Weighing 72,800 tons and outfitted with nine 18.1-inch guns, the battleship Yamato was Japanâs only hope of destroying the Allied fleet off the coast of Okinawa. But insufficient air cover and fuel cursed the endeavor as a suicide mission. Struck by 19 American aerial torpedoes, it was sunk, drowning 2,498 of its crew.
At 12:32 on 7 April 1945, Yamato was attacked by a first wave of 280 aircraft from Task Force 58, taking three hits (two bombs, one torpedo). By 14:00, two of Yamatoâs escorts had been sunk. Shortly afterward, a second strike of 100 aircraft attacked Yamato and her remaining escorts. At 14:23, having taken 10 torpedo and 7 bomb hits, Yamatoâs forward ammunition magazines detonated. The smoke from the explosionâover 4 miles highâwas seen 100 miles away on KyÅ«shÅ«. An estimated 2,498 of the 2,700 crew members on Yamato were lost, including Vice-Admiral Seiichi ItÅ, the fleet commander.
Yamato (大å), named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, she was lead ship of the Yamato class. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the largest and heaviest battleships ever constructed.
MILITARY HSITORY SOCIETY OF ROCHESTER
ROCHESTERMILITARY.COM
