IJN Musashi (戦艦武蔵) was a Yamato Class Battleship built for the Imperial Japanese Navy. Musashi along with her sister ship Yamato were the largest Battleships ever built, being equipped with the 18.1 in (46 cm) Type 94 naval gun. These were the largest guns put on a warship.
History
In 1943, Musashi returned the ashes of Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto back to Japan.
In June 1944, both Yamato and Musashi took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea, escorting Admiral Jisaburo Ozawa's Mobile Fleet.
During the Battle of Leyte Gulf, Musashi was assigned to Admiral Takeo Kurita's Center Force. The Center Force's mission was to disrupt the US landing on Leyte. On 24 October 1944 during the Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, Center Force came under attack by three waves of US Navy aircraft. After the initial wave of strikes, the US Navy aircraft focused their attacks on Musashi. The vessel sank at 7:36PM after sustaining damage from 17 bombs hits and 19 torpedo hits.
