Mike Malanaphy
05-09-2010, 03:17 PM
Hi Guys,
Saw two excellent naval history shows on PBS last weeknd:
The first was regarding the I-400 class subnarines; their design and use. Good experts and diagrams. I was unaware that I-400 and I-401 had been dispatched to attack Ulithi anchorage at he end of the war. A navigational error delayed the attack until war's end and the two sunbs surrendered. One of the problems encountered was was the inability of warmng up the plane's engines in the enclosed hangar. To prevent excessive time on teh surface prior to launch, the engine oil was pre heated. Yamamoto wanted 18 of these ships with the ability to attack US coastal cities. In retrospect, the plane's payload of a single bomb would make such attacks would have little effect beyond the psychological. The experts were skeptical that teh Seirans could place a bomb close enough to realistically damage one of the Panama Canal lock gates. Well done documentary.
The other was a two part show on Hood and Bismarck and it appears to be the Channel 4 show done after the discovery of the wrecks. Interesting to watch though it contained a number of factual errors including a rather fanciful claim from an Ark Royal Swordfish pilot who claimed that Dorsetshire fired upon them to keep Force H from getting a piece of the during the last engagement. The animated surface diagrams and shell trajectories of the last battle showed how little chance Bismarck had and was fired at from all sides.
Ballard's visit to Bismarck had camera problems, Mearns 2001 visit was time limited and evidently Cameron got the best pictures including the interior of Bismarck's side protective system using ROVs leading to the discovery that her holding bulkhead had held up very well to the 9 estimated torpedo hits she sustained.
Here is an analysis I found on the web:
For some reason, the link I paste doesn't work, but if you search Bill Jurens + bismarck, you will get the link that works to legacy.sname.org.
Saw two excellent naval history shows on PBS last weeknd:
The first was regarding the I-400 class subnarines; their design and use. Good experts and diagrams. I was unaware that I-400 and I-401 had been dispatched to attack Ulithi anchorage at he end of the war. A navigational error delayed the attack until war's end and the two sunbs surrendered. One of the problems encountered was was the inability of warmng up the plane's engines in the enclosed hangar. To prevent excessive time on teh surface prior to launch, the engine oil was pre heated. Yamamoto wanted 18 of these ships with the ability to attack US coastal cities. In retrospect, the plane's payload of a single bomb would make such attacks would have little effect beyond the psychological. The experts were skeptical that teh Seirans could place a bomb close enough to realistically damage one of the Panama Canal lock gates. Well done documentary.
The other was a two part show on Hood and Bismarck and it appears to be the Channel 4 show done after the discovery of the wrecks. Interesting to watch though it contained a number of factual errors including a rather fanciful claim from an Ark Royal Swordfish pilot who claimed that Dorsetshire fired upon them to keep Force H from getting a piece of the during the last engagement. The animated surface diagrams and shell trajectories of the last battle showed how little chance Bismarck had and was fired at from all sides.
Ballard's visit to Bismarck had camera problems, Mearns 2001 visit was time limited and evidently Cameron got the best pictures including the interior of Bismarck's side protective system using ROVs leading to the discovery that her holding bulkhead had held up very well to the 9 estimated torpedo hits she sustained.
Here is an analysis I found on the web:
For some reason, the link I paste doesn't work, but if you search Bill Jurens + bismarck, you will get the link that works to legacy.sname.org.