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Explorer recently dive to the deepest known shipwreck in the world .
The squad reached the USS Johnston , a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer that sank on Oct. 25 , 1944 after an intense engagement with the Japanese during World War II . The ship , about 376 feet ( 115 meters ) tenacious and 39 feet ( 12 thou ) across at its all-embracing , was slide down during the Battle of Leyte Gulf , the largest naval battle in history , harmonize to a statement .
Explorers took a submersible down to the deepest shipwreck known, the USS Johnston in the Philippines Sea.
The wreckage was first discovered in 2019 off the coast of Samar Island in the Philippines Sea . At the time , a remotely operated vehicle ( ROV ) recorded part of the wreck , but could n’t reach the deepest part .
The wreck lies about 21,180 feet ( 6,456 m ) , or the equivalent of about 15 Empire State Buildings deep . Victor Vescovo , a former U.S. Navy commander who fund the novel expedition , piloted his submersible , the DSV Limiting Factor , down to the wreck during two , eight - hour dive , the deepest any human or submergible has go to explore a wreck , according to the statement .
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The explorers surveyed and captured high - definition photos of the ship ( the other two diver who go down in the submersible were retired U.S. Navy Lt . Cmdr . Parks Stephenson , a naval historian , and Shane Eigler , the fourth-year submarine technician ) .
They were able-bodied to capture footage of the ship ’s fore , bridge and midsection , which lay in part deeper than the ROV could go down in 2019 . The hull phone number " 557 " was still visible on both sides of the bow ; the gun turrets , twin torpedo rack and many gun mounts were also visible and still in shoes , allot to the statement . They did n’t find any human remains or related to wearable .
" We could see the extent of the wreckage and the life-threatening damage inflicted during the intense battle on the surface , " Stephenson say in the assertion . " It took fire from the largest warship ever constructed — the Imperial Japanese Navy battleship Yamato — and ferociously fought back . "
" All of the bill make up testimonial to the gang ’s braveness and complete lack of hesitation in take the fight to the enemy , and the wreckage serves to show that , " Stephenson added . The ship and its commander Ernest Evans who died in the battle , were later awarded for their bravery and heroism .
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At the final stage of the dispatch , the dive team place a wreath " on the oceanic battlefield , " accord to the statement .
Three other ships that sank in the Battle of Leyte Gulf have n’t yet been found .
The sonar data point , imaging and sphere notes will not be made public , but given to the U.S. Navy to distribute as they see fit , according to the financial statement . The gang took care not to disturb the wreck , but the Bob Hope is that the footage and information that they brought back from their expeditiousness will become useful for historians and naval archivists , Vescovo said in the instruction .
In 2019 , Vescovo pilot the DSV Limiting Factor to extreme depths around the orb , becoming the first soul to reach the deepest point in all of the major planet ’s five sea as part of the " Five Deeps Expedition,“Live Science antecedently reported .
Originally published on Live Science .
