The movie "Tora, Tora, Tora!" Depicted the Ward engaging the midget submarine according to the Ward's account. It turned out to be entirely accurate.

This is a fascinating story of coincidence! The dates, the commanding officer, everything. On top of that, she fired the first shot of our Pacific War and sank the first ship at Pearl Harbor. Great video!

@scooper4981

Ай бұрын

Exactly! Few people knew that, by sinking that midget sub, it was the U.S. that drew "first blood" in the war with Japan in the Pacific. The Ward's sinking of that sub was one of the most incredible feats of naval gunnery in the war. Imagine hitting a small moving target (the conning tower of the sub) with a "single shot" 4″/50 caliber gun from the heaving deck of the Ward. Remarkable!

Great History! My Dad's ship portrayed the USS Ward in the movie "Tora Tora Tora" the USS Finch DE 328

Another really interesting tidbit involving the USS Ward, is that when she sunk the Japanese sub at Pearl Harbor one of her gunnery officers was a young ensign named Adrian Marks from Frankfort, Indiana. Later Adrian Marks was accepted into flight training and was assigned to pilot a PBY seaplane. When the USS Indianapolis was sunk in the Pacific, it was Lt. Adrian Marks who landed his PBY in the water enabling his flight crew to start pulling sailors out of the water to safety from the encircling sharks. They pulled so many sailors onto the floating PBY that the added weight eventually broke the plane's air-frame and it subsequently had to be sunk by gunfire from USN destroyers.

As it happens, USS Ward was named in honor of Commander James Harmon Ward, USN, (1806-1861), the first U.S. Navy officer to be killed in action during the American Civil War.

Fascinating, even in her decrepit condition. Ward was a subject of a drawing I did for a patron many years ago whereupon I learned of her historic first shot on that Day of Infamy. Thanks for showing this.

Before the sub was found I watched a show on TV with a modern destroyer showing how difficult it would have been for Ward to do this, showing todays Laser computer sighting... At the end of the show you were convinced Ward did not do this..... I guess the old guys ruled that day on Ward...... The greatest Generation....

The torn and rusted metal gives precedence to the term "Tin Can Sailors" as to how thin the metal was that these ships were made of. I've been on a few of these destroyers (museum pieces) and many places you step on the outer decking it will flex. You can see and hear how thin the hull is as you make your way about. Then if you go onto a large, thicker hulled ship, you can hear the density and notice a more solid platform as you move about. This is why I have the utmost respect for the sailors who manned these greyhounds of the seas.

*It's only right for the USS Wards former Captain William Outerbridge to put her down.* Three years to the day is the amazing part of this story. I'd argue that Ward is one of the most historic war ships. She was the First to strike back for America.

@markmaki4460

Ай бұрын

Indeed she is something of an example of all the men (and yes, a few women) and ships and other units of the armed services, the vast majority of whom we will never hear about, but who 'got the job done' in usually humble circumstances, relative to those of many of their leaders.

@DRAGONSLAYER1220

Ай бұрын

BTW: The Ward was Outerbridge's 1st command. I think I heard somewhere that he'd been in command something on the order of a week prior to December 7.

Thank you for this video! I recently discovered this channel and it is refreshing to see someone that doesn't embellish things for views like Mark Felton does, and you dont have clickbaity titles or titlecards (thumbnails). Very well done!

@markmaki4460

Ай бұрын

Yes i finally ended up unsubscribing from Felton's channel due, let us say, to more than just his embellishment. I could no longer trust him. It is sad because he is a good story teller. And indeed, these "just the facts" videos are also good springboards for learning even more about the ships they document. All around good stuff. Many thanks to Skynea History for good, dependable productions.

@TrickiVicBB71

Ай бұрын

I found out about Felton's plagiarism many, many years ago. Unsubscribed and swore him off since.

Fantastic video honoring and showing the wreck of a proud fighting ship!

The gun that fired the first US shot of WWII is on display at the Capital of Minnesota in St Paul. One of my employees father was one of the Navel Reserve members manning the gun, his name is on the plaque on the gun.

I recognize the USS Ward name from Pearl Harbor! Thanks for the history!

Have visited the 4”/50 mount (that was located on the DD-139/USS Ward's midships deckhouse, starboard side) numerous times and it always both moves and amazes me to think a crew of Minnesota USNR sailors were able to track, aim and hit anything with it. I don’t know why, but I always believed the story of the crew attacking/sinking the sub with depth charges and 4” gunfire, even before the evidence was found on the ocean bottom. Historically, having subs be part of the attack on the naval base just made sense.

hope that the great Paul Allen's estate would continue this fascinating exploration..the videos and image bring to light the horrors of war and the sad end to resources..

thank you for this video on the USS Ward. Where is the Ward's forward 4 inch gun on display?

Thank you for sharing this outstanding video.

The Canon that sunk the sub has been sitting on the south lawn of the Minnesota state capital. The plak was updated after the sub was found.

@TheSopke

Ай бұрын

I believe The crew was a reservist unit from St. Paul Minnesota & that is why Minnesota has the gun.

There is no like button showing on this for me, so, thumbs-up!

As usual, a splendid history of a noteworthy warship. Those old flushdeckers truly were special! Incidentally, it's very likely you are right about that being an anchor in the picture of the wreck's forward bows and stem. I didn't notice until you said it might be the anchor, but then it immediately became apparent that one of the cables was attached to it, and if you follow the chain to the right, towards the stem, you can easily spot it coming out of the WARD's starboard hawse pipe. By the way, not necessarily important, but while it was a bit amusing to hear "O'Brien" pronounced like an Irish brand of the French cheese, it's actually pronounced the same way as "O'Brian." Much in the same way that "McLeod" is pronounced "MacCloud" or "MacKay" is pronounced "MacKie." Keep up the good work. There's too much rubbish on KZread - you're one of the reliable ones.

If you are ever running short on warship wrecks to cover, there are a whole host of sunk IJN Auxiliary wrecks in Truck that have a lot of well documented footage and drawings to go over. Some with very impressive torpedo damage too.

I bet it was heartbreaking for the captain to have to scuttle his former ship.

The china may have become visible as the galley in the 4 stackers was in the midships deck house (just aft of the bridge structure on the maindeck about where the forward 2 stacks had been area before their removal) so not much structural collapse there would have exposed its interior contents.

@jasonvant7714

Ай бұрын

Ah, the wardroom.

Thanks, Skynea. Take care.

6:40 it is the anchor you can see the chain if you look to the right .

I'm more curious about the large crater you showed in the scan.

@jasonvant7714

Ай бұрын

Either from impact with the bottom or more likely depth charge(s) detonating after sinking.

@Elkabong53708

Ай бұрын

@@jasonvant7714 I seriously doubt Depth charges blowing, Even if armed, they'd be set to go off at shallower depths than 600 plus feet with a larger scattered debris field if that happened. Plus theres numerous videos of wrecks with undetonated depth charges still on the racks. Plus impact would have caused more structure damage.

@markmaki4460

Ай бұрын

@@Elkabong53708 And detonating depth charges would have left a much larger crater, and perhaps multiple craters.

@jasonvant7714

Ай бұрын

@@Elkabong53708 the stern structure is collapsed more than other structure plus you can’t predict how fire can make things unstable. But having watched the rest of the video the stern isnt annihilated like if it was from a charge going off at deck level. The crater is unusual though and the fact that he only makes a small reference you it with no followup is unusual.

@billt6116

Ай бұрын

Maybe the depth charges went...?

A friend of mine in boot camp (RTCSD) told me that his grandfather was a Ltjg was OOD on the Ward when they spotted the sub. His grandfather lived in sight of RTC, my friend could point out his house on Point Loma. His grandfather attended our graduation, he was a retired Rear Admiral....

So there's a huge crater right next to the wreck and it wasn't explored??

I'm wondering how they identified this wreck, considering the condition of it ?

@richardletaw4068

Ай бұрын

Fair question. I would guess from knowing precisely where she was sunk, and not having moved significantly from that point as she went down in relatively shallow water (600 feet, as opposed to 22,000 feet, in the case of USS Samuel B. Roberts).

@Skynea: The Ward was scuttled by a destroyer with a common Irish name-O’Brien-pronounced “oh-BRY-enn”-or as if spelled O’Brian, the common man’s name-NOT like the French cheese (oh-BREE-enn). Trust me. I was married to an O’Brien for years. If you can change the audio, you really should.

@markmaki4460

Ай бұрын

Indeed. Like multiple author's names as well. For some reason i laughed at your example of the French cheese. Thanks! I guess i needed a laugh.

I can't believe that Ward's account of its encounter with the Japanese midget submarine was doubted by so many people for so long. I was not aware that the U.S. Navy converted some of its destroyers to fast transports. Interestingly enough, the Japanese resorted to using regular, i.e. unconverted, destroyers as transports during the Guadalcanal campaign, a supply run that became known as the "Tokyo Express". Although their carrying capacity was limited they were fast and nimble in the difficult waters of the Solomons "Slot" and could conduct their operations during the night when the aircraft based at Henderson Field could not attack them.

Knew of the role at Pearl harbor not her ending though. Thanks, I'll remember. ✌️🇺🇲. Go Navy 👍

How about a video of the USS Sims which was sunk during the Battle of Carol Sea

Outeabridge the captain of the Ward was my uncle.

There are no coincidences.

how was this determined to be the Ward????

Ward would be considered a war grave I would assume and salvagi g the dishes would be looked down on, if not outright illigal, without permission from the US navy

I thought that Fast Transports kept their front 4" gun.

@richardletaw4068

Ай бұрын

That is covered in the video. It was removed in the refit and replaced with a 20 mm cannon. The original four incher is preserved onshore somewhere. (The narrator says where.)

@markmaki4460

Ай бұрын

@@richardletaw4068 Actually, i think the forward 4" guns were replaced with 3" guns in those conversions.

@txrebelpatriot6382

Ай бұрын

When the old 4 stackers were converted to the APDs they replaced the 4” guns with 3”/50’s. According to the refit schematics the Ward had four 3”/50s one forward, two mid-ships and one aft. Along with these she had five 20mm one forward and two mid-ships and aft deck house.

@billkallas1762

Ай бұрын

@@txrebelpatriot6382 I was under the impression that they just removed the rear 4"' guns and left the front one. Oh well.

@txrebelpatriot6382

Ай бұрын

@@billkallas1762 the switch to 3”/50’s was for improved anti-aircraft capabilities over the 4” guns. Each of the 33 “Green Dragons” (converted 4stackers) were a little different in their armament arraignment, depending on when they were refitted. Later ones like APD 25 USS Rathburne ( my Grandfather’s ship) had two 40mm Bofor’s instead of the 3”/50 on the aft deck house.

Wasn't it somewhat uncommon for kamikaze to attack destroyers?