The wreck of the long-lost US warship USS Edsall, despatched to the underside of the ocean throughout the second world conflict by the Japanese, has been found, US and Australian officers introduced on Monday.
The warship was sunk on 1 March 1942, three months after Japan’s assault on Pearl Harbor. The Edsall was touring throughout the Indian Ocean south of Java when it was sunk by Japanese dive bombers.
The Edsall’s formidable show in evading assaults earlier than its demise led the Japanese to dub the ship “the dancing mouse”.
“I’m honored to acknowledge the function #AusNavy performed in discovering the wreck of @usnavy USS Edsall, a warship that holds a particular place in our shared naval histories,” wrote Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia, in an Instagram put up to commemorate Veterans Day.
“We are going to now be capable to protect this essential memorial and hope that the households of the heroes who died there’ll know their family members relaxation in peace,” mentioned Kennedy in an accompanying video.
The second world conflict ship, solely about 300ft in size, was carrying 153 sailors and several other dozen military air forces pilots and troopers. It had sustained harm from an earlier assault and deemed unfit for fight however was deployed to help one other ship when it encountered Japanese naval forces at about 4pm.
Regardless of its broken state, the Edsall efficiently dodged assaults for over an hour, swerving to keep away from the lots of of fired shells. The Edsall counterattacked with a smokescreen and torpedoes earlier than ultimately being overcome by Japanese dive bombers.
Historians say that just a few individuals on board survived the sinking ship however have been instantly picked up by enemy forces and later beheaded in a jail camp.
Based on the US navy, the wreck was first found late final yr south of Australia’s distant Christmas Island submerged in 18,000ft of water. The US cooperated with Australian officers to verify the wreck was in truth the Edsall.
Mark Hammond, chief of the Royal Australian Navy, mentioned within the video that the wreck was discovered by the MV Stoker, an Australian naval help ship that’s usually used for hydrographic surveying.
The wreckage was subsequently examined with underwater robots and sonar. The Australian navy has not disclosed what the Stoker was doing when the Edsall was discovered, citing “operational safety sensitivities”, in accordance with the Washington Put up.
