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.