Wreck of the legendary Japanese super battleship Musashi found

During an expedition organised by billionaire and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, an absolutely unique feat was achieved. The researchers located the wreck of a legendary battleship serving in the Imperial Japanese Navy – the Musashi. Together with its twin, the Yamato, it was the largest and best-armed ship in history.

It is interesting that despite many eyewitnesses to the sinking of the battleship and the approximate location of the wreck, only now has the final resting place of the Japanese colossus been found. The wreck found by Allen and his team was at one time the most technologically advanced ship that sailed the seas and oceans. The Japanese planned to build 13 vessels of this class, but due to material shortages, only 2 were completed.

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Using archives and historical data from four different countries, highly accurate topographic data and the advanced technology that Paul G. Allen’s search vessel M/Y Octopus is imbued with, the Musashi wreck was located on 1 March 2015. The battleship rests at a depth of about 1 km at the bottom of the small Sibuyan Sea, within the Philippine archipelago.

The Musashi, described as a super battleship, was sunk on 24 October 1944 by an American air attack during the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Hit by several bombs and torpedoes at the same time (sources give different numbers), the ship went down at 19.36, taking with her about 1000 crew members and Commander Toshihira Inoguchi in command. The discovery of the vessel and further research will probably add many interesting pages to the history of World War II.

The Japanese battleship was launched in 1942. Its dimensions were 263 m long and almost 39 m wide, and its displacement was 70,000 tons! The giant was armed with 3 triple 46cm guns type 96, 2 triple 15.5cm guns 3rd year type, 6 double 12.7cm guns type 89, 35 triple and 25 single 25mm guns type 96AA and 2 double 13.2mm machine guns type 93 AA. In addition, she had room on her deck for 7 seaplanes, for which two catapults were designed. Despite its size, the ship could reach a speed of 27 knots!

Video footage recorded by an ROV unit during the inspection of the wreck is to be published soon. It will be an undoubted treat for maritime and wreck diving enthusiasts. Although the battleship is far beyond the limit of any dives, surely the films and photos recorded by the crew of M/Y Octopus will fire the imagination of many divers.

M/Y Octopus, is one of the most recognisable and best prepared research vessels in the world. She is a reflection of her owner’s passion for exploring the deep sea. Launched in 2003, she constantly takes part in extremely interesting research expeditions, scientific projects and rescue missions.

In 2012, director and underwater explorer James Cameron used the ‘Octopus’ during his record-breaking descent to the bottom of the Mariana Trench. In the same year Allen and his crew attempted to extract the ship’s bell from the cruiser HMS Hood, unfortunately without success. Today, M/Y Octopus is also in high demand, as she is being used in a project by Google Earth’s ‘Explorer the Ocean’ and the Discovery Science Channel, studying the effects of nuclear explosions on the marine environment.

Source: paulallen.com