World War II Database

Yamato, along with her sister ship Musashi, were the largest battleships ever built in history. Her design plans were based upon Japan's belief that a powerful navy sporting big guns were the key to control the Pacific by intimidation. Based on this philosophy, naval designer Captain Kikuo Fujimoto gave the original 1934 design of the Yamato nine 18.1 inch guns, and made the hull versatile enough to be re-armed for larger guns later. Her massive guns dwarfed all other guns used in naval warfare, with each turret weighing as much as a typical American destroyer. Unlike the American battleships whose width were limited due to the Panama Canal restriction, the Yamato had the freedom to be equipped with some of the thickest armor on her two sides for unsurpassed protection. Her bow was also of a special design, allowing this heavy hulk of a ship to travel up little above 27 knots. When Naoyoshi Ishida, an officer who served aboard the Yamato, first saw her, he thought "How huge it is!" He recalled:

Because of her enormous size, men who served aboard reported that there was no pitch or roll when sailing, even when standing at the top of the command tower. It was almost as if they were standing on firm ground, recalled Ensign Mitsuru Yoshida who served on the Yamato as a radar officer.

Her construction, started after a few iterations of design changes and refinements, was shielded in a veil of secrecy. With inadequate resources spent on military intelligence, the United States had no clue of her existence when she was commissioned in Dec 1941, a week after the start of the Pacific War. Yamato served as flagship of Combined Fleet commander Isoroku Yamamoto until his death in Apr 1943. Several reasons kept her unable to fire her 2,998lb shells on enemy ships; beyond being the flagship of Japan's naval commander, she was only too valuable to engage in battle. A ship bearing the mythical name of ancient Japan simply could not be risked. As a result, she remained near the naval base of Truk for the most of 1943 on defensive duty. During a patrol in Dec 1943, she was damaged by torpedo launched from USS Skate (SS-305), further reducing her roles on the frontlines. She finally saw action during later stages of the war, participating in actions in the Philippines Sea, then as the command ship of Admiral Takeo Kurita devastated a small American fleet off Samar (though Yamato did not play a significantly active role in the Battle off Samar).

Besides the usual explosive and armor-piercing shells, Yamato was equipped with a unique anti-aircraft shell for use with the 18.1 inch main guns. The sanshiki shells weighed just under 3,000 pounds, and were filled with incendiary tubes. These anti-aircraft shells were fired toward incoming aircrafts a la flak, and a timed fuse triggered an explosion in the path of the hostile aircrafts, filling the air space with burning steel shrapnel. In addition to these unique shells, Yamato was also surrounded by a wide array of traditional anti-aircraft weapons at the base of the superstructure.

While in home waters after the winter 1944-1945 refitting (more anti-aircraft weapons), she was spotted and attacked by U.S. Navy carrier planes in March 1945. She escaped with light damage, but her vulnerability against the swarming American aircrafts was now clear. With the war effort in its most desperate time, she was assigned a month later to become the ultimate suicidal special attack instrument in the Ten-Go (Ten'ichigo) Operation. The operation called for a suicide mission of ten ships to sail straight into the American fleet supporting the Okinawa landing. If she was not able to sail into the American fleet, she was to beach herself on Okinawa to serve as a mighty coastal fortress while the sailors disembark to become infantry. If that failed, she then was to draw as much fire from American aircraft as possible so that a concurrent suicide operation by Kamikaze aircraft (Operation Kikusui) would confront less resistance from the air.

At 1220 on 7 Apr 1945, while still some 270 miles north of Okinawa, after being tracked by American reconnaissance aircraft and submarines almost the entire way, Yamato was attacked by waves and waves of American carrier planes. She received serious damage from falling bombs within the first 15 minutes of the battle, then was struck by torpedoes on the port side. Her strategy was to contain the damage and flooding and wait for American aircraft to dissipate. But as more waves arrive to attack at the task force, that hope quickly proved unreachable.

After an agonizing two hours, the largest battleship in the world sank as the list reached nearly 90 degrees. She then exploded twice under water; the cause of the explosion was likely the shells from the primary and secondary magazines falling off their shelves and detonating their fuses against the overhead. Only 269 men survived the sinking super battleship.

After the war, Yamato became an object of intense fascination in Japan, as well as in foreign countries. She also remained a sensitive topic in Japan. While still a token of national pride, the sinking of Yamato also symbolized the sad end of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy. Yamato's remains were located and examined in 1985 and again examined, more precisely, in 1999. She lies in two main parts in some 1,000 feet of water. Her bow portion, severed from the rest of the ship in the vicinity of the second main battery turret, is upright, and the 2-meter wide chrysanthemum crest still glowing in a faint golden aura. The midships and stern section is upside down nearby, with two large holes in the bottom section of the ship, the result of powerful internal explosions.

Photographs

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Visitor Submitted Comments

1. Klaus says:
   4 Oct 2006 04:51:07 AM
   
   That is quite a nice homepage you got there. Interesting and easy to navigate. Keep up the good work.
   
   Klaus from Worldwartwozone
2. Mike Dunne says:
   27 Jan 2007 11:17:30 PM
   
   I agree! Pete has done a marvelous job with this site
   
3. Anonymous says:
   2 May 2007 01:04:40 PM
   
   You know, its ironic how both the Bismarck and the Yamato were the biggest and most powerful battleships in the war, but really both were a non-factor. The only real victory was Bismarcks sinking of Hood, which could be called a draw since it pissed off the English Navy so much. They paid for that.
4. Generalderpanzertruppen says:
   7 May 2007 07:44:02 AM
   
   Nice one mate! I appreciate the work youve put into your own site, hope it goes well for you!
   troy
   feldpost.tv
5. facundo says:
   13 Jul 2007 08:01:37 PM
   
   nice pictures, just im 13 and i am very exited with the battleship, i have got the imperial armi in 1:350scale and i think it is a great page to see. you did a nice work
6. Anonymous says:
   19 Aug 2007 12:02:03 AM
   
   anyone who has info about yamato 4 mail me.
7. Anonymous says:
   18 Nov 2007 02:43:51 AM
   
   very good history.keep up the good work t.c
8. Mike (www.battleshipyamato.info) says:
   12 Mar 2008 03:40:13 AM
   
   Hi Pete! Thanks for your post! I will check your site, so far it looks good!
9. Anonymous says:
   12 Jun 2008 11:00:49 PM
   
   Can you elaborate on what is meant by "chrysanthemum credit"?
10. francisco antonio de souza says:
    15 Sep 2008 09:19:31 AM
    
    this page is very good. Congratulations.
    Francisco
11. Capt. Tariq says:
    24 Oct 2008 10:50:31 AM
    
    iam looking for marine art for the battleship YAMATO . if any one have and art print plz send it to me?
12. Anonymous says:
    27 Dec 2008 05:39:57 PM
    
    thanks for the great info on the yamato's ship. now l can go on reading my book about the ww2. it helps undersand history.
13. Anonymous says:
    16 Jan 2009 02:18:30 PM
    
    A most enjoyable article of the famed warship.
14. Wm Rhoades says:
    27 Jan 2009 01:33:09 AM
    
    I think that since the IJN Yamato has been found, there should be some attempt at finding the wreckage of IJN Musashi and IJN Shinano.
    IJN Musashi (BB) was lost on 10-24-45 in Sibuyan Sea, within CLOSE Site of Land Mass ISLAND to PORT of ship...close.
    IJN Shinano, on way to KURE sinks # 33-07*N, 137-04*E...go find them too. We know of defects from Archerfish 4 TPD Hits, and there appears to have been 'huge multi-explosions on Musashi 'during action' in Sibuyan Sea manouvering, in pictures taken.
15. Dustin J. Pulid says:
    5 Apr 2009 11:21:14 AM
    
    This is very interesting information. While I had been learning world war 2 in school, I had not learned about the Yamato. IT seems like to me that they Yamato was a very serious ship. If we had engaged in old school naval battle with Japan, out in the Pacific it would have been a very difficult battle. It seems that the ship was equipped with alot of weapons. Its surprising to see that a ship like that was able to carry so much without losing any of its speed.
16. Dustin J. Pulid says:
    5 Apr 2009 11:25:38 AM
    
    This is very interesting information. While I had been learning world war 2 in school, I had not learned about the Yamato. IT seems like to me that they Yamato was a very serious ship. If we had engaged in old school naval battle with Japan, out in the Pacific it would have been a very difficult battle. It seems that the ship was equipped with alot of weapons. Its surprising to see that a ship like that was able to carry so much without losing any of its speed.
17. trojantjl says:
    20 May 2009 03:44:59 PM
    
    The Axis were stupid for not building aircraft carriers.
18. Anonymous says:
    8 Jul 2009 11:58:50 PM
    
    lol bismarck wasnt even that great
    
    none of the KM ships were, it was just becuz their small numbers, the big ships were mythologized
    
    even stories of sinking scharnhorst and graf spee became epic -__-
19. Arie Tiele says:
    20 Aug 2009 02:18:18 AM
    
    Great Story.
    Alway's very interested in these stories
    I have build the Yamato from photo material in a 1:175 scale, complete RC controlled and fully operational, even as the Tirpitz and more WW2 ships
    You can see them on:
    http://rcvaargroeprijnmond.spaces.live.com/
20. black jack says:
    28 Dec 2009 09:43:05 AM
    
    We was found the point on the sea bad. See the russian web
    http://mydiving.org/forum/viewtopic.php?t368
    It is just 50 miles to nord-west from Japan.
    Go to diving, guys! Not so deep!
    
21. passanger says:
    1 Feb 2010 03:20:18 AM
    
    hello^^
    
    There was a large stall in Yamato^^
    
    At the stall,Luxury goods like Cigarette
    or a softdrink we call"Lamune"in Japan was sold^^
    
    Lamune drink : http://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%83%A9%E3%83%A0%E3%83%8D_(%E6%B8%85%E6%B6%BC%E9%A3%B2%E6%96%99)

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