Yamato: Flagship of the Japanese Imperial Navy

Description

The 'Yamato' and her sister ship the 'Musashi' represented the ultimate development in the battleship. Together, the two ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. Named after the Yamato Province, 'Yamato' was designed to counter the numerically superior fleet of the US Navy. Built amongst a shroud of secrecy and deception and commissioned shortly after the outbreak of the war in the Pacific she was present at a number of engagements including the Battle of Midway and the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Despite having been designed to engage and sink enemy surface vessels, the 'Yamato' would only fire her unrivalled 18.1-inch guns at an enemy surface target on one occasion, in October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. In the final months of the war, as Kamikaze aircraft targeted American landing fleets off Okinawa, the 'Yamato' herself embarked on a one way mission of sacrifice, in a last desperate roll of the dice in an attempt to wreak havoc on the landing forces around Okinawa, the last stepping stone prior to an invasion of the Japanese Home Islands. Despite being products of war from the moment of their construction the 'Yamato' and 'Musashi' occupied a unique which continues to this day.

Daniel Knowles was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and has been interested in history since the age of eight. The main focus of his historical interest is the Second World War. In 2016 he graduated with an honours degree in History and Politics from the University of Northumbria. His previous works include 'Tirpitz: The Life and Death of Germany's Last Great Battleship' and 'HMS Hood: Pride of the Royal Navy'.