Severed bow of US warship blown off by Japanese torpedo finally found in South Pacific
The Arc section of the American War of War USS New Orleans, which was swept away by a Japanese torpedo in 1942, was located near the island of Guadalcanal in the South Pacific Ocean.
Although the ship survived the attack, more than 180 of the crew aboard the heavy cruiser were killed when one of the ship’s ammunition magazines was hit by a torpedo and exploded, tearing all the front of the ship.
According to a statementThe arc section of the ship was discovered during the seabed cartography operations in Iron Bottom Sound, near Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, at a depth of 2,214 feet (675 meters).
“According to all the rights, this ship should have flowed,” the director of the Naval History and Heritage Command, retired rear Adm. Samuel Coxsaid in the press release. “But due to the heroic efforts to control the damage of its crew, the USS New Orleans has become one of the most seriously damaged American cruisers of the Second World War to survive.”
New Orleans was affected during Battle of Tassafaronga Near Guadalcanal on the night of November 30, 1942, when American warships tried to intercept Japanese destroyers delivering supplies to the island.
The naval battle took place several months after the successful landing of US navies and soldiers in Guadalcanal – a large Japanese military base which was finally captured in February 1943.
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War wreckage
The wreck of the arc was found by the non -transmitted surface ship from the University of New Hampshire (USV) Drixwhich cartographed the seabed with Sonar equipment, using thoughtful sound impulses to estimate the distances.
The USV was controlled by researchers aboard the exploration ship Nautiluswhich is owned and operated by an American non -profit organization called Ocean Exploration Trust (OET). The expedition was supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
One of the leaders in research, chief scientist of the Oet Daniel Wagnerdeclared in the press release that a Distance Submarine vehicle (ROV) was sent to explore the wreck after its discovery by Drix; And that hundreds of experts from around the world had worked to make a positive identification.
After the explosion has torn off its bow, New Orleans began to flood; But the ship was kept afloat by crew members who stayed in their posts, although some have lost their lives and three crosses of the navy were posthumously awarded.
The ship was temporarily repaired with A Coco Journal In a neighboring port until it can return slowly to the United States for permanent repairs.
“Keeping the bow of this ship is an opportunity to remember the sacrifice of this valiant crew, even one of the worst nights in the history of the American navy,” said Cox.
