Lost for Over Eight Decades: The Sunken WWII Japanese Destroyer Finally Uncovered—What Secrets Does It Hold?
The Teruzuki was discovered during a project conducted by multiple institutions, including Ocean Exploration Trust, the Naval History and Heritage Command, and NOAA Ocean Exploration. The wreck was found near the island of Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, in an area nicknamed “Iron Bottom Sound” due to all the World War II wrecks that lie there.
The Discovery Of The Teruzuki On The Floor Of “Iron Bottom Sound”
Ocean Exploration TrustThe ship was found in an area where more than 100 vessels went down during World War II.
The Teruzuki was discovered more than 2,600 feet below the surface of the sea, according to a statement from the Naval History and Heritage Command. It was found between the islands of Guadalcanal, Savo, and Nggela in the Solomon Islands.
This area was called “Iron Bottom Sound” by soldiers during World War II due to the large number of ships that sank there. From August to December 1942, five major battles took place there, resulting in the losses of 111 vessels, 1,450 planes, and more than 20,000 lives.
The wreck of the Teruzuki was first found by the uncrewed ship DriX, operated by the University of New Hampshire, while conducting scans of the seafloor in order to map the site.
“We didn’t know what it was,” said Larry Mayer, director of the Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping at the University of New Hampshire. “It hadn’t been identified before.”
Later, researchers sent two remotely-operated vehicles down to the wreck to capture high-quality photos to determine what the vessel was and who it belonged to. The team was able to confirm that the ship they found was the Teruzuki thanks to high-quality images and other historical analysis.
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