We look at a number of ship losses this week, including the most famous one.

April 7: Japanese battleship Yamato (Wikipedia, ShipIndex) was sunk in 1945, during Operation Ten-Go, in World War II. Yamato was launched in 1940, and at the time was the most powerfully built battleship ever, along with its sister-ship, Musashi (Wikipedia, ShipIndex). Yamato served as the flagship of Japan’s combined fleet, and in 1942 Admiral Yamamoto directed the Battle of Midway from Yamato’s bridge. Operation Ten-Go was a Japanese plan to attack Allied forces that had invaded Okinawa. Yamato was to be beached near Okinawa to attack Allied forces until it was destroyed. But through codebreaking, the Allies knew of the plans for Operation Ten-Go, and Allied forces attacked Yamato before it could approach Okinawa. Allied forces battered the ship throughout the day, and in the afternoon the ship finally sank after an incredible explosion of Yamato’s magazines, creating a mushroom cloud that was visible 100 miles away. Of 3,332 crewmembers, about 3,055 were lost. Yamato has remained a significant symbolic touchstone in Japanese culture.

April 10: USS Thresher (Wikipedia, Shipindex), a nuclear-powered attack submarine, was lost off the US eastern seaboard in 1963, while doing deep-diving tests. All on board were lost. 

April 10: RMS Titanic began its maiden voyage from Southampton, in 1912. The next day, Titanic arrived at Cork, Ireland, then set sail for New York, and movie history.   

April 11: SMS Blücher (Wikipedia, ShipIndex), the last German armored cruiser, was launched in 1908. Blücher was lost at the Battle of Dogger Bank, in 1915, during World War I, with the loss of perhaps as many as 1000 sailors. 

For more about these ships, check out ShipIndex.org. And let us know if you have events that you think we should include!