During fierce night fighting in the early hours of 25 October against a superior American and Australian force, Yamashiro was sunk by torpedoes and naval gunfire.

The turbines were designed to produce a total of 40,000 shaft horsepower (30,000 kW), using steam provided by 24 Miyahara-type water-tube boilers, each of which consumed a mixture of coal and oil.

On her trials, Yamashiro's sister ship Fusō reached a top speed of 24.7 knots (45.7 km/h; 28.4 mph) from 76,889 shp (57,336 kW).

[3] The twelve 45-calibre 14-inch guns of Yamashiro were mounted in six twin-gun turrets, numbered one through six from front to rear, each with an elevation range of −5 to +30 degrees.

[5] Originally, Yamashiro was fitted with a secondary armament of sixteen 50-caliber 6-inch guns mounted in casemates on the upper sides of the hull.

[9] This was the standard Japanese light-AA gun during World War II, but it suffered from severe design shortcomings that rendered it a largely ineffective weapon.

Additionally, the vessel contained 737 watertight compartments (574 underneath the armor deck, 163 above) to preserve buoyancy in the event of battle damage.

During her modernization in the 1930s, a catapult and a collapsible crane were fitted on the stern, and the ship was equipped to operate three floatplanes, although no hangar was provided.

[20] While in drydock in July 1943, a Type 21 air search radar was installed on the roof of the 10-meter rangefinder at the top of the pagoda mast.

Little detailed information is available about Yamashiro's activities during the 1920s, although she did make a port visit to Ryojun Guard District, in Manchuria, on 5 April 1925 and also conducted training off the coast of China.

[14] The ship's reconstruction began on 18 December 1930 at the Yokosuka Naval Arsenal where her machinery was replaced, her armor was reinforced, and torpedo bulges were fitted.

Captain Chuichi Nagumo assumed command of the ship on 15 November 1934, her modernization was completed on 30 March 1935, and she became flagship of the Combined Fleet.

Yamashiro began a lengthy refit on 27 June 1937 and Captain Kasuke Abe assumed command on 20 October.

Captain Chozaemon Obata assumed command on 24 May 1941 and Yamashiro was assigned to the 1st Fleet's 2nd Division,[Note 1] consisting of the two Fusō-class and the two Ise-class battleships.

[13] When the war started for Japan on 8 December,[Note 2] the division, reinforced by the battleships Nagato and Mutsu and the light carrier Hōshō, sortied from Hashirajima to the Bonin Islands as distant support for the 1st Air Fleet attacking Pearl Harbor, and returned six days later.

[14] On 18 April 1942, Yamashiro chased the Doolittle Raider force that had just launched an air raid on Tokyo, but returned four days later without having made contact.

[23] On 28 May, she set sail, commanded by Captain Gunji Kogure, with the rest of the 2nd Battleship Division and the Aleutian Support Group at the same time most of the Imperial Fleet began an attack on Midway Island (Operation MI).

[24][25] Commanded by Vice-Admiral Shirō Takasu, the division was composed of Japan's four oldest battleships, including Yamashiro, accompanied by two light cruisers, 12 destroyers, and two oilers.

[13][23] In an effort to replace the aircraft carriers lost at the Battle of Midway, the Navy made plans to convert the two Fusō-class ships to hybrid battleship/carriers, but the two Ise-class battleships were chosen instead.

Shigenori Kami, chief of operations of the Navy Staff, volunteered to command Yamashiro to carry troops and equipment to Saipan.

The ship briefly became the division's flagship under Vice Admiral Shōji Nishimura until 23 September when he transferred his flag to Fusō.

They departed Kure on 23 September for Lingga Island, carrying the Army's 25th Independent Mixed Regiment, and escaped an attack by the submarine Plaice the next day.

The ships then transferred to Brunei to offload their troops and refuel in preparation for Operation Shō-Gō, the attempt to destroy the American fleet conducting the invasion of Leyte.

[32] Nishimura issued a telegram to Admiral Soemu Toyoda at 20:13: "It is my plan to charge into Leyte Gulf to [reach] a point off Dulag at 04:00 hours on the 25th.

The resulting damage temporarily slowed the ship down, gave her a list to port and forced the flooding of the magazines for the two aft turrets.

[38] Six battleships formed a battle line; the Pearl Harbor veteran West Virginia was the first to open fire a minute later, scoring at least one hit with 16-inch (410 mm) shells in the first 20,800-meter (22,700 yd) salvo,[39] followed by Tennessee and California.

[43] The ship continued firing in all directions, but was not able to target the battleships with the other four operable 14-inch guns of her amidships turrets until almost 04:00, after turning west.

[49] On 25 November 2017, Paul Allen and his crew aboard the research ship RV Petrel, discovered the wreck of Yamashiro and confirmed her identity.