Talk:16inch Triple Gun Mount Mk.7/@comment-27786739-20160417133608/@comment-25459687-20160608025828

@99.227.16.84.  Mr. Lundgren covers most of your points in his book. The fact that is was a six-shell salvo indicates that it HAD to be the Yamato, as all the other Japanese BBs had only four guns forward (4x2). Also the lack of colored dye in the shell splashes. (Nagato and the Kongous all had colored dye to help with spotting, Yamato did not.)

Also, Taffy 3 was conducting flight operations when Center Force was spotted, they most certainly were not "almost stationary". The CVEs top speed was just under 20 knots, they would have needed all of it to be launching planes, and they did so within minutes of the start of the battle.

The Japanes "diving shell" was designed to travel further underwater than other types, with the goal of hitting under the armor belt of opposing ships, or in case of a near miss, exploding underneath for mining effect. The second point is exactly what happended to White Plains. A few tens of feet closer, and that shell could have broken the US carrier's keel and sunk her.