HMS Ark Royal (91) - Guide 100 (Extended)

[@rudolfschrenk9411]

After the sinking of the Bismarck, HMS Cossack picked up a cat from the floating wreckage and named it Oscar. When Cossack got sunk by a german U-Boat the cat was one of the survivors and went with them to Gibraltar. There Oscar joined the crew of HMS Ark Royal and, of course, survived the sinking of this ship too. For some unfathomable reason no other ship made Oscar part of its crew so it found a place with the governor of Gibraltar (did not sink) and later in a seamans home in Belfast (did not sink either).

[@thegrandnope7143]

Ah yes Sam the Unsinkable all five ships he visited (Bismarck, HMS Cossack, HMS Ark Royal, HMS Legion and HMS Lightning) were Sunk.

[@Theduckwebcomics]

@@thegrandnope7143 haha! "Sam the Jinx"? 😅

[@sophiepaterson7444]

Never underestimate a cat's will to live.

[@williamchamberlain2263]

Having a pussy on board really is unlucky

[@rollosnook]

No allied ship was thanked by Sam during any rescue...

[@patrickols]

"Aircraft launched for a second strike circled King George for a while but were told to please go away" :-) could almost believe that's exactly how the British would have said it.

[@AdamMGTF]

More likely "Run along lads, your newfangled machines aren't necessary, we'll take care of this"

[@johnreynolds7996]

I preferred the report to the Admiralty regarding the mistaken attack on the Sheffield, which describes the sequence of events in detail and then ends with: "The response of the Sheffield's crew has not made it into the official report". Classic British understatement.

[@Andy-P]

@Sparky Puddins Recognition is never a strong point with aircrew

[@Andy-P]

@Sparky Puddins My apologies. My experience was with RAF aircrew.

[@Andy-P]

@Sparky Puddins Well said... And they were not under fire

[@shankarramachandran3661]

10:30 "Oh no, did the pilot survive?" 10:43 : "Well I guess that's a no"

[@shannonrhoads7099]

Went out with a bang though...

[@CorePathway]

String bag is NOT over-rated. But the bravery of its pilots is.

[@Strelnikov403]

I think "pulverised by my own depth charges as I'm accidentally keelhauled by my own ship" is pretty far up there on the Big List of Shitty Ways to Die, personally.

[@johndonovan8062]

Wasnt the crew of a swordfish 3 men? So 3 men would have unfortunately died in that unfortunate episode.

[@lessthanimpressive1323]

@@Strelnikov403 Its worse than that even, just being in a sinking metal cylinder could easily kill you. Plus the ship... and the explosion.

[@murderouskitten2577]

"and the catapult was explained that planes are not projectiles and it should never do that again " Damm i like your style of naration - pure , well manared and yet comedy gold :)

[@shaunaemery9618]

OH REALLY! (PROCEEDS TO LAUNCH OHKA KAMIKAZE OFF DECK OF CARRIER)

[@bskorupk]

Que the Fat Controller Theme: kzbin.info/www/bejne/moe4p3h5gZ2je80

[@murderouskitten2577]

@@bskorupk was ist das ?

[@bskorupk]

@@murderouskitten2577 I was making a joke comparing Drachinifel's scolding of the Catapult, to the times that Characters in Thomas the Tank Engine were scolded.

[@murderouskitten2577]

@@bskorupk :) i had to dig up thomas the tank engine to get the joke:) but it is a good one :)

[@Nyctasia]

My great uncle was on Ark Royal from commissioning until her loss, serving as an aircraft mechanic. It was ironic that the only hit she ever took was to sink her, one of the several pieces of bad luck she suffered. The only man lost, Able Seaman Edward Mitchell was also very unlucky, being deep in the hull right where the torpedo struck - apparently having a tea break according to shipmates, in what was somewhat dark humour. Many of the factors in the loss, notably the angled uptakes, featured heavily in the loss of Prince of Wales as the same issue cut the power there too. My uncle always said that the highlights of his time on her were watching the Italian airforce trying to bomb her, as water rose up all about totally obscuring the rest of the ships in company, only to drop back again showing no damage to any one of them. Apparently, the Germans were rather more accurate, missing by mere feet rather than a hundred yards or so. During the Bismarck operation, he took time to poke his head above the deck level, as the aircraft were being launched in what all considered atrocious weather. When looking forward, as the bow dug into the sea, no sky was visible, and as it pitched up, only sky and no sea. To do so apparently indicated she was pitching up to 60ft in the waves, though this allowed the Swordfish to launch with only the minor problem of the hull coming up to hit them if they didn't gain altitude fast enough! Health and Safety seemingly wasn't a concern! As a kid, I loved listening to his stories, especially as he told me stuff that was also in the books I had at the time, not as in verification, it just seemed great that he had been in something worth being in a book!

[@paullondon5332]

So was my grandfather !

[@Scoobydcs]

my grandad was onboard too, he was 18 and i think was in charge of an aa gun. my nan used to poke fun at him saying no wonder it got sunk lol. he was also in the merchant navy and got sunk on that too but i dont know any details about that

[@b1laxson]

So just like the Vikings wish to die with a sword in hand the British sailor find glory in holding a cup of tea.

[@Scoobydcs]

@George Robartes wow, what a life!

[@jhexp999]

My grandfather was on her too he was also a mechanic

[@dextercochran4916]

I'd love to have been a fly on the wall when HQ learned about that swordfish incident... *Phone rings Captain: "I'm bringing my boat in for repairs." Admiral: "OMG were you attacked???" Captain: "No." Admiral: "An accident then?" Captain: "Uh... yeah." Admiral: "...Please tell me it wasn't an iceberg." Captain: "No, it was... a depth charge..." Admiral: *confused "....Come again?" Captain: "it was a depth charge... *Our* depth charge... From our plane... That we ran over....... Because the ship threw it there...."

[@colbeausabre8842]

Talking about strange accidents, HMS Formidable had a landing Seafire bounce over the barrier and go straight down the the forward elevator pit (the elevator being lowered) and since the armored blast doors were open, the resulting explosion and fire set off an inferno on her hangar deck

[@lancerevell5979]

Not a mention of the poor crew though. 😩

[@alainarchambault2331]

7:23 "Straight down the merchant ships funnel." That was damned funny. Excellent if not misplaced targeting.

[@polomat14]

@CipiRipi00 I agree, I was the message bag :P

[@fredderf3207]

Ship names like Formidable, Invincible, Indefatigable, Victorious, Irresistible, Triumph, Conqueror all make me wonder if the British navy just can’t resist ship names that simply invite doom.

[@brainletmong6302]

Don't forget Titanic!

[@SennaAugustus]

If the name is backed up by thick armour or luck, like the Illustrious class, then it's fine.

[@pedrofelipefreitas2666]

You have to admit, the naming convention is much cooler, unicorn, centaur, warspite, implacable.

[@AgentTasmania]

Dreadnought.

[@fredderf3207]

@@AgentTasmania I always liked the name Dreadnought, not just because the launching of HMS Dreadnought made every battleship in the world obsolete but also because it was such a different approach to warship design that the ship’s name became synonymous for battleships.

[@mattblom3990]

Best warships channel on KZbin and you all know it.

[@EricDKaufman]

Jingles did breakdowns back in the day that were on par with this. But this is then best now for sure. I am a naval history geek and I am learning so much.

[@EdMcF1]

If this channel were a battleship, it would be the Missouri.

[@Bialy_1]

"Best warships channel on KZbin and you all know it." so the only logical conclusion is that all Brits here are brainwashed historical ignorants and dont know that Bismark was found by Polish ship ORP Piorun. He found him and for over a hour exchanging fire with him in the same time guiding other ships of the fleet to its position! Any Polish involvement in wining WW2 is to this day omited or twisted. The best example is movie "The Imitation Game" where there is nothing about fact that Polish Cipher Bureau was able to crack the Enigma code before WW2 and all that Polish know how and hardware ended up in Britain where at that time everyone was 100% shure that you simply cant crack it so there was no Bletchley Park or any similar operation(so called British historics to this day dont know why device in Bletchley Park got Polish word "Bombe" as its name(its big mistery for them :D translate.google.com/#view=home&op=translate&sl=en&tl=pl&text=i%20got%20that%20bomb%20from%20Polish%20intelligence)...

[@Bialy_1]

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ORP_Piorun_(G65)#/media/File:The_Polish_Institute_and_Sikorski_Museum_(24136934585).jpg But dont tell anyone its a "SECRET"!!! :D

[@USSAnimeNCC-]

So true

[@PaulfromChicago]

"Fortune favours the Fortunate" seems like a good ship motto.

[@klobiforpresident2254]

It'll be my Motto when exams come up.

[@JohnJohansen2]

"The catapult was told that aircrafts were not in fact projectiles, and they should never do this again!" 😂

[@Grimmwoldds]

Catapult do not have eyes, or it would have known that a Swordfish is indeed not a Blackburn B-25 Roc

[@lancerevell5979]

So, flimsy wood&fabric biplanes cannot take the stress of catapulting... Who knew?? 🙄

[@questionmark05]

The catapult was also confined to its quarters, placed on extra duties, and denied tea for 1 day.

[@kurumi394]

Ark Royal: is immensely tall IJN carriers: Are you challenging me?

[@AdamosDad]

I fought with and drank with Royal Marines from HMS Ark Royal (R09) in the late sixties, great bunch of men. My shipboard service was aboard the USS Newport News (CA-148) and USS Springfield (CL-66/CLG-7/CG-7)

[@jajeronymo]

I was probably nine or ten when I got a Revell plastic model HMS Ark Royal kit. I managed to assemble the thing but never came any close to finishing it properly. I wonder what happened to it but can still feel the miniature hull in my hands. In retrospect, I realise that model started my life-long interest in the two great wars. Great documentary. Great British humour.

[@lancerevell5979]

At 66, I am still building scale model kits. Haven't found a kit of this ship though. Will continue looking.

[@RickyM63]

A review of HMS Sheffield would be great! Ton for ton, probably one of the most heavily engaged WW2 ships of the RN (though HMS Jervis might argue - and is also worth a review I hope)

[@harrisonrawlinson5650]

The vicar at my church when I was younger was an officer on the 1950s Ark Royal. He was very proud of the ship and his house was full of Navy memorabilia. He had some great stories of his time aboard

[@Necrovamp101]

Thank you for this video, my Grandad served as an engineer on Ark Royal after being transferred from HMS Hood 2 weeks before it was sunk by Bismark.

[@ConfusedAdmiral]

Ark Royal: *A very famous CV for destroying Bismarcks Rudder leading to her fate* Yostar: *Makes her a Lolicon* Ark Royal: Am I A Joke To You?

[@goldenpun5592]

I know right? And her aesthetic is so fuckin hot too but her personality is just...ew

[@spirz4557]

@@goldenpun5592 Personally, I choose to go with the canon of the Chronicles of the Siren Wars where she acts as mother figure for the destroyers.

[@tremor3258]

At least they corrected it with Dark Royal being protective instead of attracted

[@CaptainSpadaro]

Ugh, I know.

[@CaptainSpadaro]

@@tremor3258 Is that what that Meta stuff is about? I only recently started playing and haven't looked into that much.

[@vespelian5274]

Ark Royal was a good looking ship.

[@frostedcat]

indeed she was

[@derhesligebonsaibaum]

*looks at Azur Lane - Yes

[@frostedcat]

@@derhesligebonsaibaum eh.. what ?

[@derhesligebonsaibaum]

@@frostedcat what

[@frostedcat]

@@derhesligebonsaibaum they did what to ark royal ?

[@jhlee3138]

I just love how the Royal Navy name their ships😍

[@kenoliver8913]

The very first HMS Ark Royal was the flagship in the fight against the Spanish Armada in 1588. If you want great names for your ships it helps to have such a long tradition.

[@GeneralKenobiSIYE]

BAD CATAPULT!! BAD!! NO! *bops catapult on the nose with rolled up newspaper*

[@benjaminmiddaugh2729]

"Please refrain from breaking any more aircraft."

[@micnorton9487]

"...right down the merchant ships funnel." Pointed pause. I LOVE this guy lol...

[@penkagenova7073]

I found it so funny I had to tell my parents about it

[@Chartdoc62]

Another Ark Royal factoid: August 2, 1940: Night attack by Swordfish on Italian airbase at Cagliari, Sardinia - several Italian aircraft destroyed, two Swordfish lost (1 crashed on take off, 1 shot down). It was part of Operation Hurry, the main part being the first fly-off of Hurricanes to Malta (from the Argus). The Cagliari attack may have been the first combat night attack by carrier-based aircraft, and presaged Illustrious' night attack on Taranto a few months later.

[@skip181sg]

My Dad was on the HMS Ark Royal when it was sunk. And in an act of absurdity had run back to his quarters when the abandin ship command was given to grab a Silk Scarf hist Aunty (I think) had given him for his birthday.

[@georgesoros6415]

Obviously he was successful, since you are indeed here to tell the tale!

[@TheRealJohnux]

Really Telling about British priorities in a Situation of danger.

[@skip181sg]

@@TheRealJohnux I think he feared his Auntie more than he feared drowning in a sinking ship!!

[@electrohalo8798]

@@TheRealJohnux tea first, survival later

[@kennethbracken2053]

Congrats on your 100th guide

[@Drachinifel]

Q&A questions here please :) EDIT: At Mers-el-Kebir it should be "one of the Dunkerque class", not "the Dunkerque".

[@goodman4966]

Are there still ww2 sea mines out at sea?

[@nickbradshaw1172]

Just like to quickly say your videos are awesome keep it up! But yes the question, we know about the extent of the Washington naval treaty of 1920 and how that affected the ships and what would have happened if it was not enforced (a good video idea to see what would happen?) But my question is what effect did the london naval treaties have on ship building and what were to happen if they were not enforced?

[@admiraltiberius1989]

I'd love to know what would your perfect fleet would be from ships available in 1943. Frigates, Destroyers and up all the way to carriers. Submarines too please. Thank you

[@thedamnyankee1]

Can you do a comparison on DC effectiveness? it's beginning to look like british ships sink easily compared to American ships.

[@ladyponfarr5479]

Q & A whats those things sticking out the sides at flight deck level? in some pictures they are horizontal in some they are vertical and looks like they are hooked on the ends.

[@malcolmdmuir5408]

Thankyou once again for your insightful and ongoing documentaries on warships of all types and through the ages. I have to say, jokingly of course, that of all war ships since the 'monitor' class of the 1860's, HMS 'Ark Royal' (1938), must have been styled by either Giorgetto Giugiaro or Pininfarina of Italy, as she is both beautifully handsome and proportionately balanced in her appearance and silhouette. As a young teenager, I chose her to be the very first scale model ship, 'Airfix' I believe, that I pieced together. Such a shame she did not survive the war, as I would have liked her to have been preserved as a museum ship for all to still see today. Especially as she was the first purpose built UK 'Aircraft Carrier'. I was wishing, in vain of course, that the two new UK carriers would be named, rightfully, after 'Ark Royal' and 'Illustrious", but the UK politicians as always, wanted to cow tail to the royals. Again, thankyou so much for your dedication and enthusiasm. Mal.

[@brucemckean2848]

kowtow

[@johnjephcote7636]

We would have scrapped it just like the Warspite.

[@derek86ux]

I’m such a huge fan of your show. I’ve been studying mostly 20th century naval history and some tall ship history since I was a young lad. I love all the pictures and videos of these ships that I’ve never scene before. Along with your humor and endless facts. Your channel is hands down my favorite on KZbin.

[@scotthill8787]

Saturday morning coffee and a new video! Thanks for a great start to my day.

[@bigblue6917]

Thanks for that. Very enjoyable. I found the sinking interesting and it shows how often it is not just one thing but a series of steps which can lead to disaster. Yes the torpedo running low caused the initial problem, but other things such as not being able to contact the engine room, lack of auxiliary power and so forth made the situation worse. Anyone of those things not happening cold have made a big difference. It is a pity the one of the new carriers was not called Arc Royal. It's a very long established name in the Royal Navy and it would have been nice to see it return.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

Personally, I think the new QE carrier should have been called Ark Royal.

[@jebsails2837]

US Navy ships of that era had a voice sound powered wired phone system. (think of many tin cans connected by taught a sting). which went throughout the ship. During battle-stations or disasters, these head phones / microphone contraptions were donned by a crew member in each compartment . Much like an open party telephone line allowing all the various compartments to listen and receive orders and reply as required.

[@RadioactiveSherbet]

Liked before the video even started. "Fortune favors the fortunate." Lol

[@McRocket]

8:21 'Apparently unaware of her own destruction...' LOL

[@deaks25]

"Hey Ark Royal, you know that the German's sunk you right?" Ark Royal, looks up and down perfectly intact hull, " I'm pretty sure I'm not sunk, but I should probably attack something German, just to help them realise their mistake." "Good idea. Deck Catapult: " YEAH!! LETS SMACK SOME NAZIS, GO AIRCRAFT, LAUNCH FASTER!" One broken Swordfish later: "oh I'm going to get a stern British talking to over this..."

[@edtrine8692]

lol.

[@JJbm4233]

Another great navy history video, A&E as well as the history channel could learn something from your presentation style. Finally a decent photo of the original HMS Hermes Britain’s first purpose built carrier. I would love to see a video on her, Hermes, as well as Japan’s first purpose built carrier IJN Hosho.

[@jaybee9269]

Nice job as per usual! Congratulations on 100 videos! (Also, your opening footage is pretty epic & very appropriate.)

[@ps2hacker]

You left out my favorite part of the whole story. The way I read it, the Bizmark's guns missed the incoming Swordfish torpedo planes, because their targeting computers had been calibrated with the expectation of being attacked by faster, more modern planes. But the best part is one of the pilots made a mistake, and failed to prepare his torpedo for release, it seems there were two levers he needed to pull, one to get the torpedo ready at the last moment, and the second one to launch it. So when he tried to drop the torpedo, it failed to release. So what does he do? He turned around and went back by himself. This is the last thing the Germans expected, and they never saw him coming. He got right up to their stern without opposition, and shoved that torpedo right up the Bizmark's ass.That's how their steering gear got broken.

[@madseavets]

UNITED POLICE STATES OF AMERICA the only problem with that theory is that all torpedo bombers at the time had to attack at similar speeds and heights. It was the torpedo that was the limiting factor. It had to be dropped low and slow to avoid damage. At that time, the only torpedoes that could be dropped high and fast were Japanese. Later, the allies would improve their torpdoes to do the same, but not in 1941. Also, at the time that the Bismark was desgned, most torpedoe bombers were slow biplanes. The first monoplane was the Douglas TBD, and that didn't last long.. Read Friedman's book on naval anti-aircraft and he explains why the Bismarck's AA fit was crap!

[@sander6438]

*bismarck*

[@AdamMGTF]

I believe I know where you got these stories. I also watched the "Documentary" sink! The Bismarck Thing is In 20 years since. I've not found a single thing that corroborates these details. Ever. Not once. In many many books and other histories.

[@georgesoros6415]

@@madseavets Pullease! Swordfish couldn't keep up with a little girl walking to school, with any headwind at all! It was only shortages of marine Spits that kept such relics on deck. Their speed over ground (or Sea) was barely 60 MPH in the Bismarck attack!. The Germans were, as usual, hoist upon their own petard! Their gunnery tracking was calibrated with a lower limit, which no Swordfish could ever achieve, even in dead air! Let alone a 30 knot plus headwind! The Jerrys had no clue Britain was so ill prepared. Especially when their Air Arm was thirty years advanced from the Swordfish! Just accept sometimes God sides with Daniel, and we do not know why.

[@thunberbolttwo3953]

@@georgesoros6415 One problem the bismarc was sunk in in 1941.The supoermarine seafire did not come into service untill 1942.way to late to participate in that battle.In fact it was fary swordfish torpedo bombers that atacked the bismarc.

[@dc-4ever201]

I always enjoy your guides, keep em coming.

[@tonymilne481]

These are great. Do keep them coming. Just one point, for many years it has been suggested that the Graf Spee's captain was fooled into scuttling his ship, or pushed for reasons of honour. Recently, it has become clear that there was only one reason, the damage done to the fuel oil pre-heater necessary to turn it into usable diesel fuel.

[@mariebcfhs9491]

"Apparently unaware of her own destruction" -Darth- Ark Royal

[@marktroiani5401]

Drach you’re a godsend. Thank you. I can’t patronize your channel but please know I value the content.

[@pauld6967]

I had known since childhood about the psyops contributing to the Graf Spee being scuttled but this is the first I have heard about the purchase of fuel being a part of the operation. Thanks for including that detail.

[@windborne8795]

Bravo Sir! Keep 'me coming! I could binge-watch these all day... Cheers!

[@nolunchiseverfree]

Loving waking up to these on Saturdays!

[@Thunderyend]

Mers el Kebir raid at 9:10 had Ark's aircraft chasing the escaping Strasbourg, not Dunkerque as you said.

[@colingibson8018]

Congratulations on the 100th very informative. Request for one on the British fast mine layers please.!!!! Have to admit I wait up for your posts, some times​ watching them two or three times. Keep up the good work. .

[@slyguythreeonetwonine3172]

The Enterprise also had a nasty habit of refusing to show up for her own funeral. The IJN kept thinking they sank her, a few weeks later she'd pop back up.

[@ph89787]

More like her and initially Yorktown had a habit of crashing their own funerals.

[@greglucas1497]

Welcome to real life and your humor is abounding The video was very accurate as usual and the content as always was first rate and attentive to details along with the scripting.

[@deetroittony]

Good morning from Detroit everybody. Another amazing episode just wanted to say great job

[@kyle857]

Also watching from Detroit.

[@sarjim4381]

Dang. 100th guide, and some of the best naval history on the net. You should have at least 500k subs.

[@mattblom3990]

Patreon the f--- out of him so he can do it as a full time job and release 3-5 vids per week.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

More subs? Needs more hot women and fewer ships. 😏

[@sarjim4381]

@@mattblom3990 No more Patreon for me after what they've been up to with Sargon and a bunch of other youtubers. I'll use SubsribeStar until the leftist mobs manage to topple that ttoo.

[@happyhighway106]

#358 Thank You, Drachinifel. This was a excellent video of HMS Ark Royal. Did you know that their were two side wheel training carriers on Lake Michigan during World War II. Yes! SIDE WHEEL! USS Wolverine and USS Suwanee. Both converted Passenger Steamers.

[@tinfoilhat3268]

This was a very interesting tale thank you.

[@scottmccrea1873]

"Bad catapult! VERY BAD catapult!" "Sorry, sir, apparently, its bearings were made in Germany."

[@johnfisher9692]

Happy 100th guide, they are all awesome. It's a pity such a great ship was lost so early in the war. I'm sure she would have been of immence value in the Pacific once hte British had adopted the American system of a permanent deck park. This is certainly a case of "We learn by doing" Flaws in a ships design can sometimes only be found in actual combat operations as happened here. The lesson is to 'Take you lumps, learn from it and don't make the same mistake again"

[@roylowey-ball6784]

Yes, deck park, but more importantly, the addition of a “fleet train” to provision the British carriers far from home base.

[@bigdmac33]

First clas "five minute" doc!

[@tedbaxter5234]

Thank you for doing what you do!

[@wyominghorseman9172]

Good in depth coverage Drach. Very interesting. It's also interesting to note that every carrier sank during the war was by torpedo's.

[@richardlangereis8629]

Great video and thank you for all the good work on this and other ships/battles/technology. One quibble (and I suppose someone has already told you this but I didn't quite get to all 242 comments) but the aircraft carrier at 20:52 is Illustrious-class HMS Victorious. Homing beacon set lower down on the mast a dead giveaway.

[@roybennett6330]

My uncle who passed away in 2006,served as a signaler on the ark until minesweepers,where he served during dday

[@thedispenzas7957]

Congrats on 100!

[@athopi]

In 1978, I got to see the Audacious Ark Royal tied up at the carrier docks in Norfolk VA. Wish I had known she was soon to be decommissioned and taken some pics...

[@McRocket]

Thanks for this interesting (and rather entertaining) video. Poor old Ark Royal...the aircraft carrier that looked like she was always sailing backwards.

[@lylebonney3081]

It’s little details like the big of notes down the merchants ships funnel that makes watching these video so interesting

[@kidmohair8151]

naughty naughty soooooo flippant....!!! this is serious stuff you know harumph >

[@slycat6586]

gj drachinifel grats on 100 =)

[@MrCCFCforLife]

Any chance of a video on the destruction of Force Z? I think a video/series on battles/events would be right up your alley.

[@boatrat]

Any interest in covering the US "Alaska-class Large Cruisers" (CB)? Their active careers were short and relatively mundane (for wartime), but important as a coda to the whole history of technical development and murky definitional distinctions between Armored Cruiser/Heavy Cruiser/Battle Cruiser/Pocket Battleship categories.

[@johnivkovich8655]

You do such excellent work and your voice is perfectly suited to the content.

[@Maty83.]

And WG just announced British CVs... Coincidence?

[@Drachinifel]

I wish I had that kind of influence :)

[@Maty83.]

Just asking since I did not see them.... Would it be possible for you to add the "Neptune" and "Minotaur" light cruiser projects of the Royal Navy to the list of planned videos? Either combined or separate, how you see it fit. Also, keep up the good work!

[@Drachinifel]

@@Maty83. sure :)

[@Macintoshiba]

Yeah but No. Not with 8.0 coming

[@falloutghoul1]

But no Ark Royal. :(

[@ericdulyon4601]

Fortune favors the Fortunate!! LOL!! Love it mate! Doesn't it seem to be so

[@matthewrobinson4323]

Excellent video!!! Love your sense of humor in these videos.

[@williamyoung145]

Your humor was excellent.

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Love your videos, they are always awesome. And I love the humor you put in your videos too.

[@MrJonRio]

This is a very informative series and well worth watching.

[@gordon8463]

For me the most beautiful aircraft carrier of the english royal navy....!!! i built it with the Airfix model when i was 12....what a boat!!!!

[@gertbrown8951]

HMS Illustrious seems to be little mention in any documentaries great length apart from the Taranto raid

[@Nuke89345]

A shame cause despite Ark Royal's fame with being responsible for Bismark's demise, imo, HMS Illustrious (R87) was the greatest carrier in the Royal Navy's history.

[@padurarulcriticsicinic4846]

She was pounded so hard, i'm surprised no porn actress used the name Illustrious on their resume.

[@tremedar]

@@padurarulcriticsicinic4846 And that she had the nickname 'Lusty' should have helped that occurrence.

[@ph89787]

Alunita Inghinala this is why Azur Lane exists

[@ronniefarnsworth6465]

LOL As always I Love the info in your Humorous ways !! : D

[@CommonwealthMarches]

Would you be able to do the Churchill Design cruiser with the 9.2” guns please? Keep up the splendid work.

[@Drachinifel]

Eventually :)

[@yorusuyasoul69420]

Priceless

[@sportacker]

i love your videos!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@johnreynolds7996]

You forgot to mention that Ark Royal's Skua's sank a German light cruiser in Norway (albeit taking off from a ground base), which marked the first significant surface warship to be sunk by air attack.

[@drupiROM]

5:44 what is the purpose of those horizontal things, sticking from the side of the aircraft carrier ? electrostatic discharge ?

[@EliteF22]

Those are the radio antennas, lowered to not interfere with flight operations. When aircraft launching/recovering was completed, the antennas were raised back up for full communications.

[@Ross665]

Found the video rather informative. Would it be possible to do a video on the USS Canberra, the Baltimore class US heavy cruiser?

[@Dave_Sisson]

So the US had a heavy cruiser named Canberra and one of the first types of American jet bombers was also named Canberra. It's strange to name both an important ship and a very significant type of bomber after a foreign city.

[@Ross665]

@@Dave_Sisson They chose the name Canberra for the ship to honour the HMAS Canberra, a Royal Australian Navy ship that was lost at Savo Island. They kept the Canberra name for the B-57 due to it originally planned to be built by English Electric for the US Air Force, but due to them being unable to provide the planes at a reasonable time frame, the Martin company was chosen the build them under license.

[@Dave_Sisson]

@@Ross665 Thanks for that. It makes sense now.

[@sugarnads]

Joshua Ross Partridge just HMAS. Not the HMAS (or HMS, HMCS, HMNZS etc). And the canberra bomber was a BRITISH aeroplane. American hubris is sometimes as breathtaking as their generosity (naming a USN ship in admiration after a lost allied vessel).

[@markhepworth4804]

Joshua Ross Partridge The Canberra is British designed aircraft,not American.

[@Chartdoc62]

Enjoyed this, as I do your other videos! But a few errors: 1 - a photo at about 5:15 shows an Illustrious class carrier, not the Ark. 2 - In your bit on Mers-el-Kebir, it was the Strasbourg, not Dunkerque, that got away, evading the Ark's attacking aircraft. Dunkerque, remaining in harbour damaged by four 15-inch hits, was further damaged by a follow-up attack by the Ark's Swordfish 3 days later. 3 - In the attack on Bismarck, only 2 hits were scored (adding to Victorious' 1).

[@Drachinifel]

You are correct re:Dunkerque, my notes say 'Dunkerque class', not the ship itself. My fault for recording tired :(

[@Chartdoc62]

@@Drachinifel No worries....it happens!

[@rybuds47]

Think this is a beautiful ww2 carrier. It looks good in every picture.

[@markdavidson1049]

"a rather surprised fuselage with pilot was hurled into the sea." LMAO

[@sergarlantyrell7847]

Could you add the French Surcouf and the Japanese I-400 class to your list please?

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Another great review!

[@melkor3305]

rofl...9:45 slap fight with Italian navy

[@HoodSenpaiTheApoplectic]

I have two personal connections to Ark Royal, not only do i have a great uncle who was aboard her when she was sank, but also, i was born on the same day and around the same time she went under... Albeit some years later, i'm not that old.

[@Harry-xu2yn]

5:33, what are those poles sticking out over the side of the deck for, are they nets or something?

[@johnjephcote7636]

I think those hockey sticks were aerials folded down for flight operations (not boat booms).

[@99IronDuke]

@Drachinifel, Could you please do the modern RN Carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth?

[@juri8723]

she’s garbage for her time

[@klobiforpresident2254]

I thought he doesn't do modern stuff on purpose?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@juri8723 Based on?

[@sargesacker2599]

Given she's new lots of info about her are probably classified, besides this channels current theme is Minotaur--World War 2 era ships.

[@JohnHill-qo3hb]

@blackzed only an idiot would put all her computing power in one place, the Canadian frigates Winnipeg, Toronto, Halifax etc have their computers spread about the ship and any one of them can handle 2/3rds of the of the maximum load normally handled by all of them. They qite the naval splash when first launched, many countries were seriously considering something similar for their navies.

[@leeedmunds2539]

thorough and concise... nice work!

[@billthecat2410]

A over enthusiastic catapult, I bet the pilot had harsher words but I doubt he survived the blunder. So they told the catapult to never do this again and then the catapult behaved for the bizmark fight.. . You got to love brit. humor..

[@chrisf4659]

20:23 "a slapfight with the Italian navy" beautiful

[@JbSprinkles]

Hide your destroyers

[@markchip1]

Ark Royal, yaaayyy! Thank you!!

[@lordshipmayhem]

While we're on the topic of aircraft carriers, there are two that, as a Canadian, I've been intensely curious about - but aside from their Wikipedia entries, haven't a lot of information on: Nabob and Puncher. Any chance of doing a story on them?

[@derptank3308]

Though this isn't exactly Naval, could you explain why the British rejected the SB2U Vindicator?

[@jefferyindorf699]

Intelligence.

[@buster117]

Woo ! Love Carriers