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YAMATO　 大和

The Imperial Japanese Navy, pursuing a goal of quality to offset the numerical advantage o the US Navy, started work in 1934 on a design of battleship to outclass any possible opponent. The ships were to be faster, better armoured and have longer-range guns, but the only way in which these qualities could be achieved would be to breach the existing international treaty limits of 35,000 tons and 406-mm (16-in) guns. The design evolved to meet the requirement displaced 64,000 tons and was armed with nine 460-mm (18.1-in) guns capable of hitting the target at 48 km (30 miles). The protection was on an equally massive scale, with 410-mm (16,14-in) belt armour and 650-mm (25,6-in) face plates on the turrets. To get the ships built without alarming the Americans and British required total secrecy, the theory being that if Japan refused to ratify the next naval treaty in 1936 and had the ships ready by 1940 (when all tonnage limits expired) nobody could accuse the Japanese of cheating. It was also assumed that if the new ships were longer and wider than the locks of the Panama Canal the US Navy would be unable to build battleships of equivalent power, and would be unable to oppose the Japanese Fleet in the Pacific without the enormous expense (and delay) of widening the Panama Canal.

Two ships, IJN Yamato and IJN Musashi, were ordered under the 3rd Reinforcement Programme of 1937. Yamato was laid down in November1937, launched in August 1940 and completed in December 1941, just over a week after Pearl Harbor. She was Admiral Yamamoto's flagship at the Battle of Midway, but turned back before getting within gun-range of the American carriers. Yamato was torpedoed by the USS Skate in February 1944 but repairs were completed in time for her to take part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea in June 1944, in Vanguard Force of the 1st Mobile Fleet, The Yamato, Musashi and Nagato formed the main strength of Vice-Admiral Kurita's Force A' in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, and Yamato fired her 460-mm (18.1-in) guns for the first and last time at surface targets when she engaged American light forces. However, poor visibility prevented her from using her monster guns to good effect, Her last sortie was a suicide mission from the Home Islands to Okinawa, but long before she could achieve anything she was sunk on 7 April 1945 by massive air strikes.

Specification Yamato

Displacement: 64,000 tons standard, 69,988 tons full load

Dimensions: length 263,0 m (863 ft) overall; beam 38,9 m (127 ft 9 in); draught 10.45 m (34 ft 3 in)

Machinery: 4-shaft geared steam turbines delivering 150,000 shp (111895kW)

Speed: 27 kts

Armour: belt 100-410 mm (3.94 - 16.14 in); 

bulkheads 300-350 mm (11.8 - 13.78 in);

decks 200-230 mm (7.87 - 9.06 in);

barbettes 380-560 mm (14.96 - 22.05 in);

turrets 190-650 mm (7.48 - 25.6 in);

conning tower 75-500 mm (2.95 - 19,7 in)

Armament: nine 460-mm (18.1-in), 12 155-mm(6.1-in)DP,

12 127-mm(5-in) AA,

24 25-mm AA and four 13-mm

(0.52-in)AAguns

Aircraft: six floatplanes

Complement: 2,500 officers and men