US team claims to have found 5 WWII Japanese battleships

December 8, 2017

Manila- A team led by Microsoft Corp. co-founder Paul Allen said Thursday it has found wrecks believed to be five ships of the now-defunct Imperial Japanese Navy sunk by US forces off the Philippines during World War II.

The five vessels are believed to be the battleships Yamashiro and Fuso, as well as the destroyers Michishio, Asagumo and Yamagumo. The team surveyed the sea bottom of the Surigao Straits in the southern Philippines late last month.

The condition of the five ships is "pretty poor," Paul Meyer, a member of the team, said, adding that they are in very shallow water.

The Yamashiro and Fuso were found upside down and the Yamagumo in two pieces, Meyer also said.

The team identified the five ships "based on historical records," including where they were sunk, Meyer said, adding that the team has not yet found anything that confirms the identification.

The ships entered the Surigao Strait to fight against US forces in October 1944 but were sunk by torpedo and other attacks by US ships.

In 2015, the team announced the discovery of the Imperial Japanese Navy's World War II battleship Musashi at the bottom of the Sibuyan Sea, also off the Philippines. In August this year, it said it had found part of the wreckage of the USS Indianapolis. Jiji Press