World War II Database

1.  Bill says:
12 Oct 2012 04:18:07 PM

PHOTOGRAPHS ONE THROUGH FOUR, WERE LATER CAPTURED BY US OCCUPATION AUTHORITIES AT THE END OF WWII. THE JAPANESE DESTROYED MANY OF THE PHOTOS TAKEN OF YAMATO AT THE END OF WWII. ONLY A FEW PHOTOS HAVE SURVIVED. THE OTHER PHOTOS WERE TAKEN BY THE US NAVY DURING AIR ATTACKS AGAINST THIS YAMATO. THE YAMATO WAS LOCATED IN 1985 AND AGAIN IN 1999, AND LIES IN ABOUT 1,120 FEET OF WATER. THE BOW IS BROKEN AWAY FROM THE SHIP AND LIES NEAR ONE OF THE 18.1 INCH MAIN BATTERY GUN TURRETS. MIDSHIP AND STERN ARE UPSIDE DOWN. YAMATO WAS SUNK BY US NAVY AIRCRAFT ON APRIL 7, 1945 OUT OF THE 2,322 CREWMEMBERS ABOARD HER, 2,055 WERE LOST.

2.  Bill says:
1 Jun 2016 12:34:20 PM

SEA TRIALS: Yamato at sea photo taken outside Sakumo Bay she made 27.46 knots developing 153,550hp The Yamato carried 9 x 18.1in guns, plus her secondary and anti-aircraft weapons were impressive. Later during the war, she was fitted with added anti-aircraft guns.

3.  Bill says:
15 Jun 2016 11:07:23 AM

IMAGINE A SUPER YAMATO CLASS: The Imperial Japanese Navy proposed even a larger class of battleships. The Super Yamato at 80,000 tons would have been armed with triple or quadruple 20" main guns. Secondary armament would also have been impressive in firepower. Armament and hull protection, would have improved over the Yamato and Musashi as capitol ships, of the day. BIG GUNS BIG AMMO: These monsters would have fired a projectile that weighed between 1,900kg to 2,000kg or 4,190 to 4,409lbs! secondary armament would have been 28 x 100mm dual purpose guns, hundreds of anti-aircraft weapons plus torpedo tubes. DREAM FLEET: NEVER HAPPENED Had World War II never been fought in the Pacific, the Imperial Navy by 1946 would have had (11) eleven such super battleships, in service in addition to the three Yamato class ships. Proposed classes of ships a semi-aircraft carrier with 6 x 18" guns and added secondary armament with an aft angled flight that was larger than most smaller carriers. All plans for such ships were never laid down all specifications, data, documents have been lost or destroyed. Even during WWII, the Japanese Empire faced shortages supporting its military spending both the economy and its industrial output couldn't support such programs that had been built. I thank the editor/ww2db for allowing me to leave these little known facts about WWII