She continues to throw up a screen of desperate flak fire. [27] While navigating the Bungo Strait, Yamato and her escorts were spotted by the American submarines Threadfin and Hackleback, both of which notified Task Force 58 of Yamatos position. A Japanese destroyer peeled off three times to keep Hackleback at bay. 4: Factual error; Musashi was sunk on Oct. 23, 1944 in the Sibuyan Sea. I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. All these years later I remember each one of those men fondly and with great respect. [26] Heavy antiaircraft defensive fire and the heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the vessel. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. The rest of the Surface Special Attack Force consisted of the light cruiser Yahagi, and eight destroyers. One Helldiver is shot down, another is damaged badly. World War II would see the aircraft carrier emerge as the key to naval supremacy, supplanting the battleship. The debate up to that point was whether to keep the fleet in home waters as a last-ditch defense or to send it on what everyone knew would be a one-way mission to attack the overwhelming U.S. forces expected to be at Okinawa. The Yahagi was too tempting a target for the hundreds of attacking aircraft. Captain Aruga lashed himself to the binnacle to do the same. . Her nine 18.1-inch guns firing Sanshikidan beehive shells, twenty-four 127-mm. Lieutenant J.G. 1000 hour - The Attack Force sights two large Martin "Mariner" PBM flying boats. She sunk shortly after. Light cruiser Yahagi steered away from Yamato in an attempt to draw attention away from the battleshiptoo successfully. This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes ( Kikusui No. Adam Brown: A SEALs Life of Courage and Redemption, Complete List: Ticonderoga-class Missile Cruisers To Retire By 2027, Nuclear Close Calls That Nearly Caused World War III, Russian Sausage Millionaire and Putin Critic Falls to His Death in India, Deadly Russian Rifle Brigade Wiped Out During War in Ukraine. The first explodes in the crews quarters abaft the Type 13 radar shack. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. TG 58.3, commanded by Rear Admiral Frederick Ted Sherman, embarked on Essex (CV-9), included Bunker Hill (CV-17), Bataan (CVL-24), and Cabot (CVL-28). Torpedoes dropped from their bellies, slashing through the water toward Yamato. Three of the torpedoes hit in quick succession, and Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of water and a 7-degree list. Despite the destruction, the majesty of the ship is unmistakable, symbolized by a six-foot-wide chrysanthemum crest, icon of the Japanese imperial family, still gracing Yamatos prow like a figurehead. The Avengers drop three torpedoes. The light cruiser Yahagi was the first hit, less than fifteen minutes after the firing began. Since Yamato could not get to the landing area before 8 April, there wasnt a big rush and Deyo convened a planning conference on his flagship Eldorado (AGC-11) at 1030 with plans to sortie TF 54 from the bombardment area at 1530. Meanwhile, about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and Avengers worked over some of the other Japanese destroyers. NOVA interviews two survivors of the sinking, who had to meet the most stringent requirements in the Japanese navy to be chosen for the crew. Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. They were also instructed to VA-65 (1948) Air Group II (2) The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; Yamato ' s only . Ten minutes later, two more torpedoes strike her port side. 1 magazine causing a huge explosion with a mushroom smoke cloud that was visible for 100 miles away. April 7, 1945 Sinking of the Battleship Yamato. Itos chief of staff, Rear Admiral Nobuei Morishita, was the senior survivor of Yamato. Yamato maneuvers while under attack by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945, maneuvering evasively at a brisk 15 to 20 knots. While the Americans' 1,000-pound bombs held fearsome destructive power, as seen in Two more destroyers were lost: the Asashimo, which was raked by bomb hits as it was returning to Japan and sank killing its entire crew; and the Kasumi that was heavily damaged and later scuttled. Yahagi capsized and sank shortly after 1400. The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. 1s USS HORNET (CV-12), HANCOCK (CV-19), BENNINGTON (CV-20), BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) and SAN JACINTO (CVL-30) and from Task Group 58. [1], Operation Ten-Go was a deliberate suicide attack against American forces off Okinawa by Yamato and nine escorts, beginning on 6 April 1945. A Corsair from ESSEX drops a 1000-lb GP bomb that hits the superstructure in the port bow area. H-044-3: Operation Heaven Number One (Ten-ichi-go)the Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945. At 1115, Yamatos radar indicated the two air groups were at 44 miles and closing rapidly. These behemoths were triple the tonnage of some other battleships of their day and each one had three turrets, with three huge 18.1 guns per turret. most of the American pilots returned to their carriers, knowing Though incredibly powerful, Yamato suffered from a relatively low top speed as its engines were . the Japanese were aware of Yamato's poor anti-aircraft defense and . went down in the battle, with the loss of just 12 men. This was taken as a yet another bad omen. U.S. aircrew claimed additional bomb and torpedo hits in this first wave, but these were mostly near misses. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. At 0823, a Hellcat fighter off Essex (CV-9) sighted Yamato, a contact that the battleship reported at 0832. VT-17 (1943-45) After a dozen torpedo hits, even the Yamato's The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. Since Yamatos radios were destroyed, Vice Admiral Ito sent out a signal via flag hoist cancelling the operation and freeing the other ships to try to get back to Japan. (The Yamato force had a Nisei radio-intelligence operator. Design and construction Main article: Yamato-class battleship YAMATO is hit by two AP bombs. ), and when they were lost.the bu numbers listed as lost on 4.7.1945 is very extensive!!!!! This photograph was taken in December 1941, shortly In all, Yamato took 12 bomb and In a separate attack, compani Their solution was to bolt a shit load of 25mm open AA gun mounts where ever they could which left the sailor's firing them very exposed to enemy MG's. The USN would rake the hell out of just one side of a BB like Yamato and soften up the AAA for the torpedo planes and dive bombers to attack. With this contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force. Both Rear Admiral Komura and Captain Hara survived. Japanese Battleship Yamato - minutes before sinking. [25][26] Damage to the battleship, however, was light,[25] due in part to the base being defended by elite veteran Japanese fighter instructors flying Kawanishi N1K Shiden or George fighters. She was blasted by 15 bomb hits and eight torpedoes. Naval Academy, The Sullivan Brothers and the Assignment of Family Members, Historic Former U.S. Navy Bases and Stations, The African American Experience in the U.S. Navy, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S. Navy, Contributions of Native Americans to the U.S. Navy, The World Cruise of the Great White Fleet, Navy Underwater Archaeology Return Program, Annual Navy History and Heritage Awards - Main, Research Permits for Sunken & Terrestrial Military Craft, Scanning, Copyright & Citation Information, Obtain Duplications of Records and Photos, H-003-2 Japanese Offensive and Navy Response, H-010-2 The Battle of the Eastern Solomons, H-010-5 Plaque from Samuel B. 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A Curtiss Helldiver bomber like the one seen at right On April 7, 1945, the Japanese battleship Yamato, one of the greatest battleships of its time, is sunk in Japan's first major counteroffensive in the struggle for Okinawa. The Japanese admiral in charge of Operation Ten-Go, Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, disagreed with the plan which essentially was to sail into teeth of the American fleet without the benefit of any air cover and then beach on Okinawa and operate as a static defense in support of the island. Hancock for some reason launched her 53-plane strike late, and it never found Yamato in the murk, reducing the overall first strike to 227 aircraft. Surrounding Japanese ships lost an additional 1,167 men. Throughout 1943, Yamato continually transferred between Truk, Kure and Brunei in response to American airstrikes on Japanese island bases. This time, all attacks concentrated on the battleship. They also mounted numerous smaller guns to . Aruga receives a rare double promotion posthumously to Vice Admiral on the request of Admiral Toyoda. She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. Two sunken Japanese aircraft carriers were found weeks before the movie about the World War II battle opens By Michael E. Ruane November 8, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. EST that ultimately led to the supership's demise. Operation Ten-Go never should have happened. Read Next: The Ultimate Gunfighters! One of her lookouts spots the tracks of four torpedoes approaching. With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! Anatomy of Yamato Japan started the war with 63 ocean-going submarines (i.e., not including midgets), and completed 111 during the war, for a total of 174. The big carriers got all the credit. Instead, military leaders decided to build a secret weapon that could engage many enemy ships at once. The Attack Force turns to course 205, towards Okinawa. Helldivers from BENNINGTON and HORNET attack from port. He just didnt want to talk about the war. The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built. Five Helldivers are damaged by AA fire. DesDiv 17s HAMAKAZE takes a near miss on her starboard quarter that disables her starboard shaft. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane (NH 62581). Sources include: NHHC Dictionary of American Fighting Ships (DANFS) for U.S. ships and combinedfleet.com for Japanese ships. one-third of which were torpedo bombers that hit from low altitudes. The real story of the Yamato sinking March 06, 2008 On April 7, 1945, three southern boys were above the clouds north of Okinawa, 125 miles from the southernmost tip of the main Japanese islands searching for "the largest, heaviest and most powerful battleship ever constructed." Aruga would be posthumously promoted to vice admiral and Ito to full admiral. The aircraft are lost behind the clouds. Suzutsuki suffered 57 dead and 34 wounded, but, despite having her bow blown off, made it back to Sasebo, Japan, steaming in reverse the whole way; she was never repaired. Smoke rises from the vicinity of the mainmast and a bomb explodes in the same area. About 1,620 survivors of Yamato, Yahagi, Hamakaze, Isokaze, and Kasumi were rescued by the surviving Japanese destroyers. During the night, this plan morphed into sending six new battleships detached from TF 58 into blocking position. He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. aircraft's overhead view of its target. *Lighting a path to truth* Former Navy JAG Worldwide U.S. Military Defense. She quickly shipped 2,235 tons of water, but the list was soon corrected with effective counter-flooding. How many US planes were lost sinking the Yamato? Vice Admiral Ito retired to his stateroom to go down with the ship. One of her junior designers tells NOVA he was completely in the dark about the scale of the vessel that he was helping to create: I was building the biggest ship in the world, and I didnt even know it until after the war.. The carriers were among seven ships that went down in the Battle of Midway, a major air and . The final phase of the Pacific war during World War II saw a terrible new tactic: massed kamikaze attacks on American ships by Japanese planes. ), named after an ancient Japanese province, was one of two Yamato-class battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy, beginning in the late 1930s. It said the wreck was in two main pieces, a bow-to-midships section about 560 feet long, and a 264-foot-long stern section. TOKYO Seventy-six years ago, on April 7, 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy vessel Yamato, the world's largest battleship, was sunk by U.S. military aircraft. Fourteen F4U Chance-Vought Corsairs from BUNKER HILL strafe and rocket YAMATO but cause only minor damage. Yamato was commanded by Captain Kosaku Aruga (spelled Ariga in some accounts). Eight Japanese destroyers and one cruiser, the Yahagi (left), tried to assist Yamato in fending off her attackers. Armor-piercing and other bombs make a shambles of her upper works. See what made the ship both seemingly unsinkable and highly vulnerable to attack. producing the blasts that tore the ship in half and sank her. This time all the attacks are concentrated against the battleship. Ito was posthumously promoted to full admiral. Yamato (, lit. An astounding series of explosions onboard The submarine radio traffic transmitted in the clear, reporting Yamato by name, and reported by Japanese radio intelligence, did nothing to improve the sense of foreboding felt by the senior officers on Yamato. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed. naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. The sinking of the Yamato on April 7 conclusively signaled the end of the "all-big-gun" battleship era of naval warfare. Her secondary armament . Six Yorktown Avengers attacked from the starboard side, with their Mark 13 torpedoes re-set for a 20-foot depthseveral hit. They would launch the worlds largest battleship, the Yamato with its enormous 18-inch guns, one light cruiser, and eight destroyers against the enormous American fleet. The Americans lost 10 aircraft, while one aircraft carrier, one battleship, and one destroyer were damaged. Combined with Yamato, about 4,242 Japanese sailors gave their lives for the emperor on 7 April. Of the Japanese destroyers, Asashimo was sunk with all hands (about 330) and Hamakaze sank with a loss of 100 crewmen and 45 wounded (257 were rescued). concentrate their torpedoes on just one of Yamato's sides, an approach Asashimo went down with all 330 hands. A heartfelt salute from myself, a navy vet in the 70s! Isokaze, which had her steering disabled by a near miss, suffered 20 dead and 54 wounded, and had to be scuttled by gunfire from Yukikaze. The Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Ito, orders the mission cancelled and directs the remaining ships to pick up as many survivors as possible. (Based on erroneous San Jacinto report, Samuel Eliot Morison misidentifies this ship as Hamakaze, but a photo shows a Yugumo-class destroyer, which would be Asashimo, and which was also the one lagging behind.). Light cruiser YAHAGI, hit by 12 bombs and seven torpedoes sinks exactly one minute after the last bomb hits. My dads name is Ronald R. LeFebvre (Ding). Captain Hara on Yahagi reported that the large formations of aircraft circled around the task force just outside anti-aircraft range for a number of minutes, some in clockwise rotation and some in counter-clockwise rotation, as strike leaders organized strikes on particular targets free of interference from Japanese fighters. The Yamato group cranked up speed to 25 knots. The once-proud Japanese Imperial Navy that Americans feared would threaten the West Coast, was largely driven across the Pacific and now operated mainly from its home waters. The fighter issued a contact report at 0832. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. TG 58.4 had just finished refueling and would arrive just in time. As luck would have it, he said, the big ship was turning to port, thereby exposing the full broadside expanse of her enormous hull to the converging torpedoes.. Vice Admiral Ito and YAMATOs skipper Captain Aruga and 3,055 of 3,332 crewmen are lost. Only 10 American aircraft The Attack Force changes course due south to 180 degrees. Turret #1 can also be seen upfront. The attack lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. He asked what the Japanese navy was doing. The attack on Pearl Harbor 71 years ago left a tangled mess of burning and shattered warships. 7. YAMATO and YAHAGI open fire, increase speed to 24 knots and commence a series of sharp evasive maneuvers. Yamato (), named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. Now I know a little bit. [5] Shortly afterward, a second strike of 100 aircraft attacked Yamato and her remaining escorts. This particular image was taken during an earlier battle with American carrier aircraft on October 24, 1944 as Yamato transited the Sibuyan Sea. Her main armament consisted of three triple 18.1-inch gun turrets that could hurl a 3,200-pound shell (compared to 2,700 pounds for the U.S. 16-inch shells) to a range of just over 22 miles. The engagement was an unmitigated disaster for the Japanese. 1300 hour YAMATO changes course to 180 degrees, due South. Another 110 aircraft from Task Group 58. Yamato was hit with three more torpedoes. Support Veteran Journalism . Praesidus brings homage to the military watch tradition. The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal. They were also given the option of not participating, an option none of them took. miles southwest of Kyushu, Japan. Although the battleship was in no danger of sinking at this point, the list meant that the main battery was unable to fire . The execute order for Operation Ten-ichi-go (Heaven Number One) was intercepted on 26 March 1945 and decrypted. 0800 hour The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). The battleship and its sister, Musashi, were the only battleships ever constructed with 18.1" guns. seven torpedo hits within two hours of battle. It's cable. 276 men are rescued including Rear Admiral Morishita Nobuei, Chief of Staff, Second Fleet (and former YAMATO skipper). Lieutenant J.G. Flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, she was lead ship of the Yamato class. At 1232, lookouts in the Yamato force sighted the first incoming strike wave. Yamato was essentially doomed by a question from Emperor Hirohito during a briefing on 29 March about plans for Japanese air opposition to expected landings on Okinawa. [1] When the 1st Battleship Division was deactivated once again on 10 February, Yamato was reassigned to the 1st Carrier Division. At 1417, she took an eighth and ninth torpedo, both to port. Jocko Clark, embarked on Hornet (CV-12), included Hancock (CV-19), Bennington (CV-20), Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and San Jacinto (CVL-30). blasts were perhaps the largest ever to occur at sea. 4s YORKTOWN (CV-10), INTREPID (CV-11), LANGLEY (CVL-27) engage the Attack Force. ship's aft turrets. At about 1237, U.S. aircraft commenced attack runs, with strafing and rockets from fighters (which quickly began decimating Japanese anti-aircraft gunners), and then bombs and torpedoes. It had been deployed on a Surface Special Attack Force suicide mission to drive back U.S. forces that had landed on Okinawa. The Imperial Japanese Navy's super-battleship Yamato, shown here during pre-commission running trials in the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, 20 October 1941 (NH 73092). VA-6B (1946) 1100 hour YAMATOs Type 13 air search radar operator reports contact with a large aircraft formation at his sets maximum range of 63 miles. Torpedoes explode against Yamato's port side strafe the battleship with bullets and drop 1,000-pound bombs. One Avenger is shot down but her barrage is largely ineffective because each AA battery fires independently without coordination. Altogether more effective were Japan's aerial suicide weapons. The age of the carrier was now confirmed. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. The first U.S. attack wave ended about 1250. Her main guns were designed to attack at an unprecedented distance of 25 miles, well beyond the range of American battleships. Was the Bismarck bigger than the Yamato? The result was arguably the largest suicide mission in history. two Japanese aircraft carriers Deep sea explorers have found two Japanese aircraft carriers that were sunk in battle in World War Two. One of the torpedo planes took a hit in the wing, pulled up in flames, then plunged into the sea. The emperors question clinched it. Constructed from 1937 1940 and formally commissioned in late 1941, Yamato served as the flagship of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto throughout 1942, first sailing as part of the Combined Fleet during the Battle of Midway in June 1942. Just then, eight F6F Hellcats appear and begin circling over the force to maintain contact until the main formation arrives. Two other destroyers were heavily damaged, one, the Hamakaze later sank. How many ships does a Yamato sink have? The Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was the largest battleship in the world at the time. Relive the super battleship's last moments in photographs. Thank you to all the brave men and women of the US armed forces! The Japanese fighters were unable to make contact before they left at 1000. [5] The smoke from the explosionover 4miles (6.4km) highwas seen 100miles (160km) away on Kysh. At 1000 hours he launched a total of 386 aircraft consisting of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers. He suggests the order to abandon ship be given. The desperate measure worked, but, with insufficient time to give warning, several hundred Yamato crewmen were drowned as a result, and the ship was slowed to 10 knots, which made her an easier target. Where is the wreck of the Yamato? Eggheads on this subject get "lost in the sauce" going over tables, charts, and math formulas done by researchers after the war shooting rounds into armor plate captured from Japan and Germany,. Being young, I took it all for granted. Executive Officer Nomura Jiro reports to Captain Aruga that his damage control officers are all dead and that counter-flooding can no longer correct the list. At 0657, destroyer Asashimo, with Captain Kotaki, DESDIV 21, embarked, sent a signal that she was having engine trouble and began to fall behind. They would launch the worlds largest battleship, the Yamato with its enormous 18-inch guns, one light cruiser, and eight destroyers against the enormous American fleet. What The Hell is Wrong with Steven Seagal? 1200 hour A lookout spots three Japanese troopships on bearing 0250 heading for Amami-Oshima. Vice Admiral Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. The destroyers were Destroyer Division (DESDIV) 17 (Isokaze, Hamakaze, Yukikaze), DESDIV 21 (Asashimo, Kasumi, Hatsushimo), and DESDIV 41 (Fuyuzuki, Suzutsuki). A near miss on Hamakaze disabled her starboard shaft and then, at 1247, torpedo hits amidships blew her in half. Fuyutsuki was hit by two dud rockets. 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On 7 April 1945 spots the tracks of four torpedoes approaching men with herall but 269 of her upper.! Torpedoes on just one of those men fondly and with great respect about feet... Only minor damage, about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and Avengers worked over some of Japanese... Fire and the Heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the 1st carrier....