A crew from the Texas-based salvage company Caladan Oceanic has found and documented the wreckage of the world's deepest known shipwreck, the USS Johnston.



The USS Johnston was commissioned on October 27 1943, with Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans in command. The Johnston was a Fletcher-class destroyer armed with torpedoes and guns no larger than 5-inch.

The USS Johnston was destroyed during WWII by the Japanese and sunk on October 25 1944 during the Battle off Samar in the Philippine Sea.

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Commander Evans and 185 of his crew members died while 141 survivors were rescued. Commander Evans would become the first Native American in the U.S. Navy's history, and only World War II destroyer commander, to receive the Medal of Honor.

According to a report from Business Insider, the wreckage was first discovered in October of 2019 more that 20,000 feet down. That would make it the deepest shipwreck ever found.

A crew from Caladan Oceanic took a vessel to map the wreckage.



The footage is haunting. It was filmed more than 20,000 feet deep, and the images it captured show the Johnston as it's never been seen.

Victor Vescovo, a retired Navy commander, led the expedition for Caladan and said no clothing or human remains were seen during the dives. At the end of the expedition, DSSV Pressure Drop, the vessel that made the dive, sounded its whistle and dropped a wreath in honor of the sailors that lost their lives there.

Vescovo said in a release, "In some ways, we have come full circle. The Johnston and our own ship were built in the same shipyard, and both served in the US Navy. As a US Navy officer, I'm proud to have helped bring clarity and closure to the Johnston, its crew, and the families of those who fell there."

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