World War II Database

1. Leonard Brodt says:
17 Jul 2012 06:50:12 PM

I served aboard the USS Missouri and was in pursuit of the Yamato but the Yamato tolerated one wave of US Aircraft from our carriers but could not accept the second wave and was sent to the bottom but can you imagine that it was so huge that it did not roll or pitch..!!!

2.  Bill says:
24 May 2016 06:42:52 PM

ULTIMATE BIG GUN: YAMATO CLASS

File photo shows the Yamato on her sea trials October 1941. She was armed w/9 x 18.1 inch main guns that were the largest of any warship afloat. Her secondary armament was just as impressive, made up of 6 x 15.5cm, 24 x 12.7cm 162 x 25mm anti-aircraft and 4 x 13mm anti-aircraft weapons.

DANGER ZONE:

The 18.1 in main guns were enormous in size
personal in those areas, had to be protected from the heat and blast, that was so powerful it could blow a mans skin off his body within a 15 mater radius! The service life of those barrels were between 150 to 200 rounds.

YAMATO AIR GROUP:

The Yamato carried her own air group of single engine reconnaissance and observation aircraft
made up of six to seven Mitsubishi F1M "Pete" and Aichi E13A1 "Jake" seaplanes.
Officers, Pilots, Gunners, Observers, Radio Operators and Maintenance crews lived and worked together, and shared the same living quarters aboard ship, near the hanger and catapults

AMMO LOAD:

Yamato carried 1,170, 18.1 inch rounds for her main guns. Also including the "San Shiki Dan" (beehive round) that could be used against enemy aircraft. It was sort of a big, really big shotgun round...
Yamato carried 13,500 secondary rounds and a staggering 11,500,000, 25mm anti-aircraft rounds...that's right Eleven Million Five Hundred Thousand Rounds. Say people, I'm not making this stuff up as I go along.

FOG OF WAR:

Did you know that Japanese industry produced
(27) 18.1 inch guns. Of those (18) were lost with the sinking of Yamato and Musashi, (2) were broken up during November 1945 and (7) guns were in different stages of construction at wars end.
Before Japan's surrender in August 1945 a unit
of special service officers destroyed just about all records, data, blueprints, drawings technical data photos and other related documents that could be found covering the construction of both Battleships.
Surviving records are few in number However, scraps of data, photos and other technical data here and there have survived as well as the memory of officers and crew that have survived the sinking. What technical drawings and data that have been published over the past decades, have been very impressive, based on surviving documents and crew memories...

I thank the editor/ww2db for his continued support in allowing me to share my knowledge of WWII...

3.  Bill says:
1 Jun 2016 12:46:46 PM

Continued sea trials October 20, 1941. This photo was found a few years after WWII, and was one of the first photograph of Yamato published. Other photos taken of her, were by the US Navy during torpedo and bombing attacks against her.