- Underwater explorers get confirmed the identity of the sunken destroyer USS Johnston.
- Johnston and her sister ships saved the lives of thousands of sailors taking on a substantial elevated Jap force staunch through the World Warfare II Fight of Samar.
- The explorers positively identified the sunken warship in nearly 4 miles of water, where it’s safe by U.S. legislation from looting.
Explorers get by some means identified the stays of a U.S. Navy destroyer that sunk staunch through one in every of basically the most courageous actions of World Warfare II.
The USS Johnston went down defending a force of evenly armed escort carriers from a substantial elevated Jap force that included the battleship Yamato. The action saved the lives of thousands and received Johnston’s commander a posthumous Congressional Medal of Honor.
U.S. Navy
The fateful action took put of dwelling staunch through the Fight of Leyte Gulf, which pitched the U.S. Navy in opposition to Jap air and naval forces in October 1944. The battle used to be a decisive victory for the Allies, destroying what remained of Jap naval energy and allowing the amphibious landings that liberated the Philippines.
The Fight of Leyte Gulf included one in every of the fiercest rapidly actions to involve the U.S. Navy. Whereas the Navy loved a decisive attend in ships and planes, the Fight off Samar
noticed an American job force heavily outnumbered by a superior Jap force in ships and firepower.
Wikimedia Commons
The Fight off Samar noticed Rear Adm. Clifton Sprague’s six escort carriers (identified as Taffy 3)—guarded by three destroyers (along with Johnston) and 4 destroyer escorts—face off in opposition to a foremost Jap job force of four battleships, six heavy cruisers, two mild cruisers, and 11 destroyers. The force included Yamato, the largest battleship ever constructed.
In some unspecified time in the future of the action, Taffy 3’s escorts, hopelessly outnumbered, charged headlong into the Jap job force. Johnston and her fellow escorts intended to retract the American escort carriers time to derive away. The escorts confronted the weapons of the Jap rapidly—along with the 18-rush weapons of Yamato, the largest ever fitted to a battleship—with their very enjoy meager 5-rush weapons and torpedoes.
The escorts knew if the Jap broke through their thin show camouflage, the lives of thousands of American citizens had been at likelihood—no longer finest those on the escort carriers, but on transports of the Philippines-certain invasion rapidly, too.
U.S. Navy
Johnston, led by Cdr. Ernest Evans, inflicted heavy anxiousness on a a ways elevated ship, the Imperial Jap Navy heavy cruiser Kumano. But enemy battleships struck the destroyer several cases, crippling it and leaving it silly in the water 2.5 hours after the battle began.
Evans gave the show to desert ship, in step with the U.S. Navy Historical past and Heritage Relate, and finest 141 of 327 crew survived. Evans used to be awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for the interesting counterattack, which nearly completely saved thousands of lives.
The Fight off Samar took put of dwelling above the Philippine Trench, and for decades, historians get assumed the ships sunk in the battle had been lost in deep water. In 2019, on the other hand, an underwater exploration team led by the R/V Petrel chanced on the stays of a Fletcher-class destroyer in 21,180 toes of water.
The expedition, in step with U.S. Naval Institute Files, couldn’t resolve the identity of the destroyer, which could perchance well get been USS Johnston or her fellow Taffy 3 escort, USS Hoel, which also sunk staunch through the battle.
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Closing week, Caladan Oceanic launched photos of the identical spoil that confirmed it as the USS Johnston.
Caladan, founded by two outdated U.S. Navy officers, frail a manned submersible to word the spoil. The submersible, Limiting Divulge, made two 8-hour dives—the deepest spoil dives on yarn—to gaze the bow of the sunken destroyer. The hull number, 557, is clearly visible no topic having been underwater for nearly 77 years. Limiting Divulge also took imagery of Johnston’s bridge, 5-rush weapons, and deck-mounted torpedo tubes.
Caladan Oceanic/Facebook
The expedition left the Johnston in put of dwelling. As a U.S. Navy warship sunk in battle, she’s technically a grave boom and enjoys fine protections to discourage looters. The 2004 Sunken Defense force Craft Act protects all U.S. naval wrecks worldwide from “looters, treasure hunters, and others who could perchance feature off anxiousness.”
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