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Yamato, Super Battleship, Largest Battleship in History - World War II
Design:
The Yamato class of battleships were the pride of the Imperial Japanese Navy during the Second World War.
This class were the heaviest battleships ever built.
The Yamato-class battleships were not only the biggest of their kind; but were also the most powerful with the
largest amount of artillery mounted on a ship.
The intention behind the design was to counter the numerical supremacy of the American Pacific Fleet.
Since they didn't have the economic or industrial capacities to build a large quantity of ships,
the Japanese decided to build larger battleships that could respond to numerous enemy ships at once.
The Imperial Japanese Navy required a super-heavy battleship, that would be armed with
18.1 inch guns and armor that could withstand the impact of 18-inch shells.
Furthermore, the ship had to have a top speed of 27 knots and a cruising range of 8,000 miles at a speed of 18 knots.
After these requirements were received, the designers commenced development in 1935.
After the initial plans were made, it was decided that the ship needed a displacement of 69,000 tons.
The dimensions of the battleship were more than impressive.
The overall length of the ship was 839 feet, with a beam width of 127.7 feet.
The protection of the Yamato was equally impressive.
The total weight of the armor was 22,534 tons, which was one-third of the entire displacement.
The thickness of the armor varied from eight inches to 16 inches depending on the section.
The deck armor was between 7.9 and 9.1 inches, while the gun turrets were protected with
armor ranging from 9.5 to 26 inches.
This armor was supposed to protect the Yamato from all Allied naval weapons.
The Yamato-class of battleships were powered by four steam engines with 12 boilers
and a total power of 150,000 shaft horsepower.
Even at maximum speed, the Yamato had great maneuverability.
Ships in the Yamato class:
The Imperial Japanese Navy ordered two battleships of the Yamato class in 1936.
The first one "Yamato" was built in the Quraysh shipyards
and the second "Musashi" in the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki.
Both shipyards had to be modified to handle the building of these enormous ships.
The production of the ships were kept a secret;
so large fences and canvas were placed around the docks to secure it from spies.
As well as this, if a worker mentioned the project; they may have faced death.
The navy ordered two more battleships in 1939.
The building of the first one named "Shinano" commenced production
but after the Battle of Midway, it was decided that it would be converted into an aircraft carrier.
The last one, unofficially named "Number 111" was never finished.
Armament:
The armament of the Yamato battleships was in accordance with the scale of the ship and its purpose.
The primary armament consisted of three triple turrets with Type 94 46 centimeter guns.
The 69.4 foot long guns could fire on 3,219 pound projectile at a
distance of 26.1 miles, with a rate of fire of 1.5 projectiles per minute.
These were the largest and most powerful guns ever put on a ship.
The entire weight of one turret was 2,774 tonnes which equaled the weight of a fleet destroyer.
The secondary armament consisted of four triple turrets with 155 millimeter guns.
The anti-aircraft armament consisted of six twin mounted Type 89
127 millimeter guns mounted on the side of the ship above the 155 millimeter guns.
Additionally, the Yamato had eight triple mounted Type 96 25 millimeter guns,
and four Type 90 13 millimeter guns on the bridge tower.
The Yamato even had a hangar below deck for storing three to four aircraft
that were launched with two catapults.
As the war progressed, the Yamato armament was modified with some guns removed and some added.
The first modification came in July 1943, when radars were fitted to upgrade the ship's anti-aircraft defense.
At the same time, an additional four triple 25 millimeter guns were added to the weather deck.
The second modification came in February 1944, when two 155 millimeter side guns were removed as they were of no use for anti-aircraft defense.
These were replaced with an additional six twin mounted Type 89 127 millimeter guns.
The anti-aircraft defense was reinforced with 55 25 millimeter guns
some of which were triple mounted and some single mounted.
The final modification in November 1944 after the Battle of Leyte Gulf, saw almost all
single mounted 25 millimeter guns replaced with triple mounted guns and 27 new 25 millimeter guns.
After this, the Yamato had 152 25 millimeter guns in its armament.
Fate:
Even though Japan invested much of their capacities in building
the Yamato-class battleships, their use during the war was underwhelming.
The Japanese built the battleships to confront other ships on the sea
failing to foresee the development of aircraft as the most powerful weapon in the war.
It can be said that Yamato was already obsolete by the time it was built
Battle of Midway
Both battleships of the class saw little action during the war.
The Yamato was commissioned on December 15th 1941, and it was assumed as the flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet.
During the Battle of Midway, Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto commanded its fleet from the Yamato's bridge.
As the battle ended up disastrously for the Imperial Japanese Navy,
the Yamato was withdrawn to Japan; where it served as a headquarter ship - missing the Battle of Guadalcanal.
Due to the frequent and long periods of inactivity, it was nicknamed "Hotel Yamato".
The Musashi took over the duty of flagship of the Combined Fleet on January 22nd 1943, but it also saw little action.
Both ships were used at the time as transport ships as they could carry a large amount of troops.
During these operations, both ships were being hit by U.S. submarines, forcing them
to spend long periods of time in the Truk shipyards for repairs.
The Battle of Leyte Gulf
The first big action for both ships came during the Battle of Leyte Gulf - the largest naval battle of the war.
On October 24th 1944, U.S. forces launched a massive air attack on the Japanese fleet.
They concentrated their fire on Musashi, which couldn't withstand the amount of bombs and torpedoes launched at it.
By the end of day, it was sunk.
On the following day, the Yamato used its 46 centimeter guns for the first and only time during the war.
Hitting an American carrier at a distance of 20 miles.
During the battle, the Yamato suffered several bomb hits but was not put in great danger.
However, because of the danger of torpedo strikes; it was forced to leave the battle.
Suicide Mission: Operation Ten-Go
The final engagement of the Yamato was connected to the Allied invasion of Okinawa.
Which prompted the Japanese Navy to commence Operation Ten-Go
Sending the entire fleet to confront the U.S. Navy that was supporting the invasion.
On April 6th 1945, Yamato with full magazines, sortied with one light cruiser and eight destroyers on a suicide mission.
American code breakers found out about the Japanese plans. So the U.S. Navy was prepared for the action that would follow.
On April 7, convoy of ten ships led by the Yamato was attacked by 400 American airplanes.
The Yamato withstood the bombs hitting its deck, but 11 torpedoes that hit the portside were more than it could take.
After it rolled over to port, its aft magazines exploded taking the Yamato to the bottom of the sea.
3,063 sailors were killed and only 269 were saved.
The sinking of the battleship Yamato marked the end of the Japanese Imperial Navy.
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