The IJN Yamato had excellent optical fire control directors to aim the big guns. However, her guns were able to penetrate armor of the U.S.S. The Japanese ship was built to be nearly impervious to 16-inch shells from Allied battleships.
The Iowa has deck armor that is approximately 14 inches thick and side armor that is 12.2 inches thick at its strongest.Īdvantage: Yamato. This was undoubtedly due to the air threat and threat of "plunging fire" that the ship might face. The Iowa class battleships were the first to have heavier armor on the decks than on the sides. At its thickest the Yamato's side armor was 16.1 inches thick and her deck armor was 7.8 to 9.8-inches thick. The Yamato had the heaviest armor and according to Weapons of World War II, her armor extended well below the waterline. Both ships could fire 2 rounds per minute from their main guns. Iowa would have to steam several miles through Yamato's fire. The Yamato's big guns outraged the Iowa-class battleships by 3.5 nautical miles. These included 20 5-inch guns, 80 1.6-inch guns, and 49. The Iowa-class battleships also bristled with anti-aircraft guns as part of their carrier escort role. Each big gun had a range of 20.54 nautical miles (23.64 statute miles / 38 kilometers). The Iowa-class battleships had nine 16-inch guns in three triple turrets.
The Yamato's guns were able to penetrate up to 24-inches of armor at maximum range. Each of her 18.1-inch guns had a range of 24 nautical miles (26 statute miles / 42 kilometers). She also had up to 150 one-inch anti-aircraft guns and 12 anti-aircraft rocket launchers. She also had six 6.1-inch guns and 24 5-inch anti-aircraft guns. However, radar and early mechanical firefighters computers may have given her an edge of the optically-directed guns of the Yamato.Īccording to Weapons of World War II, the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) Yamato had nine 18.1-inch guns in three triple turrets. The 48,500 ton American Iowa-class battleships were faster than the Yamato but were less heavily armored and had slightly smaller guns. At 69,646 tons, the Yamato was the largest battleship ever built and boasted the largest naval guns ever built. History enthusiasts have long wondered how a fight would have turned out between two of the most famous battleships of World War 2: the Japanese Yamato and U.S.S.