Operation Ten-ichi-go was the Imperial Japanese Navys plan to react to the U.S. invasion of the island of Okinawa, which Japanese intelligence correctly determined would occur at the end of March 1945. Her secondary armament was significantly altered during the war by removing two of her four triple 6.1-inch turrets in favor of increased anti-aircraft armament, which, by 1945, included 12 dual 5-inch gun mounts, 54 25-mm triple mounts (162 guns), and smaller machine guns. I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. 1 magazine explodes and sends up a cloud of smoke seen 100 miles away. Although the battleship was in no danger of sinking at this point, the list meant that the main battery was unable to fire . The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. A 500-pound general-purpose bomb hit Suzutsuki and blew off her bow. This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes (Kikusui No. Yukikaze suffered three dead from strafing and survived the war. A torpedo strikes HAMAKAZE starboard, aft of amidships and she jackknifes. 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." The wreck lies 290 kilometres (180 mi) southwest of Kyushu under 340 metres (1,120 ft) of water in two main pieces; a bow section comprising the front two thirds of the ship, and a separate stern section.. Who found battleship Yamato? 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. At 1234, Yamato opened fire with her two forward main battery turrets, lobbing sanshikidan shells at the U.S. aircraftto no effect. At 1210, destroyer Asashimo, lagging behind the force, reported that she was under air attack, and radio transmissions from her ceased. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. Altogether more effective were Japan's aerial suicide weapons. Was the Bismarck bigger than 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,. Three of the torpedoes hit in quick succession, and Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of water and a 7-degree list. The mission was given to Vice Admiral Seiichi Ito, commander of the Japanese Second Fleet (pretty much all that was left of the Combined Fleet), embarked on the super-battleship Yamato. [26] Heavy antiaircraft defensive fire and the heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the vessel. At that point, the crews would go ashore to fight and die to the last man along with their army comrades. The Japanese also spot the HACKLEBACK trailing the Attack Force. The rest of the Surface Special Attack Force consisted of the light cruiser Yahagi, and eight destroyers. The big carriers got all the credit. But the Americans also had a battle group of eight aircraft carriers (Hornet, Bennington, Belleau Wood, San Jacinto; TG 58.3 Essex, Bunker Hill, Hancock, and Bataan) that were covering the landings. Fuyuzuki suffered light damage from dud rockets, suffered 12 dead and 12 injured, and was repaired, but had her stern blown off by a mine after the August cease-fire. Legendary Lost Japanese WWII Battleship Found by Billionaire Paul Allen.The search was funded by Paul Allen, the Microsoft co . Though incredibly powerful, Yamato suffered from a relatively low top speed as its engines were . The commander in chief of the Combined Fleet, Admiral Soemu Toyoda, resolved to send what was left of his force out in a blaze of glory. Japanese Battleship Yamato - minutes before sinking. began to flood. As Yamato and escorts were transiting the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku on 6 April 1945, submarine Threadfin (SS-410) sighted the force at about 1745 and issued a contact report in the clear that was intercepted by Yamato. He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. More than 4,000 Japanese sailors were involved in the operation. An attack of 36 Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes against the heavily protected USS Hornet with her escorts took down over 20 Japanese planes. More U.S. aircraft may have been knocked down by the magazine explosion than by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. . 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. WORLD WAR II. Fifty aircraft from ESSEX and BATAAN are sighted approaching from the SSW, range 18.5 miles. Thanks for your presentation of this event! By early 1945, the Japanese Empire was shrinking daily and the war had reached its home shores. As luck would have it, he said, the big ship was turning to port, thereby exposing the full broadside expanse of, PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. Both the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander, Admiral Spruance, and Vice Admiral Mitscher (commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force, TF 58), who had access to the Ultra communications intelligence and were expecting the sortie, immediately reacted to the submarine reports. In total, the U.S. lost 12 men. went down in the battle, with the loss of just 12 men. 1300 hour YAMATO changes course to 180 degrees, due South. Later that day, the battered destroyers ISOKAZE and KASUMI are scuttled and sink. One of the final photographs of the supership shows her severely damaged hull battleship's guns. YAMATO opens fire with her two forward main turrets and AA guns. The Americans lost a total of only 10 aircraft four Helldivers, three Avengers, and three Hellcats and 12 men. Another 110 aircraft from Task Group 58. Anatomy of Yamato They unanimously objected, most of them arguing instead to be allowed to conduct independent raiding of the over-extended U.S. supply lines. Turret #1 can also be seen upfront. 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. TG 58.4 had just finished refueling and would arrive just in time. At 1017, Yahagi commenced jamming the Mariners communications, but by then it was too late. Where is the wreck of the Yamato? The Attack Force resumes zigzagging. (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. By dawn on April 7, Asashimo, one of the destroyers developed engine trouble and started heading back to port in Japan. Posted August 23, 2013. this photo from 1941 shows the construction details of the Yamato's rear aircraft deck, side 6-inch guns that were replaced by AA guns later in the war, as well as the aft superstructure and main turret #3. They pounced on her like sharks in the water. Both ships cease firing. Laid down in May 1940 as the third of the Yamato-class battleships, Shinano ' s partially complete hull was ordered to be converted to an aircraft carrier following Japan's disastrous loss of four of its original six fleet carriers at the Battle of . Almost all of the nearly 400 American fighters and bombers 1,000 watertight compartments couldn't save her, and her lower decks rapidly (They were right.) this one exploding off Yamato's port bow, it was their air-launched torpedoes The engagement was an unmitigated disaster for the Japanese. The chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, Vice Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, flew in from Tokyo to ensure that Ito would comply with Admiral Toyodas orders. blasts were perhaps the largest ever to occur at sea. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. The ships were to sink as many troop transports as possible, then beach themselves and continue firing as long as they had ammunition. 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. Combined with Yamato, about 4,242 Japanese sailors gave their lives for the emperor on 7 April. My dad was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened in the war. 0800 hour The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). Vice Admiral Ito retired to his stateroom to go down with the ship. In viewing cite, this the first time I have seen any mention of the carrier Langley. He suggests the order to abandon ship be given. Then radar reports the closing aircraft have turned towards the force. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed. She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. Another 110 planes appeared ready for the kill. In 1945 Carrier Air Group 17 consisted of VF-17, VBF-17, VB-17, and VT-17. Yamato would have appeared indestructible. 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. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane (NH 62581). The only time Yamato fired her main guns at enemy targets was in October 1944, but was ordered to turn back after attacks by destroyers and aircraft of the Taffy light escort carrier task groups managed to sink three heavy cruisers during the Battle off Samar. 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 executive officer reported to Captain Aruga that the damage control officers were dead and that counter-flooding could no longer correct the list, and recommended the ship be abandoned. How many Japanese submarines were lost in ww2? The loss of these ships shocked the British government, and helped change procurement and employment strategies in both the United States and the United Kingdom. The remaining destroyers tried to pick up as many survivors as possible and limped back to Japan. 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