The Yamato
 

:D There goes my next hour!

*loads up the vid against better judgment*
*shakes fist at Duci*
It's 5:30am, dammit! :dead::zzz:

Very cool. In 1963 I was a 5 year-old U.S. Army dependent living in Kure. One afternoon, my father took me to the cavernous drydock that was the womb of Yamato. To an adult, I'm sure it was mightily impressive. To a 5 year-old, its depth and breadth were both awesome and unsettling, as if it were the cradle of an entire Cosmos.

I've been fascinated with Yamato ever since.

Right on Ducimus! Thanks! :rock:

That was the best hour I've spent watching a video in a long time! Cheers to Duci for NOT wasting our time. This is a gem.

Then the gem lead to the much more problematical. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1b48W...eature=related

Felix Kersten. Ever hear of him? Heinrich Himmler's doctor. Alarm bells ring. Misgivings are strong. Watch it anyway. It's a remarkable and very ambivalent story. I have to side with the doctor though. He made a deal with Satan and won. If you can conquer your initial disgust, this is a greater gem.

Good video, though I wisecracked back at the screen less than a minute in:

The narrator asked: "Was the Yamato the most advanced warship of her time?"

I said "No, just the biggest."

least in the Yamato's case,,bigger wasn't better.

I too, found this video way to late in the evening but to tempted to skip!!!:nope:
Still paying for it this morning thank goodness for JAVA!!!!

Ok after seeing this video had questions on how the US planned there attack.
The sister ship Musashi was in several battles and the US found that hitting the bow with torpedos would slow her speed down to 10 kn.

In video they also talked abut the tightened security with the plans of Yamato
and that not one foreman or supervisor had a complete set of blue prints.
So on that aspect did the US know about the thick armored hull ??? Or just some fluke in History to attack one side to weaken her til her destruction ???
:doh:......:hmmm:

Exactly how did they find that out? Musashi was attacked by USS Tunny, and was hit by one torpedo near the bow. If the ship's progress was slower, it could have been because of the damage, or it could have been intentional to keep water pressure from causing more damage, which would have happened no matter where the hit was. My point is that they didn't know that "hitting the bow with torpedoes would slow her speed down to 10 knots" because it wouldn't.

Neither. They assumed the armor was thick because it is standard practice to use armor plate thick enough to protect from a long-range shot by your own guns, as there is no way of knowing exactly how much penetration an enemy shell might have. And no, it wasn't a fluke. It's common knowledge that any ship divided longitudinally will capsize more easily if all the damage is on one side than it will sink due to general overall damage. No secrets and no special knowledge, just something everybody involved with ships knows already.

I watched the entire video last night, though I was too tired to post a reply at the time. I found it to be very intriguing and I don't recall ever seeing it before, yet some sections seemed familiar to me. I was especially interested in the accounts of the individual survivors, who still appeared to be imbued with the bushido ideology, though I understand they were speaking in retrospect. The Ten-Go operation is spoken of in the book, "Japanese Destroyer Captain", by Tameichi Hara, who commanded the (I think) light cruiser Yahagi duringthat operation.

For those interested, I have a couple of links to websites about the Yamato.
http://battleshipyamato.info/

http://www.battleshipyamato.com/

I also watched the video RR posted this morning. I don't recall ever hearing about Himmler's doctor or the countless people he saved. Very interesting indeed.:yep:

"There was virtue in death", said one survivor about their suicidal orders. Reminds me of a book I read years ago from a surviving Japanese officer on Okinawa. I think his name was Yahara, and the book was Battle for Okinawa.

Big Fish
 

Anyone running RSRD and TMO should check out the northern pass of Bungo Suido 4/7/1945 around 1500.

Happy fishing mates

:yeah:

One of the best WWII books I've ever read! If you want to understand the Japanese Navy, Japanese Destroyer Captain is a necessity!

Yes, I thought so too. Though I know I'm going a bit off topic here, I just can't say enough about that book for anyone who truly is interested in WWII Pacific History. I've read so many books on the PTO, some, too many years ago to recall their titles. Out of all those books, the top three that stick out in my mind as being the most intriguing are:

Shattered Sword: The Untold Story of the Battle of Midway
-Jonathan Parshall and Anthony Tully

Japanese Destroyer Captain
-Tameichi Hara

The Eagle And The Rising Sun: The Japanese-American War, 1941-1943
-Alan Schom

I also have to add an honorable mention to an older, but no less interesting book titled:
The Tenth Fleet: (The true story of the U.S. Navy's "phantom" fleet battling U-Boats during World War II)
-Ladislas Farago (Author of Patton)

My apologies for going off topic, but these books (IMHO) are must read titles for the PTO or U-Boat enthusiasts.:up: