We Sank The Biggest Battleship Ever Built In Two Hours — And Lost Twelve Men

On 7 April 1945, Commander Edmond G. Konrad took control of the carrier attack against Yamato from inside the battleship's anti-aircraft fire. As each wave went in and aircraft fell, he directed the assault while counting the men he could not bring back. The documentary begins with Commander John J. Foote aboard USS Threadfin sighting Yamato, Yahagi, and eight destroyers leaving the Bungo Strait on 6 April 1945. His plain-language report exposed Operation Ten-Go and allowed Vice Admiral Marc A. Mitscher to prepare Task Force 58 for a carrier strike. On 7 April, more than two hundred aircraft launched from carriers including USS Hornet, USS Yorktown, USS Essex, USS Bennington, and USS Bunker Hill. Commander Edmond G. Konrad assumed control of the attack after the original coordinator turned back, directing Hellcats, Helldivers, and Avengers through heavy rain and intense flak. Torpedo and bomb strikes crippled Yamato, sank Yahagi and escorting destroyers, and left the battleship listing and unable to maneuver. At 2:23 p.m., Yamato exploded and sank with Vice Admiral Seiichi Ito and Captain Kosaku Aruga aboard. Konrad remained overhead, marking downed aircraft and survivors before returning to Hornet. Operation Ten-Go was Japan's final major surface sortie against the Allied advance on Okinawa. The destruction of Yamato and its escorts demonstrated the decisive reach of American carrier aviation against a fleet operating without air cover. ⏱️ Chapters 00:00 Konrad Takes Command 05:38 Threadfin Finds the Japanese Fleet 10:35 The Carrier Strike Launches 16:52 The First Attack Wave 23:01 Torpedoes Through the Flak 28:05 Yamato Is Crippled 33:10 The Battleship Explodes 37:35 Konrad's Final Orbit How do you assess Commander Konrad's decision to remain inside the flak while directing each successive attack wave? Archival photographs and film: U.S. Navy, U.S. National Archives, Naval History and Heritage Command, Wikimedia Commons and Internet Archive (public domain). Narration voice and thumbnail artwork are AI-generated. #WW2 #Yamato #NavalHistory