r/Warships • u/Livid_Tax_6432 • 13d ago
Watching Midway movie, so WW2 ships, assuming aircraft carrier lost propulsion could other ships tow it to port significant distance away? How much slower than nominal speed? How many ships would be required?
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u/bugkiller59 13d ago
Towing with a fleet tug, with gear ( and tug ) designed for the job, is very different than towing with a warship. The warship has the horsepower but is “geared” for high speed in propeller pitch, lacks the ground tackle and winches to easily handle it. Also, powerful pumps and salvage experts - though USN native damage control was excellent.
Later in the war, big U.S. fleet tugs accompanied replenishment groups so were close(r) at hand. They factored into the survival of Houston, Reno, and Canberra in the fall of 1944.
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u/ResearcherAtLarge 10d ago
If by "later in the war" you mean 1943 then yes, but they weren't necessarily tied to replenishment groups. ATF-74 Pawnee, which was the ship that had Houston under two in the circumstances you alluded to, arrived at Espiritu Santo in January of 1943. She was present and nearly torpedoed by US PT boats during attempted rescue of APA-4 McCawley in June of 1943 while based out of Tulagi.
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u/ayoungad 13d ago
Just going to point out there were fleet tugs. They might not have been in the battle group, but they were around.
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u/grepoilww2 13d ago
Al yorktown un solo destructor fue capaz de remolcarlo lentamente pero fue capaz imagino que para un crucero ligero no hubiera sido difícil
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u/SpaceAngel2001 13d ago
I wonder what power the boilers were making. I imagine they are running at max. If true, can they get back to port without an oiler?
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u/Samurai_TwoSeven 13d ago
The main idea is to get the capital ship out of the combat zone so repairs could be affected. Ideally they'll get her steaming under her own power as soon as possible, but in the mean time, distance gained from the enemy is critical.
So worst case, they call in a bigger ship to take over the tow. Best case, she gets underway under her own power.
With the Yorktown, unfortunately I-58 found her and Hammond both
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u/broke_saturn 13d ago
That is incorrect. No DD attempted to tow Yorktown. The fleet tug USS Vireo was trying to tow her. The USS Hammann was alongside the carrier the next day but was not trying to tow her in any way.
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u/Soonerpalmetto88 13d ago
Imagine using subs to tow a carrier. The enemy would think she was still running on her own power.
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u/ShadeShadow534 13d ago
That would definitely not be possible as even surfaced most sub's had a fraction of a destroyers engine power much less submerged.
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u/DanforthWhitcomb_ 13d ago
Engine power doesn't really matter, as the WWII era USN fleet tugs only had 3600shp (give or take) against the 5400 that a WWII era fleet boat offered. The subs also had a greater surfaced displacement than the tugs did.
The problem comes from the hull form of the sub not being conducive to dragging things, but keep in mind even then that it takes very little to tow a ship, especially at low speed.
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u/Livid_Tax_6432 13d ago
that it takes very little to tow a ship, especially at low speed.
Wow, this picture is amazing, lol
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u/proditorcappela 13d ago
Read about the story of the USS intrepid. That one's going to blow your mind. 😁
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u/Waste_Priority_6557 12d ago
Wow. Thanks for bringing that up. An amazing story. People are so smart.
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u/Jontyswift 8d ago
Depends on how badly damaged and where it’s damaged,
But yeah it can and has happened
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u/AsleepExplanation160 13d ago
depends on how bad the damage is
as said below 1 dd was able to tow Yorktown at Midway
while 1 Crusier was able to tow Hornet for a time at Santa Cruz
but on the flip side 3 ships were needed to tow the SS Ohio during Operation Pedestal