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The Epic Hunt for a Lost World War II Aircraft Carrier
New York Times ^ | March 13, 2019 | Ed Caesar

Posted on 03/13/2019 8:31:12 AM PDT by Coronal

click here to read article


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1 posted on 03/13/2019 8:31:12 AM PDT by Coronal
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To: Coronal

I knew an old guy who had survived the destruction of The Wasp. He was aflame and had jumped overboard. He claimed that the doctors told him that he should have died from lung collapse but that he was screaming so hard that his lungs stayed inflated.


2 posted on 03/13/2019 8:37:58 AM PDT by Artemis Webb
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To: Coronal

Would have loved to have read the article. However, I’ll NEVAH touch the NYT.

Let’s get the article on a real news source.


3 posted on 03/13/2019 8:38:01 AM PDT by Da Coyote
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To: Coronal

They found it at 4200 meters below the surface. That’s 2.6 miles down! Amazing!


4 posted on 03/13/2019 8:52:59 AM PDT by Haiku Guy (ELIMINATE PERVERSE INCENTIVES)
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To: Haiku Guy

As I recall, the Indianapolis was even deeper.


5 posted on 03/13/2019 8:54:03 AM PDT by Coronal
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To: Coronal

It was better when we named Carriers historical names, usually connected to the revolutionary war, instead of naming them after mere politicians.


6 posted on 03/13/2019 8:57:48 AM PDT by DesertRhino (Dog is man's best friend, and moslems hate dogs. Add that up. ....)
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To: Coronal

The Japanese made the most of their torpedoes. They had one called the “Long Lance”. They could stand off up to 24 miles and let them loose. We never really had an answer for them.

We lost a dozen ships at Iron Bottom Sound off Guadalcanal to these Long Lance torpedoes.

https://nationalinterest.org/feature/japans-super-torpedo-was-the-hypersonic-missile-wwii-15541

“But the Japanese opted for a pure oxygen-based system (inspired by an earlier British design) that could send the Long Lance out to twelve miles at a speed of 48 knots, or an incredible 24 miles—about the same range as a battleship’s gun—at a speed of 36 knots. The Long Lance also didn’t leave telltale bubbles on the surface to warn enemy ships a torpedo was approaching.”


7 posted on 03/13/2019 8:58:21 AM PDT by MaxistheBest (...)
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To: Artemis Webb
"I knew an old guy who had survived the destruction of The Wasp. He was aflame and had jumped overboard. He claimed that the doctors told him that he should have died from lung collapse but that he was screaming so hard that his lungs stayed inflated."

Some really amazing men that fought in that generations war!

8 posted on 03/13/2019 9:01:34 AM PDT by rxsid (HOW CAN A NATURAL BORN CITIZEN'S STATUS BE "GOVERNED" BY GREAT BRITAIN? - Leo Donofrio (2009))
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To: Coronal

9 posted on 03/13/2019 9:09:39 AM PDT by GreenLanternCorps (Hi! I'm the Dread Pirate Roberts! (TM) Ask about franchise opportunities in your area.arare)
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To: MaxistheBest

Makes you wonder how they lost so bad at Leyte Gulf with a weapon like that Long Lance


10 posted on 03/13/2019 9:15:50 AM PDT by MaxistheBest (...)
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To: Da Coyote

http://warbirdsnews.com/aircraft-restoration/paul-g-allen-expedition-discovers-the-sunken-uss-wasp-and-her-aircraft.html

...Wreckage from USS Wasp (CV 7) was discovered January 14, 2019 by the expedition crew aboard the late Paul G. Allen’s Research Vessel (R/V) Petrel.

Wasp was sunk on Sept. 15, 1942 by four Japanese torpedoes from the Japanese submarine I-19 while escorting transports carrying the Seventh Marine Regiment to Guadalcanal as reinforcements.

Of the 2,162 on board, 193 were killed as a result of the attack.

The sunken aircraft carrier was found in the Coral Sea, 4,200 meters (nearly 14,000 feet) below the surface...


11 posted on 03/13/2019 9:20:16 AM PDT by jjotto (Next week, BOOM!, for sure!)
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To: MaxistheBest

In the end the Long Lance was as destructive to their ships as to ours. They lost five or six cruisers from onboard torpedo detonations, including two at Leyte.


12 posted on 03/13/2019 9:26:14 AM PDT by Coronal
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To: DesertRhino

I’m with ya!


13 posted on 03/13/2019 9:29:20 AM PDT by rlmorel (If racial attacks were as common as the Left wants you to think, they wouldn't have to make them up.)
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To: MaxistheBest

I think we weren’t nearly as complacent about the Long Lance at that point, plus, I am not sure that engagement was as well suited to a torpedo attack by the Japanese as say, the engagement at Savo Island.

At Savo Island, we knew about the Long Lance, but still thought the IJN was inferior in a head to head engagement. We were wrong, and arrogantly wrong. They cleaned our clock, but good.

It took longer for us to learn, but we did.


14 posted on 03/13/2019 9:32:53 AM PDT by rlmorel (If racial attacks were as common as the Left wants you to think, they wouldn't have to make them up.)
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To: DesertRhino

WASP: White Anglo Saxon Protestants


15 posted on 03/13/2019 9:33:38 AM PDT by Hot Tabasco (ui)
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To: MaxistheBest

For the most part Jap weapons sucked but when they did it right they had a winner. The knee mortar for one, it was devastating. Nip 18 inch naval guns were shockingly powerful.


16 posted on 03/13/2019 9:37:38 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: rlmorel

The first target hit in Southern Japan by the b-29s was the long lance torpedo factory. They USAAF did it as a favor to the Navy.


17 posted on 03/13/2019 9:39:53 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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To: central_va

Those powerful guns were undone by poor gunnery control. Ziggy Sprague commented during the battle on how poor the Japanese gunnery was at Samar.


18 posted on 03/13/2019 9:41:35 AM PDT by Coronal
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To: MaxistheBest
The Japanese made the most of their torpedoes. They had one called the “Long Lance”. They could stand off up to 24 miles and let them loose. We never really had an answer for them.

Indeed - we're fortunate that their naval doctrine regarding use of submarines was a bit on the timid side. They could've hurt us much worse if that doctrine had continued to evolve and become more aggressive.

IIRC, the Long Lance was harder to spot in the water, too, because it left a less visible wake than most other torpedoes of the era.

19 posted on 03/13/2019 9:42:04 AM PDT by Charles Martel (Progressives are the crab grass in the lawn of life.)
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To: Charles Martel

The Long Lance was surface launched, the subs had a different torpedo but it was damn good too.


20 posted on 03/13/2019 9:44:23 AM PDT by central_va (I won't be reconstructed and I do not give a damn)
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