One of the crew member of the ill-fated Japanese battleship Musashi recognized the discovery of Paul Allen that became viral on various social media sites as the discovery of the ship reached Japan. The wreckage of the Japanese battleship was discovered this week off the coast of Sibuyan island by a team led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.
According to former gunnery officer of Musashi, Shizuhiko Haraguchi, the battleship is one of the largest in the history of World War II, when it was being fitted in Japan before it departed for the Pacific Ocean in 1943.
The gunnery officer of Musashi recognized the underwater photos taken by Paul Allen’s team in the Philippines because of the large gun turret and a catapult system to launch planes.
The 93-year-old Shizuhiko Haraguchi was quoted as saying “I recognized that main turret, which I was assigned to,” Haraguchi, 93, said in a telephone interview from his home in Nagasaki. He added further that “I felt very nostalgic when I saw that.”
The battleship Musash had nine 46-centimeter (18-inch) guns, which were each 20 meters (66 feet) long, he said. The World War II veteran also noted that the other details released by Paul Allen’s team convinced him that the wreckage was that of the Musashi.
One of the most prominent mark of the Musashi is the round base shown in a photo of the bow where a chrysanthemum decoration was used to be, an Imperial seal that only battleship were allowed to carry.
