The Japanese attempt to win the war against the USA failed on day one. They gambled everything on sinking the bulk of the U.S. carrier fleet which, to the Japanese’s great dismay, was not even in Pearl Harbor on Dec 7, 1941. When Admiral Yamamoto Isoroku heard of this, he said “we have awoken a sleeping giant.”

If they had taken out the U.S. carriers that day, the Kido Butai would have been the dominant naval force in the Asia-Pacific region. With their powerful carriers, nobody could have stood up to them. And maybe the IJN’s super battleships would have had their day in the sun, after all.

Better yet, there were two ships in the class. Yamato’s sister ship, Musashi suffered a very similar fate, though.