USS Wisconsin - Give way to oncoming battleships!

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@jonathanwhite5132]

Like you said that sailors are notorious from being on board a Petri dish of many illnesses could you do a video on medicine at sea?

[@connormclernon26]

Did you have an opportunity to visit the Mariner’s Museum in Hampton Roads while you were in the Norfolk Hampton Roads area? I actually brought up the fact you were visiting the area to some of the staff before you came here on my visit to the museum.

[@galbert117]

Beyond praising the Omnissiah/God Emperor, what would happen if a contingent of Tech Priests from the Adeptus Mechanicus do if they found themselves on Ancient Terra (our Earth)?

[@prussianhill]

It seems (to me at least) that most Confederate Ironclads were inprovisons; having been fashioned together with whatever iron was available, on whatever hulls were either easily apportioned or built. Assuming in argumendo that the Confederates were successful in their aspirations for independence; how long do you see the Confederate ironclads lasting in service in the post-war CS Navy? Would some builds or designs last longer than others? And do you think it is telling that the US navy never seemed to maintain former CSN ironclads in post-war service?

[@brendonbewersdorf986]

I was rewatching your video on the L20E class battleships and it got me thinking would a upgraded L20e with oil fired boilers and proper fire control and radar have been a better more efficient battleship design than The Bismarck class even if they only had enough for two like they historically did?

[@bara922]

My favorite Wisconsin story is from the time in the Korean War a shore battery got a hit on them so they turned the 16 inch guns on it and deleted the artillery installation. Then one of the escorts (I have seen disagreements about if it was the USS Buck or USS Duncan) signaled "Temper temper."

[@pubcle]

One of the reasons the Wisky got upset was because she had never otherwise been hit. She managed to be a completely undamaged ship through her enlistment beyond weathering and that one strike.

[@colbypupgaming1962]

She didn't delete the battery, she vaporized it.

[@lancerevell5979]

@@colbypupgaming1962 Didn't even need a Wave Motion Gun! 😎👍

[@bara922]

@colbypupgaming1962 I was quoting another account of it but yes. I imagine there was a moment of "What shore battery?" afterwards.

[@adamdubin1276]

Nothing says "you shouldn't have done that" quite like a 16-inch high capacity shell landing on your position.

[@gallendugall8913]

If television teaches us anything it is that WWII battleships are ideally suited for conversion to starship with just a few add on components.

[@drcovell]

Anti-gravity fir liftoff!

[@221b-l3t]

@@drcovell I have actually put a battleship into orbit (around Kerbin). I built it out of like 5000 plates and empty fuel tanks for flotation,had a mod for naval guns and nuclear weapons. The magazine was represented by a nuke. Gravity on, no infinite fuel. It ran at 1 fps it was just a pyramid of fuel tanks with a battleship on top.

[@CryptidRenfri]

I've always thought that Imperial Class star destroyers and Iowa Class battleships looked really similar to my eye. I'm sure that's no coincidence. In terms of their use and place in a fleet, star destroyers are essentially the Star Wars equivalent of battleships too. As someone with a great deal of interest in both, I see this as a great thing.

[@CryptidRenfri]

Also considering the Galactic Empire was an analogy for American imperialism (mostly, not exclusively), it really makes a lot of sense lol

[@zacharymacadam7416]

Uchuu Senkan ya ma toooooooo

[@tykit9230]

Spent two years on this ship 88-90. Was an honor and a privilege

[@michaeln3527]

When I was a kid, I lived down the street from this ship’s final captain, who I won’t name here but I’m sure you can look up. He came to one of our Cub Scout meetings and showed us vhs tapes of their bombardment missions in Desert Storm, and Iraqi army units surrendering to the ship’s drones. Later on I gave him a pencil drawing of the ship (I worked for days on it) and he gave me a framed photo of the ship blasting a full broadside. He was (and probably still is) a real class act.

[@ramal5708]

There's a reason why they should call the battleship Wisky, since a part of her is USS Kentucky, the incomplete Iowa class

[@connycontainer9459]

Yeah, but Charlie don't surf.

[@nmccw3245]

WisKy 👍🏻

[@HeliophobicRiverman]

Getting vibes of Zubian here 🙂

[@SealofPerfection]

And that's exactly why she's called that. Some folks incorrectly call her "Whisky", but that was never her nickname.

[@rogersmith7396]

It is the longest Iowa.

[@outandaboutwithsamiam5034]

I was a Sergeant in the Marine Detachment, and proud plankowner of the USS WISCONSIN BB-64, serving from June 1988-June 1990. Then i saw what those 16 inch guns can do in Kuwait City during Desert Storm. Serving with her and her crew is a HIGHLIGHT of my 23 year career. Thank you for the memories.

[@MoultrieGeek]

I lived in Norfolk (locals pronounce it NorFICK) for 20-odd years and have toured the ship countless times. Fun fact: The Wisconsin addition to Nauticus literally saved it from closing down for good as locals completely ignored it and only tourists ever paid to visit it. When she first opened to the public only the weather decks were accessible as a lack of money to modify interior spaces kept them closed. As a former USN sailor it does my heart good to see the changes through the years and the gradual opening of the interior spaces.

[@ronsmith4927]

Except out in Pungo/rural Chesapeake, then it is NAWfuk :D

[@ronsmith4927]

Also the interiors werent open at first because she was still technically in reserve, eventually she was released by the Navy.

[@SealofPerfection]

When she first opened, she was still in inactive reserve, so she was buttoned up with dehumidifiers running, it wasn't t lack of money. They just weren't allowed to open her up.

[@rogersmith7396]

They should build a replica of CSS Virginia.

[@lancerevell5979]

@@ronsmith4927 Which is the way us squids stationed/homeported there in the early 1980s pronounced it. 👍

[@robertadamcik9179]

Hey Drach!!!!! What? No mention of your introduction to chicken and waffles? ;-) Seriously, it was a pleasure hosting you and Mrs. Drach on board the Mighty WISKY!!!!

[@jarheadlife]

Saw her in the Persian Gulf 1991 steaming beautifully by us after the end of Dessert Storm. My Grandpa was in a 5 inch gun turret during the Korean War. They are beautiful ships! Toured the USS Missouri in Subic 91 also. 🇺🇸❤️🇺🇸❤️

[@macmedic892]

I love that the guns are named... and particularly their names! "Hi, I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl, and this is my other brother Darrell", from the 80's TV show Newhart, where three brothers frequently visited the hotel. Only Larry ever spoke. The brothers were rustic, men of the woods.

[@lancerevell5979]

A gag that will never die! 😎👍

[@bobbenson6825]

If you hadn't posted this I would have! Good catch from one of the all-time great American sitcoms.

[@rdfox76]

I've also seen at least one twin mount or turret (blanking which it was and what ship it was on) where the guns were named "Pete" and "Re-Pete."

[@Vekurus]

Yes! Someone got it!

[@kylecarmichael5890]

And for those wondering the reference is from Newhart, a Bob Newhart show in the late 80s IIRC. Great SHow.

[@Skipping2HellPHX]

42:00 Gotta love the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Even if an organization was already inclined to want to be accessible, the ADA provides many great guidelines and reminders on how to be accessible. I only wish more countries, like the UK, had this to make their sites better.

[@stephenbritton9297]

They really missed out not nicknaming her “the big cheese”! Anyway, Nauticus is a great museum in and of it self. Was there long before the BB was there, and it was worth the visit.

[@joknaepkens]

I can confirm it is the Wasp (LHD-1). The three other ships in class stationed at Norfolk are: LHD-3 Kearsarge, LHD-5 Bataan and LHD-7 Iwo Jima.

[@milt6208]

When I was stationed at the Naval Shipyard in Philadelphia I used to go over to the USS Wisconsin and U.S.S Iowa to look at them everyday.

[@cascadesouthernmodeltrains7547]

The last time I was onboard Wisconsin there was a sign on the bow that said “Welcome to the USS Kentucky” and it told the story of the collision and repair. I tried getting a picture of it but the sun glare was too bad to get a readable pic.

[@Kevin_Kennelly]

Wisconsin guns: "Hi. I'm Larry, this is my brother Darryl and this is my other brother Darryl."

[@jayparker4562]

Yes, I noticed that too!!!!

[@ronnielacher]

I volunteer on the Wisconsin. I was asked by a little girl why we buried guys in the turret. She thought Larry, Darryl, and Darryl died on board and their bodies were put in the guns.

[@firstcynic92]

Would that make the turret name Stratford Inn? kzbin.info/www/bejne/aanNkJ2bq86qgbM

[@cleverusername9369]

Well one of them is spelled Darrel.

[@Ganiscol]

But why would they not name them Larry, Moe and Curly? 🤔

[@lancerevell5979]

Being an old ex-squid (Frigate Sailor) I can appreciate these old Battlewagons. End of an era, but what an era it was! 👍 I have a plastic model kit of the USS Wisconsin in my stash to be built soon. I'm putting the finishing touches on the USS North Carolina now. 😎 We'll never see their like in service again, so keeping these histories going is of paramount importance.

[@Melody_Raventress]

Well, the Kirov's are still around, and with ship inflaton cruisers are unlikely to stop growing. We will never see 16in armed monsters again, but a massive ship with heavy offensive and defensive firepower will sail again. It will be armed with drones, lasers, HGV missiles and it will be defended by AIs with reaction speeds faster than thought. They might be entirely unmanned. But they'll be called battleships.

[@NexusReload]

I audibly gasped when I turned onto the road that faces Wisconsin, it's wild seeing a battleship in person for the first time

[@rdfox76]

Single most dramatic "first impression" of any museum ship, ever. You're just driving/walking through a city, come around a corner, and BOOM, battleship, twelve o'clock, 400 yards, opposite course! Did a better job of waking me up when I visited her than any damn hotel coffee, that's for sure!

[@scooterdescooter4018]

big. very very very big.

[@americanrambler4972]

I used to often drive into Bremerton from the south where the reserve and mothballed ships were moored. It was quite a sight to see the Missouri and New Jersy moored next to each other. Those along with the other retired large carriers was a very impressive sight. That’s all gone now. Now you only see a couple of ships now.

[@Kumquat_Lord]

Good old WisKy. If you ever do visit the midwest, go to the U-505 in Chicago and the wisconsin maritime museum to go on a very functional Gato-class sub, the Cobia

[@ph89787]

Isn't there an F4F Wildcat at O'Hare Airport?

[@benwiebe572]

That sub had a captured Japanese sailor or submariner onboard. Lotta cool stuff bout that in the museum. Kanji and Kana inscriptions on a lot of instruments. Pretty neat.

[@justicedunham4088]

I actually got to spend the night on the Cobia with my Boy Scout troop years ago. USS Cobia famously sank a Japanese transport on its way to Iwo Jima that carried more tanks than were present on the island. Meaning failing to sink the ship would have more than doubled the Japanese armored units on Iwo Jima

[@markhamstra1083]

⁠It’s an SBD Dauntless, and it’s at Midway Airport. Think about it.

[@NexusReload]

I have seen all three and definitely recommend them

[@GaldirEonai]

Nominating "It's amazing what loquacious sentiments you can express with a simple buzzer" for Drachism of the week.

[@lightspeedvictory]

Time stamp 25:25 correction: it is a signal light, not gun trainer Time stamp 27:23 clarification: let’s say the ship pulled into a port to allow shore leave but you don’t want to waste souvenir money on a taxi. Borrow one of the bikes instead. The bikes are now just part of the presentation. Thanks for coming Drach. As one of the staff of the Battleship Operations team, hope to see you onboard in the future!

[@SW-pz1yy]

At time stamp 25:25 The two things on the right are signal lamps? Would that make the big lamp bottom center right a search lump?

[@sirboomsalot4902]

How do you go about getting a job on one of these ships? Does Wisconsin have paid staff or is it all volunteer?

[@lightspeedvictory]

@@sirboomsalot4902 That will vary from museum to museum. As for the Wisconsin, we rely on both paid staff (through USAjobs.gov IIRC) and volunteers (through the Nauticus website)

[@lightspeedvictory]

@@SW-pz1yy the gun-like devices are saluting guns, while the thing that looks like a search lamp is the signal light

[@boggzgodinme9960]

Good day Mr Drachinifel I’m the original Center Gun Captain Turret One served in Gulf war Awesome duty and shipmates great and best job ever had glad we were a part of history I liked your info and work on your presentation thank you for the Nostalgia have a blessed day

[@Pyjamarama11]

Flying around the world filming ships You truly are living your dream

[@jameshall1300]

Awesome! My grandfather served on the Wisconsin during the Korean War. I hope to be able to go see it soon. Its on my list of model kits to build also in honor of him and the other men who served on her.

[@MandolinMagi]

New Jersey is better, but Wisconsin has a fantastic location

[@CRUSH71]

​@AB-el1zz I've only been to the U.S.S Iowa. What makes the New Jersey better?

[@MandolinMagi]

@@CRUSH71 Better presentation, general location, overall just a better done visitor experiance . Hard to say exactly but it's just a better run museum ship

[@mhmt1453]

I was stationed at Ft. Story in VA. Beach, so I used to see these things coming back to Norfolk. Somewhere I have a picture of an Iowa offshore. It was pretty far out, but it was still impressive. Even more impressive was hearing one of these things pass overhead while you’re in the Bay-Bridge Tunnel; even sitting in traffic far below the surface you can hear the screws churning the water. I haven’t seen Wisconsin since her decommissioning. I was down there from 1988-early 1990, and obviously she was still in service, but it is on my “Bucket List.”

[@crazyeyez1502]

That display for those who can't easily get around is an awesome idea. Also why i love videos like this and those that Ryan and the crew at BBNJ put out. As a truck driver, I've seen New Jersey many times, from the Philadelphia side of the river, but live too far away to visit on personal time.

[@TheRogueLeader]

30:00 yes Drach you are correct that would be USS WASP (LHD-1)

[@battleshipnewjerseysailor4738]

Hello Mr. Drachinifel, FYI, the oil shack where these samples were checked would have had a centrifuge which greatly sped up the time needed to check for particulates in the oil

[@kevinfrank5527]

LHD 1 is USS Wasp, lead ship of her class, which was in dry dock for maintenance. Nearly the size of a WW2 aircraft carrier, they carry helicopters, V/STOL aircraft on her flight deck and landing craft and amphibious vehicles in an open well deck at the waterline. Had the opportunity to tour one of her sisters.

[@Wolfeson28]

Yup, I think that ship must be the Wasp. It's clearly an amphibious/helicopter assault ship, USS Wasp is homeported in Norfolk, and she's the only US ship of that type to have a 1 in her number (there aren't enough LHDs to reach double digits).

[@RetiredSailor60]

I served on USS Wasp LHD 1 2000-03...

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

Talking about the early electronic computers at Bletchley park reminded me: the origin of the term “bug” in computers is that when these massive room sized glorified pocket calculators were in service, the most common fault in them were literal insects making their home in the dark, warm interior of the computers and accidentally frying themselves on a high voltage bit of the machinery or being crushed in a moving part so the “bug” would need to be removed before the computer would operate correctly again. So the computer doing something unexpected forever became “a bug”

[@thevictoryoverhimself7298]

@@jackgee3200 Well, i can honestly say i didnt make this up myself, so some people thought it was true :)

[@christophermancini7380]

In addition to this very welcome Rum Ration Wednesday video and Drydock, Drach, it was a special treat to see you yesterday along with Seth and Bill in this week's Unauthorized History of the Pacific War episode on the Battle of Empress Augusta Bay!

[@frankbodenschatz173]

Same here!

[@jmullner76]

Agreed!

[@aaronmiller620]

Me too

[@AllanSitte]

Thank you for this Drach... and Mrs. Drach. I last visited "Whiskey" in Norfolk back in 2012 shortly after she was designated as a "historical place" by the National Register of Historical Places. It is apparent they have kept her in great shape. A testament to the museum curators attention to detail.

[@kleinjahr]

The furnace sights on a boiler are there to keep an eye on the flame, it’s shape and colour. It should be swirling, sort of like a tornado and, if oil fired, white. If it’s not then there is a problem with the burner or air supply.

[@jeremydoud4885]

The USS WISCONSIN looks to be in AMAZING, WELL TAKEN CARE OF SHAPE!! Great job 👏 🫡🖖

[@SnowmanTF2]

I would imagine being in proximity of Norfolk and Newport News, they probably have among the largest pool of retirees in the area who worked in constructing/maintaining ships of any ship museum, plus a good chuck of retired sailors too.

[@noahhowrilla4208]

I used to volunteer at Nauticus a few years back, solely for the reason to see her every week, an absolutely beautiful ship

[@hatman4818]

Oh I cant wait to watch this one. My great grandfather (pop pop) was a pharmacists mate on the Wisconsin during WW2. He was stationed near one of the 16 inch turrets, and his job was to try to save lives if a 16 inch shell ever fell off one of the gun elevators and exploded (fortunately never happened). He was on the ship during Okinawa and Iwo Jima. He said the whole ship shifted sideways 5 feet every 9 gun salvo. And that it was the largest battleship in the world thanks to 10 feet of length added by that destroyer collision repair (and its technically true, given the Yamato and Musashi are now wrecks). I miss him. I loved listening to his stories growing up. He left me his 1930s era medical textbook when he died, as well as one or two of his veteran hats. He confided in my mother one time that he felt like his stories were boring, and felt bad he didnt see more action to tell me about (since he was stationed below decks during battlestations, and the Wisconsin went through the war pretty much unscathed). I always thought it was cool he was alive for WW2 at all, but even as a kid, was otherwise happy he had such a chill station. I wasnt naive to the tragedy of war. Even on neighboring ships at the time, people were dying to kamikazes. Had he ended up anywhere else in the military, there was a chance he wouldve come out of it scarred, or worse, not survived at all (and I wouldnt be here today if that happened). So I was always thanlful he DIDNT see more action. He died when I was 16 or 17. When I was 20, I joined the USAF as a KC-135 jet engine mechanic, and got stationed on Okinawa for 5 years. I always wondered what he would've thought of that if he had been alive to see me head out there. I sometimes got an eery thought that over 70 years ago, he was there too, a couple miles off shore, with his battleship lobbing shells inland. I've never seen the ship IRL. It's on my bucket list, one of these days, I'll go visit it for a couple days.

[@jame3shook]

~@29:50 that view is the Elizabeth River (upriver shot) of some of the private shipyards of the area.

[@washingtonradio]

In Star Wars (1977) I was always struck how the Death Star's defensive battery looked like a USN 5"/38 twin mount blasting away a Japanese kamikazes.

[@colormedubious4747]

It's not a secret that the space battle scenes were inspired by WW2 naval air combat.

[@kemarisite]

As I recall, that's exactly where the model pieces came from, just with some extra "business" daubed along the length of the barrels.

[@crazypetec-130fe7]

@@colormedubious4747 George Lucas plagiarized some dialog from The Dambusters, word for word.

[@colormedubious4747]

@@crazypetec-130fe7 I'm shocked... said no one ever.

[@AndrewTBP]

See _633 Squadron_ for further WW2 Star Wars references.

[@topturretgunner]

Drach. Good evening. Being Vietnam era US Navy I thoroughly enjoy your reviews and essays on Naval history. Although more of a military aircraft and history buff there is a soft place in my heart for naval ships and history. I hope this brief text finds you and yours in good health. and fortune. Fair winds and following seas my friend.

[@alex7x57]

I love how the 1980's Turret 1 gun crew were fans of "The Bob Newhart Show". Edit: "Newhart" was the name of the show.

[@colormedubious4747]

"This is my brother Darryl, and my other brother Darryl."

[@drmwpn]

That one was just called 'Newhart', 'The Bob Newhart Show' was an earlier series in the 70s.

[@alex7x57]

@@drmwpn ah! Thanks for the clarification.

[@drmwpn]

@@alex7x57 No worries, it was a great show, one of my favorites as a kid.

[@RetiredSailor60]

I toured USS Missouri in 1984 in Bremerton WA. Heard USS New Jersey's 16" guns being fired off the coast of San Clemente Island in 1985. Attended the USS Iowa Memorial Service in April 1989 after the turret explosion. Toured USS Wisconsin in 2002 while stationed on USS Wasp.

[@saltydawg1793]

Those two guns below the bridge and forward of the five inch guns are 40 MM saluting guns. I was the Iowa's Weapons Department Head from recommissioning in 1984 to spring 1986,

[@HarryWHill-GA]

I was briefly aboard Wisconsin TAD while in the Navy. My wife allowed that it was certainly larger than my previous ship, a Knox-class frigate. I wish I could have taken her to sea. An additional note: @45:24 the port on the right has a red Z inside a black D. This denotes condition Dog Zebra which says that the port should be covered over during times of darken ship.

[@sgtkmy2184]

Used to volunteer on her for two years and I really miss not only the ship but the other volunteers, they were all wonderful to work with.

[@battleshipnewjerseysailor4738]

@33:43 the panel shown is pneumatic and controls valves which have air operated motors and are for flood control in the engineering spaces, as DCPO, I was responsible for performing maintenance on U.S.S New Jersey's panels

[@TiernanWilkinson]

The only battleship I've seen in person, and my lovely state's namesake! Lovely ship, hope to go back and see her again someday.

[@steveschulte8696]

The port holes on the Navigation Chart Room are dual material condition designated. The glass portion the a Yankee fitting closed when wartime steaming. The covers are designated a Dog-Zulu closed during steaming condition I (General Quarters / Action Stations) or during darken ship at night. Condition Xray is closed all the time and are only operated when commanded. The Condition Whiskey are closed when you encounter avrious NBC attacks, generally ventilation fittings. The "Star Trek" looking board is an electrical transfer control board for connecting or cross connecting the various electrical power busses to one another. The blue lights possibly indicated the breaker is closed.

[@SomeRandomHuman717]

@7:08 In as-built configuration, there would be two persicopes. The Turret Captain (normally the senior [enlisted] Chief assigned to the turret) would man the left periscope, between the left and center guns. The Turret Officer (typically a Lieutenant) would be at the periscope station between the center and right guns. The Turret Officer's position has more indicator panels and communication hookups to "higher" compared to the Turret Captain's station.

[@John-hz3sb]

Thanks for the tour of the USS Wisconsin. My family went to an "open house" event aboard the Wisconsin in Long Beach California in 1953, I was four at the time. I remember embarking from the pier aboard a motorized launch with a group of people for the ride out to the ship. Upon finally reaching the main deck from the boarding stairs I bolted across the deck to an open hatch located in the superstructure behind turret #2. About three minutes later a young officer called our group together and announced the "open house" was closed and everyone had to return to shore, what the heck? So glad to have finished the tour that was interrupted so many years ago. Regards, John

[@leroysgamesandmore2226]

When I went onboard her last year she did have a few issues mainly peeling paint and rust eaten metal but I know museums are hard to maintain

[@lancerevell5979]

Even on my little ASW Frigate, upkeep was a daily duty. Lower enlisteds all over the ship would wield chipping hammers, Brasso polish, paint cans/brushes, etc. It was never ending, as due to salt water, "rust never sleeps!"

[@JoshuaTootell]

Paint peeling is totally normal on these things, that isn't even close to a sign of an issue.

[@thumper302]

Woulda been funny if the crew had painted a state line across the bow after she was repaired 😄 thanks for another great vid!

[@mpetersen6]

If she had gotten the bow from Illinios they could have called her Big Willi.

[@CaveShvig]

For some odd reason we (USN) use 'Yoke' and ''Zebra' (or one of those was 'Dog Zebra') for fittings to be closed in material conditions instead of using the 'Yankee' and 'Zulu' that we use more regularly with phonetic alphabet

[@CaveShvig]

Timestamp 39:38

[@elysiumfalls4]

God the Iowas are such a beautiful class.

[@christophermancini7380]

Once again Drach, thank you for another very enjoyable and informative video! I am especially impressed how you focus on specific topics and areas of interest as to never have these videos seem to be redundant, as they could be as there are four Iowa-class battleships that you've visited, as well as similar USS Alabama, Massachusetts, and North Carolina. I have always wanted to visit these ships, and your videos make me want to visit them even more! Great work Drach, and greatly look forward to seeing your future uploads!

[@georgesoros6415]

His innate engineer comes out. When you graduate Annapolis, it is with an engineering degree. It is part of the heritage where the Navy fights ships, not men. If the goal is to keep your ship afloat, then concentrating on the ship is probably most important. In Britain, line officers were sailors first, but when dirty engines came to be, they employed Scots as engineer officers (thus Scotty on Star Trek's Enterprise). English toffs didn't much care for dirt. They kept that up until WWI. But by WWII, they got religion. Meanwhile, Americans are all engineers. And most always have been. As a matter of policy. Like making Aircraft carrier Captains earn their wings, how do you put a man in command who doesn't know how his ship works? Drach must have been a very good engineer. He knows his stuff. Their loss, our gain!

[@ronsmith4927]

@29:55 That would be a Wasp-class landing helicopter dock (LHD) , getting work done at the Norfolk Naval Shipyard. Pretty sure it is LHD-3 USS Kearsarge. On the other side of her would be the graving docks, one of which would have constructed most of Kentucky.

[@kidmohair8151]

for those of you who are curious what the salvo warning klaxon sounds like, Battleship New Jersey starts their videos with it.

[@tombogan03884]

Roddenberry and the ship's bridge. You have it backwards Drach. Supposedly, the Navy saw "Star Trek" and said "That ! We need that." The studio set was just dreamed up by good set designers.

[@m.streicher8286]

I remember when drach was negotiating c19 restrictions for his USA trip. Time flies.

[@roberts2554]

i volunteer on the Wisky and i dont remember if its turret two or three but the names of the guns are The Good, The Bad, The Ugly.

[@dscrye]

Fun fact about CIC (20:30 reminded me): it was largely inspired by Doc Smith's _Lensman_ series. The Directrix, specifically. The series is great fun if you want to see the most ludicrous arms race possible outside of "The Butter Battle Book". I am a terrible person for suggesting this, but head over to TV Tropes and look up "Lensman arms race" if you want to learn way, way too much about it and the influences it has had.

[@bryant7201]

Glad to here there will be more "Where in the Port is Drachinifel" Theme song is so boss.

[@adamdubin1276]

The LHD you saw is definitely Wasp, she is homeported in Norfolk and the only active Amphibious assualt ship with a "1" in her hull number currently.

[@tuckcuttertuck6802]

They used to have a plaque Denoting where the bow changes over.

[@Giddog40]

Back in 2016 our school marching band took a trip to the Wisconsin and we played a few songs underneath the forward turret, we also got to tour the navy yard, was a lot of fun and I’ve been waiting for you to get to the Wisconsin since this series started

[@johnallen4900]

Hi Guys , as an englishman visiting your great country i spent a whole month in The US in 2014 , visiting both the North Carolina and the Wisconsin - both mighty impressive ! , whilst on the wisconsin i had the pleasure and the honour of meeting two of her original WW2 crew members , who were still acting as guides !!

[@georgepurdy7823]

I literally just reenlisted on her focsle two weeks ago. She has Harpoon launchers aboard still if you look aft of the bridge.

[@christopherridle7670]

I have no excuse. I need to visit more of these ships. I wouldn't have as far to travel as Drach.

[@johnfisher9692]

Thanks Drach I've assembled computers but modern stuff looks way, way easier than trying to do anything with that fire control table. Important tip, if you want the special 'Royal' treatment when visiting any museum ship, take Drach with you lol

[@MonicaLuetkemeyer]

The little guns beneath the port side 5" are a saluting battery made of former 40mm barrels.

[@colinschenck2129]

I walked around the Whisky first weekend of May. Took both tours. Loved every second of it

[@leroyhaas9085]

I am born and raised in Wisconsin which I have had many relatives serve our country including my daughter lieutenant commander Allison Mosley on a ship and all my uncles, aunts, father in-law 😊 cousins all served for our country I’m very proud of all military service people who have served, thank for our freedom

[@rdfox76]

I'd just like to toss out there that the Nauticus itself has some absolutely *fascinating* exhibits that really get across the power of capital ship guns. One is the famous swing balance with a 16" HC shell hanging from one side, and a Volkswagen Beetle hanging from the other. Another one is a chunk of armor plate that was the subject of a trial at the Dahlgren proving grounds, shot with a 12" gun matching those on the US's first dreadnoughts, the South Carolina class. The plate has visibly *delaminated* from the energy of the impact at the edges of the hole...

[@DavidSmith-cx8dg]

An enjoyable and informative trip round Wisconsin . I have watched Ryan and New Jersey 's channel for a few months .As a former Dockyard worker I'm struck by the similarities of these ships to the RN. ships of my early working life , I can certainly remember the awesome complexity and engineering of the old control systems , with the modern cameras you can get a really good look at this kit without all the bending and contortions it takes physically . It's a shame we couldn't manage to preserve some of our comparable ships , but can also understand why . Thanks for the tour .

[@grahamjackson6589]

Wisconsin looks like she could provide fire support today👍

[@danielpullum1907]

Hope you enjoyed YOUR tour.

[@hoppycom888]

To answer some of ya'llls questions about those poor Koreans who thought they could pick a fight with the Wisconsin on that ill-fated March day. It was the USS Duncan who flashed (Temper, Temper Wiskey ). My grandfather was the signalman on bridge duty who handled the signaling lamp that day and took the note from Commander Lawrence to be sent to his friend Captan Bruton.

[@TheLongislandlimey]

My Daughter is stationed at Tracen Yorktown, next time I am down there the Wisconsin is on my to do list Great channel, even tho I am a self confessed Avgeek for the past 50 years, as an English expat I am enjoying connecting with my nautical heritage!

[@Blackjack701AD]

I parked in the same garage! Visited Wisconsin a few years ago but the wife tagged along so we only spent 3 hours on the ship.

[@peterkoch3777]

When i saw the thumbnail picture of Wisconsins bow with the big number 64, i thought there should be a small 65 a little bit further😂

[@guidor.4161]

"Give way to oncoming battleships" is excellent advice for any vessel...

[@macmedic892]

Definitely follows the lug nut rule for the right-of-way on the highway: the vehicle with the most lug nuts has the right of way.

[@NoewerrATall]

The nautical version is the Law of Tonnage. Swap "number of lug nuts" for "gross tonnage" and it works pretty much the same.

[@jamesa702]

Thanks for a detailed tour. What a fine BB Wisconsin is. Ching Lee must have gotten an itchy trigger finger upon seeing such a beautiful battle wagon. It is great that those famous ships have been preserved. Your efforts are much appreciated.

[@OtakuLoki]

Finely machined gearing is incredibly durable when it's dealing with expected stresses. As long as the the mating surfaces are meeting in the right manner they can transfer incredible amounts of force from one piece to the next. When unexpected things get added into the system, damage happens. Volumetric pumps are pumps that put out a set volume of whatever fluid they're pumping per rotation of the driving shaft. Very often these are set up as a set of gears meeting inside the pump housing, and regardless of discharge pressure, they'll efficiently pump out fluid. They're also machined to a similar precision as a reduction gearing set. During my shore-based training we were handed around several smaller models of various pumps to handle, and take apart, and spin the drive shaft to see what happened. The gear-style volumetric pump, we were told wouldn't rotate anymore, though. Some bright spark had had the brilliant idea of wanting to see what it would do if he passed a sheet of paper through the gear. That thickness of paper, with a determined young sailor's muscle power on the drive shaft was enough to turn the whole thing into an immobile lump. We could still see the torn remains of the paper still stuck in the gearing. That's how fragile those reduction gears can be to unanticipated stresses. It's also why inspection mirrors for inspecting the gears were never glass-faced. It honestly surprises me to think that there was ever a time that the reduction gear inspection ports were ever unlocked.

[@maynardcarmer3148]

Back when I was in- late 60s time period- there was an incident on the Ranger, I believe, where someone sabotaged one of the reduction gears to prevent a deployment. Yeah, things like that did happen. It was a bad time all around in those days.

[@OtakuLoki]

@@maynardcarmer3148 I didn't mean to suggest I doubted that there had been deliberate sabotage, and I apologize if I gave the impression I was doubting that. Given the potential for bad things to happen by accident, locking the reduction gear access ports seems prudent even without a concern about sabotage. Of course, I was a Nuke, and we had the reactor plug locked, too, when we had no reason to be in the reactor compartment.

[@maynardcarmer3148]

@@OtakuLoki No problem. I was a Hospital Corpsman, serving on a DDG at the time

[@grandconqueror2446]

Funnily enough, I almost ran into Drach as around the same time I visited the ship... But was a day too early

[@bertbaker7067]

@~41:15, i wonder if they could create a virtual reality or augmented reality system for the battleship similar to what The Void used to do. People would wear a headset and as they moved and looked around it could display informational or reenactment overlays. And a system for people with mobility issues to use the headsets for a virtual tour without having to walk anywhere.

[@jaelwyn]

No theoretical reason you can't, but you would need details and measurements of everything from the full ship blueprints down to the things like the gear specs, if you wanted people to be able to look inside the computer. However that probably isn't all that different from what gets put into CAD systems when designing current stuff. The biggest tricks are A) finding the information at all, or re-creating it with measurements, B) getting all of that data entered into the modeling tools, and C) putting all of the pieces together efficiently enough to be usable. C just needs expertise and time, B needs *a lot* of data entry and cross-checking, and A... probably isn't realistic, unfortunately, although maybe at some point we'll be able to get a LIDAR drone to scan it, which would at least get you the rough outlines (but to be accurate a human has to go in and "clean it up" / break it into chunks small enough for the tools to handle.

[@Noble713]

Great content as always! I especially enjoyed the focus on the various precision-machined components. I think modern people don't really grasp the level of technical complexity and difficulty that went into fabricating these awesome war machines, even if they were built almost a century ago. My father's family are from the Hampton Roads area, his father was a sailor in WW2. While I've been to the Nauticus museum several times, it was before the Wisconsin was berthed there. Same for USS New Jersey showing up at my mother's hometown of Philadelphia/Camden. My grandmother worked at a munitions factory in Camden in WW2. Despite having deep naval connections in my family, the only battleship I've seen in the flesh is IJN Mikasa.

[@USN1985dos]

When I got stained to Norfolk, VA, I remember driving around downtown the first time and pulling up to a stoplight and just seeing the massive bow of the Wisconsin literally right in front of me. It was so cool. I always loved how close into Norfolk the Wisconsin was.

[@lightspeedvictory]

Forgot to mention, at 25:12 it is said that the Iowa class had only four 5”38 mounts. This is incorrect as it was originally five. This applies to the entire class

[@gabrielf2432]

Named after my home state! I need to visit her some day, she's my favorite Iowa of course.

[@Owktree]

It looks like a lot more has been added to the available internal areas in the 8 years since I visited the ship. The adjacent museum is also worth it and just adds to the value. Finally, I have photos of the ship taken from the same car park you used. :)

[@DerrithWieman]

Really nice restoration! Thanks for the tour, Drach.

[@jimtalbott9535]

27:00 - On the nuclear question, I remember reading somewhere that there was a guard contingent of some sort when Nukes were aboard - most “regular” sailors weren’t allowed around them, not for health/safety reasons, but custody and security reasons.

[@vincentlavallee2779]

Another great video! This is the only Iowa ship I have not been on, and it looks like it is in a lot better condition than the other Iowa's. I also love how you zoom in on details and really describe everything. Your engineering background surely comes thru! Also, the AP rounds are 2,700 lbs, and the HE (or sometimes called HC) are 1,900 lbs. I loved the video, so thank y0ou once again.

[@robertmore703]

Rad signs like that are a form of CYA for the Navy. They are used to designate areas requiring dosimetry. The Navy is strict with its standards for nuclear propulsion. A little bit of table salt would have enough radiation to be considered a contaminated spill. The weapons program isn't as strict, but they still are very cautious.

[@rogersmith7396]

I have known submariners who have gotten cancer. US not Soviet.

[@robertmore703]

@@rogersmith7396 and? cancer rate increase from NNP is

[@jimtalbott9535]

@@rogersmith7396Any of them smoke or drink? I know people who’ve gotten cancer and once had an X-ray - I also know people who ate a banana and got cancer. Golly.

[@greg8106]

​@@jimtalbott9535that's why I stay away from nuclear bananas. You can't be too careful.

[@Life_Is_Torture0000]

Even after many years studying world War 2, I'm still amazed by the sheer scale of time, resources and effort needed to produce such massive quantities of complex weaponry and machines, never mind the ammunition and all the other ancillary products needed to make them function. Industrialized warfare truly is a remarkable achievement, despite the horrible nature of war itself.

[@rogersmith7396]

If we converted all the money spent on war to space travel we would have a colony on Alpha Centauri now.

[@B1900pilot]

Was fortunate enough to see all four of the Iowas. Three I saw while in commission, and one I landed on. I still need to see Texas and Alabama:-) AND, congrats to you and your bride on “little Drach”. So happy for you, and your family.

[@stoutyyyy]

Did you or will you make it to Buffalo for this year's trip? we've got the last remaining Cleveland-class light cruiser in USS Little Rock, as well as a Fletcher that had an unfortunate tipping-over incident last year, but has now been refloated and reopened

[@kenm4678]

Thanks! A life long WI resident and proud of the shipbuilding done at Marinette.

[@michaelnovak4035]

Thank you Drachinifel, for this tour and nice details! I'm watching this just before Christmas 2024. So Happy Christmas to you and Mrs. Drach!

[@freedog632]

So, there is a place in Virginia where you can cross from Wisconsin to Kentucky