Category:Yamato Class

The Yamato-class Battleship (大和型戦艦) of the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) were constructed and operated during World War II. Displacing 72,000 long tons (73,000 t) at full load, the vessels were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever built. Their class carried the largest naval artillery ever fitted to a warship, nine 460-millimetre (18.1 in) naval guns, each capable of firing 1,360 kg (3,000 lb) shells over 42 km (26 mi).

The design of the Yamato-class battleships was shaped by expansionist movements within the Japanese government, Japanese industrial power, and the need for a fleet powerful enough to intimidate likely adversaries. Even before Japan refused to recognize the Washington Treaty on 19 Dec 1934, the Japanese Navy had been planning for a super-battleship that would serve to intimidate any potential naval rivals.

Despite of their thick armor and huge guns, they were never fully utilized to their full potential. They remained in port for the most part of the war, not engaging in combat until nearly the very end of the Pacific War. Both were sunk by overwhelming air power which mark of the end to the Battleship era.