A long attrition campaign rewards enough ships to sustain losses and retain numerical strength, whereas a few giant battleships concentrate industrial effort. Yamato's intended political effect depended on adversaries seeing it and feeling compelled to match it. Publicity might have forced Britain and the United States to wait for the Lion and Montana classes, buying Japan political freedom without battle. By treating the ship as a secret ace, Japan prevented it from deterring conflict and left the doctrine's political logic unrealized.
Notable Point · 1:30:50-1:35:32
Yamato secrecy undermines deterrence
The conclusion returns to the Yamato class: it made more sense as a public deterrent than as an efficient tool for an attritional fleet campaign.