Yamashiro 1944
Marker: recorded wreck position (Second World War).
Key facts
| Name | Yamashiro | Wikidata label |
|---|---|---|
| Year lost | 1944 | Wikidata P793 significant event, point-in-time qualifier |
| Era | Second World War | derived from year |
| Ship type | battleship | Wikidata P31 instance of |
| Cause of loss | War action | Keyword match in English Wikipedia lead sentence |
| Nationality / flag | Empire of Japan | Wikidata P8047 country of registry |
| Operator | Imperial Japanese Navy | Wikidata P137 operator |
| Conflict | World War II | Wikidata P607 conflict |
| Sea / ocean | Surigao Strait | Natural Earth marine areas (public domain), point-in-polygon |
| Nearest coast | Philippines | Natural Earth (public domain); approx. 11 km from land |
| Position | 10.3722, 125.3556 | Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0) |
About the wreck
Yamashiro (Japanese: 山城; "Mountain castle", named after the ancient Yamashiro Province) was the second of two Fusō-class dreadnought battleships built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched in 1915 and commissioned in 1917, she initially patrolled off the coast of China, playing no part in World War I. In 1923, she assisted survivors of the Great Kantō earthquake.
Yamashiro was modernized between 1930 and 1935, with improvements to her armor and machinery and a rebuilt superstructure in the pagoda mast style. Nevertheless, with only 14-inch guns, she was outclassed by other Japanese battleships at the beginning of World War II, and played auxiliary roles for most of the war.
By 1944, though, she was forced into front-line duty, serving as the flagship of Vice-Admiral Shōji Nishimura's Southern Force at the Battle of Surigao Strait, the southernmost action of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. During fierce night fighting in the early hours of 25 October against a superior American and Australian force, Yamashiro was sunk by torpedoes and naval gunfire. Nishimura went down with his ship, and only 10 crewmembers survived.
Diving & visiting
John Bennett claimed to have discovered Yamashiro's wreck in April 2001, but confirmation of the wreck's identity could not be made. On 25 November 2017, Paul Allen and his crew aboard the research ship RV Petrel, discovered the wreck of Yamashiro and confirmed her identity. The ship was found upside down and mostly intact, with the bow folded back over the hull.
Location
- Recorded position: 10.3722, 125.3556 (Wikidata P625 coordinate location (CC0); may be approximate)
- Sea / ocean: Surigao Strait
- Nearest coast: Philippines
Wreck positions on this site are for interest only and are not for navigation. Many wrecks are war graves or legally protected: never disturb human remains or remove artefacts, and check local law before diving.
Text adapted from the Wikipedia article Japanese battleship Yamashiro (revision 1380749729), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: excerpted from the article lead section and section(s) “Wreck”; condensed by selecting paragraphs; citations and formatting removed. No text added. This excerpt is available under the same licence.
Wreck facts from Wikidata (CC0).
Nearby wrecks
- Fusō 1944 · 25 km
- Japanese cruiser Mogami 1944 · 97 km
- USS Gambier Bay 1944 · 178 km
- Chikuma 179 km
Other wrecks of the World War II
- U-983 1943
- USS Aludra 1943
- USS Beatty 1943
- USS Branch 1943
- USS Deimos 1943
- Akagi Maru 1944
- Fusō 1944
- HMS Bullen 1944
- HMS Dragon 1944
- HMS Isis 1944
All 599 wrecks of the World War II →
Browse more: Asia wrecks · wrecks off Philippines · Second World War