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How Japan Ironically Made Their Own Super Battleships Obsolete
The rapid end of the battleship era
The Japanese battleship Yamato was the largest such ship ever designed and built by any nation. She displaced 64,000 long tons when empty. The ship measured 839 feet long. It was armed with terrifying 18-inch guns that were two inches larger than her American counterparts. Yamato was designed to dominate the seas. She was supposed to be the tip of the spear for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) and her girth and power were designed to carry the navy through a climactic meeting engagement at sea.
Naval philosophy in 1937, when the battleship was first laid down, dictated that any war would be decided by two groups of capital ships duking it out with long-range artillery. The nation with the more aggressive battleship commanders and the bigger guns would come out the other side victorious. Japan’s super battleship was supposed to outrange and outclass the American ships in the Pacific. One engagement where Yamato could unleash hell with her 18-inch guns could be enough to win the war.
At least, that is how the thinking went.
Yamato was officially commissioned on December 16th, 1941 exactly six days after the Japanese made all battleships obsolete.
