Shipwreck fragment linked to one of WWII’s strangest rescue tales
A few stains of residual paint and an engraved anchor were sufficient to connect the wreck mysteries at the bottom of the South Pacific to the Saga of the New Orleans. Researchers aboard the Noaa Ocean Exploration Exploration Trust Nautilus The ship accidentally discovered the Arc section almost 100 feet long from the Second World War II of World War, while remotely mapping the iron sound near the Solomon islands earlier this week.
Allied and Japanese forces fought five major naval battles in the region between August and December 1942, leading to the loss of more than 20,000 lives, 111 naval boats and 1,450 planes. But on November 30, 1942, another ship almost brought the total number of ships killed at 112.
During the Battle of Tassafaronga, the USS New Orleans was struck by a Japanese torpedo that exploded its front magazines, killing 182 men and snatching a large part of the cruiser. Instead of abandoning what remains, the remaining crew quickly developed a plan in the hope of somehow saving their ship.
After having used an auxiliary profession to reach a neighboring island, sailors killed coconut palms and used logs to shape a makeshift arc. They then attached their improvised section to New Orleans and followed the course in Australia, but there was yet another problem. Without the propeller of the arc, the damaged ship was no longer able to sail forward. This meant that the crew needed to direct his ship back at the port. On December 24, a very modified USS New Orleans managed to arrive at the Cockatoo Island shipyard in Sydney, Australia, where he received a complete repair. The heavy cruiser – both original and united sections – remained in service until it downgraded in 1947.
During all this time, the spell of the bow of the USS New Orleans remained a mystery. Earlier this month, however, the Ocean Exploration Trust began a non-invasive archaeological survey of 21 days on cultural heritage sites in the sound of the iron bottom. At one point, one of the team’s unrelated surface vehicles reported an anomaly which, although large, was not large enough to be a warship. Researchers launched a ROV from the Nautilus To explore the area, ultimately on the lost bow at a depth of 2,214 feet. After almost 83 years at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean, what remains is now covered in marine life – as well as a few pieces of modern trash can deposited by water currents.
The exact coordinates of USS remains in New Orleans are selected to protect their integrity, but after the confirmation of experts in its location, the researchers finally answered a persistent question to one of the strangest and ingenious rescue efforts of the Second World War. Meanwhile, there are still a few days left for the team to come across even more discoveries – the shipment of the iron soundtrack should end on July 23.
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