The Drydock - Episode 333

[@OtakuLoki]

Horses allowed to be unsecured in a hold aboard ship seems like an invitation for the most gruesome free surface effect demonstration laboratory. Ever.

[@mpetersen6]

Imagine a lad that goes to sea to escape mucking out the stables. And he gets stuck on a horse carrier shoveling ........

[@marckyle5895]

Equine Service and Maintenance will be a vastly underappreciated section of that Navy as the byproducts can be burned in the boiilers when dried, reducing the need for coaling.

[@onenote6619]

@@marckyle5895 You could, but I think manure needs to be dried before burning, or things can get .... messy .... as the water contained within would more-or-less explode. Tossing it into a big tub on top of the boilers would get the drying process done quickly, but the stench would be a weapon in it's own right. No idea if the end-combustion products would be better or worse to deal with than coal ash.

[@АртурМилкович]

Imagine a lad that goes to sea to escape mucking out the stables. And he gets stuck on a horse carrier shoveling ........

[@alexmoskowitz811]

Given the size of the existing potholes on the PA interstate, I doubt any drivers would even notice a crater from a 16” shell 😂😂

[@crazyeyez1502]

Facts

[@GrahamWKidd]

Now THIS is a Drydock number! 333. LOVE IT ❤❤❤

[@clc2328]

Ok Doug DeMuro........

[@darrenvanderwilt1258]

Where you reference Venturi effect, I think you’re actually describing Bernoulli’s principle of fluid flow dynamics. The flow between the two rudders in the picture may have a lower pressure compared to the outside areas, causing the two rudders to want to attract to each other. During servicing operations while underway (a fuel tanker supplying jet fuel to an aircraft carrier for example), the two ships have to actively prevent the two hulls from this attraction from “bumping” each other. There won’t be any appreciable increase in speed of the water exiting the rudder area. View them as airfoils, similar to Colin Chapman’s ground effects used on the Lotus 78 formula one race car. Awesome and educational video

[@mikemullen5563]

I think this is also one of the issues that causes ships to 'squat' in shallow water at high speed. This can cause screws to hit the bottom, and my dad mentioned his skipper wanted to show off his destroyer with a high speed run going into Rio during the war, and finding the cooling system completely blocked with small shells.

[@darrenvanderwilt1258]

@ Great observation.

[@MrNicoJac]

If they're resupplying side by side at low speed, then bumping into each other would not be that bad, right? I mean, presuming they would've had and deployed loads of those rubber bump buoy things that ships nowadays use in harbours. (not sure those were around at the time, and perhaps the forces involved would be too great for them, compared to docking in a calm harbour?)

[@АртурМилкович]

I think this is also one of the issues that causes ships to 'squat' in shallow water at high speed. This can cause screws to hit the bottom, and my dad mentioned his skipper wanted to show off his destroyer with a high speed run going into Rio during the war, and finding the cooling system completely blocked with small shells.

[@АртурМилкович]

@@mikemullen5563 Great observation.

[@Thirdbase9]

Thanks for answering my question. The four and a half feet is close enough to what I was looking for.

[@crazyeyez1502]

Quick intro to U.S. highway map icons ( as seen on Google Maps)... i276 (red and blue shield)= US Interstate highway Route 309 (whitevoval) = State Route White Shield (30 and 1 are Philadelphia area examples) = U.S. Routes. US Routes tend to cover several states. Example, US1 goes from Key West Florida to the very northern border of the state of Maine and Canada. While some State Routes change number/names at State border crossings.

[@VintageCarHistory]

Also, the numbering system for the Interstates is as follows- Odd numbered interstates travel north and south, even numbered travel east and west.

[@beboy12003]

The piece about Ark Royal was good, but 1 thing Drach forgot, was the fact that Ark Royal was the ship that lead to the death of the Bismarck. It was one of Ark Royal's torpedo bombers that struck Bismarck in the rudders, destroying her steering, and allowing the RN battleships to finish Bismarck off.

[@onenote6619]

Realistically, Bismark was doomed when the plan failed and she set off without a meaningful battle group. The torpedo, while very meaningful, was just the icing on a cake. Of course, the Wehraboos are going to chip in and say that Bismark could not have been sunk by anything other than the scuttling actions of her crew. Because burning from stem to stern while being surrounded by Navy forces determined to see her on the bottom was never going to get it done otherwise. .

[@bkjeong4302]

Yep this. Ark Royal was the biggest factor in Bismarck’s demise (Bismarck was getting destroyed at some point, but Ark Royal ensured she was getting destroyed right then and there)

[@fidjeenjanrjsnsfh]

ehh... PoW crippled Bismarck. Ark Royal just saved the Royal Navy from their own f-up.

[@RedXlV]

@onenote6619 Without the jammed rudder, there is a good chance Bismarck would've been able to reach Brest. But it's not as if the British would've just given up at that point. It's entirely plausible that King George V and Rodney would've just followed Bismarck all the way to France and bombarded her in port.

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

​@@RedXlV Hmmm. I think that the Luftwaffe might have had something to say about that course if action.

[@connorcore7008]

00:16:28 Speaking of, British Railways inherited 7,000 horses when it came about in 1949 (and had some in service until 1964)(Christian Wolmar, Fire and Steam, p269), be interesting to know when the various navies dispensed with their horses, which I presume they would have had significant numbers of in one capacity or another.

[@edwardteller7978]

Thanks for your really informative stuff, it's a pleasure to watch. I just watched your video about modular construction of German submarines; my career has been CAD mechanical design of large off shore marine and oil equipment, so I am familiar with structures and welding. My question is about how designers were able, with the tools available, to deisgn modular units that (1) fit together and (2) had a minimum amount of welding as well as accessibility to actually weld the structures together. With the equipment I designed I had to specify full penetration welds; with some of the steel plate (2" and more) full penetration welds required back gouging and a LOT of metal laid down. So my question is: how did designers back in the day, without entire CAD models actually make this work? I know this might sound elemental, but as I have also had experience with aircraft tooling design, I am aware of the need for stuff to fit together. I am actually in awe of past designs and the ability of engineers (in the American sense) to coordinate components. Anyway, maybe not a clear question, so thanks for the site!

[@Theodore-zd2mv]

I read that the U.S. Portsmouth Naval Shipyard began using modular construction for submarines as early as 1935. Mare Island and Manitowac also followed this construction method. I understand the reason was due to a limited number of slipways (Manitowac built on a river and launched their subs sideways). The weather may also been a factor (gets kind of cold in Maine and Wisconsin). Electric Boat apparently did not use modular construction because they had sufficient room for slipways.

[@onenote6619]

09:20 Anechoic tiling. Pronounced an-echo-ic. Which is to say, without echos. A passive counter to sonar, which is all about the echos. Those crazy (ancient) Greeks.

[@telescoper]

"ann-e-KO-ick" is the way I've heard it. Short e, like in "bed." Course, I'm from the Colonies, so what do I know?

[@FrankBarnwell-xi8my]

This morning I shook hands quickly with Travis of BB 35 at my store. I saw him come in, then going out just said USS Texas. We shook hands. He left. So I'm 2 degrees from Drachinifel...

[@airplanemaster1]

Drach visited the Turner Joy here in WA state once. I visited it a few times. Neither of us met. So I'm like, 37 degrees from Drach.

[@Zorglub1966]

47:51 This picture would make Killick extatic!

[@jameshain1248]

Always a great Saturday with Drach

[@NikovK]

The shape of cage masts is architecturally ideal; you can see it all over the place in cooling towers for power stations. It is the exact same shape only with a narrower base and top. It is the most efficient possible way to hold something up.

[@fidjeenjanrjsnsfh]

Yet they still need cladding to provide stiffness...

[@beargillium2369]

Cooling towers (obviously the nuclear ones you're referring to) are shaped like that to enhance cooling, not because of architectural stability. They're incredibly expensive and difficult to maintain.

[@АртурМилкович]

Cooling towers (obviously the nuclear ones you're referring to) are shaped like that to enhance cooling, not because of architectural stability. They're incredibly expensive and difficult to maintain.

[@richardcutts196]

00:05:16 As I understand it the first U-boats 'built' after the Anglo-German Naval agreement were assembled from modules built in other locations, stored in warehouses at the construction docks, then assembled and launched after the agreement was signed.

[@nicknchicken5381]

35:00 In the US: Routes run within an individual state, so 309 sounds like a route number as it is quite large. Interstates or “I or highways” run through two or more states ( except Alaska and Hawaii ).

[@JCT442]

As I recall from my USN officer days ('80s-'90s), ships with 5" guns like mine were supplied with NGFS charts of American cities "just in case"... being from Philadelphia myself, I did pay special attention to the NGFS charts of greater Philadelphia. Highly detailed you know...

[@wierdalien1]

Philly really that bad then?

[@richardearl3815]

Been waiting for this. 333 that's incredible.

[@BrianS1981]

There actually was a pre-Suez canal, built probably by the Hellenistic Pharaohs and in on again, off again use until about the collspse of Byzantium's rule in Egypt. When the owning empire had the spare resources to keep the cansl dredged, it was a very useful trade route.

[@johnfisher9692]

Thanks Drach The plan to gift Repulse to the Australian Navy sounds like a" very cunning plan" Baldric😁 I can imagine the absolute Dummy spit the US Navy would do but if it happened before the Washington Treaty there isn't much they could do. Hmm where did I park my Tardis? Want a quick trip Drach?

[@stargazer5784]

Concerning the venturi effect, it's wise to remember that the holland tunnel under New Jersey is totally open to the sea at the bottom! IE, it's a three sided water channel, not a true venturi, like those seen in the carburetors of internal combustion engines, so the hydrodynamic effects on the water flowing through should be very different. I used to work on old hot rods years ago, and I know that if I took the venturi out of a carburetor and whacked out one side of it with a chisel and then reinstalled it, it wouldn't work at all. I would posit that the narrow part of the channel will deflect some of the incoming water downward, and the wider portion farther aft, while experiencing a lower pressure would tend to draw water up within it. If I'm correct in my assumptions, these forces might have the overall effect of creating an upward pressure at the aft end of the ship at high speeds, thus helping to trim the ship up on to plane at high speed. Just a thought mind you, as all vessels move more quickly and efficiently if they are well trimmed, and not burying the stern in the water at high power settings. On smaller pleasure craft, this is accomplished using either downward facing trim tabs attached to the transom on inboard driven boats, or having trim angle adjustment available on the propeller itself, as with outboard engine or IO equipped boats. Having a vessel, large or small, properly trimmed makes a huge difference in it's high speed performance. That holland tunnel might be an example of a little known aspect of hydrodynamic engineering that isn't really talked about too much, except among credentialed naval architects or naval engineers. Here again, food for thought.

[@Baldrick99]

It will act as a still Venturi to some degree as the water is incompressible as opposed to air. The main issue is the flow is going to be extremely turbulent due to the open bottom.

[@billkew5385]

I would like to see a 5 minute video about the USS Hilo PT boat tender.

[@mjustm2]

the venturi effect is indeed the other way around, you assume basically infinite compression with your explanation. the acceleration is caused because the same amount of fluid needs to go through a smaller cross-section, and because compression needs a lot of force it ends up accelerating. The large-small-large thing is because there at the throat (the smallest cross-section) the fluid goes supersonic so the usual concepts in fluid dynamics don't really apply anymore.

[@nathand.9969]

Venturi effect will cause the water to travel faster because it is expanding to fill the vacuum that would otherwise form.

[@SamAlley-l9j]

Thanks Drach.

[@BigMoTheBlackDragon]

Ah -- the half-evil episode. 😂

[@KrzysztofDanielCiba]

Full holy one! That's a blasphemy! 😂

[@marckyle5895]

Episodes 665 & 667 will be known as the Neighbor of the Beast.

[@Dave_Sisson]

@@marckyle5895 I live at number 665 on a street in inner Melbourne and my friends call me "Neigbour of the beast". As you would expect, 665 across the road is the biggest and best house on the block.

[@fezparker2401]

as an aside someone is stealing your video transcripts and passing the video off as their own

[@Frankenspank67]

Lets find out who it is and "have a stern talking with them" if you know what I mean.

[@HGShurtugal]

Who?

[@TrickiVicBB71]

Who? Drach needs to find and report this

[@fezparker2401]

cant remember and i cant find it now

[@Drachinifel]

@@fezparker2401 email or DM me on Discord with the details as and when you come across them again :)

[@leftcoaster67]

Repulse and Reknown going to Australia and Canada. That would have been cool.

[@NightHeronProduction]

@Drachinifel You've spoken to some extent in the past about post war RN plans so my question is this. Assuming for whatever reason Britains financial situation reverts to 1930s/39 numbers by wars end what ships would the RN given the greater ability of choice due to better finances have chosen to keep, maintain, modernise, mothball and build? This also applies to dock infrastructure And assuming an alternate timeline were Hood and Repulse survived the war along with Renown what would that have meant for those ships? Could we have seen the Battlecruiser squadron persist into the late 1950s?

[@Claymore5]

Love the idea of Repulse as the Australian flagship.....she would have suited the RAN very nicely

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

A couple of hikers on the Elephant Swamp Nature Trail. Boy: Dad, I have a strange feeling of impending doom. Father: Don't be ridiculous Junior. What could possibly happen to us all the way out ...

[@73Trident]

Great DD Thnks Drach.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

1:01:53 I would presume that if they had a seperate treaty, they could have a seperate ship built another Nelson or G3 and it would not be classed as part of the agreed treaty

[@hektor6766]

I imagine they would also put blinders on the horses once they were in the slings to try to keep them as calm as possible.

[@hughboyd2904]

All in favour of Drach producing a dedicated video on the Dreadnought/ Super Dreadnought/ Fast Battleship distinctions?

[@MrNicoJac]

"Hurrah!"

[@bkjeong4302]

Honestly I’ve always viewed it as a matter of categories and subcategories. Dreadnoughts include superdreadnoughts which include fast battleships (which I personally divide into two categories, one being outright fast battleships like the Iowas/Yamatos/Littorios/KGVs/Bismarcks/etc., and the other being the ones that straddle the line between battleship and being the return of the first-gen battlecruiser like the Scharnhorsts or Dunkerques or the cruiser-derived designs like the Alaskas) I personally don’t see a point in having a “treaty battleship” designation divided in two: the 16” gun ships from the 1920s have far more in common with superdreadnoghts (and are arguably the third generation of them) than with any 1930s design, even those that followed treaty limits. There’s just FAR too much of gap in technical capability and strategic value (ironically, in opposite directions) between, say, Colorado and North Carolina.

[@arkdeniz]

And your wish was his command! Fun Friday the same week!

[@brianbalster3521]

drach? IF they had fired the New Jersey's guns while in drydock.. Would the recoil have knocked the Jersey off her blocks? Lot's of kick... LOTS of mass in the ship thanx!

[@torgerkielland6164]

If it had survived the war, could the Shinano have been converted to a decent jet fighter carrier with catapults and angled flight deck, or was she too slow?

[@brucejackman3446]

Would have thought there must been something for mules in burma

[@phoenixmercurous884]

24:54 - Would it make more sense to break super-dreadnoughts into three generations with The Big 7 being the third gen? Five of the seven were laid down before the WNT and the Nelsons are an exception to the building holiday allowed as a response to those five.

[@keithmoore5306]

Drach given a ship's hull can take it beyond re-calibrating the fire control system what systems would have to be modified to increase a guns caliber say going from a 16/42 to a 16/50?

[@VintageCarHistory]

O my word! I decommissioned two ships and the stuff that we all stole is large. Tools, trinkets, mementoes and even a few small arms (those were a bit hard to take due to the accounting but it could be done) wound up in the pockets of various sailors. I personally still have quite a few specialty tools and meaningful chunks in my household to this day. I even have a twiller. Anyone know what the tool call a 'Twiller' does?

[@garyruark9506]

Bombs raining down from airplanes did major damage to cage masts. Hell the tripod on Arizona was still standing after it blew up.

[@megodsta2256]

You mentioned a ship being gifted to a navy. Do you think it would be possible to give a navy a ship that actually weakens it for some reason (maybe cost / maintenance/…), but is just good enough that the navy in question would be very reluctant to get rid of it. Sort of like that challenge (I believe that it is called elbonian challenge or something similar) where you are in charge of procurement for a country and you order something that looks great on paper, but actually weakens the army. Sort of a white elephant or white tiger, whatever that is called. Could this be an actual method of strategic warfare/ geo politics? Has it ever happened in history (that you know of)?

[@aurictech4378]

Given that we're discussing the Venetians building an early Suez Canal, shouldn't it be "everyone and his *doge* would be fighting for control of it"?

[@Wolfeson28]

1:06:23 "She's a modern fast capital ship - hardly used! She belonged to a little old admiral who sailed her once a month for convoy escort. Oh, and would sir like some 14-inch guns with that?"

[@billbrockman779]

I imagine those sailors at 48:00 could think of ideas for the silver on display.

[@mpetersen6]

I once wondered about the Wolverine and Sable training carriers. And why happened to their fittings when they were taken into naval service. I have heard that ships fittings did make their way into some homes in cities that had dockyards. Amazing what just falls off the back of lorries.

[@washingtonradio]

If NJ fired, the best place for her to aim is the Schuylkill Expressway often called the "Surekill Expressway"

[@paulhurst7748]

00:12:10 What is the bucket like thing at the top of the Ark Royal's mast?

[@MyMongo100]

My understanding is that its a navigational aide for pilots. It rotates at 1 rpm and sends out a directional radio signal. It is synchronised to the ships clock, as are the pilots watches. So if you are a pilot and you pick up this radio pulse at say 45seconds past the minute the carrier is due west of you, 30 seconds due south etc. Pretty ingenious.

[@toddwebb7521]

On highway signs in the USA the Red White and blue shield 🛡️ sign is an Interstate (interstate whatever number) The black and white shield 🛡️ sign is a US highway (US whatever number) State highway signs vary by state but on a map they are usually a White square with black number because about 35 or so of the 50 states state highway signs look like that white square with black numbers and the state name.

[@MakeMeThinkAgain]

Why risk your fast battleships when you don't need to? The carrier air groups should sink any attacking force before the battleships can reach them. If you are just going to put down the cripples, destroyers can do that. If you are worried about a night attack, then it's best for the battleships to stay near the carriers.

[@bkjeong4302]

Better yet, why even have the fast battleships at all since you realistically won’t have to worry about night surface attacks if your fast carrier force knows what they’re doing and thus isn’t anywhere near the enemy?

[@mpetersen6]

I do know that the china for USS Illinois BB-65 or 66 is at the governor's mansion or the Statehouse in Springfield. The rest of the Iowa class l don't know.

[@ozvaldo5977]

Cheers drack

[@Frankenspank67]

Drach*

[@davidsachs4883]

Your talk on the claims of the Ark Royal being sank leads to the question: which warship was claimed to be sunk the most often in WW2? Some American battleships were claimed repeatedly

[@mikemullen5563]

Houston was the 'galloping ghost of the Java coast'. Japan is said to have reported her sunk six times. Emterprise was simply 'the galloping ghost' due to repeated claims by the Japanese to have sunk her, but I can't find a number.

[@andrewkruchoski7757]

// I live very near to the turnpike and state route 309....

[@MUSIC7052]

I think I've listened to more dry dock than any other individual entertainment medium. more than any book series, game series, television series or anything else. 333 x1h is a lot but I heard at least half twice and I think a better average would be 2.5 hours. please. doesn't calculate it.

[@SamLCalcio]

333 is my family’s lucky number 😊

[@notshapedforsportivetricks2912]

In Australia, it's the name of our favourite brand of mustard pickles.

[@themightynanto3158]

And funnily enough, U-39 COULD have sunk Ark Royal if the two torpedoes she launched at her actually worked. And i'd argue that would have had TWICE the impact the sinking of Courageous had.

[@dgthe3]

Halfway to the Devil's Drydock

[@dougjb7848]

35:15 (everyone immediately checks Google Map)

[@DanielsPolitics1]

This account of historical horses being easily spooked bastards makes me wonder, why have we still not been able to breed horses not to be easily spooked bastards?

[@wierdalien1]

You get zebras, and zebras, are in the immortal words of CGP Grey even more bastards than horses

[@jbepsilon]

Horses, in the wild, are vegetation-eating prey animals. So being easily spooked is pretty in the core of their genetically determined behavior? And then there's also the question if you do somehow manage to breed horses that are not spooked by anything, would they then be so aggressive that they wouldn't consent to being handled by humans?

[@MrNicoJac]

Uhm, we totally have. Have you met police horses? But it's just as much training as it is about breed, iirc

[@jackray1337]

333! nice

[@kurotsuki7427]

Honestly a bit supprised Ikea doesn't sell subs now.

[@mark_wotney9972]

And there were vessels dedicated to carrying female sheep - the ewe boat

[@Dave_Sisson]

Groan.

[@nmccw3245]

That was Baaad. Pee ewe. Thanks for mutton. The shear audacity to try and pull the wool over our eyes….

[@aurictech4378]

So, what happens when a ewe-boat encounters a torpedo ram?

[@nmccw3245]

@@aurictech4378 - Lamb Chops for dinner.

[@mark_wotney9972]

@ mutton

[@bigsarge2085]

👍👍

[@HGShurtugal]

👍

[@bigsarge2085]

⚓️

[@nicholasroach3394]

Wonderful 😂

[@willythemailboy2]

Anechoic is pronounced An-ech-o-ic. The base word is echo.

[@luvr381]

Anechoic is pronounced an-ek-o-ic.

[@bkjeong4302]

38:20 I don’t think either usage of fast battleships actually solves the issue of how they’re even supposed to ENGAGE enemy surface units in a war where battles are happening at ranges of hundreds of miles.

[@merlinwizard1000]

35th, 19 January 2025

[@Thom4ES]

I weild ,alittle , boat building is a big thing around here , how to make a boat , how boats break ,from nature or acts of man ...how to float and how to not sink ....emergency repairs...this ! If it helps is whats of intrest to me...thanks ! C ya!

[@carloschristanio4709]

Question: how did the various nations approach war games, both before the war and during?

[@АртурМилкович]

Where you reference Venturi effect, I think you’re actually describing Bernoulli’s principle of fluid flow dynamics. The flow between the two rudders in the picture may have a lower pressure compared to the outside areas, causing the two rudders to want to attract to each other. During servicing operations while underway (a fuel tanker supplying jet fuel to an aircraft carrier for example), the two ships have to actively prevent the two hulls from this attraction from “bumping” each other. There won’t be any appreciable increase in speed of the water exiting the rudder area. View them as airfoils, similar to Colin Chapman’s ground effects used on the Lotus 78 formula one race car. Awesome and educational video