Decades After The Vessel Sank, Experts Explored The Eerie Remains Of The Deepest-Known Shipwreck
Deeper and deeper into the gloom the Limiting Factor descends. Pilot Victor Vescovo has taken her 4 miles down beneath the surface of the Pacific Ocean. In the murky, frigid waters, nothing moves, and there is nothing to see. Until suddenly the faint shape of a ship looms up. Is this at last the USS Johnston?
It’s certain that the wreck in front of Vescovo is one of the ships that sank during action off the coast of Samar Island in the Philippines. But it’s not certain which one. It will take a careful survey of the ship, becoming more clearly visible in the deep waters of the Pacific.
Vescovo pilots the Limiting Factor ever deeper. More of the ship’s bow becomes clear to him. Although these depths are dark and silent, he can clearly make out the ship’s armaments: its gun turrets and its torpedo racks. And finally, Vescovo is able to find proof of which ship has been found.
The USS Johnston was one among many – a Fletcher-class destroyer just like 174 others built during World War II. She was given her name to honor John V. Johnston, a Civil War lieutenant of clear bravery. And despite her light armament, she too would add to the luster of the Johnston name.
The Johnston went down during a fierce conflict against the Japanese near Samar Island in the Philippines. It happened as part of the Battle of Leyte Gulf, which was a battle of enormous scope. So large, in fact, that it’s been called the biggest ever. In the bigger battle, the United States had an edge, but at Samar, the Americans were outnumbered and outgunned.
