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Wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi


The wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi rests at the bottom of the Sibuyan Sea in the Philippines. It was found in March 2015 by a research team sponsored by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, more than 70 years after its sinking.

Known for its sheer size and power, its defeat by United States forces at the Battle of Leyte Gulf became proof of Japan's flawed naval war strategies during World War II.

The Musashi was the second in the Yamato class of World War II battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched on November 1, 1940, she, along with her sister ship Yamato, were recognized as the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships of their time. She was commissioned as the Musashi on August 5, 1942, being named after the ancient Japanese province of the same name.

The battleship’s career lasted from her commissioning in 1942 until her sinking in 1944. She had been part of various operations and campaigns against the Allied forces during the Second World War. On February 11, 1943, she became the flagship of the Combined Fleet, replacing her sister ship, the Yamato. And on October 18, 1944, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita engaged in Operation Sho-Go with a powerful surface fleet including both the Yamato and the Musashi. They sailed into the Sibuyan Sea, where the Musashi would meet its demise.

The battleship was sunk on October 24, 1944, killing just under half her crew. Musashi was able to bring down 18 American aircraft, but a series of attacks from American TBF/TBM Avenger and Helldiver aircraft yielded a total of 19 torpedos and 17 bomb hits during the Battle of Sibuyan Sea, one of the engagements in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. On April 7, 1945, her sister ship Yamato also sank, the victim of an American air raid during Operation Ten-Go. Five months later, Japan surrendered, ending the war.


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