Shipbucket

A few weeks ago, while watching the live-stream made by Paul allen's team on IJN Musashi's wreck I noticed the presence of a previosuly not documented platform.
The aforementioned platform appears to house two binoculars, and is located on the aft section of the ships superstructure, just back of the aft enclosed lookout station and below one of the enclosed 25mm machine gun mounts.


This is a feature unique to Musashi, as no sources (ranging from books, pictures and the fine 1:10 model at the Yamato museum in Kure) seems to indicate the presence of such platform on her sister Yamato. Although so far it is impossible to know if Musashi was fitted from the start with this lookout platform it is obvious that she must have been there at least since the last refit the ship went through: In case of the Musashi it was the April 1944 refit during which the wing 155mm turrets were removed to make space for extra anti-aircraft guns.

I've so took the liberty to add this small platform to the two excellent 1944 Musashi drawings made by Erusia Force.

Musashi as of April 1944.


Musashi as of October 1944:

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Very nice!

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Well spotted.
Proof that even plans and photos cannot always tell you the full story.

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