[xerxes]

Was going to comment on the news link but there was some kind of error...

$1:

Japan's WW2 'Musashi battleship wreck found'

American billionaire Paul Allen has announced the discovery of the famous World War Two Japanese battleship, the Musashi, more than 70 years after it was sunk by US forces.

Mr Allen said the vessel was found by his private exploration team.

It was at a depth of more than 1km (3,280ft) on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea off the Philippines.

The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built.

US warplanes sank the Musashi on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, believed to be the biggest naval encounter of World War Two in which American and Australian forces defeated the Japanese.

He began his search for the Musashi eight years ago, "because since my youth I have been fascinated with Second World War history," he was quoted by CNBC as saying.

The Musashi was found in the middle of the Philippine archipelago using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV) after Mr Allen's team had carried out a thorough survey of the seabed.

The US Navy website describes the Musashi as a "mighty battleship" that had "mammoth 18-inch guns". Measuring 263m (862ft) it remains one of the largest battleships ever made.

Its twin ship, the Yamato, was damaged in the fighting, according to the US Navy, and American warships finally sank it a year later as it tried to get to Okinawa.

Coming under sustained US aircraft attack in her final days, the Musashi defended itself by firing its huge anti-aircraft weapons into the sea "to make huge geysers aimed at knocking down American torpedo bombers", the WW2 Database website says.

"Running into one of these geysers would be like running into a mountain," pilot Jack Lawton recalled.

"Without adequate air cover, however powerful Musashi was, she was helpless against multiple waves of attacking aircraft," the website says.

Map
After the final attack ended in mid-afternoon, the vessel was hit by 20 torpedoes, and 17 bombs. There were 18 near-misses.

By early evening, the Musashi capsized and sank. More than 1,000 of its crew were killed for the loss of 18 American aircraft.

A very cool find after all this time.

[BartSimpson]

It was a pretty amazing ship and that it rests on the bottom of the ocean is a testament to the determination and skills of the American pilots who put her there.

[Hyack]

Musashi Operational Timeline

5 Aug 1942 Battleship Musashi was commissioned into service at Nagasaki, Japan; she was assigned to Combined Fleet Battleship Division 1.
11 Feb 1943 Admiral Yamamoto broke his flag aboard Musashi at Truk, Caroline Islands.
25 Feb 1944 Battleship Musashi was reassigned to the Second Fleet.
14 May 1944 Musashi arrived at Tawi Tawi, where she would remain for gunnery drills at range of nearly 22 miles with sister ship Yamato through Jun 1944.
18 Oct 1944 Musashi's deck was painted black with soot for the intended night operation in the San Bernardino Strait before departing Lingga for Brunei Bay, Boreno in the Dutch East Indies.
20 Oct 1944 Musashi refueled in Brunei Bay.
24 Oct 1944 Japanese battleship Musashi was lost in the Battle of Sibuyan Sea to overwhelming American air power.




Japanese Center Force formation at the time of American submarine attack at the Palawan Passage, 23 Oct 1944; Annex A of the interrogation of Rear Admiral Tomiji Koyanagi



Musashi down by the bow after being hit by US Navy carrier aircraft during the Battle of Sibuyan Sea, 24 Oct 1944

link

[Regina]

Surprised it took so long to find it.

[Thanos]

Both Musashi and Yamato were loaded with insane amounts of anti-aircraft guns but it meant little in the end. The only thing that could have saved them would have been coverage from planes from Japanese aircraft carriers but thanks to their terrible carrier tactics the Japanese fleet air arm in 1944 was a shadow of what it used to be at the beginning of the war. The northern fleet that distracted Bull Halsey from Leyte Gulf, that nearly turned tragic for the Americans if it weren't for the insane bravery shown by the escort group of Taffy 3 that kept Yamato from shelling the invasion beachheads, was composed of several Japanese carriers that were deemed sacrificial because their air compliments had been completely destroyed in previous battles. After Midway it's not overstating things to say that the Japanese really had no chance to beat the US. Despite the time and lives it took to defeat them, they really were in no way capable of matching the US Navy in terms of strategy, talent, resources, and technology.

[Jabberwalker]

The Battle of Midway was a great American victory and luck was certainly a component of it. I do not wish to take anything away from the skill and bravery of American airmen and sailors.

Having said that, a successful outcome hinged on timely and lucky sightings by Catalina crews, the Japanese getting out of phase with the battle and having fully fueled and armed aircraft cranked up on their flight decks at a bad time... random events like that can swing a battle almost without effort. That day was the U.S. Navy's day and a damned good thing, too. Last Luck helped a lot.

[Hyack]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

The Battle of Midway was a great American victory and luck was certainly a component of it. I do not wish to take anything away from the skill and bravery of American airmen and sailors.

Having said that, a successful outcome hinged on timely and lucky sightings by Catalina crews, the Japanese getting out of phase with the battle and having fully fueled and armed aircraft cranked up on their flight decks at a bad time... random events like that can swing a battle almost without effort. That day was the U.S. Navy's day and a damned good thing, too. Last Luck helped a lot.

Just an FYI, the Musashi was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944 by an estimated 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits from American carrier aircraft.

[Jabberwalker]

Hyack Hyack:

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

The Battle of Midway was a great American victory and luck was certainly a component of it. I do not wish to take anything away from the skill and bravery of American airmen and sailors.

Having said that, a successful outcome hinged on timely and lucky sightings by Catalina crews, the Japanese getting out of phase with the battle and having fully fueled and armed aircraft cranked up on their flight decks at a bad time... random events like that can swing a battle almost without effort. That day was the U.S. Navy's day and a damned good thing, too. Last Luck helped a lot.

Just an FYI, the Musashi was sunk in the Battle of Leyte Gulf on 24 October 1944 by an estimated 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits from American carrier aircraft.

I was alludng to the post immediately before me that mentioned the lack of Japanese or cover, there.

[Hyack]

Jabberwalker Jabberwalker:

I was alludng to the post immediately before me that mentioned the lack of Japanese or cover, there.

Midway was definitely the end of the line for Japanese air superiority with 4 of 6 of their mainline carriers sunk never mind the loss of many of their top rated pilots.