An American exploration team has discovered a US navy destroyer, USS Samuel B Roberts, sunk during World War II about 22, 916 feet (6,895 meters) below the sea level in the Philippines earning it the moniker of being the world’s deepest shipwreck.
The USS Samuel B Roberts, popularly known as “Sammy B” was found separated into two pieces at the bottom of the ocean. On October 25, 1944, the destroyer participated in the final phase of combat in the Battle of Leyte Gulf. The Imperial Japanese Navy lost many ships and was defeated by the U.S. forces who went on to liberate Philippines.
Caladan Oceanic, a Texas-based undersea technology company stated that a mini-submarine recorded and photographed the damaged “Sammy B” in a series of dives lasting eight months. They published images of the destroyer’s three-tube torpedo launcher and gun mount.
Victor Vescovo, the founder of Caladan Oceanic tweeted, “resting at 6,895 meters, it is now the deepest shipwreck ever located and surveyed.” He continues to express that this ship though small, fought till the end against the Japanese Navy.
Sammy B was critically damaged in the combat. Out of 224 crewmen, 89 died and 120 crew members were saved, including the captain, Lt. Cmdr. Robert W. Copeland. The destroyer is said to have damaged the Japanese cruiser with a torpedo. Sammy B was one among the four US ships that sank in the October 25th battle.
In 2021, Vescovo’s team discovered the USS Johnston, which sank nearly 65,00 meters and was designated as the world’s deepest shipwreck former before chancing upon USS Samuel B Roberts. Another destroyer identified as the USS Gambier went down more than 7,000 meters below sea level but was untraceable. Vescovo’s team due to the lack of reliable data didn’t go searching for the location of the USS Hoel. The famous, Titanic, is said to be wrecked at 4,000 meters at the bottom of the North Atlantic Ocean.
Samuel J. Cox, a retired admiral and naval historian expressed in a statement, “this site is a hallowed war grave, and serves to remind all Americans of the great cost born by previous generations for the freedom we take for granted.”
