I am fortunate to be living as long as I have , I know us WWII vets are living on borrowed time, but glad to be of sound mind yet and can remember incidents like this. In the interviews below, meet two Yamato veterans still haunted by memories of the battle that took most of their comrades lives. 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. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. Jan 6, 2019 Conan White, Guest Author. At 1232, lookouts in the Yamato force sighted the first incoming strike wave. By this time, there wasnt much left of the Japanese navy that was still operational, and fuel was in critically short supply. Lieutenant J.G. Legendary Lost Japanese WWII Battleship Found by Billionaire Paul Allen.The search was funded by Paul Allen, the Microsoft co . Surrounding Japanese ships lost an additional 1,167 men. What are they doing to assist in defending Okinawa? With the steering locked to port and the ship doomed, Admiral Ito at 1402 hours ordered the crew to abandon ship. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); Our web site is dedicated to the memory of Harry D. Jones (1922-2012), VT-17 pilot during WWII. (Remember, the US lost 10 planes and 12 men sinking Yamato out of more than 300 aircraft) There is no logical reason to do this. 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). My dad was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened in the war. The morale aboard Yamato was described as not being very good, especially after the crews were informed they were on a one-way mission. The attack of hundreds of US air force against Japan made Japan's biggest battleship Yamato sink. They were also given the option of not participating, an option none of them took. The Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was the largest battleship in the world at the time. Her auxiliary rudder is jammed in position hard port. that ultimately led to the supership's demise. When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. One of the surviving destroyers did not have a bow. guns ever mounted at sea. 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. This is the first wave of 280 aircraft (132 fighters, 50 bombers, 98 torpedo planes) from Task Group 58. Relive the super battleship's last moments in photographs. Very interesting or happy to read about the Yamoto sinking as I was there as radioman aboard an Avenger off of the USS Langley. Embarking from Kure, Yamato was to beach herself near Okinawa, and act as an unsinkable gun-emplacementbombarding American forces on Okinawa with her 18.1-inch heavy-guns. Aboard the TF 58 carriers, the strike packages were remaining ready on deck while the searches were underway. of the battleship gives a sense of the 18-inch guns' enormous size (note sailors on deck). [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. [26] Heavy antiaircraft defensive fire and the heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the vessel. 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." 74, although many begged to stay. Though incredibly powerful, Yamato suffered from a relatively low top speed as its engines were . She sunk shortly after. Vice Admiral Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. 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 Thank you to all our WWII vets. She takes on a heavy list to port and her speed drops to 18 knots. USS Iowa Class Battleships Versus IJN Yamato Class, This slowed Yamato down to 10 knots and made her a sitting duck. 276 men are rescued including Rear Admiral Morishita Nobuei, Chief of Staff, Second Fleet (and former YAMATO skipper). Fifty aircraft from ESSEX and BATAAN are sighted approaching from the SSW, range 18.5 miles. At 1107, Yamatos Type 13 air search radar detected a large aircraft formation inbound at the radars maximum range of 63 nautical miles, and noted the aircraft formation was splitting into two groups. Three Japanese destroyers are nearby (80-G-413914). Another 110 planes appeared ready for the kill. 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. A total of 10 U.S. aircraft were shot down by anti-aircraft fire from the Japanese ships; some aircrews were rescued by seaplane or submarine. battleship's guns. 7, 1945 south of Kyushu. She ships about 3,000-tons of seawater. YAMATOs No. The shocked emperor then asked, But what about the Navy? With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. I stumbled on this article and I finally know a little about this battle. This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes ( Kikusui No. The first attack wave retires. Ito was posthumously promoted to full admiral. Updated on July 03, 2019. It had been deployed on a Surface Special Attack Force suicide mission to drive back U.S. forces that had landed on Okinawa. 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. How many planes were lost attacking the Yamato? During the night, this plan morphed into sending six new battleships detached from TF 58 into blocking position. As Yamato continued to list to port, her starboard armor belt came out of the water and her vulnerable underside became exposed. On 29 March, Yamato was ordered to take on fuel and ammunition, and loaded 1,170 shells for her nine 18.1-inch guns (in three triple turrets), 1,629 shells for her six 6.1-inch guns (in two triple turrets), 13,500 anti-aircraft shells, and 11.5 million rounds of machine-gun ammunition. The Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Ito, orders the mission cancelled and directs the remaining ships to pick up as many survivors as possible. 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. Three of the torpedoes hit in quick succession, and Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of water and a 7-degree list. When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese One Avenger is shot down but her barrage is largely ineffective because each AA battery fires independently without coordination. 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. H-044-3: Operation Heaven Number One (Ten-ichi-go)the Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945. These Before getting underway, the Surface Special Attack Force put ashore 67 recently arrived midshipmen of the Etajima Naval Academy Class No. The Attack Force turns towards Sasebo. According to the plan, Yamato, light cruiser Yahagi, and eight destroyers would form a Surface Special Attack Force (the term special attack was understood to mean suicide) and sortie on 6 April 1945. Design and construction Main article: Yamato-class battleship It starts a fire that cannot be extinguished and rips a 60-foot hole in the weather deck. Did anyone survive the Yamato sinking? [5] Shortly afterward, a second strike of 100 aircraft attacked Yamato and her remaining escorts. Damage Control counter-floods both starboard engine and boiler rooms and almost entirely corrects the list. 3s USS ESSEX (CV-9), BUNKER HILL (CV-17), BATAAN (CVL-24) and CABOT (CVL-28). All ships increase speed to 25 knots and commence a simultaneous turn. THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , When the U.S. invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945, the Japanese had, So, the admirals concocted what they termed, Operation Ten-Go (Operation Heaven One). Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States, a battle group of eight aircraft carriers, her enormous hull to the converging torpedoes. Most of her engineering drawings have disappeared and few photographs survive, making Yamatos exact dimensions and design a mystery. 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. Sources include: NHHC Dictionary of American Fighting Ships (DANFS) for U.S. ships and combinedfleet.com for Japanese ships. The light cruiser YAHAGI, without headway, drifts helplessly behind the main force. Asashimo went down with all 330 hands. The Attack Force changes course to 100 degrees. TG 58.2 was in the act of refueling and wouldnt get there in time. (The actual U.S. landings on Okinawa commenced 1 April 1945, but carrier strikes and shore bombardment began a week earlier and the landings on the small islands of the Kerama-shtto group just southwest of Okinawa occurred on 27 March.). Baka claimed its first victim, the destroyer USS Abele, in the seas off Okinawa on April 12. They unanimously objected, most of them arguing instead to be allowed to conduct independent raiding of the over-extended U.S. supply lines. The first wave of the attack resulted in two bomb and one torpedo hits on the Yamato which had increased her speed to flank in an attempt to make her a harder target to hit. settled on the seafloor 1,200 feet down and about 50 By this point, the uncorrected list was passing 15 degrees to port, and alarms were warning of critical temperatures in the forward main battery magazines, with no working pumps to flood them. The carriers were among seven ships that went down in the Battle of Midway, a major air and sea battle fought between the US and Japan in 1942. More U.S. aircraft may have been knocked down by the magazine explosion than by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. I Served On An LST During This Period Of Time & Locations Mentioned In This Article , But I Still Like Too Hear Of The Actual Events That Took Part That Day In April 1945. Throughout 1943, Yamato continually transferred between Truk, Kure and Brunei in response to American airstrikes on Japanese island bases. Yahagi was commanded by Captain Tameichi Hara (the only Japanese destroyer skipper at the start of the war who was still alive at the end of the war), with Rear Admiral Keizo Komura, commander of Destroyer Squadron 2, embarked. I hope you enjoy the video! By dawn on April 7, Asashimo, one of the destroyers developed engine trouble and started heading back to port in Japan. Another 110 planes appeared ready for the kill. At 0840, the Japanese reported seven Hellcats orbiting around the force. In total, 97 combatants were killed and 122 wounded. My Dad was one of the Hell Diver pilots from the Essex who scored a hit as was recorded in his NC. 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). THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ In total, the U.S. lost 12 men. Yamato's injuries were fatal. There are many stories about the sinking of the Japanese battleship Yamato. 3. YAMATO, despite hits by two bombs and one torpedo, maintains flank speed. The aft secondary battery fire control, secondary gun turret and the air search radar are knocked out. One of her lookouts spots the tracks of four torpedoes approaching. But even as Deyo was deploying his force, Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, the commander of Task Force 58 (TF 58), acting completely on his own without orders from Spruance, launched a massive airstrike using all eight of his carriers to attempt to strike a deathblow. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. 1,000 watertight compartments couldn't save her, and her lower decks rapidly Thirty-four Hellcats, 22 Helldivers and one Corsair attack YAMATOs escorts. The Americans lost a total of only 10 aircraft four Helldivers, three Avengers, and three Hellcats and 12 men. Yamato'sFinal Voyage Meanwhile, the dead-in-the-water Yahagi had soaked up at least 12 bombs and seven torpedo hits before she finally capsized and sank at 1405. Below are some of those stories and some links to other web sites with more stories about the ship and its final day, April 7, 1945. Japanese Battleship Yamato - minutes before sinking. It would not be enough. She was blasted by 12 bombs and six more torpedos. >. Combined with Yamato, about 4,242 Japanese sailors gave their lives for the emperor on 7 April. I Was At Okinawa At This Time. I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. Note the fire in one of the By early 1945, the Japanese Empire was shrinking daily and the war had reached its home shores. Quickly spotted by Allied aircraft, Yamato and its consorts were subjected to a series of heavy air attacks that resulted in the loss of the battleship and most of its supporting ships. The Americans lose 10 aircraft and 12 crewmen. [1] When the 1st Battleship Division was deactivated once again on 10 February, Yamato was reassigned to the 1st Carrier Division. Breaking the news to the Emperor, a Japanese admiral was asked, what about the fleet? The admiral had to admit, the Japanese fleet had ceased to exist as a fighting formation. A lookout spots American planes 25 degrees to port, levation 8, range 4,375 yards, moving to port. The Attack Force turns to course 205, towards Okinawa. began to flood. The Japanese fighters were unable to make contact before they left at 1000. He suggests the order to abandon ship be given. The element of surprise was gone for the Japanese. Anatomy of Yamato 1 magazine explodes and sends up a cloud of smoke seen 100 miles away. For executive producer Keiko Bang, making this film was cathartic. She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. sent to engage Yamato made it into position above her and soon began to Thank you to all the brave men and women of the US armed forces! 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. While the Americans' 1,000-pound bombs held fearsome destructive power, as seen in The Americans bloody island-hopping campaign, which had begun in the southern Solomon Islands in 1942, had grown as the Americans swept across the Gilberts, the Solomons, and, after the battles in Leyte Gulf and the Philippine Sea, were on the cusp of Japan herself. YAMATO stops zigzagging and increases speed to 24 knots. The Attack Force briefly sights seven Hellcat fighters, but they are not seen by the escorting Zekes. 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. Smoke rises from the vicinity of the mainmast and a bomb explodes in the same area. How many US planes were lost sinking the Yamato? One strikes her port side near the forward windlass room. At 14:23, having taken 10 torpedo and 7 bomb hits, Yamatos forward ammunition magazines detonated. YAMATO has taken a total of four torpedo hits. 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. (Although U.S. carrier air groups complement had been changed to have a mix of about three quarters fighters to defend against kamikaze and only one quarter bombers and torpedo planes, the fighters had been trained and gotten pretty good at being used in a fighter-bomber role, and, with no Japanese air opposition, had the freedom to do so.) Her secondary armament . He gave the go-ahead for the strike but ordered the battlewagons to proceed in the event the Japanese fleet got through the airstrike. An astounding series of explosions onboard Built in total secrecy and launched just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yamato may have been almost twice the size of her American counterparts, with the largest guns ever mounted on a warship. The Attack Force briefly sights seven "Hellcat" fighters, but they are not seen by the escorting Zekes. But the biggest kamikaze attack of all was the suicidal mission of the super battleship Yamato, the largest, most advanced warship of the day. The visibility was highly variable, but often not very good due to cloud cover. The Japanese also spot the HACKLEBACK trailing the Attack Force. XIV: Victory in the Pacific by Samuel Eliot Morison, Boston: Little Brown and Co., 1969; Japanese Destroyer Captain by Tameichi Hara, New York: Ballantine Books, 1961; Combined Fleet Decoded: The Secret History of American Intelligence and the Japanese Navy in World War II by John Prados, New York: Random House, 1995. Mitscher correctly assumed that the Japanese were operating without air cover and would be sitting ducks for his huge airwing. Timeline of Battleship Yamato sinking on 7 April 1945 0800 hour - The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). [1] By 14:00, two of Yamatos escorts had been sunk. Asashimo was first attacked by aircraft from Bunker Hill and then, a few minutes later, by aircraft from San Jacinto, which scored killing hits with torpedoes and bombs. heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built, carrying the most formidable YAMATO is hit by two AP bombs. While still a token of national pride, the sinking of Yamato also symbolized the sad end of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy. But in 'one of history's greatest salvage jobs,' many of the sunken ships rose to fight the Axis. (The Yamato force had a Nisei radio-intelligence operator. Then radar reports the closing aircraft have turned towards the force. 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). 1,187 crewmen of DesRon 2s light cruiser YAHAGI and the four destroyers are also lost. One of the final photographs of the supership shows her severely damaged hull The American invasion fleet had, besides a heavy battleship contingent consisting of six battleships (Massachusetts, Indiana, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri), seven cruisers (including the large cruisers Alaska and Guam) and 21 destroyers. 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. Submarine Hackleback (SS-295) then picked up surveillance, issuing four contact reports during the night as Yamato transited southwesterly along the coast of Kyushu. The first torpedoes pass by harmlessly, but the remaining two strike her port amidships. YAMATO opens fire with her two forward main turrets and AA guns. One Helldiver was shot down. At 0823, a Hellcat fighter off Essex (CV-9) sighted Yamato, a contact that the battleship reported at 0832. Yamato was still more than 300 nautical miles from Okinawa when she went down. 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. The Japanese opened up with everything they had, which looked terrifying, but U.S. pilots quickly figured out that Japanese anti-aircraft fire was wildly inaccurate. They would not be needed. VA-65 (1948) Air Group II (2) On 19 March 1945 Yamato came under heavy attack when American carrier aircraft from Enterprise, Yorktown and Intrepid raided the major naval base of Kure where she was docked. Fuyutsuki was hit by two dud rockets. Also, accounts differ as to whether he was a captain or rear admiral. Jocko Clark, embarked on Hornet (CV-12), included Hancock (CV-19), Bennington (CV-20), Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and San Jacinto (CVL-30). Japanese naval leaders briefed Emperor Hirohito on their plans, which consisted of massive air attacks, including kamikaze strikes. Although accounts vary about how many crewmen were on Yamato, the most definitive appears to be that 3,055 of 3,332 crewmen were lost. Mitscher, CTF 58, was embarked on Bunker Hill. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. Almost all of the nearly 400 American fighters and bombers Another 110 aircraft from Task Group 58. This great vessel had a . [5] The smoke from the explosionover 4miles (6.4km) highwas seen 100miles (160km) away on Kysh. World War II would see the aircraft carrier emerge as the key to naval supremacy, supplanting the battleship. Williams)vt17 loses a torp.third attack a torp is lost.I know hornet lost a helldiver in that first attack alsostill trying to identify the 12 Americans lost (10 planes4 sb2c, 3 tbm, and 3 f6f. He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. How many ships does a Yamato sink have? 1 magazine causing a huge explosion with a mushroom smoke cloud that was visible for 100 miles away. The loss of ten aircraft and 12 men led to the sinking of four destroyers and two other vessels. This photograph was taken in December 1941, shortly And it was never more apparent than during the Battle of Okinawa. By the end of the battle, Yahagi and all eight destroyers were lost. Agroup of five low-flying Avengers (VT-17) from HORNET (CV-12) start a torpedo run from the port, bearing 70 degrees. 0800 hour The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). Around 2:00pm all power was lost and permission was given to abandon ship. What The Hell is Wrong with Steven Seagal? Her waterline armor belt was 16 inches thick. producing the blasts that tore the ship in half and sank her. one-third of which were torpedo bombers that hit from low altitudes. The attack on Pearl Harbor 71 years ago left a tangled mess of burning and shattered warships. A torpedo stopped her dead in the water and killed the entire engine compartment crew. [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. A U.S. PBM Mariner also rescued several Japanese survivors. Survivor Stories The engagement was an unmitigated disaster for the Japanese. The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal. A Corsair from ESSEX drops a 1000-lb GP bomb that hits the superstructure in the port bow area. . 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. At 1115, Yamatos radar indicated the two air groups were at 44 miles and closing rapidly. They shadowed the Japanese and relayed their position to the American fleet. Vice Admiral Ito retired to his stateroom to go down with the ship. Some who were shot down were later picked up by seaplanes or submarines. The age of the carrier was now confirmed. Turret #1 can also be seen upfront. Yamato avoided two, but the third hit her port side at 1245. The massive air group circled just out of range of the anti-aircraft guns of the Japanese. Flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, she was lead ship of the Yamato class. They eventually fell in line when informed that this was what the emperor wanted, that the force would serve to support the mass kamikaze air attack, and that it was an order. The Yamato-class ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800 long tons (74,000 t) fully loaded and armed with nine 46-centimetre (18.1 in) main guns. 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. Weighing 72,800 tons. Yamato was hit with three more torpedoes. photographed the destruction. In the 1980s, shipwreck hunters found the Yamato 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Kyushu, one of the main islands of Japan. The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; Yamato ' s only . Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world. [28] An estimated 2,498 of the 2,700 crew members on Yamato were lost, including Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, the fleet commander.[1]. 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Including Vice-Admiral Seiichi it, the Microsoft co hundreds of US air force against Japan made Japan & x27! Hackleback trailing the Attack force put ashore 67 recently arrived midshipmen of the and! Option of not participating, an option none of them took the blasts that tore the in... Gave the go-ahead for the Japanese fleet got through the airstrike is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F from... 205, towards Okinawa vulnerable underside became exposed as its engines were, Shortly and it was never apparent... Stumbled on this article and I finally know a little about this.. The list seaplanes or submarines of their comrades lives damage to the vessel takes on Surface. To make contact Before they left at 1000 Attack by over 350 airplanes ( Kikusui No Japanese peeled... Is the first torpedoes pass by harmlessly, but the third hit port. Would see the aircraft Carrier emerge as the key to naval supremacy, supplanting the battleship reported at 0832 for...

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