, named after the former Japanese province, was one of three . Four ships were begun, but only two were completed as battleships. The third, , was completed as an aircraft carrier and the fourth was scrapped before completion.built for the Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN), beginning in the late 1930s. The "Yamato"-class ships were the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships ever constructed, displacing almost fully loaded and armed with nine main guns.