MATAPAN: The Untold Stories

[@Sonofdonald2024]

This is the one of the best naval channels on KZbin

[@frarevo]

My father died in this action, he was in Zara cruiser. R.I.P.

[@phaasch]

This is a great channel, and works so well alongside more established ones like Drachinfel's because of your completely different format, the superb use of period footage, and the emphasis being squarely upon the human angle of combat. Really first rate.

[@jp-um2fr]

You are so right. In the early 60s, I met several Italian farmworkers who stayed in the UK after the war. I used to cycle a shortcut along footpaths around fields on the way to work. If I was a bit early, we had a natter. Eventually they started saving huge spuds, etc. just for me. As for the war, just like us Brits all they wanted to do was get on with having the best life they could. No they were not cowards, they knew they wee being forced into sh*t.

[@markrowland1366]

Before the big guns fired, the searchlight comander began the illumination. His lights were aimed so well fire commended in seconds. That young officer was young prince Phillip, recently departed.

[@geordiedog1749]

Great work, as usual. The story of the Swordfish pottering up and down the Italian fleet to draw fire is insane! I’m surprised the plane could fly carrying someone with balls that big on board!

[@dunruden9720]

American? It's all about bottoms and gonads with you people!

[@geordiedog1749]

@@dunruden9720 nah, Im a Geordie/Jock hybrid. But I know exactly what you mean. If I’d said “ typical of the Death Cult attitude of the British military in general” most people wouldn’t understand.

[@ariochiv]

They did slow the plane down even more than the torpedo. :D

[@bremnersghost948]

@@ariochiv Balls that Big, 617 Squadron could have dropped Him on Tirpitz.

[@SennaAugustus]

That's the point of the Swordfish, it can fly whatever the conditions.

[@brianspendelow840]

Great combination of archival footage and historic voices. Very well done. A bit of royal trivia as a footnote. Prince Philip was serving on board HMS Valiant. He was mentioned in dispatches for his skillful use of the battleship's searchlights.

[@ArmouredCarriers]

I didn't have enough footage to support the gripe of the Valiant midshipman ... he accused the captain of not using radar in order to give Philip a bit of action!

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

I can't believe how he didnt win the Victoria Cross, " For incredible Valour ordering his subordinates where to direct the ships searchlights"

[@patrickgriffitt6551]

I'm impressed with the period footage. Fulmars, Albacores, Blenheim IV&Vs, Walrus. And the Swordfish.

[@billbolton]

Thanks. To those who did their duty and those who recorded their stories and brought them to us.

[@BeKindToBirds]

Wow, what an incredible collection of voices. Nothing else can compare to hearing it straight from the men who were there.

[@MrKen-wy5dk]

But they speak with British accents that make it almost impossible for this Texan to understand. I gave up one third through the video.

[@Lidds1973]

@@MrKen-wy5dk English spoken by English? ;)

[@Lidds1973]

Amazing to hear these voices. My grandfather served in Coastal Command and told me stories of the Battle of the NA. I have his flight jacket, gloves and nav kit. What an amazing generation they were. Thank you

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

Love the interviews done with men who fought in the battles. Sadly most of the WW 2 men and women have passed on. And soon we won't have any of them left.

[@PaulfromChicago]

Thanks Jamie. These are really good.

[@dixiefallas7799]

My Father served on Warspite all through the war.🇬🇧

[@rq83]

The Warspite was such an ass kicker-!!! What a GREAT ship.

[@dixiefallas7799]

@@rq83 Yeah my Dad was a cpo on her ,engineering. He was below when it came over the tannoy “ we’ve just hit a cruiser,it’s opened up like a tin of sardines “ He told me no one cheered. “ We just thought about the poor souls who died “ My Dad was Rowland Victor Fallas. He said Adm. Cunningham was a lovely man. That of course was Cape Matapan. She used up all her munitions at Normandy on her last trip home,he was topside for that watching the big guns.

[@SennaAugustus]

@@dixiefallas7799 That's what I like about these old sailors, they have a lot of respect of other sailors, even the enemy.

[@phaasch]

Well, if nothing else, he certainly had a busy war! Fancy serving those 6 years on what is now a piece of naval folklore. Your father had much to be proud of.

[@dixiefallas7799]

@@phaasch Thank you. He never spoke about it till a couple of years before he died.🇬🇧

[@avipatable]

"He was a very brave man; he was a very stupid man!" How I love listening to these men.

[@hrodwulf8093]

A very interesting historical documentary film, thanks! Greets from Italy. 🇮🇹

[@ArmouredCarriers]

Many thanks!

[@AliveWithPassion]

Superb channel! Amazing! How does this great channel not have over 1 million subscribers?! I love this.

[@ArmouredCarriers]

Maybe one day!

[@jaybee9269]

Marvelous content. Really well-done, thanks for posting!

[@roderickhamilton9891]

Great stuff! I do wish there was more content on the Supermarine Walrus on youtube, it's so important!

[@ArmouredCarriers]

I'd like to do a "User Experience" video on them. But I've found very little footage so far ...

[@roderickhamilton9891]

@@ArmouredCarriers yeah it seems that way 😕

[@ArmouredCarriers]

@@roderickhamilton9891 I'll keep looking. I just need a decent baseline amount of footage, some decent audio memories and a bunch of pictures. I'll give it a go at some point.

[@roderickhamilton9891]

@@ArmouredCarriers fabulous, and thanks!

[@beigethursday1352]

Brilliant video. Love the use of original footage.

[@ArmouredCarriers]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@forthleft]

Brilliant concept for a youtube channel. Thanks again.

[@johnfrench1239]

Just found this - superb, proper history rather than hype and melodrama

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

"Proper history" ? And no mention of the AUSTRALIAN "SCRAP IRON FLOTILLA" who actually tracked and spotted the Italian Fleet at night before the Battle of Matapan, and then screened and fought off the numerous Italian Destroyers intent on a Torpedo attack on the British Battleships during the closing stages of the night battle.

[@geoffreybawden6390]

Excellent.. hearing from those that were there . And great visuals.

[@coleparker]

What the battle showed was that the Italian Military failure to allow the Italian Navy to have its own Air Arm led to a failure in reconnaissance and coordinated sea and air response to the RN Fleet action.

[@ArmouredCarriers]

That was part of it. The Mediterranean, being enclosed, was mostly within reach of Italian seaplane and modified reconnaissance range. The arrival of the armoured carriers, however, meant these could be intercepted by Fulmars. And radar meant they could be intercepted outside of visual range of the fleet.

[@coleparker]

@@ArmouredCarriers I understand your point of view. However, I point out that because the Italian Navy had no dedicated air arm, there were miscommunications between the Italian Air Force and Navy commands, Italian Air Force pilots were not trained in either Ship Identifications, or Fleet problems as was seen in the first Italian and Royal Navy encounters south of Sardinia. In addition, I hypothesize that a dedicated fleet air arm, would have been able to send out both bombers and fighters to counter the Royal Navy's torpedo attacks.

[@ArmouredCarriers]

Good points. And that was pretty much the reasoning for the British Fleet Air Arm and the US Navy's own air command ...@@coleparker

[@johnstewart9745]

My father GEORGE STEWART, and uncle CHARLES COSTELLO, both served on FORMIDABLE, all through the war 🇬🇧

[@scrubsrc4084]

"He was a very brave man but he was a very stupid man" how often those two traits coincide at the opotune moment

[@benwilson6145]

Thanks , great work

[@hazchemel]

Stunning, thank you.

[@irobott3713]

for the date being 80 years ago the technological quality of the film is impressive

[@marcoreale9259]

My maternal grandfather was in the Gradisca Hospital Ship called to rescue the survivors of the battle. The Gradisca was captured by the Germans in Greece in September 1943, my grandfather was sent to Bergen Bielsen and then Barrack 13 Berlin and he was in Berlin when the Russians conquered it. My father step-father was at the battle in one of the small Italian destroyer which had been severely damaged and on flame and the British let them alone thinking they were going to blow up at any time, instead they managed to return to Italy.

[@williambradley9419]

Respects to your ancestors, from a Brit.

[@GM-yc3rl]

My great uncle Samuel was a board HMS Nubian during the Battle of Mattapan as a Pom-Pom Gunner

[@blueshirtbuddah1665]

Fantastic video Jamie!

[@model-man7802]

Outstanding job by the RN!!👍

[@zibibestia123]

MATAPAN: Nieopowiedziane historie super film dok. fajnie opowiedziany. dużo dokument.nagrań

[@pdunderhill]

On the northern side of Trafalgar square is a bust of Admiral Cunningham, pay your respects to ABC if you pass by.

[@DODO-vy6sf]

Looking at some of the famous 1945 Yalta summit photos, Andrew Cunningham is there right behind Churchill.

[@dovetonsturdee7033]

Definitely! After all, given the way some people in Britain are currently behaving, might not be there for much longer.

[@armstronggermany2995]

These men saved the world from a future worse than death under the Nazis. Their sacrifice must never be forgotten.

[@HarborLockRoad]

Havent paid much attention to what the globalists have worked thru coof 19 and 3rd world immigration then, eh? I dont think the germans had grooming gangs or sharia law.

[@benwilson6145]

@@HarborLockRoad They had Extermination Camps and murdered over 23 million people, you can keep your coof 19 and grooming in the place squirrels keep there nuts.

[@99IronDuke]

Excellent video.

[@gregbolitho9775]

a young phil montbatten [yeh l8r HRH] was there too. nice job that fleet!

[@garethsmith1514]

My Grandfather served on board HMS Formidable during Battle of Cape Matapan 🫡🫡🫡

[@rq83]

❤, long over do... Thank You 🙏🕊

[@jimmywrangles]

Cunningham was the greatest Admiral of the last 100 years.

[@ricardokowalski1579]

min 1:27 Is that a bicycle hanging from the Swordfish?

[@ArmouredCarriers]

Probably. In reading a few autobiographies, quite a few say they would put pushbikes on their Swordfish/Albacores when flying off to shore stations. Instant transport off base!

[@ricardokowalski1579]

@@ArmouredCarriers Swordfish pilot complains about it being slow 🐢. ALSO Swordfish pilot : Lets add a 🚲 bicycle drag device!!!! 😁

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

I'm wondering if my wife's father took part in this operation as I know he served aboard HMS Mohawk, and was part of the crew when it was later sunk by a torpedo from (I believe) an Italian destroyer. He was later commissioned as a sub-lieutenant (and subsequently full lieutenant) in the RNVR, serving aboard another 4 ships until demobilised. I wish I'd asked him about his wartime service when he was still alive but wasn't really aware of how much action he'd seen, only later coming into possession of his service record.

[@garyrunnalls7714]

Italian battleships were really good looking.

[@NicolaiAwesome]

Does anyone know what footage from the black and white series is called? I had it as a kid on VHS but can’t find it or remember its name - specifically the one with the officer/presenter speaking to camera

[@ArmouredCarriers]

The speaking to camera piece I think you are referring to is: "War at Sea - Mediterranean." A British 1960s ATV production. It's very hard to find. Other overview clips are from "Naval Operations", a 1942 documentary. This can be found on a variety of sources, including the IWM's "The Royal Navy at War" DVD set.

[@NicolaiAwesome]

@@ArmouredCarriers Thank you so much!! It is impossible to find. Unfortunately the copy I had has probably been lost to time but I loved that series as a kid. My dad was a midshipman in WW2 (on Suffolk during Battle of the Denmark Strait amongst other things) and was very keen for me to learn - probably so he didn’t have to talk about it.:/ Anyway, great channel!❤️

[@ArmouredCarriers]

If you find it, let me know: The few episodes I've found of this series have degraded to a very poor quality and my AI repair software barely manages to salvage anything useable from them. .@@NicolaiAwesome

[@NicolaiAwesome]

@@ArmouredCarriersI will! Had the whole series. Again, it’s on VHS and this going back to the late 80’s/early 90’s but my mum just moved so hopefully it’s in there somewhere. A fantastic series and a great shame if it’s been lost to time. Was it produced by British Pathé?

[@ArmouredCarriers]

No, a long-dead producer called ATV I really wish I could find a good verision of its "Wings Over Water" episode as that kind of hits my channel's theme as a bullseye! The one I have is not worth republishing. Though if I had infinite time and free money, I could possibly locate better versions of the original footage to match with the soundtrack. @@NicolaiAwesome

[@pierredecine1936]

The British certainly got their money's worth from the Warspite ! 1916 - Jutland. 2nd Battle of Narvik 1940, her floatplane sank U-64, the first U-Boat sunk, most accounts credit her with 7 German destroyers. and then , in the Med at Matapan. A Shame she wasn't saved & restored ...

[@davidbrown9093]

The uk doesn't save much to show our history ' too busy miss informing and calling our heroes war criminals.

[@chrismckay9923]

The UK should have preserved Warspite ( LEGENDARY SHIP) I'm glad she refused to be scrapped & broke loose from her tows & died on her own terms.

[@pierredecine1936]

@@chrismckay9923 Amazing story, indeed !

[@vicmclaglen1631]

23:57 It's tough for me to decipher this part of his story when he becomes excited; "The Italians...were....fullofadmiration, fullofadmiration." I gather this one aircraft was attacking from the other side of the formation and distracting the enemy. Doubt I could transcribe everything he blurted out there, usually don't have an issue with Brit English, unless perhaps they hail from deep within Liverpool.

[@dougerrohmer]

In short, I think mumbleman was on the "decoy" aircraft as a crewman, which was actually just flown by an idiot pilot who bumbled around, not thinking that the best idea was to attack from the dark towards the setting sun with the enemy in silhouette. So he ended up attracting all the attention of the AA gunners, because he was all they could see. Italian survivors were full of admiration of the courage of the "decoy who had them all fooled". When mumbleman asked the pilot what the hell he thought he was doing, the pilot said that he had see all these ships and was looking for the biggest one to attack. When asked why the hell the pilot didn't swing around to the dark side, he said "I didn't have time for that!"

[@ardshielcomplex8917]

And no mention of the AUSTRALIAN "SCRAP IRON FLOTILLA" who actually tracked and spotted the Italian Fleet at night before the Battle of Matapan, and then screened and fought off the numerous Italian Destroyers intent on a Torpedo attack on the British Battleships during the closing stages of the night battle.

[@ArmouredCarriers]

One day. I promise.

[@paulroustan3643]

I know, I was waiting for the Australia scrap iron flotilla part, and its left out, how can they have no mention of Australian Naval force that played a big role in this battle.

[@steriskyline4470]

@@paulroustan3643 because with the effort the Aussies put in, this video would be 6 hours long. Believe me, any Brit who’s interested in this battle knows full well what our aussie brothers did and appreciate and respect the hell out of them.

[@HarborLockRoad]

Kinda feel sorry for the regia marina, not having radar and all....just like savo island, but in reverse.

[@johnhanson5943]

Best excuse for a round of golf ever!

[@georgetraylor314]

the bi wings look like a hoot to fly.

[@oceanhome2023]

How heavy is that Bomb? 10:18 ? Hey Doctor my back is killing me ! Well stop loading those bombs !

[@guaporeturns9472]

Awesome

[@edpzz]

Prince Phillip was in this engagment

[@patrickgriffitt6551]

Very British." Very unpleasant accuracy"

[@Channelscruf]

Air attack. At 90 knots. Think about that.

[@nealbeard1]

"unpleasant accuracy."

[@donaldmason4959]

It appears in this record that Torpedo planes were pretty ineffective!

[@gwtpictgwtpict4214]

One hit on the Vittorio Veneto, one hit on the Pola. Result was Vitorio Veneto heading for home, and the Pola dead in the water. The RN knew they'd hit the Vittorio Veneto so continued the chase. The Italians sent two heavy cruisers plus destroyers back to assist the Pola. Result of that was three Italian heavy cruisers and two destroyers sunk, and a further destroyer heavily damaged. Without those two torpedo hits those losses probably wouldn't have occurred. In terms of manpower the Italians lost some 2,300 dead and a further 1,015 captured, the RN lost one aircraft and its three man crew. Pretty good result I think, and all down to the torpedo hits.

[@davegreenwood1663]

Real men in those days .Made off stern stuff .

[@randyschaff8939]

That put paid to the Italian fleets involvement in the war! They had enough lol 😂

[@estarriol4710]

A common (and inaccurate) opinion.

[@sergioattonito1867]

Not true at all

[@edgardoromero9607]

@@estarriol4710 You right is not one battle, the UK fight many batlles against Italy, and Germany, in the sea, air or land, and they use the inteligence, the balls and the industrial power not that easy, i talking for the mediterránea sea and África!! Sorry for my english.

[@johnemerson1363]

The Italian fleet had some beautiful ships with great potential. Consider what they could have done if they had RADAR like the brits. A different story, perhaps.

[@randyschaff8939]

@@johnemerson1363 l agree radar was the real game changer plus the RN has a habit of winning eventually. Thanks for the chat!👍

[@edgardoromero9607]

The Italian liders help the allies with thiers ineptitude to bring the Germans thousands of men and millons tons of materials lost in África and the mediterránea sea, well to the balkans too, because the UK have the biggest fleet of ships and the inteligence and industrial power to beat the enemies, and later the Americans arrive with everthing!!!

[@rmalarkey188]

Seems apposite given Prince Philip to watch this.

[@randyschaff8939]

God sakes clean up the spelling!!!

[@nealbeard1]

Your arteries will need cleaning if you don't chill.

[@randyschaff8939]

@@nealbeard1 Ha Ha it is these automated subtitles that get me worked up. Thanks for the chat.😝

[@flyingphobiahelp]

Wi? 😂😂😂😂