Ijnyamato Wi

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I N T R O D U C T I O NE9UR. fu.mous_warshipsere ncludedn theJapaneseI ' Navy ' s1937F l ce tRep len i shn ren trog ran t : an ru r ( ) ,Musashi Shr, tkuku,nd-Zuikaku. hei r p"aral le lur . . r ,i l l u s r ra rehe r rans i r i onrom t he Q iggun ' t o he i i f f o " .as the ul t imarenavalweapon n the g+0s. The formerrh i p : y : f . . . \ he , l a rges t69 , 500t ons ) and m osrheav i l yg r rnncd . l r t t l esh i psn . t heh i s t o ry f t he t ypeand wereconceivedas the backboneof -rhe Impei ia l F lect . Infact. becauseof the -elLergence f th'e airplane, thelat terships, nrere" 25,67-5-tonners.ere he most nt -po l t an t . sh i psn t he i r. Navydu r . i nghe SecondWor l dWar. The carr iershad spectacular tareers,he bat t le-shipsdid not , though hei r war recordswere no morelack- luster han most bat t leships. he dest ruct ion fthe carr iersmarked the end oi the sr_rr faceorcesofthe Inrper ia lNavy as an important actor n the war.The spectacularest ruct ionf thebat t leships,y carr ierl . i rcraf t , .was nrerely^symbol icof an iccompl ishedchange n the nat r . r ref .navalwarfare,a change vhichhi rd i rstbeensignal led y thecr ippl ingof the powerfu lGernurnbrt t les-hip ist r . rarcky rhe .st r ingbag. la i rcra i io f t he Roya lNavy back n 1941 .

D E S I G NThe Yatnutoclass hipswere o be suchan advancern bat t leship esign hat the Japanese avy, n spi teofJ l rpun ' sn f e r i o r ndus r r i a l ase .wou ld en loy a qua l i _tat ive.edge or several earsover i t s chief ' r iva l , GUni t .edStatesNavy. According o Japanese sr imates,t he a rges t h i ps he Am er i cans oL r l d ' bu i l dha t cou ldpass hrough-thc PanamaCanal were 63.000 tonnersr r r r r redv i t h 0 -16 " guns ndcapab le f 23 kno t s .W i t ht l r is n rn ind, .h,e apanese esigners roduced he f rrsto f a se r i es f p l answh i cheven iuu l l yu lm ina t edn t heYt t t t t a lo s .The. .var iousesign-sresentedl l contemplated mix_t u rc o l s t eamand d iese l ropu l s i on , u t ^p rob len t snot l i r : rd ieselp lants n the Navy forcecj bandonntentfth is dea n the f inaldesign.Most of the desiens f ferer lhad 46cm guns t hough" t wo ua +o . e - . * " i i ; ; , D ' ' ' " "

Hull Desi{n: Generalln outwi rrd appearancc he yatnatos fo l lowed the_gcneralc leslgn at tern. f major- apanesc,varshipssetby . the-ight c. ru iser tbct r i nd hcj i rvy ruisers f theKako class. he undulat ing heer ine of Jl rpanese ar_s l t i ps . , vasunc t i ona l a t he r han t l r e rcsu l to f son rcqul int Or ienta l uperst i t ion.s.suggestcdt t imesdur ingthc rvrrr .The. generalguidel ines iven clesigners TJapunesci ,arships,v i th egar-do hi t t design, ouldbestateclhus: Frecbourciorward should be'c lctermincclby searvorth inessonsidcrat ions,hc stcrn was to bcrcducedas mucl . ras possib le.Guns and nrachineryrvhich cclLr i red deternt inableepthof hul l , laken o__get l icr '\ , i th . tabi l i ty equi renients,ieternt inedhe hul ldcpth anr idships.When these igureshacibccn calcu_l i l tcd. t l lcy werc connecteclv i lh stn l ight ct r curvccll i ncs g i v i ng rhe cha rac t e r i s t i c ' , Japan j i c "hu l l l i ncl * onc intportantcharactcr ist ic ,he l ,n, r r r l rs v ' r ieclf ror t r l re Japanese ract ice,o thzt tc jate: he cLl tawaylorcfoot.of ntcxt .Ja^panesearshipswas rejected or ubulbous orv.This feature ecreaseclu l I resistancee_t rveerr5Vo lnd 8.2Va.rThe shipshad four shaf tsand[ r ,o nrdders, ne ntainand one auxi l iary, he lat ter orccfurcchc possib i l i ty f a d isaster inr i lar o that whichrvcl r lc ivertakeheGerntan at t leship isrr tarr .k. lnact ,i n sc rv i . cche aux i l i a r y r rddc r , h i chwassm a l l c r h i t nrhe rt ra in uclder, xpe iencecl l i f f icu l tyn stopping he


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No. 4 , 1975sh ip once t s t a r t ed t u rn . T l t c l o rcc l t s t l c r s q t r i t ebroad in accordancewi th the st lnclardsment iorredaboveandcontainedhe ackle or the wo bow zinchors.The sternwascut away n t he fashion l ' the cru isers ft he 1920 -1930 ra ,bu t becausef t he boa tha t rqa r ndai rcraf t hangar, he reduct ionof thc sternwas not soobvious.Since he Japanese sed elat ivclyhigh st renethDSs t ee l n t he i r wa rsh i p u l l cons t ruc t i on ,he accep t ab ledesiqnst ress evelswere sonlewhathighcr than theymight havebeenhad MS becn he type stcel rsed. hedes- igntandards iven i rpanesecsignersor bat t le hipsin fu l l load condi t ionwere:

HOGGING CONDITIONAcceptab le Actua l (Yamato)

' f u r ; r ing Ci rc le* - - : ; . l s i e r - - - 1 Ii - ---'2'---:>:

\-- - )- -----''( T a c r i c a l D i r n : t a r )

Drauine reproduced ro m Design& Construct ionof Yamato

Hull DesiEn: Torpedo Protect ion SystemThe genera l des ign s tandardsset for Japanesenava larch i tec ts in des ign ing bat t lesh ip pro tec i ion sys temswere:"Large heav i lyarmoredvesse ls :( l ) Wi th a l l the unprotec ted paces n the sh ip f loodedthe vo lume of the armored box above the damagewater l ine should s t i l l be f rom 20-2.57cof the to tavo lume of the armored box . Under th is cond i t ion o ff lood ing, the sh ip must have pos i t ive GM.(2) Wi th a l l the torpedoprotec t ion paces n one s ideo{the sh ip f fooded, s wel l as the unprorec ted nds of thesh ip , sheshouldhave pos i t iveCiM and not caps ize. "' I he cr i te r ia g iven the des ignersof Yanta to were evennrores t r ingent :"a . Wi th a l l unprotec teds t ruc ture f looded, the in tacarmored bo x ',vaso have suff icientbuoyancy or f lotat ionanc lsuf f ic ient tab i l i t y o impar t a range of s tab i l i t yo ll2 ' . The unprotec ted t ruc ture nc luc led o th cnds . a l lvo ids outboardof the s ide armor on both s idcsanr l thchu l l above he armored seconddeck .b . Wi th a l l ou tboardvo idson one s ide looded. hc sh inwas not to inc l ine more than 18" ( roughty , he angleatwhich the main deck on the low s ideentered he water . )c. Wi th e i therone or the o ther of the unprotec ted nccomple te ly looded, the h ip was not to p lunge by e i thcthe bow or the stern .d. w i th the three outboard f i re rooms. the outboareng ineroom nd the vo ids n way of these our spaccs none s ide looded, he sh ip was not to caps ize. "

295

DTl0 t ps i

KC8 tpsi DTl0 t ps i KC8 tpsiSAGGING CONDITIONAcceptable Ac t ua l Yam at o )KT

8 . 5 t ps iNoter: DT - DeckTensionKC - KeelCompressionDC - DeckCompressionKT - KeelTensiontpsi tons ersquarench

ln general , apanese arshipswere very cramped byWesternstandards. hei r designers onsidered hat aclear deck heightof 1.9 to 2.3 nreters hould be ade-qua t e 6 . 21 t o 7 . 4 f ee t ) p l a t i ng o p l a t i ng , hus vhenwire ways,vent i la t ion ucts,etc. were run, headroomof f ive feet o, lessbecamequi te common. Access othei r shipswasvery poor.Thei r hatches nd watert ightdoorswereverysmal l , ndgeneral ly f surpr is inglyightconst ruct ion. hey general l l ' id not have quick act inggang operateddogs, but rveresecuredby indiv idualrather ight dogs.Thei r ladderswere usual lysteepandnarrowand showed o indicat ion f uni formi tvn s lopeor width. Because f theseapparentproblems, hei rships ouldnot beput nto maximum ondi t ion f water-t ight ntegr i ty s quicklyas Americanand Br i t ishwar-shios. hei r crewswereberthed nd messedn thesamecompartment .ammocks eing he standardmethodofberth ing he enl istedpersonnel ,hough sonreenl is ledaviators vere ivenbunks.Thei r gal leyswere pr inr i t iveby American standards, nd the sani tary faci l i t ies"st r ippedto the essent ia ls" .a l t water showers n theweather eckswerea conlmonmethod or bathine hccrew, hough onreargershipshad bathtubs.

The s tab i l i t ycharac ter is t icswere as follorvs:M e t acen t r i c e i g h t G M )M ax im um i g h t i n geve r G Z )Range f S tab i l i t yRol l per iod

of the l ' r r r r r r r to lasssh ips

2 . 7 m et e rs[ . 2 m e t e r s7 0"l 6 - 1 8s e c o n d s

At 26 knots rvi th 35' rudder, he advancewould bc589 metersand tact ical iameter 40 rneters.

DC8 tpsi

KT9 tpsi DC7. 75 ps i


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296ln theory, hese r i ter iawere met thoughU.S. invest i -gators e l t that the nclusion f al l of the volunieof thehul l up to the forecast le eck in compurat ion f thewatert ightenvelopewas "a dubiousprocedure t bestand one which undoubtedly aveopt imist ic esul ts. "In 1934, a ser iesof bal l is t ics ests nvolv ingrZ scalecaissons ereconductedor thedesign f the Yatnatos'torpedodefense ystem also he moderniz i t t ionf theNagutos' orpedo bulges). n 1939, urther resrswereconducted on full scale ntock-ups of Yamato whichwere at tackedwi th 400 kg charges.n these ests, hehold ingbulkheaddidn' t remainwatert ight , ut nci therdid i t spl i t complete ly. s a resul r , he f inatdesignwasredone to st rengthen he bot tom connect ion-of thehold ingbulkhead, nd he hicknessncreasedrom threeinchesoveral l o a var iable hicknessrom eisht nchesat the point of connect ionwi th the main armor bel t ,taper ing o three nchesat the bot tom connect ion.heent i resystembeingdesignedo wi thstand n at tack bya 400 kg charge i .e.a dest royerorpedowarhead. Thi rb iggestproblem with the change n design was themethod for connect ing he main armor bel t wi th thenewly designed ower torpedohold ing bulkhead.Thedecis ion was an unsat isfactorv ombromise eachedover he object ion f several f f icers i io fe l t a delav nconrplet ion f the shipswas warranted n view of - theproblems. pparent n the compromisedesign. Themethodchosen el ied upon the steelmakersabi l i ty toproduce he shapes in armor connect ions,ivets,etc. )requi redand the shear ing t rength f the r ivetsat thepoint of connect ion, i th l i t t le t ransverseupport (seeDrarving

Warship Internationalthe top of the bu lge connec t ion at the armor ) and 25meters n length ,betwcen rames 5 l and 173,was pro_duced.Water looded nto the No. 3 ( tur re t )upp" . - igu-z ine f rom a smal l ho le in the long i tud ina lbu lkheadcausedby cav ing in o f water l inearmor . "

Measures were taken to remedy th is ser ious des igndefec t , but both the Chie f o f the Des ign Bureau ar r 'het ime and U.S. inves t igarorsaf rer the war doubted theva lue of the smal l a l te ra t ion in the torpedo defenses y s t e n la nd a U . S . s t udy conc ludes :"a . A U.S. warhead wi th 600 poundsof to rpex wouldrupture Yonla to 'sorpedodefense ys tem. he amounto finboard f lood ingposs ib lymight vary wi th the depth ofthe h i t . Thus , f the po in t o f impac t was at or be low thejo in t between the armored sec t ions , nboard f lood ineprobablycou ld not be cont ro l led . f the po inr o f impac twas in way of the main s ide be l t , inboard f lood insmight be cont ro l lab le , u t a h i t i n such a locat ioncer lta in ly would be not iceab le rom wi th in the space.

b. The angle of l ist from one torpedo hi t is of th e orderof 2 ' to 3" i f the sh ip be reasonably ear the upr ightcond i t ion and reasonably ntac t . "

Armor belt connectiott Yamato clnss,

2- itot_D acK 2LAN

194) torpedo damage to yamato.

The inboardbulkheadsacked he elast ic i ty esi rablein such systems, r incipal ly ecause f the lonnect ionmethodused, ncluding he use of heavy H-beams nthe f i reroomarea. n Shinano,vhen he hold inebulk-head col lapsedonto the inboard bulkheads, t re H-beants ying hese ulkheads roke hrough he nboardbulkheads,adding to the damage cont ro l problentsrather than cont r ibut ing o the defensesyi tenr. InDecember 1943, YanrcIo receiveda torpedo hi t f ronrU.S.S.Skn/e.The Japaneseeport of the damage squoted:"On 25 December 943, t 180naut icat i lesnorthofT ruk at La r i rude 0 " 5 ' N nd ong i t ude 50 . 32 , E , ,netorpedo i t was eceivedroma single nemy ubmarine.A holeabout meters epth, xtendingownwardrom


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N o . 4 , 1 9 7 5Fo r the massiveweight allocated o the torpedodefensesvstem, t di d not measureup to what should havebeenexpected, hough t did makeup for it s deficiencieswith sheer brawn when comparedwith the systemsofthe capital ships of other navies.Unlike the USN and RN , th e IJN preferred o keepthe compartments n their torpedodefense.systemoid'They relied on counterfloodingo remove ist.Hull Desi{n: Armor

Th e Yamatos were the most heavily armored war-ships in history. Wi th the except ion. f the steeingenfine compariment an d horizontai deck armor forean-d ft, the armor was restricted o the armoredbo x orcitadel.Th e following diagramsand tables llustrate heextentof thei r Protect ive rmor.Machinery spacesM a in 4 l c m ( 1 6 . 0 5 " ) t 20 ' s l o P e VCLower 200mm (7.9" ) apered o 75mm (2.95")20' CNCMagazinesM a in 4 l c m ( 1 6 . 0 5 " a t 2 0 ' s l o P e V CL o w e r 2 7 0 m m ( 1 0 . 4 5 " ) t a p e r e d o l 7 5 m m(6.9" ) 20" s loPe VCBot t om 80m m ( 3 . 1 5 " ) nd 50m m (1 . 965" )CN CDecksMachineryspaces-Magaz ines l9cm (7.5" ) NVNCArntoredBt lkheads 14" tapered o 10" VC

297Bal l is t ics :a . Muzz leve loc i t y( A P ) : 7 8 0m / s e c 2 5 5 6 t l s e c . )b . Muzz leve loc i tY(Com m ) : 805 m / sec 2 6 4 0 t l s e c . )c. Max. borepressure l . 0-32kg/sq cm( 19. -20.4 tonssq/ n .d . P royec t i l c t . (AP ) : 1465kg ( 3 2 2 0 b )e. Pro jec t i lewt .(Com m ) 1360 g (3000 b)

Conning owerSidesTopSteeringG ea rSidesTo pEnds

Main BatteryTh e main armamentof the Yamato classbattleshipsis the most nteresting spectof their design.Th e basiccharacteristics f their bi g gunswere:

20" VC8" VCt4.5"6.'7 "9"

40cm/45 ca l iberType 9440cm (for security easons)4 6 c m 1 8 . 1 1 n c h e s )4 52 Ocni - - -839.5nchesWirewoundand rad ia l lY xPanded;Muzzle 4 layers;Breech5 laYersScrewNumber of Crooves-72Twist-Uniform; on e in 28 calibersGroovedepth-4 .6cm; (0.18 inches)Bore crosssection-1698 sq.cm.(263 . I 9s q " )1 7 . 5 9 m 5 7 . 7 1 f e e t )480 l i t e rs 29.29cu in)

f . Cha rge t . : 330 g (728 b )g . I gn i t e r t . : 2 . 5kg (5 . 5 b )h. Maximum ange: 42,050m (45,960 ds)i . M ax im um l t i t ude :11 , 000 (13 , 200 ds )j . Approximatei fe: 200-250 erviceoundsLength f shel l :1.9515 eters76.9 nches)Japanesenterest n monstergunsbegan n the 1920s,wi th the designof the f f13 classbat t leships nd con-st ruct ion f two 48 cm ( 18.9") /45cal iber estweapons.On e of theseweaponswas destroyed n test iring whilethe other survived he SecondWorld Wa r an d wa s cap-turedby the U.S.Navy. They wereessent ia l lyxpandedversioniof the durableBr i t ish 15" 42 cal (as were he4l cm gunsof NagatoandMutsu).

I8. l1"/45 caliber rrrrr ln proait tg grourrt l at Karnesti lntbi '

Th e undersides f the magazines ere protectedby 50-80mm plate. The stack uptakeswere protected n tw o*ays. Th e main armor d-eckwas 380mm armor with180mm perforat ionso permi t he stackgases o passthrough. he stackwas sweptback and the eadingedgewas irmored with 50mm armor for the purpose ofexplodingany bombs which might strike it .

Des ignat ion:Nomina l Cal iber :Ac tua l Cal iber :Length n Cal ibers :Lengthovera l l :Type Cons t ruc t ion:Type of Breech:Rif l ing:

Travel of project i leChamber Volume:

: 1^. .tx


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298

18.11" gun, less balance ueight, shouine assembled breechmechanism,

Warship International

General uieut of trial rnount at Kamegahubi.

Slr inano's turntables at uar 's end. Weight is almost t0 0 tons.A typhoon has nuept auay supports cttusinq it to tilt.

This uieu of turntable shous trunnion brachets clearll.

In 1934, he quest ion f largeguns was againcon-sidered n view of the needs f rhe newbattleships f theYamato class.The 48 cm guns were rejected,- ut theneed or a weaponmore powerfu l han the 4l cm gunsin the Nagaloclasswas urged,and he 46 cm catiber vasset t led pon. The design or the weaponswhich was anew design,was completedn 1939 by a team headedby E,ngineer . Hada (who died dur ing he war) andconst ruct ion onrntencedn 1939- 940. In al l . twentvsevenguns were built. Six complete mounts were in -stalled t Yannto an d Musashi.A trial ntount an d twoof Shinano'surntables, ne near lycomplete,werecap-turedby the Americans ogetherwi th the nineguns orShinano.Trvo of these uns, ogetherwi th cer in inkeyparts,wereshipped o the U.S.The balancc f thc eLrnsand tu. r ret . rachinerynd a largestoreof sparc i r r tswere dcmol ished t the si tesof thei r - apture,af ter asdetai leda studyas could be conducted hich he t ime,nunber of personnel nd equipment vai lable ouldal -low. .The lat ter problem was greater han might beimagined.The only heavy duty crane at the si-tewa sinoperable, nd much of the machinery ascratedandstacked; onsequent ly,he c lateswere imply torn openand the contents tudied s carefu l lyas th is 'unsat isfac-tory methodof invest igat ion ould al low.

18.11" guns at Kamegakubi, bulance ueishts no t f it ted.

This photo shows runnion brackets and gun pits.


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''?E qcten*"Iffi,-. I \ru Ea:,sr .*_-+-a-.\r-l /- |

No. 4 , 1975 299wa FreR

L r ' , -E r l a u s r R ! tEI L

ru?r.re -

!.Ra glL! |+*,g

ls E rye *Ers &n LJi l lq, *.{ _l .a; 'E Er a| 'ar cLh c. _-=_-_ __o:dc^rg B^a!q --j+--_;\-r(I ^ |

UPPEE MaAZTIJEIr-I ; ut l .gr 14 -E bl lsQ{ - C o -- f '_- co r qt r :E 1


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300

Cable Lead In. Si nce turrets are lree rotat ing structures i t isnecessory that their blast air and electrical supplies be fur-nished through flexible lines. The diagram illustrates th eYamatos' rystem zuhich a l loued up to )60" tra in.

-t ,t-ur[e

.#*L-e"#a*itA . CORDIT-E-tlel5r,

Louter Shell Handling Room. Shells utere moued by "push.puII" gear along stouage shids C betuteen stozxage girders G.Th e trauersing ,notor moaed th e slrclls into ltosition to bemoaecl into tILe turret rotating slrrtcture,lrom uhence theshell utas traruferred to the shell hoists.

Warship InternationalShell "push.pull" gear and shell handling roorn markingsA Upper or f ixedgate .When down keeps hel l n pos i t ion .When up she l ls an move.

CLower or mov ing gate .Normal up. Could move n hor i -zonta I p lane thus mov ing she l l one space.Stowagesk ids . Twin she l ls s towed ver t ica l ly on thesesk ids .

D & D-1 Hooks for mov ing she l ls om (pu l l ) a thwar tsh ipsbay or in to (push)she l l hors t .Thus "push-pu l l "gear .C i Gi rdersseparat ing ows of she l ls .

X Break n g i rders or changeof d i rec t ionof movement fshe l ls .

Shell "push-pull" searan d shell handling room.

Unit of "push-pull" gear (trial d.esign)for handling room.

q r Y e t 49 C r ! . { 6 C { CU t Y o r r ( t( t l lP^t ?rto l d 6LArl Au

dtri Tu &irryp s-mirr

Iot nrst I lsaulT

7lrl9 ro! 07 *{f

I8.II" mount, shell "push-pull" eear. (trial design)


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No. 4 , 1975Shel lsweremoveddi rect ly nto he hoist threehoistsper turret ) ,whichwasa sintp le pusher"type, i rston a5" below hor izontal i l ted Dlat form. or t ransfer o thehoistproper.The hoist doi r c losedautontat ical ly y aspr ing oaded rank when he wcightof the shel lentcr-ing the hoist nrechanism as fel t , and the shel l wasseated n the hoist ,which rvas i t tedwi th a set of threel i f t ing and reta in ing awls,back and f ront respect ively.When the shel l reached hc top of the hoist , t wasca r r i ed n t o t he t i l t i ngbuckc t ,wh i ch was t i l t ed o 8 'above hehor izon gun oadangle3" ) , beingheld n thebucketby c l ips.When he shel lwi rs cady, t wls ntovedf rom the bucket nto the wai t ing ray before ts t r lns-fer nto heshel l oading ogie nd rammer,which wasavery unwieldy mechanism. he loading bogie movedforward on ra i ls. and as i t nroved forward. i t a lsolowered nto he oadposi t ion ' above hehor izon. heranlnrerwi ts i convent ionul hain r -antnrer ' .

t

Gunhouse Shell Transfer X'Iecluotisttt. ef t uieu i.sa sideuieut. Right uieu is a rear uieru. Ilefer to the text for ex,pkmation ol operat ion.

E!S!-pqa 7-ltwlwJ!9_ql!cnrEA

Gun turret shell ramnter in gu n house,

Gu r t l ro u s e s l rc l l b o e rc a r t t l s h e l l ra rn n te r , l tn a l d e s ig r t .E X P L A N A T I O NA - R e c e i v i n g t r a y .B -Fo r* ' a rd ro l l e r s to o .C -B re e c h th re a d p ro te c t io n t ra y .I ) - -Bu f ie r s to p to l i m i t fo rwa rd mo v e me n t o f b o g ie .E - -Su p p o r r b o l rs fo r b re e c h rh re a d p ro te c t rn s t r i v .F -B rc e c h fa c ' c a n t i - ro l l i n g g r ip s wh ic h u e re - o p c n e d wh e n re f , r l ) l i ) rra n rn r in g th u s f re e in g s h e l l fo r ra mmin [ .C -Ra m s l ro c k c ( . Th e r am is a n o rma l b ic y c lc c h a in J n d s p ro e k c t t y p era m. Th e s p ro c k c t s imp ly ro ta te s c lo c k w is e a n d th e c h a in r rn rn ic rd r i v e s th e s h e l l i o to th e g u n .H R a n r m e r c h a i n s u p p o r t b a r .

3 0 1

-*t 'Entrancehandling

to shell hoist for center qu n in uplter corditeroont. ("Push-pull qear no t f l t ted).

9lrclItransf rbosie.Guti l touse slte l l boeie antl shel l

E X P L A N A T I O N


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302 Warship Internationalpe r flash door freed the rammer control. Th e corditehoistwasa3' l " x 9 '5" f lasht ightrunk equippedo takeone cordite cage.

ftar&N(L Frd(!aE&qaqqlllau!8!ils6

B Cord i te Stowage , /6c h a r g e s l l l - 1 3 2 l b s ) .C-Cord i re Ro l le r Chure-1 , /6 charges oadedend to en d an dpushed o f lash l igh ts c u t t l eD .D Flash Tighr Scun le-Cou ld accommodates ix l /6 charges ant lwas power ro ta ted .Cou ld no t be ro ta tedunr i l cord i te t ransferbog ie (E ) wa s prop-er ly a l igned.f : -Cord i reTransfer BosreOperar ion f rheCold-it e Transfer Bog ie i sexp la ined n Figure .c4cpirl HoDtt (

m{ftitrrrt^tH !

Plan ol Nlaeazine and Upper Cort l i te Hand"I ine Room

Gunhouse, shell bogie and shel l rdnnner, fnal design.(Forzuard quar te r u ieu) (Beam xieu)E X P L A N A T I O NA-Main body, rammer ao d opera t ing mechan ism.B - R e c e i v i n g r r a yC-P ivo t po in t fo r changeof ang le rom 8 degrees o I degrees.

b. Magazine and Cordite Handling Room-Therewere wo cordite handling oomswhich differed n onerespect.Th e lower room ha d one transfer bogie a.ndhoistand servicedhemiddlegun,whi le he upper oomha d tw o bogiesand hoists or the outer guns. Corditewas racked (B) in 11 ; ha rges l 2 l -132 t b ) . I t wasremoved rom stowage annisters, assed hrough flashtight scuttles D) controlledby the corditeroller chute(C) into the turret rotat ing t ructure. ix chargeswerethen transferred o the corditehoist and hoist casesbvthe transferbogie pivoting tray. Each end of tni hoisihad an ant i - f lasl i oor whichwasoperated y a combi-nat ionof camsand hand evers. he opening f the up-

Type 91 15 Caliber 16cmGun turret pouder haruI l ing gear.C--Cordite Roller Chute.D-Flasht igh t Scur t le .E*Corditg Transfer Bogie which_operated as follows: The transfer bogie(a s i l lust ra tedcar ry ing six l /6 charges) ro ta ted counterc lockwise ro mthe flashtighr scuttle after receiving th e charges Zr of the circle (ap-prox imate ly) ro p ivo t po in t F a long the f ixed gu ide ra i l G. A por t idnof the gu ide ra i l was no t f ixed bu r p ivored- ro m ooin t F 'and isdesignatedH. The gu ide wh_ee l t rave l led to the srop pu l led to i tsposi t ion by the p isron ro d L which wa s re tracted in io 'cy l inder M.Upon reach ing he stop as can be seen he cord i te t ransfer 'bos ie u ,asa l igned wi th the cord i te ho is t cage. K in the inse t s the tu r re r io ra t ingstructure .The cord i te rammer mechan ism moved rh e charges nt o th iho is t caaes.

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Lower cordite handlins room, trial design.

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(A ) Guide vent fo r cord i te ravers ing og ie(B ) Bo l ie ravers ing ack(C ) Roller path fo r vertical spring guid rollers(D) Controt levers for f lash doors, cordite rammer(E ) Be d p la tes or rammer(F ) Ra i l fo r p ivo t t ray rouer(G ) Anti-flash door(H ) Inspect ion

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Cordite Cage (Left-upper, s ide u ieu; Right, recr u ieu; Left- louer, top u ieu)The corr l i te cage consistet l o f the parts i l lustrated and operated in the fo l lo t t t ing mrtnner: A, the f lashtight charge contuinetwith s ix t /5 charges uus cur r ied. at the top ol the cctge rameu'ork I l . The functiott o l the balance of th e caqe ntechatrtsntturrs o posit ion the cort l i te charqes f or ramminq uhen the hoist cage entered- the gunhorLse. The hoist cage rode up the hoiston uheels C and K uhich rode in quide ra i ls . For rarnminq the tage rotated about shalt D to a l ign zuith the breech of thequn. The shalt leuer E u ' i th ro l ler F motted on rai l J ut l tereupon cranh L actuated" hyclrauLic trcchanism NI. As the cuge antlromnrcr piaoted into position cam N tnoaetl in grooae P, forcing th e flashtight container into load position.

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GeneraL Vieu ol U pper and Louter Cordite Imt td l ingroom reuobing structure of tr ia l 18.1 " mount.

(A ) Cord i te boSic gu ide ra i ls .(B ) Cord i te bog ie r ravers in ! : ack.(C ) Ro l lcr pa th for ver t ica l spr ing gu id ro l le rs(D ) Contro l levcrs o r f lash doors and cord i te rammer( E ) Be d p la tes or su ng ing rammcr .( F ) A n t i , f i a s h o o r ( r i g h tg u n c o r d i r eh o i s ( ) .(G ) Ant i - f lashdoor (en trance o center pu n cord i te ho is t ) .{ H ) Bo i lom of uppcr C. H. R. rcvo lv ing st ructure .( l ) B l a s tv e n t r u n k .ordite Rannner (Left-s ide u ieu, I l ight-rear uieu). Thellantmer uas a choin remrner. Note: There is a tentarkablesimilar i ty betueen Yamatos' cordite cage ond rantr ner mech'anism and the projectil e"poucler ram mechonism in IJSSNewlrort Nc* 's c lass CAs. See Pp . 170, )72, )87 W.I. No"/,1972, though the latter ships uere desisned belore the endof th e Second. World War.

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304 Warship International

Add i t iona luieu'sol uppera ndIotttercorditehandlitryro o nts.

Cordite bogie inhantl l inq roorn, t r ia l

desien (r ight an d l-re lorv.) .

E X P L A N A T I O NA-Carr iage.B-P ivo t t ray.C-Handwhee l ? gear ra in ( t ravers ingmechan ism)D-Contro l lever .E-P in ion .F-P in ion .

P lar t t , ieu t o f upper cor t l i te hand l ing roont o l t r ia l n tour t tn{ote size of tnan.L E G E N DA-ten te , cord i te ho is t t runk showing f lash door (D ) a t lower C H. Rle e .B -Right cord i te ho is t t runk.C-Lef t cord i te ho is t t runk.D-Se (A) .E-Ho le for secur ing enter p ivo t .F-B last vent doors.


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