Japanese sailors said that in their history people built the three biggest and at the same time the most useless things: the pyramids at Giza, the Great Wall of China and the battleship Yamato. How did this majestic warship, the pride of the Japanese shipbuilding industry and the flagship of its navy, deserve such an ironic attitude?
Creation idea
The battleship "Yamato" was a product of the experience of naval battles of the First World War. Then, not only in Japan, but throughout the rest of the world, it was believed that only heavy guns and armor of battleships were able to ensure dominance at sea. On the wave of success in the Russo-Japanese War, the admir alty of the Land of the Rising Sun believed that the Japanese fleet was able to withstand any enemy, even such an industrial giant as the United States. However, there was also an understanding that the industry of the island would never be able to compete with the American one, which means that the numerical superiority would definitely not be in favor of the imperial fleet. In order to neutralize the numerical advantage of the enemy, it was decidedfocus on quality excellence. According to Japanese strategists, the capacity of the Panama Canal limited the displacement of ships passing through it. This means that US battleships could not have a displacement of more than 63,000 tons, a speed of more than 23 knots, and the most powerful armament could only consist of ten guns of a caliber of no more than 406 mm. Rightly believing that, at equal costs, an increase in the displacement of the ship would significantly increase its combat power and thereby compensate for the numerical superiority of the enemy, the Japanese planned a series of super battleships, the lead of which was to be the battleship Yamato.
Grand plans
The construction of the latest battleships was to begin no later than 1936. In total, seven ships were planned in the first series, armed with nine 460 mm guns, with armor that could withstand a 406 mm projectile from a distance of 20 km and a speed of more than 30 knots. By 1941, it was planned to transfer them to the fleet. This was followed by the construction of four more giants, but with guns of 20 inches (~ 508 mm). They were supposed to enter service in 1946, and until 1951, previously built battleships were converted to new powerful guns. The implementation of this plan, according to Japanese experts, made it possible to maintain at least parity with the US Navy in the Pacific Ocean. But in reality, only four ships of the series were laid down, and only two of them were built - the Yamato battleship and the Musashi battleship, the unfinished hull of the third was converted into the Shinano aircraft carrier, and the fourth did not even get a name. Bothships reached full combat readiness by 1942.
Combat career
When the battleship "Yamato" became the flagship of the imperial fleet, the war in the Pacific had already reached its climax. And the Japanese fleet achieved all its grandiose victories through naval aviation, and by no means in skirmishes of battleships moving in a wake column. Superlinkors simply did not find a place in the new war, and their fate was obviously sad. Having taken part in several combat operations of the fleet, the Yamato (battleship) could not demonstrate its qualities anywhere, and was practically just an expensive floating headquarters.
The death of the battleship "Yamato"
April 7, 1945, the ship set off on its last voyage. It was attacked by 200 American planes and during a two-hour battle received hits from 12 heavy bombs and about ten aircraft torpedoes. Then he sank along with 2498 sailors and his commander.
