.

@TheFunkhouser Ай бұрын

@@timbrwolf1121 Oh ok.. but thats a wee bit out of context to the way he said it in the video lol.. then showed a Hellcats guns going off, when the Avenger only had one each in the ring roots