Post by Sailor on Mar 6, 2015 3:14:34 GMT -8
The construction of a vessel that would come to represent the might of Japan’s navy was so secretive, according to historical accounts, that workers hid it underneath a camouflage of rope. There was good reason to try to keep construction secret. It would become a fearsome creature of war: Said to be at that time “the largest battleship in naval history,” it extended nearly 900 feet in length, weighed 73,000 tons and was equipped with a massive arsenal of guns.
“I couldn’t believe how enormous they were!” American Helldiver gunner Joe Anderlik recalled of the vessel during a massive naval battle that sank the beast. Musashi “was huge!” another gunner said, according to World War II Database. “I had never seen anything as big in my entire life. It was a magnificent sight.”
[The USS Arizona’s last surviving officer has died. How the Pearl Harbor hero recalled the day of infamy.]
But despite such magnificence, the end of the Musashi would be as cloaked in opacity as its origins. Allied forces pummeled its mighty frame with 20 torpedoes and 17 bombs, and on that day in October 1944, it sank somewhere in the Sibuyan Sea near the Philippines. It took with it 1,023 lives. And it was never seen again.
That was until this week, when the Musashi reemerged in the most unexpected of places: Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen’s Twitter page. “WW2 Battleship Musashi sank 1944 is FOUND 1,000 meters deep. … Huge anchor,” wrote Allen, who has been looking for the ship for more than eight years. “RIP crew of Musashi.”
More here:
www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/04/huge-wwii-japanese-battleship-musashi-has-been-found-billionaire-paul-allen-says/
Both battleships of this class have now been found. Yamato was located last year between the Japanese Home Islands and Okinawa. To my uncertain knowledge the wreck of the 3rd ship, IJN Shinano has yet to be located. Shinano was to have been the 3rd sister of the class but was converted to a carrier during construction. IIRC she was the largest carrier built until the USS Forrestal was completed in the late 1950s but was sunk by submarine torpedos on her maiden voyage from Tokio Bay to Kure to complete fitting out.
“I couldn’t believe how enormous they were!” American Helldiver gunner Joe Anderlik recalled of the vessel during a massive naval battle that sank the beast. Musashi “was huge!” another gunner said, according to World War II Database. “I had never seen anything as big in my entire life. It was a magnificent sight.”
[The USS Arizona’s last surviving officer has died. How the Pearl Harbor hero recalled the day of infamy.]
But despite such magnificence, the end of the Musashi would be as cloaked in opacity as its origins. Allied forces pummeled its mighty frame with 20 torpedoes and 17 bombs, and on that day in October 1944, it sank somewhere in the Sibuyan Sea near the Philippines. It took with it 1,023 lives. And it was never seen again.
That was until this week, when the Musashi reemerged in the most unexpected of places: Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen’s Twitter page. “WW2 Battleship Musashi sank 1944 is FOUND 1,000 meters deep. … Huge anchor,” wrote Allen, who has been looking for the ship for more than eight years. “RIP crew of Musashi.”
More here:
www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/04/huge-wwii-japanese-battleship-musashi-has-been-found-billionaire-paul-allen-says/
Both battleships of this class have now been found. Yamato was located last year between the Japanese Home Islands and Okinawa. To my uncertain knowledge the wreck of the 3rd ship, IJN Shinano has yet to be located. Shinano was to have been the 3rd sister of the class but was converted to a carrier during construction. IIRC she was the largest carrier built until the USS Forrestal was completed in the late 1950s but was sunk by submarine torpedos on her maiden voyage from Tokio Bay to Kure to complete fitting out.
