7 April 1945: the Yamato battle ship sinks

07/04/15

Seventy years ago one of the most desperate but "magnificent" pages of the Second World War was celebrated in the waters of the Pacific. With the unacceptable defeat now clearly on the horizon, the Yamato left for his last mission.

It had a displacement of 72.810 tons and the main armament consisted of 9 460 mm guns.

Together with the pariclasse Musashi (sunk on 24 October 1944) it was the largest battleship in history

Operation Ten-Go, the last venture that led the Yamato, was clearly suicidal from its conception: without now dominating the sea and with minimal air cover, a Japanese flotilla would have to reach the island of Okinawa, under siege from 1 April.

After receiving sufficient fuel for the only outward journey the ship sailed from the port of Tokuyama to the 6 in April.

The following morning he was spotted by two submarines and an enemy reconnaissance aircraft.

At 370, miles from the target, Japanese ships were attacked by hundreds of American planes that, after nearly two hours, detonated an ammunition depot in the ship (last photo below).

The Yamato task force (1 battleship, 1 light cruiser and 8 destroyers) faced an opposing force consisting of 11 aircraft carriers with 386 aircraft, 6 battleships, 11 cruisers and over 30 destroyers.

The courage of the 2.375 fallen crewmen and survivors of the Yamato remains among the most eloquent examples of ancient Japanese military determination.

Andrea Cucco