Battle of North Cape: HMS Belfast and the sinking of the Scharnhorst
Scharnhorst was one of the most dangerous German warships of the Second World War, and the last of her kind. In late December 1943, she was sunk, after attempting to intercept two Arctic convoys. What happened at the Battle of North Cape?
On Boxing Day 1943, Vice Admiral Robert Burnett was in Soviet Russia on board HMS Belfast, having escorted an Arctic convoy there. Burnett’s warships were preparing to escort the next convoy back to Britain, when intelligence reached them from the Admiralty in London. The battleship Scharnhorst and five destroyers had left their Norwegian base. These convoys had baited out one of the Allies’ most wanted warships. HMS Belfast and the rest of the convoy were no longer embarking on a return journey home, they were heading for battle.
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Credits:
In the West and An Upsetting Theme by Kevin MacLeod are licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. creativecommons.org/licenses/...
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Images of Scharnhorst: Bundesarchiv, DVM 10 Bild-23-63-46 / CC-BY-SA 3.0, CC BY-SA 3.0 DE
My grandfather was a sailor on the Scharnhorst during WW2. He got an extended Christmas permission to marry my grandmother. When in late December they heard on the radio that the ship was sunk, he wouldn't believe it, saying that it must be a mistake like many before. A couple days later my great-grandfather received a letter informing him that his son had perished at sea. He called my grandpa who was upstairs and said, "Franz, apparently you're dead". Lessons learned: 1. War sucks. 2. Vacations save lives.
Great story. Who ever said that the Germans don't have a sense of humour?!
My uncle was not so lucky. Married for only a few weeks his sub was reported missing at Christmas time. All hands lost.
That was a good thing that the Nazi ship sank!
God's mercy!
@@DavidRLentz None of the Nazi soldiers deserved God's mercy!
My father helped finish building the Scharnhorst, 1 of 9 men to serve Hitler when he came on board to commission the ship. On its maiden voyage Scharnhorst developed a major failure in the engine room and abandon engine room was ordered. He went back in and closed strategic valves (super heated steam) and saved the engine. He was awarded the iron cross 1st class and was presented with the officer's photo album. He was later transferred to U-boat school... and did survive the war.
That was a good thing that the Nazi ship sank! By the way, it's a shame about every Nazi henchman who survived!
@@GreatPolishWingedHussars There were no nazis in the navy except what the party planted on vessels. Too bad you have so much hatred still after all these years. Sad 😔
@@fredrieger5226 Your claim is absurd and ridiculous and contradicts historical truth. Party member was certainly not the definition of a Nazi. That is the definition of Nazi! Supporter and follower of the German Nazi government! By the way, the vast majority of the German Wehrmacht including the German Navy were since 1935 at the latest followers and supporters of the German Nazi government thus they were Nazis! Incidentally, the vast majority of Germans since 1935 at the latest were also followers and supporters of the German Nazi government thus they were Nazis! In fact, the rush for Nazi party membership was so great that the party froze admission of new members. The Wehrmacht including the German Navy were willing tools of the German Nazi government like the whole nation! They fought doggedly and fanatically to win the war together with the German Nazi government. Because they were able to prevent the defeat for so long time could be murdered behind the front for so long. So don't talk nonsense that there were no Nazis in the Nazi Navy. Besides, every sane person hates the Nazi nation and the Nazi army including the Nazi Navy!
@@GreatPolishWingedHussars I guess you were there. Enough of you nonsense, please do not reply any longer.
@@fredrieger5226 These are historical facts I have described which you obviously deny! By the way, you write nonsense by denying historical facts! Pathetic behavior that suits liars.
My Grandfather John Edward Yeo CPO won the DSM on B turret for bravery against the Scharnhorst. Still very proud today!!
God bless him.
And very proud of him you should be sir.
He DID NOT WIN A BLOODY THING . He EARNED it.
@@peterm3964 Yes agreed bad use of the word won, awarded of course
@Will Kelly Yes like the other gent awarded
My late father was a Chief Petty Officer on The Duke of York and was there during this battle. He would tell me all sorts of maritime stories and historical events they witnessed. I had a photo of him in line with the other officers, meeting and shaking hands with the king on the deck. He said the noise inside the ship when they fired off a broadside was incredible. I miss my old pops.
Merchant seaman were extremely brave . My father in law was in three ships that were attacked and sunk ,he was only seventeen. The terror of that experience is hard to comprehend. Yet every time he just kept going. A man I admired.
Absolutely true. The North Atlantic and Arctic convoys were exposed to huge risks that had to be faced and endured, and many people on board those ships (both merchant ships and warships) were young and didn't have a lot of experience of war on the high seas. They were "the boys next door", more or less. This is a very fascinating part of the story of the war and I doubt that many young people today would be able to handle those conditions for months and years on end.
Too true
@ Stephan Sailsbury: Re: "Merchant seaman were extremely brave . My father in law was in three ships that were attacked and sunk ,he was only seventeen. The terror of that experience is hard to comprehend. Yet every time he just kept going. A man I admired." Merchant Marine crew were arguably the bravest men of all in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII. They faced the odds - the often horrible weather, rough seas, the cold and damp and all of the discomforts that go with a long ocean voyage, and that doesn't even get into the dangers those men faced day-in, day-out, from attacking German submarines, surface vessels and aircraft. Many merchant vessels were completely unarmed at the start of the war; once the savagery of the Battle of the Atlantic was revealed, attempts were made to give these vulnerable ships at least a modicum of protection of some kind, maybe a few machine-guns and a deck gun or two. Even so, a direct hit by a torpedo could break the back - rupture the keel - of a merchant ship, and cause it to sink within only minutes. Liberty Ships were turned out in high numbers by Henry Kaiser's shipyards, but a defect was found in the original design, such that if the ship was hit in a particular spot, it would break in half. The defect was fixed as best as could be done on the vessels so-affected, and the crews saddled up and kept going out anyway. That's guts right there, folks, pure courage. Wars are won and lost on the basis of supply lines and logistics. Unless adequate supplies reach your fighting men, no matter how well-trained or brave your soldiers may be, they aren't going to be able to win. If those tankers, freighters and other merchant vessels don't make all of those crossings, the war is lost. Simple as that. Winston Churchill, the wartime prime minister of Britain, endured many moments of crisis and saw no little danger in his career as a soldier and then a politician - but he later confessed that the only time he'd really been frightened was when the Battle of the Atlantic hung in the balance, and it looked for a while as if the U-Boats were going to cut off the lifeline from North America to Britain. Perhaps the ultimate insult paid to these brave crewmen was not the public indifference to their enormous contributions to the final victory, but the fact that they had to lobby their respective governments for years (I'm speaking of the U.S., but I doubt it was much different elsewhere) to get the same veteran's benefits, pensions and unit/ship and individual honors as their counterparts in the navy. Given their contribution to the outcome, it is an absolute travesty that they were forgotten so quickly when the peace was won.
They were extremely brave.young lads who gave away their lives.so sad.
@@Leroydelore - "Old men start wars; young men die in them..."
My great uncle was a merchant seaman and did several artic convoy runs, but would never talk about his experiences. He was torpedoed twice, survived the war and died in 1973 when I was 12. I never heard his full story, and for that I have much regret.
Even though it would be nice to know the stories and history. Some stories are just meant to stay hidden. I have very few stories about my grandfather's durning WWII. I just know the basics of where they was at and what they was doing.
They are mostly gone now, but there are two types of WWII veterans: the ones for whom the war never ended and they talk about it incessantly; and those who did their bit and when it was over tried to resume normal life after participating in the bloodiest conflict in history. My heart is with the second group.
You know most military folks, men and women (now) will not talk about their near death experiences. I myself had 4, and my wife has never known about them, only that they happened.. I was a commander in nuclear subs. And believe me, i had some trying times.
My grandfather was fishing in Alta fjord when Scharnhost sailed out towards the Barents sea. He and his mate saw the ship materialise out of the fog and they started to row like crazy to get out of the way. They were probably among the last people on the coast to see Scharnhost afloat. It can also be mentioned that the Christmas storm at the time of the sinking was remembered for a long time by people in Northern Norway because of its ferocity.
thank you for adding to the discussion.
Where was the DKM Gneisenau? Pronounced "gneye zen ow". One starts with a hard letter "g", the letter "n" immediately following. Next would be a bit sounding like the word "eye". Next is "zen", to end in "ow".
That was a good thing that the Nazi ship sank!
@@DavidRLentz Gneisenau was at this point I believe in Germany, either being repaired or having her turrets removed to be rearmed with 15" guns, however they never arrived.
@@doabarrellroll69 Wasn't Gneisenau sunk after the war, in atomic bomb test, in the Far East!
My Dad served on convoys during the last war, and described the horrific conditions on board an escort destroyer, with constant foul weather, dive bombers and u-boats, constantly wet, cold, often without a hot meal for days on end, and with the constant threat of a torpedo or bomb sending you into the freezing water, where your survival was only a matter of minutes. They pulled healthy looking survivors out of the sea only to see them die in front of their eyes. They were heros and don't receive the recognition they deserved. .
The Norwegian destroyer "Stord" was one of the destroyers performing the torpedo attack. A veteran from "Stord" lived near us when I was a kid. He said that they had been so close to the "Scharnhorst" during the attack that her bridge had completely filled their gun sights. And they pounded her bridge with every available gun as they passed.
That's courage
They even went as close as 360 meters before firing the torpedos. An officer (was it the commanding officer?) on the HMS Duke of York said in an interview "the Norwegian destroyer Stord carried out the most daring attack of the whole action".
Intense bravery. The Scharnhorst's secondary batteries would have significantly out gunned any destroyer and could have ripped them apart. You are very lucky to have known such a man.
A veteran of "Stord" was actually my father - then a junior officer. Unfortunately, he never told anything about his wartime experiences. But I remember well his absentmindedness on boxing day - the anniversary of the battle.
@@ianmarsden1130 Woulda coulda shoulda, but didn't!
Regardless of what happened in the war and who won,the scharnhorst was a feat of workmanship
Congratulations to the IWM for another clear and factual film, delivered and narrated by historians who know what they are talking about. Brilliant, thank you.
The Norwegian ship present: HNoMS Stord (destroyer) Commissioned on 26 August 1943 under the command of Lt.-Cdr. Skule Storheill. The ship served in the Home Fleet in the 23rd Destroyer Flotilla. She played an important role in the Battle of the North Cape sinking of the German battleship Scharnhorst. Stord went in as close as 400 yards (360 m) to the Scharnhorst before firing torpedoes. After the battle, Admiral Fraser sent the following message to the Admiralty: "... Please convey to the C-in-C Norwegian Navy. Stord played a very daring role in the fight and I am very proud of her..." and in an interview in The Evening News on 5 January 1944, the commanding officer of HMS Duke of York said: "... the Norwegian destroyer Stord carried out the most daring attack of the whole action..."
Fantastic history what a brilliant crew.
Well done Norway!! 🇫🇴
My grandfather Morten Jentoft was onboard “Stord” when they sank Scharnhorst. I didn’t know this until after his passing.
@@ToneJentoftLilly WOW!! History!
Does anyone know how many British destroyers were lost in WW II? Unbelievable losses.
My maternal Grandfather was a Canadian merchant sailor in WW2 and was sunk 3 times by U-boats on Arctic convoy runs from Scotland to Murmansk or Archangel. All 3 times in pitch dark in the middle of the night and with Arctic storms howling. All 3 times he made it up from below deck and into a lifeboat, then through the bodies, debris and burning oil on the surface to “safety” and the hope of rescue, but many, many of his friends didn’t. He was mentioned twice in dispatches to the King. My Mum has copies of the pages of the London Gazette with his name in them. During one of his his sinkings he carried multiple crew mates up from below deck and into a lifeboat, including his best friend who had had both arms blown off in an explosion after they were hit. He hated the war and was unapologetic about that. He would have nothing to do with any remembrance of it for the rest of his life. The one good thing about it was he met my Granny in Edinburgh and came back, married her and settled here when it was over. Otherwise I wouldn’t exist. He passed when I was a teenager and he didn’t talk to us kids about the war, but I overheard him speaking to my Dad about it a couple of times after a few drinks. The one bit of wisdom he did pass on directly to me and my brothers was while we were on a walk along the beach near where he and my Granny lived. “Never, ever, ever turn your back on the sea, boys. It’s not your friend and will take you in a second.” I’ve never forgotten that.
What an amazing account. I've never come across a story of any merchant marine sailor surviving, not once, but three times, having had their ship shout out from under them. They really are one of the unsung heroes of both World Wars. My compliments to your grand-father and the rest of humanity that made up the greatest generation. Not like the generations of today, but there may come a time (quite soon) where they are able to redeem themselves for that, but more importantly, gain a new-found understanding and respect for the freedoms their western governments provide them.
My Grandfather was a Gunner on HMS Belfast during that very battle. So glad I talked about it with him while he was still with us.
My father was on HMS Sheffield throughout the war. He told us the story of this battle when we were kids. We didn't get the detail but I remember him saying they had to turn back because they needed to go for repairs. We received his 'Arctic Star' medal a few years ago, posthumously of course. I think he would have been proud as he did e few arctic convoy runs both to Murmansk and Archangel. We still have the photos from that time.
When I left the Royal Navy in the late sixties I had a beautiful girlfriend whoghs father was a merchant seaman. He was on PQ 17 the imfamous convoy and was torpedoed FIVE times. He got picked up each time although ships were not supposed to to stop and pick up. He said that when the convoy broke up ( scattered) they got up next to the ice floes and stopped and painted one side of the ship white to hide from the U boats. They got home.Tough guys those merchant men. Bless them all.
You might like reading "The Captain," by Jan de Hartog." lt's a great novel and includes a thoroughly realistic, fictionalized account of PQ17.
l I was on russian on an aircraft carrier called HMS implacable we picked up the convoy and escourted it to Murmansk and one of our ships was hit by a torprdoe we carried on T O Ppp Ppp
Knowing how superstitious sailors can be, I bet he kept those FIVE torpedoings to himself! :-)
I bet he got nicknamed "Jonah"?
@@sprinter1832 Or Paul of later fame, who was shipwrecked at least four times 🙂
Being in the engine room of a ship such as the Belfast and being below the waterline during an engagement takes a special kind of courage.
My father served on the HMS Aurora in the engine and boiler rooms during WW2 Very frightening times.
The artic convoy route was hazardous it took a lot of guts just to run that gauntlet. But to stand alone against the Scharnhorst that's something else! God bless the Belfast and her crew proud to come from a city bearing her name! Brave men on both sides
Although technically one would assume it's HMS Belfast that bears the name of your city, and not the other way around. But it's still cause for honoring the ship and her crew for sure.
@@mateuszmattias people will stretch to anything to bask in reflected glory, even of an event that occurred nearly 80 years ago and that had absolutely nothing whatsoever to do with them.
@@derin111 If you can, would you care to explain your comment?
@@derin111 Yes please explain
"god" is just an imaginary friend that never helps
The standard of Admirals in the Royal Navy has always been high. I served under Sir John Fieldhouse of Falklands fame. He was a born leader,and great Admiral of the Fleet.
them Exocet must of being scary I imagine they where just like v1 you seen it coming
Always ? Your not serious. Tell that to the crews of PofW and the Repulse when their Admiral led them to certain doom. And that's only one of many to take place in WW2.
@@joegodbout8338 war is certain doom anyways kill are be killed 🤔
Well said Peter, John Fieldhouse was indeed a splendid man, and Admiral, as well as a good friend to my own father. They were No.1 and Captain of Hermes together in 1966-7, beginning of a long team relationship.
@@joegodbout8338 The armed services carry out the orders of the politicians. Admiral, Field Marshal or Air Chief Marshal - they do what they are ordered to do!
I served in the US Navy. We went to the N.Atalntic many times. I could not even comprehend going into those waters.
@ GeoHVL: Re: "I served in the US Navy. We went to the N.Atalntic many times. I could not even comprehend going into those waters." My late father enlisted in the Navy in 1943, as a seventeen year-old. His parents had to give him permission. He'd just completed high-school and minors required the permission of a parent or legal guardian. He was gifted with electronics and math, and so was sent to learn radio and radar at the navy schools (up at Great Lakes Naval Base, I assume). He was stationed on several vessels during the war, including a destroyer or DE - I haven't been able to confirm which it was - as well as on an attack transport. He saw service in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Many years later, living in northern Illinois, I remember him lending me his heavy parka with hood that he brought back from the war. It was the one he wore when his ship was in the North Atlantic. It was an extremely warm coat, but heavy! If you went over the side in one of those and it got water-logged, even wearing a Mae-West life preserver, I can't imagine anyone being able to remain afloat for long. Of course, in winter in the North Atlantic, the water is so cold you perish from hypothermia within minutes unless you are rescued. My dad, despite being a new and very young rating, got out of a lot of typical lower-ranking enlisted duties, thanks to his knowledge of radio. Turns out that a lot of officers and petty officers were willing to do favors for you if you wired their cabins/berths for Armed Forces Radio! The flip-side was that if the radar or radio mast or any of that equipment got iced up in a storm, guess who climbed the mast and fixed it? That was my dad. He stayed in the reserves after the war while he got his BSEE (electrical engineering) at Georgia Tech, into the early 1950, finally getting out as a Petty Officer 1st Class after the Korean War to marry my mom and start a family. I wanted to follow in his footsteps but it didn't work out that way. I wanted to be a fighter pilot, but my eyes weren't good enough. Much later, after 9-11-01 happened, I tried to get in as a corpsman - I have training as a medic on the civilian side - but I was a year too old, and Big Blue wouldn't grant me an age waiver. Anyway, regardless, I've always had a soft-spot for the Navy and Marine Corps. What did you do while you were in the USN? Were you career navy or just did a hitch?
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 My dad, an Iowa farm kid, qualified to fly for the Navy just weeks before graduating high school in 1942. Flew Hellcats off USS Cabot and ended up a 30 years/3 war Naval aviator. One of his last and fondest gigs was with VX6 at McMurdo Station, Antarctica (65-67) in support of USAARPS, Naval research as well as NASA lunar landing equipment tests. I have his Antarctic flight jacket/suit. Other than making it easier visually to locate your corpse, it'd be of no use in the drink down there. The rule is... If the seawater (almost always a constant 28°) and the air temperature do not combine to top 100° F, a person freezes to death in about one minute.
@@davidkoloc1313 - That's an awesome story about your father. Those guys were something special, the men of those generations. My wife had an uncle - deceased 2010 - who was career navy, and an aviator. He got out in the early 1970s as an O-4 (lieutenant commander, or the equivalent of a Marine Corps major), after being a "centurion" times four, meaning that he did four hundred catapult launches and arresting-hook recoveries in his career. He was deployed for the Korean conflict, but served as an intelligence officer rather than in his primary billet as a naval aviator. This uncle flew primarily reconnaissance aircraft and missions, and saw action over Vietnam. He didn't get in soon enough to fly piston-engine aircraft like the F6F Hellcat - but I know hearing about your dad would have interested Uncle Edward a great deal. He loved swapping sea stories and talking military history more than just about anything else. Antarctica, huh? I'd say your dad knew a thing or two about how to be cold....
@@GeorgiaBoy1961 They were quite a breed weren't they? Your Uncle sounds like a great guy and wow, what a career. That's a whole lot of cat shots and traps he braved for us all. My hat's off to him. He certainly has my respect and heartfelt gratitude. I've learned, as I know you have, the kind of pride people of such fabric and stark professionalism bring to one's family. I'm sure in those days being an intelligence officer must have been quite something also Ironically, my dad went from cold warrior, tracking Soviet sub activity in the ASW helicopter community (and instructing others in doing so) to working with the Soviets at the South Pole (within the IGY treaty and other agreements) in only a matter of weeks. He befriended a Russian Navy pilot, Lev Klimov there and they remained friends well after both left the ice. The Russians had it bad down there and welcomed US friendships as it usually entailed the sharing of goods. They had horrible food and little in the way of accommodations or amenities. My mom would send my dad everything from 12 year old Scotch to canned pheasant and the latest Playboy magazines down there, all of which I know he shared with, or used in barter with his under-appreciated and funded counterparts. I still have and wear a very nice Russian fur hat my dad acquired for me in this manner. On the cold weather topic, my dad told me that on occasion, when charged with transporting Soviet personnel down there, it was necessary to have them ride on the wheel pylons of his H-34 because some refused to remove their clothing to take a dump. He said after a day or so of them crapping in their clothes, it was unbearable to have them inside the enclosed, heated stores area of the helo for a hop of any duration. Hearing about this as a child astounded me but now, as an adult, nothing about the Russians (or the Chinese) surprises me. I'm sorry your Uncle is gone. My dad turned 97 last February and although struggles mentally is in good shape physically. When he was taken I'll several years back, my brother's and I moved him here from Jacksonville to be closer to us and his grandkids. His latest DoD assignment is flirting with the incredible nurses at the Minnesota Veterans Home and once again, he's overachieving. Take care GB and please share with me any stories your Uncle conveyed to you. They'd be more than welcome.
A momentous battle indeed. And it's hard not to feel elated at the Royal Navy's sinking of the Scharnhorst. Until you then hear 2000 men from the Scharnhorst went into the water and only 30 odd were rescued. A sobering statistic.
Well, perhaps it will comfort you to remember what those men were trying to do; inflict some of the worst horrors in modern times on all of Europe and Russia, and retire after the war to their large estates and Slavic slaves in the east. Puts another light on it all I guess.
It is sobering also to recall that there were only three survivors from the Hood
@@Hattonbank Yes, absolutely.
@@1977ajax The vast majority of those German sailors were just ordinary men serving their country. They didn't know the horrors that the government was committing, or that their Fuhrer was an evil psychopath. From their perspective, they were defending their country and fighting for what was right. In many respects, they were victims of Hitler every bit as much as those they fought.
@@Cailus3542 Bull-shit of course. Did they think they would win the war and then be no better off personally for it. So sick of Nazi fan-boys such as yourself trying to excuse them. It's the sort of crap lecturers tell their students as part of the left's general attack on the civilized and democratic west.
I had the privilege to visit HMS Belfast in London in 1970's. The valour of that crew, and the leadership they followed, will always remain in my memory.
Snap, I visited it as well in the 70's on a school trip.
Young lads on both sides had terrible deaths. It is so sad it happened.
Fellow flight instructor, although much older than me, when he passed we learned he was in Navy on Atlantic convoys and D-Day. He passed shortly after the D-Day reunion. He said he never spoke about his career as he claimed he was always too young to have served. RIP Ron.
Brave lads on both sides. Courage and fortitude beyond words. RIP.
Indeed well said.
dèñèsþ
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My old man was on the convoy going to Russia and he said that the battle took place as they were going North and the shells flying over their heads from the big guns of the battleships sounded like trains going through the sky. The horizon lit up as his convoy just kept on going and the shells hit their targets as it all fell behind them. He grew up very quickly and survived the war.
“Gentlemen, the battle against the Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that any of you who are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, will command your ship as gallantly as the Scharnhorst was commanded today.” Admiral Bruce Fraser
Nothing gallant in sacrificing your men in a hopeless battle, instead of surrendering and saving them. By the time this battle happened the Nazis had been kicked out of North Africa and Italy had already surrendered. Operation citadel in the east had been a failure and the Reich was bombed by day and night. The tide had turned and a good captain had not thrown so many lives away in vain.
@@Hammer2k11 Countless wars have been lost entirely due to that mentality.
@@alexanderzerka8477yeah, with that attitude, the British should have surrendered after Dunkirk, and the Americans after Pearl Harbor.
The idea of being aboard any of these ships at that time is terrifying. The thought of ending up in the freezing perhaps burning oil coated water, being torn up by or burned alive in a shell or torpedo strike, or being trapped in the belly of a ship as it went down.....makes one's skin crawl with horror.
My great uncle was a gunner aboard the Belfast.
Then he was a hero.
My uncle was a 19yo crew member on the Scharnhorst, what a madness…
Yes, "madness" just about sums it all up - but STILL we haven't learned!...
My grandfather did a couple of these runs when in the Merchant Navy, described in his log book as OHMS, as Chief Officer, Master, or 1st Mate. I have his Merchant Navy A/A Gunnery Course certificates, with handwritten notes on the back, detailing speeds and lead distances for Ju88, FW200 and others. He survived the war, his last voyage was in 1954 as 1st Mate.
Britain’s radio and radar were very advanced, we had brilliant radio engineers, and Bletchley Park superb ears.
My dad RNZAF was part of that
@@philbydoodle6199 U.K. had wonderful back up from our superb brave family, the COMMONWEALTH, it sure is good to have great friends, a terrible war, good & bad memories. regards Dave.
What is less know is that the Germans also has radar technology but their warships was not fitted with it because the navy didn't believe in it..
So we can say that it was British software vs german hardware
@@gurjeetsingh-gd1wr U.K. superb capacitors & chokes, brilliant mathematicians Bill TUTTE and the FLOWERS &co the GPO.
God Bless the Royal Navy and the HMS Belfast what a brave and beautiful ship it is, god bless all those who died war is hell
God bless
The German commerce raiders such as Bismark, Tirpitz and Scharnhorst had to be sunk, they would have created havoc if they ever got loose around our convoys.
As a proud U.S. NAVY veteran I salute those brave sailors of all the Navies and the ships the sailed in. They performed their duties with gallantry under fire. I served during the Vietnam Era but not in combat. I've often wondered if I would be able to perform my duties as those men did in battle. I would like to think so. I've no qualms about going into harms way to defend our Country. Now as an older man I think war is just a waste of blood and treasure. ✌🇺🇸
no
no
I am sure you would have been able to perform, the US navy has such a great tradition and history. I agree with you about war it seems to be insane what China is doing in to Taiwan and the South China Sea. I am an Aussie in his 60s now but my father who lived through the wars always said thank God for America and I feel the same way I am very proud that Australia has stood by the US in all its conflicts, the world is a better place for it and so is my life so thank you so much for your service.
I agree
You would have absolutely my friend - my uncle served on HMS Albion during the 60s he was out in Singapore and all over that region. He had a great love for the American Navy guys as they would cross paths often while Vietnam was going on : he was a radio operator and tried to teach me morse code - which he had mastered - he also was a radio ham - he laughed and said mob phones is all we need now . Sadly he died last year. But he was a great lover off American Navy and the great guys like youselfs . ,. Thanks for your story my dear friend,. USA and UK forever brothers .x
Something that you don’t get from this video is that this battle, taking place well North of the Arctic Circle on 26 December was fought entirely in darkness.
The battleship HMS Duke of York was absolutely vital to the destruction of Scharnhorst. Her gunnery, radar controlled, was superb. In her first few salvoes she took out both of Scharnhorst's forward main battery turrets reducing her firepower by two thirds. A later hit penetrated Scharnhorst's armour to explode in a boiler room. This was the turning point, Scharnhorst's speed dropped and this enabled the torpedo attacks to be made.
My father served on HMS Duke of York during this battle and to the end of the war.
Excuse me,but there is no evedience of your claims. Especially the Hit in the Boiler is very unlikely and online claimed by Garzke and Dulin. If you consider a Hit in the boilerroom, there is no way they can repair the Boiler and get back to 22kn. After the Channel dash, when Scharnhorst hit a mine the Boiler hat to be repaired and they had troubles with the Boiler ever after. So running at full speed for quite a while caused the Boiler to fall, but some of the came back but online for 22kn
@@Schweineferkel en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_the_North_Cape It is mentioned here, that Duke of York got a long range hit on the No. 1 boiler room, which reduced speed to 10 knots, which went back up to 22 knots after repairs. I'm pretty sure the Germans knew, where they were hit by a shell and it had to be most likely a heavy shell from Duke of York, to get through the armor into the boiler room.
By this time in the war the allied advances in radar made the Duke of York and other King George the Fifth battleships as well as the Nelsons superior to even the Tirpitz, which would have had the same problems hitting the British ships in similar conditions and the Tirpitz's armour was not as heavy as the Duke of York
Duke of York, Rodney and Warspite were just monsters. Some ships are just born killers. The Royal Navy did itself very proud, as did the RAF.
HMS Belfast is one of the most interesting exhibitions I've been to in London. Highly recommended. EDIT : As observed by someone with a keener eye for detail than I, it's a 'museum ship', not an 'exhibition'. Either way it's amazing.
Yes, I agree, she's a piece of history.
i didnt realise how big torpedoes are!
plus, the guns had names!
The steel has started to be cut for a new HMS Belfast. She will be reborn as a type 26 frigate this time.
My main concern when we toured the ship was the asbestos wrapping around pipes. If you touched the wrapping bits of asbestos would flake down. Not Good. Hopefully they have fixed the problem.
Jesus Christ, only 36 survivors. Poor brave men. What a great action, seamanship, tactics, nerve and bravery. A brilliant watch.
The sinking of the Scharnhorst, brilliant, difficult and courageous hasn't enjoyed the same order of publicity enjoyed by the demise of the other great battleships., Thank you very much for posting,
My father served on the " shiny Shef" and took part in the sinking of the Bismarck ( I remember him trying to describe the colourful language of the gunnery officer when ordering the gun crews not to fire on the bi-planes that had just attacked with torpedoes, the pilots had misidentified the Sheffield as the Bismarck). His glad of the bad weather as it meant less chance of U-boat attacks , his biggest fear was ending up in the ice cold water.He had great stories of the grateful Russian people and their hospitality ( once ended up in a shelter with a dozens of women also caught out by the strict curfew, he spent the night teaching them ' she'll be coming round the mountain when she comes' and how they sang it on the way out of the shelter everyone outside open mouthed at the sight and sound). He had great respect for the merchant ships who where slow and defenceless yet kept on course no matter what happend. Years later I joined the' Andrew' and on a visit to London tied up alongside the Belfast,I was amazed at the difference between the ( then modern ship 1980) design and construction and the sheer size of her. Just like the historic ships in Liverpool ( Plymouth and the onyx) they are well worth a visit to get an idea of how the Royal Navy has kept the enemy at bay no matter what decade it is.
Sadly, both Onyx and Plymouth have now been scrapped.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 what? Have both been removed from the historical ships location in Liverpool?... Oh I just googled it very sad news for me.I remember coming alongside when she had been hit and on fire.Didnt take long before she got back up to fight again.. the Plymouth hosted the signing of the surrender of the Argentine forces..sad sad sad.
Scharnhorst turned south to avoid Duke of York who she had been playing cat and mouse with for many months. Also you left out what Admiral Fraser said to his officers on board Duke of York after the battle, "Gentlemen, the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorstcommanded today." (Wikipedia Battle of North Cape)
My dad had his 16th birthday aboard the Merchant Navy training ship Vindicatrix. Over the following six years he sailed to numerous places including North Africa, Malta and Murmansk. I remember him describing the horrendous weather conditions on those Arctic convoys.
I know it was total war and we had to utter defeat the Germans but the loss of life in engagements that took the Hood, Bismark, and Scharnhorst is appalling. These were some of the finest young men of their generation let down by their political leaders. Lest We Forget.
Yep, it's true that it's hard to even imagine the horror and death that consumed those ships when they were sunk - the Hood was blown up early in the morning, less than ten minutes into the battle, and took all but three of the 1400-men strong crew down into the depths of the icy Greenland Sea with her. She had been looking for Bismarck all through the night, and I bet some of the sailors must have been lying awake expecting to be called to their positions in the middle of the night, or knowing that tonorrow could be their last day on earth, as indeed it turned out to be. War is really ruthless and especially at sea - but letting Hitler and Mussolini rule Europe and ultimately the world just wasn't an option.
Yep. Damn ALL politicians.
David Beattie: you may find the numbers appaling but do check out the list of the worst shipping disasters during the WW2!
@@louise_rose Nether Hitler nor Mussolini had ever had any plans to ,'rule the world', you have been reading too much propaganda !
A massive loss of such young life in a matter of seconds was indeed appalling...IE: I don`t think that any of the 100+ cadets( bunked-out basically) on the Bismarck survived.... perhaps 1 or 2.. Orders were from Hitler and they were to avoid possible horrendous complications from engaging capital British warships in her maiden voyage. I guess one could call that ( in the admiralty`s eyes) a fairly safe indoctrination to sea-life for those kids on a state-of-the-art capital ship"....with those stipulations by Hitler for convoy engagements only....THEN I think sometimes...."Oh how things can go so wrong in a heartbeat...I visualize the frigid oily water with the almost nil life-rafts( so-called) available in that caldron scenario....rather than the massive explosions above... where death usually came much quicker!
Another heroic effort by the RN challenging huge enemy ships in appalling weather on this particular very dangerous convoy route with no thanks from the Soviets.
"no thanks from the Soviets." The enemy of your enemy is not your friend.
Actually Gorbachev sent medals to Arctic convoy RN sailors in 1985. The British government did not do this until 2017, when most had died of old age.
Certainly true that the USSR was pretty undemonstrative, surly even, about war aid supplied from both Britain and the USA. But, they thought they'd done most of the fighting - and they had: more than 8/10 German combat deaths occurred against Soviet forces. Stalin thought the western allies evasive and over-cautious (cowardly, even) when it came to really fighting Germany and with the foot dragging over opening a second front, you can see why. "It was the least they could do..." That's how the Soviets felt about aid supplies.
@@alastairbarkley6572 The Russian army broke the back of the German divisions and suffered more than any other counrty. The scale of the damage they inflicted on German forces and the scale of their own losses is often overlooked in the west.
@@alastairbarkley6572 And never mentioned the Nazi-Soviet pact that effectively left Britain alone for 13 months either did he? It was written out of history that Luftwaffe planes were using Russian fuel to bomb Britain. It's all selective history and a lot of propaganda. The Western Allies had the benefit of time and choosing where to fight, why wouldn't they use that to their advantage, rather than a suicidal landing on the French coast, when after Stalingrad the Germans were mostly on the back foot in the East.
The British commander told his officers afterwards that if they ever found themselves up against an enemy many times their superior he hoped they would fight as gallantly as the Scharnhorst. Scharnhorst to Naval HQ near the end: "am surrounded by heavy units, we will fight to the last shell".
Great words
Yeah, pretty dumb way to finalise a life, even in war time.
@@rossbrown6641 In war, you do what needs to be done whatever it is, even if it kills you. Before the Battle of Samar, US Lt. Cmdr Copeland told the crew of the destroyer Samuel B. Roberts "This will be a fight against overwhelming odds from which survival cannot be expected. We will do what damage we can." Instead of despair, his men took it to heart and gave it all they had knowing that at least they'd be saving some of their own countrymens lives in the future. The Japanese navy had to be eliminated and their job was to do that. They not only survived, they carried the battle because no matter the odds against you, sometimes you can win anyway- but only if you try.
Unlike the crew of the Bismarck who towards the end from lots of sources just gave up The problem with Hitlers super ships, Yes they were hard to sink but the crew would most certainly be dead.
@@mkgaming5823 Different situations. Bismark was already lost once they could no longer maneuver the ship. Lutjens had given up hope to escape so his crew followed. And there was Tirpitz which could fill the Bismarks role. Scharnhorst only lost speed and with some lucky hits might still escape. Hintze never gave up hope and his men followed too. But at this point Scharnhorst was all that Germany had left. Tirpitz would likely never sail, there could be no replacement if Scharnhorst was lost so they knew the entire German Navy depended on them alone, and they fought accordingly. Nowhere does the influence of one man matter as much or run as deep as that of a Captain of a warship on his crew. Whatever he is like, so will the ship and crew be like too. Though the ending was the same with both these ships this influence is clear in the differences of their similar endings.
Visiting the Kriegsmarine Memorial in Kiel , I was surprised by two things ; - A letter and picture drawn by a little girl to her Grand Father who died as a Sailor in the Scharnhorst. And two flower crowns offered by the tall ship " Esmeralda " Crew , Chilean Navy's School Ship. One was completely dried out ...the other one was recent ! Many British and German descendants in the Navy of Chile. Remember, they sail through Cape Horn and the Straight of Magellan. They are Passionate and Good Seamen. First Lieutenant ( R ). Air Force of Chile.
Giancarlo, you are talking about the battle of Iquique, where the Peruvian warship Huáscar, commanded by Miguel Grau Seminario, sank the Esmeralda. But then later the Huascar faced 6+ Chilean warships and was finally disabled and capture by overwhelming forces, similar to what happened to Bismarck against 20+ ships and Scharnhorst versus 6+ British warships. Not fair.
@@soyperico, Fair? A large part of military strategy is about ensuring that you fight battles that are unfair in your favour.
I agree..Scharnhorst mission was intended to overmatch unarmed merchant ships and presumed weaker escorts. The Germans introduced Blitzkrieg, successfully conquered mainland Europe; However, in many programs, German vets complain about defeat by Allied material, air superiority etc. Aha! and protecting the "Fatherland" ( yes, "home" of the death camps) - rubbish.
Hitler didnt hesitate declaring war on the U.S.A. His relative position and material must have looked like a sure thing. A python with 2 tigers by the tail - unable to swallow either one. Japan, same thing.
En la mayor batalla naval en la que hubiera podido involucrarse Chile, prefirieron servir sumisamente a los británicos: Malvinas. La pelea con los peruanos es parte de la locura de la fragmentación hispanoamericana, y nuestra consiguiente debilidad actual. In contrast, Battle of North Cape showed a brilliant Royal Navy and timely british foreign policy, as always.
Years ago when i was in the RAF i spent some time out at sea on HMS Belfast . What a trip . The ship was in great condition and the crew was great fun to be with . This took place on the Rock Of Gibraltar back in the 80s befrore the ship was retired . Thanks to the Royal Navy for a great few days . I wasnt sober for the whole time that i was on the ship then went ashore with the guys . My son then joined the Navy and worked on subs . Magic .👍👍👍
My Gramps sunk U-520. He flew out of Gander to Greenland to Iceland and back. BR-10 squadron RCAF Coastal Command. Brave men all around!
The two ships shown at the start of this video are HMS Savage & HMS Saumarez, HMS Savage on the left has the twin 4.5" guns. 42 seconds in, the video shows the aft of the two destroyers, HMS Savage now on the right, my father was a rear gunner during the Battle of North Cape.
We were told we would be dead in 3 min. if we fell into the sea in this region. "Fair Winds and Following Seas" Brothers of the sea, on your eternal patrol.
I was in the peacetime Army, and I can't even imagine being in combat. I am in awe of these men.
God bless the Merchant Navy as well. My father was one of them!
Absolutely, the poor buggers had their wages stopped from the time of the sinking. An outrageous insult !
@@philosuileabhain861 A good old friend of mine Vic Oliver was on escort carriers escorting the Arctic convoys and has his Soviet medal and citation signed by Micheal Gorbachev to prove it.
As was mine! He served as an officer on Head Line ships, out of Belfast, and did many winter Runs to Murmansk, in northern Russia. Bravery is the only word to describe their service.
@@nigelmitchell351 Gorbachev was 14 years old at war end!
@@stevek8829 The Soviets didn't acknowledge the sacrifices until 1991. Which I think was still sooner than our own government. My friend received his on 31-7-1991. His is numbered 12506. My dad was on HMS Victorious 1834 sq, hunting the Tirpitz in the North sea in 44.
My father was there as No1. of the destroyer Ashanti, together with her sister Tribal Class ship Eskimo and three Canadian Tribals. They were with the convoys as a last ditch defence in case either Scharnhorst of her escorting destroyers' broke through, no one knew the German destroyers had already returned to Norway. A day or two earlier my father and the gunnery officer of Norfolk, Lt. Cdr. Mike Pollock, had enjoyed a pint together onboard Norfolk. It was Pollock who fired that fateful salvo that took out Scharnhorst's main radar. Unfortunately Norfolk lacked flashless cordite so that when the gun battle proper began she was easily identified by the red flashes from her guns, Belfast and Sheffield, six-inch guns vs Norfolk's 8-inch, were so equipped. Norfolk too several hits from Scharnhorst's optical-guided gunnery as did Sheffield. Post War my family and the Pollock's lived next door to each other, late 1940s but i was too young to remember. Later Mike Pollock was to rise to First Sealord. Of the Tribals HMCS Haida is preserved as a memorial museum for the RCN in Hamilton on Lake Ontario, much smaller than Belfast but still a handsome ship.
My Father was radar artificer onboard the Tribal HMCS Sioux. Not sure though if that ship was involved at the time. He mentioned though they did many Murmansk convoy trips, so maybe likely.
I went aboard Haida in 1974 when she was still at Ontario Place in Toronto. Later she was moved to her present location in Hamilton. My brother in law was one of her Sonar Operators during her last commission. I believe she is the only surviving Tribal in the world.
My father was a seaman on the PQ 17 convoy to Russia. His ship the Earlston was attacked by Uboats and airplanes over a number of days. Finally being sunk and all crew managed to abandon ship into two lifeboats. They spent seven days on the Arctic seas before washing ashore in Russia. He never spoke a word to me about his experience but I have learned from other sources. He never recovered from this experience.
The Jeremy Clarkson programme about PQ17 was excellent, track it down if you haven't seen it
All the comments on this video are profoundly moving. But yours really did get to me, I read it several times and then again. I am 80 yo born in the West Midlands in 1942 in the middle of an air raid according to my beloved elder sister, I am not sure how true that was but I loved her very much. As a child of WWII I have read extensively about it, I feel that I have lived it, in all aspects of that awful conflict. But the Naval war has held the greatest fascination and the greatest horror has been the Russian Convoys in particular PQ17. Even today those 4 symbols can stop me in my tracks, my mind replays the accounts of the bravery and suffering of the men who fought in perhaps the worst conditions of any conflict in WWII. My thanks to your father for his service, my thanks to all allied servicemen, we must never allow such madness to ever happen again. Best wishes, stay safe.
German ships are more famous because they only had a few so less names to remember. As I have got older I have come to realise that all sides had very brave young men who deserve respect. My late grandad, dad and uncles all had respect for the Germans after fighting them in the war.
No more 'Brother Wars'.
There is also some truth to the idea that the German ships achieved little in terms of offensive military action, overall, but they did tie up resources.
@@owenshebbeare2999 It always seemed to me that they sent things out piecemeal, and never truly marshalled their forces. Graf Spee died alone. Bismarck died alone. Tirpitz died bottled up. Scharnhorst died alone. Gnesienau scuttled alone and forlorn.
@@hot2warm Absolutely right. The Kreigsmarine did not have sufficient ships to take on the RN and its quite clear they were not ready for war in 1939 - their shipbuilding plans were geared toward a conflict likely starting in the mid 1940s - see also the Wehrmacht and their reliance on horses. By commencing war when their forces were unprepared, and compounding this by not using their available vessels wisely, the Kriegsmarine was set up for failure - not by the brave sailors but by the commanders and the Fuhrer.
@@ianc8999 you can never be ready for a war against all other major powers.
I was Christened in HMS Duke Of York, in the ship’s bell, in 1948. Likewise, my Brother, in 1950…
My sisters Father-inLaw was on the Rodney. The Tars of the Royal Navy kept Britian afloat and can't be thanked enough
That’s very cool…and a good story.
@@stephenbesley3177 rodney and nelson were excellent ships, very different but very effective and testament to RN Battleship design and variety post WW1
@@saints16o5o87 Yeagh, the Rodney seems to have got everywhere to the point that the poor old vessel was worn out by the end of the war.
I was christened on HMS Sheffield in 1951 when it visited Swansea, Wales. My father did two convoys to Russia…HMS Intrepid from memory.
Very well done. My Dad passed just 3 years ago age 99. He was awarded the Legion D Honneur for being at Normandy on D day 44.Unfortunatly he died just before I got the notification from the French embassy .So the medal takes pride of place with me. They were all a much tougher generation.
Enjoyed this . This is just the kind of production that the Russian people need to see now. How Britain stood by and helped them.
I think the Russian people understand this very well. Sad to say, they, like I, cannot comprehend why modem, non-Soviet Russia is considered an enemy when it tried to join NATO, modernized it's constitution, and made every effort to join the western community of nations. And, of course, NATO lied about no eastward expansion, and are now wargaming on their border - perhaps therein lies the answer....
They are more than grateful, and Severnaya Verf shipyard prefabricated new masts and yardarms for HMS Belfast as recently. as 2010.
The USSR did acknowledge the sailors of the convoys - unlike British governments until relatively recently
Britian needed Russian oil so they sent convoys to bring it back and sent food and munitions over to Russia to supply the British tanks used by the soviets like the T24 and T34. the T24 was a vickers A24 export tank and the T34 was a vickers A32 export tank. less armour than British tanks though. The T24 was called the PT 7 by Poland and had 28mm armour which was below the specs for a British light tank which was 30mm. the A32 had 47mm armour and British specs for a medium tanks was 50mm. 100MM for heavy tanks. China called there A24 Type 24 and Germany called theirs the PZ38(t) cause they bought them in 1938 when they started to rearm. but that was downgraded for the German sale and had 26mm armour but still had better armour than the panzer I 10mm, panzer II 13mm and panzer III 25mm. The Soviets got the production licesne to build the A32 and called it the T32 but they didnt build it right and bolted on the armour instead of welding and riveting it on. during the Border clashes with Japan in 1933 they found they leaked when it rained and when they got hit the bolts came off and flew around inside the tank killing the crew. so in 1934 they went back to the factory and welded the armour and renamed it the T34. It was faster and cheaper to get oil from Russia than it was the USA as the US oil had to supply all the Allied countries excpet Russia so was in short supply. Plus the USA was charging way to much for any supplies. Usualy it cost Britian land to get the supplies from the USA like the Virgin islands for 2 destroyers. Guam, from Australia for 2 destroyer's Guadacanal from Australia for 1 destroyer. At that time only 3 places in the world had oil wells. USA, Russia and Japan. The soviets were happy to just swap oil for food. Maybe if German generals had done what Hilter told them to do Russia would of been oout of the war and the allies would of run out of oil. Hitler told his genarals to take out Ukraine to starve Russia as that was where most of the russian food came from then take the Caucases as thats where the Russian oil was. But the Generals decided nope if we take Moscow Russia will surrender. Plus the RAF used Soviet airbases to bomb eastern Germany with Lancasters so they needed to send the bombs over by convoy to keep them going.
@@Asgard2208 I see that vodka is not your friend.
in the early 1980's I worked with a guy, Roy, who told me he was on one of the Destroyers in this action, launching torpedoes at the Scharnhorst, he said the battleship looked vast as they closed on it, and that it was a very scary experience. I wish now I had asked more about it. He died many years ago.
People forget that side trawlers sailed as convoy escorts during the war ,the smallest ships up there in all weathers,and fished the Arctic grounds until the end of the UK deep sea fishing industry.
Yes, those trawlers were part of "Harry Tates Navy" based in Lowestoft, they carried out numerous duties, and some still fished! One trawler was attacked in the North Sea by German bombers, but her gun crew shot two down, and one of them crashed onto her Foc'sle, and returned to her home port with it still entangled! The book Harry Tates Navy is an excellent read,many were fishermen,and were an ill-disciplined bunch, but were some of the finest sailors, to put to sea!
The Sharnhorst was involved in the sink of three British warships during the evacuation of Norway In 1941. The three ship were HMS ARDENT , HMS ACASTA and the aircraft carrier HMS GLORIOUS . My dad’s brother served on board HMS GLORIOUS as a Royal Marine, he was reported M I A and we don’t think he survived. The file on the evacuation of Norway is closed for 100 years ! ?? My father served on board HMS BELFAST on Russian convoys and was awarded a medal from them in 1980 , long before the British recognised our sailors. The involvement of the sinking of the Sharnhorst was mention by my farther only once following the fate of HMS GLORIOUS. IRONIC or what !
Following on from the last posting I just wanted to say I have visited Norway on a cruise ship we docked in Trondheim and looked for memorials or the like. We were directed and found after a long walk to a grave yard (STAVNES Cemetery) that is looked after by the commonwealth war grave commission. This being the largest of 65 local grave yards in Norway where commonwealth service men are at rest 988 of them
The long held suspected reason the file on the Glorious is closed is because many believe it was sacrificed to facilitate the evacuation of the Norwegian royal family. There used to be a very good documentary here on KZhead with a introduction by a presenter who actually was on one the ships that sank Scharnhorst, whose name escapes me , I think it was Ludovic Kennedy ?. very moving and sad story,and I suspect not beyond a British Government.
My Father was on Belfast as a gun layer and never mentioned the battle,so that video was very helpful.
From a German perspective I admire the guts it took to get out into the Arctic waters - despite already having a bad feeling about doing it under unfavorable circumstances. The Scharnhorst might have been a battleship but it was tossed against the Royal Navy with its vastly superior numbers which was very much a David against Goliath situation. You had to know that every mission you went out into the open waters of freezing sea would hold a very high chance to meet a fate like The crew of the Bismarck.
aye they had loads of guts setting out to attack lightly armed merchant shipping /s
@@diskopartizan0850 You mean like the allied bomber pilots that took off to bombard civilians in their sleep? War is hell. Attacking „merchant“ ships is far from the most hideous jobs that happened during war.
@@CoIdHeat Nazis were inherently hideous.
@@diskopartizan0850you do realize all sides did that? Every major navy had commerce raiders to try to strangle their enemy's economy.
what's your point?
I'd loved to have seen one of the Battleships retained as a museum, a lot of people say HMS Warspite should have been preserved but she was just too far gone. 2 World Wars, multiple hits from bombs and shells that would have sent lesser ships to the bottom alike, had taken their toll to the point where she needed to have concrete plugs in her hull. She'd have been sitting on the bottom of the Thames right now, HMS Renown, HMS Nelson or HMS Rodney might have been better options. That said, HMS Warspite fought right up until the bitter end, she broke her tow on the way to the breakers yard and ended up having to be scrapped where she lay on the South coast of England. The Grand Old Lady.
It was precisely because of her battle damage that the Old Lady should have been preserved as a Memorial.
@@dovetonsturdee7033 I agree! But she'd have been on the bottom of the Thames now, not floating in it 🙁
@@navnig Rusting and metal corrosion is the great enemy. USS Texas is a bit older than Warspite was and is fighting the good fight on display. Vanguard was the best choice and should have been saved.
@@bevpotter9938 USS Texas didn't quite take the battering that Warspite did over her lifetime though. The only thing that goes against Vanguard is her history, or lack of it. Why not Nelson or Rodney, even Renown? All 3 were highly active in WW2. Rodney probably more-so!
@@dovetonsturdee7033 Definitely! and her battle scars should have also been proudly preserved and displayed!
For the allies a glorious story of powerful teamwork. Well told . Rest in peace Naval and merchantmen heroes .
Scharnhorst was a battle cruiser; not a battle ship. Great footage and narration - thanks.
You are correct .
She was often referred 2 as a Battlecruiser, but her overall ratios of armor vs firepower made her a light, fast battleship, designed in part 2 slip into the Washington treaty & British - German treaty system w/o causing too much of a stir, & 2 counter the French light battleship Dunkerque. 11" guns were the only big guns available 2 the Nazis @ the time of construction, so, while beautiful ships, they were in some ways of a silly design
HMS Belfast was the first ship to engage the enemy "over the horizon" using radar to target the Scharnhorst
My Father was a Royal Navy Gunner served in DEMS and done 3 tours of duty on HMS Belfast would like to know what action he was involved in during WW2
@@raymondhead223 hms Belfast sits in London you can get a tour on her
My father served onboard HMS BELFAST not only on Russian convoys , the BELFAST was the first ship to fire giving Naval gun support on the “ D “ day landings !
No ! "Seetakt" radar of the Graf Spee. 25km
@@Pablo-kw5jb yeah he is partyly wrong, its not a true "horizon". He means due to the bad weather, the Belfast used radar targeting only , being visually blinded by the weather conditions. Ordinarily the accurate range of your guns, when targetting a moving ship, means you can only "engage" when in visual range.. but in this weather , Belfast could shoot accurately further than it could see.
i cannot imagine what these brave men went through , the story of the prince of wales ship must have been hell on earth ,along with so many thousands lost ,remember the great men for what they had to do ,the finest
I visited the Belfast about 40 years ago at the Tower of London and spent several hours going over the whole vessel it was both an enlightenment and a good education to the scale of things on naval vessels even if it was not a battleship ---- radar was the thing that gave her an advantage over the enemy back then the bismark had none when it went down - the Scharnhorst has sort of a primitive one - the British passed that technology on to the Americans so they can mass manufacture it having the industrial upper hand and it was also a game changer for them against the Japanese who had none ------ technology and inventions play a big part in the defence of the county
Oh that's the battleship my parents Took me from Australia to the UK In 79 when I was ten. I remember Seeing that amazing battleships On the Thames. Seeing all the old Buildings and the history that my Parents told me about war torn Britain, it was like a wonderland For a boy. Aussie born but British To my bootstraps.
I was taught high school Advanced Mathematics in Downpatrick, Northern Ireland, by a man who'd taken a hiatus from teaching to go and work on radar in the south of England. He was brilliant, and evidently loved teaching maths and physics. Before it happened, he said there was nothing difficult about putting a man on the moon, you just had to spend enough money!
the Bismarck had three sets of FuMO 23 RADAR . She may have had none when she was sunk, this was because they had been destroyed before hand.
No ! You're wrong ! "SEETAKT" is the mame of german naval radar. In 1939 the "Graf Spee" was only with radar . Not british !
My grandfather perished on the Rio Dorada. The whole convoy was destroyed by gunfire from the Scharnhorst and Gneisenau ( I know the spelling is wrong). The convoy was attacked in the North Atlantic off Newfoundland.
The novel "HMS Ulysses" by Alistair Maclean describes the Murmansk convoys very vividly
The Belfast looked like a real warship, a mini battleship so to speak. It was the Belfast after gunnery practice with a couple of Yank heavy cruisers and the Far East Fleet that made the following comments whilst docking alongside the yank cruisers: Yankee voice over load speakers, "How is the second biggest navy in the world?" British voice returns, "Great mate, how is the second best?" In the gunnery practice the Belfast was simply awesome and while much smaller its broadsides looked far more devastating.
The Town Class Cruisers are impressive
Is the 'Belfast' the one that can still be visited in London near Tower Bridge as a tourist attraction ? I was there recently and had a look at it.
@@henryseidel5469 yes
@@wierdalien1 I see, thank you very much !
I've heard that joke many times.
Thanks for sharing this; makes me even more proud that I've stood on the deck of HMS Belfast; a true heroine of the Arctic war.
My dad was a Leading Coder on Canadian Corvettes- he said that he and his shipmates always dreaded the prospect of the Murmansk run.
I have trod the decks of the HMS Belfast when I visited London while on leave from my unit in West Germany in 1981. It is wonderful that some of these great ships have been preserved so we shall not forget the sacrifices made for freedom. ( Checks off " Use the word, Trod , in a sentence " from my word bucket list )
This is a very well produced video. Thank You!
Excellent presentation! Thank you.
"Gentlemen, the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today" Aka wartime sailors had limbs of iron and balls of tempered steel.
That was a good thing that this Nazi ship sank! It was good that in the end all Nazi ships were sunk!
@@GreatPolishWingedHussars Never said the opposite. God forbid! Just said gallantry and respect above else.
11:26 - the Belfast is a light cruiser, so absolutely NOT a Capital Ship
Do your homework again. EVERYTHING above destroyer IS a capital ship. It doesn't matter if a cruiser is light, or heavy.
@@OslikusPrime Wrong. The capital ship is defined as being the largest and or most heavily armed/most destructive weapon in a naval fleet, therefore during World War II the only ships classed as Capital Ships were battleships and fleet aircraft carriers (note NOT the smaller escort carriers). You can check the definitions yourself as the Capital ship was defined in international naval treaties from the early 1900s up to 1937. The UK archive holds some interesting reading including transcripts of the Admiralty briefings to Parliament which clearly show a delineation between Capital ships and Cruisers/smaller. Nothing below 17500 tons was considered to be a capital ship and the Town class cruisers were well underneath this Take for example this exceprt: " I must congratulate the Government upon having obtained an agreement to bar out the intermediate type of cruiser, that is, the cruiser above the sub-category "A" cruiser, the cruiser between the subcategory "A" ship and the capital ship." So you can see cruisers are talked about as being in another league, even when the prospect is raised of cruisers with 9" or 10" guns they are still not considered capital ships, at a point in time where the very definitions of what is and isn't is being agreed by the major naval powers.
@@ianc8999 Interesting and I'm sure you are correct. If I recall correctly one of the problems the Royal Navy had is that in effect they started to consider their cruisers as capital ships. Inasmuch as they were supposed to rum away, not engage enemy capital ships. Its those big guns. Confuses even experienced Navy men.
Maybe not in size/configuration; but isn't BELFAST the capital of Northern Ireland? ;-)
Any merchant marine that faced the possibility of going over the side in these conditions were a suicidal mission!
2:43 lifeboat off one of its divots…and all is…well? 🥶
Chances are slim you'd either be swept under by the ships wake or away by the big ass waves 🥶
What a beautiful looking warship. I love her sleek design.
Even though the light cruiser Belfast played a key part in the sinking of the Scharnhorst, It was the Battleship Duke of York that caused the real serious damage. It was Scharnhorst's commander and crew's worse fear to come up against a RN capital ship e.g. larger, more heavily armed monster like Duke of York. Fraser showed no quarter and he was a tough no nonsense admiral.
Duke of York should have been preserved. Ridiculous that the most famous Navy in history doesn’t have a single capital ship as a memorial to its glorious past.
@@paullewis2413 I totally agree. We could have had one capital ship from WW1 and one from WW2, be it HMS Duke of York, Warspite or Kind George V or at least HMS Vanguard such a short live career the biggest RN battleship had..
@@nottmfunguy Warspite would have been incredible.
@@paulwright2264 Warspite would have represented the best of WW1 and WW2 at the same time. It was legend.
@@nottmfunguy at least we have one surviving warship from WW1, a light cruiser but better than nothing.
My grandfather was one of the crew manning the guns on the Duke of York during the battle. He never mentioned anything to the family about the battle other than a few words to my father, who he passed on to me when I was about 8 years old (I'm 57 now). I lost my father in 2008, as well as my grandfather in 1993, but the memory of the conversation kept rearing it's head for many a year after, until I felt compelled to explore what I had been told as a child. It shook me to the core when I realized what had actually happened. Although I take pride from my grandfather's achievements, It must have been hell for everyone involved, and recognise that there are many families out there reading all these comments, not all will carry a sense of pride as I do. I wish them all well. Funny enough, the main thing I remember about the few words was that they passed them onto me on boxing Day. It was years later that I realised the significance of the conversation with my father when I was eight years old. I would love to have them back, and if I could I would ask them both about 26/12/1943.
A very informative, illuminating video. Thank you.
My thanks to all those who have served and continue to serve. HMS Belfast will be well worth a visit to anyone in London.
Nice video with clear explaining of this mission in every sides
I'm in love with the ship and I always read the little book when I get the chance. I love to see all the crewmens stories!
Knowing the accuracy and power of the heavily gunned battleships from all sides, and soldiers took to the ready to man their stations and embark on battle missions in icy seas says alot about how brave all the soldiers were, infact so it's still a common topic 80 years later displaying the real facts and brutality of total war
Erm, don’t they have sailors on ships?
A clear and splendidly presented story of great historic significance . No jingoism or tasteless braying , the sailors of both sides retained a degree of dignity which was most laudable. Des McCann Dorset 20/12/21 .
Though she was a menace for the Allies, I must say that Scharnhorst was a beautiful ship.
Possibly the best looking of all the great battleships. Such lines.
The Germans sure knew how to build pretty looking ships, there's just something about those bows, although my favourite has to be HMS Vanguard (because they never built the Lion-class battleships).
Hi. Great video. It may have already been mentioned in the comments below but I thought it was just worth repeating that Admiral Sir Bruce Fraser on the evening of 26 December briefed his officers on board Duke of York: "Gentlemen, the battle against Scharnhorst has ended in victory for us. I hope that if any of you are ever called upon to lead a ship into action against an opponent many times superior, you will command your ship as gallantly as Scharnhorst was commanded today" I don't want to give any glory to the Nazis but this show of respect to your enemy reflects so well on both Navies and reflects a great deal of humanity. Wars are political and brutal but once you achieve your aims respect of your enemy can lead to peace, albeit that war crimes must be investigated and punished.
I have read a few books on this very battle and some of the incidents that took place over these few days are amazing to say the least. My father served in the Royal Navy through out the second world was, after he passed away my mother told me he had been sunk twice. He never spoke about his time in the navy, i looked him up on google a few years ago he was involved in clearing away mines on the approaches to the Omaha beaches just before D-Day.
My father was on HMS Barnham and then HMS Ajax. He was always in awe of the Arctjc lads and was no softty himeelf
Excellent video. Great narration, very good use of of the HMS Belfast historian & the sailor, and great archival film.
My Father was on Yorktown CV5 on Neutrality patrol and he told me about the North Atlantic. Every Sailor I've ever met simply made a face and shook their heads when the North Atlantic. Dad said he'd rather face a South China sea Typhoon.
Is this the Belfast that is moored upstream from London’s Tower Bridge?
Respect for my Navy brothers across the pond. Love from America.
Well done recounting of historic naval history