Comments by "William Cox" (@WildBillCox13) on "The Drydock - Episode 089" video.

  1. "Donitz to all U-Boote: Do Not Reply." That might've helped a bit. Just repeat the land broadcasts without requiring boats at sea to answer. That would put paid to Huff/Duff on the spot. A U-Boat transmitting when at sea is giving up its only protection: stealth. IMHO, Hubris and Germanic system worship, along with sloppy Enigma operator technique, killed the U-Waffe. Johnny Walker certainly helped, as did Hedy Lamarr (though she received little-if any-credit).
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  2. We can thank the Poles for cracking Enigma's encryption system. Bletchley Park only did the fourth wheel.
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  3. That Condor idea is pretty good.
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  4. Good 1 m8
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  5. Unluckiest class? Zara.
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  6. All national ships carried saluting guns for entering port or honoring equals.
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  7. Followed by the Clemson
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  8. The Alaskas had <drum roll ending in a "Wah wah" trumpet fillip> a SIngle Rudder. Total Fail. Why do I think so? A ship meant to hunt down cruisers was unable to maneuver at speed OR slow. More Baltimores (et al) would've done the job cheaper (no need for the 12" gun). Imagine any Axis capital ship being swarmed by four or five Baltimore class heavy cruisers. "Once we catch you in our sights it's: Boom Boom! Out go the lights!"
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  9.  @bkjeong4302  Agreed. A transition from all gun to mixed gun and missile armament on new built ships (and conversions) would soon leave them a pointless expense.
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  10.  @bkjeong4302  Thank you for asking. In my view? With the Alaskas it was Budgets. The Navy knew the end was coming and that meant downsizing. From the navy's point of view, that meant a marginalization of its superfluous and older assets. To keep budgets admirably plump, a small class of 4 or 6 brand new "Cruiser Killers" would look new, impressive, and seem relevant, especially in light of the Soviet persistence with the Chapayev and Sverdlov class super cruisers (if not the Stalingrad Class boogeyman). And, they could be sold to congress as "cheaper to operate than the battleships" which, in the end, they were not. As for the Iowas, it is, I think, about the future of sea lanes control and power projection. Nothing impresses truculent locals as much as an Iowa class glaring at them from an anchorage. Carriers, on the other hand, are stand-off weapons platforms; they are (and were) not meant to go into harm's way. That's why we laugh at the Kaga/Akagi, the Lexingtons and the Graf Zeppelin class. Dispersion of primary function into secondary function. And, so, it might've been the perception that Battleships were needed to send our name far and wide, even into places Carriers might fear to tread (and rightly so).
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  11. Loved the Capitani Romani class. If they had rearmed them/her (Regolo) with the 12.8cmFlaK40 vom Doppelafette . . . 8x 5" DP traveling at 50mph; no waiting! It is evident in hindsight that trying to upgun DDs and DEs was a bad idea from the start. To paraphrase an old saw about military marriage: Large Ships MAY have Dual Purpose Main Battery guns*, but Small ships MUST have Dual Purpose Main Battery guns. *Sanshiki-dan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/San_Shiki_(anti-aircraft_shell)
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