Anatomy of Yamato
11. Flood Control
Yamato's 1,150 watertight compartments were meant not just to
prevent unwanted flooding but, in some cases, to purposely be
flooded. If the ship listed to one side, water could be pumped into
compartments on the opposite side. Fuel could also be transferred to
tanks on the upward side to help counter the tilt. Midway through
Yamato's last battle, as the ship listed 15 degrees to port,
her crew relied on the system to reduce the tilt to five degrees.
But soon all the flood-control compartments on the starboard side
were filled, and more torpedo hits and flooding on the port side
capsized the ship.