The Epic Hunt for a Lost World War II Aircraft Carrier

New York Times ^ | March 13, 2019 | Ed Caesar

[Redleg Duke]

One of the Brothers in my Masonic Lodge in Morgan Hill, CA did a swan dive off of her flight deck. Quite a guy!

[Hiddigeigei]

In reference to the Zeros’ lack of armament: One of our neighbor’s sons was a marine beach master in the Pacific. He told my brother that the Zeros would strafe the beach at about fifteen feet elevation, and we could bust their cylinders with a BAR. The planes would then crash in the ocean.

[Coronal]

If he was aboard the Heerman, then at least those torpedoes forced the Yamato out of the battle for a good while.

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks Coronal.

[null and void]

I liked “Little Ship, Big War: The Saga of DE343”. But I read it so long ago I hardly remember any of it.

Me too! I still have a dead tree copy. I don't remember the details, but I remember enjoying it.

[null and void]

A few destroyers and destroyer escorts going toe to toe with Japanese heavy cruisers at Leyte was near unimaginable heroism.

The Japanese couldn't imagine it. The DDs and DEs simply had to have a major US battle group backing them up.

They fled for their lives.

[lodi90]

If he was aboard the Heerman, then at least those torpedoes forced the Yamato out of the battle for a good while.

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He was on the Hutchins at Surigao Straight. Was a plank owner in ‘42 and spent the entire war aboard that one tin can. All across the Pacific from Alaska to Australia. Until they where hit by a suicide boat at Okinawa. Then they were laid up in Seattle and that is where he met my grandmother. Not bad for a farm boy from Maine!

[colorado tanker]

Thanks for the ping. Paul Allen’s funding to locate these wrecks is one of the best uses I’ve seen of megarich money funding philanthropy.

[SunkenCiv]

I wholeheartedly agree. And even Jeff "Doctor Evil" Bezos did a great thing, plucking that F1 engine from a Saturn V on the bottom of the Atlantic.