The Yamato-class battleships were built by the Imperial Japanese Navy at the Kure and Yokosuka naval arsenals and the Mitsubishi shipyard in Nagasaki, with the lead ship Yamato commissioned in 1941 and her sister Musashi in 1942. At nearly 72,000 long tons fully loaded, they were the heaviest battleships ever built, and their nine 460mm main guns, the largest naval artillery ever mounted on a warship, could fire a shell more than 42 kilometers. Musashi was sunk by American air strikes at the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944 after absorbing 17 bomb and 19 torpedo hits, and Yamato was sunk in April 1945 during Operation Ten-Go by a strike of 386 American carrier aircraft, with the loss of roughly 2,498 of her crew; a third hull intended for the class was instead completed as the aircraft carrier Shinano, which was sunk by the American submarine USS Archerfish in November 1944 within days of entering service.
Facts
Weapon Class Introduced YearYamato was laid down in 1937 and commissioned in December 1941; 1941 (commissioning, when the class entered service) is used here. Classification
Service Status Weapon Class
Weapon Class (category) FAQs
What was Yamato supposed to do on its final mission in April 1945?
Fight its way to Okinawa, beach itself and serve as a shore battery until destroyed.
Under the plan for its last sortie, Yamato and the other remaining large Japanese warships were to fight their way to Okinawa and then beach themselves, continuing to fight as shore batteries until they were destroyed.
Connections
Associated With
World War II, Wars The Yamato-class battleships, the largest ever built, fought and were ultimately sunk in the Pacific campaigns of World War II
Operated By
Source Wikipedia: Yamato-Class Battleship
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Yamato-Class Battleship
WikipediaLead paragraph, first sentence
was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before World War II
Lead paragraph, second sentence
She was laid down in 1937 and formally commissioned a week after the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
- Weapon class classified from the entity's own sourced description text.
Lead
Yamato (Japanese: 大和; named after the ancient Yamato Province) was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing nearly 72,000 tonnes (71,000 long tons) at full load and armed with nine 46 cm (18.1 in) Type 94 main guns, which were the largest guns ever mounted on a warship.
Operated By: Imperial Japanese Navy, Article text
Yamato (Japanese: 大和; named after the ancient Yamato Province) was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before World War II.
In Group: Battleships and Ironclads, Lead sentence
Yamato (Japanese: 大和; named after the ancient Yamato Province) was the lead ship of her class of battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) shortly before World War II. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing nearly 72,000 tonnes (71,000 long tons) at full load and armed with nine 46 cm (18.1 in) Type 94 main guns, which were the largest guns ever mounted on a warship.
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