10. Heavy Armor
The ship's steel armor weighed 23,000 tons—more than 30
percent of
Yamato's total weight. The Imperial Navy developed new ways
to harden steel and otherwise improve armor technology for the
ship. Plates of armor 25 inches thick—the heaviest armor
ever mounted on a warship—shielded the turrets of her main
guns. The side of the ship could survive the impact of 3,000-pound
armor-piercing projectiles like those shot from the ship's big
guns. But Yamato's bow and stern were not as well
protected. Most of the torpedoes that ultimately sank the ship
struck there, below the waterline, where she was most vulnerable.