April 7

IJN Yamato Sunk — World's Largest Battleship Lost

386 U.S. carrier aircraft sank the Japanese superbattleship Yamato in a two-hour attack. The Yamato was on a one-way mission to beach itself at Okinawa and fight until destroyed; it carried fuel for only a one-way trip.

The Yamato's sinking was the final proof that the age of the battleship was over — aircraft carriers and planes had replaced big-gun ships as the dominant naval weapon.