66 years ago today

I-25 · 04-08-11, 01:23 AM

RIP.. the mightiest battle ship of all time, sunk April 7th 1945

04-08-11, 02:17 AM

Shame she had to be sunk, was a beautiful ship.

GoldenRivet · 04-08-11, 03:39 AM

Nice ship.

But I've always said that the mightiest battleship of all time wouldn't be found on the sea floor.

Pretty much takes the Yamato put of the running IMHO

Torplexed · 04-08-11, 06:30 AM

Even the mightiest battleship was doomed alone in the shadow of air power.

Sad, but had she survived the war she would likely have ended as a test subject at Bikini Atoll as the biggest remaining Japanese battleship, Nagato eventually did. That or scrapped.

Torvald Von Mansee · 04-08-11, 07:28 AM

With handy subtitles!!

Btw, why no love for the Musashi?

Platapus · 04-08-11, 09:38 AM

Bigger is not always better (so I tell The Frau)

Taking aircraft out of the equation (which is unrealistic) I wonder how the Yamato would have been in a real battleship slug fest?

Sure it had 46cm rounds with a max range of 42,000 meters (22nm), but would the type 94 gun really be that effective at that range?

I wonder how many Nagato "Mod 2s" could have been built for one Yamato?

In any case, the Yamato is a cooleo battleship. I just don't know how effective it would have been.

Ducimus · 04-08-11, 10:56 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

Nice ship.

But I've always said that the mightiest battleship of all time wouldn't be found on the sea floor.

Pretty much takes the Yamato put of the running IMHO

http://www.combinedfleet.com/baddest.htm

GoldenRivet · 04-08-11, 12:27 PM

I guess what i'm trying to say Ducimus is that the concept of "best" in categories such as those provided is pretty much a moot point.

I mean, we can build the BEST possible space ship for traveling to the edges of the universe, but if it explodes into a billion tiny fragments during the launch sequence... the concept of "best spaceship ever" is pretty much rendered pointless long before the last shred of steel showers down onto the ground.

I think if Yamato was the best, it would have survived the attack - still surrendered - and would be a museum ship today, defiantly pointing its massive guns toward the sky - retired as the heavyweight champion of the 7 seas.

AVGWarhawk · 04-08-11, 12:31 PM

She was a beautiful ship. Massive!

Rhodes · 04-08-11, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

I mean, we can build the BEST possible space ship for traveling to the edges of the universe

Fancy you mention that...

Growler · 04-08-11, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GoldenRivet

Nice ship.

But I've always said that the mightiest battleship of all time wouldn't be found on the sea floor.

Pretty much takes the Yamato put of the running IMHO

I hear you, GR.

The best battleship is one that you can still use after the fight. Yamato is an artificial reef, therefore, while it may be the best artificial reef, it isn't the best battleship.

the_tyrant · 04-08-11, 01:20 PM

too bad there was no yamato vs force z

Gargamel · 04-08-11, 01:38 PM

I've never understood the design of the bridge/tower/superstructure. It looks like a retarded Jenga Game. Not that it's bad, in fact it's very inspiring. I just think it looks weird.

CaptainMattJ. · 04-08-11, 06:25 PM

its a god dam Greek tragedy

.

Kinda makes me wish that our naval forces were still WW2 Era without missiles. Disregarding crew casualties, i would kill to see a good old fashioned ship to ship slugfest.

If only :/. If they somehow found the money and time to reconstruct a WWII fleet that was Remotely controlled so as not to kill thousands of seamen, i would pay a HEFTY price to see it.

But to see the Yamato, the biggest baddest ship ever built, get sunk by aircraft just breaks my heart. Nowadays, you would never even remotely be in visual range of a fleet if you were engaging them. All you would do is launch missiles and aircraft until youve won.

WWII was the last great naval war. After Aircraft, you would Never see that type of fighting ever again.

In WW2, It took alot of math, deductive reasoning, and estimation to fire a torpedo at a ship to strike it. It had a chance of being a dud, it could miss, ect. Now you have guided torpedoes and pinpoint missiles. In WW2, aircraft actually had a chance of missing your ship, and sparing your life. now, if he fires that missile, your dead almost assuredly.

It took alot of force to wipe out a city. We only had a couple atomic bombs that were only developed at the end of the war. Often times, the city was badly damaged but not wiped out entirely. Now the world owns hundreds of nuclear warheads that can obliterate entire populations and deem an area completely and utterly devoid of life for 1000 years. One submarine has the power to wipe out countries. ONE submarine.

The worlds naval warfare has gotten ten thousand times more deadly. And we call it an improvement.

This ship was amazing. The best surface warfare vessel ever made for use with Naval gunnery along with the Iowa class. And it was completely annhilated by aircraft. With it sank the era of naval gunnery. Today, Smaller ships use their cannons almost as decoration. Its now all about the missiles.

R.I.P Yamato

Torplexed · 04-08-11, 08:18 PM

Although it's been said before, the sad part is that they never put these two behemoths, Yamato and Musashi (until 1944) in the carrier task forces where they could have actually done some good. Instead they sat a good chunk of the war at Truk while the lesser units of the fleet did all the dirty work. However, I can see why. The fuel requirements for both were staggering. I think there was also a psychological/prestige effect of not wanting to use the super battleships. What admiral wanted to be the guy in charge if the pinnacles of Japanese naval engineering went to the bottom? Raizo Tanaka, who was arguably the best Japanese surface combat admiral found out. You lose a ship, you drive a desk, even if that ship was just a light cruiser. Even with their superior training at night combat, the Japanese were the only navy to lose a battleship as a result of a surface engagement in the Pacific. I know Hiei was a combined effort but Kirishima was almost all Washington's doing. Add in Fuso and Ise and the tally is USN 4, IJN 0.

I think in John Toland's book he touched on the angst in the higher echelons of the IJN over losing both Hiei and Kirishima almost back to back in 1942. They got real shy about risking the remainder until it was too late. Then it was use 'em or lose 'em.

As regards the animated show, Star Blazers, judging by recreations of what the wreckage site looks like on the bottom of the East China Sea, I'd have to say the odds of Yamato getting spaceworthy any time soon are rather iffy at the moment. I know duct tape can work miracles, but geeezzz..

04-08-11, 01:23 AM	#1
I-25 Commodore Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Bavaria, Germany Posts: 629 Downloads: 27 Uploads: 0	66 years ago today RIP.. the mightiest battle ship of all time, sunk April 7th 1945 Last edited by I-25; 04-08-11 at 05:09 AM.

04-08-11, 03:39 AM	#3
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	Nice ship. But I've always said that the mightiest battleship of all time wouldn't be found on the sea floor. Pretty much takes the Yamato put of the running IMHO __________________

04-08-11, 06:30 AM	#4
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Even the mightiest battleship was doomed alone in the shadow of air power. Sad, but had she survived the war she would likely have ended as a test subject at Bikini Atoll as the biggest remaining Japanese battleship, Nagato eventually did. That or scrapped. __________________ --Mobilis in Mobili--

04-08-11, 07:28 AM	#5
Torvald Von Mansee Sea Lord Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: CA4528 Posts: 1,693 Downloads: 3 Uploads: 0	With handy subtitles!! Btw, why no love for the Musashi? __________________ "You may not be interested in war, but war is interested in you" - Leon Trotsky

04-08-11, 09:38 AM	#6
Platapus Fleet Admiral Join Date: Oct 2006 Posts: 19,360 Downloads: 63 Uploads: 0	Bigger is not always better (so I tell The Frau) Taking aircraft out of the equation (which is unrealistic) I wonder how the Yamato would have been in a real battleship slug fest? Sure it had 46cm rounds with a max range of 42,000 meters (22nm), but would the type 94 gun really be that effective at that range? I wonder how many Nagato "Mod 2s" could have been built for one Yamato? In any case, the Yamato is a cooleo battleship. I just don't know how effective it would have been. __________________ abusus non tollit usum - A right should NOT be withheld from people on the basis that some tend to abuse that right.

04-08-11, 02:17 AM	#2
Rilder Stowaway Posts: n/a Downloads: Uploads:	Shame she had to be sunk, was a beautiful ship.

04-08-11, 12:27 PM	#8
GoldenRivet Subsim Aviator Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Texas Posts: 8,726 Downloads: 146 Uploads: 0	I guess what i'm trying to say Ducimus is that the concept of "best" in categories such as those provided is pretty much a moot point. I mean, we can build the BEST possible space ship for traveling to the edges of the universe, but if it explodes into a billion tiny fragments during the launch sequence... the concept of "best spaceship ever" is pretty much rendered pointless long before the last shred of steel showers down onto the ground. I think if Yamato was the best, it would have survived the attack - still surrendered - and would be a museum ship today, defiantly pointing its massive guns toward the sky - retired as the heavyweight champion of the 7 seas. __________________

04-08-11, 12:31 PM	#9
AVGWarhawk Lucky Jack Join Date: Jun 2005 Location: In a 1954 Buick. Posts: 28,253 Downloads: 90 Uploads: 0	She was a beautiful ship. Massive! __________________ “You're painfully alive in a drugged and dying culture.” ― Richard Yates, Revolutionary Road

04-08-11, 01:20 PM	#12
the_tyrant Admiral Join Date: Jun 2010 Location: Canada Posts: 2,272 Downloads: 58 Uploads: 0	too bad there was no yamato vs force z

04-08-11, 01:38 PM	#13
Gargamel Lucky Sailor Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Rome Posts: 4,273 Downloads: 81 Uploads: 0	I've never understood the design of the bridge/tower/superstructure. It looks like a retarded Jenga Game. Not that it's bad, in fact it's very inspiring. I just think it looks weird. __________________ Luck is a residue of Design.

04-08-11, 06:25 PM	#14
CaptainMattJ. The Old Man Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: Sin City Posts: 1,364 Downloads: 55 Uploads: 0	its a god dam Greek tragedy . Kinda makes me wish that our naval forces were still WW2 Era without missiles. Disregarding crew casualties, i would kill to see a good old fashioned ship to ship slugfest. If only :/. If they somehow found the money and time to reconstruct a WWII fleet that was Remotely controlled so as not to kill thousands of seamen, i would pay a HEFTY price to see it. But to see the Yamato, the biggest baddest ship ever built, get sunk by aircraft just breaks my heart. Nowadays, you would never even remotely be in visual range of a fleet if you were engaging them. All you would do is launch missiles and aircraft until youve won. WWII was the last great naval war. After Aircraft, you would Never see that type of fighting ever again. In WW2, It took alot of math, deductive reasoning, and estimation to fire a torpedo at a ship to strike it. It had a chance of being a dud, it could miss, ect. Now you have guided torpedoes and pinpoint missiles. In WW2, aircraft actually had a chance of missing your ship, and sparing your life. now, if he fires that missile, your dead almost assuredly. It took alot of force to wipe out a city. We only had a couple atomic bombs that were only developed at the end of the war. Often times, the city was badly damaged but not wiped out entirely. Now the world owns hundreds of nuclear warheads that can obliterate entire populations and deem an area completely and utterly devoid of life for 1000 years. One submarine has the power to wipe out countries. ONE submarine. The worlds naval warfare has gotten ten thousand times more deadly. And we call it an improvement. This ship was amazing. The best surface warfare vessel ever made for use with Naval gunnery along with the Iowa class. And it was completely annhilated by aircraft. With it sank the era of naval gunnery. Today, Smaller ships use their cannons almost as decoration. Its now all about the missiles. R.I.P Yamato __________________ A popular Government without popular information nor the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to a Farce or a Tragedy or perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern ignorance, and a people who mean to be their own Governors must arm themselves with the power knowledge gives - James Madison

04-08-11, 08:18 PM	#15
Torplexed Let's Sink Sumptin' ! Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Seattle, WA Posts: 5,823 Downloads: 43 Uploads: 0	Although it's been said before, the sad part is that they never put these two behemoths, Yamato and Musashi (until 1944) in the carrier task forces where they could have actually done some good. Instead they sat a good chunk of the war at Truk while the lesser units of the fleet did all the dirty work. However, I can see why. The fuel requirements for both were staggering. I think there was also a psychological/prestige effect of not wanting to use the super battleships. What admiral wanted to be the guy in charge if the pinnacles of Japanese naval engineering went to the bottom? Raizo Tanaka, who was arguably the best Japanese surface combat admiral found out. You lose a ship, you drive a desk, even if that ship was just a light cruiser. Even with their superior training at night combat, the Japanese were the only navy to lose a battleship as a result of a surface engagement in the Pacific. I know Hiei was a combined effort but Kirishima was almost all Washington's doing. Add in Fuso and Ise and the tally is USN 4, IJN 0. I think in John Toland's book he touched on the angst in the higher echelons of the IJN over losing both Hiei and Kirishima almost back to back in 1942. They got real shy about risking the remainder until it was too late. Then it was use 'em or lose 'em. As regards the animated show, Star Blazers, judging by recreations of what the wreckage site looks like on the bottom of the East China Sea, I'd have to say the odds of Yamato getting spaceworthy any time soon are rather iffy at the moment. I know duct tape can work miracles, but geeezzz..