//------------------------------//
// The Prologue (Revamped) 
// Story: Equestria Battleship Yamato 
// by Imperial_Crest 
//------------------------------//


The Prologue












Out over the waters of the expansive East China Sea it was dark and gloomy, as not even one ray of sunshine could penetrate the dark grey clouds which covered the sky. Veils of light rain descended like curtains from the clouds to the sky and the roaring of thunder could be heard in the distance, leaving an uncertain and uneasy feeling in the air. In the skies above, close to 300 military aircraft flew together in squadrons, all in formation and heading towards the same target. They consisted of fighters, torpedo bombers and dive bombers, all sporting the blue colours of the United States. After flying for a while, the pilots finally sighted something in the distance, a fleet of ten warships. The small fleet consisted of eight small destroyers, a cruiser and one large battleship. Although they were to attack the whole fleet of ships, their main target was the battleship that lay in the centre of the fleet.


“Come in, this is the first wave squadron of the Task Force 58. We have got visual on the target, I repeat, we have visual on the Yamato” One of pilots announced through his radio. 

“Excellent! Commence bombing run!” Another pilot ordered.


As the wave of planes continue their advance towards the Yamato, they get spotted by the Yamato’s crew. The battleship’s large triple-barrelled gun turret slowly rotates to port side, aiming up towards the sky and at the incoming planes. With a loud, thunderous bang the Yamato fires its main guns, causing a series of explosions to occur in the air around the planes. Shrapnel is sent flying in all directions, however all but one of the aircraft do not get affected by the explosion. The aircraft that was hit plummets towards the water below as its engines malfunction, leaving the rest of the squadron to continue the bombing run. At the same time, Yamato’s Anti-Aircraft machine guns and artillery open fire at the incoming wave aircraft. Sailors at their Anti-Aircraft posts were shouting with patriotism and glory as another aircraft was shot out of the sky.


“Open fire!”

“Fire!”


High up in the sky and directly above the Yamato, several dive bombers started diving down towards their target while at the same time trying to avoiding the ship’s anti-aircraft barrage. As they got to a close enough distance to the Yamato, one of the squadron leaders of the dive bombers ordered.

“Bombs away!”


The dive bombers dropped their payloads, pulling out of their dives and flying away and out of range of the Yamato’s never-ending barrage of anti-aircraft fire. The bombs descended down towards the battleship, however most of them missed their mark due to the ship’s evasive manoeuvring. Two bombs did manage to find their target, with one bomb hitting one of the Yamato’s two Anti-Aircraft machine guns and creating a hole on the deck and causing a huge amount of smoke to billow out near the ship’s mainmast. The other bomb struck the radar room and one of the Anti-Aircraft artillery on the starboard aft, killing everyone inside. However, the crew were able to get some revenge, managing to shoot down one of the retreating dive bombers in retaliation.


At the same time, one of the torpedo squadrons was commencing their own run, flying low to try and avoid the anti-aircraft barrage. Whilst facing the portside of the giant battleship, they lined up their flight path so that when they dropped their torpedoes, they would hit the Yamato. When they got close enough, they dropped their torpedoes, immediately pulling up and flew away in different directions to quickly leave the battlefield, as they had done their job. However, they would not get out unscathed, as one torpedo bomber was shot down in the process. The Yamato managed to dodge all but one of the torpedoes which stuck her portside bow, killing those below deck who were unfortunate to be in the area and causing 2350 tonnes of water to pour in. The shockwave from the impact could be felt by everyone around the ship, however counter-flooding measures were quickly put in place and able to stop the Yamato from listing to port.

At the same time, sailors were continually firing their Anti-Aircraft weapons at the circling aircraft above, but were constantly being shot at themselves by the aircraft’s machineguns, suffering many casualties. This, combined with damage to their communications, made it very difficult for them to coordinate their fire and hit their zig-zagging, fast-moving targets. 

Coming in from the second wave of planes, another dive bomber squadron dove towards the Yamato and as they reached the appropriate distance, they dropped their payloads and flew away to safety. Two bombs managed to hit near the Yamato’s aft triple-barrel secondary turret, causing massive damage and costing the lives of the sailors who were operating it. The sailors on-deck didn’t fare much better, as several squadrons of fighters planes quickly followed suit, strafing the Anti-Aircraft posts with machinegun fire, heavily injuring or killing many in the process.

High up in the clouds, another torpedo squadron flew towards the Yamato, deciding to strike her portside and lined up their runs. They flew down low to the water and when they had reached a certain distance, they dropped their torpedoes and flew away, leaving two torpedoes to rush towards the Yamato and strike her portside with two huge splashes. This caused even more water to pour into the ship, leading her to slowly list to port.


From the bridge of the Yamato an officer ordered, “Damage control, counter the flooding!”


In the interior of the Yamato, the damage control crew use even more counterflood measures to try and reduce the list of the ship. However, these extra counterflood measures cost them the loss of one of the boiler rooms which slowly reduced the speed of the Yamato. Above deck it was pure carnage, sailors and officers were being shot by the swarming fighter planes whilst trying to fire their Anti-Aircraft machines guns back at them. The whirring sounds of aircraft and loud sounds of gunfire were the only sounds that could be heard amid the chaos, with the occasional sounds of yelling and screaming from sailors either in fear, determination, or pain.


In the air, more aircraft from the second wave prepared their attacks. Squadrons of dive bombers flew high overhead to prepare their attacks, torpedo squadrons flew low, approaching the Yamato from different directions whilst the fighter squadrons swarming the battlefield, raining down their devastating machinegun fire upon the Anti-Aircraft weaponries. With all these attacks happening all at once, the Yamato was left manoeuvring for its life from all the bombs and torpedoes whilst all the crew could do to fight back was to fire their Anti-Aircraft guns back at the enemy planes, as no air support had been given to them. Again, the Yamato’s triple-barrel main gun turrets start moving to portside, aiming up at the swarms of aircraft. With a loud bang the huge guns fire, causing several explosions to occur in the air. This seemed to create a firework-like effect, with shrapnel flying in all directions, but once again it had little effect on the oncoming aircraft.

Several seconds after, a torpedo squadron were doing their torpedo runs, trying to avoid the Anti-Aircraft barrage whilst aiming their payloads at the Yamato’s portside. Dropping their torpedoes when they got close enough, they pulled up and flew away to safety. Three of the torpedoes managed to hit their mark, hitting her portside and causing 3000 tonnes of more water to rush into the interior of the ship. The commander of the ship shouts out orders for even more counterflooding measures to be taken and the damage control team manages to again counterflood the problem, reducing some of the listing on the ship. However, this costed them the starboard engine and boiler rooms, greatly reducing the speed of the Yamato while also trapping many sailors below deck to drown. The listing of the ship had started to become too much, as the mains guns became unable to fire due to the angle of the ship. However, the Yamato was not done fighting yet, still managing to limp through the water as what was left of her Anti-Aircraft guns fired back at the swarms of enemy aircraft.

“Enemy aircraft shot down!” An Anti-Aircraft officer shouted as he sees an aircraft crash into the ocean, with the pilot narrowly escaping with a parachute. The Anti-Aircraft gun crew watches as the pilot slowly lands in the ocean when suddenly a medium-sized float plane comes down to land on the ocean, near the pilot. They then watch in shock and confusion as the pilot boards the float plane, which then takes off and flies away.

Up in the sky, the third wave of aircraft were beginning their attacks. The dive bomber squadrons initiated their dives, dropped their payloads at the appropriate distance and retreated back to their carrier, with only one dive bomber getting shot down in the process. There were a few lucky misses for the Yamato but unfortunately, her superstructure got smashed by four bombs, causing many casualties to the Anti-Aircraft machine gun units and other crewmen who were above deck. This was followed by four torpedoes hitting her portside, critically causing thousands more litres of water to flow into the ship. The remaining engine rooms were affected by the flooding and the steering capability was compromised, causing the ship to turn to starboard and losing most of her forward speed and momentum. The Yamato was dying.

The order to abandon ship was given, but it was too late. Counterflooding measures were no longer able to reduce the listing of the ship, as there was just too much flooding of her portside. The ship slowly started to list heavily to port, as the sailors on deck ran to the railings on the starboard side of the ship to grab onto and hold on. A few were too slow to move and ended up sliding down the deck and into the water below, along with empty ammunition boxes and other debris. Loud creaking noises could be heard as the ship continued its slow but unavoidable roll to portside. Several of the remaining Anti-Aircraft guns start to drop from their placements and into the sea and the triple-barrelled main and secondary gun turrets all start to turn and point down towards the water on their own, their weight being pulled down by gravity. At the same time, the remaining crew above deck were trying to hold onto the railings, with some not managing to hold on any longer due to their tiredness and letting go, screaming as they fall down into the sea below. Some of these sailors were very unlucky as they ended up hitting the ship’s superstructure or gun turrets instead of the water, killing them instantly. As the Yamato continues to roll to port slowly, more debris and sailors continue to fall into the sea below. 

In the water, hundreds of sailors screamed in horror as they saw the giant battleship beginning to capsize. Many of them attempt to swim away, using all their remaining strength to try and get away, however it was unfortunately too late for some sailors as the entire opposite side of the capsized ship crashes down on them. Right after the capsizing of the battleship, loud, screeching sounds of tearing metal and machinery could be heard as the three main gun turrets ripped off from their mountings due to their weight, slowly sinking to the sea floor. Then suddenly a gigantic explosion erupted from deep within the Yamato, causing the ship to be blown in two. The fireball created by the explosion went almost a thousand feet in the air and pieces from the ship were sent flying everywhere due to the large force of the explosion. This rain of debris fell on the sailors swimming in the water, killing many of them. The explosion instantly killed many crew who were either still aboard the ship or who were unfortunately too close to it in the water. There was a massive mushroom cloud created by the explosion, which reached more than four miles high and was seen by people more than 124 miles away, and in a way was the Yamato’s final wave goodbye. After the violent explosion, the surviving sailors that had gotten away could only watch on in despair as the two large hulls of the fallen battleship plunged slowly into the ocean, taking along any sailors still trapped inside to their doomed fates. The only signs left of the mighty battleship were some floating debris and corpses, while the main body of the ship slowly sank to the seafloor, to seemingly stay there forever…