Ramming U-Boats During the Great War.
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The modern submarine changed the equation of naval warfare during the Great War, and navies had developed few tactics and weapons to counter them. In the opening months of the war the U-boats of the imperial German navy demonstrated that they were a real threat to the Royal Navy. On August 9, the SM U-15 encountered the cruiser HMS Birmingham, which used the most reliable method at the time to destroy a submarine. The tactic of ramming U-boats during the great war deserves to be remembered.
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Script by THG
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May I, as a Halfbreed make a suggestion about your hat & artifact collection???
You don't appear to have anything Native on your wall, and while cultural respect means that Native Cultural Artifacts belong to their respective Nations, there are replicas of Native Artifacts, made by Native Artists, that if placed next to a Military Helmet worn by a Native American serving in our Armed Forces in WWII would be respectful...
Also the history cat is missed....
There’s a book
Gone to Sea in a Bucket
Book by David Black
Historical fiction based on fact, fairly accurate, if The admiral’s praise of the book in the forward is to be believed. It’s about the British going to war in submarines, the name of the sub in the book is trebuchet, The British tar hating all things French called the sub the bucket. Might be an interesting subject to research and present.
That is, if I haven’t missed the mark and you’ve done it already.
😩🥱😑
1245pm
Let's not forget the use of "ramming speed" in the Ben-Hur sea battle.
That was the first thing, l said as soon as I read the title of the video.
Trust the brummies to get the first U-boat......... Yippee
Well chuffed brummie
A common tactic in the era before gunpowder. Ram your enemy and let the ship infantry board and fight it out
But why did they need such a big oaf to beat the drums? And why was he so unwashed considering he was surrounded by water where he could bathe occasionally?
Or in Animal House.
Yes and who can forget that line in Animal House
As a United Methodist pastor for forty-four years, I have been blessed and honored to know and serve many WWII fighters. I've also had the sad duty to lay many to rest. Having been raised in a Navy family, I always enjoyed hearing the sailors tell their stories. A common thread in all their accounts was the fear of submarines. They said it was like being at home in the dark, knowing that someone else is in your house with a weapon, but you don't know where they are. God bless all those brave young men. They saved our freedom at great personal expense.
Addendum to the Olympic, she was the only passenger ship to ever sink an enemy warship. The ship was presented with a medal, which was proudly displayed near her forward grand staircase for the rest of her career.
Kinda reminds me of that ice breaker cruise liner that sunk the Venezuelan warship in 2020 (though the latter rammed the former in that case)
The Olympic was one badass ship. And very lucky. She withstood a few gnarly collisions in her career. Shame she was met with a torch after all she accomplished.
Question: What do you call a dog in a u-boat?
Answer: a sub woofer
😜
Nice.
Like it 😄
Auugh.
Joke so funny it made me do a backflip where I'm standing
@@codrinmicusan446 Lol
Your mention of ramming in WW2 brought to mind that great Robert Mitchum/Kurt Jurgens film "The Enemy Below".
Just watched that again the other day on YT. I forget which movie channel..
Frank Worsley, the captain of Ernest Shackleton's ship Endurance, returned from their famous Antarctic expedition and rescue to captain the Q-ship PC.61. On 26 September 1917, PC.61 rammed and sank the German U-boat UC-33, killing all but one of its crew. For this action Worsley was awarded the Distinguished Service Order (DSO).
Interesting, but it's no USS O'Bannon potato warfare.
If ANY potatoes were actually thrown/used/fused/abused…
THG has a great video on that epic story..
History deserves and needs to be remembered. I’m 29, (Im really not trying to sound like a boomer here fr) but I wish the majority of my generation felt the same way about all types of history, and the necessity of learning our history as a species. I just feel like social media does a good job of allowing doom scrolling without much learning/thought needed any,ore.
Indeed! Reading books - whats that?! :D
Agreed. But there's the problem of informed vs uninformed vs misinformed. I would recommend the writings of Thomas Sowell, Andrew Roberts, and Stephen Kotkin. They also can be watched in long form interviews.
@@chadparsons50 which should I start with and what type of information do they provide? Is it about the differences between the 3? I appreciate it.
What a boomer thing to say. What makes you think your generation is any different to any other generation?
We learn from history that we do not learn from history.
Good morning History Guy and everyone watching. OS1(SW/AW) USN Retired...
Good morning to you sir. Thank you for your service. It's gonna be another hot one here.
@@aprylrittenhouse4562 You're welcome. Yes it will be another scorcher in Northern Texas. 🥵
Kapitänleutnant Weddigen was, I believe, also the first member of the Kaiserliche Marine to be awarded the coveted Orden Pour-le-Merite, or, "Blue Max." The sinking of the 3 armored cruisers garnered him the Iron Cross, 1st and 2nd Class. The Blue Max came after he added the HMS Hawke to his tally.
“ The tactic of ramming submarines deserves to be remembered. “ No truer words have ever been spoken. ❤
Fantastic story as always! You are my "comfort" channel.
He's knowledgeable and avuncular.
Neat! This is new to me. I recall learning of the torpedo fuses not being reliable at the beginning of WW2 and the resorting to ramming then.
That's mostly American early war sub torpedos
It would take 3 or 4 hits to sink a ship.
I think at Midway the US were originally using magnetic fuses for their aerial torpedoes, and some pilots reported direct hits - with no result. They went back to contact fuses.
@andrewstevenson118 turned out that one of the factors was differences in the Earth's magnetic field. Mag fuses were tested near Virginia with no consideration of expectation that the fuses would function differently in the Pacific.
This reminds me of the movie "The Enemy Below." It was a very good movie.
At the Clermont Lounge, there's a rather large dancer who wears a "sailor's outfit" and when giving lap dances, it is common to hear her holler in a thick Scottish accent, "RAMMING SPEED" & "FIRE TORPEDOS!" 😂😅😊
thanks lance...in 1965 (being 19 and near being drafted) i went into the navy submarine reserves (like my older brother) served 2 years 3 months active duty on ssbn 657 f.s. key...had a good time...
So, while hearing of these stories, in my head I can't help but hear one of the weasels from "Who Framed Roger Rabbit?" yelling out, "I'm gonna ram him!"
The weasels deserve to be remembered.
I don't remember ever reading about ramming as a tactic before. Thanks, I like learning.
It was a common tactic employed by Triremes in ancient times.
Look up the The Battle of Lissa. It was a virtual ramming party. Wooden sail ships ramming steam powered iron clads and everything. After this event up until WW1 ships had bows with rams built into them.
czcams.com/video/VqWD9X-QKRE/video.html
@randycastillo4530 and in ww1 the Russians literally rammed as a main form of air combat before Russia had interrupting gear...
Alexander Kazakov and Pyotr Nesterov for example
My grandfather ( father side ) told of witnessing the ramming of a U-Boat in ww1 - he was on a Navy destroyer at the time - i don't know what rank he had, he never said, he seldom spoke about his time in ww1 but he did say he was in the Navy for 5 years 1915 to 1920
In WWII, my cousin was a sonar operator on the USS Thomas that rammed and sunk a U-Boat in the North Atlantic.
On 27 July 1916, Charles Algernon Fryatt, the Captain of the SS Brussels - a passenger ferry that ran between Harwich and neutral Holland - was executed by the Germans. He had encountered a U-Boat on 2 occassions previously and , despite being in an unarmed vessel had refused to surrender, instead chased one off and almost rammed another which had been forced to crash dive. on his last voyage his vessel was surrounded by German destroyers and the ship taken. The Germans took Capt Fryatt to Berlin where he was court-martialled for being a Franc-tireur... he was found guilty and condemned to death. the Kaiser confirmed the sentence. It caused outrage worldwide and was just one more strike against the bestial "Hun" in the world opinion. In the United States, The New York Times denounced the execution as "a deliberate murder". The New York Herald called it "The crowning German atrocity.
czcams.com/video/7EjAl8KAsy0/video.html
😢😢😢😢
Totally wrong of them to execute him.
Totally wrong of them to execute him.
He , the Unkown Warrior and the body of the nurse Edith Cavell, were transported in the same rail wagon. Now in preservation and known as the Cavell Wagon.
After learning about the Olympic sinking a German U-Boat quite a few years ago , I couldn't help thinking that at least some of the liner's crew saw it as getting a measure of revenge for their Cunard rival Lusitania's sinking by another German Sub.
Another great video
The 918th Bomber group Toby Beer stein on your shelf gave me a smile .
First to notice!
The exhibit in Chicago's Museum of Science and Industry on the U-Boats and the capture is fantastic! You can TOUR THE U-BOAT!! 10/10 do recommend.
Ramming goes back thousands of years. They used to build ships out of wood with metal tipped rams to poke holes in other wooden ships.
I appreciate you, thank you for making content.
An interesting side note to Olympic and U-Boats; In August 1919 Olympic returned to Belfast for restoration to civilian service. During the conversion work and drydocking, a dent with a crack at the centre was discovered below her waterline which was later concluded to have been caused by a torpedo that had failed to detonate. The historian Mark Chirnside concluded that the faulty torpedo had been fired by the U-boat SM U-53 on 4 September 1918, while Olympic was in the English Channel.
Yet another great THG video..... Is there any other kind besides great?
@TheHistoryGuyChannel
WOWZERS!!! I certainly don't remember my Freshman History teacher, Mr. Hart - he served in the Army in WWII (And often boasting, "Mr. Hart was driving a senior officer in his Jeep, hit a mud puddle, and splashed mud on General Patton's pants and shoes - Hahaha"...) and THOROUGHLY detailed all of the battle strategies of all branches of our military at the time. Evidently he failed to recognize this attack's importance and sheer BRAVERY necessary to pull off this procedure! If things "went south", the ramming ship, as well as its sailors, were likely headed straight to the ocean floor!
Thank you, Sir, for highlighting this strategy for us! Yet another reason why I am crazy about this channel!
I've learned something new today, thank you History Guy 👍
Dying in a submarine has always been one of my least favorite, imagined ways to go. Although, they say pressure implosion is one of the quickest possible deaths. 😬
Just found this channel but I think he could be History Channel big. Just want to know when he's going to cover the Ancient Aliens and Nazi occult stonemason ceremonies.
Suggestion for a future episode: The story of Alexander W. Livingston, the Father of the modern tomato
@06:34 "The Badger's.... balls... were somewhat damaged" did I hear that right? ^_^ The poor Badger.
...
(relisten "bows"... but "balls" was so funny to hear the first time)
Lol. Not intentional. Yes, bows.
Really appreciate stories about the Great War.
Excellent episode!
HMTS Olympic rammed and sank a U-Boat thus gaining the title: Old Reliable.😮 7:11
Thank you, THG, for the great Naval tale of WW1
It is the greatest goal of any Royal Navy Captain to RAM something! Anything! Engage the Enemy More Closely is still the defining tactic. The advent of the missile has caused major depression in the Andrew.
Real History Channel! on CZcams? Great content. Thank you
I recall seeing a World War 1 recruitment or bond poster in a book I think it was American Hheritage about the Great War, depicting an American ship ramming a German submarine and all the German sailors on deck are holding up their arms as if to say no no stop stop! Quite a striking image!
The poster you describe hangs on my wall. In the upper rt corner; "THEY KEPT THE SEA LANES OPEN" and in large print across the bottom; "INVEST IN THE VICTORY LIBERTY LOAN". It's a lithograph in shades of blue & orange, a U-boat sinking aft, crew in conning tower in foreground with a destroyer rt of center & merchantman to left rear.
Commander Charles Lightoller, the most senior officer to survive the sinking of the Titanic, rammed and sunk UB-110 while commanding HMS Garry. He also initially refused to accept the surrender of the surviving UB-110 crew and allowed them to be fired upon before eventually assisting in their rescue. In his memoirs he is quite salty when expressing his opinion of the surrendering submariners.
My Great Grandfather, Able Seaman Luke Beeching was on the HMS Cressy. I now possess his medals, given post death. I cannot begin to imagine the horror of sinking with your ship.
Interesting story about the HMS Dreadnaught. Who needs 12 inch guns when you have a bow.
Nice stein you chose to include in the set. I believe it was in Twelve O Clock High!
“Ramming Speed” said D-Day in “Animal House”. No better use of the phrase in modern history
Exactly!
If you haven't done a video on the RMS Olympic, that would make a great one.
Yet another GREAT subject and video. None are finer, BRAVO Sir, BRAVO.
Dude, this is the best history channel ever.
My grandfather's ship USS Stringham almost sunk U41 of the NC coast. But they used depth charges.
What a coincidence! I'm currently reading 'War Beneath the Sea' by Peter Padfield. I've been reading books about WW2 diesel subs for the past month.
I think he meant U-103 reached a depth of 30 feet, not metres. At 30 feet Olympic's screw could certainly have impacted the U-Boat, as the liner's draught was ~34 feet. 30 metres is almost 100 feet .
Love your channel! Thank you for all the great videos!
Great story!
There is a movie called "The Enemy Below" I think, that is the story of a battle between a destroyer and a U Boat during WW2. The destroyer ends up ramming the U Boat in the end. A great movie!
“Ramming speed!”
Said D-Day in the movie Animal House.
Thank you so much for this history a much under reported time of war
A book by R H Gibson is a must buy. My late father was called Robert Henry. Thanks for the tip off.
Agreed. A very thorough description of the U-boat war.
Thank you for providing your channel that provides much needed historical highlights to counter so much negative news today. It also is within my attention span and makes great conversation at parties! I would like to request an episode on History itself, how it’s been perceived over time, what is done to preserve records (or destroyed by regimes). Is history even valued the same by all?
Thank you for this very interesting video. BTW, I am from the same New Jersey city that was home to the invention of the first powered submarine. Paterson, NJ. Invented by an Irish immigrant, John P. Holland. The Catholic high school, St. John the Baptist High School, that I attended in the 1950s, is now a charter school named for John P. Holland. Paterson was the home of a number of inventions. Forgotten by many now a days.
But not in Gosport UK where Holland 1 is on display
Thank you for your response and for remembering the gritty old industrial city of Paterson, New Jersey. @@gbcb8853
The propeller of HMT Olympic by itself was 5% of the weight of U-103.
U-19 don't need no stinkin' Badgers,
The uss Ticonderoga of WWI attempted a similar feat during one of the most harrowing feats at sea in WWI
I think it would be quite interesting to hear of submarine rammings during the second world war. 🤔. Those events surely were terrifying moments for those young sailors who were asked to engage in such a deadly business. 😞
As an old HT, back in the 70’s the Strait of Malacca was quite the place for ships putting themselves and others in Extremous. But, war is War. I can only imagine.
It's spelled "in extremis". Hope this helps! ❤
My great-uncle (my grandmother's little brother) commanded U-1051 which was sunk by ramming in the Irish Sea in 1945.
I think there were even photos of the event taken by a seaman on HMS Manners or Bentninck, which a descendant had shared in some forum (many years ago).
Where there any survivors?
@@djquinn11 sunk with all hands.
As it turns out, HMT Olympic was actually struck by a torpedo during the war. However, it failed to detonate, and nobody knew until her post-war refit when they found a dent and a rupture in her hull.
Nicely presented and all correct.
Great video...👍
1,270,000 wow I joined your channel when you had 3000 subscribers.😂 Interesting content will always bring in the viewers .Thank you sir.
A collision at sea can wreck your whole day.
This was good. Thank you.
What about uss New York bb-34 , During that time, she was involved in at least two incidents with German U-boats, and is believed to have been the only US ship to have sunk one in the war, during an accidental collision in October 1918.
Great video very helpful 👍🇺🇸
Thank you. Very good.🇬🇧
Thanks, very interesting.
Battleships and cruisers still had ram bows in that era. Neither side had very accurate weapons or good detection apparatus, beyond binoculars. So wins and losses depended on luck to quite an extent.
Love submarines!
Is there a decent book on submarine operations in WWI comparable to such works available for WWII?
I remember reading in WWII somewhere of a submarine ramming in which the surface war ship rammed and then passed over the submarine disabling either its steering or props. Which it was I do not remember, but it left the war ship unable to maneuver.
That might be USS Buckley, which did lose one propeller shaft. czcams.com/video/YIBF4HwtANA/video.html
@@TheHistoryGuyChannel The incident that I read about was different and sub went quickly to the bottom after the war ship completely passed over it broadside.
I just can not recall what sort of escort ship it was. But again there was a convoy and the sub was trying to attack it. There may have been more than one sub also since there was talk of wolf packs that attacked allied shipping.
It was often said that the sub deck gun was at times more powerful than the 3 inch guns put on some of the merchant ships. Many merchant ships were armed during the war with a three inch gun and maybe a 50 BMG.
Sometimes it was claimed that a sub would sink a smaller ship with just its deck gun.
My Grandfather (b. 1899) lied about his age and served as a Boson's mate on 2 destroyers/"Cans" USS Astoria and the Zukor. He told me of a time they damaged a U-boat causing it to surface and gun it out. They sank the sub, but not before some very grizzly exchange of lead! How hard would it be to obtain the engagement records of those ships?
USS ASTORIA was a heavy cruiser.
Quintus Arrius and Forty One approved this video.
This is a fascinating, niche topic, and you covered it very well! From a former submariner, history major, and naval history buff, thank you sir for all the great work that you do!
HMS Dreadnought? Let me just say "Bungabunga!"
Thank you.
Thank you
All these fancy and sophisticated names like "Titanic" and "Olympic" and then there's just Gary.
I would like to hear about The Turtle from the American Revolutionary War.
The "Norway Orkney's?" - weren't the Orkney's firmly in British hands by this point? (cross-reference the "Pawning the Orkney's/Shetland's video)
Yes, they were. That phrase is actually from a direct quotation by R.H. Gibson. I suspect it is just a colloquialism.
thanks
on topic. the ww2 ramming of the japanese sub i-1 by two Kiwi fishing boats and the recovery of the japanese navy codes would be a nice one to do
I was hoping someone would mention the US aircraft carrier that ran over the soviet submarine accidentally. I bet the sub was badly damaged inside but I don't remember it sinking.
czcams.com/video/ACSzlEX362o/video.html
@TheHistoryGuyChannel I couldn't remember who had done a video about that because I also watch Dr Mark Felton videos. thanks
Have you ever done an episode on the New Zealand Land Wars?
czcams.com/video/GeVXAz6MGBA/video.html
Wonderful, all new to me.
Bob
England
Amazing video ans thanks THG🎀 👍
Old Shoe🇺🇸
Damn the Torpedoes Full Speed Ahead!
This caused U-Boats to stop searching civilian ships for munitions, along with Churchill illegally arming merchant ships and introducing Q-ships with concealed deck guns.
WHAT ?
Didn't even mention "Damn the torpedos. FULL SPEED AHEAD !" ???
Those "torpedos" were mines
@@edwardrhoades6957 thanks
Learn something new every day
Civil War, Battle of Mobile Bay
The first dreadnought, HMS Dreadnought, only combat action was ramming a U-Boat in WWI of I remember correctly.
That was actually at least the 10th English warship named Dreadnought, the first being commissioned in 1543.
I think to date Dreadnought is the only Battleship to directly sink a submarine. Warspite can claim an indirect kill in WW2 when it's swordfish scout plane bombed and sank a u-boat during the battles of Narvick.
I know others have commented on this, but I have to ask: WHERE did you get the toby mug from ‘Twelve O’Clock High’?