Overview:Allies launch new offensive in Italy pressuring German defenders. In the Pacific, Japanese Navy sends the battleship Yamato into the fray. The Yamato, and her sister ship the Musashi were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed. The Yamato was sunk in April 1945 by U.S. Navy carrier based bombers during the Battle of Okinawa. A look at the home front in Germany.