 On 8 June 1943 , Mutsu was moored at Hashirajima when the magazine of her No. 3 turret exploded at 12 : 13 , cutting the ship in half . The forward section capsized almost immediately , but the rear section remained afloat until the early morning of the next day . Nearby ships were able to rescue 353 survivors from the 1 @,@ 474 crew members and visitors aboard Mutsu , meaning that 1 @,@ 121 men were killed in the explosion . To avert the potential damage to morale from the loss of a battleship , Mutsu 's loss was declared a state secret . To further prevent rumors from spreading , many survivors were reassigned to various garrisons in the Pacific Ocean . 
