There Is a Book on German Blockade Runners of World War II and No-Longer the Deepest Wreck Found

There is a book about the German blockade runners of World War II  "Axis Blockade Runners of World War II" by Martin Brice. 

The USS Omaha (CL-4) captured one of the German blockade runners and caused two others to sink.

**************************

Also, earlier I wrote that the SS Rio Grande was the deepest-shipwreck ever found.  It was, until the wreck of the destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557) was located.

On October 25, 1944, the Johnston and  two other destroyers and four  destroyer escorts were engaged by a large Japanese fleet in what is known as the Battle of Samar.  The Johnston and other American ships managed to drive the Japanese off, but the Johnston was sunk with  loss of 187 men.

The Johnston's wreck was discovered  on 30 October  2019, but not positively identified until March 2021.  Lying  more than 20,000 feet below the ocean surface, it is the  deepest shipwreck ever discovered.

(21,180 feet)

--GreGen

'Deepest Wreck', USS Johnston (DD-557), Located-- Part 2

The explorers located the front 2.3 of the USS Johnston in 6,456 meters.  Three of the crew were on the two dives. That front was upright and intact.  They gave their respects to the crew members entombed in the wreck."

Only  141 of the ship's crew survived according to U.S. Navy records.

The Caladan Oceanic company backed the expedition found the bow, bridge and mid-section in tact and with the #557 still visible.  It was the number that definitely revealed the name of the ship

Two full 5-imch gun turrets, twin torpedo racks and multiple gun  mounts remain in place.

The ship still bore damage from the battle that sank it.

Team navigator and historian  Parks Stephenson said the Johnston had taken fire " from the largest warship ever constructed, the Imperial Japanese  battleship Yamato."

Sonar data, imagery and field notes will be turned over to the U.S. Navy.

--GreGen

'Deepest Wreck Dive' Reaches U.S. Destroyer Off the Philippines-- Part 1: Destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557)

From the April 4, 2021, Japan Times.

A U.S. Navy destroyer sunk during World War II and lying 6,500 meters below the surface off the Philippines has been reached in what is considered to be the world's deepest  shipwreck dive.

An American submersible filmed, photographed and surveyed the wreckage of the USS Johnston off Samar Island during two eight-hour dives completed late last month.  This was a project by the Texas-based  undersea technology company Caladan Oceanic.

The 115-meter-long ship was sunk on October 25, 1944, during the Battle of Leyte Gulf as U.S. forces fought to liberate he Philippines, then an American colony, from Japanese occupation.

It's location in the Philippine Sea was discovered in 2019 by another expedition but most of the wreck was beyond the depth its  remotely operated-operated vehicle could go.

--GreGen

Naval Wreckage Found Off Philippines: Might Be the Wreck of the Destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557)

From the November 1, 2019, Archaeology publication.  U.S. Naval Institute News "World War II-Era wreckage  found in the Philippines."

Discovered over 20,000 feet deep in the Philippine Sea and may be all that is left of the destroyer USS Johnston (DD-557) which was sunk during the Battle of Samar on October 25, 1944.

It was found by a team of researchers from Vulcan Inc, a company founded by the late philanthropist Paul Allen.

During the battle, four Japanese battleships surprised the Johnston and other U.S. ships supporting troop landings on Leyte.  Only 141  of the Johnston's crew of 327 survived.

The wreckage includes unidentifiable pieces of twisted metal, a gun deck and a propeller shaft.  It will be necessary to find part of the ship's hull with the identification number or crew personal effects in order to positively id the ship.  Another Fletcher-Class destroyer, the USS Hoel (DD-533) was also in the area at the time of the battle and sunk.

There was a lot of confusion at the battle.

Always a Great Thing to Locate One of the Sunken Warships.  --GreGen