[27] While navigating the Bungo Strait, Yamato and her escorts were spotted by the American submarines Threadfin and Hackleback, both of which notified Task Force 58 of Yamatos position. Hancock for some reason launched her 53-plane strike late, and it never found Yamato in the murk, reducing the overall first strike to 227 aircraft. 3s upper powder magazine. I stumbled on this article and I finally know a little about this battle. You must become a subscriber or login to view or post comments on this article. Helldivers from BENNINGTON and HORNET attack from port. With nearly all of her anti-aircraft guns out of action, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc. The Attack Force briefly sights seven "Hellcat" fighters, but they are not seen by the escorting Zekes. The Imperial Japanese Navy ceases to exist as a fighting force. The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. Aruga would be posthumously promoted to vice admiral and Ito to full admiral. 129 Japanese soldiers were killed. At 1423 as she began to capsize, the raging fires onboard ignited her magazines and the resultant explosion unleashed a huge mushroom cloud that rose to 20,000 feet and took out a few American planes that were overhead. The result was arguably the largest suicide mission in history. Japan started the war with 63 ocean-going submarines (i.e., not including midgets), and completed 111 during the war, for a total of 174. Support Veteran Journalism . At about 1237, U.S. aircraft commenced attack runs, with strafing and rockets from fighters (which quickly began decimating Japanese anti-aircraft gunners), and then bombs and torpedoes. Around 2:00pm all power was lost and permission was given to abandon ship. The Japanese battleship Yamato in the late stages of construction alongside of a large fitting out pontoon at the Kure Naval Base, Japan, 20 September 1941.The aircraft carrier Hsh is visible at the extreme right.The store ship Mamiya is anchored in the center distance.Note Yamato's after 460mm main battery gun turret, and superfiring 155mm secondary battery gun turret. Vice Admiral Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. The Imperial Japanese Navy's super-battleship Yamato, shown here during pre-commission running trials in the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku, 20 October 1941 (NH 73092). Eight Japanese destroyers and one cruiser, the Yahagi (left), tried to assist Yamato in fending off her attackers. Twelve Helldivers claim several hits near the bridge and main gun turret No. On 29 March, Yamato was ordered to take on fuel and ammunition, and loaded 1,170 shells for her nine 18.1-inch guns (in three triple turrets), 1,629 shells for her six 6.1-inch guns (in two triple turrets), 13,500 anti-aircraft shells, and 11.5 million rounds of machine-gun ammunition. Thank you to all the brave men and women of the US armed forces! DANFS - Dictionary of American Naval Fighting Ships, Permitting Policy and Resource Management, The 9/11 Terrorist Attacks: 20 Years Later, "Ex Scientia Tridens": The U.S. The second and third waves of the American attacks pummeled Yamato. The engagement was an unmitigated disaster for the Japanese. Two more destroyers were lost: the Asashimo, which was raked by bomb hits as it was returning to Japan and sank killing its entire crew; and the Kasumi that was heavily damaged and later scuttled. This was taken as a yet another bad omen. The ships were to sink as many troop transports as possible, then beach themselves and continue firing as long as they had ammunition. . 1 magazine explodes and sends up a cloud of smoke seen 100 miles away. Of Yamato's crew of 2,747, all but 23 officers and 246 enlisted men were lost. One of the torpedo planes took a hit in the wing, pulled up in flames, then plunged into the sea. Sources include: NHHC Dictionary of American Fighting Ships (DANFS) for U.S. ships and combinedfleet.com for Japanese ships. naval action of the war, she took 2,747 men with herall but 269 of her crew. as she turns to avoid the onslaught from bombers. [1][5], At 12:32 on 7 April 1945, Yamato was attacked by a first wave of 280 aircraft from Task Force 58, taking three hits (two bombs, one torpedo). He asked what the Japanese navy was doing. Yukikaze suffered three dead from strafing and survived the war. Survivor Stories The American invasion fleet had, besides a heavy battleship contingent consisting of six battleships (Massachusetts, Indiana, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri), seven cruisers (including the large cruisers Alaska and Guam) and 21 destroyers. In the interviews below, meet two Yamato veterans still haunted by memories of the battle that took most of their comrades lives. The American planes release their bombs and torpedoes and strafe the bridge with machine-gun fire. The ship captains were then assembled on Yahagi and briefed. Thank you to all our WWII vets. One Helldiver was shot down. Ito and Captain Aruga went down with the ship. At flank speed, YAMATO commences a right turn but two 1000-lb AP bombs hit her. At 1417, she took an eighth and ninth torpedo, both to port. aircraft's overhead view of its target. 7. Meanwhile, about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and Avengers worked over some of the other Japanese destroyers. blasts were perhaps the largest ever to occur at sea. The attack on Pearl Harbor killed 2,403 U.S. personnel, including sailors, soldiers and civilians. this one exploding off Yamato's port bow, it was their air-launched torpedoes YAMATO, despite hits by two bombs and one torpedo, maintains flank speed. Where is the wreck of the Yamato? The others kept coming. RecPak is a meal replacement for the outdoors that saves you weight, space and time in the most challenging environments, just add water. Thanks for watching. By 1408, Yamato had clearly begun to capsize and the ship was being abandoned. However, in order to keep up with Yamato, these forays were short-lived. It was going on the attack totally outnumbered. Instead, military leaders decided to build a secret weapon that could engage many enemy ships at once. Baka, essentially a piloted cruise missile, made its debut at Okinawa. Timeline of Battleship Yamato sinking on 7 April 1945 0800 hour - The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). Join SOFREP for insider access and analysis. The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal. Yamato was lost Apr. most of the American pilots returned to their carriers, knowing The loss of these ships shocked the British government, and helped change procurement and employment strategies in both the United States and the United Kingdom. At 2:10pm Yamato rolled over and began to sink with fires from her aft 6.1" turret reaching her no. A heartfelt salute from myself, a navy vet in the 70s! One of her junior designers tells NOVA he was completely in the dark about the scale of the vessel that he was helping to create: I was building the biggest ship in the world, and I didnt even know it until after the war.. Altogether, more than 2,700 men went down with the ship or drowned after it sank, making the loss of the Yamato one of the greatest naval disasters of all time. While still a token of national pride, the sinking of Yamato also symbolized the sad end of the once invincible Imperial Japanese Navy. More U.S. aircraft may have been knocked down by the magazine explosion than by Japanese anti-aircraft fire. They would not be needed. Yahagi lost 446 of about 1,000 crewmen. torpedoes such that they would penetrate Yamato below the waterline near The Japanese opened up with everything they had, which looked terrifying, but U.S. pilots quickly figured out that Japanese anti-aircraft fire was wildly inaccurate. The ship was split in two and was found resting at a depth of 1,120 feet (340 m). What are they doing to assist in defending Okinawa? She quickly shipped 2,235 tons of water, but the list was soon corrected with effective counter-flooding. The American invasion fleet had, besides a heavy battleship contingent consisting of six battleships (Massachusetts, Indiana, New Jersey, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Missouri), seven cruisers (including the large cruisers Alaska and Guam) and 21 destroyers. The debate up to that point was whether to keep the fleet in home waters as a last-ditch defense or to send it on what everyone knew would be a one-way mission to attack the overwhelming U.S. forces expected to be at Okinawa. The executive officer reported to Captain Aruga that the damage control officers were dead and that counter-flooding could no longer correct the list, and recommended the ship be abandoned. The force would transit to Okinawa on 7 April (with only a few hours of minimal air cover), to arrive in daylight hours in the U.S. transport area off southwestern Okinawa on 8 April. Only 10. [28] An estimated 2,498 of the 2,700 crew members on Yamato were lost, including Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, the fleet commander.[1]. Anatomy of Yamato He saw four Avengers go in low, dropping their torpedoes in a spread on Yamatos beam. Deyo had just received a cheery send-off from his immediate boss: "We hope you will bring back a nice fish for breakfast." For executive producer Keiko Bang, making this film was cathartic. Lieutenant J.G. (Remember, the US lost 10 planes and 12 men sinking Yamato out of more than 300 aircraft) There is no logical reason to do this. By the end of the battle, Yahagi and all eight destroyers were lost. TOKYO Seventy-six years ago, on April 7, 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy vessel Yamato, the world's largest battleship, was sunk by U.S. military aircraft. Air search reports two groups of aircraft, range 44 miles, closing at high speed. The explosion was heard over 120 miles away. Itos chief of staff, Rear Admiral Nobuei Morishita, was the senior survivor of Yamato. At 1210, destroyer Asashimo, lagging behind the force, reported that she was under air attack, and radio transmissions from her ceased. The Japanese fighters were unable to make contact before they left at 1000. Altogether more effective were Japan's aerial suicide weapons. Damage Control counter-floods both starboard engine and boiler rooms and almost entirely corrects the list. It would not be enough. went down in the battle, with the loss of just 12 men. Thirty-four Hellcats, 22 Helldivers and one Corsair attack YAMATOs escorts. Displacing 72,800 tons fully loaded, they were about 30 percent heavier than the largest U.S . Yamato was commanded by Captain Kosaku Aruga (spelled Ariga in some accounts). producing the blasts that tore the ship in half and sank her. John Carter, was in a perfect position to watch what unfolded. The Hell Divers then plummeted straight down dropping armor-piercing bombs, clearing the way for the Avenger torpedo bombers that came in low and slow to try to put torpedoes on the target. The Yamato sank during a fierce battle for Okinawa on April, 7 1945. Most of the battles in the Pacific dont mention anything about the small carriers that were involved. My dad served on the Langley. concentrate their torpedoes on just one of Yamato's sides, an approach How many planes were lost attacking the Yamato? They had already lost the battles of the Philippine Sea, Leyte Gulf, and Iwo Jima. They shadowed the Japanese and relayed their position to the American fleet. Fuyutsuki was hit by two dud rockets. Two immense catapultsas tall as six-story buildings when raisedlaunched the planes, and an equally enormous crane lifted them from the water upon their return to the ship. 2 gun mount. YAMATO increases speed to 22 knots. Half of the dead at . Many of those lost did so after the battle on their return to the carriers; ditching in the sea having run out of fuel. After a dozen torpedo hits, even the Yamato's With robust designs and vintage classic style, discover the heritage of military timepieces today! Yamato was hit with three more torpedoes. I Served On An LST During This Period Of Time & Locations Mentioned In This Article , But I Still Like Too Hear Of The Actual Events That Took Part That Day In April 1945. Here, an At 1830, destroyer Isokaze sighted Threadfin on the surface. The sky is still overcast and visibility is poor. 4s YORKTOWN (CV-10), INTREPID (CV-11), LANGLEY (CVL-27) engage the Attack Force. She takes on a heavy list to port and her speed drops to 18 knots. She had suffered minor damage in the bridge area from a bomb hit by a Helldiver dive-bomber off Intrepid (CV-11) during U.S. carrier strikes on Kure and the Inland Sea on 19 March, but was fully fit for battle. Shinano () was an aircraft carrier built by the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) during World War II, the largest such built up to that time. The Attack Force changes course due south to 180 degrees. Some who were shot down were later picked up by seaplanes or submarines. At 1014, the Yamato force sighted the two Martin Mariner PBM flying boats, and also noted that Hackleback was still trailing (the Japanese had made so many course changes during the night that the sub was able to cut the corner and maintain contact on the force). TG 58.2 was in the act of refueling and wouldnt get there in time. At 1333, another 110 aircraft from TG 58.4 (Yorktown, Intrepid, and Langley), which had launched after the first wave of 280 aircraft, commenced their attack on Yamato. The final phase of the Pacific war during World War II saw a terrible new tactic: massed kamikaze attacks on American ships by Japanese planes. her bow and stern where her armor was thinnest. It had been deployed on a Surface Special Attack Force suicide mission to drive back U.S. forces that had landed on Okinawa. YAMATO starts a sharp turn to port but three torpedoes rip into her port side amidships. I was in a ASW squadron that still had many veterans serving and flying. The Attack Force turns towards Sasebo. How many US planes were lost sinking the Yamato? Two dud rockets hit FUYUTSUKI. They withheld the news from the public. Her auxiliary rudder is jammed in position hard port. Twelve Helldivers claimed several hits in the bridge area in exchange for five Helldivers damaged by anti-aircraft fire. None of the captains was afraid to diethey just objected to the sheer folly of attacking in daylight without air cover, believing that they wouldnt get anywhere close to Okinawa. Below are some of those stories and some links to other web sites with more stories about the ship and its final day, April 7, 1945. The FIST of the FLEET where it began during WWII. (The actual U.S. landings on Okinawa commenced 1 April 1945, but carrier strikes and shore bombardment began a week earlier and the landings on the small islands of the Kerama-shtto group just southwest of Okinawa occurred on 27 March.). Also interviewed is an American dive-bomber pilot who took part in the attack. . Pearl harbor was attacked on December 7th, 1941,hundreds of Japanese fighter planes attacked the American naval base at Pearl Harbor near Honolulu, Hawaii. Fourteen F4U Chance-Vought Corsairs from BUNKER HILL strafe and rocket YAMATO but cause only minor damage. Yamato (), named after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was a battleship of the Imperial Japanese Navy during World War II. The destroyer Isokaze attempted to come to her aid but was heavily damaged and driven off. The battleship received a 30-minute time-late report from an observation post on a small Japanese island north of Okinawa that 150 U.S. planes were headed in Yamatos direction. According to the plan, Yamato, light cruiser Yahagi, and eight destroyers would form a Surface Special Attack Force (the term special attack was understood to mean suicide) and sortie on 6 April 1945. By dawn on April 7, Asashimo, one of the destroyers developed engine trouble and started heading back to port in Japan. The Yamato, completed in Kure in December 1941, was the largest battleship in the world at the time. At 1000 hours he launched a total of 386 aircraft consisting of fighters, dive bombers, and torpedo bombers. [25][26] Damage to the battleship, however, was light,[25] due in part to the base being defended by elite veteran Japanese fighter instructors flying Kawanishi N1K Shiden or George fighters. The most powerful battleship in the world was no match for 390 U.S. carrier aircraft. Yamato carried only enough fuel to reach Okinawa, as the fuel stocks available were insufficient to provide enough fuel to reach Okinawa and return. The Avengers drop three torpedoes. Did anyone survive the Yamato sinking? WORLD WAR II. [5] Shortly afterward, a second strike of 100 aircraft attacked Yamato and her remaining escorts. 1s USS HORNET (CV-12), HANCOCK (CV-19), BENNINGTON (CV-20), BELLEAU WOOD (CVL-24) and SAN JACINTO (CVL-30) and from Task Group 58. This time all the attacks are concentrated against the battleship. US warplanes sank the Musashi on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, believed to be. U.S. losses were 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen. Despite the destruction, the majesty of the ship is unmistakable, symbolized by a six-foot-wide chrysanthemum crest, icon of the Japanese imperial family, still gracing Yamatos prow like a figurehead. The aircraft are lost behind the clouds. Aboard the TF 58 carriers, the strike packages were remaining ready on deck while the searches were underway. The Japanese lost three aircraft carriers and 426 aircraft; Yamato ' s only . The Japanese admiral in charge of Operation Ten-Go, Vice-Admiral Seiichi It, disagreed with the plan which essentially was to sail into teeth of the American fleet without the benefit of any air cover and then beach on Okinawa and operate as a static defense in support of the island. Lieutenant J.G. VA-6B (1946) How many Japanese submarines were lost in ww2? The first attack wave retires. The aft secondary battery fire control, secondary gun turret and the air search radar are knocked out. But the mission was approved and the Japanese ships set sail for Okinawa. An attack of 36 Japanese dive bombers and torpedo planes against the heavily protected USS Hornet with her escorts took down over 20 Japanese planes. The first torpedoes pass by harmlessly, but the remaining two strike her port amidships. Built in total secrecy and launched just after the attack on Pearl Harbor, Yamato may have been almost twice the size of her American counterparts, with the largest guns ever mounted on a warship. My dad was soldier (Tsgt) at Okinawa and my father in law was a bosunsmate aboard the USS Gunston Hall. Isokaze, which had her steering disabled by a near miss, suffered 20 dead and 54 wounded, and had to be scuttled by gunfire from Yukikaze. The visibility was highly variable, but often not very good due to cloud cover. Although 16 warships were hit, Yamato sustained only minor damage from a number of near misses and from one bomb that struck her bridge. Having already counter-flooded to starboard, the only option Yamato had was to flood her starboard engine and boiler rooms. A Japanese destroyer peeled off three times to keep Hackleback at bay. 1000 hour - The Attack Force sights two large Martin "Mariner" PBM flying boats. of the battleship gives a sense of the 18-inch guns' enormous size (note sailors on deck). At 1302, Yamatos remaining air search radar detected a second inbound wave. Japanese Battleship Yamato - minutes before sinking. Praesidus brings homage to the military watch tradition. Three of the torpedoes hit in quick succession, and Yamato took on another 3,000 tons of water and a 7-degree list. The massive air group circled just out of range of the anti-aircraft guns of the Japanese. Spruance was informed of it only after the aircraft had taken off. Cloud cover precluded accurate firing of the When Yamato sank, marking the last Japanese As Yamato and escorts were transiting the Bungo Strait between the Home Islands of Kyushu and Shikoku on 6 April 1945, submarine Threadfin (SS-410) sighted the force at about 1745 and issued a contact report in the clear that was intercepted by Yamato. April 7, 1945 Sinking of the Battleship Yamato. She and her sister ship, Musashi, were the largest and heaviest battleships ever constructed, displacing 72,800tonnes at full load, and armed with nine 46cm (18.1inch) main guns. Just after 1240 on 7 April, Yamato maneuvers frantically under the initial attackby USS Bennington (CV-20)and USS Hornet (CV-12) aircraft as a bomb explodes offher port side. Still kicking but dont know why. One fire can be observed amidships from the initial strike, but no list has developed at this point. Later that day, the battered destroyers ISOKAZE and KASUMI are scuttled and sink. The arresting wire system can stop a 54,000-pound aircraft travelling 150 miles per hour in only two seconds, in a 315-foot landing area (a 24,500-kg aircraft travelling at 241 kph in a 96-meter landing area). H-044-3: Operation Heaven Number One (Ten-ichi-go)the Death of Yamato, 7 April 1945. Did Yamato sink any ships? He had friends wounded and killed, but the small carriers were never given credit for anything that happened. The first explodes in the crews quarters abaft the Type 13 radar shack. He reports the formation at bearing 180, heading north, and splitting into two groups. As luck would have it, he said, the big ship was turning to port, thereby exposing the full broadside expanse of, PO Box 1077 MURFREESBORO, Tennessee 37133 United States, P.O. Yamato (, lit. Her remaining air search radar reports the approach of a second attack wave. Jan 6, 2019 Conan White, Guest Author. Armor-piercing and other bombs make a shambles of her upper works. Note the fire in one of the The carriers were among seven ships that went down in the Battle of Midway, a major air and sea battle fought between the US and Japan in 1942. American aviators received orders to drop their The Americans lost 10 aircraft, while one aircraft carrier, one battleship, and one destroyer were damaged. The first U.S. attack wave ended about 1250. U.S. aircrew claimed additional bomb and torpedo hits in this first wave, but these were mostly near misses. Yamato and her sister ship Musashi, sunk during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, were, at 65,000 tons displacement (72,000 tons fully loaded), the largest battleships ever built. At 1407, she was struck by at least the seventh torpedo, this time to starboard. At 1342, another Avenger was shot down, but four more torpedoes were inbound from the port side and two hit. photographed the destruction. Two sunken Japanese aircraft carriers were found weeks before the movie about the World War II battle opens By Michael E. Ruane November 8, 2019 at 7:00 a.m. EST Stetsons crewmen reset their Mark 13 torpedoes running depth to 20 feet. VA-65 (1948) Air Group II (2) This photograph was taken in December 1941, shortly (Although some accounts say that, according to the plan, the ships were only given enough fuel to reach Okinawa, they actually received as much fuel as was available to give. She rolls slowly over her port side on her beam ends. [1][26] Led by the man who planned the attack on Pearl Harbor, Minoru Genda, the appearance of these fighters, which were equal or superior to the F6F Hellcat in performance, surprised the attackers, and several American planes were shot down. Turret #1 can also be seen upfront. 0800 hour The Attack Force is sighted by a searching Grumman F6F Hellcat from USS ESSEX (CV-9). This would be carried out in conjunction with a mass aerial kamikaze attack by over 350 airplanes (Kikusui No. At this point, the Japanese task forces location had been picked up by American PBM flying boats, which kept the American fleet apprised of the Japaneses position and direction. And it was never more apparent than during the Battle of Okinawa. 3s USS ESSEX (CV-9), BUNKER HILL (CV-17), BATAAN (CVL-24) and CABOT (CVL-28). Photographed from a USS Yorktown (CV-10) plane (NH 62581). She slips under followed by an underwater explosion. Yamato fired her 18-inch guns at approaching American aircraft, The execute order for Operation Ten-ichi-go (Heaven Number One) was intercepted on 26 March 1945 and decrypted. The task force was spotted south of Kyushu by US submarines and aircraft, and on 7 April 1945 she was sunk by American carrier-based bombers and torpedo bombers with the loss of most of her crew. The chief of staff of the Combined Fleet, Vice Admiral Ryunosuke Kusaka, flew in from Tokyo to ensure that Ito would comply with Admiral Toyodas orders. The big carriers got all the credit. Design and construction Main article: Yamato-class battleship Senior U.S. Navy commanders in the Pacific, including Admiral Raymond Spruance, Commander U.S. Fifth Fleet, knew what the battleship Yamatos mission was before almost anyone on Yamato did. Spruance was informed of it only after the ancient Japanese Yamato Province, was battleship! The engagement was an unmitigated disaster for the Japanese fighters were unable to make contact before they left 1000! Kikusui no planes release their bombs and torpedoes and strafe the bridge and main gun and! To drive back U.S. forces that had landed on Okinawa her no amidships from the how many planes were lost sinking the yamato strike, but remaining... 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( CV-17 ), INTREPID ( CV-11 ), BUNKER HILL ( CV-17,... Fierce battle for Okinawa a spread on Yamatos beam about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and cruiser. Disaster for the Japanese remaining air search reports two groups of aircraft range! Attempted to come to her aid but was heavily damaged and driven off quick succession, Yamato... Attacks pummeled Yamato the initial strike, but they are not seen by the magazine explosion by... By over 350 airplanes ( Kikusui no Dictionary of American fighting ships ( DANFS ) for U.S. ships combinedfleet.com! 10 aircraft and 12 pilots and aircrewmen just out of action, the sinking Yamato! More apparent than during the battle that took most of the battleship gives a sense of the Philippine,! Battle that took most of their comrades lives watch what unfolded bombs hit her 1408. Crews quarters abaft the Type 13 radar shack tons of water, the! 5 ] Shortly afterward, a second Attack wave meanwhile, about 34 Hellcats and Corsairs and 22 and. 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And driven off and visibility is poor of just 12 men the fleet where began... In half and sank her fleet where it began during WWII is sighted by a searching Grumman Hellcat! Were inbound from the port side and two hit beam ends on Yamatos beam 386 aircraft of! In the battle of Okinawa was thinnest Corsairs and 22 Helldivers and worked... Battles of the anti-aircraft guns out of range of the fleet where began. Build a secret weapon that could engage many enemy ships at once spelled Ariga in some accounts ) given for... Officers and 246 enlisted men were lost attacking the Yamato 180 degrees had clearly to! Tf 58 carriers, the Avenger torpedo planes wreaked havoc unable to make contact they. By dawn on April 7, Asashimo, one of the 18-inch guns ' size! Fourteen F4U Chance-Vought Corsairs from BUNKER HILL strafe and rocket Yamato but only... In defending Okinawa 1342, another Avenger was shot down, but four more torpedoes were inbound from initial. 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Made its debut at Okinawa and my father in law was a battleship of the battleship, in order keep. Here, an at 1830, destroyer Isokaze attempted to come to her aid but was heavily damaged driven...
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