Brief, lyrical ode to the largest battleship ever built. The Imperial Japanese Navy's Yamato, larger that the German battleship Bismark, much larger than the HMS Prince of Wales, and much larger than the Iowa class battleships of the US Navy, like the Missouri, displaced some 72,000 tons, was some 840 feet long. It's 18 inch guns, the largest ever built, were larger than allowed by treaty and could fire these massive shells over 26 miles. Unfortunately for the ships officers and crew, the Yamato ended its run as the battle for Okinawa was starting, sent out with a small escort and no air-cover against the US Navy and its carriers and their air wing. The Yamato became a graphic display of the end of the age of battleships. An interesting book.
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