As later described by the captain of Yahagi, Captain Tameichi Hara, the meeting was quite contentious. 4s YORKTOWN (CV-10), INTREPID (CV-11), LANGLEY (CVL-27) engage the Attack Force. Lieutenant J.G. 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. They lost their best battleship, a cruiser, and four destroyers along with nearly 4,200 sailors. The arresting wire system can stop a 54,000-pound aircraft travelling 150 miles per hour in only two seconds, in a 315-foot landing area (a 24,500-kg aircraft travelling at 241 kph in a 96-meter landing area). At 1333, another 110 aircraft from TG 58.4 (Yorktown, Intrepid, and Langley), which had launched after the first wave of 280 aircraft, commenced their attack on Yamato. American aviators received orders to drop their 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. Light cruiser YAHAGI, hit by 12 bombs and seven torpedoes sinks exactly one minute after the last bomb hits. Thirty-four Hellcats, 22 Helldivers and one Corsair attack YAMATOs escorts. The destroyers were Destroyer Division (DESDIV) 17 (Isokaze, Hamakaze, Yukikaze), DESDIV 21 (Asashimo, Kasumi, Hatsushimo), and DESDIV 41 (Fuyuzuki, Suzutsuki). Fifty aircraft from ESSEX and BATAAN are sighted approaching from the SSW, range 18.5 miles. It would not be enough. Thank you to all our WWII vets. These were 50 aircraft from Essex and Bataan. that ultimately led to the supership's demise. 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. photographed the destruction. She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. At 1417, she took an eighth and ninth torpedo, both to port. The others kept coming. When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. 276 men are rescued including Rear Admiral Morishita Nobuei, Chief of Staff, Second Fleet (and former YAMATO skipper). She rolls slowly over her port side on her beam ends. . Between then and 1000, a total of 14 Zekes would provide cover. At 2:10pm Yamato rolled over and began to sink with fires from her aft 6.1" turret reaching her no. Aruga receives a rare double promotion posthumously to Vice Admiral on the request of Admiral Toyoda. H-044-3: Operation Heaven Number One (Ten-ichi-go)the Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945. Still kicking but dont know why. He reports the formation at bearing 180, heading north, and splitting into two groups. The second and third waves of the American attacks pummeled Yamato. A near miss on Hamakaze disabled her starboard shaft and then, at 1247, torpedo hits amidships blew her in half. The fire in the area ofher forward 6.1 inch turret can be clearly seen (L42-09.06.05). Three of the torpedoes hit in quick succession, and Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of water and a 7-degree list. The Yomiuri Shimbun, one of several private companies sponsoring the search, reported that the wreck lay about 180 miles southwest of Kagoshima on Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu, in more than 1,100 feet of water. YAMATO turns towards the planes and opens fire unsuccessfully as does cruiser YAHAGI. Instead, Yamato was obsolete the day she was launched, as the Japanese themselves proved at Pearl Harbor and elsewhere by sinking Allied battleships with airpower. At 1423 as she began to capsize, the raging fires onboard ignited her magazines and the resultant explosion unleashed a huge mushroom cloud that rose to 20,000 feet and took out a few American planes that were overhead. 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. One of the largest battleships ever built, Yamato entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941. For executive producer Keiko Bang, making this film was cathartic. The Attack Force turns towards Sasebo. Another 110 aircraft from Task Group 58. 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. He gave the go-ahead for the strike but ordered the battlewagons to proceed in the event the Japanese fleet got through the airstrike. 1). miles southwest of Kyushu, Japan. Survivor Stories It was going on the attack totally outnumbered. Had Yamato ever encountered an Allied battleship group, she could have floated safely out of range, while destroying each ship in turn. During the night, this plan morphed into sending six new battleships detached from TF 58 into blocking position. A torpedo stopped her dead in the water and killed the entire engine compartment crew. The escorts cannot defend the flagship either. Asashimo went down with all 330 hands. She was blasted by 15 bomb hits and eight torpedoes. At 1430 on 7 April 1945, more than 300 nautical miles north of Okinawa, Yamato blows up after capsizing. At 0657, destroyer Asashimo, with Captain Kotaki, DESDIV 21, embarked, sent a signal that she was having engine trouble and began to fall behind. One Avenger is shot down but her barrage is largely ineffective because each AA battery fires independently without coordination. This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes ( Kikusui No. 74, although many begged to stay. 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. Over the next days, additional messages were intercepted and decrypted by Fleet Radio Unit Pacific (FRUPAC) and also OP-20-G in Washington that provided increasingly detailed information on the operations timing and made specific mention of Yamato on 5 April. Deyo had just received a cheery send-off from his immediate boss: "We hope you will bring back a nice fish for breakfast." 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. They unanimously objected, most of them arguing instead to be allowed to conduct independent raiding of the over-extended U.S. supply lines. Yahagi was a relatively small light cruiser (6,600 tons) completed in 1943 and intended for use as a destroyer flotilla leader. Three Japanese destroyers are nearby (80-G-413914). Her nine 18.1-inch guns firing Sanshikidan beehive shells, twenty-four 127-mm. [1] By 14:00, two of Yamatos escorts had been sunk. [1] When the 1st Battleship Division was deactivated once again on 10 February, Yamato was reassigned to the 1st Carrier Division. 1300 hour YAMATO changes course to 180 degrees, due South. Of firing 3,220-lb shells over 26 miles pilots and eight aircrewmen were missing and presumed dead how many planes were lost sinking the yamato. With only three twin 6-inch gun turrets, she was no match for U.S. light cruisers with their four triple-turret, rapid-fire 6-inch guns. Yamato carried only enough fuel to reach Okinawa, as the fuel stocks available were insufficient to provide enough fuel to reach Okinawa and return. At 1014, the Yamato force sighted the two Martin Mariner PBM flying boats, and also noted that Hackleback was still trailing (the Japanese had made so many course changes during the night that the sub was able to cut the corner and maintain contact on the force). YAMATOs No. Mitscher ordered all four of his carrier task groups to proceed as soon as possible to launch positions northeast of Okinawa with the intent to destroy Yamato before it got anywhere near Okinawa. Combined with Yamato, about 4,242 Japanese sailors gave their lives for the emperor on 7 April. The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; Yamato ' s only . (They were right.) heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built, carrying the most formidable 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. This time all the attacks are concentrated against the battleship. 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. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. >. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. Agroup of five low-flying Avengers (VT-17) from HORNET (CV-12) start a torpedo run from the port, bearing 70 degrees. Japanese reports claim U.S. aircraft strafed survivors in the water, but also report that attacks ceased on destroyers that were picking up survivors. They pounced on her like sharks in the water. YAMATO stops zigzagging and increases speed to 24 knots. With the ship in danger of capsizing, the damage control parties counter-flooded the starboard engines and boiler rooms at 1333 hours, drowning hundreds of crew members who were unaware of the move. A Corsair from ESSEX drops a 1000-lb GP bomb that hits the superstructure in the port bow area. The Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Ito, orders the mission cancelled and directs the remaining ships to pick up as many survivors as possible. In viewing cite, this the first time I have seen any mention of the carrier Langley. Baka, essentially a piloted cruise missile, made its debut at Okinawa. 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. The aircraft are lost behind the clouds. All ships increase speed to 25 knots and commence a simultaneous turn. Then radar reports the closing aircraft have turned towards the force. The Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was the largest battleship in the world at the time. He just didnt want to talk about the war. 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. Cruise missile, made its debut at Okinawa a total of 14 Zekes provide! Total of 14 Zekes would provide cover ; s only 7-degree list ( and former Yamato )! ) start a torpedo stopped her dead in the world at the time aruga receives rare... 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