Video
USS Wichita: Comment Response
Anti-Submarine WarfareAsdicCruisersHeavy CruisersNaval AviationNaval LogisticsNaval TreatiesNaval WeaponsRoyal NavyShip DesignSubmarinesUS NavyUSS Wichita (CA-45)
Study USS Wichita: Comment Response, a Dr. Alex Clarke video from 1 Feb 2023, with 17 time notes. Topics include Anti-Submarine Warfare, Asdic, Cruisers.
Time notes
- 3:58Cruiser sonar and ASW role debateChapter
A comment-thread dispute turns into a detailed comparison of cruiser sonar, hydrophones, treaty weight, and anti-submarine doctrine.
- 6:17QuestionWhat torpedo-related evidence did Prinz Eugen encounter at Denmark Strait, and does it prove that Hood fired?AnswerQ&A
German evidence supports the possibility that Hood fired torpedoes, but British sources are silent and the claim remains disputed.
- 14:27Royal Navy pink lists and cruiser readiness codesNotable Point
A wartime pink-list page turns ASDIC abbreviations into a lesson on how the Admiralty tracked ship locations, crews, and fitted equipment.
- 24:59QuestionIs Wichita a heavy light cruiser, a light heavy cruiser, or a medium cruiser?AnswerQ&A
Wichita is a heavy cruiser: she uses light-cruiser hull influence, but her armor, firepower, and capability put her in the heavy-cruiser category.
- 25:27Wichita hull anti-air and missile ideasNotable Point
A speculative Atlanta-on-Wichita idea explores what a larger armored anti-air cruiser might gain and what it would give up.
- 27:25Royal Navy light-cruiser production tradeoffsNotable Point
Comparisons among Dido, Crown Colony, Arethusa, and Town designs show why wartime cruiser quantity could conflict with long-term capability.
- 32:07QuestionHow plausible would it be for the Imperial Japanese Navy to reach the Caribbean during the Second World War?AnswerQ&A
Only in an extreme counterfactual: either U.S. control of the Panama Canal has collapsed, or the fleet has made an exhausting voyage around South America.
- 34:21A Dutch armored-cruiser design with 9.4-inch gunsNotable Point
A brief Dutch design comment points to the continuing appeal of an armored cruiser larger and more heavily armed than treaty-standard heavy cruisers.
- 35:06Wichita's 5-inch battery and a 15,000-ton counterfactualNotable Point
A secondary-battery discussion shows how treaty weight and firing arcs shaped Wichita, then imagines the much heavier cruiser another 5,000 tons could have produced.
- 36:49Carrier crash barriers and flight-deck safetyNotable Point
A criticism of the film Devotion explains why an aircraft carrier's raised crash barrier protected parked aircraft and flight-deck personnel during landings.
- 39:49Submarine habitability beyond the screenNotable Point
A call for more realistic naval drama turns to the sanitation, foul air, and confined living conditions that submarine films often omit.
- 41:28QuestionWhat would count as a true heavy cruiser beyond the treaty-era 10,000-ton type?AnswerQ&A
Roughly 17,500 to 20,000 tons, with Alaska closest to the role and the treaty system leaving an artificial gap below capital ships.
- 47:26Exeter work-up and crew readinessNotable Point
A shakedown-cruise comment becomes a lesson in why refitted ships and new crews needed safe waters before combat.
- 50:15The Court of St James's in diplomatic protocolNotable Point
A brief aside explains why diplomatic language points to the Court of St James's rather than Parliament, Downing Street, or the Foreign Office.
- 51:15PT-109's improvised 37 mm gunNotable Point
PT-109's scrounged Army anti-tank gun illustrates how wartime crews informally acquired and fitted extra firepower.
- 52:04Technology gaps and cost-driven follow-on warshipsNotable Point
Alaska and two Royal Navy battleship generations illustrate why technology and cost complicate claims that one warship class was simply better than another.
- 53:16Wichita service record and Baltimore successorNotable Point
The closing Wichita comments connect the ship's design bridge to Baltimore, individual-gun elevation, battle stars, and missile-conversion choices.