Yamato was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy shortly before World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. Yamato’s main battery consisted of nine 46-centimetre 45 Caliber Type 94 naval guns. She was dispatched on a one-way mission to Okinawa in April 1945, with orders to beach herself and fight until destroyed, thus protecting the island. On 7 April 1945 she was sunk by American carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers with the loss of most of her crew.
About Japanese battleship Yamato in brief
Yamato was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy shortly before World War II. Named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, Yamato was designed to counter the numerically superior battleship fleet of the United States. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800 tonnes at full load. Yamato’s main battery consisted of nine 46-centimetre 45 Caliber Type 94 naval guns—the largest caliber of naval artillery ever fitted to a warship. She was dispatched on a one-way mission to Okinawa in April 1945, with orders to beach herself and fight until destroyed, thus protecting the island. The task force was spotted south of Kyushu by US submarines and aircraft, and on 7 April 1945 she was sunk by American carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers with the loss of most of her crew. The only time Yamato fired her main guns at enemy surface targets was in October 1944, when she was sent to engage American forces invading the Philippines during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. During 1944, the balance of naval power in the Pacific decisively turned against Japan, and by early 1945, its fleet was much depleted and badly hobbled by critical fuel shortages in the home islands. A great effort was made in Japan to ensure the ships were built in extreme secrecy to prevent American intelligence officials from learning of their existence and specifications.
Japan withdrew from the League of Nations in 1934, renouncing its treaty obligations. After withdrawing from the Washington Naval Treaty, the Imperial Japan Navy began their design of the new Yamato class of heavy battleships. Their planners recognized Japan would be unable to compete with the output of U.S. naval shipyards should war break out, so the 70,000 ton vessels of the Yamato class were designed to be capable of engaging multiple enemy battleships at the same time. The keel of Yamato was laid down at the Kure Naval Arsenal, Hiroshima, on 4 November 1937, in a dockyard that had to be adapted to accommodate her enormous hull. The dock was deepened by one meter, and gantry cranes capable of lifting up to 350 tonnes were installed. Each gun was 21. 13 metres long, weighed 147. 3 metric tons, and was capable of firing high-explosive or armor-piercing shells 42 kilometres. Her secondary battery comprised twelve 155-millimetre guns in four triple turrets, and twelve 12-centre 7-centres in six twin mounts when those vessels were converted to a main armament. In addition, the secondary battery was changed to six 155mm guns and twenty-four anti-aircraft guns, primarily mounted amidships. During October 1941, Yamato underwent sea trials, reaching maximum speed of 4 knots, and in the South Pacific engagements in the North Pacific in the summer of 1942. During November 1941, her speed was increased to 162 or 162 knots.
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