article_snippet: American warplanes sank the Musashi on October 24, 1944, at the height of the Battle of Leyte Gulf .
article_snippet: The battleship, which weighed 73,000 tons fully loaded, and was armed with nine 45 Caliber Type 94 main guns, was sunk by American warplanes on October 24, 1944, at the height of the Battle of Leyte Gulf - in which US and Australian forces defeated the Japanese.
article_snippet: Sister ship the Yamato was damaged in the fighting, according to the U.S. Navy, and American warships finally sank About half the crew a year later as About half the crew attempted to reach Okinawa.
article_snippet: For four days in October 1944, the seas around the island of Leyte bore witness to what some believe is the biggest battle in naval history.
article_snippet: The Battle of Leyte Gulf, formerly known as the Second Battle of the Philippine Sea, began on October 23, pitting the combined force of the U.S. and Australian forces against the Imperial Japanese Navy.
article_snippet: Three days earlier, the Americans had launched an attack on Leyte; Japanese responded with Sho-Go - an operation designed to lure U.S. forces away from the San Bernardino Strait.
article_snippet: However, the Imperial Japanese Navy did not finally disappear under the waves until 7.30pm that evening.
article_snippet: By October 26 - the end of the battle - Japanese lost 26 battleships, but only sank six of the U.S.'s ships.
article_snippet: Japanese had also suffered huge numbers of casualties: more than 10,000 men are believed to have died.
article_snippet: The Allied Forces, on the other hand, lost around 1,500.