Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Dolphinstriker) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 18:16:25 GMT

The flooding and draining control station was responsible for this work. The area where inundation has taken place is automatically indicated by illumination of a (warning) lamp. By pushing a button corresponding to and compensating for the inundated area, the water inlet valve(s) for the said area will open."'

Interesting. I wonder how the...

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (CA30ist) — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 17:01:37 GMT

Hello,

I recently contacted a friend who translated some of these terms & passages from the original Japanese text for me, and he sent the following:

'On page 88, I found the words - "One torpedo direct hit at the Aft flooding and draining control station!"

On the previous page, the following passages are noted; "Flooding of 3,000 tons of water was ordered. Although flooding would lower
the water line and rapidly...

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Ed) — Sun, 27 Apr 2008 03:37:31 GMT
Is there any indication these compartments designed to counterflood actuall were counterflooded on IJNS Musashi? If they were, that could explain the beating she took from Halsey's airwings.

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Craiglxviii) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 22:18:52 GMT
Interesting the highly detailed approach to flooding & counterflooding of watertight compartments, given the perhaps more haphazard approach taken to other damage control measures shown by the IJN...

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Captain Cee J) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 19:15:04 GMT
From reading the book on Musashi, the Japanese developed a very advanced and technical system to counter flood the ship in the event of damage. The implication from other sections of the book is that this system was susceptible to damage and had limitations, perhaps more than they expected. I would guess this room controlled this system. It was designed to specifically counter flooding in a very controlled manner without affecting ship operations, as more emergency flooding might well do.

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Dolphinstriker) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:32:27 GMT

Badger 1968,

Yes, that is certainly a possibility and would leave the problem of there being only one flooding control station a real possibility. It wouldn't be the first time the Japanese elected to do things contrary to western logic.

PhilJD,

I got the sense, in reading Yoshida's book, that the "water-control headquarters" only controlled the special counter-flooding system associated with the compartments built into the Yamato for...

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (PhilJD) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 16:07:50 GMT
would seem to be more 'reasonable'.

It is strange that this position seems to be the only one that controls the ability to flood the outer compartments, but that the 'inner' compartments (ie engine room and boiler room) can still be flooded at an instants notice so, presumably, some form of 'counter flood' control remains viable?

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (bager1968) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 06:01:36 GMT
Possibly "the water control headquarters, in the aft of the ship" should have been the translation?

That would leave open the "oops" of there being only one.

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Dolphinstriker) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 05:35:28 GMT

3) Counterflooding, one of the second strikes torpedo hits destroyed the "aft water-control headquarters" - the book implies that this controls all of the counter flooding mechanisms. As a result of the destruction the Captain orders the flooding of an engine room and boiler room (reducing the ships power by half, this is done without any evacuation time... ouch). It seems strange to me that the voluntary flooding of...

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Tiornu) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:19:06 GMT
Going entirely from memory, I think it was a large-caliber Type 3 fired at army bombers during the withdrawal from Samar.

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (SeaTurtle Prince) — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 00:00:04 GMT
Was that a Type3 fired from one of the battleships were those shells used elsewhere?

Re: Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (Tiornu) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 22:55:57 GMT
There is a credible claim to a Type 3 shooting down a B-24 during the war. I have yet to confirm it, but I know no other credible claims. Of course, in many cases it would be difficult to pinpoint which shell type accomplished what.

Requiem for Battleship Yamato, by Yoshida Mitsuru

feeds@yuku.com (PhilJD) — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:49:38 GMT
"Yamato - support of my life, now gone. Only bubbles, bubbles" (Yoshida Mitsuru).

Just finished reading this, fascinating book, but a few questions come out of it:-

1) Type 3 shells - this is the main armament AA shell - according to the book one of the shells had shot down 10 planes at the same time - but going from memory of the number of times these have been discussed here I would presume this to be hearsay and not reality?

2) The 6th, 7th and 8th...