Re: US Submarines vis-a-vis U-Boats--Tonnage Sunk by US Subs
Posted by:
Forest
()
Date: December 13, 2005 09:32PM
"Yes, the Shinano was the largest vessel ever sunk by military action. Now, did it actually displace more water on the day it sank than the Musashi and Yamato, both of which were outfitted and loaded for battle?....well, that is another story."
She was enormous, yes. Also irrelevant by the time she sank. She would have carried about half the complement of aircraft as an Essex-class carrier. Even at that, Japan would have been hard-pressed to provide decent pilots, and there was precious little fuel to take such a huge ship very far.
What a waste of resources. War is a waste in general, but Shinano symbolizes that waste very well. Huge expenditure, achieving absolutely nothing.
Sorry. Waxing philosophical a bit.
She was enormous, yes. Also irrelevant by the time she sank. She would have carried about half the complement of aircraft as an Essex-class carrier. Even at that, Japan would have been hard-pressed to provide decent pilots, and there was precious little fuel to take such a huge ship very far.
What a waste of resources. War is a waste in general, but Shinano symbolizes that waste very well. Huge expenditure, achieving absolutely nothing.
Sorry. Waxing philosophical a bit.