Manila-Sana
A US mission found the wreck of a US Navy destroyer that sank during World War II at a depth of about 6,500 meters off the coast of the Philippines.
"We have just conducted the deepest dive in history to find the wreck of the USS Johnston," wrote the captain of the submarine that reached the wreck, founder of the Caladan Oceanic Corporation in Texas, Victor Vescovo.
"We located the front two-thirds of the ship at a depth of 6456 meters, and this part is intact and in a straight position ... Three of us examined the ship in two dives," Veskovo added, noting that the sonar data, images and field notes collected during the dive will be handed over to the US Navy.
According to the historian of expeditions within the expedition, Parks Stephenson, the wreck bears the effects of damage to the ship during the strong battle that took place 76 years ago, explaining that the sunken ship came under fire from the largest warship ever built, the Japanese Imperial Navy battleship Yamato, and responded to its strong targeting.
The 115-meter-long destroyer sank on October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Bay, the largest naval battle the world had ever seen and was the beginning of the end for Japan, and only 141 of the ship's 327 crew members survived, according to US Navy records.
