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| Researchers have found the resting place of a World War II submarine wreck 11,000 feet below the surface. Named the Stickleback, the vessel sank on May 28, 1958 during a military exercise 19 miles off the coast of Barbers Point, Oahu |
Researchers have found the resting place of a World War II submarine wreck 11,000 feet below the surface.
Named the Stickleback, the vessel sank on May 28, 1958 during a military exercise 19 miles off the coast of Barbers Point, Oahu.
It lost power during the drill, which forced it to dart towards the seabed and the crew used emergency power kicks to save it from a watery grave.
The soldiers managed to bring Stickleback to the surface, but crashed into the destroyer escort USS Silverstein that sealed its fate.
The Stickleback is 311 feet long, hits 20 knots on the surface and 8 while submerged and is designed with 10 torpedo tubes.
It commissioned on March 29, 1945 for World War II, saw action in the Korean and Cold War and was brought out of retirement on September 9, 1951 to serve as a training ship in San Diego, California.
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| A sunken ship is seen in Maui, Hawaii, U.S. |
The submarine was discovered by the Lost 52 Project, which searches for long-lost World War II ships and submarines.
During the drills, Stickleback lost power and began descending to the depths of the sea.
Emergency buoyancy ballast was added, which rapidly brought the vessel up to the surface and into the destroyer escort.
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| The submarine was discovered by the Lost 52 Project, which searches for long-lost World War II ships and submarines. Pictured is a scan of the submarine |
However, there were no fatalities in the crash.
A rescue team did attempt to bring the craft back to the surface, but its compartments had flooded making the feat impossible – leaving it there to be rediscovered 62 years later.
Last year, the Lost 52 Project discovered the lost war submarine that was sunk by Japanese forces more than 75 years ago.
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| It lost power during the drill, which forced it to dart towards the seabed and the crew used emergency power kicks to save it from a watery grave. The soldiers managed to bring Stickleback to the surface, but crashed into the destroyer escort USS Silverstein that sealed its fate |
Approximately 80 servicemen lost their lives in the event. The U.S.S. Grayback SS-208, hailed as one of the most successful American submarines of World War II, was patrolling the South Pacific and South China Sea when it mysteriously disappeared in February 1944.
The submarine left Pearl Harbor on January 28, 1944 for its 10th combat mission and failed to return to a nearby naval base in March. The Grayback torpedoed numerous enemy vessels, rescued downed American aviators, and sank more than a dozen Japanese ships during the war, according to the New York Times.
The Navy listed the submarine, which ranked as the 20th most successful sub in WWII, as missing and presumed lost.
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| The Stickleback is 311 feet long, hits 20 knots on the surface and 8 while submerged and is designed with 10 torpedo tubes |
After the war the Navy used Japanese military records to piece together the history of its lost subs. According to the 1949 record, the Navy believed the Grayback sunk in open ocean 100 miles east-southeast of Okinawa.
However, the sub was never found.
A breakthrough in the mystery came last year thanks to the findings of amateur Japanese researcher Yutaka Iwasaki and a discovery expedition led by Tim Taylor of the Lost 52 Project.
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| 80 servicemen died when the Grayback sank after an attack by Japanese forces |
He found that the Navy had been replying on a flawed translation of the Japanese war records that got one digit wrong in the latitude and longitude of the Grayback's last position.
He discovered Grayback had been hit 100 miles from the approximate location the Navy had listed.
