The Type 1 armor-piercing projectile fired by the Yamato had been purposely designed to dive under a ship, if it landed in the sea short of the target. This round had functioned as intended, maintaining a linear underwater trajectory and detonating 0.4 seconds after surface impact. Though it did not make physical contact with the ship, its blast force was directed upward into the vulnerable part of the hull. In this respect, the Type 1 projectile had behaved like a mine or an American torpedo fused with a magnetic detonator, designed to trigger the warhead when the weapon was directly beneath
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