After Eight Years of Searching for It, Billionaire Finds What He Was Looking For Beneath the Sea

Billionaire Paul Allen announced on Twitter Tuesday that he had found a long-lost Japanese battleship in the Philippines from World War II.

The Microsoft co-founder posted photos online of the sunken battleship which was found Sunday in the Sibuyan Sea after more than eight years of searching for it.

Named the Musashi, the vessel is thought to be one of the most technologically advanced battleships in naval history and was found by Allen and his team of researchers using historical records from four countries, along with advanced technology from his yacht M/Y Octopus.

“Since my youth, I have been fascinated with World War II history, inspired by my father’s service in the U.S. Army,” Allen said in a statement posted on his website.

“The Musashi is truly an engineering marvel and, as an engineer at heart, I have a deep appreciation for the technology and effort that went into its construction," he added. "I am honored to play a part in finding this key vessel in naval history and honoring the memory of the incredible bravery of the men who served aboard her.”

[sharequote align="right"]"It is very meaningful discovery..."[/sharequote]

The Musashi was once the largest battleship in naval history, according to Allen's group, weighing approximately 73,000 tons fully loaded and featuring eighteen-inch armor plating with nine eighteen-inch guns. It was sunk by an estimated 19 torpedoes and 17 bombs on October 24, 1944.

Speaking to CNN, museum director Kazushige Todaka reacted to the incredible discovery.

"I was really surprised because the location of the sunken ship has never been identified since it went down," he said. "I have heard countless stories in the past that the ship was discovered, but they all turned out not to be true."

"It's fateful that the discovery was made on the 70th anniversary of (the end of) World War 2," Todaka added to CNN. "The memory of the war has been fading away after 70 years and the survivors of the war are disappearing. It is very meaningful discovery and a good chance for us to remind ourselves about the war and its tragedy."

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