Wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi

The wreck of the Japanese battleship Musashi rests at the bottom of the Sibuyan Sea in the Philippines. It was found in March 2015 by a research team sponsored by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, more than 70 years after its sinking.

Known for its sheer size and power, its defeat against the United States forces in the Battle of Leyte Gulf became proof of Japan's flawed naval war strategies during the World War II.[1]

The Musashi

Musashi leaving Brunei in October 1944 for the Battle of Leyte Gulf

The Musashi was the second in the Yamato class of World War II battleships of the Imperial Japanese Navy. Launched on November 1, 1940, she, along with her sister ship Yamato, were recognized as the heaviest and most powerfully armed battleships of their time.[2] She was commissioned as the Musashi on August 5, 1942, being named after the ancient Japanese province of the same name.[3]

The battleship’s career lasted from her commissioning in 1942 until her sinking in 1944. She had been part of various operations and campaigns against the Allied forces during the Second World War. On February 11, 1943, she became the flagship of the Combined Fleet, replacing her sister ship, the Yamato. And on October 18, 1944, Vice Admiral Takeo Kurita engaged in Operation Sho-Go and took a powerful surface fleet including both the Yamato and the Musashi. They sailed into the Sibuyan Sea, where the Musashi would meet its demise.[4]

The Sinking of the Musashi

The Japanese battleship was recorded to have sunk on October 24, 1944. The Musashi was able to bring down 18 American aircraft,[4] but a series of attacks from American TBF/TBM Avenger and Helldiver aircraft yielded a total of 19 torpedo and 17 bomb hits during the Battle of Sibuyan Sea, one of the engagements in the Battle of Leyte Gulf.

The wreck

Earlier attempts and plans

On October 24, 2006, Gen. Dominador Resos, Jr. (Ret) President of the Romblon Cultural Heritage Association, Inc. (ROCHAI), spearheaded The Commemoration of the Battle of Sibuyan Sea to honor the men who perished during the battle and to recognize the peace that the men have fought for. The event had become an annual multinational commemoration. It was reported that two years later, in 2008, Resos Jr. was in talks with Japanese personalities who were interested in locating the then-undiscovered remains of the Musashi. Believing that it had sunk in one piece, they had plans back then of refloating her, towing her to a nearby island, and convert her into a war of museum. However, the discovery of the wreck and the Musashi's scattered remains in 2015 would prove that this feat can never be realized.[5]

Discovery of the wreck

In about 70 years after its sinking, various attempts have been made by shipwreck hunters to locate the wreck of the Japanese battleship but none of them succeeded. The Musashi, just like other Japanese warships, did not have its name on its sides, thereby making it more difficult for divers and shipwreck hunters to find her. The research team sponsored by Microsoft billionaire Paul Allen eventually found her after spending eight years of searching for the wreck, going through various historical records in different countries, and deploying a high-tech yacht and a remotely operated vehicle to aid them in their search. It is only in March 2015 that Paul Allen had announced that they have indeed found the Musashi under the Sibuyan Sea in the Philippines, some 3,000 feet beneath the surface.[1]

The ship had been known to have sunk in one piece, but exploded only once it was underwater. This explains the scattered debris across the ocean floor. In the live streaming video tour conducted by the expedition team, it is evident that amid the debris, a mount for the seal of the Imperial Japanese Navy - a chrysanthemum made out of teak - can be seen. The video also showed damage made by US torpedoes, including blows to the bow and the ship's main gun.[6] Other items found in the area of the wreck as well as other features found in it had led maritime experts to claim with 90% certainty that the wreck was the Musashi.

To further confirm that the wreck was indeed the Musashi, Shigeru Nakajima, an electrical technician on the Musashi who claimed that he had survived by jumping overboard after evacuation was called for, told the Associated Press that he was "certain" of the wreck's identification upon seeing its anchor and the imperial seal. He also expressed his gratitude to the expedition team for having found the shipwreck.[1]

Issues and controversies

The discovery of the wreck beneath the surface of the Sibuyan Sea raised issues when the local government of Romblon (which has the jurisdiction over the area where the wreck was found), through Gov. Eduardo Firmalo stated that while he welcomes the discovery of the ship, he claimed that the provincial government, and even the Philippine Coast Guard, were not aware that Allen and his team had an ongoing expedition around the area. In response to this, the Philippine Coast Guard also stated that foreign-owned vessels need clearance from the Philippine Foreign Affairs Department, the Customs Bureau, and the Immigration Bureau before they can enter Philippine waters.[7]

Although the discovery of the shipwreck is very important to the Japanese people because of the presence of more than 1000 Japanese soldier remains aboard the ship, the National Museum of the Philippines supported the Romblon Government by giving a statement - "Any further activity (pertaining to the shipwreck) shall be governed by established rules and regulations." And while it pointed out that the wreck site of Musashi, as stated by the law, is considered as an archaeological site under the Philippine territory, it is “now giving priority to verifying the discovery, obtaining and sharing key information, facilitating the protection and preservation of the site, and formulating appropriate next steps."[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Pruitt, Sarah. "WWII's Largest Battleship Revealed After 70 Years Underwater." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 17 Mar. 2015. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.history.com/news/wwiis-largest-battleship-revealed-after-70-years-underwater>.
  2. ↑ Chen, C. Peter. "Battleship Musashi." WW2DB RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://ww2db.com/ship_spec.php?ship_id=3>.
  3. ↑ Silverstone, Paul H. (1984). Directory of the World's Capital Ships. New York: Hippocrene Books. ISBN 0-88254-979-0.
  4. 1 2 "IJN Battleship MUSASHI: Tabular Record of Movement." Imperial Battleships. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 May 2015. <http://www.combinedfleet.com/musashi.htm>.
  5. ↑ "Earlier Attempts to Find Musashi Shipwreck Bared." Spratlys Charade RSS. N.p., 04 Apr. 2015. Web. 21 May 2015. <http://spratlyschara.de/politics/earlier-attempts-to-find-musashi-shipwreck-bared/>.
  6. ↑ "Musashi (武蔵) Expedition." YouTube. YouTube, n.d. Web. 21 May 2015. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNMmqagTt90>.
  7. 1 2 "Philippines Not Told of Battleship Musashi Search." ABS-CBN News. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 May 2015. <http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/nation/regions/03/06/15/philippines-not-told-battleship-musashi-search>.
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