Bombs in the Yamato strike

Start with the aircraft’s record

Bennington report 67-45 records one 500-pound general-purpose bomb for Huntington’s Corsair. It is a precise piece of evidence about one sortie. The weight class does not identify an exact bomb model or the amount of explosive inside it. The inspected form does not justify filling those gaps from a generic weapons table. YT-Y03

Nor does it describe a bomb dropped on Yamato herself: the recorded aiming point was a cruiser identified as Agano class. Including that distinction gives the accompanying ships their proper place in the battle.

A reported hit is not a damage survey

The attack table records release at 1,500 feet and claims a hit on the cruiser’s forward turret. The narrative describes a small explosion near that position and a larger subsequent explosion, while also mentioning an approaching torpedo. YT-Y03

Those details cannot be turned into a measured penetration result. An attacking pilot’s observation is evidence of what he saw and concluded; an internal damage report would be needed to establish the precise physical effect.

The Helldivers’ heavier load

VB-82’s own report records two 1,000-pound AN-M59 semi-armour-piercing bombs per Helldiver, with one aircraft also carrying a 250-pound AN-M57 general-purpose bomb. Its attack table records eighteen 1,000-pound bombs and the additional 250-pound bomb expended by nine attacking aircraft. Four attacked Yamato; the others attacked escorts. YT-Y20

The report also says Bennington had no supply of 1,600-pound armour-piercing bombs. Available weapons mattered as well as an aircraft’s theoretical carrying capacity. Its hit diagram cautions that several witnesses might have observed the same explosion: expenditure is not a count of confirmed hits. YT-Y20

Comparing operations

The Midway ordnance profile records different loads carried by different squadrons. The Tallboy profile follows a much heavier weapon against Tirpitz. Together, the records show why “bomb damage” needs a date, a delivery aircraft and a target.

For Yamato’s final battle, these records establish different loads for particular aircraft and units. The narrative continues in Under Carrier Attack.

Across the stories

USS Bennington (CV-20)

The Essex-class carrier whose aircraft attacked the Japanese surface force on 7 April 1945.

Bombs and torpedoes at Midway

The weapons recorded in American and Japanese carrier sorties, and what their expenditure can tell us.

Vought F4U Corsair

A Marine F4U-1D’s bombing sortie from Bennington during the attack on Yamato’s force.

Grumman F6F Hellcat

A carrier fighter used against ships and gun positions in both the Yamato and Tirpitz campaigns.

Curtiss SB2C Helldiver

The later carrier dive bomber present in Bennington’s strike against Yamato’s force.

Tallboy

The 12,000-pound bomb used against Tirpitz, and what the damage investigation can and cannot establish.

TBM-3 Avenger

Bennington’s torpedo aircraft on 7 April 1945, their long flight and the decision to attack Yamato’s escorts.

The bombs of Operation Tungsten

The four bomb types selected for the Barracuda attacks on Tirpitz, and the difference between intended effects and demonstrated damage.

Yahagi

The light cruiser that sailed with Yamato, and the difference between her place in the Japanese plan and her appearance in American attack reports.

Yamato

The battleship at the centre of the Okinawa surface operation, seen through orders, fuel evidence and survivor testimony.

Appears in

Examine the sources ↓

Sources for this page

Open a note for the passage, inspection status and limits. Source records link to the available documents.

YT-Y20Bennington VB-82 Aircraft Action Report No. 37

Original wartime squadron action report · digitised scan

Passage: Report 37, PDF pp.1, 3, 6 and 9: bomb loads, expenditure, supply and limits of damage assessment

Mixed SB2C-4 and SB2C-4E aircraft; eleven launched and nine attacking; recorded bomb loads; radar contact by Wood and Reed; attacks shaped by cloud; one missing aircraft, its two missing crew and three repairable aircraft; explicit uncertainty about duplicate hit observations.

Checked: All nine rendered PDF pages visually inspected on 20 October 2026. Complete scan retained with SHA-256 cf8952c735396cef89c5d367823c700146f4218f8f8315699b5a5c495d867169. Tables checked against narrative and hit diagram. The earlier catalogue lead NDL4003169 is report 66 for VF-82 Hellcats, not VB-82.

Limits: A participant report compiled after the action, not a Japanese damage survey. Enemy ship identifications, hit allocation and comparisons with the March Kure attack reflect contemporary interpretations. Its diagram explicitly warns of duplicate observations. Missing status is as recorded in this report; parachutes seen were not identified. Eleven launched is not eleven confirmed attacks.

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YT-Y03Bennington aircraft action report 67-45

Contemporary aircraft report · facsimile

Passage: Aircraft Action Report 67-45, sheets 1 and 3–4: load, attack table and narrative

Kenneth E. Huntington’s F4U-1D sortie, reported bomb load and target.

Checked: All five retained original report sheets visually rechecked on 20 October 2026: one own aircraft, bomb load, target class, release height and narrative claims.

Limits: One pilot’s report. Target identifications, hit and loss claims are not adopted as verified outcomes; the reported load is not a fleet-wide specification.

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