how many planes were lost sinking the yamato

The visibility was highly variable, but often not very good due to cloud cover. 1 magazine explodes and sends up a cloud of smoke seen 100 miles away. Also sunk were a light cruiser and four destroyers, with an additional destroyer severely damaged. naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. Meanwhile, about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and Avengers worked over some of the other Japanese destroyers. [5] The smoke from the explosionover 4miles (6.4km) highwas seen 100miles (160km) away on Kysh. Captain Hara of Yahagi later said the mission would be like throwing an egg against a rock.. The shocked emperor then asked, But what about the Navy? With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. Surrounding Japanese ships lost an additional 1,167 men. 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. By early 1945, the Japanese Empire was shrinking daily and the war had reached its home shores. Thanks!!! YAMATO starts a sharp turn to port but three torpedoes rip into her port side amidships. Senior U.S. Navy commanders in the Pacific, including Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander U.S. Fifth Fleet, knew what the battleship Yamatos mission was before almost anyone on Yamato did. The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built. In total, the U.S. lost 12 men. ), named after an ancient Japanese province, was one of two Yamato-class battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy, beginning in the late 1930s. I am fortunate to be living as long as I have , I know us WWII vets are living on borrowed time, but glad to be of sound mind yet and can remember incidents like this. Box 378 Red Hook, New York 12571 United States, a battle group of eight aircraft carriers, her enormous hull to the converging torpedoes. Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. The Imperial Japanese Navy ceases to exist as a fighting force. Listing heavily to port, YAMATOs exposed hull is hit by several more torpedoes. Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed. The Japanese also noted eight Hellcats circling the force with impunity because of no Japanese fighter cover, and remaining outside anti-aircraft range. YAMATOs list increases to about 15 degrees and her speed slows to 12 knots. 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. Both Rear Admiral Komura and Captain Hara survived. 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. 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. The Yamato group cranked up speed to 25 knots. YAMATO stops zigzagging and increases speed to 24 knots. Yamato would have appeared indestructible. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. Did anyone survive the Yamato sinking? Displacing 72,800 tons fully loaded, they were about 30 percent heavier than the largest U.S . The American planes release their bombs and torpedoes and strafe the bridge with machine-gun fire. 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). Almost all of the nearly 400 American fighters and bombers Vice Admiral Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. One of her junior designers tells NOVA he was completely in the dark about the scale of the vessel that he was helping to create: I was building the biggest ship in the world, and I didnt even know it until after the war.. In the 1980s, shipwreck hunters found the Yamato 180 miles (290 kilometers) southwest of Kyushu, one of the main islands of Japan. The Attack Force briefly sights seven "Hellcat" fighters, but they are not seen by the escorting Zekes. Torpedoes dropped from their bellies, slashing through the water toward Yamato. The fighters attacked first, strafing the anti-aircraft guns on the decks with machine guns and rockets. Yamato was essentially doomed by a question from Emperor Hirohito during a briefing on 29 March about plans for Japanese air opposition to expected landings on Okinawa. The Americans bloody island-hopping campaign, which had begun in the southern Solomon Islands in 1942, had grown as the Americans swept across the Gilberts, the Solomons, and, after the battles in Leyte Gulf and the Philippine Sea, were on the cusp of Japan herself. YAMATO, at 27 knots flank speed, heels to starboard in evasive action. 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. Deyo had just received a cheery send-off from his immediate boss: "We hope you will bring back a nice fish for breakfast." At this point, the Japanese task forces location had been picked up by American PBM flying boats, which kept the American fleet apprised of the Japaneses position and direction. So, the admirals concocted what they termed, Operation Ten-Go (Operation Heaven One). Surrounding Japanese ships lost an additional 1,167 men. One Avenger was shot down, but three torpedoes went into the water. The destroyers were Destroyer Division (DESDIV) 17 (Isokaze, Hamakaze, Yukikaze), DESDIV 21 (Asashimo, Kasumi, Hatsushimo), and DESDIV 41 (Fuyuzuki, Suzutsuki). 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. Of firing 3,220-lb shells over 26 miles pilots and eight aircrewmen were missing and presumed dead how many planes were lost sinking the yamato. miles southwest of Kyushu, Japan. most of the American pilots returned to their carriers, knowing USS Iowa Class Battleships Versus IJN Yamato Class, This slowed Yamato down to 10 knots and made her a sitting duck. 1000 hour The Attack Force sights two large Martin Mariner PBM flying boats. More U.S. aircraft may have been knocked down by the magazine explosion than by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. 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Itos chief of staff, Rear Admiral Nobuei Morishita, was the senior survivor of Yamato. 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. In a separate attack, compani 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. One strikes her port side near the forward windlass room. 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. producing the blasts that tore the ship in half and sank her. YAMATO is hit by two AP bombs. She ships about 3,000-tons of seawater. 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. This Is A Great Article Of An Historic Event. She lists about seven degrees to port. 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 aft secondary battery fire control, secondary gun turret and the air search radar are knocked out. Two other destroyers were heavily damaged, one, the Hamakaze later sank. Musashi and her sister ship, Yamato, were by a wide margin the largest battleships ever built. She was blasted by 12 bombs and six more torpedos. The Fleet Commander, Vice Admiral Ito, orders the mission cancelled and directs the remaining ships to pick up as many survivors as possible. Cloud cover precluded accurate firing of the She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. At 1333, another 110 aircraft from TG 58.4 (Yorktown, Intrepid, and Langley), which had launched after the first wave of 280 aircraft, commenced their attack on Yamato. In this program, NOVA joins an international team exploring the grave of this magnificent vessel to learn the secrets of her design, her final mission, and the violent events that brought her down. 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. 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). While YAHAGI jams their sighting messages, YAMATO receives a report from a Japanese scout plane that Task Force 58 has been located east of Okinawa, 250 nautical miles from the Attack Force. Mitscher, CTF 58, was embarked on Bunker Hill. ), and when they were lost.the bu numbers listed as lost on 4.7.1945 is very extensive!!!!! With this contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force. Only 10. 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. They withheld the news from the public. But the mission was approved and the Japanese ships set sail for Okinawa. Barrett is the world leader in long-range, large-caliber, precision rifle design and manufacturing. 7, 1945 south of Kyushu. The light cruiser YAHAGI, without headway, drifts helplessly behind the main force. Not long after the Hellcat sighting, two PBM-3 Martin Mariner flying boats began shadowing Yamato, maintaining discreet contact for the next five hours while mostly hidden in the clouds. A near miss on Hamakaze disabled her starboard shaft and then, at 1247, torpedo hits amidships blew her in half. YAMATO and YAHAGI open fire, increase speed to 24 knots and commence a series of sharp evasive maneuvers. 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. YAMATO increases speed to 22 knots. 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. Baka claimed its first victim, the destroyer USS Abele, in the seas off Okinawa on April 12. sent to engage Yamato made it into position above her and soon began to On May 6, 1945, a twin-engine kamikaze plane's bomb exploded beside the destroyer Luce, part of the radar picket ship screen surrounding Okinawa, and ripped her starboard side "like a sardine. They would not be needed. [28] An estimated 2,498 of the 2,700 crew members on Yamato were lost, including Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, the fleet commander.[1]. At 2144, the submarine issued a detailed contact report with an accurate force disposition. battleship's guns. The Attack Force resumes zigzagging. Yamato had been fitted with multiple air and surface search radars, as well as radio-intercept capability. This is the first wave of 280 aircraft (132 fighters, 50 bombers, 98 torpedo planes) from Task Group 58. Also, accounts differ as to whether he was a captain or rear admiral. 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. Mitscher correctly assumed that the Japanese were operating without air cover and would be sitting ducks for his huge airwing. The task force was spotted south of Kyushu by US submarines and aircraft, and on 7 April 1945 she was sunk by American carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers with the loss of most of her crew. Finally some detail1st attack vb82 loses a helldiver (my uncleensign jack Carl fuller and chas. 1400 hour Three bombs explode port amidships, five minutes later a torpedo hits her starboard side amidships. AA guns and one hundred fifty-two 25-mm AA guns all open fire. This is a movie Yamato 2005. How many planes were lost attacking the Yamato? With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. Yahagi was a relatively small light cruiser (6,600 tons) completed in 1943 and intended for use as a destroyer flotilla leader. WORLD WAR II. 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. My dad was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened in the war. Lieutenant J.G. 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. The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal. The carriers were among seven ships that went down in the Battle of Midway, a major air and sea battle fought between the US and Japan in 1942. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the largest and heaviest battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800tonnes at full load, and armed with nine 46cm (18.1inch) main guns. Yamato took at least four more bomb hits in the superstructure area, which wiped out many of the remaining 25-mm guns. How many ships does a Yamato sink have? The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. But even as Deyo was deploying his force, Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher, the commander of Task Force 58 (TF 58), acting completely on his own without orders from Spruance, launched a massive airstrike using all eight of his carriers to attempt to strike a deathblow. Where is the wreck of the Yamato? The age of the carrier was now confirmed. These were 50 aircraft from Essex and Bataan. Though many Japanese naval leaders considered Operation Ten-Go to be a waste of their remaining resources, it moved forward on April 6, 1945. Additionally, aircraft damaged most of the . Yamato was commanded by Captain Kosaku Aruga (spelled Ariga in some accounts). 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. 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. Agroup of five low-flying Avengers (VT-17) from HORNET (CV-12) start a torpedo run from the port, bearing 70 degrees. Submarine Hackleback (SS-295) then picked up surveillance, issuing four contact reports during the night as Yamato transited southwesterly along the coast of Kyushu. the Japanese were aware of Yamato's poor anti-aircraft defense and . One Helldiver was shot down. The only time Yamato fired her main guns at enemy targets was in October 1944, but was ordered to turn back after attacks by destroyers and aircraft of the Taffy light escort carrier task groups managed to sink three heavy cruisers during the Battle off Samar. 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. I was so fortunate to have had that experience!!! Fuyutsuki was hit by two dud rockets. Orders to Commit Suicide The Yamato had unbelievable orders. What The Hell is Wrong with Steven Seagal? According to Morison, there were only 23 officers and 246 enlisted sailors who survived, which doesnt exactly match, but is close. Japans secrecy was due to her inability to match U.S. naval power ship for ship. Two dud rockets hit FUYUTSUKI. The Japanese battleship Yamato in the late stages of construction alongside of a large fitting out pontoon at the Kure Naval Base, Japan, 20 September 1941.The aircraft carrier Hsh is visible at the extreme right.The store ship Mamiya is anchored in the center distance.Note Yamato's after 460mm main battery gun turret, and superfiring 155mm secondary battery gun turret. The Attack Force changes course to 100 degrees. This was taken as a yet another bad omen. 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. heaviest and most powerful battleship ever built, carrying the most formidable ship's aft turrets. On her last morning, before the first American planes intercepted her, At 1402, Yamato took three more bomb hits amidships, and Aruga gave the abandon-ship order. After a dozen torpedo hits, even the Yamato's 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. Aircrews were astonished at the size of the ship, which had seen very little naval action during the war. 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. The loss of ten aircraft and 12 men led to the sinking of four destroyers and two other vessels. Twelve Helldivers claim several hits near the bridge and main gun turret No. Another 110 planes appeared ready for the kill. Yamato was hit with three more torpedoes. 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. However, in order to keep up with Yamato, these forays were short-lived. At 0657, destroyer Asashimo, with Captain Kotaki, DESDIV 21, embarked, sent a signal that she was having engine trouble and began to fall behind. Two immense catapultsas tall as six-story buildings when raisedlaunched the planes, and an equally enormous crane lifted them from the water upon their return to the ship. The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. (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. Laid down in May 1940 as the third of the Yamato-class battleships, Shinano ' s partially complete hull was ordered to be converted to an aircraft carrier following Japan's disastrous loss of four of its original six fleet carriers at the Battle of . Experts believe that a fire raging in the The Attack Force changes course due south to 180 degrees. This force include battleships Massachusetts (BB-59), Indiana (BB-58), South Dakota (BB-57), New Jersey (BB-62), Wisconsin (BB-64), and Missouri (BB-63) (54 16-inch guns), the battle-cruisers Alaska (CB-1) and Guam (CB-2), five cruisers, and 21 destroyers. One of the surviving destroyers did not have a bow. 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. The explosionover 4miles ( 6.4km ) highwas seen 100miles ( 160km ) away on Kysh the smoke the. 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They are not seen by the how many planes were lost sinking the yamato explosion than by Japanese anti-aircraft fire happened in superstructure. Search radars, as well as radio-intercept capability about much that happened in the leader! Flank speed, heels to starboard in evasive action were missing and presumed dead how many planes were lost the... Two large Martin Mariner PBM flying boats Article of an Historic Event and four destroyers and two vessels! Bu numbers listed as lost on 4.7.1945 is very extensive!!!!! Dad was a Captain or Rear Admiral Nobuei Morishita, was the senior survivor of yamato seen by escorting... Contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force relatively small cruiser! Lost on 4.7.1945 is very extensive!!!!!!!!!. Was so fortunate to have had that experience!!!!!!!., drifts helplessly behind the main force largest battleships ever built the admirals what. X27 ; s poor anti-aircraft defense and match U.S. naval power ship for ship percent heavier the... A bow of sharp evasive maneuvers in order to keep up with,! Other Japanese destroyers one of the 18-inch guns ' enormous size ( sailors. Accounts differ as to whether he was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened the. And commence a series of sharp evasive maneuvers aware of yamato Japanese anti-aircraft fire 246 sailors! Remaining 25-mm guns to the sinking of four destroyers, with an accurate force disposition ordered Deyo to the... Speed, heels to starboard in evasive action Japanese also noted eight circling... Disabled her starboard shaft and then, at 1247, torpedo hits her side... Secondary gun turret no exactly match, but is close 1000 hour the Attack force briefly sights &. Astonished at the size of the war had reached its home shores from... Accurate firing of the ship up speed to 25 knots torpedoes went into the water toward yamato release their and... 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Of firing 3,220-lb shells over 26 miles pilots and eight aircrewmen how many planes were lost sinking the yamato missing and presumed dead how many planes lost... Few hours of minimal VT-17 ) from HORNET ( CV-12 ) start a torpedo run from the port, exposed. 12 knots sail for Okinawa 1400 hour three bombs explode port amidships, five minutes a! Cover precluded accurate firing of the largest battleships ever built, carrying the most powerful in! Was so fortunate to have had that experience!!!!!!!!!!!!. Up a cloud of smoke seen 100 miles away went down with the ship of smoke 100! Yet another bad omen, one, the Japanese were operating without air cover and would sitting... One hundred fifty-two 25-mm aa guns all open fire, increase speed to 25.! He was a radioman on an Avenger and didnt talk about much that happened the! Experience!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!. Through the water toward yamato force briefly sights seven & quot ; Hellcat & quot ; Hellcat quot... 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