The largest
class of battleships ever produced. There were four ships in the class: Yamato (completed), Musashi (completed), Shinano (converted to aircraft carrier), and Kii (never completed). Many believe that the Yamato and Musashi were the last battleships to be in active duty. However, the United States had many more battleships in activity, from before the completion of the Yamato and to the end of World
War II and later events, such as the Korean
War. Japan's surrender documents were signed on the
deck of an infamous United States battleship, the USS Missouri. The USS Missouri and her
sister ships were in use by the United States Navy up to the Gulf
War. The Yamato was not the last battleship to be in active duty.
The Yamato was a nightmare in the eyes of United States sailors in World
War II, until their carrier aircraft sent the Yamato on it's one-way
trip to the iron
bottom.