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Yamato-Class vs. Iowa-Class: The Ultimate Battleship ‘What-If’ Fight

Battleship Yamato. Image Credit: Creative Commons.
Yamato-class battleship Yamato. Image Credit: Creative Commons

Key Points and Summary: The Yamato-class battleships, including the Yamato and Musashi, were the largest warships ever built, featuring massive 18.1-inch guns capable of firing 3,220-pound shells over 26 miles.

-While these ships delivered unmatched firepower, their size made them vulnerable to air and submarine attacks, leading to their eventual sinking during WWII.

-By comparison, the U.S. Navy’s Iowa-class battleships, equipped with 16-inch guns and later armed with Tomahawk missiles, proved more versatile and survivable.

-The Iowas even saw action in the Gulf War. Despite their vulnerabilities, both classes of battleships left an indelible mark on naval history as symbols of maritime power.

-The largest, most massive battleships that ever existed were the Japanese Yamato-class WWII-era warships, which incorporated nine ultra-large 460mm 18.1-inch naval guns. 

Iowa-Class vs. Yamato-Class: Which WWII Battleship Was Superior?

The large weapons, designed for anti-aircraft fire and suppressive land attack, were each capable of firing 3,220-pound shells as far as 26 miles.

These weapons are still reported to be the largest guns ever built on a warship. 

The sheer size of these guns was imposing, and the range and explosive power of the round were capable of exacting a severe toll upon enemy targets. While it is accurate to think of these weapons in terms of anti-aircraft and land attack, the shells also integrated armor-piercing technology for use against enemy surface ships. 

Yamato vs Iowa

An interesting essay or excerpt from the text “Combined Fleet” from 2008 makes a relevant comparison between the US Navy Iowa-class battleships and the Japanese Yamato-class warships.

While the Yamato’s 18-inch guns were the largest, they may have been closely matched in terms of armor penetration by the Iowa-class mounted 16-in/50-cal guns. 

Japan ultimately built three Yamato-class warships. The first two were the Yamato in 1941 and the Musashi in 1942. When fully loaded, these battleships displaced 72,000 tons, making them the largest warships ever built.

The size and volume of the large warships brought distinct “area-fire” advantages, something of particular value before the arrival of precision-guided shells, which came years later. 

During WWII, the ability to deliver massive volumes of heavy fire upon an enemy force or location offered a significant tactical advantage, even if the rounds were “dumb” or unguided, as was the case during WWII. This firepower could simply “blanket” an area with incoming fire. “Bulk” and “volume” were used to compensate for what today would be seen as a lack of precision, 

The massive warships arguably brought unprecedented advantages in the realm of heavy land, surface, and air fire, yet even at the time of World War II, the undersea and air threats to the ship led the Japanese Navy to deploy them sparingly.

A ship the size of the Yamato was known to offer a larger and more “findable” target for enemy submarines, ships, and attack aircraft. 

Therefore, in a strategic or maritime warfare tactical sense, the Yamato battleships presented a trade-off to a certain extent because the impact or value of their massive guns was offset, mitigated, or simply decreased by the vulnerability of the ships.

WWII eventually verified this vulnerability for the Japanese Navy, as both the Yamato and the Musashi were sunk by US forces. 

Iowa-class battleships brought back

At the same time, the value of these heavy ships also brought unparalleled battlefield advantages, a significant reason the US brought back its large, WWII-era Iowa-class battleships during the Cold War.

Iowa-class ships carried nuclear-armed Tomahawk missiles capable of traveling as far as 1,700 miles, and land-attack Tomahawks able to hit targets from ranges out to 900 miles.

These ships proved quite useful during WWII as they could bring massive “surface bombardment” against an enemy from the US Navy. 

The reason seems clear: in any maritime warfare scenario where a large battleship was supported by superior air-power and faced a smaller or manageable surface or submarine threat, the benefits of the ship arguably prove unmatched and outweigh its vulnerabilities. 

The Gulf War, for example, provides a significant example of this firepower advantage, given that the US Navy faced little to no threat from Iraq in the air or from undersea.

Two Iowa-class battleships attacked Iraq with 16-inch guns during the Gulf War in 1991. 

Yamato-Class: A Picture Essay 

Yamato-Class

Yamato-Class. Image: Creative Commons.

Yamato-Class

Yamato-Class. Image: Creative Commons.

Battleship Yamato. Image Credit: Artist Rendering.

Artist Video Rendering of Yamato-Class.

Yamato-class battleship

Battleship Yamato during sea trials October 30, 1941.

Yamato-class battleships

Yamato and Musashi anchored in the waters off of the Truk Islands in 1943.

Yamato-class battleship

Battleship IJN Musashi, August 1942, taken from the bow.

About the Author: Kris Osborn 

Kris Osborn is the Military Technology Editor of 19FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven – Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a highly qualified expert in the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

Written By

Kris Osborn is the Military Affairs Editor of 19 FortyFive and President of Warrior Maven - Center for Military Modernization. Osborn previously served at the Pentagon as a Highly Qualified Expert with the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army—Acquisition, Logistics & Technology. Osborn has also worked as an anchor and on-air military specialist at national TV networks. He has appeared as a guest military expert on Fox News, MSNBC, The Military Channel, and The History Channel. He also has a Masters Degree in Comparative Literature from Columbia University.

2 Comments

2 Comments

  1. Prestwick

    January 18, 2025 at 12:21 pm

    The ultimate duel would have been HMS Warspite – the John Wick of WW2 battleships – Vs Yamato.

  2. Bradley C Carver

    January 18, 2025 at 6:08 pm

    While the Yamato class ships were more armored and bigger, the Iowa class battleships were more maneuverable and had radar controlled firepower♡ Iowa class wins in a head to head, especially at night 🌙

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