The long-lost bow of a historic warship was found by researchers resting on the seafloor of the Pacific Ocean — nearly 83 years after it was blown off in a torpedo strike during World War II.
The 150-foot section of the USS New Orleans, damaged in Japan’s 1942 attack during the Battle of Tassafarnoga, was found nearly 2,214 feet deep in the Solomon Islands’ Iron Bottom Sound on Sunday during a seafloor mapping operation, the Ocean Exploration Trust announced Tuesday.
Researchers said they positively identified the rediscovered relic, swathed in heavy marine growth, due to paint fragments still clinging to the hull and an engraved anchor.
“This imagery was viewed in real-time by hundreds of experts around the world, who all worked together to make a positive identification of the findings,” Daniel Wagner, the trust’s chief scientist, said in a statement, according to the National WWII Museum.
“The discovery highlights the power of having multiple scientists and technologies work together to achieve a common goal.”
The missing bow, located by chance using a remotely operated vehicle, was ripped from the USS New Orleans when a Japanese “Long Lance” torpedo struck on November 30, 1942.
The blast severed one-third of the vessel, including the bow, and killed 182 crew members.
The mangled ship miraculously remained afloat and was saved by the remaining crew, who limped it back to a nearby harbor. There, using coconut logs, to stabilize the ship enough to sail it backward to the United States for permanent repairs, according to the museum.
“By all rights, this ship should have sunk, but due to the heroic damage control efforts of her crew, USS New Orleans became the most grievously damaged US cruiser in WWII to actually survive,” Naval History and Heritage Command Director Samuel J. Cox said in a statement.
“To find the bow of this ship is an opportunity to remember the sacrifice of this valiant crew, even on one of the worst nights in U.S. Navy history.”
