The Battleship That Defeated the Vichy French | USS Massachusetts (BB-59)

The Battleship That Defeated the Vichy French | USS Massachusetts (BB-59) | History in the Dark

Рет қаралды 36,494

Күн бұрын

USS Massachusetts (BB-59) was one of four sisters of the South Dakota-class. She would be placed in commission just in time for World War II, and fought in both Operation Torch and the Pacific Theatre.
0:00 - Construction and Design
4:51 - Operation Torch
8:36 - Entering the Pacific
12:29 - The Philippines
18:53 - Closing the War
24:56 - Saved by Her Crew
"USS Massachusetts (BB-59) is the third of four South Dakota-class fast battleships built for the United States Navy in the late 1930s. The first American battleships designed after the Washington treaty system began to break down in the mid-1930s, they took advantage of an escalator clause that allowed increasing the main battery to 16-inch (406 mm) guns, but refusal to authorize larger battleships kept their displacement close to the Washington limit of 35,000 long tons (36,000 t). A requirement to be armored against the same caliber of guns as they carried, combined with the displacement restriction, resulted in cramped ships, a problem that was exacerbated by wartime modifications that considerably strengthened their anti-aircraft batteries and significantly increased their crews."
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en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Mas...)
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_D...)
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Пікірлер: 61

@KBJade39 8 ай бұрын

Dear HitD, I hope you see this I really enjoy your videos so much. I work at Battleship Cove and need to scratch an itch for a correction. Battleshipcove doesnt own the ships there, or it was explained to me, that we get to pay for all the upkeep but the Navy (I think Hiddensee was owned by the army? It was kinda weird) has final say on all work done. It is the worst part of owning and renting where you get to pay for everything but dont get to make changes without approval (also we arent a state park, we get grants from the state but are not owned or funded by the state). On a similar note the PT boats are on loan from the PT Boat Trust. There are endless small stories and it is an amazing place to work. However, you would be shocked by the number of people who take it personally that 80+ year old ships might not be in great condition or that we have to fight to keep them funded. And to anyone else who read, we have big plans and are fighting to improve so please, be understanding when we have to close something for repairs.

@leechristmas9770 8 ай бұрын

I love all your videos HitD, but this series on our nations battleships has just hit different. For every video you did on the battleships that were at Pearl Harbor I shed some tears when you recounted some of the testimonies of their crew and their sacrifices. Watching those videos humbled me when I thought of some of the inconveniences I go through in todays military and remind me of the reason I joined to serve. Thanks for making this awesome series!

@boston_and_maine 8 ай бұрын

one of the few battleships that never had any crew casualties 😎

@YoLo-bb2vc 8 ай бұрын

a battleship who's machine spirit probably saw her crew as her children............ dont fuck with a mamma battleship lol

@Yogasefski 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for mentioning Hiddensee, it’s a shame we couldn’t save her. The collection is beautiful and definitely worth a visit. One thing you can’t describe in video is the smell. Hiddensee had a particular smell to her. Much different from her now former American port mates.

@geeeeeee3 8 ай бұрын

She is anchored in Fall River MA.

@marknystrom1984 8 ай бұрын

I stayed at battleship cove as one of the boy scouts that camps out aboard the battleship every so often, I toured hiddensee the following morning, and wondered why it smelled like something died in it. this was back in 2008

@bobcosgrove3235 6 ай бұрын

@@geeeeeee3 Not anymore, she has been scrapped.

@alexfogg381 8 ай бұрын

I have visited this ship twice, and got to sleep on board her thanks to being in the Boy Scouts. Thank you for talking about a museum ship that Brings back many happy memories for me.

@powellmountainmike8853 7 ай бұрын

I am a U.S. Navy Vietnam veteran. When I lived in RI I was a member of The Friends Of Battleship Cove for many years. I would go there about once a month and just wander around the ships. I know the Massachusetts very well. One thing you didn't mention is that throughout her wartime career, she never had a man killed in combat. Because of this she was considered a "lucky ship."

@montethemagnificent7741 8 ай бұрын

Please do a video on USS Wisconsin the last battleship

@cavalierliberty6838 8 ай бұрын

I love these videos on old battleships. Is it possible you could speak on the showboat, north carolina?

@marknystrom1984 8 ай бұрын

Hello everyone I am an ex-boy scout who stayed aboard the Massachusetts a couple of times during his scouting career. She is a wonderful museum and so are the other ships of the cove. The Massachusetts regularly does scouting nights where scouts are allowed to camp out aboard the battleship. we can't light any fires or cook anything, but it's a cool experience. And I pray the Massachusetts remains where she is for many years to come barring a trip to Boston for dry docking. One thing that HitD can't describe in the video when he briefly mentions Hiddensee however is that the ship smelled rotten. I have personally been aboard the hiddensee while it was in battleship cove, and the ship basically smelled like oil through and through .The first time I went aboard, I was wondering if at any moment we'd find a dead animal. As much as I hate the fact the hidden see is gone The oil smell may have contributed to battleship cove's decision to get rid of it.

@TimeToGetFunkyy 5 күн бұрын

@@marknystrom1984 I also slept aboard Mamie in battleship cove. So fun.

@alexfogg381 8 ай бұрын

Also could you possibly cover the Uss Hazard, the only preserved US minesweeper?

@e-train765 8 ай бұрын

Hoping to pay her a visit when me and my mom head to Cape Cod next year 👏👏👏👏👏

@markgabriel5797 3 ай бұрын

Come and visit! Welcome aboard!

@nickm9123 8 ай бұрын

In late 2012 I spent a night in her, with the boy scouts. It was well worth the trip

@markgabriel5797 3 ай бұрын

I did that with my Dad and my boy Scouts troop in 1993. My boys are now scouts and I can't wait to take them!

@wlg2367 3 ай бұрын

My father who is now 98 years old served on the Mamie in 44-45 in the Pacific Theater.

@Gimergames 6 ай бұрын

Taking a trip to battleship cove this summer with my nephew so I’m looking up vids about this ship before I get to walk on it. Ty for your vid.

@robertdragoff6909 7 ай бұрын

As a native Bostonian (actually, I was born and raised a couple of towns over) I’m glad you did a video on the Massachusetts and when I go back to visit family up there (currently I live in Florida) I’ll make it a priority to go to Battleship cove and see the old girl when I’m there. Great video

@byronharano2391 8 ай бұрын

Thank you for a spirited video about BB 59.

@RandomTrinidadian 8 ай бұрын

You should do one for Alabama and how she tried to pick a fight with Tirpitz in Norway

@tidepoolclipper8657 8 ай бұрын

At least she was allowed to keep all her propellers. One of Battleship Texas's propellers is basically gone. They were having a negative effect on the material of the main hull. Differing metals is basically to blame. Also, the video is a good reminder how much a pain it can be to actually keep a ship in its original configuration as much as possible.

@jollyjohnthepirate3168 8 ай бұрын

Where - repeat= Where is Task Force 38? The World Wonders.

@Semper_Iratus 8 ай бұрын

Turkey trots to water.

@saberdogface 8 ай бұрын

@@Semper_Iratus Dang! Beat me to it!

@CareerKnight 8 ай бұрын

Lee had also been asking repeatedly to turn South the day before Nimitz ordered Halsey to send them because he was sure there was another Japanese force out there heading for the strait. In fairness to Halsey though a lot of those messages never reached him because his staff deemed them unimportant... You read right his staff deemed the repeated warnings/requests of an admiral unimportant. Lee's force missed the Japanese force by only 30 minutes by one pilot's estimate.

@solarflare623 8 ай бұрын

Could you do a video on USS enterprise?

@The_Goldenhammer. 7 ай бұрын

Can you do a video on the HMS Belfast? Could you maybe also do a video on some of the danish warships? There is a small minesweeper called MS-8 also known as Lyø. It does have abit of intiresting history.

@jimhrn8522 8 ай бұрын

Birthday is when the keel hits the salt,that is when the fight to keep her afloat begins,and never ends.

@patrickmccrann991 8 ай бұрын

Actually, the date of commissioning is considered the official birth date of a ship. Ships are in the water for months and not even owned by the Navy yet.

@kennethross786 8 ай бұрын

Keel-laying is when I would start counting the age of a ship since that's where it all begins. I've long thought highly of the Massachusetts, along with Washington, as one of the few battleships to get into a gunnery duel in WW II. And the Iowa class had similar jumbled numbering. Iowa (BB-61) was class ship & New Jersey (BB-62) was second. The third ship, Wisconsin, joined the fleet just in time for Typhoon Cobra but she was BB-64. Missouri, the "baby" of the class (she didn't join the fleet until 1945), was BB-63.

@theromanorder 8 ай бұрын

If you want other ideas ive got different ones please do a video on the porters steam loco the Japanese class d5, the Chinese QJ 2,10,2 or just exsamples of asian trains how do gear trains work something on saddle bolier and side tanks (like the big water boxes) tank engines double ended diesel trains (and electric) eletric trains American and European switches other then the British class 07-09 what to do if the train stalls one talking about the different types of steam funnles and there uses, a video on steam locomotive combination breaks (steam and vacuum brakes) a short video on how a Armstrong turn table works what did train flagman do what did trains (mostly steam) do when going in tunnels, ive heard of gas masks or just useing a wet cloth, or did they bring in other engines like later on they used electric trains, or were there no bigv tunnels. evaluation of electric trains why are some trains wagion tops (the stream lining thing to boilers) railway terms abd slang one on the meaning of flag and lantern colors like green on rear engine means theres another one coming soon, the different types of cut offs/reversers/Johnson bar some are a big lever, some are a big valve wheel, and ive also seen some that are like rods, one exsample is train sim world 3 and im not sure where to find the other reverser and how much water do steam trains take usually, and how much would the crew drink

@ttangen8754 7 ай бұрын

Do the Wisconsin next

@ralphsexton8531 7 ай бұрын

I would say launch date is birthday. Note, for example, the USS Samuel B Roberts of the Operation Praying Mantis event. She was commissioned and in service. Her damage required a full year repairs, and then she was recommissioned. She was not considered to be a different vessel. Thus, commission would not be Birthday. In my opinion.

@brianomalley7501 3 ай бұрын

Just found your channel I find it different from the other navel history and refreshing you won me over and I love naval history so I will always be looking forward to the next video thank you for doing what you do

@Eric_Hutton.1980 8 ай бұрын

Wish they would have saved CA-131 USS Fall River. She was a Baltimore class heavy cruiser, and not a single one was preserved.

@alexfogg381 8 ай бұрын

Sad all that's left is the tip of her bow, and (Don't quote me) her bell.

@marcpawl5489 8 ай бұрын

Please pronounce Mamie like Jamie

@michaelimbesi2314 7 ай бұрын

Generally the date a ship is launched is considered to be the closest thing to its birthday.

@bellakaldera3305 8 ай бұрын

I have been aboard her, at her berth in Fall River.

@g.d.hamann9812 8 ай бұрын

Mamie is pronounced "May-me." Ask Mrs. Eisenhower.

@davekisor1486 8 ай бұрын

A conning tower is on a submarine. On surface craft it's called a superstructure. On a carrier, it's the island.

@Philip271828 7 ай бұрын

On dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts it's usually quite low, just behind B turret. Several of the 1930s rebuilds saw them removed to save weight. The Treaty Ships that had them mounted them closer to the main bridge.

@AnotherFineSpudcoProduct 3 ай бұрын

That's May-mee. Big May-mee.

@skippybiscuit275 6 ай бұрын

How many times did the French surrender in ww2?

@candycrushhater5828 8 ай бұрын

Hey Darkness, why did you privatize your Killdozer documentary?

@jonmcgee6987 8 ай бұрын

You certainly do have a very odd way of pronouncing some of the names of places in this video.

@mavfin8720 6 ай бұрын

Brand new South Dakota class 'defeats' a partially built Richelieu that can't move or evade. Hardly a difficult defeat. Not saying it didn't need to be done, but hardly something to crow about.

@peterbrazier7107 7 ай бұрын

The first Fast battleships were the Queen Elizabeth Class. Su Massachusetts beat the Vichy French? The Hood did that 2 years earlier at Oran, she blew up the Bretagne.

@patrickmccrann991 8 ай бұрын

Please learn how to pronounce these locations correctly; Mindanao, Visayas, Luzon, and Leyte, for example.

@davidfrench2653 7 ай бұрын

I enjoy the content of your videos but one huge improvement you could make is slow down the delivery of your narration and stop yelling. Also when you say that preservationists discovered that battleships rust, like they didn't know that, you make them sound stupid which is a real disservice to the people who do the work to keep these museum ships operating.

@thomastaylor2513 8 ай бұрын

It really wasn't a fair fight since the French battleship was stuck tied to the dock being repaired they were essentially sitting ducks

@robertgentile7198 7 ай бұрын

That`s three gun turret not triple turret difference being three gun turrets are individually sleeved the guns in one can elevate to different elevations triple turrets cannot such as the NEVADA OKLAHOMA CALIFORNIA TENNESSEE!

@geeeeeee3 8 ай бұрын

300,000 french volunteers fought for the Nazis. Almost the same number as the LOL "free french".

@vwalsh63 8 ай бұрын

The "Free French" in actual numbers, somehow(?) multiplied their membership by a factor of 10, after the threat was removed. The Vichy Government was made up of cowards who surrendered as quickly as possible.

@brunol-p_g8800 8 ай бұрын

The number of French volunteers who fought in the German army didn’t surpass 40 000 for the entire war. They Came from the LVF, the Legion of French Volunteers against bolchévisme. In 1944 the LVF was dismantled and the few soldiers still alive were integrated into the Waffen SS. France is the country from which the smallest numbers of volunteers fought for the Germans, excluding neutral Switzerland and Sweden. Source: Légion des Volontaires Français (LVF), Mémoires de Guerre I am very curious of your sources, to put out such a number.

@KevinTurner-hr1wg 4 ай бұрын

French ship was still under construction at a dock. Only 1 gun turret functional and a skeleton crew, was a sitting duck, lol nothing to brag about sinking it.