Vulcan’s R/V petrel deep-sea team, dived into the ocean and found the WWII Fletcher class destroyer at a record depth of 20,400 feet, being the deepest discovery of a shipwreck. To be more specific, the vessel lies at a depth of of 6,220 (3.9 miles) meters on the edge of the Emden Deep in the Philippine Sea.
The WWII Fletcher class destroyer, got lost during the Battle off Samar, one of four battles that took place during the Battle of Leyte Gulf on October 25, 1944. According to Robert Kraft, director of sub sea operations for Allen’s Vulcan Inc, it is believed that the vessel wreck might be the USS Johnston DD-557.
There is no evidence of the dazzle paint scheme, indicative of the USS Hoel and its location suggests this wreck sank later in the battle, after the loss of the Hoel.
The battle had also intense loses from America, including the loss of two escort carriers, two destroyers, one destroyer escort and 23 aircraft. However, Japanese forces also took remarkable casualties, losing three heavy cruisers and 52 aircraft during the war. Seventy five years after the war, Paul Allen’s team reaches a record of the deepest finding ever.
During this dive, our deepest yet, we encountered challenges that impacted our ability to operate and obtain the typical, high quality survey that we strive for
…said Paul Mayer, Petrel R/V pilot.
The crew has also many findings in its history, specifically, more than 30 sunken warships, with previous finds involving the USS Indianapolis, the USS Lexington, the USS Juneau, the USS Helena and the USS Hornet.
