"Kenneth Williams" wrote in message
...
Did the Japanese battleship Yamato ever fire an AA salvo during WW2?

A visiting friend of mine in the Navy told me the Japanese had a
battery-fired AA weapon that was actually fired in battle.

I guess it didn't work as the ship was sunk!

Anyone know what this weapon was?

From
http://www.warships1.com/Weapons/WNJAP_18-45_t94.htm

"As were most Japanese warships, the Yamato and Musashi were provided with a
special anti-aircraft incendiary shrapnel shell officially designated as
"Type 3 Common" but nicknamed "San Shiki" (The Beehive). This round weighed
2,998 lbs. (1,360 kg) and was filled with 900 incendiary tubes made out of
rubber thermite and 600 steel stays. A time fuze was used to set the
desired exploding distance, usually about 1,000 meters (1,100 yards). These
projectiles were designed to burst in a 20 degree cone extending towards the
oncoming aircraft with the projectile shell itself being destroyed by a
bursting charge to increase the quantity of steel splinters. The incendiary
tubes ignited about half a second later and burned for five seconds at 3,000
degrees C, producing a flame about 5 meters (16 feet) long. "

Keith