how many planes were lost sinking the yamato

With this contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force. Vice Admiral Ito initially objected to the mission, viewing it as futile and wasteful. 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. 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 scuttled. Air search reports two groups of aircraft, range 44 miles, closing at high speed. Half of the dead at . Almost all of the nearly 400 American fighters and bombers Yahagi capsized and sank shortly after 1400. A 500-pound general-purpose bomb hit Suzutsuki and blew off her bow. Displacing 72,800 tons fully loaded, they were about 30 percent heavier than the largest U.S . 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Aircrews were astonished at the size of the ship, which had seen very little naval action during the war. My dad was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened in the war. This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes ( Kikusui No. Barrett products are used by civilians, sport shooters, law enforcement agencies, the United States military, and more than 75 State Department-approved countries around the world. Quickly spotted by Allied aircraft, Yamato and its consorts were subjected to a series of heavy air attacks that resulted in the loss of the battleship and most of its supporting ships. At 1115, Yamatos radar indicated the two air groups were at 44 miles and closing rapidly. This time, all attacks concentrated on the battleship. Yamato's remains were located and examined in 1985 and again examined, more precisely, in 1999. 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. After a dozen torpedo hits, even the Yamato's her bow and stern where her armor was thinnest. 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. Taffy 2 and Taffy 3 aircraft contributed to the sinking of the heavy cruisers Chokai, Chikuma, and Suzuya, all of which had received some degree of damage from surface action. YAMATOs list increases to about 15 degrees and her speed slows to 12 knots. At 1210, destroyer Asashimo, lagging behind the force, reported that she was under air attack, and radio transmissions from her ceased. 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. Although born a U.S. citizen, he had been studying in Japan when the war broke out and had the choice of execution or serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy.). Around 3,700-4,250 men from Yamato and her escort ships were dead. Had Yamato ever encountered an Allied battleship group, she could have floated safely out of range, while destroying each ship in turn. Japanese Battleship Yamato - minutes before sinking. 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. A torpedo stopped her dead in the water and killed the entire engine compartment crew. 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. The Attack Force turns to course 205, towards Okinawa. One of the largest battleships ever built, Yamato entered service with the Imperial Japanese Navy in December 1941. producing the blasts that tore the ship in half and sank her. naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. Support Veteran Journalism . The debate up to that point was whether to keep the fleet in home waters as a last-ditch defense or to send it on what everyone knew would be a one-way mission to attack the overwhelming U.S. forces expected to be at Okinawa. The Avengers drop three torpedoes. 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 1232, lookouts in the Yamato force sighted the first incoming strike wave. Meanwhile, the dead-in-the-water Yahagi had soaked up at least 12 bombs and seven torpedo hits before she finally capsized and sank at 1405. Captain Hara of Yahagi later said the mission would be like throwing an egg against a rock.. Aruga would be posthumously promoted to vice admiral and Ito to full admiral. Japanese reports claim U.S. aircraft strafed survivors in the water, but also report that attacks ceased on destroyers that were picking up survivors. that ultimately led to the supership's demise. blasts were perhaps the largest ever to occur at sea. Smoke rises from the vicinity of the mainmast and a bomb explodes in the same area. (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.). An astounding series of explosions onboard The aft secondary battery fire control, secondary gun turret and the air search radar are knocked out. 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. (The Yamato force had a Nisei radio-intelligence operator. The Attack Force turns towards Sasebo. Fifty aircraft from ESSEX and BATAAN are sighted approaching from the SSW, range 18.5 miles. 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. 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. Agroup of five low-flying Avengers (VT-17) from HORNET (CV-12) start a torpedo run from the port, bearing 70 degrees. The Yamato group cranked up speed to 25 knots. At flank speed, YAMATO commences a right turn but two 1000-lb AP bombs hit her. YAMATO increases speed to 22 knots. Fourteen F4U Chance-Vought Corsairs from BUNKER HILL strafe and rocket YAMATO but cause only minor damage. April 7, 1945 Sinking of the Battleship Yamato. The attack lasted just two hours, but it was devastating: The Japanese managed to destroy nearly 20 American naval vessels, including eight enormous battleships, and more than 300 airplanes. Three Japanese destroyers are nearby (80-G-413914). The wreck lies 290 kilometres (180 mi) southwest of Kyushu under 340 metres (1,120 ft) of water in two main pieces; a bow section comprising the front two thirds of the ship, and a separate stern section.. Who found battleship Yamato? concentrate their torpedoes on just one of Yamato's sides, an approach This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes (Kikusui No. Surrounding Japanese ships lost an additional 1,167 men. When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese 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). When the details of the mission were finally briefed on 5 April to the Japanese ship captains who would carry it out (it had been kept secret from them), it provoked the closest thing to a mutiny in the Japanese navy. At 1000, Task Group 58.1 and Task Group 58.3 commence launching a 280-plane strike wave (132 fighters, 50 bombers, and 98 torpedo planes). The explosion was heard over 120 miles away. As soon as the Japanese fleet left port on April 6 at 1600 hours, and proceeded through the Bungo Strait, (many WWII film buffs will recall the strait from Run Silent, Run Deep), they were immediately picked up by two American submarines (Hackleback and Threadfin). The Attack Force changes course to 100 degrees. In total, the U.S. lost 12 men. Light cruiser Yahagi steered away from Yamato in an attempt to draw attention away from the battleshiptoo successfully. With Yamato slowed, U.S. torpedo planes started to deliberately target her stern to knock out her steering, and she became stuck in a starboard turn. This is a movie Yamato 2005. [1][5], At 12:32 on 7 April 1945, Yamato was attacked by a first wave of 280 aircraft from Task Force 58, taking three hits (two bombs, one torpedo). How many planes were lost attacking the Yamato? The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal air cover), to arrive in daylight hours in the U.S. transport area off southwestern Okinawa on 8 April. Everyone of them, enlisted and officers, were a true gentleman. YAMATO stops zigzagging and increases speed to 24 knots. Yamato took at least four more bomb hits in the superstructure area, which wiped out many of the remaining 25-mm guns. Thirty-four Hellcats, 22 Helldivers and one Corsair attack YAMATOs escorts. At 1302, Yamatos remaining air search radar detected a second inbound wave. 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). Yamato would have appeared indestructible. What sank the Yamato? Her secondary armament . The Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Ito, orders the mission cancelled and directs the remaining ships to pick up as many survivors as possible. 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. Although 16 warships were hit, Yamato sustained only minor damage from a number of near misses and from one bomb that struck her bridge. Lieutenant J.G. Yamato (, lit. 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. At 1417, she took an eighth and ninth torpedo, both to port. Her main armament consisted of three triple 18.1-inch gun turrets that could hurl a 3,200-pound shell (compared to 2,700 pounds for the U.S. 16-inch shells) to a range of just over 22 miles. However, in order to keep up with Yamato, these forays were short-lived. Yahagi lost 446 of about 1,000 crewmen. They were also instructed to The Imperial Japanese Navy's super-battleship Yamato, shown here during pre-commission running trials in the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, 20 October 1941 (NH 73092). 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. When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. I have his flight logs (as he never talked about the war except the death of his brother and his friends) so it is nice to get the big picture of this action. One strikes her port side near the forward windlass room. The Yamato sank during a fierce battle for Okinawa on April, 7 1945. My dads name is Ronald R. LeFebvre (Ding). You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. 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. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. Updated on July 03, 2019. Less than three and half years after Pearl Harbor, American industrial might was on full display. 4: Factual error; Musashi was sunk on Oct. 23, 1944 in the Sibuyan Sea. An F/A-18C Hornet catches an arresting wire on the USS Nimitz. YAMATO turns towards the planes and opens fire unsuccessfully as does cruiser YAHAGI. Though many Japanese naval leaders considered Operation Ten-Go to be a waste of their remaining resources, it moved forward on April 6, 1945. Both ships cease firing. Only 10 American aircraft 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. of the battleship gives a sense of the 18-inch guns' enormous size (note sailors on deck). Two dud rockets hit FUYUTSUKI. Hit by at least 11 torpedoes and six bombs, Yamato was sunk, along with Yahagi and four of the destroyers. Finally some detail1st attack vb82 loses a helldiver (my uncleensign jack Carl fuller and chas. Forced to wait out much of the war due to her vulnerability to air attack, Yamato was committed in a last, desperate gamble during the Battle of Okinawa in April 1945. About 120,000 were held at 10 camps because of fears that Japanese Americans were enemy sympathizers. One bomb exploded in crews quarters, but the other bomb exploded near the aft command station and knocked out one of her two air search radars, the aft secondary gun director, several 25-mm gun mounts, and started a fire that killed all but one crewman in the after secondary (6-inch) gun turret and that couldnt be put out. The sky is still overcast and visibility is poor. 2023 The SOFREP Media Group. Captain Aruga lashed himself to the binnacle to do the same. They had already lost the battles of the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Iwo Jima. All Rights Reserved. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. guns ever mounted at sea. Behind the Scenes Another 110 aircraft from Task Group 58. . Some of the Japanese survivors reported that U.S. fighter aircraft strafed Japanese survivors floating in the water. Of Yamato's crew of 2,747, all but 23 officers and 246 enlisted men were lost. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. 2 gun mount. Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. Torpedoes explode against Yamato's port side 7. It would not be enough. Six Yorktown Avengers attacked from the starboard side, with their Mark 13 torpedoes re-set for a 20-foot depthseveral hit. Some who were shot down were later picked up by seaplanes or submarines. As later described by the captain of Yahagi, Captain Tameichi Hara, the meeting was quite contentious. TG 58.1 and 58.3 were quickly on station. TOKYO Seventy-six years ago, on April 7, 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy vessel Yamato, the world's largest battleship, was sunk by U.S. military aircraft. To buck up morale, many captains of capital ships received a accelerated promotion to rear admiral in 1944. 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. Additionally, 1,178 people were wounded. As Yamato and escorts were transiting the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku on 6 April 1945, submarine Threadfin (SS-410) sighted the force at about 1745 and issued a contact report in the clear that was intercepted by Yamato. The second and third waves of the American attacks pummeled Yamato. Then radar reports the closing aircraft have turned towards the force. Yamato and her sister ship Musashi, sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, were, at 65,000 tons displacement (72,000 tons fully loaded), the largest battleships ever built. Did Yamato sink any ships? Between then and 1000, a total of 14 Zekes would provide cover. Anatomy of Yamato One of the final photographs of the supership shows her severely damaged hull 1 magazine explodes and sends up a cloud of smoke seen 100 miles away. The Japanese also spot the HACKLEBACK trailing the Attack Force. Fuyutsuki was hit by two dud rockets. None of the captains was afraid to diethey just objected to the sheer folly of attacking in daylight without air cover, believing that they wouldnt get anywhere close to Okinawa. Five Helldivers are damaged by AA fire. My father, Donald Lennox, Sr. was an Avenger pilot on the San Jacinto whose torpedo is credited for striking the Asashimo. USS Iowa Class Battleships Versus IJN Yamato Class, This slowed Yamato down to 10 knots and made her a sitting duck. TG 58.4 had just finished refueling and would arrive just in time. By the end of the battle, Yahagi and all eight destroyers were lost. Combined with Yamato, about 4,242 Japanese sailors gave their lives for the emperor on 7 April. Two other destroyers were heavily damaged, one, the Hamakaze later sank. It's cable. 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. 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. He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. . strafe the battleship with bullets and drop 1,000-pound bombs. A U.S. PBM Mariner also rescued several Japanese survivors. Although accounts vary about how many crewmen were on Yamato, the most definitive appears to be that 3,055 of 3,332 crewmen were lost. At 1107, Yamatos Type 13 air search radar detected a large aircraft formation inbound at the radars maximum range of 63 nautical miles, and noted the aircraft formation was splitting into two groups. Stetsons crewmen reset their Mark 13 torpedoes running depth to 20 feet. Ten minutes later, two more torpedoes strike her port side. It was going on the attack totally outnumbered. The Japanese naval defense plan was code-named named Sho-I-Go ("Victory"), and its objective was simple: Sink the American invasion fleet, maintain the Japanese occupation of the Philippines, and, by doing this, protect Japan from invasion. VA-6B (1946) One Helldiver is shot down, another is damaged badly. Yamato fired her 18-inch guns at approaching American aircraft, The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built. The light cruiser YAHAGI, without headway, drifts helplessly behind the main force. Damage Control counter-floods both starboard engine and boiler rooms and almost entirely corrects the list. Now I know a little bit. At 0840, the Japanese reported seven Hellcats orbiting around the force. Thank you to all our WWII vets. My dad served on the Langley. He considered it a waste of good men and ships. Both the U.S. Fifth Fleet commander, Admiral Spruance, and Vice Admiral Mitscher (commander of the Fast Carrier Task Force, TF 58), who had access to the Ultra communications intelligence and were expecting the sortie, immediately reacted to the submarine reports. The escorts cannot defend the flagship either. 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. The battleship and its sister, Musashi, were the only battleships ever constructed with 18.1" guns. Design commenced in 1934, construction began in 1937 (in great secrecy) and Yamato was commissioned in December 1941 just after Pearl Harbor. At 1407, she was struck by at least the seventh torpedo, this time to starboard. The battleship received a 30-minute time-late report from an observation post on a small Japanese island north of Okinawa that 150 U.S. planes were headed in Yamatos direction. 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. Yamato had been fitted with multiple air and surface search radars, as well as radio-intercept capability. The massive air group circled just out of range of the anti-aircraft guns of the Japanese. A torpedo strikes HAMAKAZE starboard, aft of amidships and she jackknifes. The destroyer Isokaze attempted to come to her aid but was heavily damaged and driven off. 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