Yamato Class Battleships
Posted: Mon Mar 02, 2009 9:34 pm
Yamato Class Battleships
By far the largest warships of Word War II. They were also the heaviest armed and armored of all battleships. These great ships were built in complete secrecy and it was not until very late in the war that it was found out how large and powerful they really were.
IJN Yamato. History.
Design work on what was to become the largest battleships in the world started in 1934. The designs were approved and the Yamato was ordered under the 1937 Third Reinforcement program. The keel of the Yamato was laid in the building dock of the Kure naval yard on November 4,1937 and she was launched on August 8,1940. The greatest battleship ever built was completed and turned over to the Japanese navy on December 16, 1941, in the week after the outbreak of war between Japan and the United States.
Although the predominance of the battleship had been overshadowed by aircraft carriers by the time the Yamato was commissioned, the Japanese navy still placed full confidence in the newly completed battleship. She joined the 1st Battleship Division (consisting of the Nagato and Mutsu until then) immediately after commissioning and started vigorous training. On February 12, 1942 she hoisted the Admiral's flag of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-In-Chief Of The Combined Fleet, as his flagship.
When Admiral Yamamoto launched a wide-ranging attack upon Midway Island in June of 1942, she also participated in the battle as flagship. As the operation ended in a complete failure, she made port in the Inland Sea with her officers and crew broken-hearted at their first serious defeat.
Even after the defeat at Midway, where the Yamato and the other battleships had no chance to fight without an umbrella of aircraft, the status of the battleship group remained unchanged. It was still the main striking force for a decisive sea battle with the enemy fleet, which the Japanese Navy eagerly wanted to have once and for all. On the other hand, a decision was made to convert the Shinano into a heavy aircraft carrier.
When war efforts were directed to the Solomon Islands sparked by a surprise landing on Guadalcanal Island by the U.S. in August, 1942, the Yamato went down to Truk Island to support a series of fierce operations to recapture Guadalcanal. On February 11,1943 the Musashi took over as Yamamoto's flagship.
After the loss of Guadalcanal and the ambush and death of Yamamoto in 1943, it was decided to bring both the Musashi and the Yamato back to the homeland to cope with the increasing troubles there. Admiral Mineichi Koga was the newly appointed Commander-In-Chief.
When she arrived home she was immediately dry-docked at Kure to do minor repairs that were badly needed. In mid-1943 the Yamato sailed again to Truk to join the Musashi in protecting the Gilbert Island and the Marshall slants, however they never got a chance to engage the enemy in a fight and remained at Truk most of the time.
Towards the end of 1943 the Yamato received her first major damage from a U.S. submarine. The Yamato was entering the Truk Atoll after returning to Truk from Japan and was hit on her starboard side near turret No.3 by a torpedo. Brackets upon which the heavy side armor was fitted were damaged with a result that about 3,000 tons of water flooded into No.3 magazine room. She was then ordered to make for the homeland, where she arrived on January 16, 1944. She was dry-docked at Kure to undertake the necessary repairs and modifications to the bracket structures of side armor to correct the defects revealed by the torpedo hit. At the same time her side triple 6.1 inch turrets were removed and three twin 5"(127mm) AA guns were added to each side. The repairs and modifications were completed by April, 1944.
The Yamato was then ordered to go to the Lingga anchorage south of Singapore and join the rest of the combined fleet there. She arrived on May.1,1944. Ten days later the fleet sailed to Tawitawi in the Sulu Archipelago, which was designated as the starting point for the forthcoming showdown with the Allied Powers in the South West Pacific codenamed Operation A-Go. She was joined by the Musashi on May 16.
The 1st Battleship Division was made a supporting group for the Japanese carriers.
When the U.S. landed on Biak Island in West New Guinea towards the end of May, the Japanese navy decided to use the two Yamato's in launching a counterattack on the enemy invasion force. But this ambitious plan failed to materialize as they were recalled on their way to the invasion fleet as the new threat of the invasion of Saipan Island became imminent.
The battle of the Philippine Islands which took place in mid-June, 1944 upset any balance between the Japanese and the U.S. as the Japanese had lost 3 more carriers and most of their land based aircraft.
The undamaged Yamato and Musashi were recalled home, arriving towards the end of June.
They then prepared for the defense of the Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa and the Japanese homeland which were all threatened by invasion because of the loss of Saipan and other islands in the Mariana's chain.
Five additional triple 0.98 inch (25mm) AA machine guns were installed on the Yamato bringing the total number of 25mm up to 29.
On July 9,1944 both the Yamato and the Musashi left the homeland and hurried south to Lingga anchorage, where they arrived on July 16,1944 and underwent extensive training for the upcoming battles. As the Japanese carrier aircraft power was now virtually non-existent, the Japanese were forced to rely solely on the big guns of the battleships.
When a lookout on Suluan Island at the entrance to Leyte Gulf flashed a report of "enemy sighted and enemy landing" the surface force at Lingga was immediately alerted and Operation SHO-1 began. They left there on October 18,1944 and arrived at Brunei two days later. After refueling they left Brunei on October 22 at 1700 hours to make a daring dash through the Philippines to launch an attack upon the enemy at Leyte Gulf.
In the early morning of October 23, north east of Palawan Island, two heavy cruisers were attacked and sunk and one was badly damaged by waiting U.S. submarines. While the force was making it's way through the Sibuyan Sea on the morning of October 24, it was attacked by a large force of U.S carrier aircraft. Though the ships put up a heavy barrage of AA fire, the Musashi was singled out for most of the attack.
By the early afternoon after the second wave of planes had left, her forepart was flooded up to the third deck and she was taking on a list to port. Her speed had to be reduced to 22 knots. She had been hit in the first two waves by at least 7 bombs, 9 torpedoes and 15 or more near misses. That she could stay at 22 knots was simply amazing. It was only after the third wave of attacking planes, in which an additional 10 bomb hits were scored and 11 torpedo hits, that the Musashi started to lose maneuverability due to her worsened bow trim.
Her bow was so deeply awash that her speed had to be reduced to 6 knots. Yet she still recovered her list by 4 degrees. Towards the evening , about four and a half hours after the third attack ended, the situation suddenly became worse. Her list to port increased and she went down at 1835 hours with the loss of 1,039 officers and men out of a crew of 2,400.
The Yamato had taken two bomb hits at 1330 hours and took on 2000 tons of water and a small list which was quickly corrected. The force temporally withdrew at 1500 hours but then reversed course at 1614 and made it's way east and broke through the San Bernardino Strait to the east of the island chain in the morning of the 25th. Not only did the force encounter the enemy but at dawn it found itself within firing range of the U.S escort carrier group, Taffy III. At 0549 hours a lookout sighted mastheads at about 28,000 yards and Admiral Kurita ordered "general chase " and speed increased to 24 knots, but all cohesion broke down from there..
The Battle Of Samar Gulf began there. The Yamato opened fire at 0558 hours with her main guns in her first engagement with an enemy fleet. At 0610 she was reported to have hit the carrier Gambier Bay . She fired a total of 104-- 18 inch shells before she had to break off to evade torpedoes, Torpedo tracks were seen bearing 100 degrees of the starboard side, she turned to port, then again to almost due north to evade them. This effectively put her out of the fight along with the commander of the fleet Kurita who was on her.
One U.S. escort carrier (the Gambier Bay), two destroyers and one destroyer escort were sunk outright by the confused Japanese attack. Three Japanese cruisers were badly damaged and the other ships suffered bomb and torpedo damage from the small carriers airwings but the Yamato was basically undamaged through it all.
Despite the desperate fighting, Admiral Kurita's fighting spirit had been dashed and he called for a retreat, missing the one golden opportunity to severely damage the invasion fleet. The Yamato and the remaining Japanese forces retreated to Brunei Bay in Borneo. Because Borneo was under almost constant air attack, the ships all left there for the homeland. The Yamato left escorted by destroyers on November 16,1944 and arrived at the Inland Sea on November 23,1944.
Upon arriving her AA armament was again strengthened by the addition of another thirty five 0.98 inch(25mm) AA guns.(23 singles and 12 triples).
When the Allied landing on Okinawa touched off desperate counter attacks by the Japanese air forces in early April, 1945, the Yamato was suddenly assigned a very unusual and grim mission code-named Ten-Go.
Since the air forces were throwing everything they had, even employing suicidal attack methods in the Okinawa theater, the surface force was to use it's strength regardless of the outcome.
The Yamato was filled to half capacity with almost all the fuel oil available to the Japanese and sortied on the afternoon of April 6, 1945. She was escorted by the light cruiser Yahagi and the destroyers Isokaze, Hamakaze, Asashimo, Kasumi, Hatsushimo, Fuyuzuki, Suzutsuki and Yukikaze.
After dropping off training cadets and sick personnel, the force left Tokuyama at 1600 hours heading for Okinawa. At 0400 hours next morning they emerged into the North Pacific southeast of Kyushu. At 0900 hours the Asashimo reported that she had developed engine trouble and dropped astern. The force composed itself into a circle with the Yamato in the center.
The Ten-Go force turned southwest at 1115 hours and 15 minutes later a U.S. floatplane was spotted. The Japanese floatplanes were then flown off back to Kyushu. Soon reports were received of up to 250 aircraft heading for the force and at 1220 hours the Yamato signaled that she had detected many aircraft 33,000 yards off her port bow, just before a rain squall blotted them out.
As the rain squall cleared the last battle began. At 1252 all the ships opened fire and even the Yamato's 18 inch guns joined in firing special "shotgun" shells at the attacking aircraft. The ships were only 175 miles from Kyushu and there was now no hope of reaching Okinawa.
The light cruiser Yahagi was the first ship pounced on as she tried to lure as many planes as possible away from the Yamato. he was hit repeatedly by torpedoes and bombs and sank very shortly. The destroyers also were battered incessantly.
The Hamakaze was sunk first then the Isokaze next. The rest were battered badly but five of them made it back to Sasebo carrying the wounded.
The Yamato was hit by bombs starting at 1240 hours and then 10 minutes later she was hit on her port side by torpedoes. She then received 8 more torpedoes on her port side and two on her starboard side which served to right the ship slightly. By 1405 she could no longer maneuver and quickly lost headway. At 1417 a final torpedo hit her in the bottom as she was listing to 20 degrees and she finally rolled over.
Her No.1 magazine then exploded at 1435 sending a huge cloud of smoke not unlike an atomic mushroom cloud thousands of feet in the air (it was said the cloud could be seen from Japan.). Her crew losses were astronomical as well over three quarters of her crew died.
She received no less then 12 torpedo hits and almost 10 bomb hits.
A Japanese diving expedition found the Yamato in the 1970's and reported that the ship was in two pieces with the bow overturned and the aft section of the ship sitting with a list to port
By far the largest warships of Word War II. They were also the heaviest armed and armored of all battleships. These great ships were built in complete secrecy and it was not until very late in the war that it was found out how large and powerful they really were.
IJN Yamato. History.
Design work on what was to become the largest battleships in the world started in 1934. The designs were approved and the Yamato was ordered under the 1937 Third Reinforcement program. The keel of the Yamato was laid in the building dock of the Kure naval yard on November 4,1937 and she was launched on August 8,1940. The greatest battleship ever built was completed and turned over to the Japanese navy on December 16, 1941, in the week after the outbreak of war between Japan and the United States.
Although the predominance of the battleship had been overshadowed by aircraft carriers by the time the Yamato was commissioned, the Japanese navy still placed full confidence in the newly completed battleship. She joined the 1st Battleship Division (consisting of the Nagato and Mutsu until then) immediately after commissioning and started vigorous training. On February 12, 1942 she hoisted the Admiral's flag of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto, Commander-In-Chief Of The Combined Fleet, as his flagship.
When Admiral Yamamoto launched a wide-ranging attack upon Midway Island in June of 1942, she also participated in the battle as flagship. As the operation ended in a complete failure, she made port in the Inland Sea with her officers and crew broken-hearted at their first serious defeat.
Even after the defeat at Midway, where the Yamato and the other battleships had no chance to fight without an umbrella of aircraft, the status of the battleship group remained unchanged. It was still the main striking force for a decisive sea battle with the enemy fleet, which the Japanese Navy eagerly wanted to have once and for all. On the other hand, a decision was made to convert the Shinano into a heavy aircraft carrier.
When war efforts were directed to the Solomon Islands sparked by a surprise landing on Guadalcanal Island by the U.S. in August, 1942, the Yamato went down to Truk Island to support a series of fierce operations to recapture Guadalcanal. On February 11,1943 the Musashi took over as Yamamoto's flagship.
After the loss of Guadalcanal and the ambush and death of Yamamoto in 1943, it was decided to bring both the Musashi and the Yamato back to the homeland to cope with the increasing troubles there. Admiral Mineichi Koga was the newly appointed Commander-In-Chief.
When she arrived home she was immediately dry-docked at Kure to do minor repairs that were badly needed. In mid-1943 the Yamato sailed again to Truk to join the Musashi in protecting the Gilbert Island and the Marshall slants, however they never got a chance to engage the enemy in a fight and remained at Truk most of the time.
Towards the end of 1943 the Yamato received her first major damage from a U.S. submarine. The Yamato was entering the Truk Atoll after returning to Truk from Japan and was hit on her starboard side near turret No.3 by a torpedo. Brackets upon which the heavy side armor was fitted were damaged with a result that about 3,000 tons of water flooded into No.3 magazine room. She was then ordered to make for the homeland, where she arrived on January 16, 1944. She was dry-docked at Kure to undertake the necessary repairs and modifications to the bracket structures of side armor to correct the defects revealed by the torpedo hit. At the same time her side triple 6.1 inch turrets were removed and three twin 5"(127mm) AA guns were added to each side. The repairs and modifications were completed by April, 1944.
The Yamato was then ordered to go to the Lingga anchorage south of Singapore and join the rest of the combined fleet there. She arrived on May.1,1944. Ten days later the fleet sailed to Tawitawi in the Sulu Archipelago, which was designated as the starting point for the forthcoming showdown with the Allied Powers in the South West Pacific codenamed Operation A-Go. She was joined by the Musashi on May 16.
The 1st Battleship Division was made a supporting group for the Japanese carriers.
When the U.S. landed on Biak Island in West New Guinea towards the end of May, the Japanese navy decided to use the two Yamato's in launching a counterattack on the enemy invasion force. But this ambitious plan failed to materialize as they were recalled on their way to the invasion fleet as the new threat of the invasion of Saipan Island became imminent.
The battle of the Philippine Islands which took place in mid-June, 1944 upset any balance between the Japanese and the U.S. as the Japanese had lost 3 more carriers and most of their land based aircraft.
The undamaged Yamato and Musashi were recalled home, arriving towards the end of June.
They then prepared for the defense of the Philippines, Formosa, Okinawa and the Japanese homeland which were all threatened by invasion because of the loss of Saipan and other islands in the Mariana's chain.
Five additional triple 0.98 inch (25mm) AA machine guns were installed on the Yamato bringing the total number of 25mm up to 29.
On July 9,1944 both the Yamato and the Musashi left the homeland and hurried south to Lingga anchorage, where they arrived on July 16,1944 and underwent extensive training for the upcoming battles. As the Japanese carrier aircraft power was now virtually non-existent, the Japanese were forced to rely solely on the big guns of the battleships.
When a lookout on Suluan Island at the entrance to Leyte Gulf flashed a report of "enemy sighted and enemy landing" the surface force at Lingga was immediately alerted and Operation SHO-1 began. They left there on October 18,1944 and arrived at Brunei two days later. After refueling they left Brunei on October 22 at 1700 hours to make a daring dash through the Philippines to launch an attack upon the enemy at Leyte Gulf.
In the early morning of October 23, north east of Palawan Island, two heavy cruisers were attacked and sunk and one was badly damaged by waiting U.S. submarines. While the force was making it's way through the Sibuyan Sea on the morning of October 24, it was attacked by a large force of U.S carrier aircraft. Though the ships put up a heavy barrage of AA fire, the Musashi was singled out for most of the attack.
By the early afternoon after the second wave of planes had left, her forepart was flooded up to the third deck and she was taking on a list to port. Her speed had to be reduced to 22 knots. She had been hit in the first two waves by at least 7 bombs, 9 torpedoes and 15 or more near misses. That she could stay at 22 knots was simply amazing. It was only after the third wave of attacking planes, in which an additional 10 bomb hits were scored and 11 torpedo hits, that the Musashi started to lose maneuverability due to her worsened bow trim.
Her bow was so deeply awash that her speed had to be reduced to 6 knots. Yet she still recovered her list by 4 degrees. Towards the evening , about four and a half hours after the third attack ended, the situation suddenly became worse. Her list to port increased and she went down at 1835 hours with the loss of 1,039 officers and men out of a crew of 2,400.
The Yamato had taken two bomb hits at 1330 hours and took on 2000 tons of water and a small list which was quickly corrected. The force temporally withdrew at 1500 hours but then reversed course at 1614 and made it's way east and broke through the San Bernardino Strait to the east of the island chain in the morning of the 25th. Not only did the force encounter the enemy but at dawn it found itself within firing range of the U.S escort carrier group, Taffy III. At 0549 hours a lookout sighted mastheads at about 28,000 yards and Admiral Kurita ordered "general chase " and speed increased to 24 knots, but all cohesion broke down from there..
The Battle Of Samar Gulf began there. The Yamato opened fire at 0558 hours with her main guns in her first engagement with an enemy fleet. At 0610 she was reported to have hit the carrier Gambier Bay . She fired a total of 104-- 18 inch shells before she had to break off to evade torpedoes, Torpedo tracks were seen bearing 100 degrees of the starboard side, she turned to port, then again to almost due north to evade them. This effectively put her out of the fight along with the commander of the fleet Kurita who was on her.
One U.S. escort carrier (the Gambier Bay), two destroyers and one destroyer escort were sunk outright by the confused Japanese attack. Three Japanese cruisers were badly damaged and the other ships suffered bomb and torpedo damage from the small carriers airwings but the Yamato was basically undamaged through it all.
Despite the desperate fighting, Admiral Kurita's fighting spirit had been dashed and he called for a retreat, missing the one golden opportunity to severely damage the invasion fleet. The Yamato and the remaining Japanese forces retreated to Brunei Bay in Borneo. Because Borneo was under almost constant air attack, the ships all left there for the homeland. The Yamato left escorted by destroyers on November 16,1944 and arrived at the Inland Sea on November 23,1944.
Upon arriving her AA armament was again strengthened by the addition of another thirty five 0.98 inch(25mm) AA guns.(23 singles and 12 triples).
When the Allied landing on Okinawa touched off desperate counter attacks by the Japanese air forces in early April, 1945, the Yamato was suddenly assigned a very unusual and grim mission code-named Ten-Go.
Since the air forces were throwing everything they had, even employing suicidal attack methods in the Okinawa theater, the surface force was to use it's strength regardless of the outcome.
The Yamato was filled to half capacity with almost all the fuel oil available to the Japanese and sortied on the afternoon of April 6, 1945. She was escorted by the light cruiser Yahagi and the destroyers Isokaze, Hamakaze, Asashimo, Kasumi, Hatsushimo, Fuyuzuki, Suzutsuki and Yukikaze.
After dropping off training cadets and sick personnel, the force left Tokuyama at 1600 hours heading for Okinawa. At 0400 hours next morning they emerged into the North Pacific southeast of Kyushu. At 0900 hours the Asashimo reported that she had developed engine trouble and dropped astern. The force composed itself into a circle with the Yamato in the center.
The Ten-Go force turned southwest at 1115 hours and 15 minutes later a U.S. floatplane was spotted. The Japanese floatplanes were then flown off back to Kyushu. Soon reports were received of up to 250 aircraft heading for the force and at 1220 hours the Yamato signaled that she had detected many aircraft 33,000 yards off her port bow, just before a rain squall blotted them out.
As the rain squall cleared the last battle began. At 1252 all the ships opened fire and even the Yamato's 18 inch guns joined in firing special "shotgun" shells at the attacking aircraft. The ships were only 175 miles from Kyushu and there was now no hope of reaching Okinawa.
The light cruiser Yahagi was the first ship pounced on as she tried to lure as many planes as possible away from the Yamato. he was hit repeatedly by torpedoes and bombs and sank very shortly. The destroyers also were battered incessantly.
The Hamakaze was sunk first then the Isokaze next. The rest were battered badly but five of them made it back to Sasebo carrying the wounded.
The Yamato was hit by bombs starting at 1240 hours and then 10 minutes later she was hit on her port side by torpedoes. She then received 8 more torpedoes on her port side and two on her starboard side which served to right the ship slightly. By 1405 she could no longer maneuver and quickly lost headway. At 1417 a final torpedo hit her in the bottom as she was listing to 20 degrees and she finally rolled over.
Her No.1 magazine then exploded at 1435 sending a huge cloud of smoke not unlike an atomic mushroom cloud thousands of feet in the air (it was said the cloud could be seen from Japan.). Her crew losses were astronomical as well over three quarters of her crew died.
She received no less then 12 torpedo hits and almost 10 bomb hits.
A Japanese diving expedition found the Yamato in the 1970's and reported that the ship was in two pieces with the bow overturned and the aft section of the ship sitting with a list to port