OpenTube

US Navy Logistics - From Small Beginnings... (1900-1942)

Drachinifel

100,941 views

Today we take a look at how the USN's Base Force and then Service Force came into existence and the challenges it faced in the opening year of US involvement in WW2.

Sources:
Beans, Bullets and Black Oil - Rear Admiral Carter
Gray Steel and Black Oil -
Fast Tankers and Replenishment at Sea in the U.S. Navy, 1912-1995 -
Thomas Wildenberg
MAJOR LOGISTICS LESSONS OF WORLD WAR II - Kent D. Algire

Naval History books, use code 'DRACH' for 25% off - https://www.usni.org/press/books?f%5B...

Free naval photos and channel posters - www.drachinifel.co.uk

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'Legionnaire' by Scott Buckley - released under CC-BY 4.0. www.scottbuckley.com.au

20 Comments

@Drachinifel Creator 1 year ago Pinned

Pinned post for Q&A :)

@johnoneill5661 1 year ago

Someone had a sense of humor naming the ammunition ships "pyro" and "nitro"

@ph89787 1 year ago

The most essential part of any fleet logistics. It is the Ice Cream Barges.

@ph89787 1 year ago

This is why I view RADM (later VADM) Fletcher as getting the short end of the stick for the first few months of the Pacific War. Because you can't pursue aggressive actions for too long if you don't have the supplies or the means to transport and load supplies onto your warships.

@TomFynn 1 year ago

A game "Supreme Commander: Logistics" set to "Easy" will probably be mindbogglingly difficult.

@bkjeong4302 1 year ago

Ahh, USN logistics. The only thing more impressive than USN hull numbers.

@michaelsullo3698 1 year ago

As a retired US Navy/DoD logistician, I found this video of great interest to me. I hope it gave some armchair strategists insight that you have to plan/initiate your logistics before you can proceed with any Naval/Military operations. Bravo Drach!!!

@akflyerfan 1 year ago

I can’t wait to see the next video for 1943 onwards. That’s the timeframe that my father’s repair ship (USS Jason-AR 8 / ARH 1) was in service. She was in continuous service until the 1990’s.

@edwardloomis887 1 year ago

USS Vestal and her crew are an epic World War II story. Her Pearl Harbor heroics were followed by stalwart service.

@ethanmckinney203 1 year ago

Now we need a game where you play the logistics commander.

@timothyedge6100 1 year ago

Drach is a machine.

@petesheppard1709 1 year ago

And this video can only hint at the mind-boggling complexity of the logistics problems faced and solved.

@Big_E_Soul_Fragment 1 year ago

Ahh yes, the Navy's greatest weapon apart from the explody bits

@MARGATEorcMAULER 1 year ago

A man with your capacity for workload and your far ranging knowledge would have been quite an asset for the Service Force back then! Thanks for all you do❤

@dovepond 1 year ago

Excellent coverage of a completely forgotten yet essential aspect of the pacific war.

@Säbelzahnmöwe 1 year ago

Logistics is such an intersting topic. I know it is outside of the period the channel covers, but the Logistics of the Falklands War is also a fascinating topic.

@steveellis7174 1 year ago

I served on the second USS Nitro - AE-23. Always happy to see when logistics get some attention.

@BobK58 1 year ago

Looking forward to seeing my ship in the next episode. USS Sacramento AOE-1 the largest, fastest auxiliary ship in the navy.

@StevenHenry-h9g 1 year ago

This really helps put in perspective Frank Fletcher's focus on refueling during Coral Sea and Guadalcanal.

@n990 1 year ago

If you ever find yourself in Brooklyn, New York, please visit industry city. It’s a complex of warehouse buildings that have been converted into contemporary businesses and the train track areas were troop, trains and supply. Trains came in and out has been converted into a very large food court… But what’s of interest maybe to you they kept all of the signage on the concrete walls of destinations in theaters of operation, including North Africa, Italy, France, Russia, and various points in the Pacific. It’s kind of amazing.