Japan's WW2 'Musashi battleship wreck found'

The Musashi came under sustained attack by waves of US aircraft in October 1944

American billionaire Paul Allen has announced the discovery of the famous World War Two Japanese battleship, the Musashi, more than 70 years after it was sunk by US forces.

Mr Allen said the vessel was found by his private exploration team.

It was at a depth of more than 1km (3,280ft) on the floor of the Sibuyan Sea off the Philippines.

The Musashi and its sister vessel, the Yamato, were two of the largest battleships ever built.

US warplanes sank the Musashi on 24 October 1944 during the Battle of Leyte Gulf, believed to be the biggest naval encounter of World War Two in which American and Australian forces defeated the Japanese.

Mr Allen began his search for the Musashi eight years ago, "because since my youth I have been fascinated with Second World War history," he was quoted by CNBC as saying.

The Musashi was found in the middle of the Philippine archipelago using an Autonomous Underwater Vehicle. After Mr Allen's team had carried out a thorough survey of the seabed.

Some info about the ship:

Constructed: March 1938

Sunk: October 1944

Length: 862ft

Speed: 27 knots

Crew: 2,399

Aircraft: Seven

Armaments: Nine 18in guns with a range of more than 22 miles

Machinery: Twelve oil-fired burners

Weight: 73,000 tons fully loaded

Personal opinion: Mr Allen is a lucky guy. Just the fact of finding an antique is priceless, but when you notice that you found a Japanese battleship from the WW2, that's when you call yourself a pretty lucky guy, but I think he owns this one to his private team too.
Vocabulary:
Vessel: Buque
Seabed: Fondo del mar