Latest news with #USSNewOrleans
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
WWII mystery solved as sunken wreck of USS New Orleans is found 83 years after tragedy killed 183 sailors
A team of researchers have located the final resting place of the bow of a US Navy ship that was nearly destroyed during World War II. The bow of the USS New Orleans was blown off by a Japanese torpedo in a 1942 battle that resulted in an Axis victory. Nearly 83 years later, scientists and explorers with the Ocean Exploration Trust found the forward section of the ship around 2,200 feet underwater in the Iron Bottom Sound, a body of water in the Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands is an archipelago of hundreds of islands east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. Experts aboard the Nautilus exploration vessel voyaged into the Iron Bottom Sound, which is already home to over 100 World War II shipwrecks, and took high resolution images of the sunken bow. At that point they weren't certain of what they'd stumbled across, but after archaeologists worked to identify details of its paint, structure and anchor, they were eventually able to positively identify the bow as once belonging to the USS New Orleans. 'The wreck was located during seafloor mapping operations by an uncrewed surface vehicle, then investigated shortly thereafter by a deep-diving remotely operated vehicle,' Ocean Exploration Trust's Chief Scientist Daniel Wagner said in a statement. '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 finding.' A team of researchers with the Ocean Exploration Trust announced they found the severed forward section of the ship (pictured) nearly 83 years after the World War II battle In the November 1942 naval engagement now known as the Battle of Tassafaronga, the US Navy and Japanese Imperial Navy faced off at nighttime. A fleet of nine ships, including the USS New Orleans, intercepted eight Japanese destroyers trying to deliver food to their forces on the nearby island of Guadalcanal. US cruisers fired first, but this exposed their position, which led to a bloody battle on both sides. However, the Japanese quickly gained the upper hand, sinking one US heavy cruiser and damaging three more. One of the three that were damaged was the USS New Orleans. It was hit by a 'Long Lance' torpedo, tearing off nearly a third of the ship and killing 183 sailors. Three US crew members would die because they valiantly stayed at their posts as the ship flooded and managed to stop it from sinking. Miraculously, the surviving crew managed to get the ship to a nearby harbor, where they stabilized it by creating a makeshift bow of tied together coconut logs. This improvised solution worked well enough to allow them to sail backwards all the way across the Pacific Ocean back to the United States so the ship could be permanently repaired. After she was fixed, the USS New Orleans was involved in several crucial naval campaigns throughout the Pacific from 1943 to 1945.
Yahoo
10-07-2025
- General
- Yahoo
WWII American warship's severed bow found 80 years after being blown off in battle
A team of researchers recently discovered a historic bow that was blown off a World War II U.S. Navy ship during a historic battle that took place nearly 83 years ago. The long-lost bow — which was torn off the USS New Orleans in the Battle of Tassafaronga in November 1942 — was found around 2,200 feet underwater in the Solomon Islands' Iron Bottom Sound, according to a news release from the Ocean Exploration Trust. Deadly Shipwreck Uncovered By Former Military Pilot Who Spotted One Historic Clue Hundreds of experts worked together to identify the finding covered in marine growth by observing details in its paint, structure and anchor. Trash had also accumulated around parts of the wreckage, as noted in the release. "The wreck was located during seafloor mapping operations by an uncrewed surface vehicle, then investigated shortly thereafter by a deep-diving remotely operated vehicle," Ocean Exploration Trust's Chief Scientist Daniel Wagner said in a statement. "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 finding." Marine Experts Find Likely Remains Of 18Th-century Treasure Ship That Was Lost For Centuries Read On The Fox News App In a naval engagement involving U.S. and Japanese forces during WWII, the USS New Orleans was struck by one of the Japanese Navy's Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes, which detonated the ship's forward magazines and tore off nearly one-third of the ship — including the bow. Never-before-seen Photos Reveal Wwi-era Submarine 1,300 Feet Before Surface Where 19 Sailors Perished In 1917 More than 180 crew members died in the explosion, the Ocean Exploration Trust noted. Three crew members lost their lives while trying to save the USS New Orleans, which was flooding and bow-less, and later received posthumous Navy Crosses for their heroic efforts. The Navy ship was taken back to the nearby Tulagi Harbor, and the crew used coconut logs to stabilize the ship enough to sail it back to the U.S. for permanent repairs, according to the Ocean Exploration Trust. "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, a retired Navy Rear Admiral, said in a statement. Last year, the wreckage of the USS Edsall, an American warship that was sunk during a battle with Japanese forces in World War II, was discovered more than 80 years after it was lost at the bottom of the article source: WWII American warship's severed bow found 80 years after being blown off in battle
Daily Mail
10-07-2025
- Science
- Daily Mail
Sunken WWII mystery solved after 83 years as researchers make stunning discovery in the Pacific
A team of researchers have located the final resting place of the bow of a US Navy ship that was nearly destroyed during World War II. The bow of the USS New Orleans was blown off by a Japanese torpedo in a 1942 battle that resulted in an Axis victory. Nearly 83 years later, scientists and explorers with the Ocean Exploration Trust found the forward section of the ship around 2,200 feet underwater in the Iron Bottom Sound, a body of water in the Solomon Islands. The Solomon Islands is an archipelago of hundreds of islands east of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. Experts aboard the Nautilus exploration vessel voyaged into the Iron Bottom Sound, which is already home to over 100 World War II shipwrecks, and took high resolution images of the sunken bow. At that point they weren't certain of what they'd stumbled across, but after archaeologists worked to identify details of its paint, structure and anchor, they were eventually able to positively identify the bow as once belonging to the USS New Orleans. 'The wreck was located during seafloor mapping operations by an uncrewed surface vehicle, then investigated shortly thereafter by a deep-diving remotely operated vehicle,' Ocean Exploration Trust's Chief Scientist Daniel Wagner said in a statement. '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 finding.' A team of researchers with the Ocean Exploration Trust announced they found the severed forward section of the ship (pictured) nearly 83 years after the World War II battle In the November 1942 naval engagement now known as the Battle of Tassafaronga, the US Navy and Japanese Imperial Navy faced off at nighttime. A fleet of nine ships, including the USS New Orleans, intercepted eight Japanese destroyers trying to deliver food to their forces on the nearby island of Guadalcanal. US cruisers fired first, but this exposed their position, which led to a bloody battle on both sides. However, the Japanese quickly gained the upper hand, sinking one US heavy cruiser and damaging three more. One of the three that were damaged was the USS New Orleans. It was hit by a 'Long Lance' torpedo, tearing off nearly a third of the ship and killing 183 sailors. Three US crew members would die because they valiantly stayed at their posts as the ship flooded and managed to stop it from sinking. Miraculously, the surviving crew managed to get the ship to a nearby harbor, where they stabilized it by creating a makeshift bow of tied together coconut logs. This improvised solution worked well enough to allow them to sail backwards all the way across the Pacific Ocean back to the United States so the ship could be permanently repaired. After she was fixed, the USS New Orleans was involved in several crucial naval campaigns throughout the Pacific from 1943 to 1945.
Fox News
09-07-2025
- General
- Fox News
WWII American warship's severed bow found 80 years after being blown off in battle
A team of researchers recently discovered a historic bow that was blown off a World War II U.S. Navy ship during a historic battle that took place nearly 83 years ago. The long-lost bow — which was torn off the USS New Orleans in the Battle of Tassafaronga in November 1942 — was found around 2,200 feet underwater in the Solomon Islands' Iron Bottom Sound, according to a news release from the Ocean Exploration Trust. Hundreds of experts worked together to identify the finding covered in marine growth by observing details in its paint, structure and anchor. Trash had also accumulated around parts of the wreckage, as noted in the release. "The wreck was located during seafloor mapping operations by an uncrewed surface vehicle, then investigated shortly thereafter by a deep-diving remotely operated vehicle," Ocean Exploration Trust's Chief Scientist Daniel Wagner said in a statement. "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 finding." In a naval engagement involving U.S. and Japanese forces during WWII, the USS New Orleans was struck by one of the Japanese Navy's Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedoes, which detonated the ship's forward magazines and tore off nearly one-third of the ship — including the bow. More than 180 crew members died in the explosion, the Ocean Exploration Trust noted. Three crew members lost their lives while trying to save the USS New Orleans, which was flooding and bow-less, and later received posthumous Navy Crosses for their heroic efforts. The Navy ship was taken back to the nearby Tulagi Harbor, and the crew used coconut logs to stabilize the ship enough to sail it back to the U.S. for permanent repairs, according to the Ocean Exploration Trust. "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, a retired Navy Rear Admiral, said in a statement. Last year, the wreckage of the USS Edsall, an American warship that was sunk during a battle with Japanese forces in World War II, was discovered more than 80 years after it was lost at the bottom of the sea.
CNN
09-07-2025
- General
- CNN
A torpedoed US Navy ship escaped the Pacific in reverse, using coconut logs. Its sunken bow has just been found
(CNN) – The bow of a US Navy cruiser damaged in a World War II battle in the Pacific has shone new light on one of the most remarkable stories in the service's history. More than 80 years ago, the crew of the USS New Orleans, having been hit by a Japanese torpedo and losing scores of sailors, performed hasty repairs with coconut logs, before an 1,800-mile voyage across the Pacific in reverse. The front of the ship, or the bow, had sunk to the sea floor. But over the weekend, the Nautilus Live expedition from the Ocean Exploration Trust located it in 675 meters (2,214 feet) of water in Iron Bottom Sound in the Solomon Islands. Using remotely operated underwater vehicles, scientists and historians observed 'details in the ship's structure, painting, and anchor to positively identify the wreckage as New Orleans,' the expedition's website said. On November 30, 1942, New Orleans was struck on its portside bow during the Battle of Tassafaronga, off Guadalcanal island, according to an official Navy report of the incident. The torpedo's explosion ignited ammunition in the New Orleans' forward ammunition magazine, severing the first 20% of the 588-foot warship and killing more than 180 of its 900 crew members, records state. The crew worked to close off bulkheads to prevent flooding in the rest of the ship, and it limped into the harbor on the island of Tulagi, where sailors went into the jungle to get repair supplies. 'Camouflaging their ship from air attack, the crew jury-rigged a bow of coconut logs,' a US Navy account states. With that makeshift bow, the ship steamed – in reverse – some 1,800 miles across the Pacific to Australia for sturdier repairs, according to an account from the National World War II Museum in Louisiana. Retired US Navy Capt. Carl Schuster described to CNN the remarkable skill involved in sailing a warship backwards for that extended distance. ''Difficult' does not adequately describe the challenge,' Schuster said. While a ship's bow is designed to cut through waves, the stern is not, meaning wave action lifts and drops the stern with each trough, he said. When the stern rises, rudders lose bite in the water, making steering more difficult, Schuster said. And losing the front portion of the ship changes the ship's center of maneuverability, or its 'pivot point,' he said. 'That affects how the ship responds to sea and wind effects and changes the ship's response to rudder and propellor actions,' he said. The New Orleans' officers would have had to learn – on the go – a whole new set of actions and commands to keep it stable and moving in the right direction, he said. The ingenuity and adaptiveness that saved the New Orleans at the Battle of Tassafaronga enabled it to be a force later in the war. After making it across the Pacific from Australia to the US naval yard at Puget Sound, Washington state – facing the right way this time – the New Orleans undertook permanent repairs. It later participated in actions across the Pacific, including the decisive battles of Saipan and Okinawa, which led to the US gaining airfields that enabled the final blows to be made on Imperial Japan. The ship was awarded 17 battle stars for its actions in the Pacific, tying it for the third most such decorations in the Pacific theater, according to the World War II Museum. The New Orleans' bow was found during the 21-day Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal expedition of Iron Bottom Sound by Nautilus Live, a cooperative effort among NOAA Ocean Exploration, the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute, the University of New Hampshire and the Naval History and Heritage Command. Iron Bottom Sound was called Savo Sound before World War II, but Allied sailors gave it its current moniker for the huge numbers of warships that sank in battle there. According to the expedition, five major naval battles were fought there between August and December 1942, resulting in the loss of more than 20,000 lives, 111 naval vessels and 1,450 planes on all sides. Before the expedition, 'fewer than 100 of these US, Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand military ships and planes have been located,' it says on its website. The expedition began on July 2 and continues until July 23. Its continuing searches are being live streamed at
