Battle of the Santa Cruz Islands - Pacific War #49 DOCUMENTARY

[@KingsandGenerals]

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[@stewartsingal4599]

Thanks for your new video, just keep doing. ❤️

[@Spartan111MS]

Hey KnG, I think your Pacific war playlist might be messed up. The videos are out of order. Might just be me, might not. Could y'all give it a check regardless? Edit. Thank you

[@chaunceyroberts6187]

@@stewartsingal4599 77777 3-11 3-11 3-11 3-11 is is for 4 and and for 4744⁴4744 4744 is is for 4⁴4 47 and 472 4444 for for and years a of of 4 4 is 4⁴4 4 44 44 and and in is years the ⁴is is is be be for for for 447 years 4 ⁴and I 4 it to 4to 4 ⁴I I it ⁴and and and and ⁴to I the it of I is it it it it to me me ⁴7 I I 47 ⁷you ⅞and your ⅞toes

[@yousseph777]

I am embarrassed to admit that the ongoing pacific wars videos are not only part of my weekly routine but they are a highlight. 😆 well done!

[@ADogNamedStay]

I remember when the slow burn started and I wasn't even interested, now I have to go back and start over.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Literally gets me through the week, that and WW2 with Indie.

[@chrismelcaroful]

Agree, looking forward to the next, thank you

[@qx0ni]

Thats nothing to be ashamed of!!

[@ChrisSmith-kw4gn]

This is my workout music

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

It's important to note two things at this stage of the war. The Japanese aircraft in this theater either operated from flight decks or from Rabaul. In the case of the latter this meant flying missions of at least 500 to 1000 miles. The other thing to note is the corrupted bushido code of death before dishonor. If an American plane was lost, the pilot still could be safed. A Japanese pilot on the other hand either was lost at sea or would kill himself before getting captured. This meant that Japanese pilots flew extraordinary long missions where the change of failure to return was big. Meaning that the Japanese fleet lost a disproportionate amount of pilots, leading to a severe downgrade in the effectiveness of the quality. As you can see this would have a huge effect on the war in the years to come.

[@louievelayo4100]

Yeah, I mean look at Saipan... They even got the civvies thinking the same way...

[@Martijn_Steinpatz]

Indeed. The army thoroughly corrupted the Bushido code. Whatever benefits they got out of it, the disadvantages were too great in the end.

[@tobyalder42]

The main reason an American pilot survived is because he wasn't shot down, but rather ditched due to fuel exhaustion or lost his aircraft on the board of the carrier. In the Santa Cruz Islands battle the Americans lost only 17 planes shot down, the rest were lost because of the lack of Hornet and flight decks to recover them or destroyed on the board, while the Japanese lost 65 shot down. The Japanese had worse planes or were worse aerial fighters, and of course the American anti-aircraft fire was more deadly. As for committing suicide to avoid capture, it doesn't really change things, since a captured pilot is still a permanent loss to his army/navy

[@adamalton2436]

Knowing all the Big E had survived, it’s an even worse shame that it wasn’t preserved at war’s end. It would be the sole surviving prewar carrier.

[@usslexingtoncva-1639]

Dont forget Saratoga CV-3 and Ranger CV-4 as well XD

[@cloudjumper8868]

I was thinking the same thing. She was a very lucky ship!

[@adamalton2436]

@@usslexingtoncva-1639 don’t get me wrong, having Ranger and Saratoga (the surviving Lexington-class conversion) would have been great. I’m just sad that there was a drive to preserve Enterprise and it fell through. That said, the USS Lexington Museum does have an amazing trove of Enterprise artifacts.

[@apexnext]

So true. It's almost unbelievable what that carrier did. So many amazing ships are scraped or sold off. I suppose it's the best viable option for recouping some of the insane costs. But that ship was living history.

[@MrRjh63]

Least we still have some of out ships as museum ships the British scrapped all of their big ships

[@jeroylenkins1745]

The aircraft exchange screen is an excellent addition. This is a very good visual representation to support the narrative and really tell the story. Carry this one forward please.

[@theawesomeman9821]

The name "Good Enough" tells how much the discoverer really cared about the island.

[@Duke-l6u]

That depends... When you really consider all that is good and bad, good enough is pretty good. What the discoverers were going through personally, may have been reflective of the name. Things like that are hard to know accurately and to judge. Still, I think you might be hinting to the problems of colonialism. Which I completely agree with.

[@SantomPh]

The island was actually named after British naval commodore James Graham Goodenough (pronounced Goowd-ehn-oh)

[@recoil53]

Found something to plant the flag on, good enough. Let's head back home.

[@neverstreamer4875]

@@SantomPh Wow, that's true. I had to look it up.

[@model-man7802]

Dad was at Coral Sea, Midway and Eastern Solomons on the Yorktown and Enterprise.

[@JohnnyElRed]

Naval battles of this kind are always interesting.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Just imagining all these planes flying about at every altitude must have been something to watch.

[@stephendean2896]

USS Smith was able to put out many of the fires on its deck caused by the Japanese torpedo strike by steering into the wake of the battleship USS South Dakota dousing the smaller ship in sea water

[@apexnext]

Woah that's crazy! I didn't know this. 👍

[@louievelayo4100]

I'm sure Battle 360 covered that as well...

[@moalzaben5554]

@@louievelayo4100yes it did cover it well

[@larcomj]

i just realized this is episode 49, that means we've been watching this for almost a year.... wow.

[@Z020852]

My favorite part about this battle is the Smith using the South Dakota's wake to extinguish the fires on board.

[@fighter5583]

One thing I believe was missed about this engagement is that Enterprise wasn't initially spotted by the Japanese attack force despite trailing a bit further north or east of Hornet. The reason is believed to be caused by Enterprise's taskforce being obscured by a rain squall around the time the Japanese approached, leaving only Hornet visible to be attacked.

[@orlandopena2731]

I believe at this point, the Japanese had also thought they sunk the Enterprise... which is why is was given the name the Grey ghost. I don't they brought up the fact on how fast it was repaired and operating back in the Pacific to effect the Campaign again, cause that's also a very interesting and inspiring fact that occurred....

[@samwill7259]

It must have been terrifying. On a tiny island, knowing the enemy is RIGHT there, you just don't know where and you won't know until somebody opens fire. You might die terrified without ever seeing what hit you.

[@jamesforreal]

Win the battle, lose the war. As a Veteran, I occasionally run into a kid who says "US never loses". Then I have to break their little hearts... Great video, I really enjoy this series.

[@wolfu597]

The Japanese losses in terms of naval aviators, over the last 5 months, in the Coral Sea, at Midway, the Eastern Solomons, and now Santa Cruz, has been so high, that it would take close to a decade to replace them. Time the Empire doesn't have. And they still haven't employed a system to cope with these loses, not to mention upgrading their air fleet.

[@donaldmack3572]

What's crazy about this is after the battle of the canal the US Navy would overhaul the last carrier enterprise as well as new carriers putting more guns and firepower as well as new planes plus new radar equipment those last planes they have eventually wash out completely

[@recoil53]

By the end of this battle, the Japanese Navy lost 409 of 765 aviators from the Pearl Harbor attack. IIRC they started the war with 800 combat flight hours. A lot of those lost were leaders of dive bomber and torpedo bomber groups, making the few new pilots less effective. So the Japanese technically won, but the war was pretty much lost at this point.

[@anikdey4608]

US sanctions hit hard on Japanese economy and war machines. Japan didn’t have sufficient war grade steels to replace lost aircrafts & carriers. R&D was on making better fighter aircrafts but lack of materials left them on papers. And US was working with allied powers for R&D but Japan was completely isolated.

[@destroyer0685]

Another excellent video. I echo the comments on the impact of the 40mm had on the battle. A big reason that the ENTERPRISE may have survived was that the SOUTH DAKOTA followed her as she maneuvered. Another impact was the presence of the ATLANTA, SAN JUAN and JUNEAU in the screens of the US carriers. These anti-aircraft crusiers were in their element and brought tremendous firepower to the defense.

[@nooneatall8072]

Wasn't at least one of them thought to have been damaged and on fire due to the sheer volume of 5" AA that they were pumping out? The continuous muzzle flashes of those 5" guns appeared as a singular fire on board the ship. The 5"/38 and the 40mm really did make an impact in this battle. Wasn't Enterprise fitted out with several as part of her repairs after the last carrier battle?

[@nooneatall8072]

Several of the returning Japanese pilots appeared to have suffered shell-shock from the AA and were almost incoherent when they were debriefed after landing.

[@destroyer0685]

@@nooneatall8072 yes in response to above. Another unsung hero is the impact of radar controlled AA fire. This makes up for the poor disposition of the defending CAP.

[@Crazyfrog41]

@@xWarLegendx in general terms a screen is a barrier used to protect something from something else (think: windscreen or insect screen) but in this case the "screen" is referring to the ring of ships, and their aa guns, protecting the carriers from enemy attack

[@recoil53]

@@nooneatall8072 I believe that was at Savo Island (thought to be on fire).

[@Vinny6962]

Thank you to those guys at Kings and Generals. You guys do great quality educational work.

[@mq9047]

I love the head-to-head comparison of the planes to show the numbers & losses from both sides. Great work K&G!

[@ggtt2547]

Hey Kings and Generals, i am the biggest fan and i thank you for the top quality you are offering us for free. I say all this so you don't take my suggestion the wrong way. Since you make the big effort to upload subtitles to your videos (which is greatly appreciated), maybe you could try to find some other place to put the "info boxes" that appear now and then at the bottom of the screen? They appear behind the subtitles and are impossible to read without pausing to turn them off. It's a tiny inconvenience for us who, as i said, are enjoying top quality documentaries for free, but since you do read the comments, i thought i should mention it. With all the love from Greece!!

[@KingsandGenerals]

Good point, didn't think about it

[@mohdfaeizyusop9775]

completely agreed on this 👏👏. Again, one of the best documentaries by K&G

[@Coffeeguyzz]

Agree whole-heartedly. Those info boxes are a great enhancement, but somewhat difficult to read. Great series, as usual.

[@jeffmcdonald4225]

Those Australian boys were almost unbelievably brave.

[@marvinm8343]

The IJN sorely missed Hiyo in this battle. Had the sister ships Junyo and Hiyo done a combined strike, the Enterprise would probably been sunk. Despite the criticisms, Nagumo actually performed well in this battle.

[@chicken_burgers]

Very good point their coordinated strike really is something else

[@scottkrater2131]

If if's and but's were candy and nuts, Japan would have won, but they didn't, end of story, period.

[@marvinm8343]

@@scottkrater2131 Relax, Cpt. Obvious. Don't get your panties in a bunch.

[@scottkrater2131]

@@marvinm8343 than why make a comment on speculation? Stick to the facts, not conjecture IJN fan boy.

[@JosephSchneider26]

@@scottkrater2131 History plays a big part in determining individual and collective responsibility, like who was responsible for WW1. So these "ifs" are actually very important, because they help outline the horizon of individual decisions. (Edit: typo)

[@luislugo1289]

Espectacular video, y sin duda una batalla que cuestiona un poco la narrativa popular de que Midway fue el canto del cisne de la armada imperial japonesa. Y sin duda mi capitulo favorito del documental de Batalla 360.

[@Warmaker01]

There have been 6 battles in World War II where Carriers were at opposing sides, all but 1 of them in the Pacific. Coral Sea, 1942 Indian Ocean Raid, 1942 Midway, 1942 Eastern Solomons, 1942 Santa Cruz Islands, 1942 Philippine Sea 1944, a.k.a. "The Marianas Turkey Shoot" Of these 6 Carrier Duels, 3 of them have been in the same region in the South Pacific: Coral Sea, Eastern Solomons, Santa Cruz Islands. Very heavy air and naval action in this part of the world in WWII. Santa Cruz Islands was a "must critically win" battle for the Imperial Japanese Navy. They knew the Essex-class carriers would start being commissioned very soon. Essex herself would commission in December 1942, and her sisters will slowly start entering service. Another would enter service in February 1943, and April 1943. By April 1943, the US Navy would have 3 new Essex-class, along with new planes (Hellcats) that will enter service. It will take time for training up their crews and assigned air groups. Essex would see her first combat in the Pacific with a raid on Wake Island in May 1943. So in the months after, the tidal wave of the Essex-class would hit hard. The IJN desperately needed to sink both Enterprise and Hornet, while still preserving their own Carriers. They basically needed to hit a baseball Grand Slam for this battle. IF they could do it, their 2 Fleet Carriers of the Shokaku-class and several Light Carriers would have superiority until the Essex-class started arriving in strength in mid-1943. Before the Essex-class Tidal Wave, the IJN would have to only deal with Saratoga. But Enterprise survived. Shokaku herself was badly damaged. Just as bad for the IJN, they suffered horrific aircrew losses in this battle, losing more of their ever dwindling pre and early war experienced pilots. They could never replace that experience. The losses would be so heavy that the IJN would not sortie their carriers again with full air groups until 1944. Even then, the quality of those aircrews in 1944 were a pale shadow of the ones from 1941-1942. These are the guys that get butchered in the "Marianas Turkey Shoot" against seasoned, well trained US Navy pilots.

[@gaiusoctavius6107]

The battle of cape engano in 1945 should also be included

[@haskenvonbern5404]

Interesting that this is the only battle which went according to Japanese doctrine, even though there was no night surface engagement the aggressive charge of Abe’s forces was enough to force the Americans to abandon Hornet

[@delftac]

I had never even heard of this battle! So cool to finally learn about it!

[@theawesomeman9821]

same

[@lespaulguitarist92]

yall must be young. first heard of it on history channel: battle 360 enterprise..

[@MrNicoJac]

@@lespaulguitarist92 He probably meant the ground attack on the tiny island, Mr Fossil ;-)

[@bjorndevlieger8565]

Besides the number of ships one of the reasons the Japanese faced heavier AA is because at that point the 40mm Bofors began seeing greater usage over the old 28mm, sure they accelerated the acquisition of the Bofors since the Pearl Harbour attack but this was the first battle were the 40mm Bofors was the most common type of medium range AA on US ships. Enterprise had been refitted with them while she was being repaired and in a way it helped her out.

[@omarbradley6807]

Also the battleships had a lot of AA.

[@paulsteaven]

Nah, it's the 20mm Oerlikon not the 40mm Bofors.

[@nooneatall8072]

@@paulsteaven Don't forget the 5"/38s on the South Dakota and the AA cruisers.

[@nooneatall8072]

Yep. The Enterprise had 40mm. I don't think that the Hornet had any. The US now had the 'complete package' - 5" for long range (and dive bombers at altitude), 40mm for medium range, and 20mm for close-in.

[@paulsteaven]

@@nooneatall8072 yes 5"/38 on Atlanta class cruisers and above as most of the treaty cruisers (especially CAs) has 5"/25.

[@historyinbits]

As a European interested in WW2 history, I have to admit I know only about an eighth about the Pacific war theatre than I know about the European WW2

[@brokenbridge6316]

So in essence this battle played a big role in Japan losing many future air battles. Great video.

[@icewaterslim7260]

Most comprehensive account of this battle that I've come across . . . so far.. There are some other good ones on the tube that give insight to how hard fought and deadly this one was and well worth their watching but this one has lots of background and details.

[@JagerJota_23]

The best YT channel of history telling, nice work.

[@donaldshotts4429]

The Guadalcanal campaign is endlessly fascinating imo. The Japanese could've possibly won imo if they used their big surface ships in a rotating manner as heavy artillery and permanently put Henderson Field out of action. They still had big advantages in capital ships although they obviously would've lost more then they did. In the end they were too divided amongst themselves to pull it off, but that one heavy bombardment from 2 Japanese battleships was the low point for the Marines so the untapped potential they had was enormous

[@n1k2jfan96]

The Japanese did exactly that. On the night of 14/15 October, just one day after the bombardment from the battleships Kongo and Haruna, Henderson Field was bombarded again by the heavy cruisers Kinugasa and Chokai. This was followed less than 24 hours later by another bombardment, this time from the heavy cruisers Myoko and Maya. It wasn't until after the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal, during which the USN turned back two Japanese attempts to bombard Henderson Field and sank two Japanese battleships, Hiei and Kirishima, that the Japanese commanders finally conceded defeat in the battle for Guadalcanal. In the end, the Japanese naval bombardment missions failed to achieve their objectives, both individually and collectively, but it certainly wasn't for a lack of trying.

[@donaldshotts4429]

@@n1k2jfan96 I apologize in that I didn't explain what I meant fully, but I'm talking about the Japanese hitting Henderson Field 3-4 times a week! They had atleast 10-11 battleships and God knows what a 3000 lb shell from Yamato would do to ground targets. They basically sunk or damaged every American carrier at the time but Enterprise so who would've stopped them? The Japanese army & navy didn't work well together so it never happened, but idk how the Marines could've dealt with that? Dead or shell shocked or disabled by a concussion. It would've forced the American Navy to fight the "decisive battle" Japan wanted or evacuate Guadalcanal

[@issacfoster1113]

@@donaldshotts4429 Japanese has no planes to spare. Sending Yamato would make a sitting duck for Henderson field. Fuel is scarce. And Admiral Lee's BBs would reck havoc on them .

[@donaldshotts4429]

@@issacfoster1113 The Japanese had more carriers then America plus land based planes from Rabaul. True enough that fuel was always a factor, but they had enough when they needed it in 1942. As for our battleships? We might've had 4 at the time at the most?

[@n1k2jfan96]

@@donaldshotts4429 Yamato arrived at Truk on 28 August, 1942, but she would remain there throughout the Guadalcanal campaign without ever taking part in it. Yamamoto decided against using her to shell Henderson Field because of a lack of 18-inch gun ammunition suitable for shore bombardment, uncharted seas around Guadalcanal (she was almost the size of two Kongo-class battleships with a 36-ft draft), and her high fuel consumption. The super battleship did serve one important function during this time. On 1 November, 1942, a festive dinner was held aboard Yamato for all captains stationed at Truk to celebrate the victory at the Battle of Santa Cruz.

[@vsquared86]

Best WWII mini-series in show business!

[@cnlbenmc]

I need from Drachinifel's channel that the Surviving veteran IJN pilots were stunned and demoralized by the veritable storm of Anti-Air munitions being thrown at them by the American Ships in this battle. But this was quite some time before the infamously massive AA battery arrays on US Navy vessels had been fully realized and yet they were stunned by what they faced.

[@rodgermurphy5721]

The Japanese combined arms attack on the Hornet was a textbook perfect attack. The Japanese were damn good in WW2....but so was the US

[@saxonrains]

Excellent as always.

[@mccabber24]

Take a shot every time Nagumo turns North

[@sfr7916]

😅

[@mortillery2306]

Please teach WW2 history at university level. This is the most amazing thing I have ever seen.

[@loupiscanis9449]

Thank you , K&G . 🐺

[@theawesomeman9821]

Didn't know the US navy ever lost a battle before. My cousin joined the navy over army because the recruiter told her the navy never lost a battle before.

[@nicholasm7822]

Probably the one time in history a military recruiter told a lie to get someone to sign up. 🤔

[@yoseipilot]

Sounds like, the Americans/Allies really love to creating some Propaganda Event.

[@JohnSmith-pm3ew]

Oh boy.... who's going to tell him?

[@Superlegend56]

Was waiting for this episode 😁

[@darthveatay]

The Hornet couldn't be scuttled. Despite everything the Americans did sink her. So they abandoned her there. The Japanese found Hornet abandoned and managed to sink her

[@christopherhanton6611]

very good video. the battle of Santa Cruz Islands was strange one indeed. Also, something neat was the for USA CVS that were lost in 1942 would be replaced with 4 new ones of Essex-class. Each the name of the former ship Yorktown, Lexington, Hornet and Wasp. they all would have long career with navy 3 of 4 are still around as Muesum ships but sadly Wasp was broken up in 1970s. Also, something neat Lexington was training ship for last 22 years of its life training Navy pilots with takeoffs and landings on a carrier

[@ph89787]

Pity about the two survivors of the 1942 meatgrinder. As one was blown up at Bikini Atoll and the other was unceremoniously scrapped in 1958.

[@christopherhanton6611]

@@ph89787 yep Saratoga on bottom. Enterprise was scrap to may way for second one. And that's what doing for second one nuclear going to be recycled ♻️ and most or all will be put into the new one that just started to be built.

[@davidkaminski615]

Hornet was later used as a recovery ship for NASA and has an interesting space artifact exhibit onboard.

[@christopherhanton6611]

@@davidkaminski615 yep recovered several Gemini space capsules.

[@louievelayo4100]

@@ph89787 Yeah, dem fates of Sara and E were *VERY* unfortunate... Sara's was quick and painless, E's was just... ugh... General Eisenhower could've saved her when he was running Whiskey Hotel...

[@napoleonibonaparte7198]

“Tis but a scratch!” - USN

[@shyuebrady]

USS San Juan going backwards at 19:49.

[@rig.veda200]

Love this channel! So visually entertaining !!!

[@hitmewitdarock]

Love this. Thank you so very much.

[@denniscleary7580]

Making my Sunday mornings even more interesting 😁👍

[@lostinspacestudio]

Very good graphics style in this episode.. just a little confused about the range arcs of the aircraft from the carriers being much shorter than where the aircraft appear in action though.

[@andreiacsinia5088]

Small correction: at 03:47 it should be Brooklyn Class Light Cruiser (not Carrier).

[@adamndirtyape]

This series has been fabulous.

[@stynkanator]

Based on the performance of the US it sometimes shocks me that they won in the end. I guess being about to take a punch is super important.

[@jaythompson5102]

It took you guys a while to figure out naval/carrier warfare in WW2. In some ways the Japanese were great teachers.

[@jonbaxter2254]

"It's not how hard you hit, it's how hard you get hit and keep moving forward."

[@paulsteaven]

US is destined to be the victor of WWII as they could outbuild any country during that time and they were protected by 2 big oceans.

[@friedzombie4]

It's been said that the US only had 1 thing impressive in its repotoire from both sides of the Axis: Overwhelming Logistics; if you can outsupply your enemy in all regards it doesn't matter if you lose resources. You will win from sheer attrition alone.

[@MythicFool]

@@friedzombie4 American logistics were a massive factor, true, but US doctrine of sending experienced pilots home to train new air crews significantly helped create a pool of experienced pilots to draw from whereas the Japanese, as mentioned, didn't. Also, don't undersell the damage control systems and actions of the US sailors.

[@impostor101]

I thought i have to wait 2 more days to watched dis episode...it was completely surprise for me and for that i am grateful 🙏

[@MoldyChese]

This makes me want to play Battlestations Pacific

[@rig.veda200]

LOL. There's another game called "Air Conflicts Pacific Carriers". It's really good.

[@MoldyChese]

@@rig.veda200 do you only fly planes in the game you just said

[@rig.veda200]

@@MoldyChese Yes but the graphics are insane because it was released after BSP

[@MoldyChese]

@@rig.veda200 Dude idc about the graphics i care about nostalgia and there is a BSP Remaster on steam if you already have it you cant buy it on steam anymore

[@somewhere6]

As usual, the extensive details are what make your videos stand out.

[@irishpsalteri]

Thanks. Episode 49 and only up to October 1942, great.

[@yousarrname3051]

Awesome timing, just about to eat dinner.

[@Matthew10950]

Just had breakfast, where are you?? Lol

[@m.steward9146]

Funny how you mentioned that Halsey scuttled the Hornet when it was destroyers Akigumo and Makigumo that delivered the coup de grace with their torpedoes. Apparently, Halsey, couldn't even scuttle a burning wreck properly.

[@joeshmoe8345]

Awesome thanks

[@nathang5630]

Keep them coming!

[@oe78922]

What a unexpected surprise 🔥

[@n1k2jfan96]

Kinkaid's decision to abandon the Hornet would later be harshly second-guessed by Halsey. On the eve of the Battle of Tassafaronga, Kinkaid was reassigned and the inexperienced Carleton Wright took command of TF 67, with disastrous consequences. Ironically, on the two-year anniversary of Santa Cruz and at the most critical moment of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Haisey would lead TF 38 and TF 34 northwards in pursuit of Ozawa's decoy carrier force and leave Kinkaid and Seventh Fleet to fend for themselves against Kurita's Center Force bearing down from San Bernardino Strait. A reckless decision by Halsey that would have led to utter catastrophe had it not been for the heroism of Taffy 3.

[@ph89787]

That and Kincaid later detaching part of Enterprise’s Air Group 10 to Henderson field for the Naval Battle Of Guadalcanal.

[@rhor1882]

Just when I thought Goodenough island was amusingly named, incomes rear admiral Kinkaid.

[@LazyB00M]

I must admit the entire series is a great educational material. While having extended knowledge about the WWII actions in Europe, and the Pacific war reduced mainly to Perl Harbor, Midway and Hiroshima & Nagasaki, one can understand the struggle allies had facing the superior enemy. Japanese were actually better equipped, trained and motivated. It is truly remarkable how did allies managed to hold on with limited resources and eventually push back. It is now clear that the nature of military actions in the Pacific theater was of a high complexity where a minor mistake would cost the victory. German clash with USSR is obviously proportionally more impressive due to it's scale. But the Pacific was completely different, employing completely different set of skills and needs. And the China! The ferocious resistance is amazing. Too bad Mao took over. China could had been a democratic prosperous nation and not turning into another tyrannical empire ruled by criminals.

[@SportZone7780]

Man power baby.

[@jakemac1396]

IS Navy vet here! I was a corpsman so I never set foot on a ship… but I love naval history and battles like this! These guys had balls of steel!!

[@stevinharper3551]

This series is really good I've watched a few wizards and warriors video cause of these

[@finitewehosh6542]

Good enough island!

[@coreycochran3983]

good vid keep it going

[@RoboticDragon]

American Carriers must have been built so well, they take tons of hits and keep going. Yes they had superior fire control systems, but damn they just keep sailing.

[@ph89787]

What wasn’t said in the video. Was that at the time Hornet had taken her third torpedo hit. Her damage control crews almost restored power. Jon Parshall speculated that even with this hit. It would have still been possible for Hornet to be repaired and towed out. But with the IJN vanguard force bearing down. There was no longer the time and with Enterprise damaged, there was no air cover.

[@Picasso_305]

Once the Hell Cat fighter named the "Flyimg Bathtub" came on line with a top speed of over 400 mph and did not stall out climbing chasing the Zero it makted the end of the Zero's dominace By the end of the war the Hell Cat set a record of 19 kills for every Hell Cat loss. A record that exists until this day.

[@-RONNIE]

Thank you for the quality information

[@droctavius1862]

isn't the fourth damaged aircraft purposely crashed into the uss smith and the torpedo carried it was detonated shortly after impact?

[@nooneatall8072]

There was a Japanese torpedo plane that crashed into a US destroyer. This is likely what u are thinking of. Didnt' the Smith get itself into the wake of the South Dakota to get its fires put out?

[@IvyKuong-xe6cw]

18:52 USS Smith was heavily damage by a B5N crashing on to her bow and the torpedo the plane was carrying exploded on her deck not a hit from a torpedo.

[@13thravenpurple94]

Great work Thank you

[@jamest6837]

my dad was a tailseat gunner in an sbd of squadron VS-8 and received an air medal in this battle

[@allgood6760]

Thanks for this 👍

[@markusskram4181]

Interesting video as always

[@Chris-um3se]

Well done --Thanks

[@eltk1785]

If Japanese admirals would be as good and brave as their pilots, the Pacific Theater would be another story. Nagumo is an example, lacking key leadership skills such as awareness and the ability to respond fast and decisively to ever changing battle courses. Passive and afraid, he cost them dearly at Midway. The opposite is true for the Americans, not so skillful pilots, but very intelligent admirals excelling in decision making, looking for fights on their terms but also not embarrassed to fall back when they could not win it. Japanese imperialist propaganda influenced so much on their army and navy commanders, I am certainly sure it affected them in decision making during the clashes with the Americans. Most of the battles Japanese won came down to the brilliance of their pilots and sailors not the leadership of army and navy.

[@aquilamario8300]

Fantastic.

[@christopherg2347]

"That island - it was just about *good enough* to fight over."

[@oe78922]

When's the latest video coming out ? Can't wait :)

[@xpompompomx]

Plz tell me there will be an episode next Tuesday/Wednesday as well 😁

[@DavidE-vc8gy]

Am really surprised that shokaku survived 3 bomb hits so easily. Very different from Midway. Perhaps lucky, or perhaps their damage control had improved?

[@somerandomguy4812]

I think it was both luck and better damage control. Shokaku was hit by anywhere from 3 to 6 bombs, and yet her engines remained untouched. She also suffered no damage at the waterline, meaning that she was in no danger of sinking and that she could retreat. That said, if her hangers had been filled with armed aircraft, she very easily suffered the same fate as the Japanese carriers off of Midway. Instead, her radar allowed her to prepare for the air strike; allowing the fuel lines to the purged and her hanger to empty of almost all aircraft. So aside from the bomb hits, she didn’t suffer any secondary explosions.

[@lukedornon7799]

Imagine these naval duels with smart missiles and bomber drones.

[@jonbaxter2254]

Getting relocated to shore duty in japan in late 1942 might not be such a bad thing...

[@nooneatall8072]

Survival wise perhaps. Not honor-wise. Unfortunately for Nagumo, his shore duty ended up with him on Saipan in 1944. He never made it off of the island.

[@Wayne.J]

@@nooneatall8072 CinC Sasebo Naval Arsenal is still pretty big shoes, convoys in and around Western Japan, train Sasebo Marines repair or fit out ships. Not a little role. Later CinC Pacific Area Fleet. Only CinC Combined Fleet was more senior than him at his death. Resupply all island bases, convoys with DesRon 3 or CruDiv 14, movement/deployment of new 1st Air Fleet under the same Kakuta from Santa Cruz! Still big jobs. Just not Sea going ones.

[@nooneatall8072]

@@Wayne.J Yes, big jobs. But not combat ones. And the IJN was all about combat. Resupply runs, deployment of assets, etc, really would be a step down (a big step down) after commanding combat formations.

[@Wayne.J]

@@nooneatall8072 The only other "combat" position Nagumo could take would be CinC of Combined Fleet, and that was a land based job after Koga died. All Naval Districts, Area Fleet commands, Air Fleets and General Escort Command were all land based as well. But they are the next promotion of Nagumo and his piers. I think you are on the right track by saying IJN was all about naval combat, but that was their downfall. The day to day running of the war was about logistics, convoy protection, reinforments and supplies which I think after mid 1943, they hierarchy of IJN had realized this but didn't have the hardware (ships, planes, sonor etc) or the prior training to indoctrinate the sailors to make any real impact against the preponderance of US ships and tactics.

[@hanzup4117]

Hey, guys. Any plans on covering the eastern front?

[@sontungle2641]

If Hornet & Lexington have armored flight deck the results would be different

[@lc_dream6396]

11:52 there is two SHOKAKU, It should be Zuikaku and Shokaku

[@rodgermurphy5721]

Japan was all in as an enemy during WW2, genuine friends today though

[@thelostcommando]

At 19:51, the Cruiser USS San Juan is erroneously depicted as sailing backwards

[@edwardgilmour9013]

The text boxes would be easier to read if written in proper case. also please don't place the text boxes near the bottom as that is obscured by red line used by KZbin to show progress of the video

[@musashilegend4477]

I know i am commenting late in 2024 but i juct could not resist. Like why did you not fully show the hits on shokaku and zuiho? This is like the only good vid on this battle and im trying to recreate it in minecraft so i need this kind of info. Edit: also why is the hornet backwards?

[@theawesomeman9821]

Let's go Wildcats!

[@johnnyweng1164]

this area is a gambling place if Japan and usa are equal in power. but if yamamoto has the courage to bring his fleet sent to midway to south Pacific, he will sweep it.

[@deliadimaano612]

Can you do battle of Jutland

[@richardwhite3041]

The USS Smith was not hit by a torpedo. The Kate carrying the torpedo crashed on the Smith. The resulting fire detonated the aircraft’s torpedo that was laying on the Smith’s deck.

[@Epic0201]

Goodenough Island... Bruh...

[@92Psyco]

Shall we call this island Fergusson? Yeah, good enough, what about this other one next to it? Hmm… you just gave me an idea!

[@MrSuzuki1187]

Admiral Bill "Bull" Halsey was in command of our carriers on that day. Enterprise and Hornet were our last 2 carriers afloat, and the only things between Guadalcanal and San Francisco. When Halsey heard of the 4 Japanese carriers steaming south, he issued the fateful orders that October 26, 1942. Risking our last 2 carriers, and with odds 2 to 4, Halsey fairly shouted the orders "Attack! Repeat, Attack!". And we did because in those days, America's military leaders were bold and brave, not risk averse and woke like today.

[@SnakeSalmon8izback]

Being cautious is "woke"? I guess Fletcher and Nagumo were both woke. You boomers are so funny when you forget to take your meds.

[@QuantumLeapt]

The Japanese made the biggest gamble the world has seen, and Kings and Generals pays homage by making their unit symbol a poker chip.