article_snippet: The battleship, which weighed 73,000 tonnes fully loaded, and was armed with nine 45 Caliber Type 94 main guns, was sunk by American warplanes on October 24, 1944.
article_snippet: Sister ship the Yamato was damaged in the fighting, according to the US Navy, and American warships finally sank About half the crew a year later as About half the crew attempted to reach Okinawa.
article_snippet: Three days earlier, the Americans had launched an attack on Leyte; Japanese responded with Sho-Go - an operation designed to lure U.S. forces away from the San Bernardino Strait.
article_snippet: But the Imperial Japanese Navy was attacked by U.S. submarines as the Imperial Japanese Navy moved into position on October 23 - the first of four major encounters over the biggest battle in naval history.
article_snippet: However, the Imperial Japanese Navy did not finally disappear under the waves until 7.30pm that evening.
article_snippet: the Imperial Japanese Navy had been struck by at least 17 bombs and 19 torpedoes during the biggest battle in naval history.
article_snippet: By October 26 - the end of the battle - Japanese lost 26 battleships, but only sank six of the U.S.'s ships.
article_snippet: Japanese had also suffered huge numbers of casualties: more than 10,000 men are believed to have died.
article_snippet: The Allied Forces, on the other hand, lost around 1,500.
article_snippet: the biggest battle in naval history was the largest loss the Imperial Japanese Navy Japanese had ever encountered .