SMS Nassau - Guide 007 (Human Voice)

[@thelton100]

Love your comment. "They were sent waddling along." Priceless

[@handlebarfox2366]

When a 950 ton destroyer takes off a large part of your 20,000 ton battleship's plating and drags it back home... that's just plain humiliating. "Aye, and that's when the bloody battleship decided to ram us. Did a right fair amount of damage, she did, and when we tear ourselves loose, she leaves a sodding great piece of plate on our decks that we have to drag back home."

[@bigblue6917]

How do you get into a fight with a destroyer and it ends up absconding with a large piece of your armour?

[@Drachinifel]

Probably the destroyer had some squaddies aboard :p

[@c0dy85]

@@Drachinifel that were later reborn as US submariners

[@bobbobson5595]

polish sailors

[@gettinglost316]

Rams Destroyer >> Destoyer wins >> takes part of the BB as a prize.

[@Shadow-sq2yj]

\_(^_^)_/

[@michaelhou7465]

this video was just you ripping into this ship for 9 minutes and i love it

[@csours]

Spitfire: Oi mate, you got a loisance for that armour?

[@X_0_0_2]

U forgot to add: ya twat

[@tomarmadiyer2698]

Everyone would pay their tv tax if spitfires showed up at the door to collect

[@Dilley_G45]

Blackadder: Another tempting occasion for suicide beckons

[@TheGamer-ev7lc]

I like how he said the spitfire "made off" with a section of the Nassau, like it was a planned heist.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Re-watching this episode and your sardonic humor is just cracking me up I could use a laugh at this point. Thanks again for your excellent videos

[@raygiordano1045]

Drachinifel does make some very good videos worth a couple (or more) views. I particularly like the Voyage of the Damned 2nd Russian Pacific Fleet video.

[@TheTrueAdept]

Actually, the thing about not using turbines is that back then, turbines were finicky things, and not only that but most models couldn't allow the prop they were attached to the ability to reverse.

[@TheTrueAdept]

@Robert Gräfe Yes, but the thing was that it couldn't allow ships to REVERSE, which is rather important in oceanic combat. It wasn't until a geared turbine was created that turbine equipped ships could reverse.

[@tedb.5707]

The solution to that was a small reverse turbine built into main turbine at the rear. You then had to stop the turbine and let steam into the other end and slooooowly-backup. Inefficient and very cumbersome, but enough for moving about the harbor with tug assistance. Geared turbines allowed for a separate turbine and a clutch. This is one major reason the US Navy used electric-drive; full-power reverse. Some WW2 US Navy battleship had rudders that could close-off the tunnel under the stern as a giant water-brake.

[@Cragified]

To be fair triple expansion actually was used on a number of ships after the Dreadnought. The British had a bit of a jump on everyone with the Parson's turbines which the USN bought for the Florida thru Wyoming classes. New York classes reverted back some say due to a dispute with Parsons but other documents show it was more a packaging/weight issue. That the reciprocating engines could get the 21 knot design space for less weight/space which was valuable because of that amidships turret. German battleships used the triple expansion all the way to the Helgoland which given the wing turrets didn't have the linear packaging issue, likely because their turbine technology wasn't up to par and the Parson's monopoly would mean in a potential war with England getting parts would be... difficult.

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

Interesting; I'd heard that the U.S. love for VTE-powered dreadnoughts was because they were so much more fuel-efficient than direct-drive turbines (important when you have to be able to steam across the Pacific).

[@Cragified]

It's more the USN was always searching for the best package and didn't want to stick all their eggs in one basket. On the Delaware class the North Dakota with her Curtiss turbines slightly outranged the Delaware with her triple expansion engines. Though as a small note the Delaware's use of forced lubrication on the bearings enabled her to steam at full speed for a day without engine repairs something unheard of for a reciprocating engine. Though this feat didn't repeat itself on later tripled expansion powered ships strangely. Ultimately it really always came down packaging and weight. USN often split powered classes as they wanted to try new technologies but didn't want a whole class to be 'duds'. The turbo electric for example was more a packaging solution that removed the large turbines/expansion engines and replaced them with many turbo generators that could be more condensed and freely positioned with a natural byproduct of much more redundancy. Though it did weigh more.

[@kuhluhOG]

Well, considering that Germany was really getting into ship building at that time (meaning this was also an experiment for them) and that being their first dreadnought, I think it's understandable that she wasn't really good.

[@murderouskitten2577]

welll , they where better than most other ships in world navies , exept RN ships , so for a trial class of battleships , they where not bad :) P.s. to be honest - i would rather fight Bismark in Nassau , than in Hood :D

[@kuhluhOG]

@@murderouskitten2577 why, Hood is faster, has thicker belt armor, bigger guns and even better deck armor I think

[@murderouskitten2577]

@@kuhluhOG you sure about the armor and deck armor part ? Hood: Deck: 0.75-3 in (19-76 mm) Belt: 12-6 in (305-152 mm) Nassau: Belt: 300 mm decks were armored, between 2.1-3.1 in thanks - i would stick to Nassau just for lols :)

[@kuhluhOG]

@@murderouskitten2577 well similar armored, but for sure better armed

[@bkjeong4302]

Murderous Kitten ....please tell me you’re joking. I wouldn’t fight a 40000+ ton BB in one of the earliest BBs ever, even if that giant ship is a relative glass cannon.

[@Wolfeson28]

Somebody's been busy tonight!

[@rmscelticlines3374]

The entire vid is drach roasting the nassau class! 😂Loved it, keep up the great work.

[@matthewdavis3095]

oh my god this may be the best narration you gave ever done. great stuff

[@MrPoke1mon]

could you at one point make a guide about the remaining Dreadnoughts from the Imperial German Navy, namely the Kaiser and Koenig class of dreadnoughts, and how they compared to their competition

[@Aelvir114]

At least one of them got a legitimate kill: SMS Westfalen sank the Talisman-class destroyer HMS Turbulent

[@mjoelnir1899]

The Nassau was designed actually in 1903, so it is not a reaction to the Dreadnought or the South Carolina. The Germans were just a bit slow to build them. The 283 mm guns were used because they were available. The tripple expansion engines were kept because importing the turbine engines were deemed to bring the cost of building the ships over budget. The next run, the Helgolands got the 12 inch guns.

[@Dilley_G45]

Another reason to stick with 280 mm vs 305 mm was the higher rate of fire

[@theoldar]

But tell us how you really feel about these ships! ;-)

[@patrickhiggins3719]

I met a gentleman today in Washington, DC who had a pin on his cap I didn't recognize. Turns out it was a pin given to those who had christened USN ships. His grandmother christened the USN Nassau . Wow. Thanks big D for all the amazing content you put up. By the way do are nations christen there ships and how? Many thanks.

[@beefgoat80]

I really want a little gift shop device with a little button on it that has Drach saying "mmm, no" when I press it. Kind of like a laugh track, but the opposite.

[@SynchroScore]

The near collision does demonstrate what is perhaps the only advantage reciprocating steam engines have over turbines: The ability to apply full power in reverse. For turbines, either the steam flow is reversed (at poor efficiency and only a fraction of the power in running forwards) or a reverse gearbox can be used, with the added weight and complexity. This was also one of the arguments in favor of turbo-electric drive, being able to apply full power in reverse by simply swapping phases of the drive motors, but that came with loss of efficiency in the transmission, greater complexity and susceptibility to water intrusion, which obviously are problems in a warship.

[@dreibein]

Does anybody here know, how the battle alarm on the Nassau would have sounded? Were these ships outfitted with an internal electric signal system with loudspeakers or electromagnetic bells or horns? Or were orders shouted through pipes and across the ship?

[@ariochiv]

I'm reminded of the final line of _Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure_ : "They do get better!"

[@robinblankenship9234]

Jolly good ripping tale, Drach. Jolly good indeed, lad.

[@zoranocokoljic8927]

Well, it seem there were some conservative minds in key places where decisions were made. They thought that good old reliable steam engine is better than parvenu turbines; that the 11" guns are not much worse than12" and are already in production; and that a ship can not have too many guns ("Is there an empty space? Why is there an empty space? Put in a gun!). Also, it might have been intended that the ships will be used on secondary theaters - in Baltic (Russian fleet at the time was a joke) or in the colonies.

[@waltershumate5777]

Who fired the first shots of world war II against the United States?... Nope, not Japan. Can you do an episode on the USS Reuben James?

[@melvillesperryn9268]

Even the landing in Malaya happened before the attack on Pearl Harbor

[@j_taylor]

I guess the Panay incident was technically before WWII. Hmm. Was Reuben James the first attack on US after war started?

[@waltershumate5777]

@@j_taylor October of 1941. Although she was running under a then neutral country's flag , She was sunk by the Germans in international waters south of Greenland while escorting a convoy to England

[@guillermohoffmann8417]

what a great fleet we could make with Nassau and...Kamchatka!

[@michaelwest4325]

USS William S Porter reporting aboard!

[@lexmaximaguy8788]

I like the nassau class.....a beast in WOWs.

[@murderouskitten2577]

Koning Albert is a Beast in WOWs :D

[@Squad1993]

Yeah I'm with you on the WoWS thing. It's one of my favorites. Get up close and let the secondary batteries needle them to death.

[@Squad1993]

@Jefferson Tong I dont play random battles 👉👉

[@karlmorgan8580]

If it played more accurately to history (such as a dreadful reload time it wouldn’t be that great.)

[@Arltratlo]

@Jefferson Tong you will get a broadside of my mains and seconds, your chances are slim to get home, and a Nassau can turn and a SC cant

[@gazof-the-north1980]

The 11 inch gun was brought in because the Germans thought that any combat would be in the North Sea at short range and therefore a faster firing (albeit) smaller cannon would be more of an advantage.

[@jasonbrannock1698]

The first miniature I ever got was the Nassau. She's my favorite ship. Thanks for doing a video on her.J

[@jlvfr]

So, the naval equivalent of the british Valiant tank?...

[@tango6nf477]

Nor really the valiant was an awful tank and this was readily apparent from the start and so it never went into production, this class of ship did.

[@ВасилийМорозов-л7х]

Americans: let's put all turrets on the centerline and have the same broadside with less guns. Germans: more dakka means more dakka! P. S. I know that the South Carolina was commissioned later, but still, the difference between attitudes to the nation's first dreadnought is at least mildly amusing.

[@leeverkist2178]

Although, I have found many of Mr. Drachinifel's presentations quite informative, I respectfully disagree with many of his conclusions regarding what we used to term the “Westfalen” class. Thanks for your many well researched videos.

[@anonymous2513456]

the spitfire made off with a 20 ft long section of deck armour??? What did the crew of spitfire actually do? board her, unbolt it and take it home as a souvenir?

[@Drachinifel]

The impact sheared off a section of the Nassau's armour plate, which landed on Spitfire.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

@@Drachinifel I wonder what a shell hit would have done to that same armour.

[@gearshiftproductions353]

I don't think I've ever heard drach this angry

[@kelvyquayo]

I just started the Warship game and bought one of these.. The I listened to this and was like.. "aw man.... ". lol This thing kicks butt though.

[@mattblom3990]

Drachinifel's salt vs. the Nassau's came out again in Drydock 064 which is why I came back to the Nassau Salt Mine here. Any others?

[@shadowtrooper262]

I tjink Nassu looks beautiful

[@spirz4557]

Holy shit, these are 2nd Pacific Squadron-rate shenanigans.

[@GarroLegionofOne]

I read somewhere that these ships were built too counter Britains last pre dreadnought class battleships

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

Imagine a world where the SMS Nassau survived and was converted to a museum ship. For Drach, hell is that world. And he must tour the ship every day.

[@XCrawlFan]

Do we think the German Navy got out good so quickly after learning the lessons of the Nassau, or in spite of it?

[@Drachinifel]

They say you learn best from mistakes

[@revanfarozi6062]

Are Nassau classes really that bad?

[@christopherwatton1257]

Brilliant! Made me laugh so much.

[@sargepent9815]

Well, the USS Texas (NY Class) super Dreadnought also used triple expansion engines and her engines are designated as a engineering historical landmark. Yes that made her slow, but they picked reliability over speed

[@benwilson6145]

Increased Vessel beam means more stability not less.

[@Kwolfx]

And yet they are effective in World of Warships, at least at close range.

[@reverendrico5631]

Closing with one is always a fun bit of maneuvering.

[@mariuspequeno2175]

As the average BB driver i absolutely love these ships

[@dylanwight5764]

@@mariuspequeno2175 5km full secondary build (I have no shame, dedicated 19-pointer for Nassau) is hilarious when underage boats get a wee bit close.

[@wilsthelimit]

Marius Schumacher I always go with the USS South Carolina mainly due to my refusal to play anyone but the US or UK

[@trinalgalaxy5943]

loved taking my Nassau into knife fights with multiple dds and cruisers... i rarely even took a torp while doing so too.

[@Aelvir114]

I always wonder why Nassau plays so well in World of Warships..

[@jimmiller5600]

Drach, your rant on bad decisions could easily applied to the US F-35. ;)

[@thomasridley8675]

Gernan navy signal : are you sure we cant just sink them.... I know they are supposed be on our side....well at least they dont shoot well....just stay away !..we are trying.

[@masondamoose7520]

The Nassau is like that one akward kid in school who keeps screwing up and nobody likes and wants to be around

[@davidtong565]

I can not explain it, but i love these old ships

[@granthockly2842]

Please tell us the full story of the voyage of SMS Emden.

[@SteamCrane]

At 0:23 of the intr, is that a turret exploding, or just overpressure blowing out the boot?

[@ronaldthompson4989]

Sounds like a class of party boats, always ramming things

[@reverendrico5631]

Earned my first kraken unleashed in world of warships in the Nassau. She’w thicc, but in all the right ways.

[@stevek8829]

Release the Kracken

[@boboala1]

I'm a landlubber, but all the cables draped over the sides and casemates & top hamper of the German ships got on my aesthetic nerves. The British ships had much cleaner lines & torpedo net management...

[@MichaelLlaneza]

For a good stretch in World of Warships the Nassaus were a superb seal clubbing ship. I’ve had half a dozen kills on multiple occasions. Take some secondary battery skills and you’re just plain bad to be in LOS of in a tier II or III cruiser.

[@reaver118]

Late to the party but are we really surprised a shiped called Spitfire ends up picking a fight with a battleship let alone one that mugs said battleship and makes off with a trophy

[@Dreska_]

Were they capable of firing 3 turrets directly forward or would that have damaged the superstructure? (it looks like it would lol)

[@thatpatrickguy3446]

Informative and HILARIOUS! Your commentary was priceless. :-D

[@user-RGFx]

At 0:36 your Marvin the Martian impression needs work. 😄

[@Rauschgenerator]

You could at least have mentioned that the construction plans of the Nassau reach back to 1904 - two years before Dreadnought. And mentioning the origin of the name (a German province) could have been helpful for Americans thinking "why the hell do the Germans name a ship after the capital of the Bahamas?" What I also miss is mentioning that the ship was fitted with bilge keels soon after its completion, solving the first rather bad impression the ship made. Please, make your videos longer - more information is good and more minutes don't hurt.

[@Scarheart76]

So...the Nassau did a striptease for the Spitfire and let it leave with a souvenir of their lewd encounter?

[@richardstansbury9788]

My first ship was USS Tulare (LKA-112). It was the only ship in its class, although there was a follow on class of LKA’s would that be a good content idea?

[@absentmindedprof]

Could you please do the prepositioning ship USNS Bob Hope? Thanks!🥂

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

11 inch is such a weird size for battleship guns that only the Germans used.

[@ismaelsantanajr8532]

The tale of the two U.S.S. Chester's ( CL-1) and (CA-27)

[@tf2lover105]

You see my problem? Me:yes i see your problem and i agree

[@F40PH-2CAT]

To be fair, Germany didn't have adequate steam turbines to use at the time.

[@barryjobe]

Your videos ask for recommendations of ships to cover. I'd like to nominate the Cleveland-class light cruiser USS Montpelier, CL-57. She won 13 battle stars in the Pacific war, was flagship of Tip Merrill's at the battle of Empress Augusta Bay, and she is the subject of an excellent book, "Pacific War Diary: 1942-1945, The Secret Diary of An American Sailor" by Seaman First Class James J. Fahey (the edition of the book I have has a foreword by Admiral Nimitz, praising the book and the ship). There were 26 Cleveland class light cruisers commissioned into the US Navy, not counting those converted while under construction into light fleet aircraft carriers. Some (but not Montpelier) were given to other (friendly) navies after WW-II.

[@kryts27]

When did the first true steel (not ironclad) warships appear? 1870s or 1880s?

[@andrewdarrell4970]

6:25 20 ton nassau? did i hear that right?

[@Drachinifel]

20,000tons :)

[@GreatGhastly_]

"the whole German fleet was then sent running when a random British submarine appeared... and torpedoed one of the battlecruisers" - Makes you proud to be British doesn't it?

[@ivansysoev8298]

Curious why these side turrets makes the ship less stable? They don't raise the center of mass...

[@LongTail8443]

LOL, it didn't matter how bad it was, it's the rammer! Besides, Germany did a pretty good job in the battle of Jutland anyway.

[@thebismarkandthehood]

Q: what decides if we get the jazzy music intro or not

[@parsecboy4954]

Most of the critiques aren't really fair: On turbines vs. VTE - Parsons still had the patent, and the Germans were not real keen on adding a million marks per turbine (for a 3-turbine ship, that's what, a 6-7% increase in cost) - and even then, turbines gave Dreadnought a top speed of 21kn compared to 20kn for the Nassaus. Is it really worth the cost to get that extra knot? On the hexagonal main battery arrangement - this is largely hindsight bias coupled with blinders. Loads of people used the hexagonal arrangement, and you're forgetting that the early dreadnought type ships were hugely experimental. Nobody knew what the best solution would be, and there were valid concerns about placing two turrets so close together (i.e., that a single hit could neutralize both of them). It's the same reason most navies were hesitant to go to triples. I have absolutely no idea what you're saying about buying Parson's turbines and then replacing them with German-built machinery. The point is they were cost-prohibitive - not that they were icky British turbines.

[@lukashei1870]

And the guns where used because they we're cheaper than a new development and they ran Out of Money.

[@wolfsoldner9029]

@@lukashei1870 Also those guns were used by german battlecruisers which easily destroyed their british counterparts.

[@marshja56]

Nassau’s gone funky

[@hajoos.8360]

Dear Drach, your judgement might be correct, but you do not see the reason for those misconstructed ships or rafts. The Germans had whether any experience nor a tradition as a sea-power. The Brit-pirates plundered already for 300 years any booty in sight. The Russians, Japanese, Chinese, Cowboys, Spaniards, Frenchies fought already decisive battles during the past century. The Germans cruised on the river Rhine and fished at the shoreline of the Baltic sea. They could have made it as the Japanese buying British ships. But they decided to try and error. Insofar the Nassau-trawlers sailed with 19 knots, a kind of success.

[@riverraven7359]

What if they had designed a coal powered Deutschland class instead? 11" main battery and 5.9" secondary just no radar?

[@vikkimcdonough6153]

Even with the choice of VTE power, they still could've gotten an 8-gun broadside with 8 guns rather than 12 if they'd used superfiring B and X turrets to fit four turrets on the centerline in the length forwards and aft of the amidships machinery, as the Americans demonstrated with the _South Carolinas,_ so why did the Germans go for the hexagonal layout instead?

[@seankane8628]

Super Pre-Dreadnought

[@tonysheridan9042]

Built in Germany from plans stolen from the French, crewed by men who then emigrated to America and went on to film careers as Keystone cops

[@daviddavid5880]

I think HMS Spitfire deserves a brief vid. Mostly I want to know if anyone aboard had hearing and sight or intact eyebrows after catching the muzzle blast from a dozen 11in guns right in the face. Good grief.

[@GrumpyOldMan9]

I wonder what average production time per video dear Mr Drachinifel has achieved to date.

[@kisukeoda1171]

Love ur intro

[@stuartrouse7851]

quite the most hysterical film yet!? if the German navy had more of these ships, they would have sunk each other and we could have stayed at Rossyth and Scapa Flow!! lol

[@Kreicss]

Well i hope it will be stronger in war thunders next update

[@gloryfire2161]

have your Ericka band on board ready to play

[@jpdillon2832]

Can u do shigure or Akizuki?

[@McSkumm]

So every time I watch the intro sequence and the big guns are blasting away, I can't help but wonder what all that debris is that flies about when they do. Anybody know?

[@PNurmi]

McSkumm: I have the same thought. The only thing I can think of is loose gear like cavas covers, cleaning rags, and other type of stuff that were not put away when the crew went to general quarters. Just shows how great of a pressure wave these heavy guns create when fired.

[@twotone3471]

Probably the source of the supersonic shock wave pulling sailors into the air and down range story. But if the ships were surprised, I'm betting that was unsecured items being shredded and tossed about. And likely some poor seaman getting hell after the fight because of the damage.

[@Temp0raryName]

I wondered if it was part of the shell packaging. Some types were multi part, and if that type included a canvas wrapped part, then bits of it would fly off, when fired.

[@Dave5843-d9m]

I think the debris after each firing is the remains of the cordite propellant bags.

[@panzerdeal8727]

Off the coast of Ypres, though....

[@paulqueripel3493]

A ww1 British sub that worked?

[@melvillesperryn9268]

Ask Max Horton in the Hortonsee

[@SirWhiteRabbit-gr5so]

But how do you *really* feel about them?

[@benlaskowski357]

Uh, Drach? The Germans chose the 283mm gun for it's higher rate of fire compared to the 12-inch guns of its rivals, BUUUUT that's about the only good thing it had going for it.

[@phbrinsden]

Angry Drach. Watching!

[@CanadaKeith]

Maybe I've missed it. HMS Exeter.

[@WandererJester]

Wonder if he realizes that the elevation limitation for Reloading was standard for literally every single BB made Pre/During WW1?

[@Drachinifel]

Most guns retained partial elevation for reloading.

[@johnprenis6059]

The USS Nevada had guns that needed to return to 0 degrees, to name one. There's also an example in the intro.

[@mattbowden4996]

Pretty much everything bad about the Nassaus can be explained by understanding that they were a hasty reworking of a semi-dreadnought design similar to the Radetzky class battleships. The Helgoland class ships were the real mistake in my mind as there was no excuse for the Germans repeating the hexagonal turret layout in their second class of dreadnoughts, especially considering they were considering a similar layout to the Minas Gerais at one point.

[@NaomiClareNL]

Are there any surviving documents that show the design process / choices and if the Germans were happy with how the ships turned out?

[@nicolp6647]

Jo you can write on ur thumbnail does it are german ships dude pls

[@richardvonpingel2379]

Please do one on USS Petrel PG-2.

[@washingtonradio]

buI always thought wing turrets where a dismal idea, not quite as dismal as the USN double story turrets.