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When launched in 1941, the Yamato was the world's largest and most powerful warship ever built. It was a symbol of Japanese military power and a response to attempts by world powers to...

When launched in 1941, the Yamato was the world's largest and most powerful warship ever built. It was a symbol of Japanese military power and a response to attempts by world powers to place limitations on fleet sizes in order to de-escalate the naval arms race. The Yamato was built in absolute secrecy. Designed to be twice the size of any other battleship, it included three large gun turrets—each weighing more than an American destroyer—that could send a shell 40 kilometers. As American forces prepared for the invasion of Okinawa, the Yamato was ordered to do everything possible to stop this attack. A decision was made to sacrifice the ship in a suicide mission. But the Americans intercepted the Yamato while she was still 320 kilometers away from the closest American warship. A coordinated attack by more than 400 planes from a dozen US aircraft carriers sunk the Yamato. The result was the largest naval disaster in history—only 269 of 3016 crew members survived. Today, Yamato lies at the bottom of the East China Sea, sunk by a massive explosion that entombed 3000 Japanese sailors in a colossal naval disaster. As it sank below the waves, the golden age of the battleship, the 20th century's first superweapon, had already faded from history. NOVA joins an international team exploring the grave of this titanic vessel to unlock the secrets of her design and final mission. Featuring powerful interviews with two of the Japanese survivors of the sinking, NOVA reconstructs the ...