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Shipwreck hunters have discover the remains of a illustrious American submarine that slump with 79 crew on board while fight a Japanese warship near the Philippines in 1944 .
fit in to the New York - based Lost 52 Project , which made the find , the wreck of USS Harder now lies on its keel on the bottom of the SouthChinaSea near the northern Filipino island of Luzon at a depth of around 3,750 animal foot ( 1,140 meters ) .
An octopus on the “conning” or command tower of the wreck of the American submarine USS Harder, which sank near the Philippines in 1944 after a battle with a Japanese destroyer.
Naval reports of the sub ’s last commission say the Harder — a Gato - class sub named after a type of fish ( the knockout grey mullet ) and dub the " Hit ' Em Harder " — sank with all gang on Aug. 24 , 1944 after it was heavily damaged by depth direction in a battle with a Nipponese destroyer .
The Harder was one of the most illustrious American submarines of World War II . U.S. Navy records account that it torpedoed and sink five Nipponese destroyers and several other enemy ships during six successful patrol in the Pacific war theatre of operations .
" This is one of the most storied WWII U-boat and an historic naval discovery,“Tim Taylor , the founder of the Lost 52 Project , say Live Science in an electronic mail .
USS Harder—known as the “Hit ‘Em Harder”—sank several enemy warships and was one of the most famous American submarines during World War II.(Image credit: Lost 52 Project)
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War grave
Taylor is the CEO of a companionship called Tiburon Subsea , which use autonomous underwater vehicle ( AUVs ) and other technologies to collect data at submerged sites . He also lead theLost 52 Project , which aims to locate the wreck of the 52 American hero sandwich lost at sea during World War II andfour lost during the Cold War .
The mathematical group has already located the wrecks of eight vessel , making the wreck of USS Harder their ninth find , Taylor said . Each of the underwater wrecks is also a warfare tomb for the crewmembers who die when it sink , and the missing gang of the Harder were remembered for their service when the wreck was find .
" We have a protocol that , when we locate a submarine , we memorialize the gang , " Taylor said . " We maintain a minute of secretiveness , ring the Melville Bell for every member of the crew and have a supplication service led by a deacon who is part of our expedition squad . "
The wreck lies upright on the seafloor at a depth of about 3,800 feet. It was found by studying reports of its final battle, and by searching suitable sites with sonar and autonomous underwater vehicles.(Image credit: Lost 52 Project)
The team located the wreck by examine study of its concluding battle and then searching suitable areas with shipboard sonar , which can reveal objects on the seafloor , and AUVs , which can go much deeper than human divers .
But even after they take steps to make the hunt patterns as effective as potential , " It is a prospicient and arduous process , like looking for a acerate leaf in a hayrick , " Taylor say .
Sunken sub
The uttermost depth of the wreck meant that AUV searches were all important , although a period of comparatively good weather in recent week made the lookup light .
The Harder crash is too deep to be visited by divers , and the U.S. Navy has point the shipwreck as a protected internet site . " The wreck represent the final resting station of sailors that gave their life in defense team of the nation and should be value by all parties as a warfare grave , " the Navy said ina statement .
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The “Lost 52 Project” that found the wreck aims to locate all 52 American submarines that went missing during World War II and four that sank during the Cold War.(Image credit: Lost 52 Project)
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Taylor added that the AUV epitome show that the vessel appear to be in beneficial condition . " The hoagy is relatively intact , minus the damage done by the depth charges , " he said .
USS Harder was one of the most celebrated American submarines of World War II. It sank several Japanese warships and received a Presidential Unit Citation.
And now , after 80 years under the waves , the wreck seems to be a flourishing home for sea living , including an octopus that Taylor saw in the AUV figure .
" It is a protect gravesite for 79 US WWII sailors , but there is a luck of biography on the submarine , " he read . " It ’s quite sinful . "
