Microsoft co-founder: I found sunken Japan battleship

Microsoft co-founder: I found sunken Japan battleship

Amazing how we are just now finding this wreck.
I hope that people respect the site and not try to loot it.

A research team led by Microsoft co-founder and philanthropist Paul Allen has located a Japanese battleship that was considered one of the world's largest and most technologically advanced warships when it was sunk off the Philippines during World War II, according to the expedition's web site

Using an underwater vehicle, the team aboard Allen's superyacht M/Y Octopus found the Musashi Sunday in the Sibuyan Sea.

The search vehicle, using high-resolution cameras, spotted the 73,000-ton battleship on its third dive, the statement said.

a reply to: grey580

Nice! I was always impressed by that beast. Glad they found her.

The Musashi is the sister ship of the Yamato.

Now we know where else we can go if we ever need to retrofit a WWII-era battleship into a spaceship in case of an alien attack.

a reply to: Junkheap

en.wikipedia.org...

Yep. 2nd ship in that class.

18 inch guns, wow. That was a lot of wasted hardware seeing as battleships were useless unless you had total command of the theater of war.


Here is a photo of it getting sunk.

Musashi attacked photo

U.S. Navy Task Force 38 aircraft attack the Japanese battleship Musashi (foreground) and a destroyer in the Sibuyan Sea, 24 October 1944.

More cool info here,

Prior to construction, Mitsubishi Nagasaki Shipyard Number 2 slipway at Nagasaki was expanded with two floating cranes 150 and 350 metric tons capacity to facilitate the construction of a new class of battleship. Laid down on March 29, 1938 as unnamed "Battleship No. 2". Construction began under the strictest of security, including the erection of large screens to hide the construction from the U.S. consulate across the bay.

On May 20, 1938, two Martin 139WC bombers in Chinese markings manned by Chinese crews took from Hankow, China overflew Nagasaki at night, dropping leaflets and taking pictures. Over Nagasaki they photograph this battleship under construction.

Launched on November 1, 1940 from No. 2 slipway. As soon as she is in the water, the Kasuga Maru was towed alongside the battleship to block her silhouette from any foreign observers.

Commissioned on August 5, 1942. Named Musashi (武蔵) after the ancient Japanese Musashi Province, second and final ship of the Yamato Class Battleship, the largest and most heavily armed and armored class of battleships ever constructed. Her sister ship and first built was Yamato.

Read more

Nagasaki was a big time military target with it's shipyards able to produce the largest battleships of all time. One Nuke ended that.

Great find! She was a good looking ship.

Hey I tried looking but didn't find it. Anybody know what depth she's resting at? Always fascinated by that sort of stuff.


The Musashi. Great name. I know it's named after the province. But I wonder if the real inspiration was from Miyamoto Musashi- the greatest Japanese swordsman ever and one of the worlds greatest tactical geniuses.

You can keep the battleship, I'll take the M/Y Octopus that found her!

Fifth largest private yacht in the world and possibly the best equipped.

She comes complete with: Two Submarines (one holds ten passengers), Two Helicopters (in enclosed hangars), Seven Tenders that dock inside the mother ship (including one 63 footer), Glass bottom swimming pool(?) and a really big screen TV.

en.wikipedia.org...

originally posted by: BASSPLYR
Great find! She was a good looking ship.

Hey I tried looking but didn't find it. Anybody know what depth she's resting at? Always fascinated by that sort of stuff.


The Musashi. Great name. I know it's named after the province. But I wonder if the real inspiration was from Miyamoto Musashi- the greatest Japanese swordsman ever and one of the worlds greatest tactical geniuses.

It says a Km down.

Wont be any scuba divers

a reply to: TinfoilTP
I thought I read somewhere that a 3rd ship in this class was built but converted to an aircraft carrier before completion.

a reply to: grumpy64

The Shinano was a half sister to Yamato and Musashi. She was commissioned on 19 November 1944, and was sunk by Archerfish on the 28th of November 1944.

a reply to: Psynic

This guy has far too much money.