Okinawa was a horror show. The Imperial Japanese Army/ Navy showed their hand at Okinawa.

The largest Battleship of the time, the Yamato carried 9–18 inch guns and sucked gas at a rate the Japanese could ill afford. The idea was to ground her and use the guns as a firing platform. She never made it. The handwriting had been on the wall for several years.

The German battleships Bismarck and her sister ship Tirpitz , which were also huge, were sunk years before without proving that they were worth the metal to produce them. The Bismarck sunk the HMS Hood then was destroyed. The Tirpitz harassed shipping lanes only to be sunk in a Norwegian fiord, having fired her guns once, only.

For one Bismarck , 40 U-boats or 20 Destroyers could have been made. Same thing for the Yamato. She fought in several naval battles, making no difference in the outcome. Kamikaze attacks were the biggest problem for the Navy. As far as battleships were concerned, their days were over. The Aircraft Carrier had arrived.