Severed bow of famed U.S. ship torpedoed in WWII found on Pacific seafloor

The severed bow of the famed American warship USS New Orleans has been found by researchers during seafloor mapping operations in the Pacific Ocean. 

The bow was discovered resting about 675 meters deep in the Solomon Islands’ Iron Bottom Sound, the site of five major naval battles, the Ocean Exploration Trust said Tuesday in a statement. 

Scientific collaborators, including archaeologists and experts from all the former combatant nations, spent four hours imaging the site to assess whether the bow came from the embattled USS New Orleans. They found distinctive details in the ship’s structure, painting and anchor, which allowed them to positively identify the bow. 

“This imagery was viewed in real-time by hundreds of experts around the world, who all worked together to make a positive identification of the findings,” aid Ocean Exploration Trust’s chief scientist Daniel Wagner. “The discovery highlights the power of having multiple scientists and technologies work together to achieve a common goal.”

The first of seven New Orleans-class heavy cruisers built during the 1930s, the USS New Orleans saw some of the heaviest fighting during the Pacific war, beginning on Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. The commanding officer wrote at the time that the crew helped thwart a dive-bombing attack by about 10 enemy planes, and “the action of the crew under fire was most commendable.”

The USS New Orleans then moved on to battle in various locations, including the Battle of Midway, before returning to the Solomons.

USS New Orleans’ bow hasn’t been seen since November 1942, during the World War II Battle of Tassafaronga, offshore of Guadalcanal, when a Japanese torpedo slammed into the ship. It tore off nearly one-third of the ship, including the bow, and killed over 180 crew members.

The crew managed to get the ship into a good enough condition to sail for Australia for repairs, according to the National WWII Museum in New Orleans. On March 7, 1943, the USS New Orleans headed to Puget Sound Navy Yard, where a new bow was fitted and the battle damage repaired.

“By all rights, this ship should have sunk, but due to the heroic damage control efforts of her crew, USS New Orleans became the most grievously damaged U.S. cruiser in WWII to actually survive,” said Naval History and Heritage Command Director Samuel J. Cox, retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral, in a statement. “To find the bow of this ship is an opportunity to remember the sacrifice of this valiant crew, even on one of the worst nights in U.S. Navy history.”