Shinano capsized at about 1100 with her captain and both navigators remaining aboard. The survivors included 55 officers, 993 enlisted and petty officers, and 32 civilians, whom Japanese authorities isolated to suppress news of the loss. That secrecy was effective enough that US Naval Intelligence initially doubted Archerfish had sunk a carrier because it intercepted no confirming traffic. Shinano was not formally struck from the Japanese naval register until August 1945. Personnel control and communications silence made wartime battle-damage assessment much harder.
Notable Point · 1:35:15-1:36:34
Japan's secrecy obscures Shinano's loss
Japanese isolation of Shinano's survivors suppresses confirmation so effectively that US Naval Intelligence initially doubts Archerfish's claim.