Drachinifel

The Drydock - Episode 297

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:47 - When were lifeboats first required for ships?

00:04:56 - How did the German escort ships compare to their British counterparts?

00:09:50 - Why no German minelayer submarines in WW2?

00:12:58 - Why do some ships have a much lower stern?

00:18:12 - Why would a blunt head be more hydrodynamic?

00:23:20 - Since Mahan's doctrine was so misunderstood, how could it have been applied by the Japanese in WWII?

00:32:52 - Had the Wa...

The Drydock - Episode 296

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:47 - Space/weight implications of turrets?

00:07:58 - Why did Germany scuttle so many of their ships at the end of the war?

00:10:36 - Which "Lutzow" had a hard time at the hands of Norwegian shore batteries?

00:14:10 - Concerning the capture of the future SMS Seeadler, why was one submarine crewman enough to convince the crew to sail for Germany (british prize crew excluded, because they were locked up) when they could have easily overpowered hi...

The Drydock - Episode 295 (Part 2)

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:33 - Why were battleship superstructures so different?

00:08:57 - Why were HMS Jellicoe and HMNS Beatty renamed to Anson and Howe?

00:13:03 - Could the Mk13 issues have been found pre-war?

00:17:58 - What would IJN doctrine look like if the IJN had figured out either before or early in the War that Kantai Kessen wasn't working, and how long would it take them to develop new doctine?

00:25:35 - Was there something about German Naval service ...

The Drydock - Episode 295 (Part 1)

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:33 - Other navies Enterprise's?

00:07:06 - What are sailors watches?

00:12:18 - Given the relatively size parity between the Queen Elizabeth’s and the Colorados why did the QEs require and additional 50000ish HP to reach a speed only 3 knots higher?

01:15:34 - Ships that won but sank?

00:20:56 - How lethal is HE fire compared to AP fire against battleships?

00:29:32 - Did the French over or underachieve in the Carribean during the ...

Happy News!

For those of you who weren't able to make the livestream, a newly commissioned hull is with is!

The Drydock - Episode 294

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:01 - The co-reign of William and Mary predates the label HMS, but what would happen if there were another such case of two monarchs in Britain? It's fortunate that both His and Her start with H, thus HMS is unaffected, but in my scenario, would it change to TMS (Their Majesties' Ship)?

00:05:41 - Given the size of the Imperial German Navy compared to the French Navy why didn't the Germans plan a naval invasion of France in 1914?

00:11:54 - Would it hav...

The Drydock - Episode 293

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:52 - Between the Matsushimas, Kitakami, Shimakaze, the Tones, the refit Fusos and the refit Ises, which was the worst of the IJN’s “what the hell” designs?

00:05:53 - Why didn't the Germans press any Soviet ships into service with the Kriegsmarine?

00:09:52 - Would 2 Shokaku's instead of the Yamato's extend the Pacific War and if so by how much?

00:19:57 - When HMS Dreadnought was launched, she famously made the pre-Dreadnoughts of the time...

The Drydock - Episode 292

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:47 - If there hadn’t been the resistance to back and forth on accepting the concept, how much sooner could the Independence class have been built? Could one or two have been in service by Midway or the Guadalcanal campaign?

00:06:17 - Why did the Essex's arrive so quickly?

00:11:44 - During the Age of Sail we know the British were very pretty good at boarding actions (To the point some officer like Nelson and Cochrane were likely born with a cutlass...

Ship type 'Seasons'

So, I've had a few questions about this and I thought I'd put it to a vote of you fine people!

There are enough 5 minute guides that some navies have had their whole 'run' of certain ship types covered (eg French dreadnought battleships, we've covered Courbet, Bretagne, Normandie, Lyon, Dunkerque, Richelieu, Gascogne and Alsace).

Would you like me to take these runs where they exist and put them together into a single longer video? (Essentially trimming the intro and exit and merg...

The Drydock - Epsiode 291 (Part 2)

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:25 - What were the biggest differences between the US Navy's Patrol craft and Sub Chasers?

00:07:49 - Was there any effort to salvage and repair the Royal Oak?

00:13:35 - What do you think are the most ridiculous weapons used for boarding actions throughout the period the channel covers?

00:18:40 - What is the etiquette concerning use of the term "skipper"?

00:21:43 - What websites or books or other resources would be good for finding blue...

The Drydock - Episode 291

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:30 - How much of a role would the Allied navies have had in Operation Downfall after the landings?

00:04:32 - How useful were torpedoes on cruisers in WW2?

00:09:41 - Did Frigates in the age of sail and their cousins in the world wars ever carry marines as part of their standard compliment for ground deployment or boarding actions?

00:14:12 - How much evolution and what changes in capability were incorporated in QE and Valiant from the earlier r...

USS New Jersey - Drydocking

Look out for a livestream later today, just about to watch the start of the flooding.

Weekly Photo - HMS Glorious

Converted from a somewhat questionable 'large light cruiser', the aircraft carrier HMS Glorious was, along with her sister Courageous, the most capable aircraft carrier in RN service for much of the interwar period, filling a niche broadly similar in creation if not capability to the Lexington/Saratoga and Akagi/Kaga pairs in the USN and IJN. She is seen here in Med Fleet paint taking on supplies at Gibraltar before proceeding to Malta in the interwar period. During WW2 Courageous would be lo...

The Drydock - Epsiode 290

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:03 - I know that RMS Queen Mary and RMS Lusitania were both hit by massive rogue waves that destroyed Lusitania's bridge and made Queen Mary list very badly so how much damage could one do to a warship from the same period? 

00:04:51 - What would happen if those ships interned in Scapa Flow decided to return to Germany using force and was that a real threat? 

00:06:06 - MN Commandant Teste?

00...

Weekly Photo - HMS Umpire

Umpire was one of the later WW1 R class destroyers, as a class these were notable in being the first large production run of WW1 British destroyers with geared as opposed to direct turbines, partway through the class a slightly larger modified hull was swapped in which distinguishes these later ships as it allowed the boilers to be trunked into 2 funnels rather than 3. Umpire is therefore one of these later ships. Although entering service in summer 1917 she would still manage to see active c...

The Drydock - Episode 289

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:04 - How much do scrap warships cost?

00:05:22 - Why did the IJN have so much difficulty designing the oxygen system for the Type 93 torpedo?

00:10:38 - When you see the cut down rear funnels on RN destroyers, apparently to improve their AA gun arcs, does this have any impact on their steaming? 

00:15:01 - Japan's well deserved reputation for awful POW treatment was thoroughly documented by the end...

Weekly Photo - USS New Ironsides

One of three ships ordered as a an emergency response to the construction of CSS Virginia, the armoured frigate USS New Ironsides was the only one that ticked the boxes of both well protected and seaworthy in anything outside a mild breeze. Although still small and shallow draught due to the nature of her operational environment compared to the big European ironclads, she would be the largest American ironclad warship built for some time.

This picture is of an original by Oscar Parkes,...

The Drydock - Episode 288

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:50 - Why was Hiei's armor able to mostly keep out San Francisco's shells at Friday the 13th?

00:06:03 -  Was the FAA lack of single-seat fighters at the start of WW2 an issue of budgets, doctrine, interservice rivalry (with the RAF), or a combination of some or all of above? 

00:12:09 - Floatplanes on a carrier?

00:15:42 - SS Jeremiah O’Brien?

00:17:41 - Since the Lord Nelso...

Weekly Photo - HMS Calypso

One of a two ship class and the lead ship, Calypso was built at the time that classifications were under change. Originally built as corvettes, the class was changed to third class cruisers not long after entering service. Although armed wholly with breech-loading guns in a volume you might associate with a protected cruiser the ships were designed for long-term cruising on distant stations and so still carried a full sail rig, something that would persist in some way, shape or form on Britis...

The Drydock - Episode 287 (Part 2)

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:42 - Various questions about the Battle of Samar

00:09:20 - How were the Hawkins class conducting firecontrol?

00:10:56 - Would you recommend any books for learning about the service histories of USS Albacore and USS England?

00:12:43 - Given that it sometimes took many salvos to hit a target, how many shots did it 'usually' take to hit a test target during armor penetration testing, and was anything sp...

Weekly Photo - HMS Jasuer

A somewhat forgotten class of ships, Jasuer was part of the Alarm class of torpedo gunboats, one half of the predecessors to the true destroyer, whilst the RN didn't have a huge amount of luck with the type, most of them went on to give good service in WW1 in secondary roles such as minesweeping, Jaseur herself though stayed mostly in UK waters and was sold out of service in 1905, barely a decade after she'd commissioned.

The Drydock - Episode 287 - (Part 1)

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:00 - Why 283mm instead of 280mm/11" for Swedish guns?

00:04:46 - Which nations built navies, actual salt water navies, that wound up being more liability than asset? 

00:09:48 - What was the deal with Kamchatka’s captain?

00:12:14 - Which WWII battleship fired the most main battery rounds at the enemy? 

00:15:23 - How important was the "We want eight!" Campaign in readying t...

Day 6 (?) - Mariners Museum, Newport News

Day 3 - USS Stewart and USS Cavalla

Weekly Photo - The launch of HMS Indefatigable

As the last pre-war armoured flight deck carrier design, the Indefatigable and her sister ship Implacable had a troubled career, poor choices regarding hangar height and wartime construction delays meant the two ships only saw brief WW2 service before being rendered obsolete by advances in size and capability of carrier aircraft, with planned refits to address this being scrapped when HMS Victorious ate the budget.

Day 2 - USS Lexington

Feb 2024 US Trip - Day 1

The Drydock - Episode 286

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:08 - How did a County (Kent) class survive 5 (FIVE!!!) Kamikaze aircraft hits?

00:03:53 - How did the 8" guns on the County class ships like Australia compare to the 8" guns on the American heavy cruisers?

00:09:54 - Different construction materials for difference parts of a wooden warship?

00:15:09 - In WW2, how far could torpedoes turn from their launch angle and how far could they run out before they...

Weekly Photo - HMS Dreadnought (not that one!)

This weeks photo is a shot of the 1870's HMS Dreadnought in drydock, originally HMS Fury and supposed to be a third Devastation class (or a slightly modified version thereof), she was reworked enough in the design stage to become a class of one.

The Drydock - Episode 285

00:00:00 - Intro

00:01:35 - RN sailors on US ships and vice-versa?

00:07:23 - Turret sizes vs number of guns?

00:14:40 - Do you think there are any old ships left hiding in plain sight?

00:18:34 - Utility/Value of Battlecruisers?

00:24:42 - Infaltion adjusted costs of the pre-WW1 naval arms race?

00:34:00 - US 'small battleships' of 1919?

00:39:22 - Differences in US and UK w...