Work on the Yamato-class was begun as soon as 1934 and engineers were given the challenge of generating a warship with no equal during the period - armed with powerful main guns, well protected through skillful use of armor plating, and offer performance unmatched for its size. These treaties mainly limited participants to ships of restricted tonnage so as to help thwart another naval arms race like the one that preceded the fighting of The Great War. Two ships were built to the standard under a high level of secrecy for there were still standing naval treaties that the Empire of Japan had signed onto with after World War 1 (1914-1918). This led to design and development of a new class of surface combatant, one that would eventually lead the IJN to possess the most powerful battleship class in the entire world, the Yamato-class. Knowing that the service would not be able to compete numerically with the American Navy - the prime threat to its expansionist dreams in the region - the IJN adopted a policy of quality over quantity. The Japanese expansion over the Pacific required a considerable naval force and this was to be directed by the powerful Imperial Japanese Navy arm prior to, and during all of, World War 2 (1939-1945).

World of warships musashi vs