Yamato (, lit. It would not be enough. The result was arguably the largest suicide mission in history. The desperate measure worked, but, with insufficient time to give warning, several hundred Yamato crewmen were drowned as a result, and the ship was slowed to 10 knots, which made her an easier target. Aruga would be posthumously promoted to vice admiral and Ito to full admiral. (Although U.S. carrier air groups complement had been changed to have a mix of about three quarters fighters to defend against kamikaze and only one quarter bombers and torpedo planes, the fighters had been trained and gotten pretty good at being used in a fighter-bomber role, and, with no Japanese air opposition, had the freedom to do so.) The Japanese also noted eight Hellcats circling the force with impunity because of no Japanese fighter cover, and remaining outside anti-aircraft range. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. He reports the formation at bearing 180, heading north, and splitting into two groups. The Japanese also spot the HACKLEBACK trailing the Attack Force. One of the largest battleships ever built, Yamato entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. after the Yamato first took to the sea. However, in order to keep up with Yamato, these forays were short-lived. 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). As luck would have it, he said, the big ship was turning to port, thereby exposing the full broadside expanse of, PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. All ships increase speed to 25 knots and commence a simultaneous turn. Her waterline armor belt was 16 inches thick. A U.S. PBM Mariner also rescued several Japanese survivors. At 1430 on 7 April 1945, more than 300 nautical miles north of Okinawa, Yamato blows up after capsizing. naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. Support Veteran Journalism . On her last morning, before the first American planes intercepted her, 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. Only 10. Asashimo went down with all 330 hands. 1000 hour The Attack Force sights two large Martin Mariner PBM flying boats. 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. Weighing 72,800 tons. This is a movie Yamato 2005. Two eyewitness accounts of Yamato's last battle. Yamato They would not be needed. Built in total secrecy and launched just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yamato may have been almost twice the size of her American counterparts, with the largest guns ever mounted on a warship. She ships about 3,000-tons of seawater. My dads name is Ronald R. LeFebvre (Ding). YAMATO is hit by two AP bombs. The mission was given to Vice Admiral Seiichi Ito, commander of the Japanese Second Fleet (pretty much all that was left of the Combined Fleet), embarked on the super-battleship Yamato. 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. Most of the battles in the Pacific dont mention anything about the small carriers that were involved. They eventually fell in line when informed that this was what the emperor wanted, that the force would serve to support the mass kamikaze air attack, and that it was an order. Torpedoes dropped from their bellies, slashing through the water toward Yamato. They were also given the option of not participating, an option none of them took. 3s upper powder magazine. 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. They pounced on her like sharks in the water. The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. By 1408, Yamato had clearly begun to capsize and the ship was being abandoned. At 1234, Yamato opened fire with her two forward main battery turrets, lobbing sanshikidan shells at the U.S. aircraftto no effect. The real story of the Yamato sinking March 06, 2008 On April 7, 1945, three southern boys were above the clouds north of Okinawa, 125 miles from the southernmost tip of the main Japanese islands searching for "the largest, heaviest and most powerful battleship ever constructed." battleship's guns. 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. I joined the Navy in 1964. What sank the Yamato? heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built, carrying the most formidable One Helldiver was shot down. She didn't even make it close to Okinawa. sent to engage Yamato made it into position above her and soon began to As later described by the captain of Yahagi, Captain Tameichi Hara, the meeting was quite contentious. The emperors question clinched it. At about 1237, U.S. aircraft commenced attack runs, with strafing and rockets from fighters (which quickly began decimating Japanese anti-aircraft gunners), and then bombs and torpedoes. Vice Admiral Ito and YAMATOs skipper Captain Aruga and 3,055 of 3,332 crewmen are lost. Yahagi was a relatively small light cruiser (6,600 tons) completed in 1943 and intended for use as a destroyer flotilla leader. At 0840, the Japanese reported seven Hellcats orbiting around the force. To buck up morale, many captains of capital ships received a accelerated promotion to rear admiral in 1944. At 1246, she took a direct torpedo hit in the engine room that killed the entire engine room crew and left her dead in the water, unable to avoid further hits. Her main guns were designed to attack at an unprecedented distance of 25 miles, well beyond the range of American battleships. It starts a fire that cannot be extinguished and rips a 60-foot hole in the weather deck. YAMATO increases speed to 22 knots. Yamato'sFinal Voyage Was the Bismarck bigger than the Yamato? At this point, after just a few hours of battle, The explosion was heard over 120 miles away. LtCdr (later Captain) Herbert Houck, the leader of 43 TBM Avengers of VT-9 from YORKTOWN, detaches Lt Thomas Stetsons six Avengers in a final torpedo attack from the ships starboard side. A torpedo stopped her dead in the water and killed the entire engine compartment crew. Very interesting or happy to read about the Yamoto sinking as I was there as radioman aboard an Avenger off of the USS Langley. The escorts cannot defend the flagship either. Of the Japanese destroyers, Asashimo was sunk with all hands (about 330) and Hamakaze sank with a loss of 100 crewmen and 45 wounded (257 were rescued). A heartfelt salute from myself, a navy vet in the 70s! The largest battleships ever built were Yamato and Musashi of the Imperial Japanese Navy. This time, all attacks concentrated on the battleship. At 1014, the Yamato force sighted the two Martin Mariner PBM flying boats, and also noted that Hackleback was still trailing (the Japanese had made so many course changes during the night that the sub was able to cut the corner and maintain contact on the force). On May 6, 1945, a twin-engine kamikaze plane's bomb exploded beside the destroyer Luce, part of the radar picket ship screen surrounding Okinawa, and ripped her starboard side "like a sardine. 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). These (Video: Reuters) When the Japanese fleet approached Midway, the Americans were lying in wait. History of United States Naval Operations in World War II, Vol. The Japanese naval defense plan was code-named named Sho-I-Go ("Victory"), and its objective was simple: Sink the American invasion fleet, maintain the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, and, by doing this, protect Japan from invasion. The ships were to sink as many troop transports as possible, then beach themselves and continue firing as long as they had ammunition. Yahagi lost 446 of about 1,000 crewmen. [1][26] Led by the man who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, Minoru Genda, the appearance of these fighters, which were equal or superior to the F6F Hellcat in performance, surprised the attackers, and several American planes were shot down. The second penetrates the port side of the aft Command station and explodes between the 155-mm gun magazine and main gun turret No. At 1107, Yamatos Type 13 air search radar detected a large aircraft formation inbound at the radars maximum range of 63 nautical miles, and noted the aircraft formation was splitting into two groups. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. 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. 276 men are rescued including Rear Admiral Morishita Nobuei, Chief of Staff, Second Fleet (and former YAMATO skipper). They lost their best battleship, a cruiser, and four destroyers along with nearly 4,200 sailors. After all, she was the What are they doing to assist in defending Okinawa? H-044-3: Operation Heaven Number One (Ten-ichi-go)the Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945. One Avenger is shot down. Since Yamato could not get to the landing area before 8 April, there wasnt a big rush and Deyo convened a planning conference on his flagship Eldorado (AGC-11) at 1030 with plans to sortie TF 54 from the bombardment area at 1530. Yamato had been fitted with multiple air and surface search radars, as well as radio-intercept capability. Eggheads on this subject get "lost in the sauce" going over tables, charts, and math formulas done by researchers after the war shooting rounds into armor plate captured from Japan and Germany,. Living Conditions. most of the American pilots returned to their carriers, knowing Itos chief of staff, Rear Admiral Nobuei Morishita, was the senior survivor of Yamato. Musashi and her sister ship, Yamato, were by a wide margin the largest battleships ever built. Around 3,700-4,250 men from Yamato and her escort ships were dead. An astounding series of explosions onboard Cloud cover precluded accurate firing of the Captain Hara on Yahagi reported that the large formations of aircraft circled around the task force just outside anti-aircraft range for a number of minutes, some in clockwise rotation and some in counter-clockwise rotation, as strike leaders organized strikes on particular targets free of interference from Japanese fighters. 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. Another 110 aircraft from Task Group 58. Japanese naval leaders briefed Emperor Hirohito on their plans, which consisted of massive air attacks, including kamikaze strikes. The Japanese admiral in charge of Operation Ten-Go, Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, disagreed with the plan which essentially was to sail into teeth of the American fleet without the benefit of any air cover and then beach on Okinawa and operate as a static defense in support of the island. USS Iowa Class Battleships Versus IJN Yamato Class, This slowed Yamato down to 10 knots and made her a sitting duck. Agroup of five low-flying Avengers (VT-17) from HORNET (CV-12) start a torpedo run from the port, bearing 70 degrees. Did anyone survive the Yamato sinking? 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. In all, Yamato took 12 bomb and 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). The shocked emperor then asked, But what about the Navy? The FIST of the FLEET where it began during WWII. Thank you to all our WWII vets. Not long after the Hellcat sighting, two PBM-3 Martin Mariner flying boats began shadowing Yamato, maintaining discreet contact for the next five hours while mostly hidden in the clouds. Altogether more effective were Japan's aerial suicide weapons. 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. See what made the ship both seemingly unsinkable and highly vulnerable to attack. 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. At 1232, lookouts in the Yamato force sighted the first incoming strike wave. It was going on the attack totally outnumbered. He just didnt want to talk about the war. Throughout 1943, Yamato continually transferred between Truk, Kure and Brunei in response to American airstrikes on Japanese island bases. torpedoes such that they would penetrate Yamato below the waterline near [26] Heavy antiaircraft defensive fire and the heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the vessel. 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. 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. 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 turns hard to port. One Avenger was shot down, but three torpedoes went into the water. I hope you enjoy the video! The Attack Force changes course due south to 180 degrees. There were few Japanese survivors. 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). While still a token of national pride, the sinking of Yamato also symbolized the sad end of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy. 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. 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. 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. This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes (Kikusui No. The first explodes in the crews quarters abaft the Type 13 radar shack. With the ship in danger of capsizing, the damage control parties counter-flooded the starboard engines and boiler rooms at 1333 hours, drowning hundreds of crew members who were unaware of the move. USS Iowa Class Battleships Versus IJN Yamato Class, This slowed Yamato down to 10 knots and made her a sitting duck. Updated on July 03, 2019. Jan 6, 2019 Conan White, Guest Author. began to flood. Yahagi was commanded by Captain Tameichi Hara (the only Japanese destroyer skipper at the start of the war who was still alive at the end of the war), with Rear Admiral Keizo Komura, commander of Destroyer Squadron 2, embarked. Although the battleship was in no danger of sinking at this point, the list meant that the main battery was unable to fire . 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