The largest class of battleships ever produced. There were
four ships in the class: Yamato (completed), Musashi (completed),
Shinano (converted to aircraft carrier), and
Kii (never completed). Many believe that the Yamato and Musashi were the last battleships to be in active duty. However, the United States had many more battleships in activity, from before the completion of the Yamato and to the end of World War II and later events, such as the Korean War. Japan's surrender documents were signed on the deck of an infamous United States battleship, the
USS Missouri. The USS Missouri and her sister ships were in use by the United States Navy up to the Gulf War. The Yamato was not the last battleship to be in active duty.
The Yamato was a nightmare in the eyes of United States sailors in
World War II, until their carrier aircraft sent the Yamato on it's
one-way trip to the
iron bottom.
