Designers of the Yamato intended for this monster battleship to defeat any counterpart from the United States Navy. But the advent of aircraft carriers ensured that no such battle would ever occur.

USA, Oita Prefecture--The last moments of Japan’s mammoth battleship Yamato were captured in extremely rare color footage taken from U.S. military aircraft in World War II, a war-history group said.

KURE, Hiroshima Prefecture--A massive lathe used to precision shape the main gun barrels of Japan’s mighty World War II battleship Yamato is now on public display at the Kure Maritime Museum here.