They truly were the Greatest Generation. Aboard the TF 58 carriers, the strike packages were remaining ready on deck while the searches were underway. Lieutenant J.G. By this time, there wasnt much left of the Japanese navy that was still operational, and fuel was in critically short supply. [28] An estimated 2,498 of the 2,700 crew members on Yamato were lost, including Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, the fleet commander.[1]. The first U.S. attack wave ended about 1250. 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. She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. 1). Yamato (, lit. 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. Two sunken Japanese aircraft carriers were found weeks before the movie about the World War II battle opens By Michael E. Ruane November 8, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. EST Some of the Japanese survivors reported that U.S. fighter aircraft strafed Japanese survivors floating in the water. Even before the war, the Japanese understood that they could never match the U.S. Navy for quantity, but were convinced they could build a better battleship. [5] The smoke from the explosionover 4miles (6.4km) highwas seen 100miles (160km) away on Kysh. Of the 3,332 crew members aboard the Yamato, only 276 survived the sinking. Yamato would have appeared indestructible. Yamato produced the mushroom cloud seen here shortly before she sank. Praesidus brings homage to the military watch tradition. She didn't even make it close to Okinawa. 0800 hour The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). Yamato carried only enough fuel to reach Okinawa, as the fuel stocks available were insufficient to provide enough fuel to reach Okinawa and return. strafe the battleship with bullets and drop 1,000-pound bombs. Yamato's injuries were fatal. 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. Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane (NH 62581). THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING VETERAN JOURNALISM - JOIN SOFREP+ , When the U.S. invaded Okinawa on April 1, 1945, the Japanese had, So, the admirals concocted what they termed, Operation Ten-Go (Operation Heaven One). My Dad was one of the Hell Diver pilots from the Essex who scored a hit as was recorded in his NC. I was a radioman on one of the VT23 Avengers participating in this strike flying off the Langley. He just didnt want to talk about the war. (They were right.) 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. her bow and stern where her armor was thinnest. battleship's aft secondary magazine caused tons of ammunition to ignite almost simultaneously, ), and when they were lost.the bu numbers listed as lost on 4.7.1945 is very extensive!!!!! She was blasted by 15 bomb hits and eight torpedoes. Behind the Scenes Submarine Hackleback (SS-295) then picked up surveillance, issuing four contact reports during the night as Yamato transited southwesterly along the coast of Kyushu. Thanks for your presentation of this event! Thanks!!! The first wave of the attack resulted in two bomb and one torpedo hits on the Yamato which had increased her speed to flank in an attempt to make her a harder target to hit. By 1420, the main deck was vertical and, at 1430, Yamato had rolled over and just gone under when the No.1 forward magazine detonated in a massive explosion that killed almost all of Yamatos crew who had survived to that point and raised a pall of smoke that could be seen for 100 miles. In the interviews below, meet two Yamato veterans still haunted by memories of the battle that took most of their comrades lives. Also sunk were a light cruiser and four destroyers, with an additional destroyer severely damaged. 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. This time, all attacks concentrated on the battleship. A U.S. PBM Mariner also rescued several Japanese survivors. At 1302, Yamatos remaining air search radar detected a second inbound wave. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. [25][26] Damage to the battleship, however, was light,[25] due in part to the base being defended by elite veteran Japanese fighter instructors flying Kawanishi N1K Shiden or George fighters. And it was never more apparent than during the Battle of Okinawa. Aruga would be posthumously promoted to vice admiral and Ito to full admiral. 3s USS ESSEX (CV-9), BUNKER HILL (CV-17), BATAAN (CVL-24) and CABOT (CVL-28). 1). torpedoes such that they would penetrate Yamato below the waterline near Light cruiser Yahagi steered away from Yamato in an attempt to draw attention away from the battleshiptoo successfully. The result was arguably the largest suicide mission in history. Now I know a little bit. (The Yamato force had a Nisei radio-intelligence operator. Musashi and her sister ship, Yamato, were by a wide margin the largest battleships ever built. [1][26] Led by the man who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, Minoru Genda, the appearance of these fighters, which were equal or superior to the F6F Hellcat in performance, surprised the attackers, and several American planes were shot down. YAMATO starts a sharp turn to port but three torpedoes rip into her port side amidships. 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). 1 magazine causing a huge explosion with a mushroom smoke cloud that was visible for 100 miles away. So, the admirals concocted what they termed, Operation Ten-Go (Operation Heaven One). There were few Japanese survivors. 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. What are they doing to assist in defending Okinawa? Japanese reports claim U.S. aircraft strafed survivors in the water, but also report that attacks ceased on destroyers that were picking up survivors. I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. Yahagi capsized and sank shortly after 1400. More than 4,000 Japanese sailors were involved in the operation. Light cruiser YAHAGI, hit by 12 bombs and seven torpedoes sinks exactly one minute after the last bomb hits. Deep sea explorers have found two Japanese aircraft carriers that were sunk in battle in World War Two. At 0657, destroyer Asashimo, with Captain Kotaki, DESDIV 21, embarked, sent a signal that she was having engine trouble and began to fall behind. Weighing 72,800 tons. Thank you to all the brave men and women of the US armed forces! Anatomy of Yamato All Rights Reserved. By noon, the Corsair and Hellcat fighters arrived over the Yamato group, looking for fighters protecting the Japanese, and finding none waited for the dive bombers and torpedo planes to arrive. The first attack wave retires. this one exploding off Yamato's port bow, it was their air-launched torpedoes They were also instructed to An astounding series of explosions onboard 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. On her last morning, before the first American planes intercepted her, At 1423 as she began to capsize, the raging fires onboard ignited her magazines and the resultant explosion unleashed a huge mushroom cloud that rose to 20,000 feet and took out a few American planes that were overhead. The mission was given to Vice Admiral Seiichi Ito, commander of the Japanese Second Fleet (pretty much all that was left of the Combined Fleet), embarked on the super-battleship Yamato. 1000 hour The Attack Force sights two large Martin Mariner PBM flying boats. They had already lost the battles of the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Iwo Jima. Captain Hara of Yahagi later said the mission would be like throwing an egg against a rock.. While the Americans' 1,000-pound bombs held fearsome destructive power, as seen in FRUPAC had the message that the air cover would end at 1000, which was also known to senior U.S. Navy commanders. 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Roberts (FFG-58), H-011-1 Guadalcanal: Victory at Cape Esperance, H-011-3 Santa Cruz (Japanese Pyrrhic Victory), H-014-1 The Seizure of USS Pueblo (AGER-2), H-017-2: Operation Rolling Thunder Overview, H-019-4 "Black May": Battle of the Atlantic 1943, H-019-5 "Black Sunday": U-Boats off U.S. East Coast 1918, H-020-4: Submarine AL-2 Versus U-Boat UB-65, H-024-1 Bougainville and Victory in the Solomons, H-025-1 Operation GalvanicTarawa and Makin, H-028-1 Vietnam 1969 Navy Medal of Honor Awards, H-032-1 Operation Forager and the Battle of Philippine Sea, H-Gram Special Edition: Passing of Supreme Court Justice Stevens, H-045-3: 50th Anniversary of Apollo 13 Mission, H-046-1: Kamikaze Attack on USS Aaron Ward, H-048-1: Kamikaze Attacks on U.S. Flagships, H-048-2: Naval Battle of Okinawa (Continued), H-049-2: LCDR George Street's Medal of Honor, H-052-1: The U.S. Navy and the Atomic Bomb, H-053-1: The End of the Imperial Japanese Navy, H-053-3: Operation Desert Shield, September 1990, H-054-1: Inchon Landing and Naval Action in the Korean War, September-October 1950, H-054-2: Operation Desert Shield, October 1990, H-055-2: Operation Desert Shield, November 1990, H-055-: Attack on USS Cole (DDG-67) October 2000, H-056-2: Operation Desert Shield, December 1990-January 1991, H-057-1: Operations Downfall and Ketsugo November 1945, H-057-2: Operation Cherry Blossoms at Night, H-058-1: Operation Desert Storm in January 1991, H-058-2: Korean War - Communist China Offensive, H-059-1: Operation Desert Storm in Feb-Mar 1991, H-059-2: 50th Anniversary of the Vietnam War, H-061-1 Korea: U.S. Navy Operations, March-July 1951, H-061-3 Desert Storm: Sealift, Seabees, Navy Medicine, H-063-3: The Battle of Shimonoseki Strait, H-064-1: Close Quarters Antisubmarine Warfare (Part 1), H-064-2: Close Quarters Antisubmarine Warfare (Part 2), H-064-3: Close Quarters Antisubmarine Warfare (Part 3), H-069-1: "The Covered Wagon: USS Langley (CV-1), H-070-1: The Vietnam War Easter Offensive, Part 1, H-071-2: U.S. Navy Surface Ship Accidents Since World War II, H-071-3: The Sacrifices of USS Neosho and USS Sims, H-074-1: The Vietnam War Easter Offensive, Part 2, H-075-1: U.S. Navy vs. Soviets Overwater Dogfight, H-075-2: Short History of U.S. Navy Accidents and Non-Combat Losses. 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. The Japanese also spot the HACKLEBACK trailing the Attack Force. Between then and 1000, a total of 14 Zekes would provide cover. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. 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. The Attack Force turns to course 205, towards Okinawa. Read Next: The Ultimate Gunfighters! 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. Pearl harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941,hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. With this contact information, Spruance ordered Deyo to ready the blocking force. The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; Yamato ' s only . Was the Bismarck bigger than the Yamato? TG 58.1, commanded by Rear Admiral J. J. Only 10. He reports the formation at bearing 180, heading north, and splitting into two groups. Thus, its possible Aruga was selected, but not yet promoted. In keeping with Japanese practice of posthumous promotion for death in battle, he was promoted to vice admiral after Yamato was sunk, that much is fact. Though many Japanese naval leaders considered Operation Ten-Go to be a waste of their remaining resources, it moved forward on April 6, 1945. The extremely large number of antiaircraft guns, added during a refit, were meant to keep the ship afloat in the face of American airpower until it could close within striking range of enemy. With the steering locked to port and the ship doomed, Admiral Ito at 1402 hours ordered the crew to abandon ship. Spruance gave orders to Rear Admiral Morton Deyo, commander of the Bombardment Force, to take his six old battleships and set up a blocking force northwest of Okinawa (as Yamato was circling around in that direction with the intent to stay as far from TF 58 as possible). When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. She takes on a heavy list to port and her speed drops to 18 knots. 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. Five Helldivers are damaged by AA fire. Instead, military leaders decided to build a secret weapon that could engage many enemy ships at once. A report that had been delayed for 25 minutes by ransmission and decoding, is received finally. Six Yorktown Avengers attacked from the starboard side, with their Mark 13 torpedoes re-set for a 20-foot depthseveral hit. Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. While still a token of national pride, the sinking of Yamato also symbolized the sad end of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy. However, three-quarters of these (128 boats) were lost during the conflict, a proportion of loss similar that experienced by Germany's U-Boats. Both Rear Admiral Komura and Captain Hara survived. It said the wreck was in two main pieces, a bow-to-midships section about 560 feet long, and a 264-foot-long stern section. The massive air group circled just out of range of the anti-aircraft guns of the Japanese. Jocko Clark, embarked on Hornet (CV-12), included Hancock (CV-19), Bennington (CV-20), Belleau Wood (CVL-24) and San Jacinto (CVL-30). Had Yamato ever encountered an Allied battleship group, she could have floated safely out of range, while destroying each ship in turn. But the Americans also had a battle group of eight aircraft carriers (Hornet, Bennington, Belleau Wood, San Jacinto; TG 58.3 Essex, Bunker Hill, Hancock, and Bataan) that were covering the landings. The destroyer Isokaze rushed to aid Yahagi and take off Rear Admiral Komura, but got pummeled by bombs before she got close. Baka claimed its first victim, the destroyer USS Abele, in the seas off Okinawa on April 12. This particular image was taken during an earlier battle with American carrier aircraft on October 24, 1944 as Yamato transited the Sibuyan Sea. 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. These were 50 aircraft from Essex and Bataan. This great vessel had a . 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