The Battle of the Coral Sea - Part 2, The Carrier Battle - Animated

[@bullrider58]

An amazing lesson from the Lexington’s loss would save many other US carriers in flooding the fuel storage lines and areas with carbon dioxide. Had the damage control teams prepared this way here, the Lexington may have very well survived. Charting the advances of American damage control teams over the course of the war is mesmerizing as they took each loss or damaged ship as a lesson to improve and pass it on to other vessels

[@Anacronian]

The sad thing is that lessons needs to be learned before you can gain knowledge from them.

[@ADR1fley]

The USS Forrestal was a huge lesson to the USN and wrote many of the "Rules written in blood"

[@BoxStudioExecutive]

Compare to IJN who is like “Damage control? Learning lessons? What are those?”

[@mrgunn2726]

@@BoxStudioExecutive Not to be outdone by, we are very clever, no enemy could break our codes! :P

[@Falkirion]

This lesson would save Yorktown a month later at Midway.

[@antonleimbach648]

I had an uncle who was stationed on the USS Lexington during the Battle of the Coral sea. He worked in the engineering spaces on the boilers. He said he was terrified during the fire and explosions and when they called for abandon ship many were sobbing because they had fought so hard but knew the ship was lost.

[@2x2is22]

God bless your uncle. We live good lives today, despite what many will tell you, and your uncle is a big reason for that

[@revert6417]

Aussie here, We will remember them. All of them.

[@antimono]

God Bless you and your uncle! ❤❤

[@KK-bb8jb]

07

[@mirageraven1565]

04:55 seems like the heavy cruiser Kinugasa is marked wrong as Zuikaku

[@ramal5708]

Well I didn't know what the name of the heavy cruiser is before I read this but it's not Zuikaku lol

[@IIIJG52]

@@ramal5708 I mean they literally said it just a few seconds before it appeared on screen, wrongly.

[@morgan97475]

Always a good day when "The Operations Room" puts out a video.

[@lt.x-02s-wyvern25]

I just want to say SHUWATCH

[@dfresh93086]

The fighting of the Australians and Americans on New Guinea in defense of Port Moresby and Rabaul is brutal and inspiring. If y’all haven’t looked into it, do so.

[@xanpenguin754]

I know. The Australian defence of Port Moresby and the landing at Lea. Followed by the Australian push over the Kokoda Track is just insane. Huge props to the New Guinea locals who helped the Australians over the mountains. Rabaul as well was some insane fighting for the Australians. Both times that is. Honestly the New Guinea campaign was some of the craziest fighting many of the men were veterans of North Africa, and those who weren't were conscripts freshly trained. Going up against some of the best of the IJA straight from China, Philippians, and Indonesia. Huge props to the USN though for stopping the IJN here.

[@edwinporter3574]

The Narrator has the most perfect voice for these videos!

[@jean-christophedancause5587]

I love how the Yorktown is the most unsinkable ship ever, taking multiple hits and still being able to have an enormous impact on the pacific war!

[@sebastiankajander905]

Though she was sunk at the battle of Midway

[@jean-christophedancause5587]

@@sebastiankajander905 yes but do you know how much she was able to take before going down? It's insane!

[@csours]

The Japanese had credible reasons to believe she was sunk 3 times before she actually did sink. Amazing!

[@lokisg3]

@@sebastiankajander905 No, is after battle of Midway. She got torpedo while escorting back to nearest base. The escort ships didn't do its job and end up losing two ships that day.

[@MrNicoJac]

@@lokisg3 She was being escorted* back - towed, actually, and thus going so slow that she was essentially a sitting duck... Also, throughout the war, only a few destroyers were any good at finding submarines, and only with sonar (or radar) and well-trained/capable crews. So although you're technically correct that the other destroyers failed to spot the submarine in time, it was a hard task and thus it was not _that_ surprising that they didn't.

[@espeon91]

Zuikaku seems to have drained all the luck from her sister ship. Almost every engagement with the Americans resulted in Shokaku taking hits and Zuikaku either under a rain squall or out of sight. The damage control on Shokaku seems to be much better than the typical Japanese carriers of her time.

[@BHuang92]

The fact that the Shokaku class carriers were the near equivalent to the Yorktown class isnt far off. After all, when launched, they were the best aircraft carrier designs of the IJN.

[@736693]

Eventually, the USN sunk Zuikaku & three light carriers at the Battle of Cape Engano.

[@wolfu597]

The Carriers Zuikaku and Shokaku, would be missed dearly at the battle of Midway. And when you look into how the IJN recruited and trained their pilots in and before WWII, you'll see the hidden damage the Japanese suffered in this battle. The pilots they lost in the Coral Sea, will be missed both at Midway, and later on, at Guadalcanal.

[@opocald]

I've learned more details about Coral Sea battle and Pearl Harbor by watching videos like this than all the movies and other documentaries combined. I never knew so many bombs and torpedoes missed. Also learning that IJN main carriers were damaged enough to miss Midway make this battle even more impactful than I had ever thought. I believe had IJN used 6 carriers at midway, they would have probably won the battle and captured Midway even though the US was waiting for them and setting a trap. Most attacks against the 4 IJN carriers were ineffective because of the fighter cap. We the US was lucky to finally have a wave of dive bombers arrive with no cap. Had there been 6 carriers, there's a good chance they would have had more fighters in the air providing coverage. That's just a guess on my part. I would love to hear from those more knowledgeable about this point. I also believe that had we not sunk those 3 carriers with that wave and they had a 6 to 3 carrier advantage, we would probably have lost more than 1 carrier. And I guess they would have taken Midway. Had they sunk all 3 USN carriers, I wonder how long it would be before the USN had enough carriers to go on the offensive. It seems to me, the US would have been forced to stay on defense for at least a couple years. I believe the US only had 7 carriers in total in 1941 including the Atlantic. So losing 1 in Coral Sea and 3 at Midway would have been devastating. The US would probably have diverted resources from Europe to the Pacific, but without enough carriers, it would have only been mostly for defense as it would have been too risky to send your only remaining carriers deep into enemy territory where they could be outnumbered. japan would have had their way in the South Pacific for another 2 years. Of course eventually the US would produce more carriers, battle ships, and cruisers than the IJN could even hope to contend with.

[@jamesbednar8625]

@@opocald Also, the Japanese were NOT as flexible in transferring an air group from one aircraft carrier to another as were the Americans. The Japanese mentality was that an air group assigned to a certain carrier stayed with that carrier, even if that carrier was damaged and taken out of action, thus eliminating Zuikaku from participating at Midway. Shokaku's air group, though suffering losses at Coral Sea, still had a respectable air group that could have been transferred to Zuikaku, thus beefing up that carrier's air group and getting that carrier ready for further use elsewhere. Yorktown's air group was decimated to the point of being combat ineffective. Lexington was gone. Enterprise and Hornet had a full compliment. Ranger & Wasp were in the Atlantic. Saratoga was torpedoed by a Japanese sub and sent back to the West Coast for repairs, so her air group became available and transferred to Yorktown, thus solving the problem of where an air group was to come from. The US was asking for help from Britain for a carrier or two to help with the upcoming battle, but Britain refused (but would send a carrier to the Pacific later in 1942). I also believe that had the Japanese been flexible enough and transferred Shokaku's air group to Zuikaku and had that ship been present at Midway, the battle may just have had a more favorable outcome for Japan. Even the Japanese light carriers that were part of the Aleutian Campaign may have made enough of a difference had the Japanese diverted them in a timely manner.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

Imagine if all the fleet carriers had survived Coral Sea, and that they had been present at Midway. A 6 vs 5 carrier fight at Midway would have been incredible. Though because of the IJN’s greater experience with mass carrier operations, the odds I think would have been more in their favour.

[@leexingha]

@@jamesbednar8625 its the code breaker work that primarily seal the deal. just like how everybody thinks that getting the first surprise attack wins, which was the thing happened in the battle of midway. so a missing carrier wont change the greater outcome

[@lachlanhulley3195]

Also the battles of Eastern Solomons and Santa Cruz during the Guadalcanal Campaign in August and October of 1942

[@chestonunnewehr6954]

I would love to see some Operations Room videos for battles during World War I. My great uncle was in the unit on the right flank of the Lost Battalion during their encirclement, and was part of the rescue force that finally reached them, only to be killed a couple of weeks later during their push through the Argonne. RIP Pvt A.F. Unnewehr, Co. D 307th Inf, 77th Div USA.

[@smittywjmj]

Some WWI content would definitely be nice, particularly focusing on some of the more mobile and dynamic events of the war around the beginning and end. The transitional era from the end of linear warfare around the later 19th century to modern warfare by the mid 20th century is fascinating, technology advancing faster than tactics and strategy can really keep up.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

Great War content would be welcome, but I'd love to see Napoleonic War naval content; a video like this on Trafalgar, or the Battle of the Nile, or Battle of Copenhagen or any of the many others would be awesome. But then again, everything made by the channel is awesome so I'm just happy to get content on whatever it is he is covering!

[@brycepatties]

@@Jon.A.Scholt You might enjoy the channel Epic History TV then. Not exactly the same style here, but very good stuff on the Napoleonic wars.

[@chestonunnewehr6954]

@@smittywjmj The real irony, is that the major European powers had just had observers on both sides of American Civil War 50 years prior, and had already been exposed to the pitfalls of both Industrial and Trench Warfare... yet they failed to learn the lessons of either, and devolved into them anyway. When the Americans finally arrived, they had no stomach at all for Trench Warfare, and were seen as insane or stupid for their aggression. To some extent, they were... but in another sense, they already understood from their own history that maintaining mobility and aggression were the only way out of the quagmire of trenches and industrialized slaughter.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

@@brycepatties O I've been watching Epic History for years, it's one of my favorite channels! But they never got into the naval side of the Napoleonic Wars so I was hoping for someone to pick up the baton and carry on. A Marshal's Baton of course!

[@tobiasmmueller]

5:22: what a man! Great respect for such a brave and bold decision. Sometimes a single man can make the whole difference! Medal really deserved!!

[@juda.is.carrot9273]

Evading numerous torpedos at once now that's some driving 💥

[@Nainara32]

I wonder how the helmsmen of these big ships maintained enough situational awareness to know where all the torpedoes were coming from in an age before computer displays.

[@failtolawl]

@@Nainara32 lots of spotters and big bridges

[@copter2000]

@@Nainara32 lot of seamans yelling

[@kevinzuniga4910]

Been waiting for this since the first episode ! I can’t imagine how this battle was in person with AA firing from every ship and aircraft desperately trying to hit each carrier , it’s just mind blowing how these battles took place.

[@AndrewVelonis]

They've made movies of Pearl Harbor and Midway, maybe there should be a movie of this as well.

[@charlesselbert1875]

The level of incompetence in the IJN was staggering. The real fight was here, not Midway nor anywhere else to the east. Imagine if the entire Kido Butai had been involved. They would have obliterated the American forces and probably achieved Yamamoto's goal of carrier dominance throughout the Pacific. With Lewington and Yorktown sunk, Nimitz would have had to deploy his two remaining carriers. In fact, the Enterprise and Hornet were sent to aid Fletcher, too late to affect the outcome of this battle. Imagine the ambush that could have been laid for them. Instead, as usual, we have a ridiculously complicated plan with non-mutually supporting forces engaged in a fight where the timing has to be absolutely precise. Otherwise, the entire plan falls apart. Look at the ridiculous amount of maneuvering the IJN had to do. Over thousands of miles! A classic case of hidebound doctrine superseding the reality at hand. Thank you for this great video!

[@paulfri1569]

Lack of foresight cost them also.

[@charlesselbert1875]

Well, yeah that too. Lol. When I was a kid, this nice Japanese man and his wife moved in down the street. He and my grandfather became best pals even though grandpa had been in the navy in WW2. Masao was ten when the allies occupied Japan. The U.S. soldiers were handing out K-rations because everyone was starving. He described to us the first time he opened one. It had meat, vegetables, peach cobbler, freeze dried milk and coffee, chocolate, plus a mini pack of cigarettes. I remember him saying: " We went to war with people who could make something like this?" " What the hell were we thinking?"

[@Emeralds60601]

Well done, your videos are always nicely animated with detail and care, and this time was no exception. Bravo!

[@jameslippincott7440]

5:22 Japan is usually credited for having fanatical soldiers and loyal people, but imagine the Admiralty’s shock to see the absolute bravery of the Americans in the face of death. It’s amazing.

[@Doc_Tar]

One of the most interesting and yet least talked about carrier battles of the Pacific War. Excellent videos.

[@mikejunior80]

I think the guys at the History Channel could use your talents. Well done sir. Well done.

[@timsoundz]

I second your proposal!

[@gort8203]

Agreed, if only the History Channel would do some history. I don't know if we want to see this kind of talent wasted on programs about alien visitations and pawn shops.

[@GoSlash27]

@@gort8203 True. THC is a downgrade for talented historians these days.

[@Blazo_Djurovic]

He should then have to invest in UFO and Truck/Crab boat PNGs

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

The History channel has become a joke and these videos would never be allowed, as with true history.

[@Hao-fp9mt]

Great video as always! Just one mistake to point out at 4:55 is that the Zuikaku's name is on the cruiser. You should do more naval battles such as the battle of the Barent Sea, Battle of the Philippine sea and Battle of Leyte Gulf! (Samar, Surigao, Sibuyan, Cape Engano)! Or against Italians such as the Cape Matapan battle and the raid on Taranto!

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

Go to his channel and look at the videos, I think you'll find a couple of those mentioned.

[@wannabedal-adx458]

This analysis highlights how much the US Navy had to learn about carrier warfare. We pioneered the concept (to split carriers away from the battleship/cruiser formation) but didn't have good procedures worked out in strike coordination and Anti-Air Warfare defense of the carrier formation. Great video as always mate!!

[@mrgunn2726]

Very educational. Clear cut case of winning the battle but losing the war.

[@williamlydon2554]

Excellent 👌 video, not as well known, this action played a key role in setting up the Battle of Midway that following month. The destroyer that scuttled the Lexington was built in the same shipyard, showing her older sibling mercy

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

I'd love to see Napoleonic Wars naval content with a video like this on Trafalgar, or the Battle of the Nile, or Battle of Copenhagen or any of the many others would be awesome. But then again, everything made by the channel is awesome so I'm just happy to get content on whatever it is he is covering!

[@jamesrussell7760]

From your excellent presentation, I learned about the fogging problem of the bombsight in the American dive bombers. Since I don't recall any such problem at Midway, I conclude the problem was rectified in a very short time. The other lesson learned was to flood the aviation gasoline pipelines on Carriers with CO2.

[@belacickekl7579]

I think Midway was in better weather, IIRC. Less humidity at altitude?

[@katsunada]

I believe they would keep their canopy OPEN during bombing runs at midway, to counter the issue of fogging.

[@danielebrparish4271]

Problem was not solved until 43. They replaced the tube sight with a mirrored one. Using heat from the engine before 43 helped a little.

[@jamesrussell7760]

@@belacickekl7579 Given Daniel EBR Parish's explanation, I can see that the fogging problem is similar to carburetor icing problems. With rapid changes in high to low altitude, water vapor in the air condenses out. It can occur under any weather conditions. Carburetor heating will alleviate the icing problem.

[@jamesrussell7760]

@@danielebrparish4271 Thanks for your reply, Daniel. See my reply to Belac Ickekl's reply. And yes, heat would help.

[@slawekk3163]

I'm going back to watch part 1 because its been a while. Then I'm going to watch part 2. What a treat. You're the best. See you after part 1 !

[@ttrestle]

Favorite part of this weekend!

[@finntactics7013]

Man, the quality of your videos has just improved so much over time! Keep the work up, We love it!

[@jamesscalzo3033]

Loved the video @The Operations Room! Can't wait for the next video guys! We've all waited 2 months for this and it's finally here! I didn't expect to see that CV-2 USS Lexington had gone down the same way that the Newer, More Modern Japanese Carrier IJN Taiho would go down 2 years later in the Battle of the Philippine Sea aka the Marianas Turkey Shoot!

[@localNPCboy]

:D

[@OBJ317]

Rewatching for a second time. You guys never fail me. I mean I’ve watched all the videos over 15x over. Keep doing an amazing job, you all who take part in the video are greatly appreciated.

[@davidmacdonald910]

Perhaps the best series of videos available. The operations room is in control!

[@charleslloyd4253]

My father was on the Lexington at the Coral Sea. Dad called it the battle of the cluster mucks. When the destroyer that fished him out of the water arrived back at Pearl. He was transferred immediately to the Enterprise. And was part of the Midway battle. And took place in 20 other actions aboard Enterprise including kamikaze attacks. And ended the war on the Missouri in Tokyo Bay. Resigned shortly after and went to the University of Tennessee. And was recalled for Korea. Retiring after 35 years after adding Viet Nam ribbons. And as a snot nosed kid I was honored to attend both Enterprise and COMPAC Fleet WW2 reunions. Meeting some of my hero's.

[@paulfri1569]

God bless you and your family 🙏

[@contumelious-8440]

Name? I actually can't imagine a legitimate story like this that wouldn't want to tell everyone who it was, who their hero forebearer was. Name?

[@charleslloyd4253]

C J Lloyd@@contumelious-8440

[@briannicholas2757]

Very good breakdown with excellent play by play of this little remembered but very important carrier battle. It was a Pyrrhic victory for the Japanese for sure. And it was a definite mission kill for them as well. They were never able to take Port Moresby and the loss of so many highly trained and experienced pilots shows the beginnings of what is ultimately a huge flaw in their carrier doctrine and damage control procedures. The japanese overarchingly never seem to learn from their battles, especially the close ones or losses. Apparently beating your crewmen , constantly berating them, telling them that the Emperors turds are more valuable than they are, and not cross training your crew isnt an ideal system to help achieve victory. On the opposite side, the US Navy and especially the carrier pilots make huge mistakes and only lady luck seems to keep them from devastating outcomes. And that doesn't even help when it comes to surface actions between cruisers and destroyers early on. Mainly due to utterly incompetent captains and junior admirals. But, while the US Navy does make mistakes, it recognizes those mistakes and takes quick a decisive action to correct them and reformulate doctrine. The US Navy's damage control procedures are legendary, probably the best in the world, and it shows. So many ships that would have been lost in other navies, survive , albeit very badly damaged, to fight another day. And equally important for carrier operations, the Navy rotates it experienced pilots back home to train replacements and new pilots. It wasn't just overwhelming numbers of carriers that bring victory for the Navy, but overwhelming numbers of very well trained pilots and ship crews.

[@zr_3757]

I love watching these during my breaks at work, love it when you post!

[@jamesturner9651]

If I'm not mistaken the Japanese had believed that Yorktown was also sunk and thus did not believe that it, too, would be at Midway. Yorktown also undertook a miraculous repair before it was sent back out again for Midway.

[@736693]

Had a Val launched a kamikaze attack with an onboard dive bomb or a Kate launched a kamikaze attack with an onboard torpedo, Yorktown might have been sunk, scuttled, or disabled until after the Battle Midway.

[@736693]

Yorktown might have helped sink Zuikaku or Shōkaku & possibly helped preserve the Hornet during the Battle of Eastern Solomons or the Battle of Santa Cruz

[@williaml.]

Montemayor's version of that battle is also cool if u want to take a look But very great video like always !

[@adiborza4131]

Respect for the work involved, to research and create the clip!!

[@uncomfysapphic8415]

I've watched like 3 different analyses of this battle and it intrigues me every time

[@bigsarge2085]

Informative and fascinating breakdown. A new Operations Room documentary always makes for a good day!

[@mwethereld]

another great production from the Ops Room!

[@Zegmaar_Bas]

Woah, a new video! Time for part 1 again hahaha

[@daniellucas1494]

Nicely done - again sir - great job with the video. The way these are presented makes history more interesting to youth of today.

[@geordiedog1749]

Great video. I get a real sense of the battle from your work. I wish I’d learnt all my history 5his way.

[@aggromando7323]

Yet another excellent segment. So well done.👍

[@infeedel7706]

Always great vids from the Operations Room. I recall reading of these battles as a boy decades ago and it is great having this further perspective. Thank you and keep them coming.

[@Defossion1]

The only channel where I click "THUMBS UP" and then proceed to watch the video.

[@GoSlash27]

Same.

[@ronmani9476]

Thanks for the great videos..... So much easier to visualize with the animations and narration than ready an old textbook. Have you ever though of covering older battles? I would be interested in seeing the battle of cannae in 216 bc, one of the biggest defeats of all time and tactics that are still taught to this day

[@cralnith153]

Love ya work mate keep it goin. Would love to see a continuation of this campaign. Stuff about the fight for Port Moresby along the Kokoda trail.

[@joeschlotthauer840]

Best eleven minutes of my day...

[@chefboy128]

Awesome video. Would love to see one of these on Leyte Gulf. It’s the largest navel battle in history but often gets overlooked due to how one sided it was.

[@yosman-609]

Leyte gulf is most likely overlooked in animated format because animators are horrified of having to adapt what is widely accepted as the largest naval battle of all time, with all of its 300+ ships involved. It is not about one sidedness, because Midway was also extremely one sided, but yet there are so many documentaries made about it.

[@736693]

What about the Battle of Cape Engano where the USN sunk Zuikaku & three light carriers?

[@DougieFrank]

Im a Kiwi & My parents lived through WW2 as kids in NZ, and the threat of Japanese invasion was very real & terrifying. They both loved the Yanks (as do I) for saving NZ & Australia from Japanese invasion. This is a significant piece of NZ's history, even though NZ did not take part, & those Kiwis & Aussies that know about this battle & the significance of it, will always have a mark of gratitude to our American friends

[@paulfri1569]

Why do Kiwi people love to undermine Australia and the USA then?

[@DougieFrank]

@@paulfri1569 I cant speak for all Kiwis, but my take on this is I wouldnt say we undermine Aus & the USA. The Kiwi / Aussie thing is just a sibling rivalry & works both ways. Each country like to think they are better, but underneath all the bullshit we are actually good & friendly neighbours (although no Kiwi or Aussie actually wants to admit it) As for the USA, I for one like the USA & its people, but I think people all over the world (even in its allied countries) like to criticise the USA because they are such a powerful country. I also think this criticism has become more common since the far right was in power & right wing extremism & violence has become "normalised" under Trump.

[@BrianRosborough]

It’s quite incredible to watch the first videos this channel produced and just marvel at the quality that’s been sustained from day 1, I’m so glad I’ve been privileged enough to have been with The Operations Room from the beginning and have gotten to see the rewards of deserving hard work and honest to goodness amazing content materialize into this channel now having over half a MILLION subscribers and growing rapidly everyday. I know you get a lot of comments these days brother but if you happen to see this one I just want to let you know how damn happy I am to watch your success and I humbly thank you for your ability to teach us amazing war events from history that are best understood and consumed in the manner you have provided. You’re an officer and a gentleman sir, God Bless !

[@Model_Guy]

Great videos man, keep it up. You should cover Operation Wikinger

[@sih1095]

Love these simulations. Kudos.

[@-xirx-]

A stimulating simulation, if you will.

[@useitwice]

The animations are really awesome

[@pekkakoski6595]

Thank you once again Sir. This id kind of material I appreciate.

[@kevensorbot3203]

Only 7 minutes old, couldn't click on this vid faster! Keep up the great work!

[@boeing-lt4el]

Lt Cdr Dixon, the pilot who scouted in the clouds, would be awarded TWO Navy Crosses. One for this action and one for an action a couple months before this battle.

[@AudieHolland]

Lieutenant Commander Dixon, what a hero! Also: the fact that Shōkaku was hit several times but was able to extract itself with 'only' 100 lives lost, shows how different the Japanese carriers could have fared later at Midway. I always assumed Japanese carriers were floating bombs just waiting to be detonated by a single bomb hit but Shōkaku shows that Japanese carriers had a good chance of surviving combat without catastrophic losses in personnel. Of course, the circumstances later at Midway were extraordinary to say the least.

[@marckyle5895]

Yep, not having your fully armed and fueled air groups stashed away in the hangar will make a big difference! Imagine if Best's bomb hit Akagi and her planes weren't dominoes in an explosion chain.

[@not-a-theist8251]

Damn Dixon was a badass

[@smittywjmj]

The US Navy had fairly strange pilot training prior to WWII, pilots were given sort of a crash course on all aircraft before being assigned to a squadron, rather than being allowed to specialize and fly aircraft that suited their own talents. A fair number of scout bomber guys would actually end up transitioning to fighters when the training regimen changed, and the SBD Dauntless was a remarkable little aircraft in spite of its age and intended mission.

[@EddyGurge]

Posted just as my lunch arrived, perfect timing!!!

[@Scicianman]

I’m just trying to imagine what that Japanese pilot was thinking. “Oh finally, I will be able to land, wash and get some rest. Hmm, why are there no other planes on deck, or crew? What... Oh Shit! OhshitohshitohshitohshitOHSHIT!!!!!!!!!”

[@ryanbrennan4634]

Love these videos, and love learning, thanks.

[@199diesel]

Awesome work as always brother. THANKS

[@Boxing01Fan]

Love your videos buddy, the animated part really helps you watch the videos so much better than just normal talking videos

[@tomcrouchman]

My favorite channel with part 2 baby!

[@pusheenthecat9264]

1:50 Japanese pilot: Finally I can land on my carrier Probably the entire crew on the USS Yorktown: *._.*

[@ianmyers6643]

It's remarkable that over a 6 week span from Mid April to Early June, the US Navy dealt the IJN such heavy blows with such a limited Carrier Force. It seemed that each navy sailed around the entire Pacific Ocean, from Hawaii, Tokyo, Coral Sea, Midway & the Aleutian Islands. I know it pales in comparison to later battles, but still only 6 months since Pearl Harbor.

[@ey7290]

Also down to codebreakers, the Japanese planned to ambush the US fleet at Midway, codebreakers discovered this and Nimitz positioned his fleet to ambush the Japanese and it worked, Japan lost 4 fleet carriers, 1 cruiser and 3100 sailors and pilots, compared to the Americans who lost 1 fleet carrier and 1 destroyer with 300 sailors and pilots

[@iainmalcolm9583]

Excellent presentation. Already looking forward to what ever you are going to do next.

[@hithere9235]

Expertly done, as usual

[@pushing2throttles]

Best history Channel... lemme qualify that with best military history channel ever!

[@lewisss1212]

Quality video mate! Well done again.

[@randomlyentertaining8287]

I so wish that Japanese pilot hadn't realized his mistake and had landed. Imagine having landed and as you're getting out, you suddenly noticed a bunch of angry American Marines with rifles coming at you XD

[@736693]

Or the IJN pilot might have launched a kamikaze strike against Yorktown. The crash might have been attributed to pilot fatigue.

[@brokenbridge6316]

If I recall this battle became the type of victory the Japanese could no longer afford. Which is probably true in some way. Nice video.

[@MrDgwphotos]

The fact that the Japanese deployed only two carriers there was a mistake on their part. They would have been better off either sending the entire Kido Butai or NONE of the Kido Butai. The decision to send only Zuikaku and Shokaku fatally undermined both this operation and the Midway operation, effectively subjecting both forces to a defeat in detail (the Japanese being forced to cancel the MO operation makes it in effect a defeat at the strategic level, even though it was a draw at the tactical level).

[@brokenbridge6316]

@@MrDgwphotos---That is very nicely put. And You might be right about that.

[@richardstephens5570]

@@MrDgwphotos The Japanese didn't even know the American carriers were going to be in the area. And the U.S. carriers wouldn't have been there if intelligence had not discovered the Japanese plan.

[@julio5prado]

Fantastic work! Thanks !

[@jayjayquest4958]

New Ops Room vid is up Me: "Wooohooooooo!!!"

[@denniscleary7580]

Watching these always gets me in the mood to play battlefield

[@ryangarcia985]

Thank You for this.

[@Orenju11]

Mustard the other day real engeneering yesterday and operations room tdoay, best week end

[@brad4266]

Another great video, as usual.

[@SpencerBurkett]

Another fantastic video

[@martinmdl6879]

Nice work.

[@toomanyhobbies2011]

The USA was not prepared for WWII in the Pacific. It's a testament to the Navy's bravery that they effectively stopped the far more experienced Japanese forces.

[@williamrobinson9294]

Thank you, Sir. You do remarkable work!

[@mastodonxrp5314]

American torpedo bombers were incredibly ineffective during the entire battle. Their primary usefulness was providing extra targets for the Japanese.

[@SlavicCelery]

It doesn't help that the torpedo issues hadn't been resolved by this point in time.

[@mastodonxrp5314]

@@SlavicCelery That's true. There was also no shortage of bravery with the TBF torpedo bomber crews. Just sad high ranking officers signed off on torpedos that weren't combat ready.

[@SlavicCelery]

@@mastodonxrp5314 That's part of it, tactics is another part. Poor understanding of enemy tactics as well. There's a whole lot of reasons. Having dud torps is just a massive blow to the whole thing. If we gave them 100% reliable torps through 42-45... heck we'd probably sing all their praises.

[@mastodonxrp5314]

@@SlavicCelery That reminds me of a video I was watching about the Vietnam air war, where this one F-4 had something like 4 of his sparrow and sidewinder missiles malfunctioned in a dogfight. Warfighters have enough to worry about. Dud weapons shouldn't be one of them.

[@johnnybanks5321]

The old Douglas TBD "Devastators" were too slow for modern combat and the torpedos were totally unreliable.

[@kahrnivor]

Why doesn't this channel have millions of subscribers?

[@thehammer800]

My favorite war channel. Suggest doing videos on korea and more vietnam videos. Chosin and bloody ridge for example. Or tet offensive. Another good raid video would be the us prison raid of Cabanatuan. Keep up the good work

[@masterimbecile]

5 people's bomb sights fogged up while trying to hit the like button.

[@reecom9884]

This is another example of the Japanese just fighting a battle and not having an endgame. They always want to have an all out fleet battle and not caring about the “Big Picture”. They always have a convoluted battle plan with multiple units to try and confuse the enemy, but all they do is split and reduce their forces. If they kept their forces together to invade Port Moresby, it would have made it harder to supply Australia from the US; the US plan for Island hopping would have been set back by months.

[@paulsakz1532]

im sick but this just made my day :')

[@tomblah]

10:46 really looking forward to an Operations Room about the Kokoda campaign

[@TS-ef2gv]

Aboard the Lexington was a war correspondent who ended up with a ringside seat for the Coral Sea battle. He survived the sinking and soon thereafter wrote a book about it called Queen of the Flat-Tops, which was published the same year as the battle (1942). Since WW2 was still going on and some of the specifics of the battle still classified, he couldn't use the names of the ships involved (he refers to the Yorktown only as Carrier 2). I first read it alongside a later written comprehensive history of the battle, which was helpful in filling in specifics that he either didn't know at the time or couldn't tell. It's a very interesting read not just because of the subject matter, but because it's a firsthand account of life on a US fleet carrier early in the war, the lead-up to the battle, the battle itself, the sinking, and the rescue of the survivors, and it was written while the outcome of the war was still very much uncertain.

[@jasonburbank2047]

I adore your videos and presentation style! How did the Americans not have a solution for the bomb sights fogging yet? It's shocking that hardware with such a basic problem even made it into production.

[@malcolmshort2463]

Don’t forget this was the very early part of US participation in the war, so they were on a very steep learning curve. From knowing that particular region, I can say that sometimes the air is so moisture-laden that you feel it could be cut with a knife! I would think that a descending attack aircraft would pass through a temperature change of at least 10degrees C, causing heavy condensation to form on their sighting equipment. Bad news travels fast, so I would think a cure for this problem would be very quickly worked out!

[@DerangedWookiee]

@@malcolmshort2463 I think someone said they started performing dives with their canopies open to counter the fogging issue

[@Idahoguy10157]

Pre-war Congressional budgets were tight. No enough real world testing was done of many weapons

[@riffmeister101]

Another informative and well animated video. Well done, good sir. Long may you continue.

[@shezzwicked5841]

Outstanding.

[@StephenLuke]

RIP To the 715 US Navy men and airmen, and 966 Imperial Japanese Navy men and airmen who were killed in the Battle of the Coral Sea

[@rykercaryl7667]

This channel is great

[@slartybartfarst55]

Excellent. Always love these videos

[@johngalt3568]

Well done as always. Thanks.

[@Ares28Pictures]

4:55 there is a mistake in the animation as one of the cruisers is titled to be CV Zuikaku. Yes, we are paying attention to details :D Great vidoe tho and waiting for more! :)

[@flycatchful]

You are the first to mention why our aircraft failed to score hits on the carriers.