Mutsu broke in two after her after magazine exploded at Hashirajima, killing most of the people aboard and removing one of Japan's few 16-inch-gun battleships. The reading considers old wiring, fire near the aircraft-handling area, sensitive black-powder primers, new anti-aircraft projectiles, and sabotage as possible explanations. The inquiry's decision to blame a suicidal sailor is treated skeptically because the verdict conveniently protects the institution from responsibility. The same concern appears in comparison with the later USS Iowa investigation.
Notable Point · 2:48:53-2:53:40
Mutsu's loss shows how navies explain catastrophic magazine explosions
A book passage describes Mutsu's 1943 destruction, competing technical explanations, and the institutional appeal of blaming a single sailor.