4. Secondary Guns
While dwarfed by the main artillery, Yamato's secondary armament was
still impressive. Her six-inch guns—that is, guns firing shells six
inches in diameter—had a range of 17 miles. And her 24 five-inch guns,
mounted in 12 turrets, could destroy targets nine miles away. The secondary
guns had one significant advantage over the main artillery: they could shoot
more rounds per minute. It took at least 40 seconds to load and fire one shot
from the main guns, an interminable time during an air attack.
