The Brilliant Submarine Tactic That Crippled Japan

[@mrsillywalk]

Tommy "Dinger" Bell was a WW2 Royal Navy diver who never should be forgotten. I worked with him in the 70s and was privy to his stories. He was one who worked on the X craft, and they all deserve a medal.

[@fishnchips8132]

First I've ever heard of the efforts of the British in Singapore in a positive operation against the enemy. Thank you for this important account. The raids of the "Krait" are similar - "Krait" was a surface wooden vessel of Asian fishing origin & they applied mines to several Japanese ships, having sailed all the way from northern Australia. She is on display at Darling Harbour in Sydney. There are some videos on youtube. An uncle was lost in the POW camps on the Malay Peninsula having been captured on the push by the Japanese down the Peninsula. Lest We Forget.

[@Mustapha1963]

Excellent video. I do not think I had ever heard of this exploit before.

[@douglachman7330]

Story worthy of respect for these and all other special services mission personnel in war.

[@deenasmusicbox]

So very well done!!! I was glued to my screen anxiously watching this nail biter!!

[@chipcurry]

As always, riveting, storytelling! Chilling.

[@GuyPipili]

That was crazy! Imagine all the noise that scraping produced! You would've thought that the Japanese would have heard something!

[@michellehavre6821]

Not possible the steel is so thick and nobody is at the bottom level of the ship. accomoodation is above

[@DrCarlBooze]

The engine noise is very loud and nobody is close enough to the bottom of the ship to hear anything.

[@joeludlow8837]

There were only a few people and no ammunition aboard the Takao when this happened. They might have heard but would have been powerless to do anything about it. Essentially with the atomic bombs being dropped a week later, this whole operation was useless.

[@simon-c2y]

​@@joeludlow8837 I keep thinking that. When the enemy is in as bad a position as the axis in 1945 it would have been hard to keep going. Respect.

[@jeffstangl1471]

Great work, little YT content include such deep information, period clips, and great narrative, including what a limpet mine looks like would've been icing. thanks

[@abetts2114]

That is very tight quarters..I’m out. These dudes were fearless.

[@dand1485]

One of the wild things to me, is to realize that in the midst of these men risking their lives to pull off a daring attack,... the war was effectively already Over... The atomic bomb had already been tested on the 16th and Hiroshima would occur within a week.

[@seanlander9321]

No one knew if Japan would surrender. Australia for instance had invaded Borneo to ensure that Japan was cut off from oil. Until Hirohito gave in, the end of the war was hypothetical and also couldn’t be compared with Germany which had been cornered, as the Japanese forces were still stationed over a significant portion of the globe.

[@bradleamon4466]

​@@seanlander9321and just think many years later when Hirohito died out PM got on TV and cried about it what an insult to our men

[@seanlander9321]

@ Hirohito was a racist psychopath who the Americans should have agreed with the Australians to put him on trial.

[@Charles-k9g5y]

@@seanlander9321-- the bomb on top of the fear of a Russian invasion finally ended the war.

[@seanlander9321]

@ The Soviets had no hope of invading Japan because they didn’t have the navy to get them there. Besides Hirohito didn’t mention the Soviets in his surrender because they were irrelevant, particularly throughout Asia and The Pacific.

[@treyweaver5396]

Great vid! I think I read about this decades ago as it sparks an old memory. Bravo!

[@chrissnape9537]

Glad to hear two Victoria crosses were awarded to live men. I never knew this story😊

[@jeffreycarman2185]

An amazing tale told brilliantly

[@McPh1741]

The British sinking the Takao as a target ship is a cover story. She was actually destroyed by Godzilla.

[@k.chriscaldwell4141]

King kong.

[@christopherbova8109]

I knew it 😮

[@wadeyearsago]

Godzilla man. I just don't trust him.

[@daverobinson6110]

He picks up a bus and he throws it back down?

[@christopherbova8109]

@ go,go, Godzilla

[@PeterFruits-hm8rc]

how did you know his hands blead ?

[@allenhamilton6688]

Excellent video. Thanx!

[@garyschultz7768]

There's a great movie to be made about this story...most people including me haven't heard of this saga b4.

[@MaximilianMuster]

I really enjoy watching your short naval history stories. Great work, nice voice. ❤

[@ToIsleOfView]

This is an incredible story of bravery in the jaws of death. Thank you. I love your channel. This was the bravest act I can imagine. That little sub is like a death trap underwater. Thank you for bringing this heroic mission to light. The medals are well deserved, and you included them as you should. I usually comment on political bravery, but this wartime bravery is so exceptional that I must share it. Keep it up.

[@domgould5113]

Amaizing how those subs had room for the balls these guys had.

[@toughluv873]

Yes but was he brave enough to use preferred pronouns. 😂. Amazing what people consider courage nowadays.

[@bestbehave]

That was the ballast

[@stephenwest6738]

This would seem too unrealistic as a movie. It's crazy how courageous these dudes were

[@zykify]

This should be a movie!

[@eagleeye761]

Love this history every time I listen....

[@JohnClay-x7x]

What a great British war story. Thanks for sharing.

[@kennethfharkin]

Singapore, virtually impenetrable by naval assault but easily captured by Japanese troop on bicycles riding across the causeway.

[@ChrisHUTTON-zc4br]

Plus light Tanks & Aircraft. The Commonwealth troops had no answers them & the outflanking tactics of the Japanese.

[@kennethfharkin]

@ Doubtless. Singapore was screwed with no way out at that point.

[@vinzanity68]

Had no idea there were baby submarines in the war. Thanks for this😮

[@michaelmccotter4293]

Japanese used them against Hawaii. Italians used them in the Mediterranean.

[@fredericksaxton3991]

A bit of a hod-podge of film footage, but a good tale well told.

[@jhonbee5434]

correct, made up from bits taken from at least 3 other movies.

[@steveperreira5850]

Usually he scrambles up the facts also, Or misconstrues something important, but for sure he has a dramatic way of telling a tale, however divergent from actual reality it might be

[@robinbrowne5419]

An example of real life being more dramatic than fiction.

[@davidchase9424]

The guy didn't have a dive kinfe? EVERY Navy diver has a DIVE KNIFE!

[@Lodestarter]

Hmmm I think you can hear a knife. Bare hands less so.

[@davidchase9424]

@Lodestarter Whatever makes the story more dramatic

[@pauloakwood9208]

Great history, but somewhat frustrated that the images and the narrative don't match. The video just seems random.

[@karlmcgaugh1929]

Thank you for these deep dives into war. Your research and video of the period are exceptional. Keep it up!

[@casparcoaster1936]

I spent a year teaching ESL at a language school in Tokyo in 1989... one wknd, with a beautiful girl, she & I climbed Mt. Takao... it was fun. Cool little minature buddhist shrines along the trail

[@BillB23]

Thank you for a gripping story well told.

[@spencerlucas3065]

That is a crazy story!

[@scottjamison801]

Excellent presentation

[@charlesloeffler333]

Any clue how they followed their path back out the harbor. Underwater nav, even with 1990’s technology was very difficult, much less back then

[@stickemuppunkitsthefunlovi4733]

They knew where the tea was. I make it home for a cuppa no matter where I am.

[@dwilson284]

It was a daylight raid. There were navigation aides in the harbor. Using the periscope to get a nav fix every few minutes would have been enough.

[@charlesloeffler333]

@@dwilson284 Thanks. Were the nav aids placed by the allies or while going in. Or was everything visual?

[@davemeeks8109]

The x24 class vessels have come a long way. 😊

[@Hiddensecret9]

American submarines were responsible for sinking approximately 56% of Japan's merchant marine losses during the war. This aggressive campaign led to the destruction of over 1,000 Japanese merchant ships, severely limiting Japan's ability to import vital materials and sustain its war effort.

[@dginia]

And also inadvertently led to the death of many U.S. POW’s being transported to Japan.

[@julieputney4317]

Very riveting episode

[@4OHz]

3:55 I like your description of the sub as “diminutive” as it was (53.25 ft., 16.23 m) versus a Japanese “midget” sub which was larger at 78.5 ft (23.9m)

[@ob1257]

Very cool story! Nice video!

[@351nang]

very enjoyable, thank you.

[@MinnesotaBeekeeper]

Shades of Norway.

[@ortizguard2816]

Who else held their breath during the video?😮

[@timothywalker4563]

I found myself wincing 🥴👀

[@sirhcsuiris]

I hold my breath 24/7.

[@ronstewtsaw]

A repaired Takao has a role in the excellent movie, Godzilla Minus One.

[@williamtolon6464]

Good video.

[@lynderherberts2828]

Very interesting. This is the first WWII submarine battle against the Japanese I've ever seen.

[@lilydiring4295]

Yeah most of it was sinking merchant vessels full of food and or ammunition. Which is really not as glamorous. Unrestricted submarine warfare is incredibly effective, and arguably a war crime. Not as fun to tell a story about.

[@lynderherberts2828]

@@lilydiring4295 Hi. Thank you for this information. Have a great week. God bless you.

[@dbul2542]

The USS Archerfish sunk the IJN Shinano, a converted aircraft carrier in transit between Japanese ports in November 1944.

[@lynderherberts2828]

@@dbul2542 Hi. Thanks for the info. Take care.

[@jeboccuzzi10]

Wow. What bravery.

[@philipinchina]

Outstanding.

[@frankvierra2487]

I didn't know any of that thank you so much

[@foundthetruth2003]

Very very brave men, I couldn’t do it.

[@salamanca1954]

The submarine you depicted at 2: 36 although it is the darter, that darter was commissioned in 1956.

[@Coinbro]

Great story thanks!

[@Redmenace96]

HOld on. This was a month before the war in the Pacific ended? Brave men, decent little video. Title is baloney. Don't chase click bait. I like your channel.

[@TokyoLamia]

Had this use of these two stationed craft at Singapore influenced the failed stationary use of the beached Yamato at Okinawa?

[@jessestout8646]

Good story! 👍🏻🙂

[@rustyshimstock8653]

What is the source of this great video? Thanks.

[@PierceStudent]

Brave men. Wow!

[@RitaBram-v6m]

Amazing story

[@JoeJ94611]

I read that ships are especially vulnerable from explosions from below the keel which are much more destructive than being hit by a torpedo on their sides.

[@anti-Russia-sigma]

Depends on which ship you mean.A loaded merchant freighter may survive such explosions.Such explosives must break keels.

[@rickden8362]

A truly brave and courageous undertaking. But I don't understand if the cruiser was actually put out of action or just settled to the bottom and still remained a working AA platform.

[@Krab17]

It didn't really matter because she couldn't reinforce other offensives or defend priority targets like supply lines. Even then her AA would pale in comparison to what could be better hidden further inland. Basically she becomes an easy target for the other Navy ships and torpedo's

[@highwalker1001]

Depends a bit how she settled - if too inclined then it is difficult to be a gun platform: AA might be easier but the main guns would have difficulty (plus the impact of recoil)

[@friedfish69]

And by the way, I hear your saying "limpic", but magnetically attached mines are named after limpets, a kind of sea snail.

[@highwalker1001]

No mention of whether the containers (vs. limpet mines) had any impact? With the compressive impact of 2T amato through water one would think that there would have been some effect

[@doctordank]

I mean, good video on an interesting story, but I'd hardly say the crippling of Takao "crippled Japan." Hyperbole much?

[@jeebusk]

what is the port container, I know port is left... I didn't understand what container?

[@Gregknows-uj8gg]

In the beginning of video they mentioned two containers holding explosives. One on each side of craft that could be released from craft.

[@user-rs8zg8ey2b]

Awesome!

[@ZodiacSam]

Why all the whispering? 👂

[@RollinRoadblock]

Ironic that the German tactics against Britain were replicated by the u.s on Japan.

[@mccorpsecorpse]

Wrong USS Darter, guys. You're looking for SS-277, not SS-576 which was built in the 50s.

[@caseywood9781]

Cool! There was a Stygian? That means "hellish". I love it

[@Dirk80241]

The only criticism I have for the British Navy is that they should have exercised more creativity when naming their midget submarines. This would do more justice to the brave crews!

[@balladeerbuzz3688]

Overall, well done, but WHY was there a modern sub briefly mixed in the graphics??? The typical poorly done graphics, disrespect the brave men involved.

[@TomMcClish]

Interesting story, but "crippled Japan"? At Singapore? In August 1945? Yeah, this tactic brought Japan to its knees.

[@GTP2-zg9tn]

Actually, the Aqua Lung was a French invention not yet mass produced during WWII. Aqua Lungs were useless in covert operations due to their Bubble trails. The Royal Navy used bubble less Rebreathers instead. You even show some footage of a rebreather diver.

[@fredparkinson1289]

The part that puzzles me is how navy men forgot that barnacles grow on the bottom of a ship!

[@me282uk]

If you wanted your ship to be as fast as possible, you'd try and keep the hull clean with divers or drydocking. The growth on the target ship was much worse than you'd have expected.

[@BCHonea]

I think you saying crap for the first time is hilarious ❤

[@kaltenstein7718]

You got it all wrong, Takao was sunk by Godzilla in 1946

[@southernsmoke8391]

I’m impressed by the Takao’s surviving the US sub torpedoes.

[@shadeburst]

It's amazing the risks these guys took that had absolutely no influence on the outcome of the war.

[@kurtwillig4230]

😢X craft boats were powered by diesel engines from London buses.

[@joesphbegley3088]

Mc Guinness was from Belfast. He received a Victoria Cross.

[@navypowertv]

*I read an opinion that the British sinking the Takao as a target ship is just a cover story. In reality, the ship was destroyed by Godzilla. What do you think?*

[@AmlanDas-r7f]

Godzilla minus one

[@navypowertv]

@@AmlanDas-r7f oh, maybe!

[@carpecanem611]

Godzilla Minus One is the movie title. There is only one Godzilla. (At least for me there is.)

[@mikeholland1031]

Godzilla didn't show up till after WW2. Created by the nukes fallout.

[@terry_willis]

@@mikeholland1031 It's ironic: The Japanese start WWII Pac. Theater and destroy most of SE Asia murdering and torturing millions. Then the Japanese create the cartoonish monster Godzilla. Talk about a flip: From real life diabolical MONSTERS to childish MONSTERS.

[@cdk1016]

Arent ww2 era aqua lungs fatal if they get water in them? I read about some kind oc primitive rebreathers that make poisonous gas if they get water inside of them which seems crazy but i suppose when used properly its better than drowning...

[@mgutkowski]

"lieutenant" is pronounced "leftenant" when talking about the British.

[@JohnSchofield-j4i]

Johore St. Not Singapore.

[@csjrogerson2377]

It is not "The British Royal Navy", it's just "The Royal Navy." Lack of forethought on not taking a scrapper. The diving equipment used by LS Magennis was a pendulum closed circuit O2 set which left zero to very few bubbles. The video shows a diver using open circuit air and even a Standard hardhat surface supplied system, both creating "We're forever blowing bubbles" scenario. There might also have been clips of German U-boat engine rooms in there too.

[@stuartmcpherson1921]

At the end one guy gave an incorrct salute. He did army or air force with the palm forward. Naval salute has palm down.

[@csjrogerson2377]

@@stuartmcpherson1921 True, but he wasn't a Royal Naval Sailor. Not all Navies of the world salute in the same manner. PS The RN salute is not "palm down", its palm facing aft. I did it for 22 years.

[@pauljenkins6877]

He probably said “British Royal Navy” because many non-British people (i.e., Americans) would not know what country the Royal Navy belonged to.

[@csjrogerson2377]

@@pauljenkins6877 If we dumb things down to the level of Americans, we'll all be braindead in weeks. If they don't know, they can look it up.

[@WilliamB87]

So they just made an already non movable ship more unmovable but still able to use it's anti-aircraft guns?

[@DerickBorlace]

Why is the diver shown as wearing a Standard Diving suit? They could only be used with an air supply from the surface.

[@fukkitful]

Because the average viewer would never know they used a rebreather... So why bother trying to be historical accurate when it more about the story being told? Not the dramatization shown. If you really care about the video being accurate then Drachinifel's channel would suit you better.

[@garryferrington811]

Manning those miniature submarines must have been horrible.

[@adrianperry8352]

Quite a few German and French submariners are in this clip

[@benjurqunov]

Were they homosexuals ? Some looked like illegal mexicans !

[@terry_willis]

Those were just cameo appearances. 😄

[@joeludlow8837]

Lol, "other allied operations" you mean like dropping 2 atomic bombs on Japanese cities? Takao had no ammunition on board. The ship had zero military value other than a decoy when these mini subs tried to sink it.

[@thgiresimorp9004]

title is clickbait

[@slugface322]

you took the bait and got So hooked ya commented 🤪

[@thgiresimorp9004]

@@slugface322 yup, one born every minute,,, I got married too!

[@jacobjames1171]

You gotta call it a British, little person, submarine. 😅

[@オリハルコン-t8m]

日本の民間商船や貨物船漁船の乗組員の４０パーセントが生きて敗戦を迎えられなかったのだよ。海員組合の記録として残っています。

[@July41776DedicatedtoTheProposi]

The picture for the SS-Darter 576 is the one (2:36) built in 1954, and did not serve in WWII. Also some pictures were from Nazi U-boats in the North Atlantic (captain with a beard).

[@terry_willis]

It's called theatrical license.

[@arsenalroo]

Yeah. Do a little more research. SSN 576 shown is the Darter built in 1954. Unsubscribed.

[@JSFGuy]

Thanks for no notice again.

[@terrybarton8388]

Is it just me or are other people getting fed up of this channels clickbait photoshopped thumbnail pictures? …

[@terry_willis]

Me 2. I'm fed up and I ain't gonna take it anymore.

[@thomamnotte4503]

These videos always fail to mention that 100% of this action was unnecessary to end the war since the Japanese had been trying to surrender since April, 45, but the U.S. refused to accept it because the Japanese wanted one condition: allow the Emperor to remain in order to prevent social choas. Of course, once MacArthur stood on the deck of the Missouri to accept surrender in late August, he allowed the Emperor to remain, knowing that doing so would provide a more friendly Japanese society to allow American post-war control.

[@charlestwitchell4634]

The japs refused to surrender until the second bomb dropped.

[@brianw612]

In reality, it didn't factor into the wars end much if any at all. Japan was already finished.

[@FLuFFyDawgg]

It was still ballsy… the British had no knowledge of the a-bomb… and the northern Norway operation??? That waters COLDD!!

[@thomaslinton5765]

Torpedoes that largely didn't work for nearly two years?

[@slugface322]

That is correct.

[@fukkitful]

The Mark 14 torpedo was never tested in a live fire against real targets. To make matters worse the Bureau of Ordnance denied there was any flaws despite many complaints.