The tactical turn of the Yamato at a speed of 26 knots has a diameter of 640 meters. This was an excellent result, even for a battleship.
The battleship was superior to all other ships in terms of maneuverability. And the "Yamato" is considered to be the best of them. At full speed, it only needs 600 meters of space (space ahead) to steer. And the diameter of the turning "ring" is only 2 of its hull4 times.
The Mitsu propeller is much worse than the Litorio. We usually praise the work of the Genoese masters, who carefully designed the hull profile and ensured good seaworthiness of the Italian battleship. But objectively speaking, the turning diameter of the Litorio at full speed is 4 times that of its hull.
The situation with the French "Richelieu" in Iowa through the Panama Canal was even worse. And the American battleships were distinguished by good steering, with the exception of the "South Dakota". This is thanks to the shape of its stern, its powerful power plant, and the two alongships mounted in the middle of the propeller stream.
But no one was able to surpass the "Yamato".
It was futile to look for competitors among cruisers and destroyers. The long hull made it impossible for these ships to make sharp turns at all, as the "Yamato" did.
Maneuverability depends on the proportions of size and profile shape. All other things being equal, a ship with a minimum elongated hull and a minimum draft compared to its size will have the best maneuverability.
The overall fullness coefficient can tell us a lot. This is a dimensionless parameter that gives an impression of the sharpness of the hull contours and the underwater part. It is the ratio of a ship's displacement to the volume of its parallel body as defined by its length, width, and draft. The higher the value, the better the maneuverability.
Of all ship types, battleships had the best combination of the above indicators. Good maneuverability to some extent compensated for the size of the giant battleship. Even in absolute terms, the turning diameter of the battleship was smaller than that of the destroyer. For the latter, the distance of 700-800 meters is already equivalent to 7 times the length of the hull.
Next, the servos entered the competition.
The steering gear of the Yamato was not perfect. Two sets of rudders are located in the longitudinal plane, one behind the other. On the one hand, this layout reduces the likelihood of simultaneous damage. On the other hand, the rudders were not installed in the propeller stream, which reduced their efficiency. The area of the main and auxiliary rudder is 41 square meters and 13 square meters, respectively. In comparison with the displacement of the "Yamato", other battleships also adopted steering gears of the same area.
The photo above is a model of the battleship "Yamato". The photo below shows the propeller rudder crew of the battleship "Missouri".
Undoubtedly, the "Japanese" have different proportions of transverse dimensions. But the difference in the elongation of the hull was not as great as the difference in the surface displacement and maneuverability obtained.
The reason for the excellent steering performance of the "Yamato" is hidden somewhere ......
"Yamato" is underestimated by opponents. Despite the abundance of aerial photographic images, the Americans failed to recognize this as the largest battleship ever built.
The length of 263 meters does not indicate that the battleship had a full load displacement of 72,000 tons.
The Italian "Litorio" has a full load displacement of 47,000 tons and a hull length of 237 meters. The "Richelieu" with a smaller displacement was 247 meters. The German "Bismarck" is 250 meters. And fast".IowaThe "was 7 meters longer than the Japanese heavy battleship.
Maybe it's a matter of the width of the hull?
Formally, the "Yamato" remains to this day the largest non-aircraft carrier combat ship. The width of the middle part of the hull reached 38 meters. That's a huge number, but ......
The other opponents did not lag behind the record holder. The hull width of the Italian "Litorio" and "Richelieu" is 33 meters. The 36-meter "Bismarck" approached the "Yamato".
American battleship ambitions were hampered from the very beginning by the Panama Canal. Due to this regrettable situation, they can be extended in the longitudinal direction, but never grow in the width direction, staying on the mark of 33 meters.
This was the case with all the battleships of the later period. Outwardly, there is nothing particularly outstanding and suspicious about the "Yamato". Its dimensions corresponded to the standard range of battleships.
It's time to dive underwater. What is the diving part of the "Yamato" like?
In draft, "Yamato" does not resemble an iceberg. At the stage of developing its tactical-technical tasks, requirements were put forward for bases and operations in the offshore waters of numerous Pacific islands. Thus, battleships of the "Yamato" type were always distinguished by a relatively small draft (10 meters).
72,000 tons from?
The overall fullness coefficient of the Yamato is higher than that of all its peers. A fuller silhouette compared to other battleships. In other words, the width of the bottom of the ship "Yamato" was the same as the width of its upper deck.
The large plump silhouette produces extraordinary results. Hence the emergence of a displacement of 70,000 tons, 400 mm of armor and an 18-inch gun.
Where did the steering capabilities of the "Yamato" come from?
Everything makes sense here. The relatively short hull, the shallower draft and the less sharp hull lines provide ample explanation for the good steering of the "Yamato".
At that time, how important was good steering ability to counter an air attack or dodge a direct-sailing torpedo? Needless to say.
Despite the obvious advantages, it is too early to give the "Yamato" the highest score for its maneuverability.
Japanese heavy battleships were able to dodge torpedoes more flexibly than others, but then their advantages became less obvious. A sudden turn led to a loss of speed, and it took a long time for the "Yamato" to recover speed.
12 boilers and 4 steam turbines (GTZA) provided 153,000 hp shaft power. By the standards of the European Navy, such a power plant can be described as extremely powerful. But for the huge "Yamato", this was not enough.
Do not think that the Japanese battleships were poor. In battle, even the "Nelson" class battleships with a power plant of only 45,000 horsepower were successful.
But there are other examples in history as well. To counter the Japanese battleship forces, the United States built fast "battleships".
Nobody knows".IowaHow fast the number. But the two-deck boiler unit (double power plant for an ordinary battleship) was not a waste of space. The saved file reads, "IowaThe acceleration is almost three times faster than that of its predecessors. It only takes seven minutes to accelerate from 15 to 27 knots. 250,000 horsepower – that's a statistic to brag about.
In possession of such power and tactical turning radius of 28 times the length of the hull, ".IowaWith a displacement of 57,000 tons, the Yamato took away the title of champion.
It should be noted that the Japanese design was already quite outdated in the last year of the war.
If excluded".Iowaand very advanced battleships that entered service after the war, then the" Yamato "undoubtedly represented the most powerful type of battleship at the time of its appearance.
Not much is needed to realize Yamato's full potential. A sunny tropical day and a distance of ten nautical miles. This is a condition for a decisive battle with the American fleet.
The Japanese prepared very carefully for this meeting. All the means needed were gathered. Range, the power of 460 mm ammunition, a large delay fuse. A special "diving" shell was even prepared in Yamato's ammunition depot for attacking ships.
The enemy's shelling should have been shattered by the strong fortress armor. The extreme scheme of "everything or nothing" chosen for "Yamato", which provided the best protection in the event of a rare, but "vicious" long-range hit.
Good maneuverability is also needed here.
But nothing worked.
Battles take place in a wide variety of situations. The American and Japanese battleships engaged three times, but the conditions did not meet once for a duel in the sun. For most of the war, the scope of use of battleships was not limited to fighting their own kind.
Can the designers of the "Yamato" be blamed for creating this project for the sake of a narrow one?
Before making such a conclusion, look at the number 72,000 again. Even Japanese perfectionists can't afford to spend so much weight on a single task.
Interestingly, despite having such large reserves, the Japanese are still trying to save weight per ton of hull weight. Even visually, the bend of the upper deck could be seen in the bow turret area. There is the same bend in the stern. These design ingenuity was designed to reduce the height of the ship's side above the waterline where possible. There is also a (purely Japanese approach) to hide from the eyes of outsiders. The fortress armor plates assumed the load-bearing function and were incorporated into the power kit.
The above measures will only enhance its already formidable combat capabilities.
And the focus on "total battle" did not affect Yamato's other qualities.
Yamato "not only had the thickest armor, but also the shortest amidships of all battleships, accounting for 54% of its hull length." The bow and stern (with the exception of the steering gear room and the upper deck section) were left without any protection and could be penetrated by shells of any caliber.
At first glance, it's a crazy design. But even what is obvious to us is not a secret to the creators of "Yamato". Why did they "flippantly" leave 46% of the hull unprotected?
First of all, because the Japanese design was not the same as other battleships (except for the "Iowa"). The hull of the Yamato had a "bottle-shaped" shape, with sharp contraction in the bow and stern. In other words, it was smaller in size and volume than other battleships in both bow and stern. And the main volume of the hull is concentrated in the middle part, that is, under the protection of the amidships protective wall.
The Japanese made calculations and got such a result: even if the bow and stern were submerged, the buoyancy and stability of the Yamado were guaranteed.
The "all or nothing" scenario means that there is nothing outside the amidships wall that can have a critical impact on combat effectiveness. The gradual accumulation of losses led to the flooding of all posts and all compartments in the bow and stern, which required a large number of hits to achieve. With equal strength, achieving such a result in battle was considered impossible. The Yamato can also fight back.
In practice, neither of the belligerents used the shelling of the bow and stern as a tactical means, but focused on breaking through the amidships.
There is no need to describe in detail the thickness and distribution of the armor of the Yamato. These figures can be found in any source. Suffice it to note that the structural protection of the Yamato includes several original elements.
For aircraft bombs and fired shells, it was easier to penetrate the main deck of the Yamato than through the mouth of its chimney. The chimney was covered with a perforated armor plate with a thickness of 380 mm.
Another feature is the underwater armor belt, which is intended to provide protection in the event of a blunder at close range, when an "armor-piercing projectile" could hit the underwater part of the hull. The Japanese were the only ones who thought about this threat and developed defenses to prevent it from falling short.
Anti-torpedo capabilities
Underwater armor belts are part of, but not the basis of, anti-torpedo protection. The Yamato-class battleships had complete three-compartment anti-torpedo protection with a width of 5 meters, which met the highest standards of the battleship class of the time. The hull of the battleship had three layers of bottom plates along its entire length, with the exception of the engine room and boiler room.
From maritime history, anti-torpedo protection has never provided complete protection against torpedoes ** close to the side of the ship. According to the damage description, the compartments located near the ** site were always damaged and flooded. The task of anti-torpedo protection was to minimize damage and prevent serious accidents like the battleship Bahan.
When a torpedo hits, the size and internal structure of the ship are key factors. The purpose of anti-flooding and compartment drainage measures is to eliminate the resulting tilt.
Theoretically, for the ship to sink at a smooth draft, it is necessary to deplete 100% of its displacement, that is, to inject tens of thousands of tons of water through the hole. If there is a watertight compartment, this process can go on forever. But if the inclination gets out of control, then the ship sinks in a matter of minutes.
The Yamato-class battleships had a double tilt elimination system, which was achieved by compartment anti-flooding and fuel transfer. Its design capabilities allow to eliminate a tilt of 14 degrees without compromising the combat capability of the ship. The time criterion is: control of the roll and roll within 5 minutes after the first torpedo hit. The consequences of the second hit take 12 minutes to eliminate.
The wide-body hull of the Yamato-class battleships allowed the engine room and boiler compartment to be arranged in four rows. The engine room and boiler compartment inside were reliably protected: 80 years ago there were no torpedoes with a non-contact fuse, which could be accurately detonated under the stern.
In terms of the arrangement of the engine room and boiler room, only the Iowa was comparable to the Yamato: its engine room and boiler room stretched along the hull up to 100 meters long. To deprive the Iowa of power, power**, and any resistance, almost half of the battleships had to be "destroyed".
One controversial decision for the Yamato project was the limited use of electric drives. The Japanese were worried about bulky switchboards and short circuits, so auxiliary steam engines were used wherever they could. Reality has shown that valves and steam pipes are also susceptible to shocks, and that a boiler stop working can leave the vessel completely helpless.
On the other hand, to completely stop the work of all 12 boilers, it was only possible to completely destroy and flood the boiler compartments. By that time, everything was already over. And the onslaught of the Yamato and Musashi in the final battle does not allow us to draw accurate conclusions about the merits of such a solution.
During the war, both the Allies and the Axis powers were repeatedly attacked by mines and torpedoes. The Vittorio Veneto, the Maryland, North Carolina, Scharnhorst, and Gneisenau, as well as the Japanese Ise ......Practice has shown that the capital ship can relatively easily withstand a hit from 1-2 torpedoes.
The consequences of a blow on ships built under the same standards of protection are the same. ”
The final battle between the Yamato and the Musashi did not have any reason for comparison. No other battleship was subjected to such heavy shelling. Moreover, it is unlikely that any battleship will survive 10+ underwater hits.
It is certain that due to the larger displacement and more complex structure, the Yamato-class battleships could withstand more damage than all ships of the same age.
In the report, the American pilots noted that only after the sixth torpedo hit did the speed of the Musashi decrease significantly.
The 406 mm naval gun was the main gun of the battleship "Mutsu". And the captain of the Shinano did not feel threatened after being hit by 4 torpedoes and continued to follow the original course without reducing speed. The ending took place six hours later. If the Shinano had been able to be completed and had a sealed partition, it would probably have arrived at Kure Naval Base.
Those ships are gone. But we can talk about them next time.
Finally, let's keep the following words in mind:
"War is a race of technology, but it is also a race of wills. ”This quote comes from Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto. It perfectly sums up the fate of battleships, as well as the role they played in World War II.
The rudder of the battleship Mutsu is from the Yamato Museum, where the most famous exhibit is probably a model of the battleship Yamato. In Japan, the battleship enjoyed unimaginably fanatical status. The ship is high in society as a whole, from kindergartens to pensioners, both men and women. The ship model is 1 10 (263 meters long) Yamato model.
Project Sword