A team of scientists and explorers aboard Exploration Vessel Nautilus located and imaged the lost bow of USS New Orleans (CA 32) on Monday.
The announcement was made by the U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command.
The bow was found at a depth of approximately 675 meters in Iron Bottom Sound near Guadalcanal, Solomon Islands, in the South Pacific. The discovery was made using a remotely operated vehicle to investigate a seafloor target first identified during mapping operations by the University of New Hampshire’s uncrewed surface vessel DriX.
USS New Orleans, a World War II era U.S. Navy heavy cruiser, was heavily damaged on Nov. 30, 1942, during the Battle of Tassafaronga. A Japanese “Long Lance” torpedo struck the ship forward of turret No. 2, detonating the forward magazines and tearing off nearly one-third of the vessel, including the bow. More than 180 sailors were killed in the blast. Despite catastrophic damage, the crew conducted extraordinary damage control, ultimately ...