Comments by "Sar Jim" (@sarjim4381) on "The Convoy and the U-Boat: SS J. L. Luckenbach, HMS Orama and SM U-62" video.

Arming merchant ships was one of the turning points in submarine warfare. Having each merchant ship armed and with trained gun crews made it difficult for subs to surface near a target and sink the ship with gunfire from their deck guns. A sub could carry at least several hundred artillery rounds while only having 8-12 torpedoes. Sinkings were drastically reduced once U-boats had to rely on just theor torpedoes.
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@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 Yes, my dad served on PT boats in WWII and always complained the aircraft carriers got all the attention. Just the way the military and war goes.
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@Ugly_German_Truths Many neutral ships carrying compledtely innocent cargoes were attacked and sunk. Before the advent of unrestricted warfare, such ships were stopped searched, and either sent on their way after inspection, seized, or sunk after taking off the crew. Any enemy flagged vessel was fair game, but unrestricted warfare led to innocent ships being sunk without warning.
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@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 Maybe he heard stories about torpedo juice. Torpedoes in the firs part of the war used alcohol motors. They required 180 proof alcohol and, of course, sailors would siphon off the alcohol fuel to make navy moonshine. The navy put in all kinds of things to make the alcohol anything from unpleasant to downright dangerous to drink, but resourceful sailors always found a way to set up stills and distill the additives out of the alcohol. The problem was solved later in the war when most PT boat torpedoes used electric motors.
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@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 Sailors out in the middle of the Pacific would do just about anything for a good stiff drink. :-)
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@cornbreadfedkirkpatrick9647 Yes, I'm very familiar with the history of the PT boat, but I have no idea how they are connected to NASCAR
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