Eastern Fleet: USS Saratoga with HMS Illustrious
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- čas přidán 10. 01. 2016
- USS Saratoga operates in formation with HMS Illustrious in 1944. Footage goes on to include Indian and Pacific Ocean flight operations from Illustrious and HMS Indomitable, with aircraft including FAA Corsairs, Barracudas, Avengers and Hellcats.
www.armouredcarriers.com/illus...
This is fantastic footage. I read a book by Norman Hanson called Carrier pilot. He served on HMS Illustrious flying Corsairs. I have a lot of respect for everyone involved in naval aviation
Just watching this film roll by, and I know this is highly improbable, but at around 3;26 there's a scene with damaged craft in deck, and there's a sailor in dark clothing on the right rear (our perspective) who seems to be attempting to free something up. He grabs something on the craft with his left hand, then as the film rolls, you can see he has a small mallet and begins striking the part.
My father had a very distinctive silhouette, he had a pronounced strong brow ridge, a strong nose and his most distinctive feature were his protruding ears, which gave him the nickname "Mickey" from Michael.
Dad never spoke about the war unless I pressed and pressed when I was a young boy, and even when he got tired of my constant bugging he only gave very vague details.
Even Mum knew very little about his WWII service, and the only way we discovered he was even on a naval vessel during the war, was when Mum caught him acting uncharacteristically odd, and early one morning before he walked the five miles to work, he threw a large box to the curb for garbage pick up.
Mum bolted out there before the truck arrived and brought the box to the kitchen.
As a young boy, I was very struck by her reaction upon finding the contents, and it drove her to sobbing, which I had never witnessed from Mum, she went through the war assembling bomb components, at locations which were obviously very high priority Luftwaffe targets.
She was in many close calls, with civilian building struck, and collapsing all around her. One of the stories Mum told me about was a time during a bomb raid, where her close friend and mum had been stuck in a building, which collapsed and they both tried in vain to stop the girl's father from bleeding to death with a large neck wound, which ended his life.
My Mum was a very strong, honest and loving woman, and seeing her all messed up like that was scary.
In the box to my best recollection was Dad's "officer's log book" a large folder full of what I now believe were WWII documents, can't be certain - a bunch of medals and a bunch of championship boxing trophies.
Apparently Dad was defeated just once in the Navy boxing club, or whatever they called it.
Mum knew absolutely nothing about any of this. I vaguely remember reading through the log book, and there was a narrative which alluded to Dad having "achieved the highest standard of academic" something or another.
I am so blessed and grateful that my mother gave me at least some of those medals, after I had my first son of three in my early 20s. I asked her to keep them for me, and I cannot recall exactly when I picked them up and I have them today. Dad managed to get rid of some of the medals, and other items, but I believe his log book is still around, and I think one of my sisters may have it. Unfortunately the family wants nothing to do with her, and so I may never get to see that log book again.
Seeing that sailor just now set me aback, and I am a bit shook up, which is very much NOT like me.
Anyway, I just wanted to share this with you all, knowing how much you respect, and honor these incredible men, who we are losing, and are dwindling in numbers.
I raised all my boys to have the highest respect, and thankful hearts for the WWII vets in particular, but also they respect and understand that ALL of our precious soldiers, sailors, pilots etc who served in battle are incredible brave, and heroic men and women. And "heroic" does NOT mean fearless, that is a fantasy regarding ALL of us. Rather, these brave men and women went into battle, bled, and died for ALL OF US!
I have also made very certain my boys honor ALL our military men and women including those who are ready and willing to take the fight to the enemy, but have not been in combat. ALL of the vets who have been in combat were that exact position, where they were trained, and ready to go anytime they were called upon!!
And so right here right now I am thanking every single one of the men and women who serve us, and fight to make sure we can ALL live in freedom, and have the right of freedom of speech and the right to voice even the most vile of their personal paradigm!
We won't agree with everything others say, but it is an extremely dangerous thing for ANY of us to demand our freedoms be limited to any one specific paradigm. You cannot set a third of your house on fire without burning down the entire house!
Thank you ALL for you service, your honor, and life! Thank you also to all the families and loved ones who either have, or risk losing one of their dearly loved family and friends. The families all too often get overlooked, and not purposefully, but we must try to not leave these wonderful people out of our thanks, hearts, and prayers.
Jack - Canada
Thank you very much for sharing that. I had a grandfather who was also very reticent about sharing his war memories. Unfortunately, his war medals were the only thing taken from my home in a break-in some years back ... It is easy to forget how much the constant life-or-death tension, spanning up to six years for some, can affect a person. Which makes it all the more important to collectively try to remember what happened, why and how. Only then can we hope to understand their struggle - and scars.
Thank you for your fathers (and all others who served in any capacity) and your families sacrifice. Those of us who were not there are usually very curious about what they did. Sometimes its hard for us to understand why they do not wish to talk about it or have reminders around. We need to understand that there were surely events that they witnessed or participated in that destroyed part of their sole and they don't want to relive it. Fighting, even for a worthy cause, can be very ghastly for those involved. My heart goes out to those who are troubled by what they endured for our freedoms. I'm very proud of all of you.
What can I say, heart racing and eyes damp as I read this.
I was born in England in 1942 in, as my dear dear elder sister always reminded me, the middle of a NAZI air raid.
My father tried to join the Navy in 1940, he was turned down because of health problems so he joined the home guard.
A more UNLIKELY sailor could not be imagined, but he was a wonderful father.
Your mother sounds like mine, strong, caring, loving and the most HONEST woman I have ever known as was my father.
Many other family members served, like my mothers brother whose name I have as a middle name. He was a gunner and radio operator in the RAF which he joined in 1940 at the age of 19 and flew in bombing raids in 1940 and 41.
His plane ran out of fuel returning from a bombing mission and crash landed in a field in England, the weather was bad and the pilot lost his way.
The crew all survived unhurt except for my uncle who was severely injured with a smashed hip, but he survived but his flying days were over.
A cruel twist to the story is that his crew returned to combat and none of them survived the war, he was the only survivor.
He was an exceptionally handsome young man and in TRUE Hollywood style he fell in love with one of his nurses, a refugee from Malta, and married her. His hip was never set correctly and he was a cripple for the rest of his life, he could walk, BARELY, and he died in his 80s, he was a lovely man.
They WERE the greatest generation.
Best wishes.
@@ArmouredCarriers
Sorry I missed this reply.
Thank you very much for keeping the memory alive so current and future generations will see what the true cost of the freedoms and rights they have.
Jack - Canada ~'()'~
@@rickkephart5690 Thank you so much for that brother. You've nailed it on the head in explaining why these incredible people don't like talking about the horrors of war.
Jack - Canada
My grandfather was on the Saratoga in this film, probably near or on the bridge.
Little known fact HMS Victorious one of the Illustrious class carriers was lent to the US and served in the US navy for 9 months mainly along side Saratoga.
Yes you're sure right about that after the battle for guadalcanal we were down to a damaged enterprise the Brits and the Sara held the line in the south Pacific until the Essex Carrier's came on line !!!
Yes, the Americans called the Victorious, the USS Robin.
@@robertbunch7829 we did have the Ranger but it might have been refitting at that interval.
@@cambium0 that's true but the ranger was never considered for service in the Pacific the navy was never very happy about it's design our performance or something like that thanks for the reply and have a great day !!!!
@@robertbunch7829 Ranger was structurally weak. Her skipper had said that she would break in half if hit by a torpedo. That's the biggest reason she was kept in the Atlantic, and never risked in Pacific carrier battles.
My father served on HMS Illustrious, a fantastic ship.
My father too!
@@johnnyblythe5375 As did my dad. I wonder if they knew each other?
Jack ~'()'~
Courage and Bravery does not mean an absence of fear.🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸
My father was on that carrier at the time these video were shot.
Saratoga ? Illustrious ?
@@alexreisseng7441 Nope. It was the HMS Personal Computer, wanker.
So sorry Alex I didn't see your comment until just now as this video came up on my feed again.
Dad served aboard HMS Illustrious.
Take care
Jack ~'()'~
As a kid, I remember my dad taking me and my brothers (ca., 1958-59-60?), to the jetties at Mayport Naval Station to watch The Saratoga come in or leave out, along with The Roosevelt and one other I cannot remember the name of. Later on, after they built more onto the base, I played music for sailors at the EM Club, and in playing the Acey Duecey Club, I saw The Boxer, loaded with helicopters, bound for Vietnam.
I had a very rare photo (burned in a house fire), with a Gloster Meteor on the Illustrious. Was taken shortly after WW2 by my sister's boyfriend who was stationed on the Illustrious. Wish I still had it :(
Cool footage. My grandfather was out there on the Sara at that time. I think I saw him wave!
My Granddad was waving back he was on the lusty and is still around today at 94 told me many stories about his time in the war
fearsomebows my grandfather was also on the illustrious! He rarely spoke about the war, he was sunk twice before he was sent to the illustrious
My dad was with him
Remember those men so far from home in a very dangerous and unforgiving environment.
Been brothers in arm's for some time now what brave lads on that ship
Cool to see the UK flying Hellcats. All this looks comparatively early since the insignia is since a rounded. I’ve never seen Corsairs with such heavily-framed cockpits, either.
Yes, that was April 1944. You can read about their "tryst" here: www.armouredcarriers.com/illustrious-and-saratoga
There's nothing better than US AND UK fighting side by side we have the best troops in the game!
You mean US leading and UK following like a puppy?
@@aitortilla5128 The US followed the UK into WW2, TWO YEARS LATE!
@@sprinter1832 - there was zero domestic civilian and political sentiment for America to get involved in yet another European war in 1939 and 1940. None. It took Pearl Harbor and a German declaration of war on the US to change that.
Everyone, the original comment was celebrating the close working relationship between the UK and the US. The video above demonstrates that.
That is what the discussion should be about, not sniping at each other over who led who, where and when. So far it sounds like two old politicians arguing over who’s going first with the prostitute, and then who’s ultimately paying the bill!
Stop it! The men and women of these two navies deserve better than the comments you gentlemen have yet made!
@@iatsd AND???
There was a time when the Royal Navy was able to see the US Navy eyeball to eyeball.
Brits showed Corsair could land on carriers with curve approach.
Shoulder to shoulder
My grandpa was on deck of the USS Saratoga when the kamakaze pilot crashed into the ship. I wonder if one of these brave men in this video is him.
There is footage of that kamikaze attack on yt
A nice lot of film footage.
.
Somewhere on the old Sara is my dad feel like I should wave thank you
Same here. I want to see the planes being launched off the deck because my father was one of those that did that job.
@@nonamegame9857 dad's battle station was as a hot shell catcher on battery one until a week or two before Iwo Jima when he was reassigned to a 40 mm off the fantail during that attack battery one took a direct hit and nearly all the gun crew was KIA so I also wonder which of those guys was standing in his place that day
British carriers could stand Kamikaze attacks because of the steel decks.
historic film
That right there is how the Germans and Japenese lost.
Yes true, when HMS Unicorn went to itlay for an amphibious landing ,Uniocrn horn noises intensifies *
yup, when only the USA could park 27 of those things next to any country we wanted.
@@sleeperawake9818 The Royal Navy had around forty carriers in WW2 bud.
@@YARROWS9 i meant the big fleet carriers not the smaller escort carriers which the usa had 64 escort carriers at end of ww2 🙂
If the Royal Navy is flying Corsairs, that has to be the Saratoga!
Saratoga was sunk in the operation crossroads atomic bomb tests at bikini atoll in 1946
I HAVE A PLAQUE GIVIN TO THE DALY CITY BAND 1ST PRIZE FOR ITS PATRIOTIC SERVICES FROM CAPTAIN PHILIP LEMLER, PHILIP LEMLER. ITS WOOD IS TAKEN FROM THE FOMOUS CARRIER USS SARATOGA FLIGHT DECK. ANY BODY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THIS PLAQUE GIVIN TO DALY CITY BAND 1ST PRIZE?
They bombed her, but she refused to sink. It took torpedoes below her waterline to send the grand old lady to the bottom. I believe she has now become a new coral reef.
She may have died, but she has engendered new life in the ocean.
Sadly, my dad was with her from 1943 until the a bomb test
There was a second Saratoga built around 1956 with the identification numbers CV-60.(the original was CV-3)
Love the old Brit tow tractor!! Ex ABH3 V1 Div
This is the way he faught in USS Saratoga
No sound???
8:48 That looks like a De Havilland Hornet, which is impossible for the time and theatre of operations. Suggestions, anyone?
Most likely DeHaviland Mosquito, which were operational in Burma and South East Asia (but not off aircraft carriers!)
@@ArmouredCarriers Thanks. Quite likely.
it a DH Mosquito by the way the RN were testing using Mosquito to be used off carries and thy successfully flew and landed them on a carries in 1945 but the war ended before they could be used in a operation
Norman Hanson probably one of the Corsair pilots. His book is excellent.
Man, those Barracudas have some hair-raising takeoffs. Terrible aeroplane. US really crapped over us in terms of WW2 carrier aircraft development (except the Stringbag, of course, but that’s more out of sentimentality).
Which year which occasion
1944, Operations Diplomat, Cockpit and Transom. You can read about Illustrious and Saratoga's operations in the Indian Ocean here: www.armouredcarriers.com/illustrious-and-saratoga
I can see a KGV class battleship. What ship it is? King Georg V? Hanson? Howe? Duke of York? Of course can´t be Prince of Wales because it was be sunk in 1941...
That would almost certainly be Howe, which arrived after Saratoga left.
@@ArmouredCarriers thank you!!
No ara ara?
Search BAE Illustrious
Brits had to love the Corsairs and Hellcats those Barracudas look awful.
We did love the Corsair and were first to use them on carriers.
Disagree their kinda cool looking I think. Certainly no Seafire but not bad
Ronald Wong They do look kind of awful. Much like most pre war designs, they quickly became obsolete as the war started and technology advanced. This particularly happened with British naval aircraft. As is so often with Britain, they were totally ill prepared for war but by its end, had some of the finest aircraft in the world. By the wars end you had naval aircraft such as the Sea Mosquito, Firebrand and Sea Fury.
They were!!😂
Yes indeed Brits have always loved Corsairs and Pirates.
Barracuda 2 probably one of the ugliest aircraft of all time :)
Not ugly, just distinctive.
@@billbrockman779 @AE Birkbeck. The barracuda fish is no oil painting - and savage with it!!
My grandpa faught in the Korean conflict war
Ну и зачем надо было взрывать последний в мире линейный корабль, сохранившийся со времён Наполеона? Неужели нельзя было его сохранить для потомков???
Money.
Remember the US didn't want them out there.
Not quite right. Admiral King didn't want them out there. Admirals Spruance and Halsey did.
I suspect that a fully integrated effort might have been more effective. But Adm King's anglophobia came to the front again much as it did when the US became involved in the Atlantic and the battle against the U boats. The success of "Drumbeat" was partly attributable to King's unwllingness to learn the lessons already learnt by the Brits.
Most Americans were happy for the extra help and firepower.
Morrigan Ravenchild I have known about Admiral Kings problem all along but I have no idea why he felt that way. Can someone help me out.
In 1943 the US was short of carriers in the Pacific they borrowed HMS Victorious and renamed her USS Robin with RN crew, she worked with the USS Saratoga, so Saratoga was already familiar working with the British.