The battleship Yamato was the largest ship Japan had during WWII. She had been completed in 1941(Commisioned 16 Dec 1941) and was available up until she was sunk off Okinawa in 1945. She displaced over 71.000 tons and sported nine 18” guns. Available so early in the war why is it that she fired the first shot in anger in Oct. 44? It almost seems to me as if the Japanese had intentionally been keeping her out of action for fear of being sunk.

IIRC Yamato set sail for the last time with a bio-fuel of a kind I can’t seem to recall. When did production of this alternative fuel begin, and why wasn’t it used more often seeing how low Japan was on oil, especially later in the war

Her sister ship the Musashi had the same fate but was sunk in oct. 44 in the Subuyan sea. Musashi only ever fired AA shells in anger.

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