Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "The Drydock - Episode 040" video.

Although the USN has officially been "dry" from 1914 to 1980, sailors are still sailors. Even ignoring the proliferation of "torpedo juice" stills, some skippers were very creative about sneaking beer and wine onboard and using the medicinal alcohol supply for purposes other than those intended. Eugene Fluckey, captain of the USS Barb, was famous for finding places in the limited confines of his sub for 30 or so cases of beer, with each man getting one beer after a significant sinking and two beers for Christmas and Fourth of July. Even though Fluckey was the subject of several investigations for his violation of Navy alcohol rules, it was a tribute to the love of his men for their skipper that not one officially admitted to ever having alcohol onboard until after the retirement of Admiral Fluckey in 1972. The USN did allow alcohol after the end of Federal prohibition in 1933, but only on shore. This was originally at the navy clubs on base. The Pacific war was such that many ships didn't see a proper Navy base of periods of a year or more. The rules were bent by having "recreation days" on various semi-deserted tropical islands, and one of the main attractions, in addition to swimming and baseball, was two warm beers per visit. Navy Secretary Edward Hidalgo finally allowed crews in 1980 to have two beers on board after 45 continuous days at sea. This decision was supposedly prompted by Hidalgo's experience as a young officer on the USS Enterprise. A kamikaze attack on May 14, 1945 destroyed the whole task force's supply of beer. While the attack itself was a blow to morale, that only increased when word of the destruction of the beer supply began to spread. Only an emergency run by a Navy transport put things to right before the next recreation day.
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Mainland United States is a very large country. I wonder what the Kaiser's plan would have been if he had actually been able to seize NYC? While NYC was the important financial center of the country, inland cities like Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, and Pittsburgh were much more important to the material survival of the country. This would have been like the dog chasing a car who actually catches the car. Now what?
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@Zephyrmec Great story. It seems sailors will always find a way to get a drink, even at sea. My dad was on PT boats, and he told me stories that, no matter how primitive and forward their bases of operations, it was only a matter of time before someone got a still operating. They would goose the mixtures with some small amounts of pure alcohol pilfered from the torpedo fuel stocks. The results, using sugar, water, some local fruit, corn meal from the galley, and coconuts, available in unending supply, made a mixture he thought was about 175 proof. On their rare rest days, everyone had a shot or two, and it was enough that most of them caught up on some much needed sleep.
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Pilot skill and bravery will overcome any antiaircraft system. If enough pilots are willing die to achieve their goals, whether Japanese or Argentinian, some will get through any kind of screen designed to stop them.
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@WALTERBROADDUS I don't know, Walter. There's no ECM or any other system that will defeat a pilot flying a fast jet armed with a couple of iron bombs. The stories of some of the Argentine pilots are absolutely terrifying. Bravery and skill were the two big differences between those air force and navy pilots and the bulk of the Argentine forces on the Falklands.
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@WALTERBROADDUS It illustrated the gunfighter versus gunfighter aspect of war. Missiles were handicapped by radar clutter and CIWS by the proximity of the ships in a crowded anchorage. The guys on those "obsolete" weapons, everything from 7.62mm LMG's bolted into rail stanchions to the 20mm and 40mm guns aimed with the Mark 1 Eyeball gun sights, broke up most of the attacks and brought down most of the attackers.
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@WALTERBROADDUS The Argentines did indeed have two Type 42 destroyers. They were only commissioned about two years before the war and had a radar and electronics fit that was an almost exact match to the British Type 42's. The Argentine navy and air force pilots flew training missions against the ships to determine the right mission profiles to assure that at least one plane got through. They found the Sea Dart missile radars couldn't target more than two low flying planes as long as they were no more than 10-15 meters above the sea surface and were flying at 350 knots or more. A number of three plane formations were flown during attacks against British shipping. Of the three pilots that took off, they knew there was nearly a 100% chance that two of them would not be returning. That's what I mean by bravery.
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