Planes were eyes in the sky for battleship’s guns

As the crew of the M.Y. Octopus explored the wreck of the long-lost Musashi, their submersible passed over the catapults used to launch the battleship’s squadron of scout planes. Aircraft were critically important to the functionality of the vessel during naval engagements because Musashi’s massive 46 cm (18.1 in) guns could fire such long distances. The crew of the battlewagon could hurl salvos up to 26 miles. However, they couldn’t see targets that far away. Working over the horizon, Mitsubishi F1M “Pete” biplanes and Aichi E13A “Jake” floatplanes (photographed here on the stern of a Japanese cruiser) worked as the eyes of the vessel, directing its deadly barrage of explosives.