A sad ending for a fine warship , but I would prefer to think of it as HMS Warspite's last stand , how She refused to the surrendered without a fight and absolutely refused to go to the scrappers yard . Great video Thank You.

@thehistoryexplorer

4 ай бұрын

Great point!

Warspite embodied the indomitable spirit of UK Admirals like Cunningham. If ever a ship should have not just been preserved but treasured it was her.

@thehistoryexplorer

5 ай бұрын

What a ship. Still think it’s a shame she isn’t in the Thames or at Portsmouth!

@arunta5

5 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer As the late (and great) Eric Morecambe was fond of saying, "There is no answer to that."

Great video Sir. Warspite should have ended up where the Belfast did, anchored in the Thames as a museum and tribute to British Naval power. Fine ship that the Belfast was Warspite's "achievements" singled her out as very special ship indeed, I can't think of any other warship of any other navy that comes close to her. At Jutland, the greatest battleship battle ever she was a member of the 5th battle squadron composed entirely of the modern Queen Elizabeth dreadnoughts. During the fight when turning away from the Germans the bearings in her steering gear motor seized and she did two more complete circles in front of the whole high seas fleet before control was regained. She was hit 15 times but survived. She was sent back to Rosyth and was attacked with torpedoes by a German submarine, again, she survived that ! She was the first ever warship to be hit by a guided weapon off Salerno in WW2. A full list of her battle honours literally beggars belief. If any lump of inert steel can ever be said to posses a soul it was her. The nature of her demise further adds to the legend of Warspite, she would not go to the breakers willingly. Tear to the eye stuff.

@thehistoryexplorer

11 ай бұрын

What a fantastic comment! Well said

@patfromamboy

5 ай бұрын

You are an excellent writer! Read about when she visited my state of Washington and was repaired in 1941. It was kept quiet because we still weren’t in the war yet. Several sailors are buried here. It was at the Bremerton naval shipyard.

If there ever was one ship who deserved to be a museum ship today, it was the HMS Warspite. Twas damn near criminal to have her scrapped, and it still hurts my sailorsheart this day. Thanks for this vid, appreciate it 👍 Salute from the Netherlands, T.

@thehistoryexplorer

9 ай бұрын

Thank you for the comment. I completely agree with you 👍

Scandalous! The RN, the one who built and possessed more battleship than any other navy, did not conserved ONE SINGLE for memory. The preserved should be exactly the HMS Warspite. As a kid, I remember quite well when withe enormous pleasure I built the Airfix's model maybe in 1972, in my home at Lourenço Marques. Next one was the HMS Iron Duke, then the HMS Hood and Nelson.

@thehistoryexplorer

10 ай бұрын

Well said!

@Swampy0110

6 ай бұрын

So a bankrupt nation with a collapsing empire, millions in debt, barely any space to put it, is to preserve something as big as warspite. Be realistic. If the government had the funds to do such a thing they might have. Just be grateful for the few we did preserve and we have the indefinite time capsule of the internet to preserve its image

@patfromamboy

5 ай бұрын

I live in Washington state and am a big fan of British ships and aircraft.

@tomriley5790

17 күн бұрын

If you want another thing that was absolutely horrendous they Deliberately sank the last surviving "seventy-four" in the channel, even inviting the French to come and watch as they were aware she had been a French ship. I honestly don't know what people were thinking in the 1950s...

@garethdavies2538

15 күн бұрын

@@tomriley5790 I remember that well. The UK said that she was in too bad a condition to be preserved. The French asked for the opportunity to restore her but the moronic UK Admiralty refused, with the statement: "We never return captured ships."

My Father’s home all through the war! Thanks for this.🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🇬🇧

@thehistoryexplorer

6 ай бұрын

You are most welcome buddy

@guitaregy9746

Ай бұрын

My grandad was on the warspite to

What a beautiful video. My grandfather served on HMS Warspite during WWII. He used to tell me stories of his time on her. He always said she was a grand old lady, and of all the ships he served on, HMS Warspite was his favourite ship of all.

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

That’s fantastic to hear, thank you for sharing 👍

Royal Navy should have been prouder of her than to have permitted such an ignoble end for such a potent British battleship! Outstanding service in both world wars - Jutland, Second Battle of Narvik, Matapan. Unutterably sad, the horrid, humiliating final fate of HMS Warspite. Thank you for including the moving epitaph composed by a former crewman - beautiful!

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

I’m so glad you enjoyed it. This video didn’t get many views but I really enjoyed making it

My grandfather served on Warspite around 1941.He was in America for her repairs when Pearl harbour was attacked. I post a picture of Warspite on my Facebook page every rememberence day for him.Thank you to all who provide people like me these historical insights.They mean so much to me.God bless all the brave men who sailed on Warspite 🇬🇧❤️🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

What a brilliant connection. Thank you for sharing

My father would have been so saddened to hear that his ship , Hms warspite ended like this 😢 Thank you so much for this . I have pictures of my Dad on this grand ship 🚢

Something about a Ship that seems to inherit, or possess ,a personality, that over years deservedly is respected and honoured. Strange to feel sadness for how it met its end, but maybe its determination to go to rest stubbornly off the coast, not that far from its birthplace, shows us the Warspite chose its farewell .. Mind you it should have been kept,we all know that, and proudly looked after....

@thehistoryexplorer

11 ай бұрын

What a fantastic comment, thank you 🙏

As a lad of 8 in 1948, our St.Ives School organised trips around the Warspite. Cost was 10 shillings; 50p, which was 4 weeks pocket money. I can still see the massive hull towering over our boat. Sad maybe, but it's not how ships end up; it's what they and their crews did before they are broken up

@thehistoryexplorer

8 ай бұрын

Great comment. Thanks for sharing. St ives was a lot different then too!

My Grandfather served on HMS Warspite in 1922/23. He joined the Royal Navy as a boy of 16 in January 1921, left in 1934 but served in the Fleet Reserve until he was mobilized in 1938. He served throughout ww2 until being released in October 1945.

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

Amazing. Thank you for sharing!

My grandfather served on this ship in WWII. It was his third ship (the other were sunk by the Germans). I enjoyed the poem at the end of this video. I would have loved to talk with my grandad about this, but sadly he passed in the mid-90s, bless him. But I’ll show my mum, who was born just after the D-day landings which were supported by this ship while her dad was on board. Thank you for this video.

@thehistoryexplorer

5 ай бұрын

You are most welcome Robert and you must be so proud of your grandfathers military service

Brilliant ! I’m 57 I remember reading about WARSPITE . Which fueled my Love and admiration of your Brave Royal Navy . It’s a story I’ve struggled to conclude? I knew She Broke her tow in Defiance ! But that was all . Thank you so much for posting. Cheers Mate from Sunny Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

You are most welcome buddy! Thanks for the comment

Thank you for this great vid!!!!!// Lars

@thehistoryexplorer

4 ай бұрын

Hey Lars! You are most welcome my friend

My Grandfather was the HMS WARSPITE DIVER, Lost a leg at the battle of Crete died at 86 years old.

@thehistoryexplorer

25 күн бұрын

Wow! Thanks for sharing. The amount of personal tales associated with WARSPITE is aw inspiring

Thank you, so sad seeing her on those rocks.🙏🙏

@thehistoryexplorer

Жыл бұрын

I thought so too. Very sad indeed

I love Drac and his videos he goes into so much detail. Sometimes it's nice to see shorter videos like this. Really enjoyed it thank you

@thehistoryexplorer

Жыл бұрын

Drachinifel is the navy guy for sure. Glad you enjoyed the video. Thanks for the comment 👍

I once meet a Guy who was on the WARSPITE on D-Day for the USA Landing, he said they fired the first shell ashore on that faithful day.

@thehistoryexplorer

25 күн бұрын

Yes that’s what I read too!

The life, and sad ending, of Warspite sort of mirrors Great Britain's fortunes. From greatness, to slowly disintegrating, over that same 30 years plus a bit more.

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

Sadly true

We may forgot the sea knows every single moments. ❤️

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

So true

She went down singing I Did It My Way.

Brilliant ship.

@thehistoryexplorer

Жыл бұрын

Boat? Or ship? 😆

You say you have no subject And your brushes all have dried; But come to Marazion At the ebbing of the tide. And look you out to seaward, Where my Lady battle scarred Hugs the rock that is more welcome, Than the shameful breakers yard. Paint her there upon the sunset In her glory and despair, With the diadem of victory Still in flower upon her hair. Let her whisper as she settles Of her blooding long ago, In the mist than mingles Jutland With the might of Scapa Flow. Let her tell you, too, of Narvick With its snowy hills, and then Of Matapan, Salerno And the shoals of Walcheren; And finally of Malta, When along the purple street Came in trail the Roman Navy To surrender at her feet. Of all these honours conscious, How could she bear to be Delivered to the spoiler Or severed from the sea ? So hasten then and paint her In the last flush of her pride On the rocks of Marazion, At the ebbing of the tide.

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

Beautiful. Thank you very much

My Dad served on the Warspite,tales of manning the 15 inch guns the shock when fired went through the whole ship and the smell of cordite the back draught,conditions in the gun turrets must have been horrendous. I think the Warspite fired the first shot in Operation Overlord. He was a Royal Marine and was till the day he died 2018 my Granda used to state he wasn’t a RM but a Real Marine. I thank my Dad and all the rest of the forces for our freedom this must be preserved at all cost 🇬🇧Slave Ukraine 🇺🇦 The funny thing is He warned me of this war withRussia in 2018,with the words you have a war coming.

@thehistoryexplorer

8 ай бұрын

A terribly sad end

Absolutely love this. Warspite was incredible, Drachs content also does her fine justice.

@thehistoryexplorer

2 ай бұрын

Thank you very much. I’m no naval expert sadly but I’m so glad to I enjoyed this video- one of my first

@DrDevStrike

2 ай бұрын

@thehistoryexplorer you still reply to every post lol. Nice work mate. Honestly this brought a tear to my eye. My Grandad was killed in the war, he was killed by Japaenese sub I-27, it was the single largest loss of life to allied shipping during WW2. The Royal Navy got its revenge and ended up ramming the submarine with no recorded survivors. The ship name was SS Khedive Ismail. In a nut shell that is where my interest has come from. Thank you for this, I have shared it in a few Facebook warship groups I'm in. 🫡🫡

My uncle served on the Warspite he was CPO in charge of the guns on D Day passed the captains order to open fire he loved her

@thehistoryexplorer

8 күн бұрын

Outstanding 👌

My Dad served on this ship. A very important job he was a stoker lost three fingers in the fighting. I'm so proud of my father

@thehistoryexplorer

3 ай бұрын

You must be so so proud of his legacy. Thanks for the comment

Greatest (Dreadnought era) Battleship that EVER was , She NEVER gave up (Penlee lifeboat? 1981 - NEVER TURN BACK, They didn't , Never Forget)

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

Going back for another try

Made me very emotional did that

@thehistoryexplorer

4 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@goggsjamie3498

Ай бұрын

And me ❤

Again one of my Father's ships' during the war and pre-war. He was Chief Petty Officer Stoker. He was also on HMS Repulse. I am about to undertake the HMS Warspite model made by Academy. A great ship!!!

@thehistoryexplorer

4 ай бұрын

Amen! What a beauty with such history

If ever there was a ship that deserved to be moored on the Thames it was Warspite. Belfast is fine and I mean her no disrespect but the Grand old lady really deserved to be preserved. I really must get around to scuba diving on what's left of her - been meaning to do it for years, although I expect it will only be a few broken bits of plate... Just as I like to think her rudder jammed on purpose at Jutland to provide protection and allow the small destroyer/cruiser that the HSF was shooting at to escape when they got the much jucier target I like to think the old ship threw off her tow and refused to go down wihtout a fight one last time. (Wish I could remember the name of that small ship!)

@thehistoryexplorer

17 күн бұрын

Such a waste isn’t it

The Grand old lady sleeps, with her smile on her face. Loyal and not sunk by any enemy. Her record still stands of the longest hit of naval guns in history.

Bloody Shame. She would have made a fantastic museum ship.

@thehistoryexplorer

10 ай бұрын

Wouldn’t she just! It would have been brilliant

She should have been preserved as a peace of British Navel history , typical of this country ! The USA preserved quite a number of their famous vessels .

@thehistoryexplorer

10 ай бұрын

I couldn’t agree more. It’s a travesty how the RN have so little affection for their ships once they are decommissioned. Terrible waste

As a non british i feel so sorry about her being scraped!!

@thehistoryexplorer

8 ай бұрын

Absolutely! We can all appreciate a beautiful warship meeting her end

Such a sad ending. I didn't know about her end until I went to St Michaels mount in 2022.

@thehistoryexplorer

5 ай бұрын

I live right near there 👍

Lovely little video! I've not encountered all that much of info on Warspite here on YT for some odd reason

@thehistoryexplorer

6 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

The most decorated warship of the RN and probably of any Navy. It's scandalous what they did to her.

@thehistoryexplorer

24 күн бұрын

I agree!

It was repaired in Washington state and several of her sailors are still buried here. It was before the US finally entered the war so the repairs had to be kept quiet. We repaired almost all of the Pearl Harbor ships that were recycled. Long live the King!

@thehistoryexplorer

5 ай бұрын

I never knew that!

@patfromamboy

5 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer I just discovered it a few months ago. It made me proud to have fixed her in our Bremerton naval shipyard and to have our state be the final resting place for the sailors. We built 50 aircraft carriers in Vancouver Washington. My aunt and uncle helped. They were the smaller escort carriers but building 50 in less than 2 years is pretty good. The Gambier Bay took a few shots at the Yamato before being sunk by her 18.1 inch guns in the Battle Off Samar. That’s when the destroyer Johnston went straight at the Yamato and the rest of the fleet. We have a PBY museum in the Puget sound. A submarine base and a torpedo base where they made the Mark 14 torpedoes that had an 80% failure rate for several years. They were very expensive so they didn’t do real world tests often so when they ran deep they didn’t know about it. We have naval bases where Top Gun was filmed and Boeing museums and factories. I need to start visiting them since I’ve lived here 61 years and only saw the USS Missouri and Bremerton.

@thehistoryexplorer

5 ай бұрын

Wow what a legacy. If I’m ever in that area of the world I’ll be sure to visit! Thank you for sharing

Having looked at some old photos i found if you look carefully you can see what's left of her hull just west of St Michael's Mount on Google maps

@thehistoryexplorer

16 күн бұрын

No way?!

翻訳はMr.googleに任せて日本語で続けます。 この戦艦ウォースパイトこそ北の海からインド洋を越えて遙かに 『大英帝国は七つの海を制覇する』を体現したものでありましょう。 その戦績は大いに撃ち、また撃ち返され、穴ぼこだらけにされ その中で辛苦を克服した大英帝国の海軍魂そのものでありましょう。 Warspiteの名が鳥のキツツキの意味ではなく、戦争への悪意であるならば 我が身を砕いて大英帝国の国民の下に鉄資源として帰還することは 最後の軍務であり、ペンキと錆止めの厚塗りお化けとなった姿よりも 国民への奉仕として喜びであったのではないだろうか。 以来、何十年を経てウォースパイトと同じ時を過ごした多くの乗組員たちは 永遠の安らぎを得て眠りについていることだろう。彼女の解体はこの世に存在する 全ての義務からの解放であり、戦果への労いであったと思うのは考え方の違いであろうか？ ウォースパイトの戦争の痛みと憎しみも時に色褪せて 今はただ、数々の真実と与太話が「ウォースパイトの物語」として 語り継がれるのは、実にウォースパイト的(大英帝国的)であると信じるところである。

Actually, Warspite was refloated, after a lot of work and the loss of one life, in 1950. They only managed to tow her a couple of miles though, as far as Marazion beach (broken tow lines, leaks, tugs on the rocks), where she was beached and then dismantled, piece by piece, between 1950 and 1956. The memorial stone is on the seafront in Marazion and there is a display in Marazion Museum. Some of her keel plates remain buried in the sand of the beach, underwater, between St.Michael's Mount and Hogus rocks.

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

From 06:30 onwards I explain exactly that, as well as show footage of the salvage teams dismantling her in the shadow of St Michael’s Mount

@rjelbart8850

Ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer Yes, true - around 05:40 it just sounded like she ended up on the rocks and could not be refloated again. Although it took 3 years to refloat her, she was still determined not to go to the breakers, so only let them take her a couple of miles.

As an Aussie it's horrific that she got the razor blade conversion.

SHE RAN HERSELF AGROUND

Man that hurt

Really sad that all the Royal Navy battleships were scrapped or given away. Even Bismarck's sinker HMS Rodney was not spared.

@iffracem

Ай бұрын

I agree. However look at it from the point of view of a nation that is near bankrupt from 2 huge wars in quick succession, they have a large population that demands help, education, food, housing, hospitals, a large number of ex military needing jobs.. all things screaming for finance, and you want to preserve a warship (deservedly so). Where should your dwindling resources go? What really needs to miss out? While museum ships are a great idea, they are expensive to keep and maintain, esp one with a record like Warspite. It's a sad reality that GB just could not afford them.

She fought more battles than any other and holds the record for the longest range hit on a moving target at sea. The one ship that should have been preserved as a museum instead was vandalized.

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

Completely agree!

@patfromamboy

5 ай бұрын

I still don’t understand how they can hit a moving target that far away, amazing!

@Will_CH1

5 ай бұрын

@@patfromamboy They had an analogue computer, radar and optical rangefinder. On top of that, the quality control on the cordite and shells meant that dispersion was minimal. While it was an amazing shot, Imagine how horrified the Italians must have felt. A few weeks earlier, they lost a cruiser (Collenoi) in a long range gunnery duel and then see a first salvo strike home from over the horizon.

@Will_CH1

5 ай бұрын

@@patfromamboy The rangefinder had line of sight to the upperworks of the Italian ship.

@patfromamboy

5 ай бұрын

@@Will_CH1 I’ve read about the computers some shops had and they other methods they used but I still can’t believe it. Especially when artillery and other big guns are used on specific targets inland and miles away. How do they keep track of which guns are shooting at which targets? I know they use spotters but if they saw a near miss on something with hundreds of guns shooting in the area how do they keep track of everything? I’m going to have to do more reading.

My uncle sailed on KG5 against giant Bismarck also the Belfast on the artic convoys also against schionhorst I've heard him say when I was just a boy about this great old lady I made a copy little ship of warspite really was the countries best and loved the grand old lady you no perhaps she wanted to die on those Cornwall rocks .

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

That’s a brilliant comment. You have a point! Better than being taken to a dry dock

@StephenGlencross-yg4nt

7 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer my uncle was in the second war from start to finish also my dad they both went to hell and both survived the war my grandad was on the Somme coming back to my uncle during the artic convoys to ark angel murmansk they had to break the hard frost off the Belfast's decks and guns they were afraid the ship would turn over into the ice sea if your ship sunk you had two minutes then you were dead these things our seamen had to do in war and at that time it was to save Russia,,,,,, our navy faced the Germans and Italian airforce as well being bombed a lot of times ,,, god bless the royal navy.

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

@@StephenGlencross-yg4nt You must be so very proud. I know I would be. what an amazing story

Breaking her up was an act of vandalism

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

Should have been a museum

@Will_CH1

7 ай бұрын

@@thehistoryexplorer Absolutely

My grandad was on warspite in ww2 from 39 till about 43, then on hms anson. He got killed on his way to work a few months before he retired age 64. I have some of his things from the warspite, including little photos. There's one where you can see warspite written behind him. Does anyone know who the guys in the photo at 8:35 are? I'd have to look, but I'm sure a couple of those guys are in his pics. I know he had a friend called Jack Dawson.

@thehistoryexplorer

Ай бұрын

Thanks for sharing and god bless him. I’m sure there are people on here who will be able to help

Had no idea Devonport built battleships!

@thehistoryexplorer

7 ай бұрын

Devonport Dockyard 👍 would love to visit

RESPECT to a real Pussers war canoe

@thehistoryexplorer

4 ай бұрын

💯

Warspite was a titan

@thehistoryexplorer

4 ай бұрын

A beautiful titan

Absolute disgrace she wasnt preserved as a museum😢

@thehistoryexplorer

20 күн бұрын

I agree!

It's all right wanting to preserve her but she was in pretty bad shape. She had taken a hit from a glider bomb in the Mediterranean and was only patched up and filled with concrete to her allow her to take part in the North Sea bombardments.

Yes it is a shame that all British battleships are scrapped after war why not build a Warspite as a museum the HMS Belfast is just a cruiser. Only one British battleship survived that is in Japan WW1 built

A country that has no honor, a king that has lost his way and knows not of his land no more. Sad....

@thehistoryexplorer

6 ай бұрын

Imagine waking up and feeling so bad that you have to troll people online. I hope life gets better for you I really do

@allisokandsweet

3 ай бұрын

Truth hurts mate...

She chose where she wanted to rest and what a beautiful part of England to choose ❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

@thehistoryexplorer

6 ай бұрын

Very true!