Thunder Bolt
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Launched in 1940, the Yamato was a lead ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy during WW2. Outnumbered by the US fleet, Japan built the Yamato and her sister ship, the Musashi, as the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever in order to even the odds.
To this day, they hold their title, though no new battleships have been constructed for decades.
Yamato
Claim to fame: The most powerfully armed battleship ever constructed.
Launched in 1940, the Yamato was a lead ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy during WW2. Outnumbered by the US fleet, Japan built the Yamato and her sister ship, the Musashi, as the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever in order to even the odds. To this day, they hold their title, though no new battleships have been constructed for decades.
During Japan’s last major naval operation in WW2, the Yamato and nine other warships were sent on a suicide run against Allied forces in Okinawa. Before she even reached her destination, the Yamato and five other Japanese warships were sunk by US carrier-borne aircraft.
The Yamato and Musashi served as symbols for the Japanese people – as long as they were able to fight, Japan could never fall. The cultural importance of these ships has led to them being memorialized extensively.
HMS Dreadnought
Claim to fame: Revolutionized naval power.
To kick off this list, we need to acknowledge the Royal Navy vessel that changed the way naval battles were fought. The Dreadnought, whose very name inspires feelings of… well, dread, represented such a huge leap forward in technology that an entire class of battleships was named after her. In fact, so revolutionary was she that we now refer to the class of battleships she rendered obsolete as “pre-dreadnoughts.”
Launched in 1906, the Dreadnought was the first capital ship to be powered by steam turbines and consequently the fastest battleship in the world. Her completion spurred a naval arms race in the build-up to World War I, even though she did not see active service during the war. In 1915, she rammed a surfacing German U-boat, becoming the only battleship to sink a submarine.
Sadly, she was sold for scrap in 1919.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
Claim to fame: The United States’ last battleship; site of the surrender of Japan, World War II.
Launched in 1944, “Mighty Mo” was the final battleship commissioned by the US and has since earned 11 battle stars for her service in WW2, the Korean War, and the Gulf War. While she was first decommissioned in 1955, she was reactivated in 1984 when the US enacted a plan to rebuild its Navy fleet.
The Missouri survived a kamikaze bombing with only superficial damage, was instrumental in claiming Japan’s home waters during WW2 by guarding aircraft carriers and bombarding Japanese shorelines, and served as the site of the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allies, officially ending the war.
Today, the Missouri is living out her days as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, where she’s been since 1998.
To this day, they hold their title, though no new battleships have been constructed for decades.
Yamato
Claim to fame: The most powerfully armed battleship ever constructed.
Launched in 1940, the Yamato was a lead ship in the Imperial Japanese Navy during WW2. Outnumbered by the US fleet, Japan built the Yamato and her sister ship, the Musashi, as the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever in order to even the odds. To this day, they hold their title, though no new battleships have been constructed for decades.
During Japan’s last major naval operation in WW2, the Yamato and nine other warships were sent on a suicide run against Allied forces in Okinawa. Before she even reached her destination, the Yamato and five other Japanese warships were sunk by US carrier-borne aircraft.
The Yamato and Musashi served as symbols for the Japanese people – as long as they were able to fight, Japan could never fall. The cultural importance of these ships has led to them being memorialized extensively.
HMS Dreadnought
Claim to fame: Revolutionized naval power.
To kick off this list, we need to acknowledge the Royal Navy vessel that changed the way naval battles were fought. The Dreadnought, whose very name inspires feelings of… well, dread, represented such a huge leap forward in technology that an entire class of battleships was named after her. In fact, so revolutionary was she that we now refer to the class of battleships she rendered obsolete as “pre-dreadnoughts.”
Launched in 1906, the Dreadnought was the first capital ship to be powered by steam turbines and consequently the fastest battleship in the world. Her completion spurred a naval arms race in the build-up to World War I, even though she did not see active service during the war. In 1915, she rammed a surfacing German U-boat, becoming the only battleship to sink a submarine.
Sadly, she was sold for scrap in 1919.
USS Missouri (BB-63)
Claim to fame: The United States’ last battleship; site of the surrender of Japan, World War II.
Launched in 1944, “Mighty Mo” was the final battleship commissioned by the US and has since earned 11 battle stars for her service in WW2, the Korean War, and the Gulf War. While she was first decommissioned in 1955, she was reactivated in 1984 when the US enacted a plan to rebuild its Navy fleet.
The Missouri survived a kamikaze bombing with only superficial damage, was instrumental in claiming Japan’s home waters during WW2 by guarding aircraft carriers and bombarding Japanese shorelines, and served as the site of the unconditional surrender of the Empire of Japan to the Allies, officially ending the war.
Today, the Missouri is living out her days as a museum ship at Pearl Harbor, where she’s been since 1998.