Yamato-class

Built by the Imperial Japanese Navy, the Yamato-class were intended to be the largest battleships afloat. Three hulls were built, although the last, IJN Shinano, was converted to an aircraft carrier. The 71,000-ton ships IJN Yamato and IJN Musashi did have 18.1" 45-caliber guns, which fired the largest shell of any battleship, although its armor penetration was no greater than the 16" 50-caliber guns on the U.S. Iowa-class.

The class was rated at having 27-knot maximum speed. While it probably had the best optical fire control ever built, its radar was considerably inferior to that of the U.S. Iowa and South Dakota-classes.

Their speed and size were more comparable to that of the cancelled U.S. Montana class; the Iowas were optimized for speed, maneuverabilility and fire control.

IJN Yamato

The lead ship of the class was sunk by U.S. aircraft on 7 April 1945, as she led Operation TEN-GO, intended as a one-way mission, probably suicidal, formally to reinforce Japan at the [[Battle of Okinawa[[.

IJN Musashi

First to die, the Musashi was sunk by aircraft during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf.