Musashi found!

[Rich46yo]

even though there was already a de facto war going on at sea that had claimed American lives.

Yes. Somehow, someway, America would have been dragged in not matter what. Japan was allied With Germany and Italy and there was no way it could be avoided. It was just a matter of when and where. Like you said, America was already being attacking in the Atlantic.

Look at WW1 as an example. WW2 was a far more inclusive tinderbox and far more dangerous to America and her interests. Do you really believe Roosevelt and the American people would allow these Axis powers to destroy every Democracy on Earth and not have done anything about it as long as they didnt attack a few American possessions in Asia? I already said Japan couldnt take the chance of leaving an American fleet, growing BTW, at its back as it rampaged thru Asia.

It would be strategic Russian roulette. Theres nothing more I can say.

[caldera]

Behold, the Musashi!









These pics and thousands more can be found on the WWII Database:

http://ww2db.com/

I found it on TPB if you're interested

Found them on dvd at Amazon, for around $100 a set.  Even though the VHS sets cost me $150 each way back in the '90s, I can't justify the expense right now.

[Gman]

Wow great pics.  What an immense warship, it's a shame to never be able to examine would up close as large as those battle wagons.  Iowa class are huge enough when looking at them, imagine those larger Japanese ships.  Great stuff, a lot of pics there to check out in the future.

[Muzzy]

It's the wide beam of these ships that makes them so impressive. Most American warships of the period had to fit through the Panama Canal. I doubt the Yamato or the Bismarck would have made it.

[MiloMorai]

The Anatomy of the Ship series has one on the Yamato.

Well worth reading. besides the Yamato, there is one on the Bismarck, Warspite, Hood, Fuso, Dreadnaught.

A list of the ships,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anatomy_of_the_Ship_series

[Karnak]

It's the wide beam of these ships that makes them so impressive. Most American warships of the period had to fit through the Panama Canal. I doubt the Yamato or the Bismarck would have made it.

Iowa's beam was 108.3ft, same as the North Carolina.  Yamato's was 121ft 1in, Montana's would have been 121ft.  Bismark's was 118.1ft, pretty wide considering how light she was compared to the other three mentioned here.  King George V was 103dt and Vanguard, Britain's last BB, was 108ft wide.

[MiloMorai]

the lock chambers of the Panama Canal are 1,050 ft (320.04 m) in length, 110 ft (33.53 m) in width, and 41.2 ft (12.56 m) in depth.

[Arlo]

Wreck pics:





Artist depiction of the sinking:



Artist depiction of the Yamato and Musashi underway:

[Ack-Ack]

I think there's still a major question here that hasn't been addressed: would the US have gone to war with Japan if they were not attacked?

Yes.  The question of whether or not there will be war was a matter of "when" and not "if".  The stage was set for quite a while that the Imperial Japanese and the US were going to be in conflict with each other.  The oil embargo we levied on the Imperial Japanese just made the question of war come sooner rather than later.

[Rich46yo]

All this talk of the battle wagons has me thinking how much I always enjoyed the movie, "Sink the Bismark", and how revolutionary it was when released. Between the actual footage, the optical effects, and the realistic use of miniatures, it set a new standard in special EFX. It was also a classic story that was able to capture the desperation of the RN to sink that monster and the brave sailors on both sides who fought the battles.

A real classic movie about BBs.

[MiloMorai]

The Cruel Sea is worth watching.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045659/