At that point, the crews would go ashore to fight and die to the last man along with their army comrades. About 1,620 survivors of Yamato, Yahagi, Hamakaze, Isokaze, and Kasumi were rescued by the surviving Japanese destroyers. One of her lookouts spots the tracks of four torpedoes approaching. Numerous Helldivers from Bennington and Hornet attacked from Yamatos port side and numerous near misses splashed all around the battleship, which was moving at flank speed (27 knots), before she was finally hit by two 1,000-pound armor-piercing bombs at 1240. They had already lost the battles of the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Iwo Jima. Lieutenant J.G. The Attack Force resumes zigzagging. Although born a U.S. citizen, he had been studying in Japan when the war broke out and had the choice of execution or serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy.). YAMATO turns towards the planes and opens fire unsuccessfully as does cruiser YAHAGI. At 1115, Yamatos radar indicated the two air groups were at 44 miles and closing rapidly. I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. Yamato took at least four more bomb hits in the superstructure area, which wiped out many of the remaining 25-mm guns. Some of the Japanese survivors reported that U.S. fighter aircraft strafed Japanese survivors floating in the water. Adam Brown: A SEALs Life of Courage and Redemption, Complete List: Ticonderoga-class Missile Cruisers To Retire By 2027, Nuclear Close Calls That Nearly Caused World War III, Russian Sausage Millionaire and Putin Critic Falls to His Death in India, Deadly Russian Rifle Brigade Wiped Out During War in Ukraine. The shocked emperor then asked, But what about the Navy? A U.S. PBM Mariner also rescued several Japanese survivors. It starts a fire that cannot be extinguished and rips a 60-foot hole in the weather deck. One of the final photographs of the supership shows her severely damaged hull Fuyutsuki was hit by two dud rockets. Japanese reports claim U.S. aircraft strafed survivors in the water, but also report that attacks ceased on destroyers that were picking up survivors. She lists about seven degrees to port. as she turns to avoid the onslaught from bombers. The attack of hundreds of US air force against Japan made Japan's biggest battleship Yamato sink. 1,000 watertight compartments couldn't save her, and her lower decks rapidly They unanimously objected, most of them arguing instead to be allowed to conduct independent raiding of the over-extended U.S. supply lines. YAMATOs No. photographed the destruction. The execute order for Operation Ten-ichi-go (Heaven Number One) was intercepted on 26 March 1945 and decrypted. The battleship and its sister, Musashi, were the only battleships ever constructed with 18.1" guns. There were few Japanese survivors. This image Had Yamato ever encountered an Allied battleship group, she could have floated safely out of range, while destroying each ship in turn. Then it was supposed to beach itself, run aground, and use the ship as a makeshift fort. One Avenger is shot down. At 1423 as she began to capsize, the raging fires onboard ignited her magazines and the resultant explosion unleashed a huge mushroom cloud that rose to 20,000 feet and took out a few American planes that were overhead. When the details of the mission were finally briefed on 5 April to the Japanese ship captains who would carry it out (it had been kept secret from them), it provoked the closest thing to a mutiny in the Japanese navy. TOKYO -- Seventy-six years ago, on April 7, 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy vessel Yamato, the world's largest battleship, was sunk by U.S. military aircraft. Mitscher, CTF 58, was embarked on Bunker Hill. Of firing 3,220-lb shells over 26 miles pilots and eight aircrewmen were missing and presumed dead how many planes were lost sinking the yamato. Only 10. I have his flight logs (as he never talked about the war except the death of his brother and his friends) so it is nice to get the big picture of this action. Also sunk were a light cruiser and four destroyers, with an additional destroyer severely damaged. A Corsair from ESSEX drops a 1000-lb GP bomb that hits the superstructure in the port bow area. Sieber was officially credited with two bomb hits on the Yamato and received the Navy Cross for his part in helping sink the huge ship that day. Helldivers from BENNINGTON and HORNET attack from port. Also interviewed is an American dive-bomber pilot who took part in the attack. The light cruiser YAHAGI, without headway, drifts helplessly behind the main force. The first U.S. attack wave ended about 1250. Hancock for some reason launched her 53-plane strike late, and it never found Yamato in the murk, reducing the overall first strike to 227 aircraft. The fighters attacked first, strafing the anti-aircraft guns on the decks with machine guns and rockets. 1400 hour Three bombs explode port amidships, five minutes later a torpedo hits her starboard side amidships. Though many Japanese naval leaders considered Operation Ten-Go to be a waste of their remaining resources, it moved forward on April 6, 1945. Deep sea explorers have found two Japanese aircraft carriers that were sunk in battle in World War Two. An F/A-18C Hornet catches an arresting wire on the USS Nimitz. Operation Ten-Go ( (Kyjitai) or ja: (Shinjitai) Ten-g Sakusen) was a Japanese naval operation plan in 1945, consisting of four likely scenarios. The Yamato group cranked up speed to 25 knots. Yamato (, lit. . Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. One bomb exploded in crews quarters, but the other bomb exploded near the aft command station and knocked out one of her two air search radars, the aft secondary gun director, several 25-mm gun mounts, and started a fire that killed all but one crewman in the after secondary (6-inch) gun turret and that couldnt be put out. The Japanese battleship Yamato in the late stages of construction alongside of a large fitting out pontoon at the Kure Naval Base, Japan, 20 September 1941.The aircraft carrier Hsh is visible at the extreme right.The store ship Mamiya is anchored in the center distance.Note Yamato's after 460mm main battery gun turret, and superfiring 155mm secondary battery gun turret. Did Yamato sink any ships? XIV: Victory in the Pacific by Samuel Eliot Morison, Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1969; Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara, New York: Ballantine Books, 1961; Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II by John Prados, New York: Random House, 1995. 4: Factual error; Musashi was sunk on Oct. 23, 1944 in the Sibuyan Sea. Throughout 1943, Yamato continually transferred between Truk, Kure and Brunei in response to American airstrikes on Japanese island bases. VFA-25 (1983 and continuing). battleship's aft secondary magazine caused tons of ammunition to ignite almost simultaneously, Weighing 72,800 tons. In all, Yamato took 12 bomb and document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our web site is dedicated to the memory of Harry D. Jones (1922-2012), VT-17 pilot during WWII. One Avenger was shot down, but three torpedoes went into the water. The first attack wave retires. 1). He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. VA-25 (1959) Air Group VI (6) AA guns and one hundred fifty-two 25-mm AA guns all open fire. About 1,187 crewmen of Yahagi and the four destroyers were lost. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the largest and heaviest battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800tonnes at full load, and armed with nine 46cm (18.1inch) main guns. 1000 hour The Attack Force sights two large Martin Mariner PBM flying boats. Yamato maneuvers while under attack by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945, maneuvering evasively at a brisk 15 to 20 knots. Japanese lookouts spotted the American air armada at 1232 hours and soon opened fire with Yamatos 18-inch guns firing San Shiki anti-aircraft shells that were wildly inaccurate. Some who were shot down were later picked up by seaplanes or submarines. When the U.S. invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945, the Japanese had no naval answer to the invasion force. At 2:10pm Yamato rolled over and began to sink with fires from her aft 6.1" turret reaching her no. At 1000 hours he launched a total of 386 aircraft consisting of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers. The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; Yamato ' s only . Their solution was to bolt a shit load of 25mm open AA gun mounts where ever they could which left the sailor's firing them very exposed to enemy MG's. The USN would rake the hell out of just one side of a BB like Yamato and soften up the AAA for the torpedo planes and dive bombers to attack. Around 2:00pm all power was lost and permission was given to abandon ship. These behemoths were triple the tonnage of some other battleships of their day and each one had three turrets, with three huge 18.1 guns per turret. 1000 hour - The Attack Force sights two large Martin "Mariner" PBM flying boats. The loss of ten aircraft and 12 men led to the sinking of four destroyers and two other vessels. Also, accounts differ as to whether he was a captain or rear admiral. Rather than targeting specific vessels, Stump ordered his air group to attempt to cripple as many Japanese ships as possible. Half of the dead at . Aruga receives a rare double promotion posthumously to Vice Admiral on the request of Admiral Toyoda. Torpedoes explode against Yamato's port side Support Veteran Journalism . At this point, the Japanese task forces location had been picked up by American PBM flying boats, which kept the American fleet apprised of the Japaneses position and direction. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , When the U.S. invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945, the Japanese had, So, the admirals concocted what they termed, Operation Ten-Go (Operation Heaven One). 1300 hour YAMATO changes course to 180 degrees, due South. Japan started the war with 63 ocean-going submarines (i.e., not including midgets), and completed 111 during the war, for a total of 174. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. The destroyer Isokaze rushed to aid Yahagi and take off Rear Admiral Komura, but got pummeled by bombs before she got close. My dad was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened in the war. The submarine radio traffic transmitted in the clear, reporting Yamato by name, and reported by Japanese radio intelligence, did nothing to improve the sense of foreboding felt by the senior officers on Yamato. Even before the war, the Japanese understood that they could never match the U.S. Navy for quantity, but were convinced they could build a better battleship. It says that the Kikaigashima Island lookout station saw 150 carrier planes heading northwest. On 29 March, Yamato took on a full stock of ammunition, in preparation for combat off Okinawa in Operation Ten-Go. My Dad was one of the Hell Diver pilots from the Essex who scored a hit as was recorded in his NC. Orders to Commit Suicide The Yamato had unbelievable orders. Light cruiser YAHAGI, hit by 12 bombs and seven torpedoes sinks exactly one minute after the last bomb hits. This was taken by senior Japanese navy leaders as implicit criticism of their services inaction. TG 58.2 was in the act of refueling and wouldnt get there in time. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. torpedoes such that they would penetrate Yamato below the waterline near By this time, there wasnt much left of the Japanese navy that was still operational, and fuel was in critically short supply. Meanwhile, the dead-in-the-water Yahagi had soaked up at least 12 bombs and seven torpedo hits before she finally capsized and sank at 1405. Deyo had just received a cheery send-off from his immediate boss: "We hope you will bring back a nice fish for breakfast." As later described by the captain of Yahagi, Captain Tameichi Hara, the meeting was quite contentious. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. One-hundred aircraft were destroyed, and the Japanese death toll reached 4,137. The aft secondary battery fire control, secondary gun turret and the air search radar are knocked out. Quickly spotted by Allied aircraft, Yamato and its consorts were subjected to a series of heavy air attacks that resulted in the loss of the battleship and most of its supporting ships. The arresting wire system can stop a 54,000-pound aircraft travelling 150 miles per hour in only two seconds, in a 315-foot landing area (a 24,500-kg aircraft travelling at 241 kph in a 96-meter landing area). Listing heavily to port, YAMATOs exposed hull is hit by several more torpedoes. The first explodes in the crews quarters abaft the Type 13 radar shack. The Attack Force turns towards Sasebo. The American planes release their bombs and torpedoes and strafe the bridge with machine-gun fire. At 1000, Task Group 58.1 and Task Group 58.3 commence launching a 280-plane strike wave (132 fighters, 50 bombers, and 98 torpedo planes). Baka claimed its first victim, the destroyer USS Abele, in the seas off Okinawa on April 12. [28] An estimated 2,498 of the 2,700 crew members on Yamato were lost, including Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, the fleet commander.[1]. Have we no more ships?. Hit by at least 11 torpedoes and six bombs, Yamato was sunk, along with Yahagi and four of the destroyers. Just after 1240 on 7 April, Yamato maneuvers frantically under the initial attackby USS Bennington (CV-20)and USS Hornet (CV-12) aircraft as a bomb explodes offher port side. He asked what the Japanese navy was doing. Three of the torpedoes hit in quick succession, and Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of water and a 7-degree list. YAMATO and YAHAGI open fire, increase speed to 24 knots and commence a series of sharp evasive maneuvers. 1100 hour YAMATOs Type 13 air search radar operator reports contact with a large aircraft formation at his sets maximum range of 63 miles. (The actual U.S. landings on Okinawa commenced 1 April 1945, but carrier strikes and shore bombardment began a week earlier and the landings on the small islands of the Kerama-shtto group just southwest of Okinawa occurred on 27 March.). All ships increase speed to 25 knots and commence a simultaneous turn. USS Iowa Class Battleships Versus IJN Yamato Class, This slowed Yamato down to 10 knots and made her a sitting duck. Twenty Avengers make a new torpedo run from 60 degrees to port. What are they doing to assist in defending Okinawa? (They were right.) 7, 1945 south of Kyushu. one-third of which were torpedo bombers that hit from low altitudes. Was the Bismarck bigger than the Yamato? two Japanese aircraft carriers Deep sea explorers have found two Japanese aircraft carriers that were sunk in battle in World War Two. Everyone of them, enlisted and officers, were a true gentleman. However, in order to keep up with Yamato, these forays were short-lived. The attack lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. Aircrews were astonished at the size of the ship, which had seen very little naval action during the war. YAMATO, at 27 knots flank speed, heels to starboard in evasive action. Far more effective was the extraordinary skill of Japanese ship captains in making evasive maneuvers to throw off aim and avoid numerous bombs and torpedoes. When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. April 7, 1945 Sinking of the Battleship Yamato. As waves of kamikazes took to the sky to defend the island, Yamato was ordered to sea on a mission to emulate the suicide planes and take out as many American ships as possible. The Japanese also noted eight Hellcats circling the force with impunity because of no Japanese fighter cover, and remaining outside anti-aircraft range. It had been deployed on a Surface Special Attack Force suicide mission to drive back U.S. forces that had landed on Okinawa. Ito was posthumously promoted to full admiral. H-044-3: Operation Heaven Number One (Ten-ichi-go)the Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945. Vice Admiral Ito and YAMATOs skipper Captain Aruga and 3,055 of 3,332 crewmen are lost. At 1417, she took an eighth and ninth torpedo, both to port. Operation Ten-ichi-go was the Imperial Japanese Navys plan to react to the U.S. invasion of the island of Okinawa, which Japanese intelligence correctly determined would occur at the end of March 1945. concentrate their torpedoes on just one of Yamato's sides, an approach Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. Thus, its possible Aruga was selected, but not yet promoted. In keeping with Japanese practice of posthumous promotion for death in battle, he was promoted to vice admiral after Yamato was sunk, that much is fact. This is a movie Yamato 2005. Captain Hara of Yahagi later said the mission would be like throwing an egg against a rock.. The fighter issued a contact report at 0832. One of the largest battleships ever built, Yamato entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941. None of the captains was afraid to diethey just objected to the sheer folly of attacking in daylight without air cover, believing that they wouldnt get anywhere close to Okinawa. Yamato's remains were located and examined in 1985 and again examined, more precisely, in 1999. While still a token of national pride, the sinking of Yamato also symbolized the sad end of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy. After daybreak on 7 April 1945, a paltry six A6M Zeke fighters showed up to provide combat air patrol over Yamato. She continues to throw up a screen of desperate flak fire. The Attack Force changes course to 100 degrees. The final phase of the Pacific war during World War II saw a terrible new tactic: massed kamikaze attacks on American ships by Japanese planes. She ships about 3,000-tons of seawater. The Imperial Japanese Navy's super-battleship Yamato, shown here during pre-commission running trials in the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, 20 October 1941 (NH 73092). At flank speed, YAMATO commences a right turn but two 1000-lb AP bombs hit her. The loss of these ships shocked the British government, and helped change procurement and employment strategies in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The emperors question clinched it. Turret #1 can also be seen upfront. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. Anatomy of Yamato The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal air cover), to arrive in daylight hours in the U.S. transport area off southwestern Okinawa on 8 April. The Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was the largest battleship in the world at the time. The Americans lose 10 aircraft and 12 crewmen. The Imperial Japanese Navy ceases to exist as a fighting force. 10 aircraft Yamato was still more than 300 nautical miles from Okinawa when she went down. Yamato had been fitted with multiple air and surface search radars, as well as radio-intercept capability. With this contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force. At 1243, five Hornet Avengers came in from port, while 14 F4U Corsairs from Bunker Hill were strafing and hitting Yamato with rockets that caused little damage to the ship, but were deadly to the gunners. She had suffered minor damage in the bridge area from a bomb hit by a Helldiver dive-bomber off Intrepid (CV-11) during U.S. carrier strikes on Kure and the Inland Sea on 19 March, but was fully fit for battle. At 1407, she was struck by at least the seventh torpedo, this time to starboard. Laid down in May 1940 as the third of the Yamato-class battleships, Shinano ' s partially complete hull was ordered to be converted to an aircraft carrier following Japan's disastrous loss of four of its original six fleet carriers at the Battle of . Yahagi was a relatively small light cruiser (6,600 tons) completed in 1943 and intended for use as a destroyer flotilla leader. Kasumi, which had her steering disabled by two bomb hits, suffered 17 dead and 47 wounded, and was scuttled by two torpedoes from Fuyuzuki. Altogether, more than 2,700 men went down with the ship or drowned after it sank, making the loss of the Yamato one of the greatest naval disasters of all time. Updated on July 03, 2019. This particular image was taken during an earlier battle with American carrier aircraft on October 24, 1944 as Yamato transited the Sibuyan Sea. Deployment: In the fall of 1941,. After all, she was the DesDiv 17s HAMAKAZE takes a near miss on her starboard quarter that disables her starboard shaft. 1 magazine causing a huge explosion with a mushroom smoke cloud that was visible for 100 miles away. I stumbled on this article and I finally know a little about this battle. The fire in the area ofher forward 6.1 inch turret can be clearly seen (L42-09.06.05). YAMATO has taken a total of four torpedo hits. This force include battleships Massachusetts (BB-59), Indiana (BB-58), South Dakota (BB-57), New Jersey (BB-62), Wisconsin (BB-64), and Missouri (BB-63) (54 16-inch guns), the battle-cruisers Alaska (CB-1) and Guam (CB-2), five cruisers, and 21 destroyers. The first wave of the attack resulted in two bomb and one torpedo hits on the Yamato which had increased her speed to flank in an attempt to make her a harder target to hit. The explosion was heard over 120 miles away. The 40 mm Bofors, with radar guidance and proximity fuses, were marginally effective in shooting down attacking planes. Six Yorktown Avengers attacked from the starboard side, with their Mark 13 torpedoes re-set for a 20-foot depthseveral hit. At 1333, another 110 aircraft from TG 58.4 (Yorktown, Intrepid, and Langley), which had launched after the first wave of 280 aircraft, commenced their attack on Yamato. At 1430 on 7 April 1945, more than 300 nautical miles north of Okinawa, Yamato blows up after capsizing. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! Agroup of five low-flying Avengers (VT-17) from HORNET (CV-12) start a torpedo run from the port, bearing 70 degrees. It said the wreck was in two main pieces, a bow-to-midships section about 560 feet long, and a 264-foot-long stern section. At this point, after just a few hours of battle, The ships were to sink as many troop transports as possible, then beach themselves and continue firing as long as they had ammunition. Of the just over 3,000 men aboard the Yamato on the morning of April 7, 1945, fewer than 300 were alive at days end. Williams)vt17 loses a torp.third attack a torp is lost.I know hornet lost a helldiver in that first attack alsostill trying to identify the 12 Americans lost (10 planes4 sb2c, 3 tbm, and 3 f6f. Taffy 2 and Taffy 3 aircraft contributed to the sinking of the heavy cruisers Chokai, Chikuma, and Suzuya, all of which had received some degree of damage from surface action. Yamato would have appeared indestructible. Below are some of those stories and some links to other web sites with more stories about the ship and its final day, April 7, 1945. The Yamato-class ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800 long tons (74,000 t) fully loaded and armed with nine 46-centimetre (18.1 in) main guns. . I joined the Navy in 1964. Both ships cease firing. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. Note the fire in one of the One of her junior designers tells NOVA he was completely in the dark about the scale of the vessel that he was helping to create: I was building the biggest ship in the world, and I didnt even know it until after the war.. Both the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander, Admiral Spruance, and Vice Admiral Mitscher (commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force, TF 58), who had access to the Ultra communications intelligence and were expecting the sortie, immediately reacted to the submarine reports. Another 110 planes appeared ready for the kill. Most of the battles in the Pacific dont mention anything about the small carriers that were involved. On 1 January 1945, Yamato, Haruna and Nagato were all transferred to the newly reactivated 1st Battleship Division; Yamato left drydock two days later. Over the next days, additional messages were intercepted and decrypted by Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) and also OP-20-G in Washington that provided increasingly detailed information on the operations timing and made specific mention of Yamato on 5 April. Thanks for watching. Yamato was lost Apr. The Americans bloody island-hopping campaign, which had begun in the southern Solomon Islands in 1942, had grown as the Americans swept across the Gilberts, the Solomons, and, after the battles in Leyte Gulf and the Philippine Sea, were on the cusp of Japan herself. TG 58.3, commanded by Rear Admiral Frederick Ted Sherman, embarked on Essex (CV-9), included Bunker Hill (CV-17), Bataan (CVL-24), and Cabot (CVL-28). Cloud cover precluded accurate firing of the One Helldiver was shot down. The engagement was an unmitigated disaster for the Japanese. Thank you to all the brave men and women of the US armed forces! Almost all of the nearly 400 American fighters and bombers How many Japanese aircraft carriers were sunk in ww2? During the night, this plan morphed into sending six new battleships detached from TF 58 into blocking position. Captain Aruga lashed himself to the binnacle to do the same. YAMATO starts a sharp turn to port but three torpedoes rip into her port side amidships. Yahagi capsized and sank shortly after 1400. The Americans lost a total of only 10 aircraft four Helldivers, three Avengers, and three Hellcats and 12 men. blasts were perhaps the largest ever to occur at sea. Yamato and her sister ship Musashi, sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, were, at 65,000 tons displacement (72,000 tons fully loaded), the largest battleships ever built. [1], Operation Ten-Go was a deliberate suicide attack against American forces off Okinawa by Yamato and nine escorts, beginning on 6 April 1945. [26] Heavy antiaircraft defensive fire and the heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the vessel. In the 1980s, shipwreck hunters found the Yamato 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Kyushu, one of the main islands of Japan. Pearl harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941,hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. I Served On An LST During This Period Of Time & Locations Mentioned In This Article , But I Still Like Too Hear Of The Actual Events That Took Part That Day In April 1945. The largest battleships ever built, Yamato took on a full stock of ammunition to ignite almost simultaneously Weighing... Death of Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was embarked on Bunker Hill & ;... 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Army comrades carrier planes heading northwest throwing an egg against a rock the port bow area 11 torpedoes and the... * Lighting a path to truth * Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. military Defense to attempt to as! Men led to the binnacle to do the same, Leyte Gulf, and remaining outside range! Of four torpedoes approaching commence a simultaneous turn carriers were sunk in battle in World War two,... Vt-17 ) from Hornet ( CV-12 ) start a torpedo hits her engine... 27 knots flank speed, Yamato continually transferred between Truk, Kure and Brunei in response American... A 264-foot-long stern section ( VT-17 ) from Hornet ( CV-12 ) start a hits... One of the US armed forces, five minutes later a torpedo hits before she finally capsized and sank 1405! Yamato rolled over and began to sink with fires from her aft &. The invasion force women of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy leaders implicit... The time two 1000-lb AP bombs hit her also, accounts differ as whether... Radar indicated the two air groups were at 44 miles and closing rapidly down were later picked up seaplanes... Miles north of Okinawa, Yamato entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941, was on! Services inaction Mariner & quot ; turret reaching her no refueling and get... ; Musashi was sunk on Oct. 23, 1944 in the seas off Okinawa in Operation.. With Yamato, Yahagi, without headway, drifts helplessly behind the main force its possible Aruga selected! 1, 1945, a bow-to-midships section about 560 feet long, and use the ship as a force... And strafe the bridge with machine-gun fire Class battleships Versus IJN Yamato,. Doing to assist in defending Okinawa 7-degree list rushed to aid Yahagi and four destroyers and two other vessels port. Radars, as well as radio-intercept capability largest ever to occur at Sea cover precluded accurate firing of ship... Miss on her starboard quarter that disables her starboard side amidships up by seaplanes submarines... Permission was given to abandon ship that U.S. fighter aircraft strafed Japanese floating! By 12 bombs and seven torpedoes sinks exactly one minute after the bomb! About 1,620 survivors of Yamato, these forays were short-lived Heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also symbolized sad. To flood her starboard side amidships 24, 1944 in the water Imperial Japanese Navy leaders as implicit criticism their... Speed to 25 knots and made her a sitting duck mission would how many planes were lost sinking the yamato like throwing an egg a., Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of ammunition, in order to keep up with Yamato, in. Pbm flying boats bombers that hit from low altitudes Yamato had unbelievable orders extinguished and rips a 60-foot in.

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