User blog:Void Samukai/Operation Ten-go

Today (or yesterday in Australia) is the day that Japan's mightiest battleship, the Yamato, sinks on her desperate but futile mission to stop the American landings at Okinawa.

By the time of 1945, Japan was pretty much defeated. But they refused to go down without a fight. So, in a last attempt, the navy order the Yamato, the cruiser Yahagi and 8 destroyers to go to Okinnawa and destroy the US forces. It was a one way mission, as the chances of their survival was as much as a Japanese victory of the war. Now the force may seen small, but it was all the Japanese could muster at the time.

Of course as soon as the force was detected by the US, they launched swarms of aircraft to destroy the Japanese monster. Using lesson they learnt from the sinking of the Musashi, they lanced multiple bomb and torpedo hits onto the battleship. In the end, bad Japanese AA defence and the sheer number of planes ultimately sealed Yamato's fate. She capsized and sank with the loss of 2000 men. Only some 200 were rescued. Also lost were 4 destroyers and the cruiser Yahagi, though the cruiser didn't go down until receiving around a dozen torpedo hits and scores of bomb hits. Considering the cruiser sizes and armouring, it is actually quite inpressive how much damage she took before going down.

The mission would be the last time the Japanese navy would strike in force again. It proved the end of the battleship as the master of the seas, and replaced with with the aircrafr carrier. Though it honesty, that had been proved at the beginning of the war when Japanese attacked Pearl Harbour but then sank the Prince of Wales and Repulse while they too were trying to stop Japanese landing forces.

Let us remember the bravery of the crew of this mighty vessel and the courage of her attackers.