The Submarine that Invaded Japan - The Incredible USS Barb
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Sources:
Clay Blair, Silent Victory: The US Submarine War against Japan
Evan Mawdsley, The War For the Sea: A Maritime history of World War 2
Phillips Payson O’Brien, How the War was Won
“Submarine Warfare: With Emphasis on the 1936 London Protocol”, International Law Studies - 60
Tales from the Diesel Boats -Wolfpack Operations - Vadm Lawson P. Ramage (Ret.)
Joint Army-Navy Assessment Committe report, 1947 - www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/Japan...
Eugene Fluckey, Thunder Below
Music Credits:
"Rynos Theme" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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"Crypto" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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"Stay the Course" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License
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Train Crash Simulation
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Download Hunting Clash for FREE here apps.apple.com/PL/app/id1485219703?mt=8 and use my code HUNTWITHHISTORIGRAPH to get $15 worth of gifts for new players only Had a few things I needed to tweak with this video, so if you saw it last week, there are a couple of changes :)
such as?
ah, interesting
@@bogdanm436 Some bits in the introduction were switched around, and I changed my depiction of the chinese junks at one point to better reflect reality
Cool that you worked to improve the vid.
I couldn't find the changes but it was nice to watch this video again.
"Okay so 16 ships and..... A train? What..how?" "We got bored."
The USS Bowfin has a crane on their flag. Also, a French flag.
Fluck around and find out
@@colemanmoore9871 it’s a crane, bus, and pier as the commander wanted to blow up the pier to blow up any potential supplies
They must have thought this navy stuff is too easy what do you say we try marine corps or navy seals ?
Imagine being a Chinese fisher during that raid though, just suddenly out of nowhere a Japanese ship opens up on you and you have to wonder what new war crime bullshit the Japanese have come up with this time.
Yea the US using civilians as a shield even though temporary does constitute a warcrime. So does the japanese opening up anyways. Poor chinese. Victims of both sides.
@@FortuneZer0 to be fair, it was a live or death situation, its not like the Japanese needed to shoot the contacts on sonar just for desperation in not finding the sub
@@d.olivergutierrez8690 Voluntary and involuntary. Combatants in an armed conflict are prohibited from using protected civilians as involuntary human shields to support a war effort. Civilians who are used as involuntary human shields by unlawful combatants do not lose their basic rights.
@@d.olivergutierrez8690 "To be fair" he didn't have to commit to this attack either. It wasn't exactly a primary target, he was doing it for his own glory.
@@FortuneZer0 The Barb did not intend to use the Chinese Junks during their getaway. They did not use the junks as cover but passed through the junks to clear water on to other side. I think it was well said that the Japanese could no longer distinguish the Barb from the other targets and unleashed fire out of frustration and anger. The Japanese were very familiar with the Chinese Junk fishing fleet and would know where they were almost all the time. They knew the Chinese were innocent of any 'crime' and still opened fire.
“You boys want to blow up a train?” “Uh sir we’re submarine.” “Exactly”
Sir, this is a Wendy’s
Thats why they'll never see us coming
Imagine if the war didn't end so soon after. What would they have done next? Take out a few tanks, shoot down some planes, demolish a building or two....
"Sir ground attack cruise missile wasn't invented yet." "And?" "Well... We can't-" "And we can still do it. Prepare a strike team."
japan; "the home islands are sacred and inviolate." lucky flucky; "we sank your train."
"Z12" "The game of battleship doesn't have z on the board, sir" "Look closer...I sank your train"
@@ethanhoward389 "you sank my battle eeerrrr train!!!"
The home islands are safe…Japan meet Doolittle…and Barb… just because you claim, your islands are safe doesn’t mean they are…
BTW, Billie Hatfield was not only an electrician, he was an electrician that worked for a railroad prewar.
He was also related to THOSE hatfields from the range wars of hatfields and mcoys
*oh shit*
@@skysimpson1313 Wait really. Huh, small world. Still a genius maneuver.
@@skysimpson1313 There was also a Hatfield in property protection at Williamson WV we called them cinder dicks i guess due to the steam engines back in the day.
Are you saying he'd hated trains for a while?
Can you imagine the conversation this lad must’ve had??? “We sank a train.”
The only part of his otherwise-impeccable record that I found despicable. 150 souls lost, and for what? Knocking out a worthless train line a month before the war ended?
@@Sky_Guy A. No one knew the war was going to end at that point, the dropping of the bomb was a huge secret. B. Knocking out a train line is hardly "worthless" as at that point most US commanders were under the impression that they would be invading the Japanese mainland in the very near future. Therefore by destroying a train line you significantly inhibit the enemy's ability to mobilize troops to defend against the coming US invasion of mainland Japan. C. it is however very sad that 150 civilians died.
@@Sky_Guy in the unpredictability and desperation of war, civilians often end up in the crossfire, not to say the death of 150 civilians should be ignored but rather that war leads to unnecessary death no matter
@@zealousdoggo Not to mention that number is nothing compared to what the Japanese were preparing their own population for in defence of the home islands.
@@Sky_Guy The crew of every merchant ship were all civilians. Each side bombed cities. Hell, part of the reason this was "right before the war ended" was because the US dropped two nuclear bombs in the middle of cities. This was total war - where every part of a countries population, infrastructure, agriculture and manufacturing were considered part of the war effort and legitimate targets. One of the goals was to demoralize the civilian population and cause enough destruction to bring the country to the negotiating table. You had to make the war too costly for the other side to continue fighting. It's not pretty. There is no "Chivalry". it got nasty on every side, on every front. They say "War is hell" for a reason.
The idea of using the weight of the train on the rail as the detonation trigger is some genius thinking. They deserve that train on their flag xD
Hadn't this strategy also been used by resistance fighters in Europe to disrupt freight rail?
Genius thinking and even more daring engineering. The clearance was going to be very low, and the only thing missing from completing the circuit was the metallic rail. If the engineer made any mistakes while the circuit was powered then the entire assault team would have been just a fine red mist scattered across the home island.
@@mobiuscoreindustries I think it was a pressure trigger
@@mobiuscoreindustries that’s why you set it then power it up once you’re certain you can gtfo at least that seems like it would be the smartest way to do it don’t you think?
@@marcusfelten8823 yes. No way anyone would set something up that was live that relied on the conductivity of the track rail. So, I would imagine they would use some kind of pressure trigger tripped by the weight of the train. Just guessing here but it seems most logical. DISCLAIMER: my knowledge regarding blowing shit up consists of fireworks on the 4th of July and some other mildly nefarious stuff when I was an adolescent. So....... I'm an expert!
in 1972 they sold the sub for scrap for 100k, the admiral said if the crew knew about it they would have bought the sub and let it serve as a museum ship
Let's just hope some of her steel made it back into a new sub or battle ship and part of her is still patrolling and threatening the seas
For anyone interested in more stories about the Barb, as well as life on a fleet boat submarine, Admiral Eugene Fluckey actually wrote a book called Thunder Below, it encompasses entire time on the Barb. It's a very good book, I found it very enjoyable and very interesting. And he talks about this story in it. Thanks for talking about this very interesting and little-known story!
Very much a good book- it was one of the ones I read for this video.
Finished the audiobook last night. Was honestly, genuinely, sad when it ended. *Such* an excellent book.
@@historigraph could you list them all as I'm desperate for some good material on this topic - love the video
@@krantznikov47 There is a list in the description of sources
Amazing book
A Medal of Honor to the Captain, dozens of ships, and a train, sunk for no Purple Hearts. If I had to pick one sub from WW2 to serve on, it would be this one. Fluckey made it to Rear Admiral, which is pretty cool too.
He deserved it. He did all that with no casualties. Without a doubt one of the most successful submarine captains of the war.
The Barb kind of got screwed over in awards though as some of her patrols were combined. If they had not been grouped together, there would have been another Presidential Unit Citation, a few silver and bronze stars, and others. Fluckey talks about this in his book 'Thunder Below'.
Definitely sounds like one of the safest place to be during the war 😂
Fluckey said in his memoir of his time commanding the Barb that he considered submarines to be surface attack vessels that happened to have a unique escape ability. He attributed his success to this philosophy. The memoir is an essential read.
Before the advent of nuclear submarines, this was definitely the case. Submarines had to surface regularly to run their diesel engines to charge the batteries. Engines require air, which can only be supplied in ample quantities when on the surface.
5:00 It was tough for the Barb to pick up speed when everyone on board had two heavy balls of steel.
* Gold plated Heavy Balls of Steel
@The Next Bond Villain Klaus Schwab you forgot the diamond encrusted
Imagine the reactions from USMC when they heard the news that submarine crew invaded the home islands.
You know those marines were pissed they missed out on a nighttime train track Booby trap amphibious raid. I bet barb's crew didn't even share their crayons lol.
I had the honor of serving on the modern nuclear namesake USS Barb in the mid eighties. Thank you so much for telling this story. We were all so proud of the original and worked very hard to live up to the reputation that preceded us. Oh, and by the way, we ate mess looking at that battle flag every meal. Also it was the only US submarine to sink not only a Japanese but also a Nazi warship on her battle flag. Look closely at 10:52 and you’ll see the swastika just to the left of the large rising sun flag (representing the carrier she sank). Very cool boat!
what german ship was that?
Y'alls drills are second to none for readiness with the Coast Guard a sliver close for being on call 24/7. I was just a ground troop with a ridiculous amount of backup that submariners do not have. I hear you sailors liked it that way.
There a new USS Barb SSN 804 on the way along with a new sub SSN 803 USS Arizona and SSN 802 USS Oklahoma
You got to see the battleflag personally?
@@aedaed7238 yup. saw it every meal we ate. It was mounted under plexiglass and hanging on the fwd bulkhead in our crews mess. …and I still have my miniature stitched duplicate. Each crew member has one.
I had the pleasure of meeting Eugene Fluckey at USNA visiting with a girlfriend (USMMA grad here). in 2001. Fluckey signed my copy of Thunder Below and I was in the bookstore alone talking with him as he relived his adventures! One of the GREAT experiences of my life! The best part is - Fluckey was EXACTLY as you imagined he would be after reading his book. A True Hero who thought of his Crew First!
I've read Fluckey's book where he goes into great detail all his patrols aboard the USS Barb. That ship he rammed was during his final patrol as skipper. He had made a bet that he would sink 15 ships (of all sizes) during this patrol. Nearing the end of his allotted time in his patrol area, he came upon a small trawler. Having used all of his ammunition, even shooting illumination rounds at it, he decided to sink it by ramming. Having sunk the trawler, the 15th ship on this patrol, he had won the bet. In reflecting on his decision to ram the small vessel, he remarked it probably would have been better to capture it as a prize and then sail it back to port using Barb to refuel the boat as needed where it could be sold to raise funds for some Navy program. Barb was technically the first ballistic submarine as it had been fitted with a 5in rocket launcher which he used on canneries and sampan building yards and other targets. It's quite a lengthy read, but I really enjoyed it. Barb was credited with destroying 96,628 tons of enemy shipping. She received four Presidential Unit Citations, a Navy Unit Commendation, and eight battle stars for her World War II service.
I highly recommend reading Thunder Below, it lists more stuff that would make this a 30min video. The rescued Japanese sailor turned torpedo man, the pirate style raids during the last patrol, victory shots/beers, the attempt to capture an island, the cook shenanigans, the book is fantastic.
I can't imagine all the cake they consumed though. Although technically Barb wasn't supposed to have beer on board, he stored all the cases in the officers shower to encourage them to sink more ships. When he was almost busted for having the beer on board, he was told by his superior that he could indeed carry some for recreational activities. With the beer already stored aboard, he made a phony phone call to the ship telling them to draw 24 cases from supply lol.
Thank you for the recommendation. Just ordered it. I hope to find a good plastic model of the boat to build it too.
@@jeffburnham6611 There's something awe inspiring about people working so well together. A great leader of great men. Truly amazing.
Rear Admiral Fluckey still had a wild spirit when I met him in the early 1980s many years after he retired from the Navy. He was quite a guy to meet and speak with and always a gentleman. FYI, we never spoke about his exploits in WWII.
no loss of personal or even an injury - what a great legacy to have for a captain!
You know somebody got fucked up on that patrol, a broken wrist or concussion or something. And ole Luckey was like "you ain't breaking my perfect record, your injuries are clearly not service related" Edit: I'm not actually accusing fluckey of anything, I'm mostly making a joke at the modern militaries expense for their treatment of many veterans
Commander Fluckey addresses the crew: "Boys, the Japanese are running out of merchant shipping. Any ideas?" Electrician's Mate: (Eats a Snickers) "Sir, how about going after trains?"
Commander Fluckey: "I like your thinking. any objections?"
I've watched so many sub documentaries and movies over many years but for the life of me, I can't understand why I've never run across Flucky and the Barb. They should make a movie dedicated to Flucky and his war time experiences...
Yeah this us pretty crazy I've never heard of it.
@@particles343 Most of the Submarine info from WWII was deemed Top Secret and the records were sealed for years so the world never knew about how heroic these men were. I believe it was the late 80s before they were declassified (I think by President Bush who was rescued by a Sub on lifeguard duty after his plane was shot down). At one point in the early 2000s I heard Steven Spielberg had optioned Thunder Below and we developing it for film. Some other great books were the stories of the Wahoo and the Tang, Dick O'Kane wrote both of those books
@@rongerber4920 He actually went back and revisited Namkwan Harbor decades later and came across some people that actually remembered the event as they were living in Namkwan at the time. They confirmed the number of ships he damaged and sank that night.
This is a great example of how great leadership can work. The crew trusted their captain, and he gave them everything. In return, they felt trusted enough to give ideas during the land mission. He incorporated their ideas into his plan, and they executed it perfectly. The crew made the captain look good, and the captain allowed the crew to be that good! Its a perfect example of good military leadership.
Not only did they destroy the train, they also bombarded a couple towns with the rockets, destroyed a paper factory and pretty much the whole surrounding town as the hit the gasoline storage, they also destroyed a sampan fishing boat factory and numerous sampans using their 20mm and 40mm guns that were on shore at the facility. To get the whole story Thunder Below! by Eugene Fluckey is a must read.
A future Virginia class submarine will be named USS Barb, after the famous WWII sub.
I think all subs now only get the names of states.
@@trealosgaming3345 As of now. But the future Block V of this class beginning with USS Barb SSN-804 was announced.
@@joevicmeneses8918in October 2020 👍🏻
@@joevicmeneses8918, I wish the Navy was more consistent with their ship naming schemes. To my knowledge they used to be, decades ago; I think it gave the fleet character
The stories of submariners are just so special they did so much crazy interesting things and it’s great
Already saw it, but still a great story!
Is this a repost?
@@jamesgerrard5428 old one had thumbnail about train blowing uping, and sorta just brushed off yhe chinese junk, this also had a slight shuffling of intro
Algorithm boost
Usually for a submarine to send forces ashore to attack land targets, there would be dedicated personnel assigned for it. Either full fledged commandos, marine infantry, raiders, etc. Guys specifically trained and equipped for it. For Fluckey to do this on his own initiative with his own crew, no ground combat specialists like marines, shows a lot of confidence in what his crew can and can't do.
I've read about Eugene Fluckey when I read the book 25 yards of war by Ronald J Drez during the USS Barb action in Namkwan Harbor. The chase between them and the destroyers is pretty intense.
This channel is awesome! I love history and learning about courageous naval battles is honestly my new hobby.
Fluck around and find out! Really entertaining vid. Someone in the comments had a great name for the movie that should absolutely be made about this guy and his crew: Fluckey and The Barb. Also, as another great vid by Historigraph explains, US subs became a lot more effective once they finally got their torpedo problems mostly ironed out by early 1944.
I’m sure the US Marines added submarines to their wish list.
If you review what the Marines have done so far...they would have needed a supersonic, stealth, armoured, vertical takeoff submarine with a 105mm gun. And they deserve to get one! 😁
The USMC had parachute regiments. And these numbnuts disbanded it. :-(
I would be surprised if they haven't experimented with semi-submersible landing craft
Could you maybe do a series on the battle of the Atlantic
Yes I have plans for a pair of videos on the atlantic war for later this year
@@historigraph The dramatic running convoy battles with the peak development of wolfpack tactics, and then their defeat by radar represent interesting battles. The Flower Class Corvette Snowflake participated in several of the major ones.
The History Guy has a fantastic video on this as well. Your video is just as fantastic. Appreciate it
Love your channel, keep up the good work!
amazing video as always
I remember seeing Barb's flag of accomplishments on the bulkhead in the Crew's Mess. I served USS Barb SSN-596 late 1970s early 1980s as Assistant Navigator, Quartermaster. Memories ... "USS Barb (SSN-596), a Permit-class attack submarine, was the second ship of the United States Navy to be named for the barb, a kingfish of the Atlantic coast. The contract to build her was awarded to the Ingalls Shipbuilding Corporation in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and her keel was laid down on 9 November 1959. Decommissioned 20 December 1989" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Barb_(SSN-596) Ahoy, Shipmates !
Fascinating story, keep up the good work
i thought a new video it was just a remaster but yet awesome
Different times man. What was once high level knowing is now known had by most kids that take shop class. In college I used the same pressure activated circuit to rig a buddy’s bed to blast a motorcycle horn slightly behind his pillow when he was coming to the dorm to sleep off a hangover. Fluckie is now cooler to me than Ramage.
Excellent informative video! thank you. Commander Fluckey also wrote a great book on USS Barb. I have read it, highly recommended.
Yay! More epic submarine stories!
This needs to be a movie! Brilliant.
amazing! i have never heard of this raid. this was great
5:50 I'm 99% sure the Japanese were taking out their frustration on the Chinese intentionally. Not "oops, I thought it was the sub".
I can imagine if ships could talk, the Barb is the only ship that could talk smack to the Enterprise during WW2! Enterprise: we took on the ENTIRE Japanese navy! Barb: I invaded Japan BY MYSELF!
Yes. It is good that I found this video without any prodding whatsoever. Well done.
well put together, very interesting about a submarine crew blowing up a train via land explosives like some red dead 2 type stuff
Captain Arthur Morgan
Fascinating story, thank you.
A veteran I know served in the same police department as John Markuson (post WWII). He recommended the book and BOY was I glad I read it!!
I really hope the admirals had commander Fluckey teaching other sub commanders his tactics and strategy as clearly he was good at his job.
this channel never fails to deliver
Awesome! LOVE IT!! (keep up the good work)
Excellently presented
I had heard about this raid. It was quite an impressive feat.
Man your videos are so good! Like Drachinifel's videos, eminently rewatchable :)
What a great story commenting for the first time so you get an algorithm boost
I often wonder if any historians or military branches researched things like submarine sinking claims by going over Japanese records after the war. It would be fascinating to learn whether any (or how many) of the claimed ships sinking could be confirmed that way.
Wow! Never knew this. Great story.
There is so much more to the story of the Barb, but I get you aim for ~10min and the amazing things Fluckey managed would not fit in 10x that amount of time. Just pause at 10:54 though, and you'll see some interesting sights on that battle flag, like the square to the right of center at the top, with piles of little black dots in it? That is for the dozen+ small armed ships that Barb tore up with its deck guns at a factory producing them, as well they blew up the factory (they returned from that patrol with, IIRC, only small arms ammo onboard-they had evacuated all torpedoes and deck gun rounds). Numerous times their new, in-testing torpedoes failed and they still got away (Fluckey even sent back reports to the US detailing what likely causes for the problems were and how to fix them). The raid on the train line wasn't a spur of the moment thing, either. Fluckey had sought to have a complement of his crew specially trained for such things, as well as using the rocket launcher (again, he used this to amazing effect in lighting up factories producing equipment for the war effort). The book _Thunder Below!_ by the captain himself is a spectacular read and I highly recommend it. Fluckey went on to become a major figure in submarine tactics post-war, and submariners of the US Navy are still reading the aforementioned book as an introduction to what is considered modern submarine warfare.
Thanks for the info. I'm going to find that book and read it.
The Barb was sold for scrap in Italy in the early 70s for $100,000. Fluckey said, had he known that, he and his former crew would have purchased the vessel and returned it to the U.S. as a museum piece.
Thunder Below by Fluckey is an amazing, and enjoyable, read. Not dry and full of human interest of the crew view point because of a secret diary kept by the crew.
in the 90s when the war patrols were all declassified and a ton of books hit the shelves, that was by far my favorite. He was a born leader.
Eugene flucky decided to revolutionize submarine warfare, test flight a freight train, and invade japan just for shits and giggles. Of course he desrves bragging rights, a dope nickname, and medal of honor.
i swear i have seen this before, but idk where. im confused. is this a reupload?
yes he incorporated the errors before
The initiative showed by Barb and her crew was exemplary. I knew the story, but enjoyed video anyway.
LOVE ur vids dude
I've heard of this before, a great story and quite unusual for a submarine!
I don't play video games . . . But if I did, this would be the one I would play - and now you've got me thinking about starting !
Just here to watch again and boost the algorithm.
the book thunder below covers the USS Barb, an excellent book
When the term "badass" is an understatement, you think of this crew.
Hey, hey I've seen this one. this ones a classic
Surprised this wasnt ever covered by Mark Felton - good show!
I highly recommend you check out the KZheadr called the fat electrician and his explanation of this exact same event it is accurate but it is also hysterical., you will never look at military history the same way ever again after watching his version. He is also one of the coolest KZheadrs dealing with military equipment , tactics, history you will find on the internet well worth the watch
A bored soldier/sailor is about as dangerous as an engineer. Me: (looks at the seabees) "god help the poor unfortunate souls who get caught with these dudes"
Highly recommend the book Thunder Below, written by Fluckey. Very detailed accounts based on recollection, log books, military records, and an illicit diary. :)
Imagine seeing a train in a submarine's kill logs
it's good that it's corrected now
Attention Hollywood: *The World War Two career of the USS Barb would make an outstanding movie!*
Incredible
My grandfather L. W. Newland was one of the eight that blew up the Karafuto express.
My grandfather was one of the 8 too J. E. Richard
I need a Master and Commander 2, with it being set on the USS Barb in WW2 instead of the Napoleonic era
Thunder below lol written by Flucky
Would you be willing to consider doing a vid on the u-boat that landed at Newport Rhode Island before americas entry into WWI? Short but fun story
Two ideas for videos: The Italian Admiral Luigi Rizzo and the raid on the Vemork Power Plant in Norway.
Fantastic! In the great tradition of Cochrane and Pellew. The train raid in particular resonates of Hornblower - the fictional character based on Cochrane. Did Fluckey read Hornblower?
Wasn't Hornblower based on Nelson?
@@Jasmin_Pepelko Nope, Hornblower was based on Thomas Cochrane. This from Wiki…. Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Marquess of Maranhão (14 December 1775 - 31 October 1860), styled Lord Cochrane between 1778 and 1831, was a British naval flag officer of the Royal Navy, mercenary and Radical politician. He was a successful captain of the Napoleonic Wars, leading Napoleon to nickname him le Loup des Mers, 'the Sea Wolf'. He was successful in virtually all of his naval actions. He was dismissed from the Royal Navy in 1814 after a controversial conviction for fraud on the Stock Exchange. He helped organise and lead the rebel navies of Chile and Brazil during their respective successful wars of independence through the 1820s. While in charge of the Chilean Navy, Cochrane also contributed to Peruvian independence through the Freedom Expedition of Perú. He was also hired to help the Greek Navy, but did not have much impact. In 1832, he was pardoned by the Crown and reinstated in the Royal Navy with the rank of Rear-Admiral of the Blue. After several more promotions, he died in 1860 with the rank of Admiral of the Red, and the honorary title of Rear-Admiral of the United Kingdom. His life and exploits inspired the naval fiction of 19th- and 20th-century novelists, particularly the fictional characters C. S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower and Patrick O'Brian's Jack Aubrey.
Sounds like the entire crew of the USS Barb were made up of certified madlads!
A good leader brings out the best from those under them, rather than trying to prove their "manhood" like Trump and Musk.
Remarkable! Simply Remarkable!
I met Admiral Fluckey in Annapolis in the 90's. Got his signed book "Thunder Below".
when you're so f-ing good at your job as a submariner you start doing the job of the (yet to be formed) Navy SEALS for shits and giggles. the balls on these men. holy moly.
Great story
I am a bit confused. You had made another video a few days ago for USS Bard that you made it unlisted and you make this new video about USS Bard again. Why?
@@K3end0 Good for him. Otherwise I wouldn't have seen it.
USS Barb
I'm just imagining that conversation when they got back, "yeah we blew up a train in japan", "but you're a submarine crew....", "yes?" XD
“Fluck around and find out”
This reminded me of the USS Tang which, after a very nasty career (from the Japanese perspective) decided to sink itself in order to give the Japanese a fair fight. It also has the recoved for the US sub which sank the most tonnage. USS Barb is 4th.
That's BS. The Tang was sunk by a circular run of one of its torpedoes. 78 sailors died during that incident, the remaining 5 were taken prisoner by the Japanese and held until the end of the war. I think Richard O' Kane would disagree with you about the sinking of the sub being done to give the Japanese a "fair fight". Incidentally while O' Kane was being held as a POW, he met Greg "Pappy" Boyington, who was also being held there after his corsair had been shot down.
Fabulous story. Is this boat a museum ship somewhere?
New meaning to "Fluck around and find out"
I worked with a woman whose much older husband had been a plank holder (original crew member) on the Barb. During this "invasion" they encountered sleeping sentries who were supposed to be guarding the track. Her husband told her they tied them up, but other authors said they killed them. They were every young, boys only about 13 or 14 years old, so I understand her husband's reticence (dishonesty, actually). They were basically students detailed to what they thought was a pointless exercise, so they just went to sleep.
ME: Damn, give that man a navy..
Pure and simple luck but the commander did end up taking care of his crew. For that I applaud him.
6:20 ah, the well known Japanese ship Unknown Maru