Japanese sailors said that in its history, people have built the three largest and most useless things at the same time: the pyramids of Giza, the Great Wall and the battleship "Yamato".What it is ironic attitude has earned this majestic warship, the pride of the Japanese naval industry and the flagship of its navy?
idea of creating
Battleship "Yamato" was a product of the experience of sea battles of World War II.Then, not only in Japan, but throughout the rest of the world believed that the only heavy weapons and armor of battleships to provide supremacy at sea.In the wake of success in the Russian-Japanese War Admiralty Japan believed that the Japanese fleet is able to withstand any opponent, even such industrial giants as the United States.However, it was, and understanding of the industry of the island will never be able to compete with the US, and therefore the numerical superiority is clearly not in favor of the Imperial Navy.To neutralize the numerical superiority of the enemy, it was decided to focus on the qualitative superiority.According to Japanese strategists, crossing the Panama Canal limited the possibility of displacement of the ships passing through it.So, the US battleships could not have a displacement of more than 63 000 tonnes, the rate of more than 23 knots, and the most powerful weapons could only consist of ten guns not exceeding 406 mm.Believing that at equal cost increase in tonnage of the ship will significantly increase its combat power and thus compensate for the enemy's numerical superiority, the Japanese planned a series superlinkorov, the head of which was to be the battleship "Yamato".
grandiose plans
construction of new battleships had to start no later than 1936.In total, the first series of planned seven ships armed with nine 460 mm guns with armor, can withstand 406 mm shell hit from a distance of 20 km and a travel speed of more than 30 knots.By 1941, it was planned to transfer their fleet.This was followed by the construction of four more giants, but with instruments of 20 inches (~ 508 mm).They had to stand in line in 1946, and until 1951 previously built battleships converted into a powerful new tool.Implementation of the plan, according to Japanese experts, allows you to save at least parity with the US Navy in the Pacific Ocean.But the reality was laid only four ships of the series, built and only two of them - the battleship "Yamato" and the battleship "Musashi", the unfinished body of the third altered in the aircraft carrier "Shinano" and the fourth is not even got a name.Both ships reached fully operational by 1942.
fighting career
When the battleship "Yamato" was the flagship of the Imperial Navy, the war in the Pacific Ocean has already reached its peak.And all of his grandiose wins Japanese fleet reached by naval aviation, and not in the crossfire battleships, coming in the wake column.Superlinkoram simply no place in a new war, and their fate was obviously sad.Having participated in several combat operations of the fleet, "Yamato" (Battleship) never was able to demonstrate his qualities and was practically only dorogushchim floating headquarters.
death of the battleship "Yamato»
April 7, 1945 the ship went to his last campaign.He was attacked by 200 aircraft and the Americans during the two-hour battle was getting 12 heavy bombs and about ten aircraft torpedoes.After that sank in 2498 with the sailors and their commander.
