Talk:Japanese battleship Yamato

An event in this article is a April 7 selected anniversary (may be in HTML comment).

Fate of the crew?

the german wikipedia article on the yamato states that US Air Force planes were shooting at the drifting japanese sailors who had abandoned the sinking Yamato... anyone with furter info on this? Was that common practise in that time? Afaik it was illegal in terms of international law (well, i know, there is >>no<< international law for the U.S.A...) —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.210.146.142 (talk) 22:04, August 29, 2007 (UTC)

That would have been a real trick as the USAF wasn't formed until AFTER WWII. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.203.74.32 (talk) 18:39, 25 March 2008 (UTC)

Ok guys, this really made me laugh, someone logging on from an IP in Germany, is on a WWII page giving America 'the business' for it's regard of international law. That really made me chuckle...thanks guys AnkaraX (talk) 03:52, 12 June 2008 (UTC)

Aham, but what about the REAL answer to the quiestion? --190.49.174.12 (talk) 04:18, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

In the book: Hara, Tameichi (1961). "The Last Sortie". Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1. Hara, Yahagi's captain, reports that he personally witnessed US fighter planes strafing Japanese survivors in the water. Also, the website for the NOVA documentary displays another eyewitness to the same thing: Naoyoshi Ishida (2005). "Survivor Stories: Ishida". Sinking the Supership. NOVA. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help); Unknown parameter |month= ignored (help). Cla68 (talk) 06:16, 14 October 2008 (UTC)

storage

These are the former references that weren't cited. I'm storing them here for future use.

further reading

• Yoshida Mitsuru, Requiem for Battleship Yamato. A detailed description of the ship's final voyage; Mitsuru was the only surviving bridge officer.
• Janusz Skulski, The Battleship Yamato. - Conway Maritime Press, 1988 - ISBN 0851774903. Part of the "Anatomy of the Ship" series.
• Russell Spurr's A Glorious Way To Die. A description of Yamato’s final days as seen from the perspective of not only her officers and men, but also the accompanying ships of her task force and the American forces who destroyed her.
• Siegfried Breyer, Battleships and Battlecruisers 1905–1970 (Doubleday and Company; Garden City, New York, 1973) (originally published in German as Schlachtschiffe und Schlachtkreuzer 1905–1970, J.F. Lehmanns, Verlag, Munchen, 1970). Contains various line drawings of the ship as designed and as built.
• Robert Gardiner, ed., Conway’s All the World’s Fighting Ships 1922–1946, (Conway Maritime Press, London, 1980)
• William H. Garzke, Jr., and Robert O. Dulin, Jr., Battleships: Axis and Neutral Battleships in World War II, (Naval Institute Press, Annapolis, 1985)
• James D. Hornfischer, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors : The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour, (Bantam; Reprint edition, 2005). Detailed story of the Battle off Samar (although light on details from the Japanese perspective) and the most intensive treatment available of Yamato’s only surface action.
• "Then the Americans started to shoot with machine guns at the people who were floating, so we all had to dive under." Naoyoshi Ishida; Keiko Bang (September 2005). Survivor Stories: Ishida. Sinking the Supership. NOVA., Hara, Tameichi (1961). "The Last Sortie", Japanese Destroyer Captain. New York & Toronto: Ballantine Books. ISBN 0-345-27894-1. , and Yoshida, Mitsuru; Richard H. Minear (1999). Requiem for Battleship Yamato. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 1-55750-544-6. .
• NOVA, Sinking the Supership (Video documentary). Boston. 2005. {{cite AV media}}: Unknown parameter |crew= ignored (help); Unknown parameter |distributor= ignored (|publisher= suggested) (help) — One-hour documentary on Operation Ten-Go
• Joseph Pires, USS Bennington Historian
• Evans, David C. (2008). Kaigun : Strategy, Tactics, and Technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887-1941. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. ISBN 0870211927. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
• Yoshimura, Akira (2008). Battleship Musashi: The Making and Sinking of the Worlds Biggest Battleship. Tokyo: Kodansha International. ISBN 4770024002. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)- Includes information on Yamato's design and construction.
• Stille, Mark (2008). Imperial Japanese Navy Battleships 1941-45. Osprey. ISBN 1846032806. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
• Watts, Anthony J. (1971). The Imperial Japanese Navy. Doubleday. ISBN 0385012683. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

Suggested Link for addition to the Battleship Yamato Wiki Page

Hello. I am new to Wiki and a caveman vis-a-vis understanding all the software, but MBK004 has just been kind enough to send me a note of suggestion, so - here I go:

I am an amateur historian, retired military officer, Phi Beta Kappa. I have created the web's only comprehensive archive photo gallery (photos in public domain) of the Battleships Yamato and Musashi. Dozens of Musashi/Yamato battle photos from Leyte, Samar and Okinawa taken by USN planes, too. The site does not spam, sell, advertise or benefit me in any way shape or form.

Under Wiki's policy I can't place a link to the site on the Yamato page myself (since I am the site's author and admin so-to-speak), but I invite other readers to peruse the site and decide whether they think it might be of use as an external link to this page.

Here is the address to the site: http://webspace.webring.com/people/kb/bucketfoot_al/

Do let me know your thoughts.

Thank you.

Al Simmons

--Al Simmons (talk) 05:51, 1 August 2009 (UTC)

contradiction

The purpose of the Yamato class (18.1" guns and 72,000 tons) was to over-awe the US government into avoiding fighting Japan. They were such a well-kept military secret that most Western navies and governments believed the Yamatos were 16" gunned 45,000 ton battleships as late as 1945. Is there an authoritative source that explains how that was supposed to work? Naaman Brown (talk) 00:30, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Which type of information do you look for? The production of both units proceeded with a maximum of secrecy and their government didnt give away any official info. And estimating the exact tonnage and weapons calibre from a blurry aerial photograph is difficult.Alexpl (talk) 17:19, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

No, that was not their purpose. Their purpose was to take on multiple U.S. battleships in a battle line should war come. As such, it is perfectly understandable that the Japanese wanted to keep the exact specifications of the Yamato's a secret. Cam wrote a good section here that may explain this better. —Ed (Talk • Contribs) 17:42, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

It is becoming increasingly clear to me the purpose of building the Yamato class was to win a naval war, not deter one. Naaman Brown (talk) 21:06, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

Perhaps keeping the specifications secret served both purposes (in the Japanese's eyes, at least)—capable of engaging multiple battleships, they could significantly contribute to winning a war (thinking here in the context of 1930s naval strategy), while keeping mum would allow the Japanese to declare war when they were ready. —Ed (Talk • Contribs) 21:48, 25 August 2009 (UTC)

That is plausable. Naaman Brown (talk) 13:13, 26 August 2009 (UTC)

Discovery of wreck

why isnt there any mention of the wreck and its discovery? ```` —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.76.15.173 (talk) 15:22, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

I was just about to ask that. Wasn't the wreck rediscovered sometime within the last few years? I seem to recall PBS had a special detailing it. --98.232.181.201 (talk) 05:57, 9 December 2009 (UTC)

Kawanishi N1K1

The reference to the "Shiden" or "George" Kawanishi fighters in this article shows up in red and notes that a page for that plane is not available. That page does exist in Wikipedia, although it also is not referenced under the "Kawanishi" page. I don't know how to change the mention of that fighter so it points to the relevant description. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 174.16.57.172 (talk) 00:16, 27 November 2009 (UTC) That's the Kawanishi N1K1 mentioned under the 1945 operations and sinkinc section.

Fixed by adding redirect page to Kawanishi N1K. Hohum (talk) 01:01, 27 November 2009 (UTC)

Named after "Yamato Province"???

As a Japanese speaker, I found this assertion surprising. Yamato (大和) may have been the name of a province, but most of us know it as a traditional and patriotic name for Japan. I therefore find it unconvincing that "Yamato Province" was the origin of this ship's name. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.164.55.193 (talk) 08:36, 7 December 2009 (UTC)