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TheSorge OP t1_j8x7p2p wrote

The long-lost wreckage of a U.S. Navy submarine credited with sinking nearly a dozen enemy ships during World War II before vanishing in late 1944 has been found off the coast of northern Japan, Navy officials announced Thursday.

The USS Albacore’s wreckage was confirmed by the Naval History and Heritage Command’s Underwater Archaeology Branch after it was located recently off the coast of Hokkaido, the northernmost of Japan’s main islands, the Navy said in a news release. The NHHC used information and imagery provided by Tamaki Ura, a University of Tokyo professor who has specialized in developing autonomous underwater vehicles to confirm the identity of the submarine. The Albacore disappeared while patrolling in the Pacific Ocean and had at least 85 sailors aboard.

“As the final resting place for [U.S.] sailors who gave their life in defense of our nation, we sincerely thank and congratulate Dr. Ura and his team for their efforts in locating the wreck of Albacore,” Samuel Cox, the director of the NHHC, said in a statement. “It is through their hard work and continued collaboration that we could confirm Albacore’s identity after being lost at sea for over 70 years.”

The Albacore was last heard from by the U.S. military on Oct. 28, 1944, when it stopped at Midway for fuel en route for its 11th combat patrol in the waters off northern Japan, according to Naval records. The Gato-class submarine was believed sunk in a Nov. 7, 1944, underwater explosion reported in Japanese military records, likely the result of hitting an underwater mine. The location of the ship’s wreckage appeared to confirm those details, according to the Navy.

Before the sub’s sinking, the Albacore had proved a capable warship. The vessel was built by the Electric Boat Company and commissioned into the Navy on June 1, 1942. The Navy credited the submarine with sinking at least 10 enemy ships during its brief tenure — earning the Albacore nine battle stars for meritorious participation in battle and four Presidential Unit Citations for extraordinary heroism in combat. The Navy said the Albacore might have been responsible for sinking three additional ships during the war, but those have not been confirmed.

Among the sub’s known sinkings were Japanese destroyers, freighters and the 31,000-ton Japanese aircraft carrier Taiho, then the newest and largest carrier in the Japanese fleet. Taiho sunk hours after being struck by a torpedo fired by the Albacore during the Battle of the Philippine Sea, according to the Navy. The Albacore’s crew did not know at the time that they had sunk the flagship after diving deep to escape incoming aerial attacks. Months later, the Albacore’s top officer at that time, Lt. Cmdr. James Blanchard, was awarded the Navy Cross, the service’s second-highest honor for combat heroics, for his role in sinking the Taiho.

The Navy said Ura used unmanned underwater craft to locate the Albacore based on Japanese records documenting the Nov. 7, 1944, explosion off Hokkaido.

“Strong currents, marine growth and poor visibility on site made it challenging to fully document the wreck or obtain comprehensive images,” the Navy statement said. “However, several key features of a late 1944 Gato-class submarine were identified in the video.”

Those features included the presence of a SJ Radar dish and mast, a row of vent holes along the top of the superstructure and the absence of steel plates along the ship’s upper edge consistent with the Albacore’s construction at the time that the submarine was last seen, according to the Navy.

The Albacore’s wreckage now falls under the NHHC’s jurisdiction and is protected from intrusion by U.S. law, the Navy said.

“The wreck represents the final resting place of sailors that gave their life in defense of the nation and should be respected by all parties as a war grave,” the Navy statement reads.

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ekkidee t1_j8x8n10 wrote

Wow, very well done, and very inspiring.

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Pallets_Of_Cash t1_j8xa8ks wrote

Submariners are a special breed. Good to put this mystery to rest.

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Tchrspest t1_j8xiccf wrote

Rest easy, lads. We have the watch.

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InkIcan t1_j8xiou2 wrote

takes off cap out of respect

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kmmontandon t1_j8yd9f1 wrote

Replying to TheSorge (#1,844,947)

> “As the final resting place for [U.S.] sailors who gave their life in defense of our nation, we sincerely thank and congratulate Dr. Ura

I can't help but think it might be slightly awkward.

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Aurailious t1_j8ykavc wrote

Might be worth considering naming one of the new Virginia's after her since they've started naming subs after fish again.

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Psychological_Risk_6 t1_j8zj3jq wrote

Fair winds and following seas as you end patrol and head to eternal liberty.

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Blockhead47 t1_j8zslgh wrote

>Albacore was constructed by the Electric Boat Company in Groton, CT and commissioned on June 1, 1942. Before being lost in 1944, she conducted 11 war patrols and is credited with 10 confirmed enemy vessel sinkings, with possibly another three not yet confirmed. Albacore earned nine battle stars and four Presidential Unit Citations during her career. Six of the ten enemy sinkings were enemy combatant ships, ranking her as one of the most successful submarines against enemy combatants during World War II.

https://www.navy.mil/Press-Office/News-Stories/Article/3300302/wreck-site-identified-as-world-war-ii-submarine-uss-albacore-ss-218/
.
More from wikipedia:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/USS_Albacore_(SS-218)#

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bigFnNope t1_j901yg5 wrote

And death shall have no dominion. Under the windings of the sea They lying long shall not die windily; Twisting on racks when sinews give way, Strapped to a wheel, yet they shall not break; Faith in their hands shall snap in two, And the unicorn evils run them through; Split all ends up they shan’t crack; And death shall have no dominion. - Dylan Thomas

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Kjartanski t1_j90lvgh wrote

Submarines arent lost, they are on Eternal Patrol

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Fuzzyphilosopher t1_j918p02 wrote

Replying to kmmontandon (#1,848,333)

Not likely. When I lived in japan I met and spoke with people who lived through the war. For the most part they expressed a genuine thankfulness for the US bringing the war to an end, freeing them from a military dictatorship and the very surprising to them at the time kindness of American troops and macArthur's GHQ. Giving trainloads of grain to people who are starving will do that.

One man was a boy through it all and had very fond memories of playing baseball with GI's and being given chewing gum. He led a Buddhist Temple and we hit it off quite well. : )

hiroshima and nagasaki are more complex but largely viewed with sadness rather than resentment or anger. And of course a commitment to try to prevent the use of nuclear weapons ever again.

There are right wing nationalists of course who see the war very differently. And they will sometimes let you know it in drunken rage slurs.

It's a complex situation and unlike the Germans the Japanese have a bad habit of just wanting to forget the war years and focus on the rebirth of their country afterwards. From my eight years there I can't imagine any but the extreme nationalist showing or expressing any disrespect to war grave of our sailors.

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diagoro1 t1_j93e3nk wrote

Replying to [deleted] (#1,850,253)

I imagine my grandfather was their paymaster at some point. He was stationed on the Canopus in Manila on Dec 7, eventually escaped on a sub with (as he always told me) was a million in US & Filipino dollars. He was soon a paymaster on a pacific island for sub crews, had to determine everyones pay without any records, which seems mind boggling. He must have lost friends all through the war, from the Bataan Death March to ship crews.

He wrote out his story, which I saved here https://chuckosborne.wordpress.com/

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