U.S. Navy Rifle Squads?

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Tenacious Trilobite's video: • Winchester-Lee Navy PO...
Sources:
• Standard Organization Book for 2100-ton Destroyers: archive.hnsa.org/doc/destroye...
• U.S. Navy Landing Party Manual (1960): ia800609.us.archive.org/17/it...
• USS Hudson (DD-475) Roster: web.ccsu.edu/vhp/Weil_Edward/...
• U.S. Navy History & Heritage Command article on Naval Infantry: www.history.navy.mil/research...
"The Naval Brigade: Its Organization, Equipment, and Tactics" (1887): www.usni.org/magazines/procee...

[@BattleOrder]

Tenacious Trilobite's Lee Navy video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpOYXmWidsiCmpI Here is the 1938 version of the 1950/60 landing party manuals I referenced. Some interesting differences include heavier organic weapons (like 81mm mortars and 37mm guns) and larger scales (with brigades as tactical units under an admiral rather than just battalions): babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=hvd.32044080712086&view=1up&seq=30&q1=rifle%20squad The pre-war Bluejackets manual also gives a table of personal equipment of Rifle Squads on page 691 that's a little different from the more specific example listed in the video: ia800207.us.archive.org/6/items/bluejacketsmanua00mcle/bluejacketsmanua00mcle.pdf

[@pyeitme508]

Awesome!

[@QuizmasterLaw]

Leave it to the Navy to form an infantry squad from two divisions...

[@paleoph6168]

Tenacious Trilobite just uploaded another video!

[@soonerfrac4611]

The other water grunts. Even more rainbow warriors!

[@BattleOrder]

@@QuizmasterLaw in the context of that statement, divisions were administrative subdivisions of personnel aboard a ship. A Fletcher class destroyer had a 1st and 2nd Division, ordnance division, engineers division, communication division and supply division. Each division had three sections for watches

[@williamlydon2554]

During the Philippines campaign in 1941-'42, sailors and Marines were formed into an adhoc battalion for combat operations ashore on the Bataan Peninsula.

[@RK-cj4oc]

Poor sailors.

[@WellBattle6]

At least they had more training with their equipment than the Russian Naval Infantry suddenly given APCs and tanks just before fighting at Vuhledar.

[@countofmontechristo6507]

​​@@WellBattle6 Well, its not like those guys had anything to do otherwise. What with the Black Sea Fleet having become awfully passive for some completly unknowable reason and all that. So you might as well just throw them at the proverbial Wall and see what happens. Beats having to feed, cloth and pay them.

[@joeosman2629]

Comdr. Francis J. Bridget commanded the naval battalion at Mariveles, which along with five grounded Air Forces pursuit squadrons, defended a large section of beach from the Japanese landing during the Battle of the Points. During the battle the USAAF's 21st Pursuit Squadron made the first amphibious landing by US troops in WWII. On 8 February 1942, 20 men of the squadron in two whaleboats landed on Quinauan Point on Bataan against the Japanese 2nd Battalion 20th Infantry as Phillipine Scouts moved down ravines from the cliffs above. The Japanese had some air support from dive bombers. I don't know if there were any casualties. The Australians like to boast that they were the first to defeat the Japanese on land at Milne Bay but they were defeated by the Americans in the first battle of Wake Island and the Battle of the Points which both occurred before Milne Bay.

[@black10872]

@@countofmontechristo6507 I'll give the Russian Black Sea Fleet some credit. At least its more useful than the German Navy was during WW1. All that money spent on building top notch Dreadnoughts, Battleships, Battlecruisers, Cruisers, Frigates, and Destroyers to be on par with the Royal Navy when the time comes to use them. But, when the time came....the Kaiser was too afraid use them!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Interesting! This reminds me of something a WW2 US Navy vet told me. Part of Navy boot camp was rifle marksmanship, taught by Marines in fact, and on their first day on the "Big Range" after welcoming them the Gunnery Sergeant in charge asked if there were any questions. One question asked was "Hey Gunny, what are we doing here? I thought the Marines handled stuff like this!" The Gunny answered, "Most times we do son, but there ain't enough Marines to go around. So the situation may come up where YOU'RE gonna have to be the Marines! So pay attention and learn what we teach you here, and you'll be OK!"

[@JRyan-lu5im]

It wasn't that shocking to find your ship getting destroyed during the early-mid stages of the war either - so the prospect of being small arms proficient would be handy if you're ship wrecked behind enemy lines.

[@Perichoresis777]

Very interesting. Thank you for sharing this story!

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@Perichoresis777 You're welcome! There's a second part to the story. After they'd been qualified on the Big Range they were brought to what we'd call today a "Rapid Reaction Range." The Marine sergeant there told them "OK guys, up on the Big Range they taught you how to shoot targets. Here we're going to teach you how to shoot people." Which they did.

[@msgfrmdaactionman3000]

I went to Navy boot camp in 1981 and we never shot any guns, lol.

[@usnchief1339]

@@msgfrmdaactionman3000 And I in 1984...no firearms training. We served in the not so combat exciting era.

[@mcwildstyle9106]

“The navy is the most specialized amphibious force” Jarheads: “And I took that personally”

[@eater_of_garbage_]

They sure would be mad if they could figure out how to use youtube

[@redball7362]

I served onboard the U.S.S. Schofield (FFG-3) during our 1983-84 deployment to the Persian Gulf. We had a Ship's Self Defense Force which we called the SDF. I was not on the SDF but it was made up of crew members mostly from Weapons Department (BM, GMG, FTG, FTM and STG rates). They did not train to land on beaches but if we were required to board a ship I would have served as the boat Signalman as I was the designated boat Signalman for a boat rescue with our Motor Whale boat. We also had a USMC Stinger missile squad of 5 (1-Squad Leader-4 Watchstanders) Marines from Cherry Point, North Carolina.

[@edwardpate6128]

I was on board USS Preble DDG-46 from 81 to 85 and was part of the ships self defense force(even though I was an Electronics Technician). We were trained to both be a reaction force in foreign ports and to be boarding/landing parties if needed. We were issues surplus never issued USMC olive drab uniforms from the 1960s/70s' to wear if the need arose vs dungarees. One of the many things I loved about the duty was the opportunity to go to the range and shoot WAY more often than anyone else on board did and we were still using the amazing M-14 rifle.

[@tail-endcharlie9856]

My dad was A-Ganger on-board FFG-16 in 76 to 81 I believe. His GQ was rifle squad, he told me they had M14s on-board with the "Full Giggle" switches, and 1911s from WW2. I don't know much about his time with the Sprauge, but I know what the enlisted said about the boat, "Sweet 16, laid in Maine' the officers wives were not amused". He spent most of the 80s up in Trident Facility with YTT-10, at Midway, Flew helicopters off of Guam, and spent the late 80s teaching Naval engineering in the great lakes, before transferring back to surface. He was put on the USS Ranger and given O1 slots at E-7 and drove the Admiral around. Spent 87 to 93 on the Ranger, he decommissioned that fat fussuck. Sorry for an unnecessary history lesson, I don't get to talk about my dad that often.

[@sli-fox]

It was called VBSS when I was in. My job was to escort the boarding officer to the bridge. The only gear we had was shotguns, pistols, m-14s and pistol rated Kevlar vests. These days, the VBSS guys look like Navy Seals with full kit and m4s and get way more training for CQB or whatever they call it today.

[@BlueJayWaters]

Yeah they're called Visit, Board, Search, and Seizure (VBSS) since the 90's. Most rates are able to be part of the team's, and they're trained very well for the most part.

[@nghtwtchmn129]

By contrast, the guards aboard the USS Cole at the time of the bombing were carrying unloaded weapons and had strict orders not to fire unless fired upon or ordered to do so by an officer. Does anyone else recall reports that sailors were carrying M-14 rifles that they didn't know how to use? There is now a requirement that a certain number of the crew be trained in force protection, correct?

[@Xenophon1]

The movie "The Sandpebbles" (1966) has a lot of naval landing party action set in 1920's China.

[@jeffreyskoritowski4114]

Excellent movie and the book was even better.

[@philipbrening433]

During the Chinese warlord era

[@davidcox3076]

The Yangtze Patrol is almost a forgotten episode in history. The film helps bring it alive and is very well worth a watch.

[@philipbrening433]

Yeah also the KZbin channel The Great War gave a good overview on the warlord era

[@netowl3922]

and some of the shots were from the movie "The Wind and the Lion" (1975)

[@kalubpassio8903]

In similar nature of the US Navy now has anti-piracy teams made up of crewmates who volunteered and passed special training programs

[@Battlemagesoldier]

Sometimes it’s not voluntary

[@littlejimmy7402]

@@Battlemagesoldier Don't be silly, the whole military is voluntary. Doesn't mean someone else doesn't volunteer you. I'm sure if you grew up with a rifle in your hand you were getting volunteered.

[@alanpeyrot6471]

do they have to pass the specal traning program?

[@factsoverfeelings1776]

VBSS.

[@factsoverfeelings1776]

@@alanpeyrot6471 yes

[@useodyseeorbitchute9450]

I don't think it's fair to say that they lacked artillery. If you start count number of naval guns, then in relation to meager number of foot soldiers, they would be very artillery heavy force.

[@johnpjones1775]

that's true to a point, however once the shore party had to operate 10 miles inland the artillery support available dwindled significantly. today if we reinstituted a similar situation, the shore party would likely be without any artillery support at around the 6-8 miles point because a burke or a tico probably isn't coming within 6 miles of shore to provide NGFS. helos and fixed wing aircraft would likely do just fine. also i think in the past they did have small field guns they'd take ashore in WWI and WWII and earlier.

[@jrggrop]

@@johnpjones1775 I suspect they didn't envision them ever operating that far in from the coast.

[@JD-tn5lz]

Without ANGLICO or other similar assets ashore, there is essentially no gunfire support from offshore. Landing parties aren't so much an assault force, but more an intervention unit...as in, help secure naval facilities ashore, US held properties such as embassies, protection of US citizens, etc. They weren't generally intended as much more than a stopgap measure. Naval landing parties are about as old as navies and pirates. One matter worth mentioning, is that Marines often held duties aboard ship generally outside of "traditional" Marine tasks...such as manning gun stations afloat.

[@johnpjones1775]

@@jrggrop lol, in the old days they often operated outside of naval gunfire's range, even into the 20th century they regularly operated outside of the cover of NGFS, as well as the last known use of naval landing parties in vietnam were often outside of the range of any NGFS including the battleships, or just at the end of their range. when naval shore/landing parties were first used there was essentially no marine corps. marines were primarily for ship security, to protect officers from mutinies and repel boarding parties.

[@joeosman2629]

@@johnpjones1775 In days of old Marines were not under Army orders until they were out of the range of their ship's guns.

[@canicheenrage]

In France, naval infantry (infanterie de marine, aka "Marsouins" =marines ) have heavy means but aren't a separate corps, they're part of the army ( accompanied by "Bigors", artillerymen ); The "fusilliers marins" , navy riflemen, are attached to ships and originally trained to mostly board and prevent boarding, and part of the navy. Didn't prevent them from fighting as an infantry brigade since ww1 ( see battle of Dixmude for instance).

[@SidneyBroadshead]

_Infanterie de la Marine_ were the former Colonial troops ( _Infanterie Coloniale_ ), renamed after 1958. _Bigors_ are the Colonial artillery. They were formerly under the Ministry of the Marine, which managed France's colonial possessions. It's mostly a continuation of battle honors by now rather than a separate corps. But it can enlist foreign recruits from former French Union countries.

[@canicheenrage]

@@SidneyBroadshead They're way older than that, and not limited to colonial troops. Ordinary Sea Companies 1622-1626, Regiments of the Navy 1626-1673, Free Companies of the Navy 1673-1761, Troops of the Navy 1769-1900, Colonial troops1900-1958. And i know there were foreign units in naval infantry centuries ago, is it still the case ?

[@stephena1196]

Before WWI too, 1813 at Lützen the Marine Division (former marines and navy gunners) made an outstanding infantry formation and held the right of the army, repulsing seven enemy cavalry charges.

[@stephena1196]

They formed the major part of Marshall Marmont's 6th Army Corps. In his Memorial at St. Helena Napoleon is reported as saying, "I especially liked sailors, I admired their courage and patriotism".

[@SidneyBroadshead]

@@canicheenrage I never said they weren't. They were Colonial Troops from 1900 to 1958. And they were "of the Sea" (overseas colonies), not Navy. _Fusiliers Marins_ ("Naval Infantry") were armed sailors from the Navy. They were controlled by different ministries.

[@williamsaltiel-gracianmph613]

Definitely consistent with the stories my late grandfather used to tell. He joined the US Navy as a Fireman in 1916 and had made Machinist (no, not Machinist's MATE, but MACHINIST = Warrant Officer) by the time he left that Navy in 1922. He was able to turn that experience into a reserve commission in the Army Corps of Engineers. He retired in 1946 as a Lieutenant Colonel, and had commanded a construction battalion on the ALCAN Highway project during WW2.

[@tdnavy1066]

As a Sailor this was awesome to see and I was just reading about this very topic not to long ago. What people fail to realize is that a lot of the early history of the Marines and some of their early battles and interventions well obviously the Marines were there a good chunk of the fighting Force was actually made up of sailors.

[@misterfonix]

This is actually pretty typical throughout history, Marines supplemented naval shore parties because usually there weren’t enough Marines aboard to conduct whatever operation by themselves (that’s what “the few” means in the saying “the few, the proud, the Marines”). In the ww2 era it wasn’t feasible to have a detachment of Marines on board a ship smaller than a heavy cruiser.

[@mikloridden8276]

It can still happen, my Leading Petty officer was pulled off his ship to support the army in a gun fight during the fight in Iraq

[@tdnavy1066]

@@mikloridden8276 there were thousands of Sailors mostly Reservists that were dirt Sailors in Iraq and Afghanistan for the Army.

[@billyjacc]

​@@tdnavy1066 Saaaay whut??! Please tell me more...🤔

[@MbisonBalrog]

@@tdnavy1066 what does that mean?

[@rannenw6207]

In Naval Bootcamp, I read my Blue Jackets manual, and for our final testing course, which is called Battle Stations, it had a section of defending a point with small arms. They did away with that before I went. You also had to jump over board as if the ship was being sunk and have to survive simulated shark attacks, which were Naval Diver, Swimmers, and Seals pulling you under. Kinda wish I got that in boot camp as while at the time, we never actually got into a fight it is still useful training.

[@BlueJayWaters]

Jesus if only battlestations was that fun. I got burnt lungs from all the smoke from firefighting and a busted knee from my group dropping a stretcher with a mannequin on it on my knee. We stay up for 48 hours just to be wet, cold, and jostled around the "ship."

[@rannenw6207]

@@BlueJayWaters I know it sucked.

[@donkeysaurusrex7881]

They didn’t simulate the shark attack very well if most people “survived.”

[@getrehkt3139]

Interesting

[@titanuranus3095]

@@donkeysaurusrex7881 Out of all ca 500 shark attacks the last 23 years 89.4% has been non-lethal, so you are wrong there.

[@grandpaweber2097]

My Dad served in the Navy between WWII and Korea. During the Chicom takeover, the Navy was involved in evacuating US civilians and due to postwar drawdowns, bluejackets augmented Marine landing parties. My Dad, who definitely knew which end of the rifle the bullets came out of, was a natural pick. He served on the USS Saint Paul as a Carpenter's mate.

[@TheMrPeteChannel]

Carpenter's mate? Forgive my ignorance but weren't 99% of navy ships steel by then? Did they like make cargo boxes?

[@Montananmooselover]

@@TheMrPeteChannel just because it is mostly metal does not mean you can not repair metal or on crew cabins carpet in areas maybe officers quarters etc

[@grandpaweber2097]

I remember my Dad telling me about some memorable projects they made for the Capt. but I never asked him about what his "regular" duties were. I do know he was also one of the official buglers, another of the Capt.'s ideas, and that his battle station was shell jerker for a quad 40mm.

[@Fifthmiracle]

@@TheMrPeteChannel Battleships still teak wood decks, as did some heavy cruisers. But battle damage like pluging holes, and bracing watertight doors was often done with wood even in the age of iron and steel. Wood's light, cheap, and easy to work.

[@TenaciousTrilobite]

Hey nice video! Good to see the bluejackets actually getting some recognition

[@paleoph6168]

You too! :D

[@theophilhist6455]

This really was a great video that reminded me of so much I forgot having spent my time in the Gator Navy

[@MbisonBalrog]

Is this what Columbus hockey team named for?

[@theophilhist6455]

@@MbisonBalrog No. The Bluejackets are named for the Union soldiers of the Civil War. Ohio provided a very large number and lost the 2nd to 3rd most men in the conflict

[@MbisonBalrog]

@@theophilhist6455 they called blue jackets also?

[@joebutterman3084]

Well, on my destroyer, we had a landing party. It was commanded by an ensign, usually the most junior. However, there was once a jg who actually wanted the job. We carried garand's except for me, I got to be the BAR man. We were used once in Gitmo when it had to be demonstrated that we had such a team. There were four cutlasses in the armory. These had to be highly polished. We were called "Mister _______'s Raiders". It was great fun. This was 1963.

[@stevefarris9433]

I joined the US Navy in 1955. Grew up in a hunting family. Was well acquainted with a rifle. My first ship was

[@stevefarris9433]

Some how lost the page on my last comment. Joined the US Navy in 1955. First ship was the USS Gardiners Bay, a small seaplane tender. We spent several months in the Pescadores Islands between Taiwan and the mainland of China. I don't remember Rifle squads but was assigned as a rifleman on the bridge during repel boarders drills. Lot of fun doing target practice in the Taiwan straits. In 1958 I was a third class Quartermaster/signalman and we provided support for the Nationalist Taiwan forces in the conflict over Matsu and Quemoy islands. Earned the extended China service medal for that brief action.

[@paleoph6168]

Nice to see Tenacious Trilobite getting some recognition. Same for the Lee Navy rifle, a unique design by the James Paris Lee.

[@mikemcdougall2435]

There’s something I love about non-standard or ad-hoc infantry formations like naval infantry or Air Force infantry.

[@biggiouschinnus7489]

A lot of ad-hoc formations used by the British in the battle of France, if you're interested. Mostly artillerymen, engineers, labourers and line of communications troops, but they did a remarkably good job.

[@mikemcdougall2435]

@@biggiouschinnus7489 I’ll definitely check that out thanks

[@bcompany650]

Navy Landing Troops is underrated.

[@davidscott3820]

Outstanding report. I both saved and shared. My dad was a navy seaman first class in ww2. He was with "the amphibs" aboard the rocket boat #769, nicknamed "the blue goose". He was a sharpshooter and carried a m-1 carbine when scouting an island as a landing party member. Fought at liberation of the Philippines and the battle of Okinawa. Taught judo by the marines at little creek, VA. In 1946 his 23 man crew went to China to rescue missionaries and Chinese War orphans from communist killers he was 19. When he came home he brought with him his m-1 garand rifle.

[@squantosquats1465]

2:29 those are actually coast guard shore/landing party members. You can tell because the boat number: CG-25461 and the presence of dogs. They were mostly used for landing zone flank security and then harbor, port security, and policing once the beach head had been established

[@cgmason7568]

Depending on the operation. Places like Greenland were all Coast Guard

[@Random3716]

The boat they're jumping out of is also one of the later iterations of the Beebe-McClelland surfboat, which was a classic Coast Guard small boat that originated with the one of Coast Guard's predecessors; the US Life Saving Service. The shield emblem that distinguished a Coast Guardsman from a Navy Sailor on the uniforms of that time is also visible on the lower right sleeves of several of the crew as well.

[@safriedrich1631]

glad you showed the clip from the movie : " The Lion and the Wind" where the landing (raiding) party was made up of Marines and Sailors. The director ( John Milius) did his homework. Another good historical/fiction of Navy riflemen during the time of US "gunboat diplomacy" in China, is the classic : "Sand Pebels".... Steve McQueen nailed it... badass with that BAR !

[@jona.scholt4362]

Definitely don't want to use highly trained ship personnel as infantry men, especially those working in engineering. But in a pinch I guess you use who you have!

[@paxundpeace9970]

They were firemen back then those were people of the lowest rank and not that skilled. Still an integral landing/beach or boarding force let alone a ship self defense force would be from good use.

[@GreenBlueWalkthrough]

I mean the US Army likes to(Or used to) give MBT crew shotguns... Incase of they have to breach a building and fight in CQC.

[@petergray7576]

Bear in mind that the US Marine Corps actually shrank significantly following the US Civil War as wooden sailing ships were replaced by faster steamships that did away with the traditional sniper niche that Marines filled. During the 1880s, the US Navy established two ashore regiments of Blue Jackets to defend its naval bases, and these were retained until the early 1900s when the Theodore Roosevelt administration revived the USMC as the navy's primary expeditionary force.

[@Shrike58]

I can remember during the peak of Operation "Iraqi Freedom" that Sec. Def. Rumsfeld wanted to establish naval infantry battalions, so overextended were the Marines between Afghanistan and Iraq, and so unwilling were USN personnel to accept transfers to the Marines.

[@thewhiteknightman]

A known unknown he wished to explore in the line of fire, it seems

[@joeosman2629]

The Navy set up an individual augmentee (IA) program to prepare sailors for convoy escort duties. These Sandbox Sailors had to complete the minimum three week Navy IA Combat Training (NIACT) course conducted at Ft. Jackson in Columbia, SC. The Air Force set up something similar. The Navy also required every Seabee battalion to maintain two convoy escort teams. The teams began operating in Iraq in 2004. This allowed them to be self-escorting. The Seabees are all given combat training by the US Marines.

[@ak9989]

My dad was a ww2 marine who fought on Okinawa and Guam. He was also a China Marine. He took photos of sailors with rifles in Tientsin in 45 armed and wearing leggins and webbing. In fact he loves the Sand Pebbles movie for its depiction of China sailors before the war.

[@sergioomar9090]

Good movie👍

[@victorwaddell6530]

He was a badass warrior , and the sailors he served with are badass warriors too .

[@joeosman2629]

Marines at that tome got a five dollar bonus for shooting Expert. Five dollars was also the amount they left on their White Russian mistress' dresser every month for her to live on. What an incentive to shoot well! One old China Marine told me that Chinese boys would gather around new guys to get to be their boy and take care of their hooch for them. He picked one and the kid did such a good job he gave him a quarter. The next day the boy's father came and told him his son would never respect him if he made more than his father.

[@safriedrich1631]

Steve McQueen nailed that role... was badass with that BAR !!

[@ImmortalSugimoto792]

Awesome video! My grandfather was on a Fletcher-class Destroyer during WWII and I have a picture of him from September 1945 where he is carrying a 1903 Springfield in Tokyo after the surrender. Your video gives it a lot more context!

[@dominichix5728]

While stationed in Norfolk I found a U.S. Navy Landing-Force and Small-Arm Instructions manual from 1916 that covers this.

[@RadGuy8541]

Great video, American Naval history is filled with examples of brave sailors fighting as "Infantry forces". One fictional and cinematic example is the movie "The Sand Pebbles". Starring Steve McQueen, Richard Attenborough,, Candace Bergen, and Richard Crenna. In this film the US Navy demonstrates its prowess as Naval Infantry, despite the ending.

[@c3aloha]

Best use of a BAR in the movies. Let’s go Holman!

[@toastnjam7384]

Also in The Wind and the Lion (1975) where they went in with the Marines.

[@shaider1982]

Interestingly, age of sail/musketry/ you tuber Brandon F noted that in thr British Navy during the age of sail would reguraly have sailors serve as infantry as a stop gap for conflict: way faster to have them deploy rather than wait for additional Royal Marines from Englad. I think he mentioned that Nelson's injuries were from land based fighting.

[@TheArmourersBench]

Haha Wind and the Lion feature nice. Great video.

[@gunner678]

Sailors and airmen are still riflemen in the last resort.

[@jantjarks7946]

Yep, they were commonly dubbed Fehler Divisionen, fail divisions. The failed Meyer did want his divisions too. 🤺🤷😉

[@cm275]

Even today, there’s reports that a lot of Ukrainian sailors have been retained as infantry since there’s really no role for them given Russia’s naval superiority. I’ve also seen some ramblings that Russia has been using sailors to plug gaps too but stuff from Russia is harder to confirm since there’s so much disinformation (of all types) flowing around things.

[@simonsnaplick895]

In the mid '70s, I was on a Landing Party/Boarding Party team on a Knox-class frigate. We were armed with M-14s and had an M-60.

[@coreybenson3122]

In the 50s, the M1 garands in navy use were converted to .308 from .30-06. Im lucky enough to own one.

[@ilsergentesalvucci3544]

I like he said ' "limited" to naval gunfire and aviation for support' with a straight face/voice

[@jamalwilburn228]

The Japanese had Special Naval Landing Forces, which were used quite heavily during WW2. Unfortunately, they often get mislabeled as "Japanese Marines" because no one wants the Navy to have their moments

[@mikloridden8276]

Haha I always told Marines they were a Naval Asset, pissed them off but they are under our department with reason

[@jamalwilburn228]

@@mikloridden8276 The Marines have forgotten their roots and are starting to think they're an elite version of the Army. They are a Naval Asset meant to secure beaches for ships, defend ships, and attack ships in raiding parties.

[@joeosman2629]

Most country's Marines are part of their navies and some use naval ranks. The US Marines are the only ones that are an independent branch. The SNLF was amphibiously trained so they were indeed Marines.

[@lukejohnston4666]

​@@joeosman2629 current japanese marines (ARDB) is under the army branch like France

[@torinjones3221]

That's mostly because marines are integrated into the navy in most militaries. Infact US marines aren't really marines except for their origin and name. And are basically just a second army. Sure they may splash about in the pool a bit during training but they're far from the international definition of a marine force. Marines being elite infantry usually part of the navy (though some are in the army) who are trained in amphibious warfare.

[@earljohnson50]

The Navy has been doing this as far back as the Revolution when the Navy and Marines seized Fort Nassau. Throughout the 1800s they had “landing parties” that took part mostly in smaller wars or expeditions like the Far East. There were multiple engagements sailors played a part in in the western theatre of the Civil War on river gun boats supporting operations against Confederate river forts. In between WWI and WWII you had the climax of the Yangtze Patrol that used gunboats to protect American interests in China. In addition to what was talked about WWII here, the submarine USS Barb landed a hand picked party of the crew in Japan to blow up a train which was ultimately a success. After WWII the navy became more of a support branch (transporting MEUs, aircraft carriers, naval gunfire etc) as the dawn of rapid air mobility and helicopters meant the Air Force airlifting soliders in country to a secure air field or using helicopters on a carrier to bring in Marines. Vietnam still had naval personnel in direct combat such as during Operation GAME WARDEN via Patrol and Swift Boats and the most highly decorated sailor in history, BM1 James Williams was one of them. Recently, Naval forces have been involved in Iraq using smaller riverine combatant craft to deter insurgent movement and shelter near inland rivers and lakes.

[@Peterbilt359]

I found a photo of my dad on deck of destroyer Collet he was on in Korea. He had a carbine and ammo belt, he said they were sent to help the marines when they landed. He survived that and got back to ship and a shell came in and killed everyone in his compartment but him. The shell followed him back to San Diego. A year later he was sent back to Collet to work in same compartment. He said it was horrible to go back. We still have the shell. He stayed in 20 then civil service on ships. He's 93 now and will pass soon. Still tough as hell.

[@BlueJayWaters]

Very embarrassed to admit, but I was US Navy sailor and had no clue we had actual regiments. They never talked about it in basic, and I was a Hospital Corpsman, so I knew what we would do on land but not other rates. I knew we had shore patrol squads, but I genuinely can't envision combat sailors in rifle squads that aren't Seabeas. Fun thing to learn

[@thisguy3807]

if you ever do Ship borne security stuff you will learn about it

[@andrewbarten7347]

Great vid. Someone needs to write a book about fighting sailors. The boarding & landing parties, beach units, Royal Navy Regiment, clearance divers, UDTs, EODs etc. Back in the pirate days, jack tar sailors did more hand to hand fighting than the average red coat.

[@jedispartancoolman]

I'm not sure if they changed it since I left but my ship had what was called SRF-A. We were tasked with doing sqaud maneuvers that you typically wouldn't see with non combat rated jobs on the ship. We would respond, defend, attack, breach and clear and were trained with various weapons found on the ship such as the M9, m4/16, m500, m240b, and the m2. A team typically consisted of 4 to 6 members with the highest rated( or more often than not the most competent) being the fire team lead Despite me not having a combat rated job( cook) it was the best 4 years of my life and a morale booster to those lucky enough to be assigned to the duty.

[@kellysnipe9586]

The photo of some sailors leaping out of a small boat onto a beach, which appears at around 2:30 or so, and is also used as the cover photo for this video, is actually a photo of the U.S. Coast Guard Beach Patrol. Note the letters "CG" on the side of the boat. The Beach Patrol was a special division of the Coast Guard which was set up during WW2, to enhance border security and to act as the "eyes and ears" of the regular Army and Navy. It used thousands of men, horses, and dogs, with many of the animals being donated by private owners, racetracks, kennels and such (in return the owner received a certificate, suitable for framing, which stated that the dog had performed a valuable service to his country. Below this the dog would "sign" with his paw placed in an ink pad). An excellent book on this subject is "Prints In The Sand". The author did really first-rate research, and the book is well above average.

[@MaxwellAerialPhotography]

“Firesupport was limited to naval gunfire and naval aviation.” My dude, thats significantly heavier artillery than equivalent sized marine or army units have access to. A single platoon from a destroyer had the 5 5inch (127mm) guns of the destroyer backing them up, and scale up from there.

[@Meatful]

Very interesting, and its nice to see shorter, casual content while bigger stuff is in the works. Keep up the great work!

[@davidk6269]

Who else thought of the classic film "The Sand Pebbles" starring the great Steve McQueen?

[@peeonu25]

I was suprised to find out it was the USCG that piloted the landing crafts for the beach invasions.

[@stralabastro142]

God bless you man for sharing the sources you use in your videos

[@Xeemix]

Honestly some of these short videos are real gems!

[@americanmilitiaman88]

I was in the Navy Seabees and our squad and battalion was modeled after the marine corps. We had a marine gunnery sergeant that is attached to each battalion that oversaw combat and weapons training. Gave pointers to leadership and troops during field exercises. When our battalion deployed there was mainbody that had the CO XO and CMC with a larger number of seabees. The rest were spread out as detachments. The gunnery sgt was attached to main body but would travel to det sites to make sure all is good. Seabees primary mission is construction with the training to protect our selves and continue the mission. Essentially naval infantry that build

[@thomast8539]

Just to be clear clear for the kids that have no idea...SeaBee comes from CB which stands for Construction Battalion.

[@racerm50]

I was a Seabee (Construction Mechanic) I retired in 2007

[@MbisonBalrog]

More like builders that need self defense in case attacked.

[@Cherb123456]

Loved this, thanks for the joy!

[@dr.froghopper6711]

I was Amphibious Navy and Naval Intelligence. We carried M-16s and 1911’s. We also used grenade launchers. I was a Petty Officer 2nd Class.

[@KrazyKong108]

Cool video! Reminds me of the Steve McQueen movie "The Sand Pebbles". The sailors were on a gunboat on the Yangtze River and there's the awesome battle scenes that have McQueen using a BAR.

[@thomast8539]

Holman ! Come down ! Holman ! Come down !

[@tyronemarcucci8395]

I was assigned to the Lexington's (CVA16) landing party (more Marine than sailor) as the HQ squad signalman.. Played Marine for one week on the beach. Ate a lot of rice fro some reason..lived in pup tents, Not fun. had that in the Boy Scouts

[@stevenhall2408]

I helped train a blue jacket party off the USS Vandergrift in com block weapons at Camp Pendleton just before they deployed to the Persian Gulf in the 80s. We also checked out their M60s on the MG range. My dad was navy 47-58 and often was issued an M1 Carbine. Sailors can fight on land, too! BTW, love the "Wind and the Lion" clip.

[@MightyMouse76]

This was a great video. Very interesting and not something you see very often.

[@upperroomtoo]

I am so glad I found this. I was telling a friend in my church who just retired from the Navy about the "Blue Jackets" and he had never heard of them.

[@glenmcinnes4824]

Also known as "Armsmen" used for Boarding Parties, Landing Parties, Shipboard Security and Protective Ashore Details (of stuff like Senior Officers, VIP's, important supplies and Pay-role) still used by many navies to this day.

[@TheGrenadier97]

Great topic and very interesting to see the relation between the formed units and the ships of the naval force.

[@chakra4735]

In 1843, John Fremont participated in the US conquest of California. Fremont , as an army officer, had just explored his way from Missouri to California via the Oregon Trail. In California, Fremont was given charge of a rifle company of US Navy sailors mounted on mules. He had a navy ensign as a lieutenant.

[@bumpercoach]

astounding you could do this w/o mentioning THE SAND PEBBLES or Horatio Hornblower's shore actions

[@Doc_Egan]

Good stuff. I would love to see more on this topic.

[@CGRLCDR]

Nice video and very informative. One important fact. Long boat CG-25461 with a bunch of armed sailors jumping onto the beach - that was a US Coast Guard beach patrol practicing a beach assault against German saboteurs. Those were Coasties (not Navy sailors) with military dogs landing in a 25' Coast Guard long boat, probably during WWII.

[@stevemolina8801]

I served on a DE in 73-75. As a GMG I was on the ships landing pary, The party leader was a 1st class, then myself a 3rd class and one corpsman. The rest were assorted deck ratings. As small arms we had M-14 rifles, M-60 machine guns, 1911 side arms. And a couple old trench shotguns. There was no training for this, the party was organized as a just in case.

[@archemicon960]

This is very interesting. Thanks!

[@blank557]

Well done! Great video giving credit to Sailors employed as land troops. Really like the photo of Sailors with rifles disembarking off a boat with German Shepards.

[@Victor-cu5uj]

As an avid watcher of Battle Order and the Battleship New Jersey youtube channel, which often goes into detail about damage control, I am curious about how damage control would work when a large part of DC was assigned to act as a rifle squad. I wonder how the effectiveness of DC would be impacted if the rifle squad was off-ship, and issues emerged.

[@DaHuntsman1]

Personally i'd feel like the landing party detachments are usually made up of men that a relevant department could afford to lose, or the threat of having to undergo damage control is minimal.

[@natejones902]

My great Uncle Bob was a member of a WWII Navy Rifle Squad in the capturing of Sardinia in the Med. I asked him specifically on the fire power they had and mentioned here, they had 1903 Springfields and Thompsons. He said "Thank God no Germans meet us or we'd been wiped out!"

[@Graham-ce2yk]

Interesting video, the RN equivalent formations were also known as Bluejackets, the vast majority of these 'Naval Brigades' were formed in the 19th Century with the last being formed during the 1940 Norwegian Campaign, by that time someone in the RN had recognized the firepower issue and capital ships (Battlecruisers & Battleships) each carried a dismantled howitzer, these did see use during the short period of time that last Naval Brigade existed.

[@Graham-ce2yk]

I've found the book I read on the RN's Naval Brigade's, it's entitled 'Seapower Ashore' edited by Peter Hoare, it was published in 2001.

[@dogstar7]

"...but it's cool" Coast Guard kicks butt Semper Paratus

[@jchrystsheigh]

I was technically part of the Naval Landing Party on USS AUSTIN back around 2000, but the ensign in charge of it was a shirker and we never did anything other thank clean our M60s once. We were also armed with M14s and M1911s, but AUSTIN was a pretty old ship. Of course we also had several hundred combat engineer Marines on board . . .

[@blakedavis2447]

I just got out of navy boot camp (hooya!) and I called my uncle when I was on liberty and he asked me if we still marched with rifles. I thought that was odd but evidently the warrior sailor is a real thing.

[@joeosman2629]

The squids to be marched with Springfield '03s at RTC San Diego in 1970. I went over from MCRD San Diego for a security interview about a possible crypto repairman job in the Marines and saw them.

[@IoachimSavianPopovici]

I would welcome another video about landed Navy formations.

[@michaelwest4325]

Very interesting to me, I have my Grandfather's era Blue Jackets manual from WW2, and tge Landing Force is set forth in there. As a miniature wargamer at squad and platoon level small units I find these ad hoc and light infantry a great opportunity to really play out fighting the barest minimum of fighting man. So both topical and informative for more details and sources to organize them. Thank you!

[@joeosman2629]

My grandfather was a sailor in the early 1900s in the Caribbean. The sailors preferred going on the landing parties because the alternative was setting up tables with nice white tablecloths so that the officers could dine in their dress whites while the Marines hanged the banditos on the shore. He was a socialist and I think that the rigid class system of the Navy was part of the reason. He was on the anchor party of his battleship and my grandmother told me she used to dream about him tossing out the anchor with his hair being blown about by the wind. I didn't have the heart to tell her how big even anchor chain links were, much less the anchor.

[@michaelwest4325]

@@joeosman2629 great story and flavor! My grandfather stepped off his ship to transfer to a new one, his old ship torpedoed by a Japanese sub on the trip out! Closest he knew of real danger, a reservist, recalled, served on cargo ships, more Mister Roberts war than Midway!

[@jessgatt5441]

I was in my vessel's [a 28,000 ton ship] repel-boarder's party, a 12 man squad, my weapon, a Browning Automatic Rifle.

[@higgs923]

I was based ashore in the Mekong Delta with CTF-116. Part of the prep was SERE school at Coronado and small arms training with the Marines at Pendleton. Under ground attacks we used the M14 as our main shoulder arm and the M60 for laying down fire. The 14 was used in preference to the M16 which was too susceptible to jamming back then. At the time I was there the Air Force had already withdrawn. The Army closed its last installation, the Third Surgical Hospital, a couple of months after I joined my unit which left us sailors to patrol our stretch of the river from Chau Duc to the Rung Sat Special Zone. It was a learning experience. After being made a machine gunner I learned that the machine gun is the first thing attackers go for.

[@GenghisVern]

awesome clips from Wind and the Lion. epic film!

[@atassaro]

We had a landing force party when I was aboard USS England DLG 22 while on SAR station off North Vietnam in 1966. Luckily we never had to use it.

[@bigbk301]

That was really cool. I would have loved to had a longer one.

[@baronc252]

wow I've never even heard of sailors being used like this. I thought seabees were the only ones that did stuff like this. Learning new stuff every vid.

[@fjb4932]

An hence the saying "We Build - We Fight". . . . .

[@dr.froghopper6711]

Look up the Brown Water Navy! We did all kinds of interesting things!

[@jayglier]

It's mostly from the age of sail but most frigates had a squad or so of Marines who were primarily the marksman in the rigging during battle at sea but if a landing on shore was required they would be leading the ships company in NCO positions with about half reserved to maintain a solid reserve

[@MbisonBalrog]

Seabees are not an attack force. They just do construction once area is cleared.

[@dr.froghopper6711]

@@MbisonBalrog technically you are correct but, in Vietnam and during the 70’s , the Seabees did stand security watches and participated as quick reaction forces outside the wire when called upon to do so. I did 3 years amphibious navy and Construction Battalions worked with us closely in building/maintaining good perimeters. Some of those guys were country boys raised as good shots and they were good guys to get to know!

[@Knuck_Knucks]

This was neat. Thanks!

[@richarda996]

In the late sixties on our cargo ship we carried supplies for the nuclear submarines. As such we had a security force of Gunners Mates and deck hands. Guarding the nuclear weapons we were also required to have a secret clearance. With our deck guns and small arms we were also allowed to fire the weapons regularly and maintain.

[@joseo.5721]

Great video !!

[@pitsnipe5559]

During my boot training in 1970 we drilled with 03 Springfields and were given very basic small arms training, more like which end to point towards the enemy. The tin cans I served in were old Gearing class. Our small arms locker consisted of Garands and shotguns.

[@fuckoff4705]

1:00 great use of war thunder assets!

[@silverjohn6037]

Serious credit is due for using the clip from the movie The Wind and the Lion. Very underrated adventure film;).

[@deltaraider87]

Very interesting video!

[@Beuwen_The_Dragon]

That MOH track playing in the background, they always had the perfect music to evoke that WWII (for lack of a better word) nostalgia.

[@curtisjohnson2804]

I have also read that pre WWII that some navy ships had a pack howitzer a board for Landing Party use.

[@theraven6836]

Love the clip from The Wind and The Lion.

[@norbertblackrain2379]

This is a very interesting and at least by me overlooked aspect.

[@louiswilkins9624]

Great stuff

[@206fa5]

Never knew them before, thx for this vid

[@alancranford3398]

Thank you for an educational video. I have several vintage editions of the Bluejackets' Manual. My 1944 edition belonged to a Howard F. Fortune before Amazon sold it to me. Chapter 16, Scouting and Patrolling, is a short six pages (135 to 141) and builds on the extended order drills in Chapter 15, the Marches and Military Maps in Chapter 17, and the Small Arms in Chapter 22. I was a Marine--an avionics technician--I bought my first copy of the Bluejackets' Manual in 1977 when I was embarked on the USS Tripoli/LPH-10 to support HMM-262 when that helicopter squadron went on an eight-month WESPAC cruise. The US Navy has always been the more technical service branch overall because warships are complicated machines. Can't even safely use the head on a submarine--reportedly, a German sub sank when an officer (not a submariner) flushed the toilet incorrectly. Turning a team of technicians into an infantry squad isn't easy because infantry is a specialized function. I'm prejudiced--every naval or military member needs to be able to conduct small unit infantry operations from sentry duties to clearing and occupying a building. The Navy has come full circle in the past 100 years--from having Marine detachments on capital ships to relying on armed Sailors as boarding parties and shore parties. The Tripoli encountered a boat filled with Vietnamese refugees and formed a boarding party comprised of several Bosin's Mates, possibly someone from Engineering, some Naval Corpsmen, and the Master At Arms--despite having most of a Marine Battalion Landing team embarked to include utility and attack helicopters, no Marines were harmed in this evolution--er, used for the boarding party. Some specialized operations required Sailors instead of Marines--and Naval Corpsmen provide the Marine Corps medical needs. I found it interesting that the early WW2 ad hoc organization used the Thompson as an "automatic rifle." Last year I toured the Battleship Alabama museum and noted that there was both a Marine detachment and provisions for a Navy landing party--plus the Master at Arms. Pulling people from a battleship compromises the battleship's ability to fight as a battleship -- even the Marine detachment was tasked to crew some of the battleship's guns, to damage control parties, and provided Marines for working parties and for mess duty. I am looking forward to your examining other ad-hoc infantry organizations. I had a 1944 engineer manual for Army Air Force soldiers--this field manual covered building and defending forward air bases. It was given to me by an Army veteran of the Second World War and detailed the organizations of the various construction troops in an airfield construction battalion and their weapons.

[@menacereconnaissance7406]

Yay Rifle squads video lets gooo

[@archiegeorge3969]

Great video

[@nutiketgotc]

If I remember correctly in the war of 1812 a unit of embarked sailors were the main defenders of Washington DC as the British marched on the city and held them long enough for the city to be evacuated.

[@joeosman2629]

That was Joshua Barney's Chesapeake Bay Flotilla. After having to sink their boats and retreat from British forces they joined up with Marines from the Marine Barracks in DC. They fought in the Battle of Bladensburg, where they blocked the British until they ran out of ammo.

[@jackieallen3344]

I’m just curious has anybody else watched that movie ,The Sand Pebbles about the life of sailors on gunboat’s in China. When you are a sailor on a US warship. They may not be a detachment of Marines ready available at the moment well guess who goes. I wouldn’t be surprised if the navy did not go back to training sailors more for shore detachment duties.

[@russellgasdia367]

While focused on the US Navy, one of the photos you show is of US Coast Guard hiring the beach. Many Coasties served on Navy ships during WWII, operated landing craft and also played significant roles across the Navy during WWII.

[@mowgli2071]

These would obviously be useful for guarding supply lines near the shop and for safeguarding crew that were tasked with finding coves, etc.

[@CGRLCDR]

CG-25461 is a Coast Guard boat and that is a Coast Guard rifle squad disembarking on the beach.