US Warship Destroyer Wreck Found Off Australian Coast after 80 Years

Sydney, Australia - A historic US warship that played a crucial role in World War II has been discovered in the depths of the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia. The USS Edsall, a destroyer that sank in 1942 during a fierce battle with the Imperial Japanese Navy, has been found by officials using advanced hydrographic survey capabilities.

Announcing the discovery of the wreck, US Ambassador to Australia Caroline Kennedy on Monday said that Lieutenant Joshua Nix and his crew fought bravely and managed to evade over 1,400 shells from Japanese battleships and cruisers. Despite being attacked by 26 carrier dive bombers, the ship took only one fatal hit before sinking.

The discovery was made possible with the help of the naval support ship MV Stoker, and was confirmed by Vice Admiral Mark Hammond, who praised the Edsall crew for their contributions to protecting Australia during a critical period in World War II. "Their major efforts were instrumental in helping to defend our nation," he said.

According to official records from the US Naval History and Heritage Command, Lieutenant Nix spotted the USS Edsall by a Japanese carrier-based plane around 200 miles south-southeast of Christmas Island on March 1, 1942. Despite being within striking distance, the ship's 4-inch guns were no match for the latest Japanese fleet of bigger guns and dozens of aircraft that could carry 500-pound bombs.

The US destroyer was commissioned in 1920 but was outgunned and outmanned by the Japanese warships. As the attack progressed, Nix chose to make a final stand, allowing the ship to become a rammed into one of the enemy ships as a gesture of defiance.

"We will try a last, desperate measure. We will fire and sink," Cox wrote in an account of the events leading up to the sinking of the USS Edsall.

Eventually, the warship sank after being targeted by dozens of Japanese dive bombers and receiving multiple hits from Japanese fire.