4/7/1945 Japanese super battleship Yamato is sunk

Ultradog MN · Apr 7, 2017

Small piece.
3 hometown flyboys put a torpedo into the Yamato.
Click here

big tee · Apr 7, 2017

Good story-Thanks. Go Navy-------------Tee PS--Payback!!!

cumminspuller · Apr 7, 2017

Good story! Thanks for posting Ultradog

Fritz Maurer · Apr 7, 2017

Ok, I need a history lesson. I had always heard the Bismark was the largest ship. I had never heard of the Scharnhorst until a couple years ago, and that was supposed to be even bigger. Now the Yamato is the biggest? Which is it?

Jon Erickson · Apr 7, 2017

Truly interesting story. Thanks for posting it.

CGID · Apr 7, 2017

The Japanese made the biggest battleships - the sister ships Yamato and Musashi. The Musashi was sunk in the battle of Leyte Gulf. By international treaty, naval guns were limited to 16 inches. Both of the Japanese ships had three, three gun turrets of 18.1 inch/460mm guns. Neither ship went toe to toe with another battleship. They were both destroyed from the air.

Billy Shafer · Apr 7, 2017

The Bismark carried 15 inch guns. The largest for the time. The Yamato carried 18 inch guns. The largest of all times.

I met a man in a nursing home in Dallas. His job was to take photos of the attack. Showed me some in his photo book. Told me that during the attack. It looked like a swarm of bees attacking a city block. Said the Yamato took one hell of a beating before it went down.

Ultradog MN · Apr 7, 2017

Yamato Class = 71,000 tons full load.
Iowa Class = 57,000 tons full load.
Bismark Class = 51,000 tons full load.
Scharnhorst Class = 38,000 tons full load.
Baddest battleship

Married2Allis · Apr 7, 2017

Wow great story. Crazy n i p s.

jeffcat · Apr 7, 2017

Yes the Yamamoto was the biggest thing out there. Also her sister ship. The Japanese also built The biggest submarines during WW II. had sisters that were close to 400 feet long, twin hulls. That means two subs glued together side by side. They also carried three fold up airplanes. The class I-400.

37chief · Apr 7, 2017

Great information. Admiral Yamamoto said after the bombing of Pearl Harbor: we have awakened a sleeping giant. He was right. Another big loss for Japan was at the battle of Midway. I hope some countries will now realize, don't mess with the United states. Stan

rbhuntn · Apr 7, 2017

The Germans never really learned how to use their surface to the best effect. Hitler wanted them to project power and was to protective. They spent a ton of time in various harbors in the North Sea protecting the harbors after the Brits started the commando raids there. Hitler thought that the invasion would be at the harbors instead of beaches.

He didn't learn anything from the landings in Italy.

RodinNS · Apr 7, 2017

That's a rather charitable take on things....

Another way to look at it.... is that the German surface Fleet was no match for Royal Navy. Germany may have had more powerful, technically
superior battle ships, but they were numerically inferior. Britain had more ships plus aircraft carriers that made capital ships very
vulnerable. To put it politely, after the loss of Bismark, the remainder of the surface fleet spent the remainder of the war HIDING in the
Norwegian fjords... under cover of the Luftwaffe, where the Royal Navy dare not go... and out of range of the Royal Air Force. And in spite
of that the Brits still succeeded in sinking the Tirpitz, at anchor... in one of those fjords. Germany paid a heavy price for the Hood.

Rod

rbhuntn · Apr 7, 2017

(quoted from post at 10:55:27 04/07/17) That's a rather charitable take on things....

Another way to look at it.... is that the German surface Fleet was no match for Royal Navy. Germany may have had more powerful, technically
superior battle ships, but they were numerically inferior. Britain had more ships plus aircraft carriers that made capital ships very
vulnerable. To put it politely, after the loss of Bismark, the remainder of the surface fleet spent the remainder of the war HIDING in the
Norwegian fjords... under cover of the Luftwaffe, where the Royal Navy dare not go... and out of range of the Royal Air Force. And in spite
of that the Brits still succeeded in sinking the Tirpitz, at anchor... in one of those fjords. Germany paid a heavy price for the Hood.

Rod

Maybe I was being to easy on them. I do agree with your assessments.

As to the price for the HMS Hood, The guys on the Bismark paid a terrible price. Once the Bismark was disabled the other ships came close enough that they used their big guns like rifles punching holes through the Bismark and punished the Bismark badly rather than just sink it. It was finally sunk by a torpedo.

rbhuntn · Apr 7, 2017

Had family members that fought in both Europe and Pacific theaters.

One and part of his squad got caught up in a battle in Europe and was behind German lines for a few weeks during winter. Got his feet froze but never captured. His feet never really recovered. Died young.

Other one (my uncle) was in the army on Guadalcanal fighting the when the army first deployed there. He would occasionally tell of the Banzai charges but no details. He later was in the Army Air Corps as a bomber crew member. Pilot if I remember correctly after getting a battlefield commission. Never talked about either at any length. I suspect he went through to much.

One thing I can remember him saying is that he respected the them for their bravery and fighting ability.

4wdtom · Apr 7, 2017

Reed the book Freedom's Forge, describing the sleeping giant coming awake and manufacturing the equipment needed to win a war on two fronts.

JerryS · Apr 7, 2017

I like the second part of Yamamoto's statement: "I fear all we have done is to awaken a sleeping giant AND FILL HIM WITH A TERRIBLE RESOLVE." He had no idea how terrible. I wonder if this generation could muster such resolve in a similar circumstance.

CGID · Apr 7, 2017

Yamamoto was educated in the U.S. and had served in D.C. as Japan's naval attache'. He was well acquainted with the manufacturing potential of the U.S. and our seemingly unlimited agricultural potential. Between 1941 and '45, Iowa alone doubled its agricultural production. Before things even started, Yamamoto's knowledge of these two factors is what led him to state that Japan had no chance to win a protracted war against the U.S. Germany failed in attempt to take Eastern Europe and Russia for their resources, including their agricultural land. While anything above ground in Germany and Japan was being bombed into dust, their soldiers and civilians were starving. U.S. farmers won the war as much as any manufacturer did.

RodinNS · Apr 7, 2017

Yes, the story goes that HMS Rodney was punching 16" holes at 3000 yards.... Debate remains, I believe.. about what actually put Bismark
under. The Brits claim torpedo while the Germans claim to have set the charges. Seems to me, in a doc I watched on the subject.. that when
Bob Ballard explored the wreck they more or less concluded that it had been sunk from within. To me, the point is moot. If the Germans didn't
sink it themselves, the Royal Navy would have shortly succeeded.

Rod

jeffcat · Apr 7, 2017

Hard to imagine that only three guys survived.

mj · Apr 7, 2017

I have always been of the opinion that the American PEOPLE came together and united as one to insure that our fighting forces had what they needed to defeat the Axis nations (including sustenance). I also firmly believe that the Germans were so smitten with the idea of 'German Precision' that they created a smaller number of tanks, planes, submarines, etc. When their works of 'mechanical art' were confronted by swarms of Sherman tanks, the cheap, 'inferior' Shermans won by sheer numbers. When the Russian T-34 appeared in vast numbers it was an ugly, crude club of a beast BUT it not only proved equal to the best the Germans had, BUT it was produced in vastly greater quantities.

I think that the idea of Aryan Superiority and the invincibility of Imperial Japan as espoused by those in power led them to believe that Americans, Brits, Russians, Jews, Finns and a host of others were subhuman mongrels
that didn't stand a chance in stopping them in their quest for world domination. How wrong they were! :roll:

Texasmark1 · Apr 7, 2017

The Sherman was no match for the Panzer. One shot and they're toast. They survived because of manueverability, sheer numbers and most of
all TRUE GRIT FROM THEIR CREWS! When all else fails ingenuity of the fighting man comes out on top. History if full of heros.

mj · Apr 8, 2017

(quoted from post at 19:40:39 04/07/17) The Sherman was no match for the Panzer. One shot and they're toast. They survived because of manueverability, sheer numbers and most of
all TRUE GRIT FROM THEIR CREWS! When all else fails ingenuity of the fighting man comes out on top. History if full of heros.

Okay, all of that too, then! :roll: AND I never said that the Sherman was a match for the Panzer! I guess my post was mis-interpreted or you've got a burr under your saddle! :?

4/7/1945 Japanese super battleship Yamato is sunk

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