Comments by "John Fisher" (@johnfisher9692) on "Drachinifel" channel.

  1. It seem the British have a habit of building ships which render all others obsolete, makes you wonder if what the next one will be.
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  2. Carpenter" "I just fixed this STOP SHOOTING HOLES IN MY SHIP!!!" Captain" "Your ship?" Carpenter: "Do you want ot fix this...Sir?" Captain: "Carry on"
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  3. Another great video Thaks for answering my question about British Vs German guns, it was very helpful. The summery of the fire control systems was also great. I have several references which state the same thing you did. German gunnery was very fast to get on target but accuracy dropped off rapidly as the battle wore on and fatigue set in while British gunnery was slower to get the range but improved quickly and stayed there as the system was far less tiring to use. Wonder if this means that staying at longer ranges was better for the British as the battle would be longer and German accuracy would diminish?
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  4. As the saying goes "You can be good or you can be lucky" No points for guessing which path Yukikaze took.
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  5. Thanks Drach The plan to gift Repulse to the Australian Navy sounds like a" very cunning plan" Baldric😁 I can imagine the absolute Dummy spit the US Navy would do but if it happened before the Washington Treaty there isn't much they could do. Hmm where did I park my Tardis? Want a quick trip Drach?
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  6. Thanks for another amazing video Drach It shows how jaded we have become when we hear about high speeds as 19knots but considering the technology of the time that is an amazing speed on such a small ship
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  7. Thanks for an excellent and informative video of these ships. They are often unfairly criticized compared to their German counterparts but in service they did everything asked of them and withstood the test of battle in good order. Unlike their supposedly superior opponents they were eager and able to continue the fight the following day only to find the enemy had fled the scene. The biggest falw would seem to be their poor luck when it came to being hit in battle, the Germans having the uncanny and very lucky ability to land hits on turrets.
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  8. Another massive video. Has anyone actually just how long 5 minutes is supposed to be? :) The Zero was an excellent aircraft for the environment it operated in with both great strengths and weaknesses. A weakness was that it required a highly experienced pilot to use its strengths to their best advantage and by early to mid 1943 Japan started to run out of pilots with that skill. I think it's greatest flaw was that it lacked a capacity of growth. Once newer and faster Allied fighters started to appear it got overwhelmed by fighters using zoom/strafe tactics and refusing to engage in a dogfight and at higher speeds the Zero lost much of it's superior maneuverability. An excellent book is Duels in the Sky by Captain Eric M. Brown RN who compared Allied and Axis aircraft against each other. And the man actually flew most of the aircraft he reviews.
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  9.  @RedXlV  Drach covered this exact scenario in his five minute guide on HMS Tiger showing that the RN made the correct choice in saving the Revenge class ships.
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  10. You have said preciously that the British 40mm Pom Pom only narrowly lost to the 40mm Bofors Do you think the reason the Bofors won was because it was a much newer design with the higher muzzle velocity required to deal with modern aircraft. Something which did not exist when the Pom Pom was created
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  11. Maybe a little from column A and a little from column B
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  12. Thanks Drach for an informative video It shows just how much technology has changed over the years. During WW2 new systems could be obsolete almost before the crew got used to them.
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  13. Small ships but full of fight and punched above their weight in terms of losses Vs kills
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  14. Bismarck's freeboard wasn't that great either. German ships were famous for being very poor seaboats.
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  15. Wow Drach, I'm starting to think you don't like the Graf Zepplin at all :) Yes I know, it's an inefficient and poorly thought out design. Another point against the ship is the fragile nature of the air groups landing gear. Neither the Bf109 nor the Ju87 had strong gear. For a great review of WW2 carrier aircraft I cannot recommend strongly enough "Duels in the Sky" by Capt Eric M Brown RN. I've read one of the problems with the 10k maximum displacement for cruisers was that it also became the minimum limit any new ship would be designed to.
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  16. As always Drach, All your loyal (fanatic) followers appreciate the time and effort you put into these fantastic video's. For a movie about a nuclear carrier back in WW2 there is "The Final Countdown" released in 1980 starring Kirk Douglas where the USS Nimitz is flung back to 6 December 1941and hte captain and officers debate on what the hell do they do. A dated movie but fun to watch, especially the scene of 2 Tomcats Vs 2 A6m Zero's. Guess who wins :)
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  17. Thanks Drach, I've been waiting for this and you didn't disappoint It's obvious the British BC's poorer gunnery is more the result of location and inability to properly practice rather than laziness. I know you have a poor opinion of Beatty but it seems to me he was more unlucky and had subordinates who totally failed to use any initiative or were incompetent. I'm sure he personally didn't send those radio signals or hoist the flags but like any Admiral he gave the orders and expected them to be properly done professionally. He gets blame for poor ammunition handling procedures but I likes how you pointed out Hipper did the exact same thing until he learned his lesson at Dogger Bank. He was just lucky to learn his lesson in a small action rather than a major fleet engagement.
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  18.  @Silamon2  I admit I have my doubts about the excuses made for Bismarck's AA gunnery. Given the very small numbers of aircraft attacking her, it seems she had a pretty strong AA armament. The to slow excuse doesn't hold up against the manually aimed weapons.
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  19. Thanks Drach I have read a lot about teh 'Elswick' cruisers and their place in history but really enjoyed learning more about this fascinating period and the role it played in the development of technology. You could say our current tech level is a result of the race to produce the perfect ship, which pushed the tech at the time to the utmost limits of what it could do, and sometimes beyond. Mr White deserves a place in history through his brilliance and hard work.
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  20. Nice to learn about the less known ship design as well as the famous.
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  21. Thanks you for this very special episode of The Drydock. It answered so many questions about Life, the universe and everything. And for God's sake Don't Panic and don't forget your towel. I have no real problems with ads but I'd prefer to be ad free, especially for the ships Guide videos.
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  22. Is there any reason stated why the British choose Q turret placement for the Lion class instead of the more practical X placement? It just seem strange they would put a turret where it would have such a limited arc of fire. Surely someone at the design stage would say "Well we have a superfiring B turret, why not superfire the aft guns? Also Q position is so close to the boilers making it a hotter place.
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  23.  @thomasgray4188  To answer point 2 HMS Canada was originally ordered by Chile as one of a two ship class, but they wanted 14inch guns. When WW1 broke out the ship was eventually purchased by Britain and commissioned with the guns already completed for the ship. HMS Canada was returned to Chile in 1920 The other ship was eventually completed as a carrier, HMS Eagle
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  24. Thanks Drach, an excellent video about a brave crew who did their duty
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  25. Simple, Drach is in the UK and The Doctor is always visiting there.
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  26.  @mebeasensei  Good freeboard isn't just about crew comfort, it is also about good sea worthiness, the ability to remain at sea in fighting condition in all weather. A ship with too low a freeboard is in severe danger of being swamped by waves in rough weather. Those waves breaking over the deck may look nice but make it much harder to work the guns of a warship and can sweep the crew overboard. I have seen pictures of even Battleships with their forward turrets trained to port and starboard to avoid damage to them due to huge waves breaking over the bow in very rough weather. These waves can also find their way below decks and even into the engine room via the air intakes if they are too low. This poses a severe risk of the ship taking on too much water and foundering. This almost happened to the USS Moniter on its way to fight the CSS Virginia. Stability isn't just about freeboard. These are complex equations which take into account things like draught, ballast, top weight and things I personally know too little about to comment on with accuracy. As Drachinifel is an engineer he knows much more about this. One of the major errors of Japanese ships built before WW2 was excessive topweight. This combined with low freeboard is one of the reasons the IJN lost ships during ships during a typhoon in the 1930's, prompting a very close examination at the calculations of their ships stability causing the removal of equipment and strengthening of hulls.
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  27.  @1Korlash  Sorry for not being clearer but the blast problem I was thinking about is the effect it would have on the crew. All the light AA guns on Yamato were shielded as the blast effect would have a very high chance of concussing any exposed personal. I can't recall the figures I read but the difference between even 16 inch guns and 18.1 inch is massive. While some say AA guns would not be manned during a surface action, the Japanese developed main gun ammo for the long range AA role. Yamato firing her big guns would cripple the light AA crews just as an air attack was incoming. So I can only imagine the pressure wave from 20 inch guns on any exposed crew.
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  28. Thanks Drach One point I feel I must ask is with the Japanese plan to launch torps outside spotting range of the enemy fleet. If you're out of their sight, how do you know they are there?? If you can see them, they can see you, especially as the screen would be closer to your ships than you are to the enemy BB's. A great point about the true speed of torpedoes in WW2. WoWs DD crybabies whine about the slow torpedoes with speeds of "Only!" 65knots, yet that is 30% faster than the best.
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  29. In your latest video about carriers you stated they replaced BB's about mid 1943 as THE capital unit but all the examples you gave were for Pacific operations. How much impact would a carrier have had in the Arctic, especially during winter and would it have been effective in the battle against Scharnhorst? I think the conditions of that battle showed the BB to still be the better choive as aircraft couldn't have been launched or recovered in that night action.
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  30. Thanks for answering my question about Japanese turrets. Hope your move goes well. Having been through it myself recently I know the pain of having all your favorite bokks out of reach and then having to unpack later on and put them in order. Loved the discussion about raised forecastle Vs flushed deck. It really showed why DD construction was better left in the hands of specialist company's. The section about Italian bravery was interesting though I think all sailors showed remarkable bravery in the wars, and too little credit is given to the men of the various merchant marines who continued to put to sea in slow unarmed ships knowing what was out there waiting for them/ I've read the biggest problem the Italian sailors faced was the LACK of courage at their Admiralty. The Italian high command wanted to sink the RN but didn't want to risk their ships to do so.
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  31. The human voice is so much better than the computer voice. The computer fails to capture the nuances we love so much The Tribals were powerful ships and their losses maily stemmed from the fact they were used in roles for which they were not designed. I doubt anyone thought aircraft would be so dangerous when these ships were being built. An analysis fof a 1 on 1 fight between Tribals and ships built around the same time would be interesting. Let's leave the Fletcher's out of it as they were five years younger and had war experience built into their design. Five years is long time given the way technology was increasing due to more money being spent vecause of rising tensions,and later, war
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  32.  @onenote6619  As was the gnashing of teeth and probably vows of vengeance as they screamed LIE! LIES! LIES! and Drach knows nothing🤣
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  33. thanks again Drach for all your hard work and excellent presenting of this. And thanks to Mrs Drach for her understanding of your passion. Regarding the Political decision to scrap Vanguard, being the cynic I am, "You never underestimate a politician ability to screw over everyone, including the country they allegedly serve, to further their own pursuit of power, money and lack of accountability.
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  34. And the look of USS Bainbridge in that last photo shows just how narrow the beam was, sorta scary to consider her roll
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  35. Thanks for sharing your holiday snaps Drach, Maybe that hardhat should be nominated for a meritorious service medal for preserving your little grey cells?"
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  36. Something all too many people ignore about the gunnery of the British WW1 BC's is that based at Rosyth they could not practice live shooting at all. So of course their skills would deteriorate. Just notice the excellent gunnery of the Third BCS after they had transferred to Scapa Flow for gunnery practice. IMO Beatty copes a lot of flak for things beyond his immediate control. He gets blamed for the BC's shooting at the wrong ship but I think his orders (given the tech of the time) would be simple like "Engage opposite numbers" and the other ship captains are the one who screwed up. He just gets blamed for it. I think I read some of that Harry Harrison book before I threw it away in disgust. The whole thing was a poorly written British bashing fantasy.
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  37. Ah It's jolly good to be Drydocked again. While I'm here Drach can you clean up the hull, overhaul the engines, clean the bilges and reprovision the ship please. Hmm, there's an inspection coming up soon so retouch the paint work too, there's a good chap lol Loved your pick of ships for a fleet of choice. The Town class are often overlooked by people enamored by the pretty Japanese ships, but when it came to the crunch the Town's were tough and powerful ships and survived an environment which would have sent many other ships to have a chat with Davey Jones. I agree, the theater of war influences choice, an Essex in the Med in 1943 is in danger. I have a book by Capt. Eric Brown RN who has flown many Allied and Axis aircraft and he states that if the Seafire had the range and deck landing ability of the Hellcat it would have ruled the sea's. It's biggest flaws were lack of endurance and delicate undercarriage. The Zero's biggest flaw was if extreme vulnerability to damage., it didn't take many hits to flame it. If I had to operate a sub in the Med my choice would have been the British U class. Despite their limited numbers these small subs caused havoc among Italian and German shipping.
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  38. What are the advantages and disadvantages of using bagged charges for heavy naval guns as opposed to the brass casing used by the Germans for all their guns, right up to the Heavy Gustav gun?
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  39. Well said old bean
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  40. Interesting ship It shows what you can do with a bit more time to consider your options and allow for maturing of technology
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  41. thanks Drach You deserve an award for stamina in producing these videos and all the research that we don't see,
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  42. Thanks Drach Your efforts are always appreciated, just don't burn yourself out producing all these videos for we, your devoted minions.
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  43. Considering next week is the Patreon DRryDock is there any sort of special endurance training you do to get through all the questions? 😆
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  44. I think this ship is an example of a ship trying to be a Jack of all Trades but master of none
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  45. Thanks Drach Interesting to note that the German preference for the smaller shell for their protected cruisers changed to the British practice of a heavier armament in these ships. The guns going from the previous 4.1inch to 5.9's, a size more in common with British practice. Hope you and Lady Drach stay safe and well in these trying times.
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  46. Gratz on reaching this epic milestone Harking back to the early days of the channel "Sir, there are 100,000 subs in sight" "Damn, we're going to need a lot more escort ship"
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  47.  @jedimasterdraco6950  Someone once posted the only game which deserves the name 'Football" is Australian Rules as the only way a goal can be scored in that game is by Kicking the ball through the goal posts. Touch it with any other part of the body by either side means you only score 1 point and not the 6 points a goal awards. A much more free flowing game than the US game of throw ball :)
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  48. A very impressive ship that survived incidents that would have sent many other vessels, even warships, down to have a long chat with Davy Jones. Brunel was a man with incredible vision and drive.
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  49. Thanks for another informative Drydock. I always learn so much with this. Q&A: I seen many people comment on "What If" about the K class submarines. My query is "What if the British had continued the development of the R class subs" These greatly resembles today's tear drop shaped hull found on modern Hunter/Killer subs and could achieve 14 knots submerged. The bulbous bow contained five sensitive hydrophones and the lightened conning tower was also well-streamlined. Several squarrons of these would have played hell with enemy shipping nd even warships.
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  50. The Wisconsin certainly seemed to love running aground. Maybe the ship just wanted to visit the State she's named after? Hope the US preserved that drone due to it's historic achievement of having troops surrender to it. Maybe it can run for President next election? Couldn't do much worse than Trump and it wouldn't be tweeting all day. lol
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