The Battle of Samar - Odds? What are those?

In which a small force of escorts and small carriers face off against the biggest battleship the world has ever seen, plus all its friends.
And win.
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Want to talk about ships? / discord
Music - / ncmepicmusic

[@jf4500]

“The Japanese Imperial Navy's Center Force fleet is bearing down on a handful of American escort carriers....but wait! Here comes the USS Johnston with a steel chair!!!”

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

I’m just imagining the USS Johnston either: A. As an anthropomorphic ship in a wrestling rink, with the Johnston missing an arm, limping, and covered in stitches and wounds, one handing a silver chair and smashing it on an anthropomorphic Yamato’s skull. Or B. It literally just being the real life ship, without any anthropomorphic features, and it somehow growing giant metal arms, before pulling out a ginormous silver chair from nowhere then bashing the Yamato. Both are absolutely hilarious.

[@paulfrancistorres7144]

@@apollyonnoctis1291 Is USS Johnston in Azur Lane?

[@chadthundercock5641]

@@paulfrancistorres7144 Yes, one of the least loli-like of all the destroyers

[@tremedar]

@@chadthundercock5641 Johnston isn't in Azur Lane...yet. If you've seen it in such a game, it would be Kancolle.

[@apollyonnoctis1291]

“Oh my God, Samuel B Roberts with an Elbow Drop on the Yamato!!!”

[@ST-zm3lm]

I’m not entirely convinced that the Johnston isn’t to this day sitting on the ocean floor planning its single handed amphibious assault on the Japanese mainland

[@Arbiter099]

well, they found her and her guns are still trained in the right direction

[@KibuFox]

She's down there making sure Yamato doesn't try anything funny.

[@ajalvarez3111]

@@KibuFox My best laugh of the day. Needed that. Thx.

[@wingracer1614]

@@KibuFox Sammy B is right there with her ready to join in if needed.

[@patfromamboy]

@@wingracer1614 with the Gambier bay escort carrier that was built in Vancouver Washington

[@michaelnewton1332]

Japanese Battleship: “Oh, you’re actually approaching me??” USS Johnston: “I can’t beat the shit out of you without getting closer.”

[@scooterdescooter4018]

Johnston: "I CAST FIST!"

[@CaptainSpadaro]

ORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORAORA

[@Halinspark]

"Ah, no options. I see. Only thing left to do is dip into the batshit, unhinged violence of a desperate wolverine and make you work for this win."

[@PalleRasmussen]

Well, mostly it was the 400+ aircraft that drove the Japanese away. There were a lot of Escort Carriers in the area.

[@GhostfromCODW]

​@@PalleRasmussenstill imagine seeing a crippled ship that you ARE STILL SHOOTING AT RUNNING TOWARDS YOU SHOOTING 80 5 INCH SHELLS A MINUTE

[@benjaminkeel6728]

"This is to be a fighting ship and I intend to take her into harms way." He didn't fucking lie. He stood against capital ships for 3 fucking hours. What a true American hero.

[@willpat3040]

Captain Evans. A legend among heroes.

[@SallinKari]

You can tell he could only be in the navy because his massive steel balls wouldn't have fit in a tank or a cockpit.

[@hariman7727]

@@willpat3040 In my Star Trek headcanon, both Kirk and Sisko look up to Captain Evans.

[@willpat3040]

@@hariman7727 lol awesome!

[@Isolder74]

@@hariman7727And why wouldn’t they. I wouldn’t be surprised to find Sisco playing him on the holodeck.

[@zeroundying]

"Faced with an enemy whose gun turrets weigh more than the entire ship, Johnston decides running is boring."

[@mauroinentertainment]

I almost wonder if the damn engines weren't destroyed... Would the USS Johnston been used as a ram when it knew it was going to start sinking?

[@dimitrijensk2845]

@@mauroinentertainment most likely

[@sCAr3crow97]

They would have probably ran Yamato boarded and captured her then sailed for Tokyo harbor

[@sCAr3crow97]

Ran Yamato down*

[@rudolfabelin383]

@@mauroinentertainment HMS Ulysses? (Alistair MacLean)

[@juliosunga3530]

"I'm not locked in here with you. You're locked in here with me!" -USS Johnston

[@samsignorelli]

Oh, we REALLY need a USS Rorschach now!

[@kyleabrezzi]

Kumano: what could you possibly do to me you little destroyer? *Kumano after being hit* please have mercy

[@Cobra-King3]

@@kyleabrezzi Suzuya: get your small dirty hands of my sister! (Gets hit by Johnston) *PLEASE HAVE MERCY*

[@ΣτελιοςΠεππας]

Little known fact about the USS Johnston The ship came with unusually large sleeping quarters so that the MASSIVE balls of the crew could be properly accommodated.

[@HiTechOilCo]

That is exactly the attitude Commander Evans of the Johnston and his crew had and it's why they won that battle.

[@glenn1035]

This was the only time the worlds largest battleship Yamato fired at enemy ships, and a destroyer chased her away.

[@guyvalentine7258]

LOL. Yes, it is funny. A group of Chihuahua chased a Great Dane away. Let us not forget the Johnson was not alone. But it did start the show.

[@hariman7727]

@@guyvalentine7258 The Johnston should have been named the Honey Badger... because that ship don't give a damn who or what you are, you're going to regret trying more than The Johnston will when it's all said and done!

[@blank557]

That's the problem with capital ships. Too much national pride and symbolism is tied up in them. Captains and admirals careers are tied up in preserving them. That's why destroyers were used so agressively, because they were considered expendable to protect the capital ships.

[@elroyscout]

I'LL gum ya to death ~Taffy 3, channeling their inner Jaws impression (The James Bond baddie)

[@eccentricthinker142]

@@blank557 Ironically, Johnston ended up with the bigger legend as the Tin Can that chased off a battleship, one built on actions, not national pride and expectations.

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

American carriers were servicing planes from squadrons that came from who knows where, without question. Anything to get planes rearmed and back up. Meanwhile, in Imperial Japan, the Army can’t even be bothered to tell the Navy that they spotted the enemy.

[@DeliveryMcGee]

In peacetime, landing on the wrong carrier leads to good-natured ribbing and covering the plane in graffiti making fun of the pilot's navigational skills (look it up, it's hilarious, especially that time RN Phantoms landed on an American carrier). When the shit hits the fan, any chance to get ordnance over the front end of the ship is welcome.

[@Brocuzgodlocdunfamdogson]

@@DeliveryMcGee unless it happens to be an enemy carrier…like when Japanese pilots attempted to land on USS Yorktown during the Battle of the Coral Sea😂😂 And I will have to look that tradition up, it sounds hilarious.

[@jackdedert2945]

Well, according to one of the posters, the US Army was reluctant to arm and fuel US Navy ships until force was threatened.

[@CorePathway]

The flexibility of the American serviceman, the capacity to improvise even in contravention of orders is our secret weapon. The concept of “commander’s intent” can be given very wide latitude in getting the job done. That’s our secret weapon

[@CiaranMaxwell]

@@jackdedert2945 US Army: "We don't want to give you stuff." US Navy takes aim with primary, secondary, and anti-aircraft guns. "We strongly suggest you reconsider." US Army: "You need supplies? Why didn't you say so?"

[@tomblackwell2335]

Lt Frank Lupo departed one of the light carriers with no ordnance but constantly buzzed the enemy ships, rolling on it's side as he passed and shooting at the bridge with his .45 sidearm. That's either incredibly heroic or he was really pissed

[@pubcle]

The vengeance of Pearl Harbor ran deep that day.

[@Inquisitor6321]

"Every little bit helps."

[@janhuddleston3144]

Desparation. There were so so many heroes that day.

[@grimlock1471]

Was he a Navy pilot? That sounds like a very Marine thing to do. :-)

[@GTLandser]

If he refused to take off with no ordnance, he might die by fire on his own CVE. If he took off but avoided engaging the enemy, he might die on the water (or by the beasts in the water, which don't care anything for what the apes on the surface are doing). At least if he took off and made mock attacks or used his sidearm, he might convince the enemy that he had truly dangerous weapons, or that he was crazy. I only wish to imagine that if I were faced with such a non-choice, I would have the courage do the same. I can't say with complete confidence that I would.

[@joshuapowell2675]

Narrator: "As the Johnston goes down..." Correction: As the Johnston engages submarine mode for its 6th counterattack...

[@anonymoususer4937]

I laughed out loud. Literally. Thanks bro

[@nahuelleandroarroyo]

Evans: "haha you sushi! this is not even my final form"

[@13cowsonagrasshill93]

Yes submarine mode

[@stupititykills]

Since this video's publication, the Johnston's wreck was found: A debris field along the side of a trench and "A track mark in the mud was found leading deeper into the trench, possibly suggesting the main wreck slid deeper still after impacting onto the seabed.", per Wikipedia. Clearly, Evans wasn't quite done, and went down to hell to fight Satan.

[@bradleybarnhart4188]

Capt. Evans was last seen swimming towards the Yamato with a knife in his teeth. Yamato withdraws.

[@ericwilliams9117]

That pilot that found an entirely new wing in an active battle is a legend

[@nicolaswynkoop]

And then flew away on it! We need more info about this story.

[@smiddlehurst1]

In fairness there's probably never a better time to find the odd spare part for your aircraft....

[@user-hs9rd9ym4n]

where is this mentioned?

[@Efeye-s]

@@user-hs9rd9ym4n At 36:50 after the four pilots helped repel an infantry attack.

[@SamCogley]

The first pilot that landed at Taclopan ended up in an argument with a rather petulant Army major who didn't want to refuel and rearm the Navy planes - the Navy lieutenant pulled his .45 and basically hijacked the airfield. There's nothing about that battle that wasn't completely insane.

[@kloppanator]

When a more cautious approach may have guaranteed tomorrow, the Johnston and her crew chose eternity.

[@FlameDarkfire]

sabaton needs to write a song about that ship.

[@ericwolf9664]

It would be unlikely to guarantee tomorrow since most of their escorts were likely slower than the Japanese pursuers and the whole aspect that they had an entire landing operation to attempt to guard.

[@Hiraghm]

OH how I love that quote!!

[@shep9231]

An Eternity where her tale is told in stories of song and glory!

[@codycallaway9057]

​@@FlameDarkfireThey absolutely do

[@adamloverin4125]

"A serious problem in planning against American doctrine is that Americans don't read their manuals, nor do they feel any obligation to follow their doctrine" Just win. Taffy 3 all day every day.

[@risingsun9595]

You can't plan against absolute chaos.

[@Inquisitor6321]

@@risingsun9595 "Everybody has a plan until they get punched in face." -Mike Tyson

[@faded_specter6495]

“War is chaos and the us military practices chaos on a daily basis”

[@matchesburn]

"If we don't know what we're doing, the enemy certainly can't anticipate our future actions!"

[@bfs69er]

As an SOI instructor was once told when he was sent to Fallujah "Here are some bullets, go shoot stuff"

[@flavoredrice176]

It's amazing that the Johnston stayed afloat for as long as it did, considering the weight of the crew's massive balls.

[@Dewydidit]

@BC Bob "Love" would be a stretch, but I can point out when someone makes a superior display of testicular fortitude.

[@ColeDedhand]

I was thinking the same thing. The Japanese shells were probably missing because the Johnston was sitting so low in the water.

[@samsignorelli]

@@ColeDedhand I think it was the Roberts that got so close to one of the Japanese ships that the IJN guns couldn't depress enough to hit her.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Not to take away from The Bravery of Captain Evans and his crew, you get down to it they had little choice. They could have tried to stay with the carriers which would have limited their speed or they could go out and engage the enemy. The fact that they engage the enemy with the tenacity that they did instead of resignation, is what amazes me. A lot of people would have looked at the situation and just got their personal effects ready to go over the side. These men instead fought their hearts out and gave their all just as their ship did. These men fought in the finest tradition of any Navy in the world.

[@ajorsomething4935]

There were some HEAVY fuckin balls on board that day.

[@ryanaegis3544]

"Shipmaster, they outnumber us three to one!" "Then it is an even fight."

[@liveoakgaming5967]

more like 50 to 1

[@nn98b64]

All cruisers(or should I say destroyers) fire at will! Burn their mongrel hides!

[@calebjones3636]

“Hit them again! And again! And again!”

[@scottyfox6376]

Surround the Meatball Flags & give them Liberty.

[@handlebarfox2366]

Cue Mandalorian: "We outnumber you 4 to 1!" .... "I like those odds."

[@TomFynn]

IJN Officer: "Sir, we've got the enemy on the run!" IJN Captain: [Calmly points toward the rapidly approaching USN Johnston]

[@cariganpintalba9498]

IJN Officer: Well I didn’t say running away.

[@Wintersoap123]

Yamato: I’m the best ship in world war 2 USS Johnston: unfortunately for you history will not see it that way

[@aliencyborg3660]

Hello Michael, To be honest none of giant battleships in the German & Japanese navies of ww2 was used with any real potential. They seem to be legends based on size only, although they were awesome ships. In my opinion, it wouldn't of mattered if Germany and Japan had 10 super ships each as America was producing warships and planes on an endless scale and both axis countries would have run out of fuel and supplies in the end anyway. Imagine if the USS Montana class battleships were built! America could of built a ridiculous huge amount of them and made the Japanese and German surface fleets call in Sick for the entire duration of the pacific & Atlantic wars 😂

[@clovisursa497]

@@bkjeong4302 The USS North Carolina says otherwise. She earned her fame.

[@bkjeong4302]

Clovis Ursa Except she didn’t. She only ever did secondary roles-roles where battleships are strategically inefficient at.

[@clovisursa497]

@@bkjeong4302 battleships had all switched to support roles in the war because of the advent of the aircraft carrier. She was in every major offensive and had over a dozen battlestars. Sounds like you just don't know actual naval history or what the roles of ships were in the war.

[@bkjeong4302]

Clovis Ursa And the thing is that battleships are bad at support roles (in strategic terms), so once carriers caused them to be used only for support roles, they were worse than useless. The fact a battleship was used in support roles fails to actually justify her existence, since battleships are terrible strategic choices for support roles. Being present at an engagement doesn’t mean a ship was the best choice for that job or even that she even did anything. Battlestars are not a reliable indicator of a ship’s combat record, as most of them are participation awards. Almost all battle stars given to battleships are nothing more than participation awards. North Carolina's minor contributions in all of her engagements in no way justified her expenses.

[@zacharyzier314]

“One pilot vanished off with a patrol of troops and comes back with a new wing” Me: “I’m sorry, he did what now?”

[@kokofan50]

That happens all the time in the US military.

[@colormedubious4747]

NEVER ask how the hot dogs are made.

[@Skyhawk1998]

"I've been saving this for a rainy day!"

[@TheAngelobarker]

look up the all guardsmen party. those soldiers were nubby personified

[@Saeronor]

Ah, yes, must've been O'Reilly. His son Walter served in Korea later on.

[@KameSama77]

*after the 6th AP shell passes through your ship without detonating just making very large holes.* "STOP PUTTING HOLES INTO ME BLOODY SHIP!!"

[@Kijjy67]

Kame Dei - the Scottish navy

[@jeffpeffers4519]

Well'' oooo' kay ,! Try these HE' rounds!!

[@davidandmartinealbon3155]

As Captain Jack Sparrow once said: STOP BLOWIN HOLES IN ME SHIP!!

[@rudolfabelin383]

Classic!

[@takashiross8553]

“A Johnston- free firing position…” Read, “Any point on the map marked as ‘reserved for those too cowardly or too smart to fight the Johnston’.”

[@isaiahsmith7123]

"Sir we have no more ammunition!" "Affix bayonets, sharpen the butter knives, and prepare to board the enemy cruiser!!"

[@fatherthomas1575]

Get that surgeon up to the foredeck with his scalpel too

[@kenp7814]

Forget the Bayonets ... John Wick is passing out #2's

[@bradymenting5120]

"get the potatoes" look it up

[@shuttheheckupkarl6153]

@@bradymenting5120 I looked it up but got nothing intresting. could you please explain the quote, I'd love to hear the story

[@mr.s2005]

Yea I'm not finding that quote either....closest I would think it be from is when a German submarine did try to board a U.S. destroyer which resulted in even coffee cups being thrown at the Germans, maybe potatoes where used too.

[@zerofighterfairy]

Captain of IJN Yukikaze saluted as USS Johnston went down, recognized her as honorable enemy.

[@CFarnwide]

I seem to remember another documentary stating the Japanese crew shouted “senshi” (or whatever the translation is for warrior) and threw rations to the survivors in the water.

[@許進曾]

You know, traditional samuri culture which despise people who surrender but respect those who fought to the last man.

[@sirboomsalot4902]

It’s even better as the Yukikaze had a great combat record herself. “I tip my hat to you, from one legend to another”

[@leomarinoo]

Legends recognized legends doing legendary things

[@andrewtaylor940]

@@sirboomsalot4902 To be fair the IJN Yukikaze's record was "The Ship that Survived" "The Ship that Lived" and "The Ship that most came home from". Which is remarkable considering she is the only surviving Japanese Destroyer that fought through the entire war. Much like the Japanese equivalent to the USS Enterprise she was present at most major engagements and managed to get away largely unscathed. She was there for the sinking of the Musashi, the Shinano and the Yamato. And still she got away from those fights largely unscathed. She was present in some of the most fiercest battles of the war. Santa Cruz, Guadalcanal, Midway, Ten Go, Marianas, and her Captain had the seemingly unique ability to not get his ship shot at to any noticeable degree. She had a crew of 240. Almost all of them went home safely.

[@pseudonym9599]

"After 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes, at least some of which were probably unnecessary..." - Said no American. Ever.

[@txgunguy2766]

They're only unnecessary if you bring them back to port. Old US Army saying: " You are paid to USE ammunition, not bring it back."

[@Halinspark]

@@txgunguy2766 I've definitely heard one US tank commander say "Shoot it until it burns. If the crew abandons the vehicle before that happens, it just means you dont have to worry about return fire."

[@celebrim1]

The Japanese trying to fight a war so on the cheap, that in at least one case a victorious naval commander was sacked for using too much ammunition achieving the victory. That tells you all you need to know about the stupidity of the Japanese high command in ordering the largely unnecessary attack on the United States, instead of confining its attack to Dutch, French, and English holdings in the Far East and praying the then largely neutral and largely Pacifist United States would stay out of it. But it was all 'warrior spirit' and 'bonzai' and not nearly enough logistics and operational analysis and professionalism.

[@Zaprozhan]

@@celebrim1 Admiral Yamamoto made the plan to attack Pearl Harbour, partially because he had been a naval attache in the US for several years beforehand. He knew the massive manufacturing capability of the US. He warned that the Japanese Navy would have six months of domination in the Pacific after attacking the US, then they would lose. I saw a rough chart of the naval production during WW2. The US was launching an average of a ship a day, with the Japanese launching maybe 1 a week. I understand the high command's miserly attitude, and why the fleet commander at Samar turned back. Any Japanese loss was significant, while the US cranked out more and more ships. As a trivial similar sidenote, this is why US planes in Europe were often shiny bare aluminum. PAINT DRYING? TAKES TOO LONG! GET 'EM FLYING!

[@bkjeong4302]

Given the durability of that particular class (even with Japanese steel being a weaker alloy than that of anyone else) they probably were justified in overkill

[@tylerbaltz2499]

“We call it a destroyer. We’re going to earn that name today, boys.” USS Johnston

[@trevorday7923]

She will, in her honour, have an entire class of ship named after her: the Absolute F***ing Badass-class

[@mhfuzzball]

At her commissioning, Cmdr. Evans said, "This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harm's way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now."

[@Miatacrosser]

"This is going to be a fighting ship. I intend to go in harms way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now"-Cmdr. Evans' speech to his crew the day the Johnston was commissioned.

[@albertjoseph754]

I remember reading about that. It is said that he had survived the battle and had ordered the abandonment of the ship personally. But had died later in the water. If it is true, then the severed finger that is said that he suffered from when his bridge was destroyed around him, would have attracted sharks to him.

[@oceanhome2023]

Nobody thought that he was “really “ going to sail in harms way !

[@christopherjones8448]

Like sharks? He probably didnt have the strength to swim

[@brandonferretti9907]

He probably punched a few sharks and suffocated one underwater before he said I'm finally done

[@BonesCapone]

@@brandonferretti9907 The Reaper needed to call in a favor from Aquaman in order to take him in.

[@Volnas97]

"Did... did we just win?" "I believe so sir." "How the hell did we win?"

[@kentlindal5422]

That's me in just about every World.of warships match

[@Im_Dead_Tired]

The Johnston sir the Johnston

[@grimlock1471]

"Just go with it, sir."

[@hadrianbuiltawall9531]

"How the hell do I write this report. They'll court martial me for doing drugs on duty".

[@samsilberstein8758]

How about the sailor, when he see the Japanese retreating, "they're gettin' away" ?

[@Julianna.Domina]

The Johnson carried 5" guns, as well as an unknown number of absolutely colossal balls.

[@michaelschnittker7388]

Destroyermen knew they were very vulnerable against anything bigger but their torpedoes offered the possibility of creating enormous damage before going down. They were known for their cockiness.

[@trealosgaming3345]

"We are out of shells." "Bring them in close so we can hit them with our BALLS!"

[@kbeckwith9640]

The only thing that allowed those Japanese shells to detonate was when they hit the titanium balls of CPT Evans as he moved around the ship. Unfortunately it's hard to swim with a ton of balls and only one arm. I can see why he was reluctant to abandon ship.

[@bmousmoules]

Elephant balls

[@Teacherman1955]

@Jim Jones They are! It will be called "Hell Or High Water"

[@MrTitanicfanatic2]

*Edit* Samuel B. Roberts has been found in 22,262 feet of water, she now holds the title of the deepest wreck ever discovered. DD-557 USS Johnston has been found at a depth of over 21,000 feet as of yesterday. Her wreck is surprisingly intact, and, with its depth confirmed it holds the record of the deepest shipwreck ever discovered.

[@petriew2018]

seems fitting, really. The ship never did anything half way.

[@stormthrush37]

Suprisingly intact?!?! It took on all that, finally sunk and it's still somehow still "surprisingly intact?!?!" Petition to raise it and display its remains as a war monument to how it isn't the size of the dog, but the size of the fight in the dog.

[@peterson7082]

Not intact- but her the visible remnants of her superstructure is in great condition regarding integrity. Her hull is thought to be much deeper given the mud slide continued far beyond what the ROV searched for.

[@flamingrubys11]

evans wsnt dOKne yet he was going to hell to fight the japanese who were sent to hell

[@dawnfallon6812]

Goodness, she's almost 4 miles down!

[@tylerlawrence1997]

We're just escort carriers sir. We're ment to be expendable Uss Johnston: not to me

[@danial5870]

Ahaha nice little CW reference

[@denniswobbe3157]

Damn straight

[@stevep2380]

I still wonder how the hell nobody has made a movie about this battle.

[@robertyoung3992]

CVE- Combustable Vunerable Expendable

[@zedoktor979]

@@stevep2380 The movie could never live up to hype of the Johnsnton

[@mikea2363]

Had the japanese not retreated the Johnston crew would have attempted boarding actions

[@SamaritanPrime]

They would have boarded WITH the Johnston.

[@carlost856]

@@SamaritanPrime ramming speed!

[@spetsnatzlegion3366]

They would have used the stolen ship (of course boarding would work) to shred the remaining Japanese task force into pieces, and tow their stranded destroyer back to the fleet.

[@gilbertosantos2806]

@@spetsnatzlegion3366 nah, they'd take the captured fleet to tokyo, rendering the atomic bomb moot.

[@Volnas97]

"Captain Evans sir, Johnston is sinking. What will we do?" "Well boys, take whatever weapon you can, yes, spoons are also acceptable, and let's find ourselves a new ship. Yamato looks good."

[@leftcoaster67]

Japanese Fleet: WHY WON'T YOU DIE!!!?!?!?! USS Johnston: BECAUSE WE'RE NOT DONE YET!!!!!

[@drinks1019]

WE DO NOT HAVE PERMISSION TO DIE YET

[@isaiahnesheim2971]

I'M TOO BUSY TO DIE!!!!!!!

[@joelgilmore3084]

I can do this all day

[@Self-replicating_whatnot]

They keep making those FnP rolls.

[@thegrandnope7143]

I DIDNT HEAR NO BELL

[@gundam2jimmy]

28:37 "Seeing the ship under attack by a heavy cruiser, she promptly shoots up this ship as well, because of course it does." Never change.

[@artificernathaniel3287]

"The Johnston turns around, screams 'Leeroy Jenkins' for the 5th time that day and then, as the kids say it now adays, yeets another cruiser from the Imperial Japanese battle line." "The Japanese navy report the Johnston for aimbot, no clip, and teleporting, as it seems to never miss, appear and disappear at will, and all salvos against it pass straight through. But what they fail to understand is that this is just how the little destroyer do."

[@crimzonpegasus9714]

I love this episode of "True Facts" :D

[@oldfrend]

the most millennial medal of honor citation of all time XD

[@kyle857]

Here, have your 100th like.

[@TheRagratus]

THAT'S what's known a "BEAST-MODE"!!!

[@biscuitninja]

Needs more crazier little brother Samuel B Roberts....

[@Wolfeson28]

The beautiful irony of this battle is that the American destroyer and destroyer escort crews, in attacking with such determination even in the face of seemingly hopeless odds, were actually doing exactly what Japanese sailors in the same position would have been expected to do. To constantly charge into vastly superior forces, heedless of one's own safety, and fight with such skill as to turn those superior forces aside, was a level of courage and martial prowess that both the Americans and the Japanese could admire equally. At least one Japanese captain recognized this as the battle progressed; survivors from USS Johnston recounted that the captain of the Japanese destroyer Yukikaze saluted them and their sinking ship as he sailed past.

[@wyominghorseman9172]

Let this battle be a lesson to our enemies. "It's not the dog in the fight, its the fight in the dog."

[@EricDKaufman]

Our Bonzai charge was successful.

[@robcohen7678]

every blossom, so perfect and beautiful

[@randomguy-tg7ok]

バイオレットチーズ!!!

[@r-saint]

Yes, very indecisive and insecure for Japanese. Americans are the true samurais.

[@able34bravo37]

"We're sucking them into 40mm range," is one of my favorite quotes of the war.

[@henrygarratt2801]

@spudnic88 and then you woke up

[@wrongway1100]

I believe it was "suckering" not "sucking".

[@philperry4699]

Reminds me of what a P-51 pilot supposedly radioed to his squadron mates... "Come on up, I've got ten 109's surrounded!"

[@hatchcrazy]

Can you imagine what it must have felt like to be flying above the South Pacific on a warm day, listening to other people fight on the radio, and you dip beneath the cloud cover for another look at the clear blue sea only to come cockpit-to-mast with the _fucking Yamato._

[@thanatosstorm]

First words he probably uttered, "F*ck me."

[@KeithHearnPlus]

@@thanatosstorm Second words were "How do I get her to submerge so these depth charges I'm carrying will do any good?"

[@426shelby426]

@@KeithHearnPlus by sinking her first and then using the depth charges

[@ryantomer4126]

@@KeithHearnPlus My thoughts would have been." .... Bet I could drop a depth chart on the bridge

[@smiddlehurst1]

On reflection it's probably a good thing it was an American pilot not one of us Brits. The traditional understatement of catastrophically bad news would likely have led to more confusion than is really healthy in that situation....

[@PlaneBoy2520]

The USS Johnston is the premiere example of a “Call an ambulance! Call an ambulance! But not for me!” scenario.

[@Speedster___]

They both needed medical attention

[@tango6nf477]

USS Johnston; the whole damn crew should have received the Medal Of Honour. In the annals of naval warfare there has never been a more determined and courageous display of sheer guts and commitment. Rest in peace.

[@somerandomguyfromthebeyond1821]

they technically did as after the battle of Samar the entirety of Taffy 3 received a Presidential Unit Citation which is basically the Medal of Honor but for military formations

[@stevengabriel3269]

@somerandomguy Actually, it's equivalent to the Navy Cross... the second highest honor for Navy personnel

[@cement8103]

i suggest researching korean admiral yi sun sin, he was insane, and so were his men

[@cement8103]

@ALSO-RAN ! You are correct

[@cement8103]

@ALSO-RAN ! Hundred percent the greatest admiral.

[@MrBothandNether]

"I wish to have no connection with any ship that does not sail fast, for I intend to go in harm's way" J.P. Jones November 16th 1778

[@c3wichman]

In a curious twist of fate, the Battle off Samar occurred on the 90th anniversary of the infamous "Charge of the Light Brigade". Tennyson would write "the world wonders" in his famous poem, a phrase that managed to be attached in a message from Nimitz to Halsey.

[@AC_WILDCARD]

History, although never exactly repeating, rhymes from era to era and history is truly woven together as a tapestry.

[@lookingback62]

Very insightfull Wichman. I am impressed.

[@kenashimame]

It was also the 529th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt, of Shakespearean Band of Brothers fame.

[@haggis525]

Fought on St. Crispin's day! As was written "If it be a sin to covet honour these men are the most offending souls"

[@seanbigay1042]

I hear tell that Halsey threw a fit when he got that particular message. He could never bring himself to admit just how badly he'd screwed the pooch that day -- even if he was man enough to give Taffy 3's boss Ziggy Sprague the credit he deserved.

[@ScienceChap]

"We're suckering them into 40mm range" Nelson would have been proud!

[@madwolf0966]

Science Chap Nelson the Admiral or Nelson the ship?

[@jasonli5921]

i dont get this reference help

[@aker1993]

@@madwolf0966 dude its Battle of Trafalgar

[@jagsdomain203]

You cant be wrong by putting your ship next to his!

[@amerigo88]

Admiral Lord Nelson at Trafalgar - "No captain can do very wrong if he places his ship alongside that of the enemy."

[@smithers6464]

"In no engagement IN ITS ENTIRE HISTORY has the US Navy shown more GALLANTRY, GUTS, and GUMPTION than in those two morning hours between 0730-0930 off Samar." S.E. Morrision, the US Navy's historian of WWII.

[@etaoinbshrdlu]

He got it right.

[@stevep2380]

I wish this was the destroyer movie Tom hanks had made instead of greyhound.

[@johnferguson1970]

@@stevep2380 If you wrote this up as a movie script and gave it to a Hollywood producer, they would probably say, "I know it's true, but no one in the audience would believe it. They would think we were making it up."

[@Zarathustra-H-]

LEEEROY JENKINS!

[@VersusARCH]

Forgets the 850 aircraft that swarmed the Japanese fleet...

[@dakkahead517]

*Large Japanese Fleet of many guns exists Captain Evens- "Targets!".

[@artificernathaniel3287]

"THEY HAVE US SURROUNDED SIR!" "those poor bastards"

[@fernandomarques5166]

Looks like we got a target rich enviroment boys!

[@dakkahead517]

In any other time, he would have rammed the bigger ships. Probably.

[@Spartaner251]

@@dakkahead517; if there were less capital ships than destroyers they sure would have started with ramming attacks

[@artbrann]

given everything else he and the ship did, he would have rammed the Yamato and somehow manged to sink it

[@EdibleClown]

I love that description: "Johnston decides running is boring"

[@normanjweimarjr1722]

Me To!!!

[@Anacronian]

You could make a Hollywood movie about the USS Johnston... but people would just say it was a way to unrealistic film...

[@Otokichi786]

Hollyweird doesn't do "heroic ship-to-ship battles." They prefer "love among the parachutes" and other soap opera dreck. Too bad the Brits, who do movies like "Master and Commander" aren't interested in this "David beats Goliath at his own game" tale.

[@Anacronian]

@@Otokichi786 Twentieth Century Fox, Miramax, Universal Pictures collaborated on Master and commander, It's quite literary the most American film ever.

[@Isolder74]

@@Nightdare FYI Evans already is half Native American...

[@Nightdare]

@@Isolder74 Still missing a few oppressed victim demographic parts to play the lead

[@massivereader]

@@Otokichi786 They used to. There were several WWII based movies in black and white that used the battle of Leyte Bay and other event of the war in the Pacific as inspiration, although the facts were signifcantly altered . I think one of them was called "In Harm's Way" with John Wayne and Henry Fonda.

[@jamesogorek6518]

My father, James O'Gorek was on the Johnston and survived this battle.

[@David-il9xw]

James Ogorek From brave stock you are.

[@baker2niner]

I can't think of a more heroic US Navy battle.

[@jannarkiewicz633]

Keep passing those genes on.

[@PieGotFace]

Ogórek*

[@ED-es2qv]

Badass. I love the visual of a scrappy ship handing out all the punishment it can.

[@betterlatethannever7337]

I took a pottery class in the 60's in high school. The teacher was a very gentle man, and very patient with us lamos who wanted to see what we could do with clay. He would sit and talk with us as we tried to make figures or pots. After a while he began to tell us what he did in WWII. His religion taught he was not supposed to fight other people, but when his country was attacked he and his brothers joined up. Being in the Navy came as a real shock. They had to learn to stick up for themselves. They did, and became real sailormen. He told us about a battle none of us had ever heard of. Some small aircraft carriers had been caught off by themselves by some Japanese battle ships. There were no American battle ships nearby to defend them. The small carriers were running as fast as they could, but the Japanese ships were catching them. Shells from the Japanese ships began to fall on each side of their little carrier. The Japanese had them bracketed. They crouched down along the sides of their little ship with their hands over their heads, knowing the next Japanese shells would probably hit them. They were terrified. Right then, miraculously, the Japanese battle ships turned around. The Japanese thought the American battle ships were just about to arrive. They didn't know the other American ships were still far away. I'm telling this the way you would explain it to high school kids, because that's the way our teacher explained it to us. He was so quiet, and kind. I tried to imagine him as a young sailor in a uniform on a small ship in the Pacific. So, I got to know someone who served in Taffy 3 and survived The Battle Off Samar. He told us because we respected him, and he knew it.

[@Howtosurvivenaturaldisasters]

Both my grandfathers served as USN doctors during the war what I wouldn’t give to be able to talk to them now. I wish I could have met your teacher, or look up his story at least. Time marches on indeed. When I was a schoolboy there were always WW I veterans at Armistice Day, now the Second WW vets are so few. Thanks for sharing.

[@charlesreid9337]

My uncle was the same way. Kindest man i ever met i adored him (and i didnt like males much as a kid...) Youd have never thought He told me stories of driving a tank through europe in ww2. Mostly humorous with a little humor thrown in . This man fought Tiger tanks with a tank whos shell wouldnt penetrate it whos nickname was the Ronson (the Sherman).. saw a his gunners beheaded by a shell (he was the driver). Had one of their guys murdered (i dont remember the details).. youd have NEVER guessed my uncle had gone through that

[@stevedittrich4411]

When I was in junior high school in the 1960s, one of my teachers was a crewman on the U.S.S. Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413). He must have told me about serving on her, because I always remembered her name. It was only later that I learned enough to understand when my teacher and his ship had been through.

[@betterlatethannever7337]

@James Reilly I was about 16. My dad had told me about the Pacific, but not about a battle where small American aircraft carriers were getting their behinds kicked by Japanese battle ships. I thought the carrier fights had all been carrier to carrier. I tried to imagine being bracketed by the big guns, seeing the water spout on each side of you, crouching down while waiting for the next one to land in between the last two and blow you to smithereens. And then the battleships suddenly stop firing and turn away. He was such a gentle man, deeply religious, so patient with us kids with the attention spans of gnats. I wondered how many kids he had told that story to had understood what he was talking about, and saw him for the man he'd been and was to that day. It was truly awesome. We respected men in that generation. They were our dads and uncles. When they came home everything stopped. Everything wrong was righted. They provided for us and protected us and helped us. We knew when the chips were down they had answered our country's call. We were going to grow up and be like them. It's why I volunteered for Vietnam, and why I have 11 children (8 adopted). Now society tries to treat men like jokes, clumsy and misguided. But we aren't jokes as long as we respect ourselves as much as these men did. So I try to be Mr. Parker, patient and strong, and protect and provide for my family. It sounds corny, but that's the answer to what it was like to be raised by those men. It was great.

[@betterlatethannever7337]

@@stevedittrich4411 So lucky. Good for you.

[@j.collett2364]

Interesting to note USS Samuel B. Roberts also pulled a Carpathia and managed to exceed its design top speed by five knots during the battle by diverting all steam to her boilers.

[@SamCogley]

Her chief engineer, Lt. “Lucky” Trowbridge, locked down the boiler safeties and had them running at an insane 150% of nominal during the attack run. It was a race to see if the IJN gunners or her own exploding boilers were going to cripple her first.

[@seanbigay1042]

"Take the safeties off our engines." "But sir, what if we need them later?" "There isn't going to be any later."

[@stephen7740]

This seems to prove an old addage. It doesn't matter how big your Johnston is, It's how well you use it. Lol.

[@dragonsword7370]

Fast, hard hitting and with stamina to keep returning when. Not expected?

[@biscuitninja]

Hit 'em hard, hit 'em fast, hit 'em often! Lol!

[@joebombero1]

@TheVisigoth LOL - but that is exactly what they did

[@charlesdesmond6510]

Feel better now?

[@robertandrews6915]

Well if it's only an inch than it'll be hard to overcome that no matter how well you use it

[@michaelblaszkiewicz7283]

Capt. Evans was on the stern of Johnston, giving orders to manually steer his ship for an attack. His bridge destroyed, his right hand blown off, he saluted the other destroyers with his left.

[@mithikx]

To elaborate: Another officer might have handed (no pun intended) command of the ship to his XO, but not Capt. Evans. With the bridge useless he simply relocated over to the rear of the ship (save for most of the fingers on one hand) and started yelling orders down an open hatch so his men could steer the ship... by manually turning the rudders. That's how damaged the Johnston was, no bridge, at half power/speed, I think she was down 1 gun, no bridge and had to be manually steered.

[@Johnnycdrums]

I read that too somewhere, do you remember the source? I also remember reading that Japanese crews of one ship saluted what was left of Taffy 3 as they left the area.

[@Johnnycdrums]

@@mithikx In addition; at some point he had to get those men over the side.

[@neilwilson5785]

Oh, boy. Respect to him and his crew.

[@taccovert4]

@@mithikx she was down to one gun, with ammunition being hand carried from the other magazine if I recall correctly

[@CowMaster9001]

This needs to be a movie. "You say we're massively outnumbered. I prefer the term "target-rich environment""

[@SamaritanPrime]

Taffy 3 is makin' it RAIN up in here.

[@ryanp5790]

*sometime in the future* Movie trailer: THE BATTLE OF SAMAR STRAIT me: *TAKE MY MONEY TAKE ALL OF IT*

[@barleysixseventwo6665]

This, along with the Hunt for the Bismark and of course Jutland, make up the Triumverate of "Awesome subjects the movie _Battleship_ could've been about instead of a Micheal Bay ripoff but wasn't"

[@NemoBlank]

Hollywierd only makes anti-American gay friendly movies. Thu Russians will have te make this one.

[@russetwolf13]

@@NemoBlank Orrr it's been physically impossible to accurately recreate the events for 70 years and no one wanted to half ass it. WW2 movies are kinda very hard to make, in case you didn't know, Fury literally used the only running Tiger 1 in existence and a fair chunk of the remaining Shermans. The Battle Off Samar would have to be entirely CGI with massive sets for the close up work and thousands of extras. Oh, and it's a story with a cast of thousands so how do you even write that screenplay and not make a four hour movie?

[@colinmartin9797]

The craziest thing to me was that the Johnston's decision to apply for the title of "biggest lunatic in the history of warfare" possibly single-handedly changed the tide of the battle. If they had failed, the japanese bombardment might have killed my great grandfather, who had just landed with MacArthur as a major in charge of an all-black Army Engineering corps. So I pretty much owe my great granddad's life to Ernest Evans, a man who probably only died because those 400 ton brass balls made it really hard to swim after he ordered the abandon ship. I highly recommend the book "Last stand of the tin-can sailors". Fletchers were crewed by not only heroes, but absolute madlads. Also interestingly, the Johnston's wreck was discovered about a week ago. She's now officially the deepest wreck ever discovered, at 21,000 feet.

[@drogerflav6350]

Sank straight to the bottom those balls really weighing her down

[@SamCogley]

Johnston’s application was rapidly followed by Sammy B’s. Not even Evans’ crew were crazy enough to lock down the boiler safeties and go screaming in with the engines running at 150%. Another video about the battle says that Sammy B made her torpedo run at 20 knots - flank speed for a Butler-class DE. She was apparently verified to be doing at least 27 knots, and several surviving members of the crew said she hit 29.5 during the run. The ship got shot to pieces before the bomb they’d made out of the engine rooms had a chance to go off.

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

Hey Now, I read a text lately that said they found the Roberts now too & it was in deeper water than the Johnston. Both ships being drawn into the deepest depths by the weight of the balls of the deceased crew members.

[@keyabrade1861]

@@SamCogley That reminds me of the HMS Rodney, which had a less insane version of that happen. When it was chasing the Bismarck, the crew somehow squeezed 22 knots out of a drivetrain that was supposed to run at 20 in order to try to catch the Bismarck before it made it to a French port. But, yeah, the Roberts's engineering crew apparently pulled some kind of dark-magic ritual in the engine room. 29.5 knots out of 20 is unnatural.

[@SamCogley]

@@keyabrade1861 Sammy B. Johnston was a 36+ knot Fletcher-class destroyer. It would have been interesting to see how long the boilers would have held at 600psi, but Kongō put a stop to that experiment. I’m not sure what alchemy Rodney’s engine crew pulled, other than sheer force of will to avenge Hood - especially considering that Rodney was kind of worn at the time, if memory serves.

[@Skreezilla]

"Here have a carbine... " pilot: "Roger, but after we finish i need a wing" "seems like a fair trade"

[@josepetersen7112]

“Sure, I’ve been carrying around this wing for a while now”

[@Self-replicating_whatnot]

Sounds like your typical rpg quest. You help me kill things, and i reward you with this item i inexplicably have that can only be of use to you anyway.

[@mobiuscoreindustries]

@@Self-replicating_whatnot so what you meant is that we finally found who the player is in the simulation? should have figured out earlier. that's why i know so many people that have strange items in their garrage they have no idea why they have it or why they keep it: they just don't know they are questgivers

[@CFarnwide]

Makes sense. The pilot probably felt safer in the air at that point in the war. The marine on the ground probably felt safer with that pilot in the air to spot and shoot up enemy positions. Mutually beneficial 👍

[@kunaiguywot]

He literally went on a side quest

[@raptormaster666]

"Ok we've fired the armour piercing, the HE, the Anti-Air, and the Starfire shells. What have we got left?" "I got a pistol, sir." "I'll get a little closer then. They won't be expecting that." :P Edit: My suggestion for review is HMS New Zealand. I'd love to hear your dry wit speaking about the "lucky" ship.

[@Isolder74]

For most of the engagement the Roberts was inside the gun umbrella of the Japanese cruiser. Half the Japanese shots just sailed right over it.

[@brendanh8978]

I forget the name of the pilot, but at least one aviator, when he had exhausted his ammunition, made one last pass at a Japanese warship, rolled inverted, and fired the six rounds from his revolver into her, before departing for Tacloban.

[@Zaprozhan]

To steal from 40K, "Drive closer! I want to hit them with my sword!"

[@biscuitninja]

You want lucky... Look up the USS LAFFY... ,"The Ship That Would Not Die!"

[@kloppanator]

Seriously though, the only thing they didn't do was ram them and engage in boarding operations. I'm sure it crossed someone's mind though. Should have done it while the dice were rolling their way XD

[@cp1cupcake]

When talking about the Yamato as the largest battleship, you forgot to mention that the USS Samuel B. Roberts was the smallest battleship around :P

[@Hanekem]

Wasn't her call-sign that day "Dreadnought"?

[@christosvoskresye]

@William Signs "Tin can", in the version I've heard, but she was FAR more impressive, pound per pound, than the Yamato or the Bismark.

[@bkjeong4302]

christosvoskresye Far more impressive on absolute terms than almost ANY battleship, and in relative terms, puts literally every post-Dreadnought battleship ever built to shame (for all that the Iowas are, deservedly, called the best-designed BBs ever, they and most of the Allied WWII battleships didn’t do anything significant, either. None of the battleships designed and laid down in the 30s or 40s justified their existence, arguably the one case where both the Allies and the Axis built gigantic, impractical weapons) To compare her to battleships is an insult to her. Literally every BB of WWII underperformed. This ship overperformed.

[@sjonnieplayfull5859]

Faragut: Damn the torpedoes! USS Samuel B. Roberts: Damn the largest Battleship ever!

[@og_propagandapdx8592]

She may have been the smallest ship... but she had the biggest balls in the pacific that day.

[@PanduPoluan]

It's almost a crime that today there are no USN ships bearing the name _Johnston_ or _Evans_ ... their stories need to be told forevermore.

[@doctorseruzawa175]

There's a Harvey Milk though. Priorities have changed I guess.

[@warriyorcat]

There were ships with the named after the three sunk, as well as a lot of men who died, but they weren't large fleet vessels and such. They were the smaller and lighter frigates and similar ships.

[@nicholaspowell7029]

​@doctor seruzawa the Milk is a USNS ship not a USN ship.

[@AnimeSunglasses]

​@@doctorseruzawa175Harvey Milk WAS a USN veteran. What level of civil leadership do you think he would have needed to reach to deserve a ship in recognition of him being assassinated as a civic leader?

[@Arieg203]

@@AnimeSunglasses Milk was a damn predator man lol

[@garfieldfarkle]

The skipper of the Johnson, Lieutenant Commander Evans, proved the old adage, "It's not the size of the dog in the fight, it's the size of the fight in the dog"

[@hariman7727]

The Johnston is the little mutt with Fight the size of The Great Wall of China. (It can be seen from space.)

[@timandshannon03]

Same with the USS Sammy B, and Commander Copeland her Captain. She is the D.E. that fought like a Battleship!

[@HumphreyHorsehead]

@@timandshannon03 And the White Plains proving that a one gunned escort carrier is not to be ignored.

[@whatisis7203]

@@timandshannon03 no battleship in history could have done what that little destroyer escort did on that morning.

[@Kumquat_Lord]

The Johnson was a fucking Honey Badger in that regard

[@steveelmes9273]

The Valkyries put in a lot of overtime carrying US Sailors to Valhalla on that day. Including my cousin Norman Peden, Machinist Mate serving on a 40mm mount on USS Johnston.

[@aaronstorey9712]

To all those on the johnston 🍻 cheers lads enjoy your stay in valhalla

[@trealosgaming3345]

Your cousin served with a legend and on a legend and in my eyes is a legend himself. Sorry he didn't survive, but given the amount of stories and details we here, his memory will live on with many who watch things like this.

[@MichaelClark-uw7ex]

I raise my whiskey glass in their honor! and another for your cousin.

[@pajiad191]

PEDEN, Norman Charles, Machinist’s Mate 3c, USNR. Mother, Mrs. Bessie Jeannette Peden, 4304 South 124th St., Seattle, Wash. RIP NORMAN!

[@slippityknot]

My great uncle James Sheeley was a fireman on the USS Johnston. His job was to shovel coals into the fire for the steam engines. I bet he busted his ass off that day! Hailsa my kin!

[@zod56]

"Work around to a Johnston free firing position"..lol

[@tierfuehrer2]

Actually this is very funny.

[@trentonarney6066]

I really hope Drach writes a book or something. I would buy it so damn quick.

[@hadrianbuiltawall9531]

After watching it continuously "kick the big boys in the nuts", they wisely chose to avoid this little psychopath. Dying gloriously in battle is one thing but being castrated by a cheese grater is another.

[@lolroflroflcakes]

"Eeww icky icky get it away from me," the Japanese officer in charge of the flotilla I'm assuming.

[@hariman7727]

And after all that, they missed!

[@s.thompson867]

The Battle off Samar is, IMO, the finest moment of the US Navy.

[@scoobiusmaximus9508]

Well maybe not for the whole navy. Halsey fucked up pretty badly

[@willpat3040]

I agree. Nothing but heroes and legends fought in that battle.

[@AC_WILDCARD]

The day destroyers proved as powerful as any battleships or carriers ever could be.

[@ladywaffle2210]

It's the ultimate proof that yes, a well-placed pebble can stop an avalanche

[@jackdedert2945]

@@AC_WILDCARD...and destroyer escorts (not escort destroyers, as some describe them. They had very little displacement, armament or speed compared to the Fletchers).

[@catfish552]

"...since, OBVIOUSLY, no mere destroyer would dare risk this kind of charge, nor achieve this kind of damage." Never, ever underestimate the silly things Americans will do in battle, and get away with.

[@nukclear2741]

Americans navy too OP plz nerf

[@Dynasty0612]

Nukclear considering the size of the third fleet, they are OP

[@windwalker5765]

Can you imagine what Capt. Evans would have done if he'd been in an Atlanta, with more than double the guns?

[@Dynasty0612]

John Evans what about the torpedo attack on the kumano

[@windwalker5765]

​@@Dynasty0612 Atlanta-class has eight torpedo tubes vs. the ten of the Fletcher, though they are set up with one launcher each side. He would have had to fire four on the initial attack run, then turn and fire the other four while retreating and laying smoke. OTOH, the increased firepower means he might have been able to cripple Japanese cruisers with just gunfire alone. The Atlanta has fairly similar armor to the Fletcher, meaning it would also be over-penetrated by Japanese AP shells. And that last stand at the end of the fight, against DDs? Depending on how many guns were still operating, an Atlanta could split her battery and engage one ship on each side with eight guns...

[@serpent645]

Said Admiral Clifton Sprague later: "The failure of the enemy ... to completely wipe out this task unit can be attributed to our successful smoke screen, our torpedo counterattack . . . and the definite partiality of Almighty God." Possibly one of the best Military quotes I've ever read.

[@georgiishmakov9588]

and the massive balls of the crew of the USS Johnston blocking the passage to the Japanese.

[@yankees29]

Amazing. Captain Evans literally went down with his ship. Sprague was an incredible Admiral.

[@questionreality6003]

he forgot to start with Ernest Evans attacking the enemy full bore, no heed of any orders from any one, protecting McArthurs' 180,000 kids landing on the beach at all costs, heedless completely of and including his own life. THE WORLD SALUTES CAPTAIN ERNEST EVANS , MAY HE REST IN PEACE IN DAVY JONES LOCKER FOR EVER MORE.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

Legend has it when Evans charged the IJN fleet he shouted over the loudspeaker, "Leeroy Jenkins!"

[@bkjeong4302]

@@questionreality6003 The landings were alrerady winding down by that point, actually. The idea Samar saved the US invasion is a myth perpetuated by bad historiography.

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

"This is going to be a fighting ship." "I Intend to go in Harm's Way, and anyone who doesn't want to go along had better get off right now." "Now that I have a fighting ship, I will never retreat from an enemy force." ~The Commission speech of The USS JOHNSTON by Commander Ernest E. Evans. USNA CLASS OF 1931. OCT. 27,1943.🇺🇸 Evans is likely one of the few Native American naval heroes. Born half Cherokee and 1/4 Creek Indian.

[@RemoteViewr1]

Only one Congressional Medal if Honor? Only one?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

@@RemoteViewr1 Lt. CDR Robert Copeland, Skipper of the USS Samuel B. Roberts: Awarded the Navy Cross. Gunners Mate 3rd Paul H Carr. Gun Capt. Of the USS Samuel B. Roberts aft 5 inch mount: Awarded the Silver Star, posthumoustly. RADM. Clifton Sprague. Commander of Taffy 3: Awarded the Navy Cross. All would share the Presidential Unit Citation and along with Evans have ships named in their honor.

[@wyominghorseman9172]

Let this battle be a lesson to our enemies. "It's not the dog in the fight, its the fight in the dog."

[@jasonalmendra3823]

Now that's a Native American. I'm glad they were on our side. I always pray to God that I die fighting not like some bitch.

[@Isolder74]

@@RemoteViewr1 Just before WWII they made getting more then one not possible anymore changing the rules for how the medal is won. Now a Presidential Unit Citation is almost an equivalent citation if that makes you feel better.

[@4325air]

In 1967 my math professor at The Citadel was Captain Hathaway, commanding USS Heerman during this battle. He was awarded the Navy Cross. Heerman initially charged at flank speed through the formation of aircraft carriers, barely dodging collisions with Hoel and Johnston in the rain and smoke (sometimes as little as 100 yards visibility), and engaged a line-of-battle of four battleships--with just five 5" guns, some 40mm Bofors, and some torpedoes. Being only 19 years old, I was not mature enough to figure out or even to ask what ribbons he was wearing on his uniform. He never, ever, brought attention to himself or his role in the battle. I had no idea that this pleasant, genial officer, quick to lend academic assistance to any needy cadet, was indeed a "giant", and I had no clue what he and every single one of his gallant shipmates had achieved that day. Watching this video, and the unbelievable gallantry by all sailors in Taffy 3 just brings tears to my eyes. How proud I am to be an American, though just an Army paratrooper. What an inspiration!!

[@seanbigay1042]

Real giants hardly ever brag of their exploits ... because they don't need to.

[@4325air]

@@seanbigay1042 Precisely right!

[@joeboscarino2380]

My uncle was on the Samuel B. , He joined the Navy because he thought it would be safer than being a infantry soldier , when telling me this story he stated , " Boy was I wrong " . He spent 30 years in the Navy because it was " a safe place to be " go figure .

[@andrewszigeti2174]

Statistically, someone on a ship was VASTLY more likely to survive the war than someone running around with a rifle on the ground. The trick is, when your number came up on a ship you usually had a lot of company whose number had also come up...

[@joeboscarino2380]

@@andrewszigeti2174 He was on the USS Oriskany in 66 when it burned .

[@wilhelmcody5833]

More sailors than marines died during the Guadalcanal campaign: www.answers.com/Q/How_many_americans_died_at_guadalcanal. Being a submariner had high risks. In WWII, there was no safe way to be a combatant.

[@neilwilson5785]

More of a zero sum game in the navy, often. You could survive the whole thing, or go under in a magazine explosion in five seconds.

[@amerigo88]

One of my high school teachers was on LSD during the 1960's. In order to avoid getting drafted into the Army, he enlisted in the Navy and served on a Landing Ship Dock off the coast of Vietnam. That was safer than toting a rifle and hoping not to step on a landmine. If some Vietcong frogmen had mined his LSD though...

[@calvincanada4723]

Bro imagine you and the bois are walking away from an air-sprip, and you just find a freaking airplane wing, bring it back, attach it to your plane, and fly into a warzone. These guys are the definition of madlads

[@michaelt.5672]

I would guess the thing with the wing wasn't random. One of the Marines' aircraft probably crash-landed close to the airfield, and they knew the wing was salvageable.

[@smiddlehurst1]

That’s nothing, imagine coming back from a badly-needed bathroom break to find some toe rag has nicked your wing! I mean, how do you explain that one to the quarter bloke when requisitioning a new one?

[@fguocokgyloeu4817]

Orky.

[@ccommack]

Never put anything beyond the capability of the E-4 Mafia, regardless of service branch.

[@mikeat2637]

@@ccommack Very true, they are very handy..........or so I'm told.

[@DerOrso]

"Having successfully evaded the battleships, Johnston responds to calls for assistance from the escort carriers and appears near the Gambier Bay. Seeing the ship under attack by a heavy cruiser, it promptly shoots up this ship as well, because of course it does." ^_^ I think Drachinifel was getting tired of reporting on the Johnston kicking everyone's ass again xD

[@stephaniewilson3955]

You do not know Drach.

[@hariman7727]

"Gentlemen of the Johnston, we have achieved "Memetic Badass" status!" "OI! You're calling us gentlemen?! What a terrible accusation!"

[@vincentlavallee2779]

Cmdr. Evans was an American Indian from Oklahoma, and he went thru the 4 years at the naval academy being shunned the whole time- what hell! No wonder he had guts and fortitude at the Battle of Samar! Vincent (10-16-2020)

[@zacboss467]

Johnston went full John Paul Jones

[@hagamapama]

@@vincentlavallee2779 Oh, he's from one of the tribes? Everything makes so much more sense then. The American tribes are absolutely nuts in battle. there's a reason they held out so long against the best the rest of the country could throw at them.

[@feartheghus]

Tips for your navy: make certain at all times that your firing position is Johnston free, or you will be destroyed.

[@cherokee43v6]

Better tip for your navy... Pick Johnston for your team FIRST! ;)

[@warrenlehmkuhleii8472]

USS Johnston. They say of here. The Destroyer that Fought like a Battleship. No that is wrong. It is actually. The destroyer that fought like a fleet.

[@FirstDagger]

*Johnston

USS Johnston, a fleet of one.

[@bkjeong4302]

Actually she fought better than a battleship. To compare her to a BB is an insult to her.

[@Avalanche041]

Samual B. Roberts. The Destroyer escort that fought like a battleship. Johnston. The Destroyer that fought like a fleet. I like it.

[@fluxthelycanroc9603]

more like the destroyer that fought like a whole Navy

[@DamonHowe7]

28:37 "[Johnson] seeing the ship under attack by a Heavy Cruiser, it promptly shoots up this ship as well....because of course it does." I died a little, hahahahaha

[@Zerox_Prime]

The best of British wit.

[@robertyoung3992]

Johnston*

[@spartan0442]

The mad lads of Taffy3: se a large Japanese navy group with the largest battleship in history Finally a worthy opponent our battle will be LEGENDARY!

[@justicedunham4088]

It also goes to show superior American training and engineering. This battle was so one sided, but a group of destroyers was able to chase away a battleship fleet.

[@tymeonmyside539]

And thus a legendary tale has begun

[@killer19183]

The yamato has the power to crawl out of the ocean, but johnston went with her to make sure she never makes it out of the deep.

[@proudamerican183]

Not unless she too is raised.

[@keyabrade1861]

@@proudamerican183 If the Johnston was raised too, well...we all know who'd win that one.

[@proudamerican183]

@@keyabrade1861 Only if Yamato is raised Japanese. If she becomes the USS Yamato . . .

[@Kaptain13Gonzo]

I would guess even Godzilla gives her a wide berth.

[@trevorday7923]

Considering the slightly..... disassembled condition of the wreck of the Yamato, I don't think she's going anywhere in a hurry. She certainly died a warrior's death

[@Corristo89]

Imagine what the avergage Japanese sailor must've thought seeing the Johnston fighting like a complete madlad while knowing that the US Navy had actual battleships nearby... I'd call it a day and go home. If a little destroyer is already fighting like complete lunatic, then there's no telling what a battleship with 15 inch guns will do.

[@Zerox_Prime]

I read a passage from IJN Admiral Ugaki who reported sighting the mast of an American battleship. The aircraft attacks were withering, which gave the diminished Centerforce an excuse to withdraw from the licking they suffered by three USN destroyers and one Destroyer Escort. Earlier he had witnessed aircraft savage his sister ship Musashi. Submarines sank cruisers. IMHO, the notion of USN battleships gave Centerforce an excuse to withdraw.

[@Bagheera2]

I believe they actually saluted the Johnston as they sailed by out of respect because it fought so hard.

[@JohnSmith-kg2rt]

@paul Provenzano yeah the USN never used 15s to the best of my knowledge

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

Actually I can't remember which battle it was at Guadalcanal, but are heavy and light Cruisers took on a battleship and Japanese Cruisers and destroyers. The Admiral in command was killed in the battle but his last words were we want the big boys. They split the Japanese formation with turrets turned out either side firing away at the Japanese. This was the first naval battle where Japanese navy experienced American full beast mode in a surface action. It was a bloody battle and I think it was the Japanese battleship Hiei that was sunk.

[@JohnSmith-kg2rt]

@@JohnRodriguesPhotographer Hiei November 13 1942?

[@fprtclvs]

My grandad was lucky that day. He was on the only remaining gun turret aboard the USS Samuel b Roberts. I got to talk to him about it before he passed about 15 years ago. Well until he broke out in tears then I stopped. Said he couldn’t swim because his arms were like spaghetti after the action and almost drowned. I’m here because he kept fighting.

[@fprtclvs]

@Baby Maybe Thank you. Funny other story to that part is he was 17. My great grand parents had to sign for him to go.

[@fprtclvs]

@Baby Maybe do you know who C E Anderson is? But he’s best known as Bud Anderson. He is a 2nd cousin and I’ve only had the privilege to meet him one time.

[@mnxs]

​​@@fprtclvs I'm not surprised that the events of that day would make him shed tears. I listened to the book "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", and I have to say... What happened on board the Roberts was truly horrific. We remember the crew as the heroes they were, but the truth is also that a lot of those heroes died excruciating, terrifying deaths.

[@KaoretheHalfDemon]

Three weeks ago, probably more, they announced Johnston had been discovered. Its number proudly displayed, its guns still aimed where they were when it was sunk, almost as if she still fights on even in death.

[@hagamapama]

Yeah I saw that. Very well preserved, she stands as a deep sea monument to the bravery of her captain and crew

[@durandol]

Even in death, she still serves.

[@robertyoung3992]

21,180 feet below the surface

[@SpaalKodaav]

Though silent for 80 years, her guns stand ready should the need rise again. The Ghost of Capt Evans forever fused with her battered steel.

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Hedgehogs and 40mm bofors ready to go!

[@nicholaswalsh4462]

The Battle off Samar: What happens when a superior enemy force runs into a bunch of Americans who have something to fight for and nothing to lose.

[@hariman7727]

Well trained, battle hardened, and with their backs firmly against a wall... vs largely untrained, untried, and overconfident.

[@ryanaegis3544]

According to the third ranking officer of the Johnston (the highest ranking survivor), when the Johnston was commissioned 363 days earlier, 85% of the crew had never been on a ship, and he and Captain Evans were the only two sailors who had seen any combat. The Johnston then took part in four shore bombardments and had possibly sunk one submarine, but had not been hit or damaged in any way, not even losing a chip of paint, up until the 25th of October off Samar. Perhaps the Japanese were more raw, perhaps not, but "untrained, untried, and overconfident" could certainly apply to the Americans as well.

[@casematecardinal]

@@ryanaegis3544 yeah it diminishes unjustly the absolute heroism of the johnston and her crew

[@misterbaker9728]

@@ryanaegis3544 you can’t train courage

[@OddBallPerformance]

@garmonbozia No, you can't. You can train duty. You can train technique. You can train to follow orders. Courage is something every man has to find for himself when the need arises. All of that training can definitely help, but at the end of the day even the most well trained person may very well freeze from fear. That is where good leadership comes in.

[@ZurLuften]

I like this channel. Propper information. Meanwhile on the history channel: Ghosthunters

[@ZurLuften]

Q&A: Can you talk about the British campaign in the Baltic, during and after WW1. Thank you.

[@jagsdomain203]

Lolol

[@jamesjacocks6221]

The History Channel is at best popular history (crowd pleasing, inaccurate, moralistic, worse). There really isn't much you can say to an audience which knows little to nothing and has minimal interest. The only regrettable effect of popular history is that the audience thinks it has learned something.

[@jagsdomain203]

@@jamesjacocks6221 it use to be good. Like 20 years ago

[@fernandomarques5166]

I still remeber the days of "Dogfights". Good days.

[@blank557]

This account of these outgunned, outnumbered tin cans charging like the Light Brigade against a humongous fleet of Japanese battleships and cruisers to protect the jeep carriers, and most important, the troops on the beaches, always tears me up. What men these sailors were! Duty above and beyond.

[@ditzydoo4378]

Indeed they went beyond the call... of all the things in short supply that day, courage was not among them.

[@diegosilang4823]

A strange coincidence, when Nimitz had sent Halsey a message asking WHERE IS TF 34 THE WORLD WONDERS. Halsey telegraph radioman forgot to removed the suffix THE WORLD WONDERS and Halsey thought it was nasty rebuke from Nimitz. THE WORD WONDERS is a reference to a poem about The Charge of the Light Brigade.

[@philperry4699]

@@diegosilang4823 For anyone who's confused, in WW2 American cryptography it was common to add a bunch of unrelated boilerplate text around the real text, to make it more difficult for the enemy to break it. Normally the extra would be stripped off before handing it to the commander, but that didn't happen here.

[@jwenting]

they're not called the greatest generation for no reason. They're called that for every reason!

[@jackpacker3000]

@@diegosilang4823 y

[@sethvanast8323]

INJ Chikuma: *Sees USS Samuel B. Roberts approaching* "Aw look at that! Ain't it such a cute little ship!" *Roberts Proceeds to rip the Chikuma a new one* Chikuma: "AAAAHHHHHHH!!! Get it off! Get it off!"

[@legionx4046]

Lol

[@c.s.oneill2079]

LOL

[@cellbuilder2]

Heermann: Atta boy

[@LuckyFlanker13]

Far too accurate

[@Orion_Jaeger]

Sounds like a chihuahua

[@EstellammaSS]

I like how Japanese battleship are better at dodging torpedos than their cruisers

[@chaingun1701]

Just like world of warships

[@jfdavis668]

The Japanese crusiers were faster, and closed the range sooner. Being more of a threat the drew most of the torpedo attacks in thier direction. Same with the airstrikes. The Japanese destroyers should have been in front, but as was pointed out, they had a limited amount of fuel. Running at their highest speed would have run their fuel dry.

[@calvingreene90]

Perhaps the Japanese cruiser commanders hadn't gotten the memo that the American torpedoes had been fixed and were now dangerous.

[@EstellammaSS]

This is a joke, don’t take it too seriously

[@calvingreene90]

@@EstellammaSS so was the memo

[@nce72last26]

My Dad was on a CVE in the Pacific theater. He had some interesting, sometimes funny stories to tell. Like when the captain of his ship wanted more speed and the chief engineer said that they had as much as they could get. So the captain 'invited' his chief to the stern deck so he could see the enormous splashes from some pretty big guns. Amazingly, (according to my Dad) the ship managed a couple more knots.

[@guyvalentine7258]

That's one way to motivate a chief engineer.

[@NickFrom1228]

I was home visiting the family one year and got a really bad bout of the flu. After a partial recovery my dad told me to come to the living room. I waddled out and plunked down onto the couch. He then starts up a slide projector and starts showing me pictures of when he was in the navy. Some of them were from when he was on a mine sweeper off the cost of NK. He said "What do you see there in the water?" I look and I'm like, "Are those shell splashes?" He's like "Yup". So I say, "Why the hell are you just standing there taking pictures!". He responded "Hey, this is a mine sweeper, you are a sitting duck. Notice the destroyers in the foreground laying a smokescreen? All you can do is run." So he shows a few more slides of shells hitting the water and then I say, in reference to the camera lens having a bunch of water droplets on it "Is that spray from shells on the camera lens?" and he calmly says "Yea, that one was a little close." He had several stories like that. Man I miss him.

[@c.s.oneill2079]

@@NickFrom1228 I suppose its when they are finally gone that we miss them the most, and miss learning what we never knew about them. Dads are awesome.

[@stuartrouse7851]

despite the fact that its utterly truthful......I nearly pissed my pants at the narration of this battle!? the sailor who said "damn it boys.....their getting away" should have got the medal of honour! one of my relatives won a Victoria Cross as the commanding officer at Rorkes Drift, and even he would have said "respect" to these brave young men.

[@stuartrouse7851]

@William Signs Sir John Rouse Merriot Chard 5th knight baronet of Warwickshire.....he's played by Stanley Baker in the film Zulu?

[@sankyu3950]

@@mikearcher9390 oof a grammar police

[@Isolder74]

If it makes you feel better the entire force was awarded The Presidential Unit Citation which is a equivalent to the Medal of Honor for EVERYONE.

[@Beau74]

*they're

[@SamCogley]

Another fascinating tidbit - Lt. Cmdr Copeland of the Samuel B. Roberts had an encounter with a higher-ranking officer before they sailed west from Pearl Harbor, where he was told that the Navy was considering removing the torpedo mounts from the DEs and replacing them with anti-submarine weapons. He apparently told that officer something to the effect of "we're little boys, but sometime, someone is going to forget that and send us to do a man's job. When that happens, I want to have a man's weapons." Removal of the DE torpedo mounts wasn't brought up again, and the Sammy B still had her three fish on October 25 - much to Chokai's dismay. In a double irony, with Samar being the end of the IJN as a fleet capable of surface operations (and Copeland and the crew of Sammy B being a big part of that) the Butler-class DEs *did* end up having their torpedo mounts replaced with Hedgehog anti-submarine weapons - something that would later result in USS England's insane submarine hunting spree. Lt. Cmdr Copeland was apparently at least part of keeping the torpedo mounts on the Butlers for a bit longer, but in the end played a big role in making them obsolete. Just another bit of weirdness from a completely insane situation.

[@BALDAR222]

My father was one of the soldiers in the invasion force they were covering. Boy am I glad they won. Or I wouldn't be here today.

[@JacenHawk]

@The USS Johnston Ya know, I sometimes wonder what, if any, affect this battle had on the ground operations at the time.

[@handlebarfox2366]

@@JacenHawk for starters, it gave them a few more hands to fight off a land attack.

[@justinarchibald3857]

When US destroyers totaling 12500 tons total, and some freighters turned aircraft carriers armed with depth charges and Ground support bombs face off 100 times their firepower including the Largest Surface combatant in history, and make the larger force turn tail. This was the most impressive naval victory in history. Maybe not the most Important but certainly the most Impressive.

[@aker1993]

dude taffy 3 manages to stop the center force wreaking havoc the landings

[@ThumperE23]

Those were Casablanca Class CVE's they were built as carriers, but they were not built as fleet units, kind of like the old HMS Ocean to the HMS Invincible.

[@wyominghorseman9172]

Let this battle be a lesson to our enemies. "It's not the dog in the fight, its the fight in the dog."

[@amerigo88]

Let's be honest, if Admiral Kurita had been in charge of the Pearl Harbor attack, the Japanese would have lost half their aircraft carriers.

[@RedXlV]

At one point after the war, Kurita basically admitted that he was going to retreat at any point he had plausible excuse to do so, because he knew the war was already lost. Now who knows whether that's actually true (he gave different explanations at different times), but he was telling the truth I don't see anything wrong with deciding not to waste lives in a battle that doesn't actually matter. Had he pressed on, Kurita would've caused mass casualties by destroying the transports Taffy 3 was protecting. But it wouldn't actually have changed the outcome of the war. It wasn't from the Philippines that the B-29s were being launched, after all. And destroying the landing force wouldn't have even stopped the retaking of the Philippines, only slowed it down. Center Force would've still had to withdraw back to Japan after the battle, and another landing force would've been sent in.

[@warwick0111]

Japanese fleet: oh oh, you dare to approach me? Uss Johnson: I can’t hit you without getting closer.

[@diegoviniciomejiaquesada4754]

It's that a Jojo's reference?!?!!

[@kyleabrezzi]

Johnston: FIRST BLOOD!

[@robertyoung3992]

Johnston

[@arn2840]

Dio Yamato vs Jojohnston

[@cluster4583]

The centre force 23 weren't just gna sit thr and let the destroyers damage them with all they had the centre force didn't even had air cover they give their all makes me sad no one thinks about them the destroyer crews were very brave I accept that but like u expected Japanese to just not do anything

[@Ensign_Nemo]

The USS Samuel B. Roberts (DE-413) was found on June 22, 2022. She rests at a depth of 6,895 meters (22,621 feet) in the Philippine Sea. This sets a new record for the deepest shipwreck ever found, which was previously held by the USS Johnston (DD-557). Her bow is damaged from impact with the sea bottom and the stern is separated from the rest of the ship by a distance of about 5 meters.

[@Hiraghm]

we must immediately recommission her.

[@Dafmeister1978]

"Her bow is damaged from impact with the sea bottom and the stern is separated from the rest of the ship" - I think you mean her bow is damaged from her ramming attack on the planet, after which she engaged multi-vector assault mode.

[@KibuFox]

Reportedly they're down there making damn sure the Yamato doesn't get any ideas.

[@NVRAMboi]

I'm genuinely grateful they worked so hard to find her and Johnston. Those men who served and those who died deserved as much. History baby.

[@observationsfromthebunker9639]

This is my favorite Drachinifel battle report, with the accuracy, drama, and wry humor lifting it to a narrative only exceeded by the definitive study "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors".

[@internetzenmaster8952]

Having listened to that audiobook multiple times, I can confirm this as fact.

[@andyacts2]

I've read that book twice. The unparalleled heroics of the destroyers and escorts during the Battle off Samar were, simply put, the greatest showing of courage in the face of overwhelming enemy forces that I have ever come across.

[@rwaitt14153]

@@andyacts2 The pilots and air crews too! Planes with no ordinance making "strafing" runs just so they attract anti-air fire away from other planes loaded with ordinance. Taffy 3 threw absolutely everything it had at the IJN that day. From 5" star shells from the Sammy B to 45 ACP fired out of the cockpits of Wildcats.

[@winstonviceroy6125]

I remember a quote I read many years ago from someone aboard one of the carriers after seeing all the colored splashes landing nearby. "They're shooting at us in Technicolor!".

[@chrisc1140]

I read that quote in "Little Ship, Big War" about the USS Abercrombie which was in Taffy 2, and I wouldn't be surprised if it was also noted in "Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" too, but I haven't gotten to that one yet!

[@winstonviceroy6125]

@@chrisc1140 Sorry I don't remember the book, but your 2nd named title sounds familiar to me. Funny how such little comments read years ago can stick with us in imagining what they saw at the time.

[@danaohlson3316]

“A Johnston free environment”. Classic.

[@dragonsword7370]

Detoured a part of the fleet for 3 ¹/2 hours by sheer presence of the crews rhodium balls!

[@trealosgaming3345]

They literally went "Fuck that shit, We may out number that thing. But I am scared to know how many we would lose before we finally got rid fo it."

[@許進曾]

IJN Fleet: I fear no man, but that thing (Johnston doing circles in the distance), it scares me.

[@bryaneaton9361]

Thank you for making this video. My grandfather fought in this battle on the USS Heermann. He was a watertender, first class and was in the engine room giving the commands to open and close the valves that created the smoke screens. According to him, this was a risky procedure because they had to allow pressure to build. Not timing it right would allow too much pressure and cause an explosion. I'm remembering this story from when I was a boy so I might have certain details wrong. But, the way he would tell the story would make the hair on the back of your neck stand up - felt like you were right there with him.

[@novaman3]

Woah, that's really cool!

[@PlatinumIrishrose]

Thank you for telling us about what he did, and describing how it was done. My dad was on the Fanshaw Bay talked about how he was on fire detail, I didn't get a lot out of him. He was a SAFETY FRREEEAAAKKK about fire when we (7 kids) were growing up. No camping trips with fires, no fireworks, no candles when we were out of power, always flashlights. He freaked out when someone slammed a door (usually by accident because we knew how he would react), PTSD. 😪

[@shep9231]

We thank your grandfather for his service!

[@jackdundon2261]

Correction, thank him for our FREEDOM!

[@SamCogley]

@@PlatinumIrishrose Your dad was really in the thick of things, being on Ziggy Sprague's flagship!

[@ABCCBAdrome-dq2gj]

In the book, " Last Stand Of The Tin Can Sailors, " ( " Tin Can " referring to destroyers ) one finds a complete and detailed description of this battle. I got a big kick out of reading about one of the American carrier pilots, who had little effective weapons against the strong Japanese forces, who flew his airplane over one of the Japanese ships, turned his airplane upside down, and fired his pistol at the ship! He related that he could see the faces of some of the Japanese sailors who stood wide eyed as he passed by ! What guts these American forces showed ! And what a good job Drachinifel did on this video ! Many thanks.

[@bmousmoules]

It is a superb book in both addressing the battle and what the guys in the water endured the following 2 days.

[@billkehler]

That is an awesome book

[@goldenhide]

A very eye opening look at the deadliness of "modern" naval combat. The boilerman who was knocked into the bilge water while the rest of his mates in the room were flash steamed by the rupturing boiler sticks with me. Also the fella who looked for his friend on the Roberts(?) as they were abandoning ship: Who found this massive man by himself, bloodied, and missing an arm in one of the shattered gun turrets trying to load the supposedly last shell sent to them into the destroyed shell tray of the gun.

[@guhalakshmiratan5566]

I'm reading that book right now! I had to get it after I read Ian Toll's SUPERB trilogy of the Pacific War. The guts and gumption of these men (and the horrors they witnessed and endured) are truly moving. That such men LIVED! And alas, almost nobody in today's generation knows their fight and sacrifice. “Poor is the nation that has no heroes, but poorer still is the nation that having heroes, fails to remember and honor them.” - Marcus Tullius Cicero

[@stefanlaskowski6660]

Great book. I read it last year.

[@seeking70]

While assigned to USS SAMUEL B. ROBERTS (FFG 58), we hosted the original Sammy B's survivors. They were a tremendous group of quiet heroes who had fought alongside LCDR Copeland who survived and GM3 Carr and the many others who died during the battle and while waiting for rescue. Numerous USN ships were subsequently named after the heroes and ships mentioned in this video.

[@seeking70]

@BC Bob No, I was on board for Desert Storm She hit a mine though. Stark was hit by the Exocet.

[@griffhenshaw5631]

I helped design and manufactured the taffy 3 memorial in San Diego. It was an honor to work w survivors of this engagement. These men were real heros.

[@samsilberstein8758]

GM3 Carr & his crew fire off 325 rounds of 5" in 35 mins!! That's a shell about every 6.5 seconds!! When sailors enter this destroyed aft gun-mount, there is GM3 Carr, wounded, dying but cradling yet another 5" round asking for help to load it. Amazing grit. Thanks, Heroes! May God Bless all who Serve!

[@theeenforcer4669]

My father served on FFG58, LaJudice, Radar tech. ill have to ask him about that o:

[@gangfire5932]

"Dammit boys! They're getting away!" One of my favorite military quotes.

[@digitalnomad9985]

"Oh, I wouldn't worry son, I THINK THEY'VE LEARNED THEIR LESSON!"

[@aaronstorey9712]

Gangfire We've been looking for the enemy for some time now. We've finally found him. We're surrounded. That simplifies things. Message sent during the Battle of Chosin Reservoir that’s my 2nd favourite from chesty

[@philperry4699]

Along with "Come on up! I've got a dozen 109's cornered!"

[@jonathanbair523]

"Damn the torpedo's, and full speed ahead." I want to say it was said by the Johnston if not Roberts captain. Not positive tho who really said it other then one of the destroyer class ship CO's.

[@aaronstorey9712]

@@jonathanbair523 “All right, they’re on our left, they’re on our right, they’re in front of us, they’re behind us. They can’t get away this time.” another one of my favorites

[@Indoor_Carrot]

The Johnston currently lies on the Ocean floor as the deepest shipwreck to date. Even in it's death it had to show off

[@legionx4046]

now the samuel b roberts is

[@aaronstorey9712]

@@legionx4046 they found her?

[@legionx4046]

@@aaronstorey9712 yep back in june

[@aaronstorey9712]

@@legionx4046 bloody hells bells. Was the captain trying to board hell?

[@legionx4046]

@@aaronstorey9712 lmao

[@petesheppard1709]

I get chills EVERY time I come across this battle. The insane courage of the tin can sailors is mind-boggling. I didn't realize the carriers actually got gunfire hits on Japanese heavies.

[@legogenius1667]

They didn't just get hits, they literally *detonated* a japanese cruiser. With a 5-inch gun. From an ESCORT carrier. What an embarrasing way to go. That, by the way, is why few American cruisers had torpedoes: they were aware of the danger of storing several thousand pounds of explosives on the deck of a gunship.

[@BrigadierBill]

Technically it's unclear if the USS White Plains blew up the torpedoes on the Chokai or if a bomber did, but it's hilarious regardless that CVEs survived gunfights with Japanese CAs, particularly given their earlier, lethal combat record in 1942-1943

[@petesheppard1709]

There should have been some sort of victory mark on the carrier's island or on the gun, at least. A kill or not, she made what was left of that cruiser's life miserable.

[@Betrix5060]

Actually that’s false. Only the Japanese long lance torpedoes were that volatile and even then that wasn’t anything to do with their warheads, but rather their propulsion. Unprimed explosives are surprisingly stable.

[@carbon1255]

@@Betrix5060 second this, allied torpedoes would have been torpex by then, which is pretty stable. It could easily have been a 5 inch gun. The problem is, the long lances were incredible, it was worth the extra risk.

[@superfish0012]

Lt. Cmdr. Evans: "So anyway, I started blasting."

[@hariman7727]

Had the Japanese continued the battle, I believe Lt. Cmdr. Evan's would have either rammed a Japanese vessel, or attempted a boarding action.

[@TheGuruStud]

@@hariman7727 I seriously thought a ram was coming.

[@hariman7727]

@@TheGuruStud I had seen a previous documentary, so I knew what happened. BUT... a ram wouldn't have surprised me.

[@kdrapertrucker]

@@hariman7727 wouldn't that been something, he heads out in a fletcher class destroyer, comes back with the Yamato. Lol!

[@JohnP538]

Lt. Cmdr Evans, AKA Big Chief, half Cherokee, one quarter Creek and all warrior.

[@hugmynutus]

"After firing all their armor penetration rounds, they switched to high explosive, then anti-aircraft, then starshells which was was surprisingly effective as it caused a massive number of fires to break out" Laughing so hard.

[@Bagheera2]

Necessity is the mother of invention.

[@SuperChuckRaney]

@@Bagheera2 keep in mind, the HULL and waterline carries the armor plating, the bridges and super-structure is regular steel. Light guns can penetrate it.

[@Bagheera2]

@@SuperChuckRaney I never got the point of all the armor on bcs. It seems like every time it hot hit square with a large shell it just goes in. Are there any examples of belt armor actually deflecting battleship or cruiser sized shells?

[@philperry4699]

Imagine if the superstructures had been made of aluminum, as a number of postwar ships had?

[@ryanaegis3544]

I am almost more proud of the Roberts than the Johnston because of this moment. I smile and cry listening to it. It's said that at that close of range the IJO cruiser could not train its 8" guns low enough to hit the Roberts, ha. Imagine being on that relatively tiny destroyer escort, doing your best to stay right beside the enemy, praying that they wouldn't be able to hit you before you sink them, whilst running out of every possible munition. Unbelievable bravery in the face of certain death.

[@rwcrusader406]

"The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors" damn book almost reads like a thriller

[@recklesflam1ngo968]

The Johnston is basically like "I'm not done! Get back here and fight me!"

[@Yora21]

I have not heard no bell!

[@FlameDarkfire]

"I didn't hear no bell!"

[@Hiraghm]

Cool Hand Luke. "He kept comin' at me... with nuthin'."...