At 1017, Yahagi commenced jamming the Mariners communications, but by then it was too late. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. The Japanese admiral in charge of Operation Ten-Go, Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, disagreed with the plan which essentially was to sail into teeth of the American fleet without the benefit of any air cover and then beach on Okinawa and operate as a static defense in support of the island. Vice Admiral Ito and YAMATOs skipper Captain Aruga and 3,055 of 3,332 crewmen are lost. 3s USS ESSEX (CV-9), BUNKER HILL (CV-17), BATAAN (CVL-24) and CABOT (CVL-28). Yamato had been fitted with multiple air and surface search radars, as well as radio-intercept capability. Meanwhile, about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and Avengers worked over some of the other Japanese destroyers. He suggests the order to abandon ship be given. TG 58.3, commanded by Rear Admiral Frederick Ted Sherman, embarked on Essex (CV-9), included Bunker Hill (CV-17), Bataan (CVL-24), and Cabot (CVL-28). At 1417, she took an eighth and ninth torpedo, both to port. TG 58.1 and 58.3 were quickly on station. [26] Heavy antiaircraft defensive fire and the heavy upper-deck armour plating on Yamato also prevented any significant damage to the vessel. Far more effective was the extraordinary skill of Japanese ship captains in making evasive maneuvers to throw off aim and avoid numerous bombs and torpedoes. Altogether, more than 2,700 men went down with the ship or drowned after it sank, making the loss of the Yamato one of the greatest naval disasters of all time. SUZUTSUKI takes a 500-lb GP bomb hit to starboard, abreast her No. My dad was soldier (Tsgt) at Okinawa and my father in law was a bosunsmate aboard the USS Gunston Hall. VA-25 (1959) Air Group VI (6) The Japanese also noted eight Hellcats circling the force with impunity because of no Japanese fighter cover, and remaining outside anti-aircraft range. 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. A 500-pound general-purpose bomb hit Suzutsuki and blew off her bow. Vice Admiral Ito retired to his stateroom to go down with the ship. Lieutenant J.G. heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built, carrying the most formidable She was blasted by 15 bomb hits and eight torpedoes. . The Attack Force changes course to 100 degrees. On 29 March, Yamato took on a full stock of ammunition, in preparation for combat off Okinawa in Operation Ten-Go. The Yamato-class ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800 long tons (74,000 t) fully loaded and armed with nine 46-centimetre (18.1 in) main guns. 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. Both ships cease firing. Instead, military leaders decided to build a secret weapon that could engage many enemy ships at once. YAMATO opens fire with her two forward main turrets and AA guns. She sunk shortly after. [1] When the 1st Battleship Division was deactivated once again on 10 February, Yamato was reassigned to the 1st Carrier Division. The aft secondary battery fire control, secondary gun turret and the air search radar are knocked out. The American invasion fleet had, besides a heavy battleship contingent consisting of six battleships (Massachusetts, Indiana, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri), seven cruisers (including the large cruisers Alaska and Guam) and 21 destroyers. 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,. Yahagi lost 446 of about 1,000 crewmen. TG 58.2 was in the act of refueling and wouldnt get there in time. seven torpedo hits within two hours of battle. after the Yamato first took to the sea. Hancock for some reason launched her 53-plane strike late, and it never found Yamato in the murk, reducing the overall first strike to 227 aircraft. My dad served on the Langley. The attack on Pearl Harbor 71 years ago left a tangled mess of burning and shattered warships. The U.S. 5th Fleet commander, Admiral Raymond Spruance, ordered Task Force 54, which consisted mostly of the battleships under Rear Admiral Morton Deyo, to move in and engage the Japanese task force. The first U.S. attack wave ended about 1250. About 1,187 crewmen of Yahagi and the four destroyers were lost. 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. The Attack Force briefly sights seven "Hellcat" fighters, but they are not seen by the escorting Zekes. I stumbled on this article and I finally know a little about this battle. Yamato was hit with three more torpedoes. Half of the dead at . At 14:23, having taken 10 torpedo and 7 bomb hits, Yamatos forward ammunition magazines detonated. One of the final photographs of the supership shows her severely damaged hull At 1243, five Hornet Avengers came in from port, while 14 F4U Corsairs from Bunker Hill were strafing and hitting Yamato with rockets that caused little damage to the ship, but were deadly to the gunners. Even before the war, the Japanese understood that they could never match the U.S. Navy for quantity, but were convinced they could build a better battleship. battleship's guns. Her nine 18.1-inch guns firing Sanshikidan beehive shells, twenty-four 127-mm. At 1322, an Essex Corsair hit Yamato in the port bow with a 1,000-pound general-purpose bomb. Additionally, aircraft damaged most of the . I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. Her main guns were designed to attack at an unprecedented distance of 25 miles, well beyond the range of American battleships. An F/A-18C Hornet catches an arresting wire on the USS Nimitz. She was blasted by 12 bombs and six more torpedos. Japan started the war with 63 ocean-going submarines (i.e., not including midgets), and completed 111 during the war, for a total of 174. It had been deployed on a Surface Special Attack Force suicide mission to drive back U.S. forces that had landed on Okinawa. With this contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force. This image YAMATO has taken a total of four torpedo hits. 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." However, three-quarters of these (128 boats) were lost during the conflict, a proportion of loss similar that experienced by Germany's U-Boats. 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. How many Japanese submarines were lost in ww2? The first explodes in the crews quarters abaft the Type 13 radar shack. The Attack Force turns to course 205, towards Okinawa. One Helldiver is shot down, another is damaged badly. Ten minutes later, two more torpedoes strike her port side. A near miss on Hamakaze disabled her starboard shaft and then, at 1247, torpedo hits amidships blew her in half. Also interviewed is an American dive-bomber pilot who took part in the attack. [5] Shortly afterward, a second strike of 100 aircraft attacked Yamato and her remaining escorts. photographed the destruction. How many ships does a Yamato sink have? Submarine Hackleback (SS-295) then picked up surveillance, issuing four contact reports during the night as Yamato transited southwesterly along the coast of Kyushu. that ultimately led to the supership's demise. Many of those lost did so after the battle on their return to the carriers; ditching in the sea having run out of fuel. The attack of hundreds of US air force against Japan made Japan's biggest battleship Yamato sink. Though many Japanese naval leaders considered Operation Ten-Go to be a waste of their remaining resources, it moved forward on April 6, 1945. The Attack Force turns towards Sasebo. There were few Japanese survivors. However, in order to keep up with Yamato, these forays were short-lived. At 1407, she was struck by at least the seventh torpedo, this time to starboard. 1400 hour Three bombs explode port amidships, five minutes later a torpedo hits her starboard side amidships. She lies in two main parts in some 1,000 feet of water. I was so fortunate to have had that experience!!! FRUPAC had the message that the air cover would end at 1000, which was also known to senior U.S. Navy commanders. Japanese lookouts spotted the American air armada at 1232 hours and soon opened fire with Yamatos 18-inch guns firing San Shiki anti-aircraft shells that were wildly inaccurate. (Although some accounts say that, according to the plan, the ships were only given enough fuel to reach Okinawa, they actually received as much fuel as was available to give. Aircrews were astonished at the size of the ship, which had seen very little naval action during the war. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. The big carriers got all the credit. (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. DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. In addition, sick sailors and also the oldest sailors were sent to shore. 1,000 watertight compartments couldn't save her, and her lower decks rapidly The largest battleships ever built were Yamato and Musashi of the Imperial Japanese Navy. At 1342, another Avenger was shot down, but four more torpedoes were inbound from the port side and two hit. The Yahagi was too tempting a target for the hundreds of attacking aircraft. At about 1237, U.S. aircraft commenced attack runs, with strafing and rockets from fighters (which quickly began decimating Japanese anti-aircraft gunners), and then bombs and torpedoes. At 0840, the Japanese reported seven Hellcats orbiting around the force. Relive the super battleship's last moments in photographs. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. It was going on the attack totally outnumbered. They were also given the option of not participating, an option none of them took. Numerous Helldivers from Bennington and Hornet attacked from Yamatos port side and numerous near misses splashed all around the battleship, which was moving at flank speed (27 knots), before she was finally hit by two 1,000-pound armor-piercing bombs at 1240. My dad was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened in the war. Almost all of the nearly 400 American fighters and bombers On her last morning, before the first American planes intercepted her, This time, all attacks concentrated on the battleship. Musashi and her sister ship, Yamato, were by a wide margin the largest battleships ever built. Yahagi was commanded by Captain Tameichi Hara (the only Japanese destroyer skipper at the start of the war who was still alive at the end of the war), with Rear Admiral Keizo Komura, commander of Destroyer Squadron 2, embarked. Armor-piercing and other bombs make a shambles of her upper works. As later described by the captain of Yahagi, Captain Tameichi Hara, the meeting was quite contentious. 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. Only 10. Despite the destruction, the majesty of the ship is unmistakable, symbolized by a six-foot-wide chrysanthemum crest, icon of the Japanese imperial family, still gracing Yamatos prow like a figurehead. 7. 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. By noon, the Corsair and Hellcat fighters arrived over the Yamato group, looking for fighters protecting the Japanese, and finding none waited for the dive bombers and torpedo planes to arrive. Two more destroyers were lost: the Asashimo, which was raked by bomb hits as it was returning to Japan and sank killing its entire crew; and the Kasumi that was heavily damaged and later. At 1115, Yamatos radar indicated the two air groups were at 44 miles and closing rapidly. Kasumi, which had her steering disabled by two bomb hits, suffered 17 dead and 47 wounded, and was scuttled by two torpedoes from Fuyuzuki. Finally some detail1st attack vb82 loses a helldiver (my uncleensign jack Carl fuller and chas. For executive producer Keiko Bang, making this film was cathartic. The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built. ), U.S. submarines were already waiting for Yamato, with orders to report rather than attack, although with the force transiting at 22 knots and frequently zig-zagging, successful attack in all but the luckiest circumstances was unlikely. Jan 6, 2019 Conan White, Guest Author. One Avenger is shot down but her barrage is largely ineffective because each AA battery fires independently without coordination. The battleship and its sister, Musashi, were the only battleships ever constructed with 18.1" guns. Yamato maneuvers while under attack by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945, maneuvering evasively at a brisk 15 to 20 knots. Thank you to all the brave men and women of the US armed forces! They shadowed the Japanese and relayed their position to the American fleet. VA-6B (1946) 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. Legendary Lost Japanese WWII Battleship Found by Billionaire Paul Allen.The search was funded by Paul Allen, the Microsoft co . The American invasion fleet had, besides a heavy battleship contingent consisting of six battleships (Massachusetts, Indiana, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri), seven cruisers (including the large cruisers Alaska and Guam) and 21 destroyers. They would launch the worlds largest battleship, the Yamato with its enormous 18-inch guns, one light cruiser, and eight destroyers against the enormous American fleet. All Rights Reserved. Yamato avoided two, but the third hit her port side at 1245. Sieber was officially credited with two bomb hits on the Yamato and received the Navy Cross for his part in helping sink the huge ship that day. (The actual U.S. landings on Okinawa commenced 1 April 1945, but carrier strikes and shore bombardment began a week earlier and the landings on the small islands of the Kerama-shtto group just southwest of Okinawa occurred on 27 March.). 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. My dads name is Ronald R. LeFebvre (Ding). The aircraft are lost behind the clouds. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane (NH 62581). She had suffered minor damage in the bridge area from a bomb hit by a Helldiver dive-bomber off Intrepid (CV-11) during U.S. carrier strikes on Kure and the Inland Sea on 19 March, but was fully fit for battle. Asashimo was first attacked by aircraft from Bunker Hill and then, a few minutes later, by aircraft from San Jacinto, which scored killing hits with torpedoes and bombs. The extremely large number of antiaircraft guns, added during a refit, were meant to keep the ship afloat in the face of American airpower until it could close within striking range of enemy. Just after 1240 on 7 April, Yamato maneuvers frantically under the initial attackby USS Bennington (CV-20)and USS Hornet (CV-12) aircraft as a bomb explodes offher port side. The final phase of the Pacific war during World War II saw a terrible new tactic: massed kamikaze attacks on American ships by Japanese planes. The Yamato group cranked up speed to 25 knots. Yamato would have appeared indestructible. began to flood. The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. John Carter, was in a perfect position to watch what unfolded. Between then and 1000, a total of 14 Zekes would provide cover. Weighing 72,800 tons. 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. DesDiv 17s HAMAKAZE takes a near miss on her starboard quarter that disables her starboard shaft. The result was arguably the largest suicide mission in history. Aruga would be posthumously promoted to vice admiral and Ito to full admiral. At 1402, Yamato took three more bomb hits amidships, and Aruga gave the abandon-ship order. The once-proud Japanese Imperial Navy that Americans feared would threaten the West Coast, was largely driven across the Pacific and now operated mainly from its home waters. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. The destroyers were an assortment of different classes (what was left in operation, since the Japanese would lose 120 destroyers during the war), but all were armed with powerful Type 93 Long Lance 24-inch torpedoes. Two dud rockets hit FUYUTSUKI. The Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was the largest battleship in the world at the time. But in 'one of history's greatest salvage jobs,' many of the sunken ships rose to fight the Axis. one-third of which were torpedo bombers that hit from low altitudes. It would not be enough. As waves of kamikazes took to the sky to defend the island, Yamato was ordered to sea on a mission to emulate the suicide planes and take out as many American ships as possible. Embarking from Kure, Yamato was to beach herself near Okinawa, and act as an unsinkable gun-emplacementbombarding American forces on Okinawa with her 18.1-inch heavy-guns. TG 58.4 had just finished refueling and would arrive just in time. They also mounted numerous smaller guns to . >. Smoke rises from the vicinity of the mainmast and a bomb explodes in the same area. John Carter, was in a perfect position to watch what unfolded. Light cruiser Yahagi steered away from Yamato in an attempt to draw attention away from the battleshiptoo successfully. Just then, eight F6F Hellcats appear and begin circling over the force to maintain contact until the main formation arrives. The Mariners were subordinate to Patrol Bombing Squadron 21 (VPB-21), operating from the tender Chandeleur (AV-10), which had arrived at Kerama Rettoon 28 March. Six Yorktown Avengers attacked from the starboard side, with their Mark 13 torpedoes re-set for a 20-foot depthseveral hit. In the interviews below, meet two Yamato veterans still haunted by memories of the battle that took most of their comrades lives. An astounding series of explosions onboard About 120,000 were held at 10 camps because of fears that Japanese Americans were enemy sympathizers. Have we no more ships?. Flagship of the Japanese Combined Fleet, she was lead ship of the Yamato class. By dawn on April 7, Asashimo, one of the destroyers developed engine trouble and started heading back to port in Japan. 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. What sank the Yamato? By early 1945, the Japanese Empire was shrinking daily and the war had reached its home shores. Although 16 warships were hit, Yamato sustained only minor damage from a number of near misses and from one bomb that struck her bridge. It. This is the first wave of 280 aircraft (132 fighters, 50 bombers, 98 torpedo planes) from Task Group 58. Pearl harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941,hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. Surrounding Japanese ships lost an additional 1,167 men. Mitscher correctly assumed that the Japanese were operating without air cover and would be sitting ducks for his huge airwing. Japanese naval leaders briefed Emperor Hirohito on their plans, which consisted of massive air attacks, including kamikaze strikes. My father, Donald Lennox, Sr. was an Avenger pilot on the San Jacinto whose torpedo is credited for striking the Asashimo. Where is the wreck of the Yamato? Yamato was lost Apr. The Americans lose 10 aircraft and 12 crewmen. In all, Yamato took 12 bomb and two Japanese aircraft carriers Deep sea explorers have found two Japanese aircraft carriers that were sunk in battle in World War Two. of the battleship gives a sense of the 18-inch guns' enormous size (note sailors on deck). About a year before he died he told us about this battle against the Yamato and that he was involved in the attack, but no details. Torpedoes dropped from their bellies, slashing through the water toward Yamato. Support Veteran Journalism . Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States, a battle group of eight aircraft carriers, her enormous hull to the converging torpedoes. 74, although many begged to stay. Thanks for your presentation of this event! Fourteen F4U Chance-Vought Corsairs from BUNKER HILL strafe and rocket YAMATO but cause only minor damage. Another 110 planes appeared ready for the kill. LtCdr (later Captain) Herbert Houck, the leader of 43 TBM Avengers of VT-9 from YORKTOWN, detaches Lt Thomas Stetsons six Avengers in a final torpedo attack from the ships starboard side. 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. VA-65 (1948) Air Group II (2) Yamato's injuries were fatal. Captain Hara on Yahagi reported that the large formations of aircraft circled around the task force just outside anti-aircraft range for a number of minutes, some in clockwise rotation and some in counter-clockwise rotation, as strike leaders organized strikes on particular targets free of interference from Japanese fighters. Destroyer SUZUTSUKI wreathed in black smoke, burns furiously. 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