Running trials, 30 October 1941.
This photograph was seized by Occupation Authorities in Japan following
the end of World War II.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Online Image: 102KB; 740 x 615 pixels
Photo #: NH 73092
Yamato
Running trials, on 30 October 1941.
Courtesy of Mr. Kazutoshi Hando, 1970.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 63KB; 740 x 470 pixels
Photo #: NH 63433
Yamato
In the late stages of construction alongside the large fitting out pontoon
at the Kure Naval Base, Japan, 20 September 1941.
The aircraft carrier Hosho is at the extreme right. The store
ship Mamiya is in the center distance.
Note Yamato's after 460mm main battery gun turret, and superfiring
155mm secondary battery gun turret.
Courtesy of Lieutenant Commander Shizuo Fukui.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 143KB; 740 x 615 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-309662
Carrier Raids on Japan, March 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato maneuvers while under heavy air attack
by Task Force 58 planes in the Inland Sea, 19 March 1945. She was not seriously
damaged in these attacks.
Photographed from a USS Hornet (CV-12) plane.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Yamato
in the Battle of Leyte Gulf, 22-26 October 1944
On 20 October 1944, U.S. Forces landed on the Island of Leyte, the first
of the Japanese-held Philippine Islands to be invaded. In response, the
Japanese Navy activated the complex "Sho-Go" Operation, in which several
different surface and air forces would converge on the Philippines to try
and drive off the Americans. As part of Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center
Force, Yamato moved up to Brunei Bay, Borneo, to refuel and then
steamed toward the operational area in company with four other battleships,
ten heavy cruisers and numerous other warships. On 23 October, while west
of the Philippines, the Center Force was attacked by the U.S. submarines
Darter
(SS-227) and Dace (SS-247). Three heavy cruisers were torpedoed
and two sunk, including Kurita's flagship, Atago. The Admiral then
moved to Yamato, which served as his flagship for the rest of the
operation.
The next day, 24 October, as the Center Force steamed through the Philippines'
central Sibuyan Sea, it was repeatedly attacked by planes from U.S. aircraft
carriers. Battleship Musashi was sunk and a heavy cruiser forced
to retire. Yamato and several other ships were hit but remained
battleworthy. The Americans thought the entire Center Force had retreated,
but it transited the San Bernardino Strait under cover of darkness and
entered the Pacific.
In the morning of 25 October, while off Samar, Kurita's Center Force
encountered a U.S. Navy escort aircraft carrier task group. In a long running
battle, in which Yamato fired her big guns at enemy ships for the
only time in her career, one U.S. carrier and three destroyers were sunk.
Fiercely opposed by the escort carriers' planes and the destroyers' guns
and torpedoes, Vice Admiral Kurita lost three heavy cruisers, and his nerve.
Though the way was almost clear to move onward to Leyte Gulf, where a climactic
battleship gunnery duel would have certainly resulted, he ordered his force
to withdraw and return to Brunei Bay. That ended Yamato's participation
in the last great naval battle of World War II, and marked the end of the
Japanese Fleet as a major threat to Allied offensive operations in the
Western Pacific.
This page features all our images of the Japanese battleship Yamato
during the October 1944 Battle of Leyte Gulf.
The following
photographs show Yamato as she prepared for participation in the
Battle of Leyte Gulf:
Photo #: NH 73090
Japanese Battleships at Brunei, Borneo, October 1944
Photographed just prior to the Battle of Leyte Gulf.
Ships are, from left to right: Musashi, Yamato, a cruiser
and Nagato.
Courtesy of Mr. Kazutoshi Hando, 1970.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 120KB; 740 x 550 pixels
Photo #: NH 63435
Battle of Leyte Gulf, October 1944
The Japanese "Center Force" leaves Brunei Bay, Borneo, on 22 October
1944, en route to the Philippines.
Ships are, from right to left: battleships Nagato, Musashi
and Yamato; heavy cruisers Maya, Chokai, Takao,
Atago,
Haguro and Myoko.
The
following photographs show Yamato (or what may be Yamato)
during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944:
Photo #: 80-G-46986
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
Japanese battleship Yamato (lower center) and other ships maneuver
while under attack by U.S. Navy carrier-based aircraft in the Sibuyan Sea.
The shadow of one plane is visible on a cloud in lower right center.
Online Image: 101KB; 660 x 675 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-325953
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
Japanese battleship Yamato in action with U.S. carrier planes,
as she transited the Sibuyan Sea.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Online Image: 123KB; 740 x 550 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-325952
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
Japanese battleship Yamato is hit by a bomb near her forward
460mm gun turret, during attacks by U.S. carrier planes as she transited
the Sibuyan Sea.
This hit did not produce serious damage.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Online Image: 106KB; 740 x 605 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-272550
Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944
A Japanese battleship (at left--either Yamato or Musashi)
and other warships maneuver while under attack by U.S. carrier planes in
the Sibuyan Sea. Ship in lower left and the two at the extreme right are
heavy cruisers.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
The
following photographs show Yamato during the Battle off Samar, 25
October 1944:
Photo #: 80-G-48888
Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944
Japanese battleship Yamato (right) in action with U.S. carrier
planes off Samar. Another battleship is in the left distance, steaming
in the opposite direction.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Online Image: 66KB; 740 x 615 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-378525
Battle off Samar, 25 October 1944
Japanese battleship Yamato (foreground) and a heavy cruiser in
action during the Battle off Samar.
The cruiser appears to be either Tone or Chikuma.
Photographed from a USS Petrof Bay (CVE-80) plane.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Soon after Okinawa was invaded on 1 April 1945, the Japanese implemented
a desperate effort to destroy the fleet supporting the landings. Designated
"Ten-Go", this operation largely consisted of massed "Kamikaze" suicide
plane attacks. However, the battleship Yamato, largest surviving
ship of the Japanese Navy, was also to play a role, steaming down from
the home islands to blast invasion shipping off Okinawa's western coast.
This mission was also understood to be suicidal, and only enough fuel was
provided for a one-way cruise.
Yamato and her consorts, including the light cruiser Yahagi
and eight destroyers, left port in mid-afternoon on 6 April 1945, the day
that the "Ten-Go" suicide planes began their all-too-horrible onslaught.
While exiting the Inland Sea, the ships were twice sighted by U.S. submarines,
and were again seen by a carrier search plane in the morning of the 7th.
U.S. Navy carriers launched nearly 400 aircraft to hit the oncoming Japanese
ships. Six U.S. battleships prepared to intercept the Japanese, in case
they somehow got past the overwhelming aerial force. The Yamato
group was provided with no air support, so the U.S. planes were opposed
only by generally ineffective anti-aircraft gun fire.
The carrier planes began their attacks in the early afternoon, scoring
immediate bomb and torpedo hits on Yamato and sinking Yahagi
and a destroyer. Three other destroyers were sunk over the next hour, as
the Japanese continued to steam southwards. In all, Yamato was struck
by some ten torpedoes, mainly on the port side, and several bombs. At about
1420 on the afternoon of 7 April, less than two hours after she was first
hit, the great battleship capsized to port, exploded and sank, leaving
behind a towering "mushroom" cloud. Fewer than 300 men of Yamato's
crew were rescued. Nearly 2500 of her men were lost, plus over a thousand
more from Yahagi and the escorting destroyers. U.S. losses totalled
ten aircraft and twelve aircrewmen.
This page features all our images of the Japanese battleship Yamato
during the April 1945 "Ten-Go" Operation.
Photo #: NH 62581
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato maneuvers while under attack by U.S.
Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945.
The original photo caption reads: "The 72,000-ton Japanese battleship
Yamato,
pride of the Imperial Fleet, maneuvers evasively at a brisk 15 to 20 knots
prior to attack. One fire can be observed amidships from previous attacks,
but at this point no list has developed."
Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane.
Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 66KB; 740 x 615 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-313714
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato (top) and a destroyer in action with
U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa on 7 April 1945. Yamato
appears to be down at the bow and moving slowly after being hit by multiple
air attacks.
The destroyer is either Fuyuzuki or Suzutsuki, and appears
to have fired her after 10cm guns at the instant this photo was taken.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Online Image: 162KB; 740 x 610 pixels
Photo #: NH 62580
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato listing to port and afire at the after
end of her superstructure, but still underway, while under attack by U.S.
Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945.
The original photo caption reads: "A torpedo plane's view of battleship
Yamato.
This is how Japan's mightiest warship appeared as six lone U.S. Navy torpedo
planes raced in to destroy her. She is still making 10 to 15 knots, though
fires continue to burn amidships."
Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane.
Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 103KB; 740 x 625 pixels
Photo #: NH 62585
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato listing to port and down at the bow,
during attacks by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945.
One of her escorting destroyers is at left.
The original photo caption reads: "Japanese battleship Yamato
lists to port (at right) just prior to VT-9 (USS Yorktown) torpedo
attack, 7 Apr. 1945. She is making 10 to 15 knots. A Japanese destroyer
cruises ahead."
Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane.
Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 111KB; 740 x 620 pixels
Photo #: NH 62579
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
The Japanese battleship Yamato explodes as she sinks, after receiving
massive torpedo and bomb damage from U.S. Navy carrier planes north of
Okinawa, 7 April 1945.
The original photo caption reads: "A split-second shot of Yamato
as she blew up. A red ball of flame envelops this mightiest of Japanese
battleships, and a moment later it shoots like a comet to the clouds, 2000
feet high." Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane.
Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 92KB; 740 x 605 pixels
Photo #: 80-G-413914
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato blows up after receiving massive bomb
and torpedo damage from U.S. Navy carrier planes, north of Okinawa on 7
April 1945.
Three Japanese destroyers are nearby.
Official U.S. Navy Photograph, now in the collections of the National
Archives.
Online Image: 76KB; 740 x 615 pixels
Photo #: NH 62582
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Japanese battleship Yamato blows up, following massive attacks
by U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945. An escorting
destroyer is at left.
Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane.
Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
U.S. Naval Historical Center Photograph.
Online Image: 85KB; 590 x 765 pixels
Photo #: NH 62584
"Ten-Go" Operation, April 1945
Smoke rises to the clouds shortly after the Japanese battleship Yamato
capsized, exploded and sank after receiving many bomb and torpedo hits
from U.S. Navy carrier planes north of Okinawa, 7 April 1945. Escorting
destroyers are visible to the left of the smoke.
Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane.
Collection of Fleet Admiral Chester W. Nimitz, USN.
