Can anyone verify this for me
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enterspacecapsule
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Can anyone verify this for me
Ive heard a story that went that before the WWII (edited from WWI to WWII due to a typo) ended in Japan, the japanese were planning to take their kamikize techniques further to ram a battleship (or some sort of bigboat) into a series of artillery installations on the coast of some island. Is this information correct?
Last edited by enterspacecapsule on 06 Apr 2004, 09:14, edited 1 time in total.
It wasn't WWI, it was WW2. The battleship was the Yamato, the island was Okinawa, and the mission date was April 6 - 7, 1945. She was to be beached and use her heavy guns to fire at the invading American forces, when her ammunition ran out, her crew was to join the island's defenders. The Yamato and several escorts were sunk well short of her objective by American carrier aircraft.
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ChristopherPerrien
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I thought the Yamato (the pride of the Japanese Navy) sailed for Okinawa with no escorts? It virtually was a suicide mission, one that caused bitter arguing amongst many high ranking Japanese, who knew without escorts she was a sitting duck and would not get close to Okinawa. And she didn't.Takao wrote:It wasn't WWI, it was WW2. The battleship was the Yamato, the island was Okinawa, and the mission date was April 6 - 7, 1945. She was to be beached and use her heavy guns to fire at the invading American forces, when her ammunition ran out, her crew was to join the island's defenders. The Yamato and several escorts were sunk well short of her objective by American carrier aircraft.
@ChristopherPerrien
The beaching of the Yamato was part of the overall plan, although few believed she would make it that far. The intent was that the Yamato would cause as much damage as she could to the US invasion fleet and then be beached and use her weapons to support the troops ashore. All surplus seamen were to go ashore and be used as infantry. Although never supplied with weapons, crewmen were told to use American weapons, as plenty were expected to be lying around.
Yes, the Yamato did have enough fuel to return, although this was kept secret for many years.
@Dan Weakley
The Yamato sailed without air cover, but she did have escorts. They were:
Destroyer Squadron 2
CL Yahagi (flagship) *
Destroyer Division 17
DD Isokaze *
DD Hamakaze *
DD Yukikaze
Destroyer Division 21
DD Asashimo *
DD Kasumi *
DD Hatsushimo
Destroyer Division 41
DD Fuyutsuki
DD Suzutsuki
* - denotes vessel sunk
Of the surviving vessels:
Suzutsuki had her bow blown of by a bomb and returned to Japan tern first. Yukikaze and Fuyutsuki recieved light damage. Hatsushimo was the only ship undamaged.
You are correct about the bitter disputes amongst the ranking officers who were going on the mission. This is especially true for those on the escorts.
@All
Some good books on the last mission of the Yamato are:
"Requiem for the Battleship Yamato" by Yoshida Mitsuru, a Yamato survivor, & translated by Richard H. Minear
"Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Captain Tameichi Hara, who commanded the CL Yahagi, wrote this excellent book about his wartime exploits. The last chapter in particular deals with this mission.
Another read about the last mission of the Yamato is "A Glorious Way To Die" by Russell Spurr.
The beaching of the Yamato was part of the overall plan, although few believed she would make it that far. The intent was that the Yamato would cause as much damage as she could to the US invasion fleet and then be beached and use her weapons to support the troops ashore. All surplus seamen were to go ashore and be used as infantry. Although never supplied with weapons, crewmen were told to use American weapons, as plenty were expected to be lying around.
Yes, the Yamato did have enough fuel to return, although this was kept secret for many years.
@Dan Weakley
The Yamato sailed without air cover, but she did have escorts. They were:
Destroyer Squadron 2
CL Yahagi (flagship) *
Destroyer Division 17
DD Isokaze *
DD Hamakaze *
DD Yukikaze
Destroyer Division 21
DD Asashimo *
DD Kasumi *
DD Hatsushimo
Destroyer Division 41
DD Fuyutsuki
DD Suzutsuki
* - denotes vessel sunk
Of the surviving vessels:
Suzutsuki had her bow blown of by a bomb and returned to Japan tern first. Yukikaze and Fuyutsuki recieved light damage. Hatsushimo was the only ship undamaged.
You are correct about the bitter disputes amongst the ranking officers who were going on the mission. This is especially true for those on the escorts.
@All
Some good books on the last mission of the Yamato are:
"Requiem for the Battleship Yamato" by Yoshida Mitsuru, a Yamato survivor, & translated by Richard H. Minear
"Japanese Destroyer Captain" by Captain Tameichi Hara, who commanded the CL Yahagi, wrote this excellent book about his wartime exploits. The last chapter in particular deals with this mission.
Another read about the last mission of the Yamato is "A Glorious Way To Die" by Russell Spurr.
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enterspacecapsule
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Chris - you have to amplify that. Almost all reports/books says they almost handpumped the last slush of fuel oil into her tanks before she was sent on her way just to make it to Okinawa. What sources 'ave u got for saying she was bunkered also for the RETURN TRIP?ChristopherPerrien wrote:I think that was only a contigency plan if the Yamato was put in a sinking conditon while on her last sortie. And contrary to many stories about it being a Kamikaze Mission, the Yamato had enough fuel to make it home.
@ varjag
I would invite you to read Russell Spurr’s “A Glorious Way To Die”, specifically the chapter entitled “Japanese Fleet, Tokuyama Oil Depot, Inland Sea of Japan”.
Because of the concave design of the oil tanks there, each “empty” tank still held 200 tons of oil that was beyond the reach of the oil pumps. So, to give the Yamato a fighting chance, the men there did hand pump fuel oil from the tanks. The Combined Fleet directive authorized only 2000 tons for all 10 ships. However, Tokuyama’s supply officers provided the fleet with some 8000 tons. The Yamato took on some 4000 tons, Yahagi received 1,250 tons, and the destroyers got between 500-900 tons each. The Yamato’s XO, Captain Jiro Nomura, was in on the scheme, because he had to sign the false requisition form.
I would invite you to read Russell Spurr’s “A Glorious Way To Die”, specifically the chapter entitled “Japanese Fleet, Tokuyama Oil Depot, Inland Sea of Japan”.
Because of the concave design of the oil tanks there, each “empty” tank still held 200 tons of oil that was beyond the reach of the oil pumps. So, to give the Yamato a fighting chance, the men there did hand pump fuel oil from the tanks. The Combined Fleet directive authorized only 2000 tons for all 10 ships. However, Tokuyama’s supply officers provided the fleet with some 8000 tons. The Yamato took on some 4000 tons, Yahagi received 1,250 tons, and the destroyers got between 500-900 tons each. The Yamato’s XO, Captain Jiro Nomura, was in on the scheme, because he had to sign the false requisition form.