Today we've got some additional video of the wreck of the USS Johnston!
The story of the USS Johnston could definitely be included in the category of
"Damn the torpedoes full speed ahead!"
In October, 1944 the destroyer USS Johnson was part of a small task force called 'Taffy 3'.
And they were left behind when their fleet's main force went off to chase what turned-out to be a Japanese diversion.
Okay, so left on their own they confronted a huge Japanese force that was threatening to cut off
the supply lines for an amphibious landing led by General Douglas Macarthur
on the island of Leyte in the Philippines.
The Johnston's captain, Commander Ernest E Evans, sacrificed his ship
and charged into a massive line of Japanese warships in order to protect the American landing force.
Now the Johnston was hammered by enemy fire and eventually sank
with over half of the ship's 327 crew members lost, including Commander Evans.
Evans became the first Native American in the Navy to receive the Medal of Honor
and he was posthumously awarded the Bronze Star and Purple Heart.
And the pivotal battle of Leyte Gulf? It went on to be considered the largest naval battle of WW2.
Now in the last 75 years this legend of the USS Johnston remains at the top of
the discussion of one of the bravest efforts in all of the armed forces.
But no one really knew where the wreck of the Johnston could be located.
They just knew it was off the coast of the Philippines.
That was until 2019 when a team of explorers from Vulcan Incorporated
discovered pieces of a sunken warship believed to be the USS Johnston under approximately four miles of water.
That's over 21,000 feet down!
Now that's definitely the deepest exploration for any shipwreck.
But there was nothing found that could truly confirm the identity.
In fact they thought the ship completely broke apart and was scattered all over the ocean floor.
But there were clues leading them to believe the hull must be somewhere;
Like these images for example...
Only one propeller and one propeller shaft found?
The others must be somewhere.
But for this exploration in 2019, unfortunately the submersible ROV they were using
had developed a negative buoyancy. Basically the remote submarine was sinking.
So that was the end of the exploration.
Fast forward to this year, 2021.
A crew went to the site of the debris with a new deeper-diving submersible to resume the search for the ship.
And they found it!
Previous assumptions that the ship broke apart into a million pieces were totally wrong.
The hull in fact is remarkably intact.
Images here showing the hull number 557 clearly confirms the identity of the wreck.
This is the USS Johnston.
You can clearly see the twin torpedo racks
Here is an image of a gun mount.
Just the destruction that is clearly evident in this video, I mean beyond belief.
And as we pan across here two of the five-inch gun turrets
The punishment that the Johnston received right before sinking must have been incredible.
Take a look at the bridge along with an anti-aircraft gun mount on the ship.
You can just see the damage that occurred on the Johnston right before it went down.
I am thrilled beyond belief that they found the USS Johnston and released this additional video.
If you're as excited as I am, I hope you will consider subscribing to this channel.
At least hit the 'Like' button for us.
My name is Ken Stano. Thank you for checking out History X!