Yamato class battleship

The Nihongo|"Yamato" class battleships|大和型戦艦|Yamatogatasenkan of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) were the largest naval vessels of World War II and were the largest, heaviest battleships ever constructed to this day, displacing 72,800 metric tons (at full load). The class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to any warship - 460 mm (18.1 in) guns which fired 2,998lb (1.36 tonnes) shells.

Design and construction

Japanese naval strategy after World War I included plans for the construction of a fleet powerful enough to intimidate likely opponents, in particular the United States Navy. Although these plans were curtailed by Japan's participation in the Washington Naval Treaty of 1922, the IJN continued technical studies and by 1933 had concluded that any new class of battleship would feature main armament of 46 cm.

International sanctions in 1934 led Japan to announce its withdrawal from the Washington Treaty, by which time the IJN was already at work on the design for a super-battleship that would be known as the Yamato class.

Preliminary studies called for a ship featuring a main battery comprising at least eight 46 cm guns, a secondary battery comprising four turrets armed with either triple 15.3 cm or double 20 cm guns, defensive armor capable of withstanding a bombardment equivalent to the ship's own main battery from a range of 20,000 to 35,000 meters, a top speed of 30 knots, and a cruising range of 8,000 nautical miles (14,800 km) at a speed of 18 knots.

The earliest version of Plan No. A-140 ("A" indicating "battleship" and "140" indicating that this was the 140th warship designed by the IJN) was completed in March 1935, showing a ship 294 m long at the waterline with a 41.2 m beam, a 10.4 m draught, and a trial displacement of 69,500 long tons. One notable feature of this and other early designs is that all three turrets of the main battery are concentrated forward of the ship's superstructure.

In all, 22 different preliminary designs were drawn up during the period lasting until October 1935, when Plan Nos. A-140F3 and A-140F4 were issued.

Refinement of the design continued as detailed studies were made, and testing of models in a model basin led to the adoption of a semitransom stern and a bulbous bow, which reduced hull resistance by 8%, and when Plan No. A-140F5 was issued in July 1936, it called for a ship 253 m long at the waterline with a 38.9 m beam, a 10.4 m draught, and a trial displacement of 65,200 long tons.

Plan No. A-140F6 was finalized at the end of March 1937, and a construction order issued at the beginning of August to the Kure Naval Arsenal, where a construction dock was deepened, gantry crane capacity increased to 100 metric tonnes, and part of the dock roofed over to prevent observation of work. Construction began on 4 November 1937 and continued for nearly three years. "Yamato" was launched on 8 August 1940 and commissioned on 16 December 1941. Although the United States military knew the ships were being built, a line drawing captured at Tulagi in August 1942 was the first information on their appearance.Matthews, Edward J., CDR USNR "What Ship Is That?" "United States Naval Institute Proceedings" July 1978 pp.61-66] This was subsequently matched to aerial photographs of the Truk anchorage, although the ship had initially been interpreted as an island because of its size.

Construction of the second hull began six months later at the Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard, where "Musashi" was launched on 1 November 1940 and commissioned 5 August 1942.

Construction of Hull Number 110 began in May 1940 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal and was not expected to be completed until 1945. Following devastation of Japan's carrier forces at the Battle of Midway, however, the decision was made to convert this hull to an aircraft carrier and expedite its completion. "Shinano" was launched 8 October 1944 and commissioned the following 19 November.

A total of five Yamato class battleships were planned. Hull Number 111 was scrapped in 1943 when only 30% complete, and a proposed fifth hull, Number 797, proposed in the 1942 5th Supplementary Program, was never ordered.

Plans for a "super Yamato class", with 50.8 cm guns, provisionally designated as Hull Number 798 and Hull Number 799, were abandoned in 1942.

Deployment

Like their German counterpart, the "Tirpitz", "Yamato" and "Musashi" made little direct impact during the war. The Musashi did not engage any Allied battleships during the war, yet the Yamato did have limited success when in October 1944 she opened fire on US escort carriers and destroyers. It was the first and last of her battles with enemy ships. She fired a total 104 rounds of 46cm projectiles as a result of which one escort carrier and one destroyer were sunk.

Both "Yamato" and "Musashi" were sunk by attacking aircraft. "Musashi" was sunk by repeated aerial attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 24, 1944. After being hit by an estimated 17 torpedoes and 20 bombs, she went down with 1,700 of her 2,400 man crew.

In its last deployment, "Yamato" along with nine other Japanese warships, embarked from Japan on a deliberate suicide attack upon Allied forces engaged in the Battle of Okinawa. Dubbed Operation Ten-Go, the plan called for Yamato and her escorts to attack the U.S. fleet supporting the U.S. troops landing on the west of the island. Yamato and her escorts were to fight their way to Okinawa and then beach themselves between Higashi and Yomitan and fight as shore batteries until they were destroyed. Once destroyed, the ship's surviving crew members were supposed to abandon the ships and fight U.S. forces on land. On April 7, 1945 she was hit by successive waves of U.S. carrier-based aircraft and sank after absorbing 15 bombs and at least 13 torpedo hits. Fewer than 300 out of 3,332 crew on board survived.

Yamato rests broken in two, her bow upright and main hull inverted, severed at approximately the aft end of "B" barbette. This suggests that the explosion that sank her originated in her forward magazines. The two large hull sections rest close together.

hips in class

Notes

References

* Nakamura, Masao, ed. "Yamato-gata Senkan" (Yamato Class Battleships). GAKKEN, Tokyo ISBN 4-05-601261-X
* Daiji Katagiri, "Ship Name Chronicles of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet", Kōjinsha (Japan), June 1988, ISBN 4-7698-0386-9

Media

The popular anime series Space Battleship Yamato by Leiji Matsumoto revolved around the crew of a space battleship built out of the wreck of the Yamato. It was released in the US as Starblazers.

Junya Sato wrote and directed the film "Otoko-tachi no Yamato" (English title: "Yamato") in 2005.

In the computer game Starcraft, the 'Battlecruiser' Terran unit has a special move called the Yamato Cannon, which is a massive, single, concentrated blast of energy. This may have been inspired by the Wave Motion Gun, the main weapon added to the Yamato in the anime series.

The American channel PBS has produced a documentary "Sinking The Supership" about Yamato's final voyage.

Jeremy Clarkson in his book 'I know you got soul' chose the Yamoto as one of the machines in history with a soul.

In the upcoming Command and Conquer game Red Alert 3, the faction Empire of the Rising Sun (which is Japan) have a battleship named the Shogun. The Shogun is inspired by Yamato.

External links

* [http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=B393 WW2DB: Yamato-class Battleship] with [http://ww2db.com/photo.php?source=all&color=all&list=search&foreigntype=S&foreigntype_id=393 37 photographs]
* [http://digilander.libero.it/planciacomando/mondo/giap.htm Japanese Imperial Navy] - _it. Plancia di Comando