Why disturb sunken warships? For many it is the chance to be hands on with history, to connect with the past through visiting such famed ships that, like the Houston, the Prince of Wales, or the Musashi, have names that echo in the annals of naval history. Some of the methods are shocking – The Prince of Wales and the Repulse have both suffered from divers using explosives to tear open the hulls to gain access, while in Europe, three British cruisers lost in the Great War were literally torn apart by looters using ship-mounted steel claws (Mail Online 2011). Official reports by the Indonesian Navy have strong indications that there has been attempts to enter the Houston’s hull, while nearby, her consort in that fierce Sunda Strait battle, the HMAS Perth, has been systematically salvaged on an incredible scale, including the removal of some of her guns and turrets and her bridge and crane structures. The USS Houston, that paragon of Allied defiance in the disastrous dawn of the Pacific war, has had attempts at plundering (decades before verification from the US Navy) from amateur divers going back to 1973, when the original ships bell was looted and sold at auction, though fortunately recovered (LaGrone, S USNI News 2014). The issue is, if the wreck is of the Musashi, what then becomes of her? Other warships sunk during both world wars have been often extensively plundered, not just by illegal salvagers hunting for the tons of pre-atomic steel, copper and bronze, but also amateur divers, anxious for their own piece of history. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen, a WWII history enthusiast using the vast resources and wealth at his disposal, has posted early photographs, which, while yet to be verified, do indicate the strong possibility that the wreck is the Musashi, based primarily on the great anchors, turrets and a clear view of the Chrysanthemum crest on the bow, particular to that class of ship. The Musashi’s exact location has, until now, been a mystery, with several expeditions to find her unsuccessful. A Yamato-class battleship on trials in 1941 (courtesy Wikipedia)
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