Battleship Musashi recently discovered 70 years after her sinking.

SFC Mark Merino — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 16:00:28 -0500

The Japanese military had their people completely brainwashed and never admitted that this massive behemoth went to the bottom at the Battle of the Coral Sea. Over 1,000 souls went down and were never acknowledged.....until now. I never even heard of her, and it was apparently the largest warship ever, topping even the Yamato's stats. I need to brush up on my WWII naval history. Did anyone else know of this monster?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/03/04/huge-wwii-japanese-battleship-musashi-has-been-found-billionaire-paul-allen-says/

‘Huge’ WWII Japanese battleship Musashi has been found, billionaire Paul Allen says

The battleship, fabled for its size and power, has been located where it was sunk by U.S. naval forces and aircraft.

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Mar 7 at 2015 4:37 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 16:37:01 -0500

I'm not sure who put this together but it is pretty good......with some cheesy music. (lol)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljGE2HekBAg

BATTLESHIP MUSASHI

Heres is another lost Battleship Tribute. This one on Yamato's sister ship the mighty Musashi. This will be the last time I use the Rock Theme for a while or...

Response by PO2 Steven Erickson made Mar 7 at 2015 6:35 PM

PO2 Steven Erickson — Sat, 07 Mar 2015 18:35:27 -0500

The IJN Musashi and her sistership the IJN Yamato are considered to be the most powerfully built battleships ever to set sail. They displaced almost twice the mass of the largest US battleships (USS Iowa class) at 70,000 tons (vs 45,000 tons), and carrier nine 18" main guns.

The other posts contain great links (I prefer the heavy detail of the "WWII Database" link posted by SGT David Schreiner), so I won't belabor the point.

She was sunk by 20 aerial torpedo and 18 bomb hits. Interesting note: her 18" guns (2" bigger than our biggest naval guns) NEVER fired against a land or water target. During her last few hours, the crew was firing the monstrous main guns into the water near the ship to make water spouts to thwart the torpedo bomber attacks.

The end of the large surface ships began on 10 December 1941, when the HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse were sunk by IJN aircraft (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinking_of_Prince_of_Wales_and_Repulse), and the true power of the aircraft carrier was proven in the Battle of the Coral Sea and Midway a few months later. The death of the Musashi and the Yamato were the final nails in the battleship coffin. Battleships became shore-bombardment tools from then on.

I've scuba'd on the IJN Nagato at Bikini Atoll. She was Yamamato's Flagship when the Imperial Japanese Navy attacked Pearl Harbor. Truly a life-changing experience for THIS squid...

Response by SFC Mark Merino made Apr 20 at 2015 8:17 PM

SFC Mark Merino — Mon, 20 Apr 2015 20:17:18 -0400

We just saw a documentary on Japan tv about the Musashi being built at..........Nagasaki.

Response by MAJ Ron Peery made Jun 6 at 2015 6:44 PM

MAJ Ron Peery — Sat, 06 Jun 2015 18:44:32 -0400

Really? You guys never heard of Musashi? We do such a piss poor job of teaching history these days.

My dad was at Leyte Gulf on LST 693. He watched the Battle of Surigao Strait from his battle station on the bridge, wondering if he was going to make it out of there in one piece. It was a night action, so all he really saw was flashes on the horizon, but the memory stuck with him.

Musashi at least died fighting. Yamato was sent out on a suicide mission to defeat the invasion of Okinawa, and didn't even make it to the battle. Shinano, the third ship in the class, was converted to an aircraft carrier. Quite a monster, that one. But she was sunk by a US sub just days after embarking on her first and only combat mission.

The US laid down the USS Montana late in the war. This class of battleship would have rivaled the Yamato class in size and firepower, but the war ended before she was very far along and she was scrapped.

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Aug 18 at 2018 6:37 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Sat, 18 Aug 2018 06:37:40 -0400

Excellent piece of history, thank you for the share.