Explorers find WWII Navy destroyer, deepest wreck discovered

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP

MANILA, Philippines (AP) — A U.S. Navy destroyer that engaged a superior Japanese fleet in the largest sea battle of World War II in the Philippines has become the deepest wreck to be discovered, according to explorers.

The USS Samuel B. Roberts, popularly known as the “Sammy B,” was identified on Wednesday broken into two pieces on a slope at a depth of 6,985 meters (22,916 feet).

That puts it 426 meters (1,400 feet) deeper than the USS Johnson, the previous deepest wreck discovered last year in the Philippine Sea also by American explorer Victor Vescovo, founder of Dallas-based Caladan Oceanic Expeditions. He announced the latest find together with U.K.-based EYOS Expeditions.

“It was an extraordinary honor to locate this incredibly famous ship, and by doing so have the chance to retell her story of heroism and duty to those who may not know of the ship and her crew’s sacrifice,” Vescovo, a former Navy commander, said in a statement.



In this Wednesday, June 22, 2022, image provided by Caladan Oceanic, the pilot house section of the USS Samuel B. Roberts can be seen underwater off the Philippines in the Western Pacific Ocean. The U.S. Navy destroyer that engaged a superior Japanese fleet in the largest sea battle of World War II in the Philippines has become the deepest wreck to be discovered, according to explorers. (Caladan Oceanic via AP)



Read more: https://apnews.com/article/science-world-war-ii-philippines-manila-us-navy-738704ff8c2ab31bbf5cadd01cfd36d3

[krispos42]

1. I read a book about this battle last year

"Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors", or something to that effect.

Awesome book about incredibly brave men.

[sl8]

4. +1 Great minds (...) and all that. nt

[malthaussen]

13. One of the best. n/t

[mitch96]

17. Here is a youtube vid of one of the survivors...

[LT Barclay]

25. That's the book. Reads faster and more exciting that most fiction I've read.

[captain queeg]

28. reading it right now

Lots of mistakes by the Japanese and a heroic defense by the US destroyers.

[sl8]

2. USS Samuel B. Roberts, aka "the destroyer escort that fought like a battleship"

If you're not familiar with the Battle off Samar, you're missing an incredible story.

Wikipedia entry:
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_off_Samar

I recommend reading James D. Hornfischer's "The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors: The Extraordinary World War II Story of the U.S. Navy's Finest Hour."

Also, there are some good Youtube videos and other resources online about the Battle off Samar/Battle of Leyte Gulf.

[paleotn]

7. Absolutely. Incredible story of duty and bravery.

Her skipper had a Perry class frigate named after him back in the 80's.

[Docreed2003]

5. What an incredible find! One of the most famous destroyers in US Navy history

[machoneman]

6. Yep, the Sammy B fought like a tiger against real battleships, heavy cruisers and many destroyers.

Reading all accounts of the battle, these little U.S. Navy ships charged headlong into the large fleet of Japan's biggest warships and fought until sunk. Well done sailors, well done. I also highly recommend this book as well:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/363874257092?chn=ps&norover=1&mkevt=1&mkrid=711-117182-37290-0&mkcid=2&itemid=363874257092&targetid=1262779895929&device=c&mktype=&googleloc=1015236&poi=&campaignid=14859008593&mkgroupid=130497710760&rlsatarget=pla-1262779895929&abcId=9300678&merchantid=6296724&gclid=CjwKCAjwh-CVBhB8EiwAjFEPGePgoJcBPF9CY74blDsJ0lYGiiQCGMMNaLe4KVHiDnW4ArF-W4JvDBoCA4wQAvD_BwE

[krispos42]

19. Not just that, they fought to give troop-laden transports...

...and escort aircraft carriers time to flee, and other air assets in the area to respond.

They did damage way out of proportion to their size due to having radar-laid guns. And the American 5"/38 naval rifle was the best midcaliber gun in the war!

[DinahMoeHum]

8. Another book worth reading. . .

For Crew And Country, by John Wukovits.

https://www.amazon.com/Crew-Country-Inspirational-Bravery-Sacrifice-ebook/dp/B008RLTV4K/ref=sr_1_1?crid=QD379S6P2LBE&keywords=samuel+b+roberts&qid=1656248812&s=books&sprefix=samuel+b+roberts%2Cstripbooks%2C94&sr=1-1

And there's a whole website regarding the Battle Off Samar:

https://www.bosamar.com/

[sl8]

10. Excellent. Thank you. nt

[JohnnyRingo]

9. For perspective, that's as high as many airliners fly.

Amazing they found it at all, let alone surveyed the site.
Boggles the imagination.

[Ilsa]

11. Might need a cool movie made about it. nt

[Evolve Dammit]

12. Imagining families affected by this find. How many hands lost when she sank?

[malthaussen]

16. 90 killed, 120 survivors. n/t

[malthaussen]

14. Minor correction: the previous deepest wreck is USS Johnston (DD-557)...

... not "Johnson."

-- Mal

[Ziggysmom]

15. My father talked about the Sammy B. He was in the Navy, stationed in the Philippines when

she sank. May all the lost souls from that horrific war Rest In Peace. Freedom isn't free.

[malthaussen]

18. The Navy was so proud of this little DE they promoted her to destroyer...

... USS Samuel B. Roberts (DD-862) a Gearing class destroyer not quite finished in time to participate in WW2.

It was pretty common practice for Congress to name new construction after ships that had been sunk in battle. Which led to the interesting trivia of a cruiser being named for an Australian ship (USS Canberra, CA-70).

-- Mal

[gladium et scutum]

22. May want to check your source on that.

DD 862 was a Gearing class destroyer, but commissioned as USS Vogelgesang in April 1945. She served in the Navy until Feb 1882 when she was decommissioned and sold to the Mexican Navy. FFG 58 was commissioned as Samual B. Roberts in April 1986. She was decommissioned in May of 2015

[malthaussen]

23. My error, Roberts is DD 823.

Last edited Sun Jun 26, 2022, 04:11 PM - Edit history (1)

A good site for US warships: http://www.navsource.org/
A good site for all warships of WW2, not just uboats (albeit incomplete in some particulars): https://uboat.net/
A site I loved, but died was destroyerhistory.com, but it has been resurrected as https://destroyerhistory.org/

-- Mal

[Mysterian]

20. Eternal glory to the brave sailors who gave their all

to defeat fascism.

[rsdsharp]

21. Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors is a great book.

Herman Wouk also wrote about Task Force Taffy 3 in War and Remembrance. Taffy 3 was put in that impossible situation, standing off the Japanese fleet hellbent on taking back the Philippines, because Bull Halsey took the bait and sailed off with the main American fleet. Taffy 3 was hung out to dry as a result. Wouk thought Halsey should have been cashiered. Instead they gave him five stars.

[malthaussen]

24. Would have been interesting if TF 34 had been in place.

It was plenty interesting anyway.

-- Mal

[hardluck]

26. You might enjoy this.

It’s a nice thought experiment considering what might have happened had Admiral Willis Lee been detached from TF 34.

[sl8]

27. +1. Drachinifel has one of the best, most informative channels on Youtube. nt

[captain queeg]

29. yeah he is very good

[malthaussen]

30. Exactly the vid I was thinking of.

Drac is very good.

-- Mal