ijn musashi japanese battleship

18inch gun turret


Imperial Japanese Navy ship ijn Musashi was the second and final Yamato class battleship, With her sister ship, Yamato, are the largest and most heavily-armed and armored battleships int the world.Commissioned on 5 August 1942, she proceeded to Truk Lagoon, where Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto made Musashi his flagship.She formed part of Vice-Admiral Takeo Kurita's Centre Force along with Yamato at the Battle of Leyte Gulf. on 24 October 1944, She was sunk in the battle of Sibuyan Sea, just off the southeast tip of Luzon, by American carrier-based aircraft: first at 10:27 AM by eight SB2C Helldiver dive bombers from the USS Intrepid armed with 500-lb (227 kg) bombs. Wave after wave of American aircraft from the USS Intrepid, Essex, Franklin, and Lexington scored 17 bomb and 20 torpedo hits on her, and 18 near misses. This battle was the only time that Musashi had fired her guns in anger, using the San Shiki ("Beehive") Model 13 anti-aircraft shell.
specification
Displacement: 72,800(max) tons
dimensions
Length: 263 m overall
256 m waterline
Beam: 38.9 m
Draft: 11 m at full load
Propulsion:
150,000 shp
four 3-bladed 6.0 m propellers
Speed: 27.46 knots (50.86 km/h)
Range: 7,200 nmi. at 16 kt
Complement: 2,399
Armament
August 1942
(as built): 9 × 460 mm 18.1inch gun (3×3)
12 × 155 mm naval gun (4×3)
12 × 127 mm (5 in) (6×2)
24 × 25 mm AA gun (8×3)
4 × 13 mm (2×2)
Armor: 650 mm on front of turrets
410 mm (16.1 in) side armor
200 mm (8 in) central deck armor
226.5 mm (9.06 in) outer deck armor
Aircraft carried: 7, 2 catapults