Yamato Battleship Dimensions

The size of the Yamato battleship in terms of length was 263 meters (862 ft 10 inches). The displacement was 65,027 tons. When fully loaded it was 71,659 tons. Together with the Mushashi, they were the largest battleships ever made.

Specifications

The waterline length of the Yamato was 256 meters (839 ft 11 inches). The beam was 121 ft or 36.9 m. The draft was 36 ft (equal to 11 m). The propulsion consisted of 12 Kampon boilers that powered 4 steam turbines.

The shp was 150,000 (110 MW). The propellers were four and the maximum speed was 30 km/h or 27 knots. The range was 2,700 nautical miles (13,334 km). This was at 16 kt. The complement was 2,500 to 2,800.

Armor

The size of the Yamato battleship was matched by its armor. It consisted of 650 mm (face turrets), a side armor of 410 mm, a 200 mm central armored deck and 226.5 mm armor on the outer deck as well. The ship also had 7 aircrafts.

Armament

Its main weapons were 18.1-inch / 45 Type 94 naval guns. These were the biggest ever put on a battleship and the Yamato had nine of them. Every gun weighed 147.3 metric tons (equal to 162.4 short tons). Each was also 69.3 ft (21.13 m) long. The guns were capable of shooting up shells 42 km (26 m) away. The size of the Yamato battleship allowed it to be fitted with more weapons.

This included a dozen 6.1 in (15 cm) guns. The ship also had a dozen 6 inch (16 cm) guns in half a dozen turrets. They were placed on the sides.

The Yamato battleship also had two dozen 1 in (25 cm) anti aircraft weapons. The Yamato was refitted in 1944 and equipped with new weapons. It possessed half a dozen 1 inch guns, two dozen 5 inch guns, and 162 antiaircraft guns.

The Yamato Battleship in Combat

The ship first saw combat in 1942 under the leadership of Admiral Isoroku Yamato. It became a part of the Combined Fleet that participated in the Battle of Midway.

The size of the Yamato battleship meant it used a lot of fuel. For this reason, the ship was not a factor during the Battle at Guadalcanal. In 1943, the Yamato was constantly on the move.

The ship would dock at Brunei, Kure or Truk. Its movements were dependent on where the Americans were bombing. Even though the ship fired the big guns in the Battle of Samar in 1944, several Japanese aircraft carriers were still destroyed.

The final mission of the Yamato began on March 29, 1845. The ship was stationed at Okinawa and ordered to shoot all enemy forces coming its way. On April 7, 1945, 280 US fighter planes began bombing the Yamato. After being hit by ten torpedoes and several bombs, the Yamato exploded and sank. Over 2,498 crew members perished.

The size of the Yamato battleship resulted in a tremendous blast. When the ammo storage blew up, the explosion was 4 miles high.