USS Johnston (DD-557), lost in Battle Off Samar in 1943, discovered 21k feet below the waves
USS Johnston underway in 1943
KoB sends in word about the amazing rediscovery of the lost WWII destroyer USS Johnston. Named after a US Navy Civil War hero, the ship was sunk in combat in the Battle Off Samar as part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf. Of Johnston’s complement of 327 officers and men, 141 were saved. Of the 186 men lost, about 50 were killed by enemy action, 45 died later on rafts from wounds, and 92 men, including the ship’s captain Cmdr. Evans, escaped the ship before she sank but were never seen again.
Lieutenant Commander Ernest Evans would receive a posthumous Medal of Honor for the action and all men of the ship received the Presidential Unit Citation. Sunk in more than 20,000 feet of water in the Philippine Trench, it was presumed the ship would never be found.
In October 2019 Research Vessel Petrel located with a remotely operated submersible wreckage, but the bulk of the wreck (and any confirming markings there on) were beyond the sub’s 20,000 foot maximum depth. Another deep submergence vehicle recently went down to the lowest dived wreck ever and confirmed it was Johnston. Being at that depth, even for nearly 80 years, the ship pieces are well preserved and the ship’s hull number is clearly visible.
Read more about it at Military.com.
Category: Guest Link, Historical, Navy, We Remember
A great story of what the “Old Tars” used to call the “Real Navy”. The Tin Cans of floating Artillery Batteries. Carried the fight into the teeth of the enemy, knowing that the outcome could be deadly, and going down, still fighting the ship.
The link in the story to the video links to a longer War History link video that’s got almost 20 minutes of some great footage. And ‘Ed made mention that David had sent in another link with a lot of pictures. Look forward to seeing that.
She had quite a record, even before charging into the storm. Six battle stars in one year is an accomplishment.
The deepest wreck ever found. Everything about the Johnston is extraordinary, even her grave.
The bow is in pretty good shape, but pictures of the rest of the wreckage show how much damage she took in her last stand. The debris that RV Petrel’s expedition found in 2019 included one of her funnels, two of her aft 5” gun mounts, a torn-out prop shaft, and a mangled chunk of her stern. The funnel is shot full of holes and the turrets are torn apart, base rings and shell hoists with the gunhouse sides found in pieces elsewhere.
She drew a tremendous amount of fire away from Sprague’s CVEs, in addition to the hurt she inflicted on Kurita’s fleet. For their part, most of the Japanese officers present were convinced that Evans’s destroyer was a Baltimore-class heavy cruiser.
The story of the USS Johnston has always deserved better exposure. CDR Evan’s and his crew were heroes to the very end and very few Americans know of the tremendous fight they took to a numerically superior enemy that day. Their attempt to draw fire away from the USS Gambier Bay after all the battling they did makes the ship’s legacy even greater.
The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer covers things well. I had the privilege of being taught to program FORTRAN By Cdr Amos T Hathaway CO of the the USS Heermann. Once a semester or so he could be talked into relating the events of that fateful day.
One correction, the Battle of Leyte Gulf and the Battle of Samar were in 1944, not 1943. Just sayin’.
Weather Channel posted video from the dive to view.