A Sunken American Warship That Played A Key Role In World War II Has Been Found At The Bottom Of The Indian Ocean
More than 80 years after it was sunk, an American warship that played a key role in World War II has been discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean.
The Royal Australian Navy found the USS Edsall 200 miles east of Christmas Island, south of Java. The discovery revealed the final resting place of more than 200 servicemen who died after the ship was sunk by Japanese forces.
The USS Edsall was a 314-foot destroyer built in 1919. During World War II, it protected other vessels in Australian waters from Japanese attacks.
On March 1, 1942, three months after the surprise strike on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, Japanese naval forces launched an attack on the ship.
At the time, the Edsall was chugging along by itself in the south of Java. It had spent the past few months escorting convoys between Australia and Indonesia.
For nearly two hours, the Edsall was able to dodge shells from heavily armed Japanese warships by using smoke screens and performing some extreme maneuvers.
The Edsall’s evasion skills led some Japanese soldiers to nickname the ship “the dancing mouse,” according to the Naval History and Heritage Command, referring to a popular Japanese pet known for its erratic movement.
Later on, Japanese air forces joined the attack. The fight ended when the Edsall took a fatal hit after thousands of rounds had already been fired.
Almost all crew members were lost—185 U.S. Navy personnel and 31 U.S. Army Air Force pilots went down with the destroyer. A handful of survivors had been picked up by the Japanese fleet but were later executed.
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A famous photograph of the Edsall getting blown up was taken onboard a Japanese ship and was later used in Japanese propaganda.
“Capt. Joshua Nix and his crew fought valiantly, evading 1,400 shells from Japanese battleships and cruisers, before being attacked by 26 carrier-dive bombers, taking only one fatal hit,” said Caroline Kennedy, the U.S. ambassador to Australia.
Nix, the ship’s captain, was 33 years old when the destroyer sunk. Samuel J. Cox, a retired Navy rear admiral, reported that Nix directed the bow of the Edsall toward the Japanese fleet as they continued to open fire on the crippled destroyer. The captain was last seen on the ship’s bridge before it became submerged underwater.
The Australian navy had been conducting an unrelated mission in the area when they made the discovery. They used advanced techniques to identify the USS Edsall on the seabed.
“This is part of our continuing efforts to honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice. We will now be able to preserve this important memorial and hope that families of the heroes who died there will know their loved ones rest in peace.”
No details were provided about what condition the vessel was in or how the wreck will be preserved.
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