Musashi, "sister" of the 65,000-ton battleship Yamato, was built at Nagasaki, Japan. Commissioned in August 1942, she was stationed at Truk from January 1943 into 1944 as part of a heavy force covering the Central Pacific against the threat of an American offensive. When the latter materialized, with the invasion of the Marshalls and raids by aircraft carrier planes against Japanese positions further west, Musashi's base was moved to the Palaus. She was torpedoed by the submarine USS Tunny (SS-282) on 29 March 1944, necessitating repairs in Japan, during which her anti-aircraft firepower was enhanced.

In June 1944, with the torpedo damage repaired, Musashi took part in the Battle of the Philippine Sea. Her next, and last, major operation was the Battle of Leyte Gulf, in which the Japanese surface navy made a final major effort to repulse the U.S. drive into the Western Pacific. On 24 October 1944, while en route to the prospective battle area off the Leyte landing beaches, Musashi and her consorts were attacked by hundreds of U.S. Navy carrier aircraft. In this Battle of the Sibuyan Sea, she was hit by some nineteen torpedoes and seventeen bombs. Though her heavy protection withstood this massive damage to a degree probably unsurpassed by any other contemporary warship, Musashi capsized and sank about four hours after she received her last hit.