USS England - Guide 173 (Extended)

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

In the battle of the Java sea which nation on the allied side had the best force in the fleet

[@joshthomas-moore2656]

Which ships would you recommend taking inspiration from for a steampunk fantasy set between the Victorian era to WW1?

[@migkillerphantom]

@@joshthomas-moore2656 soviet union by virtue of not being present

[@zealot360]

During the period before modern standoff ranged weapons what kind of doctrine exist for the simultaneous use of surface vessels and aircraft in an attack on an enemy fleet. How were these attacks coordinated, and how often did this happen. It strikes me that using aircraft to attack an enemy force engaged in a gun duel with your own surface fleet would have been extremely dangerous for the aircraft, as they could be misidentified and friendly fired by their own fleets AA guns, and would have to fly through airspace occupied by both sides shells. If you add in combat air patrols from either side this seems like it would be a nightmare to coordinate.

[@DimoB8]

Are there any other peculiar ship names like this one? What are their origins?

[@marko11kram]

Best description of a class of ships purpose ever--- "To hunt submarines; and not to join them"

[@jakesully2868]

#fact

[@jamessimms415]

Transfer of duty from submarine to reef duty. LOLOLOLOLOLOL

[@tonyromano6220]

Mark Olsen nice!

[@marmotman151]

"You were my brother, USS England.. I loved you."

[@jakesully2868]

Reassigned to "reef duty". Lmao, Bless you Drach, you're simply amazing.

[@riderstrano783]

Dax Hensley *permanently

[@Maddog3060]

Hunter-killer group: "This Japanese sub is insanely good!" USS England: "Step aside, losers" *BOOM* "That's how it's done.

[@pffear]

Toejo bowed his head because he knew that he'd been beat..... As he pictured all his Subs on the bottom of the sea in his defeat.... The England radios Toejo to come on back and we'll sink y'all again..... Just a little pay back for our boys at Pearl, from the best there's ever been ❗😧❗ 🇺🇸😡🇺🇸😡🇺🇸😡🇺🇸 The USS England came in from Georgia❓😜❓

[@pffear]

@ It carried forth an attitude that fit a fine ship and gallant crew who did her namesake proud❗😎❗🇺🇸 It's a pity the breakers got her in the end, she deserved a mooring next to the Arizona showing payback's an angry BITCH❗🇺🇸❗

[@JohnJohansen2]

USS England: "Hold my beer". 😉

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

More like hold my coffee. No alcohol on USN ships.

[@kenduncan3221]

She's a hedgehog wizard, there's got to be a twist, a hedgehog wizard's got such a once shot blast.

[@paulwallis7586]

Amazing how you come to resent the word "scrap" after these stories.

[@FLJBeliever1776]

Too True.

[@baronvonjo1929]

Basically ever ships wiki page regardless of type of ship from passenger to war. You get scrap you get scrap, EVERYBODY GETS SCRAPPED!

[@MagnumLoadedTractor]

But pointless Iowa and South Carolina gets to live

[@MagnumLoadedTractor]

@@spikespa5208 k

[@spikespa5208]

@@MagnumLoadedTractor Uhhh...North Carolina.

[@giovannicorbarigasparini5352]

Not to be confused with the HMS United States

[@thetrainman1000]

I mean, there was the CSS United States. She was one of the sister ships of the famed USS Constitution was captured in Norfolk by the Confederates. She would later be sunk as a blockship, later raised and live oak timbers sold.

[@Dave_Sisson]

There was a battle cruiser in the Royal Navy called HMS New Zealand, but the Kiwis themselves never had an HMNZS New Zealand.

[@themajesticmagnificent8561]

Hahaha 😆👍

[@kubauhlir1730]

Named after one Henry United States

[@mcduck5]

@@Dave_Sisson We paid for it tho!

[@kpdubbs7117]

Another bit about Ensign England: He was supposed to have Dec 7th off. He switched with another sailor so he could have the 8th off. See, the 8th was the day his wife was flying in with his 3 week old baby girl who he had not yet met.

[@white-dragon4424]

Really quite tragic.

[@thomaskositzki9424]

Oh, that is a sad one...

[@buttahXD]

I could have gone without that information, now I'm just sad

[@kpdubbs7117]

@@buttahXD It is a very sad story. I discovered that a Destroyer Escort bearing my family name was built in my home town and that led me to research the ship class. When I read about The England and why it bore that name, I knew his was a name I would never forget and that is the point. There should always be a USS England in the US Navy because of the actions of the fallen sailor and the crew of the ship that sailed under his name.

[@johndavidson2365]

😢

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

USS England has the same big confusing energy as HMS Enterprise

[@emuarubishi3369]

oh you're sporting a pre retrofit AL Exeter for your profile pic. :D

[@The_Viscount]

@@emuarubishi3369 USS England is in good company with HMS President too.

[@calibulaminus4778]

the emerald class cruiser?

[@josiahricafrente585]

USS England for AL when?

[@connormclernon26]

The 225677th Fragment of the Man-Emperor of Mankind USS Winston Churchill to up the ante

[@IonoTheFanatics]

Jesuz... so basically USS England's career in that few days can be summed up as HEADSHOT* *Double Kill* *Multi Kill* *Mega Kill* *Ultra Kill* *Monster Kill* oh... all of subs are dead... What the hell? One ship... massacred the entire squadron?

[@karlvongazenberg8398]

Kilimanjaro

[@craighagenbruch3800]

in the words of halo *Killing spree*

[@sethstopcallingmeryandickh9067]

Kill joy

[@misterangel8486]

*godmode activated* Yeah, almost unbelievable but they did. Best (edit:USA) crew ever. One shot one kill. Your comment is right on the money👍 well said.

[@spacecat85]

I find it physically impossible to not read that in the UT2004 announcer voice

[@nameholderplaceholder4856]

"USS England" *Confused screaming*

[@nitehawk86]

*from the IJN*

[@FLJBeliever1776]

@@nitehawk86 - Oh geez... Imagine USS England wading out into the Battle of the Atlantic with that kind of skill and luck. Forget John Paul Jones making the British wish they were on dry land, the German sailors would have signed up for the Russian Front!

[@robertschumacher2707]

Think it bears mentioning that this single American DE scored more sub kills than two entire CLASSES (Type C and D Kaibokan) of Japanese escorts, numbering approximately 275 ships.

[@jakehopkinson2031]

Forcibly removed from active service and reassigned to reef duty. Drach you are the perfect embodiment of the wonderfully eclectic english language.

[@randomguy-tg7ok]

It's scary to think that a submarine getting depth charged basically guarantees the loss of the entire crew with no chance of escape whatsoever...

[@thomas316]

Yes, sobering. Few surface mariners would cry too much given the high conversion rate of surface ships to submarine duties, often with the loss of all hands.

[@kemarisite]

Something like 75% of the men who served in U-boats were lost in the war. Even for the US navy the loss rate for submarine crewmen was around 20%.

[@RCAvhstape]

Submarine duty is pretty grim. And war sucks. The skipper of RO-105 was probably a damn good guy, and his crew was a crack team, but down they went.

[@AudieHolland]

Serving onboard of a submarine may result in disappearing without a trace, even without a war going on.

[@magisterrleth3129]

That's the life of a submarine. They live by stealth, surface vessels are just targets. But if you get found and if you get hit, well the ship's already sunk itself.

[@thisislesbomaya]

pinginbg back the sonar at the same frequency is honestly really cool of a tactic

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

3:09 "But these required the ship to keep moving fairly quickly , unless it wanted to be in the vicinity of a depth-charge explosion, which tended to have somewhat negative effects on a ship's ability to remain afloat. Bearing in mind that one of the primary jobs of a destroyer-escort was to HUNT submarines, not join them." "anemic surface armament" 8:03 "for a fleet that was hoping to attack almost any of the major Japanese targets that were mostly likely to be next on the US Navy's 'to-do' list." 13:32 "But of course the majority of them had already been forcibly withdrawn from active service and reassigned to reef duty."

[@spikespa5208]

Hmmm. Now where did I hear those quotes?

[@H42-s8x]

I litteraly saw the 3rth one in coments and not have pay attention to it when drach day that, ty, you are efectively an lifehack human

[@Joe-xq3zu]

"Forcibly withdrawn from active service and reassigned to reef duty." I love the understated euphemisms you come up with when you are describing things.

[@DanielWW2]

Admiral King's least favourite ship.

[@frostedcat]

not surprising. he's one of the grumpiest american admiral during WWII

[@murderouskitten2577]

"Admiral King's least favourite ship." that would be HMS British to be honest :D

[@murderouskitten2577]

@@frostedcat true , but i would preffer him as my comanding officer than Holsey.

[@obelic71]

@Ron Lewenberg Some Ships just have the same spirit of the Person who they are named after. - Ensign England saved shipmates resulting in his own demise . The ship named after him ate submarines for breakfast. - Coxswain Samuel b. Roberts evacuated Marines under heavy fire and died later of his wounds. The ship named after him fought way above its class to protect the marines on land.

[@andreww2098]

@@murderouskitten2577 His daughter said " He didn't hate the British in particular, he hated everyone!"

[@herpderp9774]

What an absolute hero ship named after a hero, good pedigree right there. I hope the UK and USN got these chaps to teach classes on how to hunt submarines and didn't just squander their clearly impressive knowledge.

[@garychisholm2174]

"...Presidential Unit Citation and the assurance from the Chief of Naval Operations, Admiral E. J. King, "There'll always be an England in the United States Navy." His pledge was fulfilled on 6 October 1960, when DLG-22 was assigned the name England."

[@xgford94]

The USS Canberra CA70 also unusual, and a wonderful show of respect from an ally 🇦🇺🇺🇸

[@MagnumLoadedTractor]

Got given to the US?man Australian navy had pontinal i guess there is someone making a 225 ship navy...

[@DaremoKamen]

One reason for the 3" gun armament of the earlier destroyer escorts is that they simple couldn't build enough 5" 38s for all the carriers, battleships, cruisers and destroyers as well as the destroyer escorts and frigates. Once production was increased and demand was lower DE design was changed to the larger guns.

[@deeznoots6241]

Its a shame you didn’t quote Hains when he finally let the England finish the final submarine “oh, hell, go ahead, England.”

[@Matt_The_Hugenot]

Having an experienced career officer in William B. Pendleton as captain and the outstanding John Williamson as executive officer, who would go on to have very successful careers in the navy and in civilian life, no doubt contributed greatly to the England's combat effectiveness. Many seamen owe their lives to the techniques Capt. Williamson developed for rescuing those who have fallen overboard. Perhaps some videos on the careers of some notable captains and crew would be of interest.

[@JoeDiGiovanniIV]

My papa was a gunnery captain on this ship. He was injured during the kamikaze attack on them. He survived the war, albeit with shrapnel still lodged within him for the rest of his life.

[@seafodder6129]

Japanese XO: Congratulations, Captain! You have saved us from the entire American hunter-killer group! Hunter-Killer Group Commander: Awe hell, go ahead England. Japanese CO: Why do I hear Boss Music?...

[@TheresaBrown-dc5dt]

Commander: Aw Hell go ahead England. England: Fire Hedgehog!!!! Sub: Boom!!!! Gurgle!!! Commander: Goddamn England how do you do it?

[@jamesbrowne6351]

Love the line "re-assigned to reef duty."

[@lancerevell5979]

I served on an ASW Frigate in the early 1980s. It had been designated a Destroyer Escort until the US Navy did a reorganization of classes in 1975. My Knox Class Frigate was larger and heavier than the WWII destroyers. A buddy of mine from Tech School served on the later USS England, a Leahy Class cruiser - CG-22.

[@markwatson3135]

“Had already been forcibly withdrawn and reassigned to reef duty” love it!

[@pffear]

Prime example of a Ship and Crew doing her namesake proud.... It's a shame the breakers got her.... Her rightful place should be next to the USS Arizona at Pearl as a little pay back....

[@edwardpate6128]

The Buckley class was the ship used and shown in the film The Enemy Below.

[@tedb.5707]

Always a good viewing.

[@Seawizz203]

Great movie

[@MrTScolaro]

Also shamelessly copies by ST:TOS

[@trynnallen]

@@MrTScolaro And it still turned out to be a pretty good episode.

[@danagiles5100]

And the name for the DE depicted in the movie...USS Haines...England's squadron commander.

[@Kevin-mx1vi]

I'm impressed, and glad this great ship honoured the incredibly brave young man it was named after.

[@menschman1464]

The ship with the powerful ability to both “howdy yall” and “u focking wot mate?” At the same time.

[@lefrenchaudir188]

Guess its same for my modified royal oak

[@MFitz12]

The originally intended armament for American DE's was two 5"/38's and two quad 1.1" but availability (lackof) meant most were armed with single hand-worked and locally controlled 3"/50's instead, with a single quad 1.1 (later a twin Bofors). Some DE's serving in the Pacific and originally armed with 3"/50's were converted to the 5" gun configuration in 1945 during refits. The USS George shown in the video received that upgrade. The 3"/50 was really quite inadequate for the role of these ships but there was no other alternative at the time.

[@douggallagher8809]

This explains where the Leahy class USS England came from. Quite a incredible story of how 1 ship took on the entire IJN sub fleet & won

[@sewing1243]

One of my neighbors (he's 90+years young) served on the Buckley Class DE, USS James E. Craig (DE 201) in WWII. The Craig was named after LtCdr James E. Craig, who also was killed in action at Pearl Harbor (LtCdr Craig was the Damage Control Officer and First Lieutenant aboard Pennsylvania).

[@mattwoodard2535]

USS England seems to have borrowed the aimbot from a certain English battleship at Jutland. sm

[@RCAvhstape]

Or they salvaged it from Bismarck.

[@Tepid24]

@@RCAvhstape All things considered, Bismarck's hit rate was average at best. Only scoring slightly more hits than Prince of Wales (and taking longer to do so) despite PoWs infamous gun problems. In her final battle achieving no hits. Not really comparable to the likes of Iron Duke.

[@seanmac1793]

@@Tepid24 I mean you gotta hide that aim bot don't want to get perma banned for blatantly hacking

[@Tepid24]

@@seanmac1793 Maybe the game is just set up horribly and she could increase her damage server-side. At that point you don't even need to get an aimbot.

[@MagnumLoadedTractor]

Or a German one during the first battle

[@davidknowles2491]

So, she got a Kraken award then?

[@bigblue6917]

I had read about the USS England but a story well worth repeating. Got its war sorted out early. It would be interesting to do a video on Captain Fredric John 'Johnnie' Walker and his exploits as a sub hunter. He came up with a rather clever plan to get around the limitations of the depth charge and losing contact with the enemy submarine when the ship passed over it. He would use one stationary ship to illuminate the submarine with its sonar while two more slow moving ships were directed to the spot where the submarine was. The fact that they moved slowly meant that the first time the submarines crew were aware of the ships presence was when they heard the depth charges hitting the water. And even if the submarine escaped damage it was still being tracked by the stationary ship, so contact was never lost.

[@robertf3479]

Agreed, Captain Walker's tactics made the most of the limits placed on his destroyers.

[@roberthoma664]

Story of the USS Capps. My Dad served on this ship in WW2. He's long gone passed away but I still remember some of his stories he told me while he was on board this vessel. Thanks

[@P1X1E56]

Love these videos. I also love the idea of US warships being named after heroes. Thinking it through, I suppose ours are as well, but 17 & 18th century heroes.

[@Marxman-bi5yu]

I remember The history Guy did a video on England some months ago, that ship and her crew were amazing. Ya'll both definitely did her justice, though I do highly recommend watching his take on it as the commentary and quotes he provides add just that extra bit of detail that make the story all the better.

[@Alex-cw3rz]

It's interesting to think how different USS England's exploits would have been if it didn't have a Hedgehog mortar.

[@johnnash5118]

We say no to pay to win Like radar, it was an immediate game changer.

[@Dave_Sisson]

And of course the Hedgehog was an English invention that they gave to the Americans. Which makes the ship appropriately named.

[@white-dragon4424]

@@Dave_Sisson Radar was an English invention as well.

[@westcoaststacker569]

Would not the Sonar be what they used to target the Hedgehogs? I understand the Radar brought them to the vicinity by locating the surfaced submarine.

[@EstorilEm]

@@white-dragon4424 Not really - the cavity magnetron was the British invention which allowed radar systems to be more fully developed and accurate, but both countries were well on their way with radar development. Ironically the Britts couldn't figure out how to get it to work, and help with production and miniaturization would be required by the US anyways. The really strange thing is that I lived in one of the houses which Alfred Loomis (and his son Henry Loomis) owned - Alfred basically ran Tuxedo Park and was directly responsible for speedy and compact microwave radar development. It was pretty bizarre walking abound that place, knowing what kind of minds were once strolling around that place.

[@jebsails2837]

I served on US Diesel Electric submarines. Persistent ASW escorts added to our training in Post WWII era. BZ England. Narragansett Bay

[@JoeDiGiovanniIV]

I live in Rhode Island, I worked in underwater systems in Newport for a short time. Lots of naval history in Newport and Narragansett Bay!!

[@jebsails2837]

@@JoeDiGiovanniIV I was an FTG on Diesel Electric Boats (MK 106 UWFCS). Later worked in Budgeting for TRICCSMA. jb

[@craighagenbruch3800]

hunter killer group: HACKS I CALL HACKS!!!!!! england: *sinks entire sub squadron* gg ezy

[@pvccannon1966]

That captain had a hell of a crew. Leaned the lesson fast and repeated what worked before. Dam the regs DO WHAT WORKS !

[@davidbrennan660]

So are trapped inside with no hope except for a Drach Video...... we will survive and grow stronger for it.

[@Seawizz203]

How do you always find these fairly insignificant, yet interesting, snippets of history!? You must be a history professor! Love your work and presentation.

[@CAUSELESSREBEL]

Very interesting story. As always, well spoken. Your rather dry, and witty humor is a huge plus in your videos.

[@John-ru5ud]

And Japanese intelligence concluded by the scouting line being wiped out that there was a major naval force heading for a target south of the Marianas, either the Carolines or the Palaus, and had protected the Marianas with only 50 land-based aircraft.

[@Kwolfx]

I've read that Japanese submarines sent out on in this line formation were not given a designated area to operate within; meaning "you operate inside this box while the next sub operates within the next designated box" and so one; which is how most navies would organized such a line. Instead, they were given very specific map references to be at every day. The high command of the Japanese submarine force wanted to control exactly where their submarines would patrol; perhaps to keep the spacing even and lower the chance of American forces slipping through undetected and un-attacked, or perhaps this specificity of sailing orders was caused by the complete failure of an earlier Japanese submarine force to reach their assigned patrol areas near Pearl Harbor just before the Battle of Midway. Whatever the reason, now that you know this, you can see how the intercepted and decoded IJN messages pointed the task group that the U.S.S. England was a part of, straight towards their targets. Correction: The rigid specification of sailing instructions for IJN submarines, which limited the initiative of its individual submarine commanders, was present from the beginning of the war and was only loosened after this unfortunate group of submarines were practically annihilated. From the book, "Operating Below Crush Depth:: The Formation, Evolution, And Collapse Of The Imperial Japanese Navy Submarine Force In World War II" by LCDR David W Grogan.

[@gvii]

Ships always seem to have the most inglorious of endings, it often seems. I remember flying over what I have to assume was a naval dockyard seeing 5 or 6 ships of roughly this size(Or a bit smaller.), all neatly tied together in a row just absolutely rusted to heck except for the occasional patches of grey where the paint was still clinging desperately to life. I get it, often there comes a point when it's much cheaper to build new than to upgrade the old. But it is rather depressing.

[@ronaldbarnes8302]

My dad served on a Buckley class DE the Frybarger DE705. Thanks for the video!

[@ryanwinkelman1781]

My grandfather served on the England. He passed away when I was 16 in 2001. He didnt really talk about the war much, but my uncle was present at a couple of the reunions they went to in the 80s. The England was outfitted with the best sonar equipment at the time, and had a very good operator. This undoubtedly affected their success in antisubmarine warfare. Since you only briefly talked about the kamikaze attack, let me fill it in some more for you. My grandfather was one of the 3 mk22 3" 50 caliber AA gunners on board the ship, these guns had a shooter and a loader. We only found after my grandpa had passed away what happened that day in a conversation my uncle had with the loader on that gun who had came to my grandpa's funeral. A man by the name of Bud Jones. Apparently their gun had a jamming problem and they had reported multiple times, but it was never fixed. Something you don't want to happen in a kamikaze attack. On that day in 1945, I can tell you my grandfather is the one who shot down that zero, and killed the pilot before the explosion. But it was too little too late. The pilot had armed the bomb already, and even though the windscreen was blown away and the pilot was clearly dead, that zero passed over the fantail and struck the radio room. You covered the casualty numbers and what happened afterwards. But as a historical footnote, Im here to tell you that if my grandfather didnt have to manually eject the spent shells because they never fixed the loading problem on that mk22 gun, that plane would have been in the pacific well before it hit the England and killed all those sailors. My grandfather survived the attack, along with his assistant gunner Bud Jones. But he had to live with the guilt that he couldn't shoot that plane down in time for 56 years, and I know it affected him. The engine tag of that Mitsubishi zero that hit the England is in my 89 year old grandmother's living room. My grandfather pried it off that plane in 1945. When I was a kid I thought it was a war trophy, it wasn't until after he died that we found out what it really meant to my grandfather. It was a reminder to never forget the lives lost that day, how lucky he was to survive, and live a good life in memory of those sailors he couldn't save. I would say he accomplished all of the above. He was my hero growing up and he always will be. Thank you for preserving history by making these videos.

[@davidb6576]

Ryan, that's a moving comment, and a good contribution to understanding the video itself.

[@ryanwinkelman1781]

@@davidb6576 thank you for your interest. Growing up, my grandpa was my hero...he still is, but I could tell he had something always bothering him deep down that he didn't talk about....and Im sure the kamikaze attack had to be the reason. We found out a lot of things from a shipmate who turned out to be his loader after my grandfather passed away. My grandfather was Roy Lee Breeding, the other man I'm talking about was his assistant gunner (loader) Marion "Bud" Jones. I know this is only one of the tens of thousands of war stories from the greatest generation, but Im glad you took an interest in one very dear to my heart.

[@gitfoad8032]

Occasionally, everyone has a game of World of Tanks like this.

[@tomwagner1764]

The hedgehog sank at a known rate of descent. Therefore the depth of a hit could be calculated and depth charges set accordingly.

[@biscuitninja]

Being hit by a Dive Bomber... USS LAFFEY: *Cheers* NEVER SAY DIE!

[@johnbeaulieu2404]

You missed one letter in the name, it's USS Laffey

[@moerukaze5464]

Which Laffey?

[@jameshunter5485]

What a great story, but more importantly what a great captain and crew. Just goes to show, “It ain’t what you do, it’s the way that you do it.”

[@westcoaststacker569]

A Tool is Only as Good as its User

[@shooter2055]

Gratitude for that one, Drach. Given the level of C-19 boredom, I imagine the view rate peaks rather earlier than is usual these days.

[@Nick-rs5if]

"...and been reassigned to reef duty." Drach you absolute genius!

[@robertf3479]

"Hunting submarines is dangerous, boring and often results in an empty game bag" - some destroyer skipper on the North Atlantic, noting that most destroyers were never in on killing even one. "Hold my beer" - USS England, ASW Ace. "There will always be an England in the United States Navy" - Admiral Earnest King, 1944. A second USS England was laid down by Todd Shipyard in 1960 as a Leahy class DLG, later reclassified to Guided Missile Cruiser CG-22. This ship served in Vietnam and during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. She was decommissioned in 1994 and scrapped in 2004. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_England_(DLG-22)

[@oceanmariner]

Hedgehogs were removed from US destroyers in the mid 1960s. I was on a Sumner destroyer in a ASW group (carrier and 6 destroyers). In war games we were deadly against diesel-electric subs, but the nuke subs got the carrier and some destroyers every time. To get a kill, the sub would pass under the carrier and fire a flare. The ASW groups were gone by 1972.

[@mikeholton3914]

i would have figured the diesel electrics would have had a better chance as they were typically quieter. not my area of expertise mind you im was an army helicopter mechanic..

[@oceanmariner]

@@mikeholton3914 I think the issue was speed, not quiet. Most of our detecting was with active sonar not listening unless we had a sub on our side. The air wing had fixed wing aircraft with magnetic detection and helos with dipping sonar. My ship had a variable depth sonar and a drone helo that could deliver torpedoes or depth charges. The nukes were so fast that it was hard to put a weapon on them before they attacked a ship, usually the carrier. Sometimes we got a shot at them going away. Nukes could travel 10 miles in 20 minutes. The diesel electric subs took over an hour, and once detected could be trapped by aircraft or destroyers. Our goal was to get the subs several miles away, before we were in range of their torpedoes.

[@mikeholton3914]

@@oceanmariner thanks for the input! i appreciate you taking the time to lay out a detailed answer.

[@mycroft1905]

Very interesting vid. Did I miss a reference to the skipper and his crew? They were clearly masters of their craft and it must have been a very tight ship. May I acknowledge him? Captain W. B. Pendleton USN, Navy Cross. Pendleton's anti-submarine prowess must be second only to Captain F. J. Walker RN, CB, DSO and 3 bars. Cheers.

[@JoeDiGiovanniIV]

My papa John Bowness was a gunnery captain on this ship. He was awarded the purple heart and actually carried shrapnel still lodged in him after the war until his death about 15 years ago

[@paulpeterson4216]

Also, they seem to have had the Sonarman from Hunt for Red October guiding their shots.

[@turbowolf302]

so, in terms of Submarines, USS England might as well be named USS Doom Guy

[@sfjadfds]

here i was thinking this was about the largest of the United States aircraft carriers

[@EinachserLS]

I had to think about that one for a couple of seconds.

[@1982nsu]

Not to mention the USN largest staging depot.

[@kingmobmor7656]

The Brits call America "Britain's largest 'munitions factory".

[@Orangefan77]

Second largest, after the USS Japan

[@mixererunio1757]

Herr Capitan! We zee enemy ship! What iz zer name? USS England Captain! Fool! No zer ship would ever exist!

[@brianphillips7696]

Gotta give that Japanese Captain credit deliberately surfacing between two warships to recharge took major balls.

[@kentvesser9484]

Yeah because you would think even a couple Oerlikons or a Bofors mount getting a clear angle would spell real trouble for a sub as they aren't well armored and even a few holes in the wrong place or plates or welds being weakened could doom the sub. I suppose though that maybe none of the AA guns could depress far enough to get a good salvo on something that was within a few thousand yards in all likelihood.

[@theatagamer90]

Good on that sub captain though. Tuning into that frequency to try and avoid the destroyers. Shame USS England had aimbot on.

[@WarpGhost92]

Like for forcibly withdraw from active service and Reassign for reef duty. This ship and's crew nailed it.

[@bobbychoate7476]

The scraping of this ship really hurt me, what a shame

[@Xander_Zimmermann]

I feel the same way.

[@Akm72]

If there was one WWII DE that deserved to be preserved as a museum ship, she was the one.

[@thomasgroenke5734]

Bobby Choate It was replaced by a guided missile cruiser that my father served on, off the coast of Vietnam.

[@JoeDiGiovanniIV]

My papa was a gunnery captain on this ship. He was injured during the kamikaze attack on them. He survived the war, albeit with shrapnel still lodged within him for the rest of his life.

[@themajesticmagnificent8561]

What a great man ensign England was and deserved to have a destroyer named after him.And what a destroyer it was.!.Watching this as I’ve just ordered a 1/350 model of this ship and wanted to know more. Great video and have subscribed.This channel and Yamato-30 are two great channels on Maritime subjects.Thank you.👍

[@harryrcarmichael]

It's the little details that help flesh out history.

[@hellwalker301]

Nearly getting blown up by USS England's first sub kill motivated the crew's improved accuracy somewhat.

[@jawadad802]

the ghost of ensign England sure got his revenge!

[@Darren4352]

@Drachinifel Excellent narrative! I've always been a fan of world war II history and your narratives give me insight to areas that I had not known about.

[@solarisengineering15]

5:03 I got this exact question when I was working as a tour guide on HMCS Sackville (it has a hedgehog too.) Drach's answer is as good as mine.

[@darrellsmith4204]

In typical "Merican" style, I'm picturing the USS England basically coming off the top rope on a dazed Japanese sub..

[@OmegaStarwatcher]

How the hell could we scrap this badass ship! Seriously its as badass as it's namesake. A escort that made fools of the IJN subs. And even more of our own destroyers when hunting them.🤣🤣🤣

[@scotthill8787]

Thanks, Drach! You are helping me get through isolation.

[@TBone-bz9mp]

Well they couldn’t rightly call it the ‘USS 51st State’ could they?

[@purplefood1]

The movie wasn't even out then.

[@randallfabian6640]

49th at the time

[@nk_3332]

That would be USS Airstrip One

[@thekinginyellow1744]

I believe that "USS 51st State" is the name we gave to the unsinkable aircraft carrier we stationed 26 miles off Calais! as Brits throw rotten fruit

[@nukclear2741]

@@thekinginyellow1744 (hands over riot shield)

[@weldonwin]

USS England: Ah Bloody Hell, I'll Do It Me'Self!

[@czarfore]

Nicely done tribute to a fine ship. Still would like a review of HMS Calliope (1887 to 1951!). AKA: The Hurricane Jumper. And how one part of Samoa came to play Baseball while the other part plays Cricket. Also, I'm a fan of the novels of Patrick O'Brian and, presuming that you and many of the followers of this site are also fans, how about going outside the world of iron and steel ships and reviewing HMS Surprise?

[@rolanddunk5054]

Brilliant script and narration in you videos,thank you Roly🇬🇧

[@AKAKiddo]

What an illustrious ship, and aptly named. Thank you.

[@ChrisLove887]

Reassigned to Reef Duty😂😂😂 Drach, you’re the best🤣🤣🤣

[@duncanmcavoy8866]

USS England, the first to use the Mark 37 aim bot.

[@wittwer427]

Would love to see a breakdown of the Fletcher Class. The largest class of destroyers ever commissioned, not to mention some of the best out there.

[@johnshepherd8687]

The heroism of Ensign England has an echo nearly 60 years later. Col Cyrl Richard "Rick" Rescorla USA (Ret), who was the head of security for Dean Witter in the WTC, led the office staff down the stairs to safety calling cadence and singing "Men of Harlech. He then went back into the building multiple times leading others to safety until, like Ensign England, he died when the the building came down. 36 years earlier, then 2nd Lt Rescorla's image was captured in one of the most iconic photographs of the Vietnam War. The photograph graces the original cover of "We Were Soldiers.' Col Rescorla was a Cornishman who began his military career in the Parachute Regiment.

[@thekinginyellow1744]

"We were soldiers then, and young." That's a book (and movie) worth reading. I think of all the U.S.war corespondents, Joe Galloway is the one I respect most. Of course, it's the wrong war for Drach's channel.

[@The_Viscount]

That Japamese sub captains were brilliant. Clearly adversaries worthy of respect. Honestly, it's a shame they and their subs couldn't escape. They would have been an excellent submarine tactics instructors for NATO and the JMSDF post war.

[@mikecimerian6913]

Considering the ferocity of the war it is doubtful that they would have been cheered in. Many WWII vets to this day still hate Japanese. What respect was shown to the garrisons of Corregidor and Singapore? You are romanticizing.

[@BlueEyesGaming]

@@mikecimerian6913 While true. alot of the hate was "atleast IMO" somewhat correctly aimed at the Japanese ARMY. Ive seen vets that respect the almost totally mad loyalty, duty and sacrifice that the navy (and naval airforce) had shown throughout the war. *Shrug* just my opinion and observation. just food for thought is all :)

[@mikecimerian6913]

​@@BlueEyesGaming I cheer every year on Hiroshima day. Three why didn't they have three? Anyone aware of the crimes of Japan since their invasion of China doesn't have a problem with both cities getting nuked. While Germany went through soul searching and introspection for years to wrap their head around their history, Japan never did. Hiroshima was a way to turn the tables around and play the victim while sidestepping self examination and responsibility. So sorry, yes in deed. Tell that to the brutalized people who were under your boot. Samurai bullshit and romanticizing maniacal minutia is a deflection.

[@The_Viscount]

By 1950, everyone was more concerned with the Soviet Union and the rise of Communism than with the previous war. The US wanted Japan to help defend the Asian Pacific from Communist forces, and wasn't being too picky. That's the practical reasoning. As for prejudice or respect for the enemy, there was often a difference in opinion between the rank and file and the senior officers corps. Admiral Nimitz himself greatly respected Japanese officers and sailors. Undoubtedly, many people held grudges on both sides, but there did exist some who respected the strength of their adversaries. And there were very different attitudes between naval personnel and marines. Finally, much of Japan did go through soul searching during the post war era. You saying they didn't is false. Much of Japanese today are very wary of military power.

[@BlueEyesGaming]

@@mikecimerian6913 (Dies laughing) My boot? I'M ANGLO/AUSTRALIAN YOU DUMBFUCK! (continues laughing) I'd write a longass post to respond to that utter madness. but honestly. your argument really does do my work for me. tried being respectful. but your just insane :) peace

[@dsloop3907]

"The majority of them had been forcibly withdrawn from active service and reassigned to reef duty."

[@richardcutts196]

An advantage of hedgehog was that if the charges didn't detonate they didn't disrupt sonar contact. With normal depth charges a ship had to pass over the target and thus lost contact allowing the target to maneuver. There 's a history of it's development (among other interesting things) in 'The Secret war 1939-45' available for free download at archive.org/details/secretwar193945007234mbp/page/n10/mode/2up

[@StoolieP]

Would like to know the answer to the question, “How In the world did they do it?”

[@davidgellatly1975]

Reply: "We pulled out the (safety) pins." No joke.

[@gerbrandvisser]

A Buckley class DE plays a role in the fifties movie "The enemy below".

[@gyrene_asea4133]

Excellent old school war flick. Robert Mitchum and Kurt Jurgens.

[@GeorgHaeder]

That was USS Whitehurst (DE-634).

[@kentvesser9484]

Very good movie.

[@MyMongo100]

I enjoyed this so much I had to listen to it twice (so far). I do wonder though was it a very intuitive sonar operator, a very cunning captain or even just a captain who encouraged the best out of his men that lead to this becoming such an awesome ship?

[@admiraltiberius1989]

Fantastic video as always Drach....shame the US Navy doesn't have a England in current service. It's a particularly distinguished name. "Recalled for reef duty" is particularly morbid but still funny.

[@haggis525]

I absolutely love these little ships - not just this class - the DE's, the Destroyers, the Frigates and Corvettes, the Minesweepers (Like the Bangor class). They don't get all the big sexy good press of the big ships but they fight! Of course, I'm definitely biased - retired tin can sailor, RCN.

[@JohnRodriguesPhotographer]

A good depiction of the Buckley-class is the movie The Enemy Below. Portrayed by DE-634 USS Whitehurst, Buckley-class ship.

[@JJ_PapaOfFiveKids]

13:34 "...forciblywithdrawn ad reassigned to reef duty..." LOL

[@jaycehall]

Would love to see one about the USS Buckley and its fight against U-66

[@toddwebb7521]

And Drach wanted to tell the story of a ship named USS England because of course he did

[@kentvesser9484]

Imagine the rivalry if there had also been a USS Ireland, USS Wales, and USS Scotland in the same squadron.

[@fhlostonparaphrase]

Perhaps an obscure and rather short undertaking, but you do ask for suggestions; Norwegian destroyers of WWII :-P Sleipner class(6 ships) perhaps most interesting, and Draug class (3 ships) (otherwise there were other ships in service, but those were acquired from the British/Americans). Geirr H. Haarr has written some excellent books on the naval campaign in/off Norway in 1940, good reading regardless.

[@LawrenceJordan1776]

I recommend the 1957 movie "The Enemy Below", which was filmed with cooperation of the U.S. Navy aboard Buckley-class destroyer escort U.S.S. Whitehurst (called "U.S.S. Haynes" in the film). It's a tense drama with excellent dialog and great performances by Robert Mitchum as captain of the Haynes, and Curt Jurgens as captain of a German U-Boat. There are several actual K-gun and depth-charge explosions, in full Kodak Technicolor. Riveting story of men at war.

[@scootergsp]

This movie was also inspiration for the classic Star Trek episode "The Balance of Terror".

[@colbeausabre8842]

The book pitted the RN H class destroyer HMS Hecate en.wikipedia.org/wiki/G_and_H-class_destroyer (converted to an escort destroyer by removing A gun in favor of Hedgehog, retaining B gun, mounting 20mm port and starboard in the bridge wings, between the stacks and replacing the searchlight (remounted aft of the stacks), retaining X gun and removing the after torpedo mount and Y gun in favor of depth charges) versus U-121 which in real life was a coastal sub used for training. Given the location in the Central Atlantic, it was probably an ocean going type IXB in the book en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Type_IX_submarine. The time is September 1943. The author states that it came out of an intellectual question that he had, what if a lone destroyer and a U-boat met mano a mano md-ocean with no distractions (ie convoy to defend or attack). So far as he knew, it never happened. Frankly, I preferred the book to the film

[@nickdanger3802]

46 Buckleys were delivered to the Royal Navy under the Lend-Lease agreement.