Japanese scientists have found the wreckage of the USS Albacore, one of the most successful American submarines of World War II, off the island of Hokkaido, where it sank after hitting a mine in November 1944.

The US Navy has confirmed that the wreckage discovered near the Japanese island of Hokkaido belongs to the USS Albacore submarine, livescience.com reported on Thursday, citing Agerpres.

The American submarine is believed to have sunk on November 7, 1944, when several Japanese ships detected an underwater explosion in the area, which probably caused the USS Albacore to strike a sea mine. The USS Albacore was on a patrol mission at the time and all 85 crew members were killed.

Japanese researchers from a group working for a non-profit organization discovered the sunken ship last year. Tamaki Ura, professor emeritus of engineering at the University of Tokyo and director of the La Plongée Society for Deep Sea Engineering, told Live Science that the main reason for searching for the wreckage is due to the large number of lives lost in the wake of the submarine. sunk

Preparations for this project began in 2019, but the original study, scheduled for 2020, had to be postponed until 2022 due to restrictions against COVID-19, Tamaki Ura said in an email.

The successes of the submarine

According to US Navy archives, the USS Albacore was one of the most successful American submarines of World War II, with 10 confirmed sinkings of enemy ships and three unconfirmed. Six of the 10 confirmed dives were on battleships, and the submarine was awarded nine battle stars and four Presidential Commendations for extraordinary heroism.

USS Albacore’s most famous battle took place in June 1944, when it succeeded in sinking the aircraft carrier Taiho – at the time Japan’s newest and largest aircraft carrier – near Saipan, the largest island, with a torpedo from the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The islands, occupied at that time by Japan and currently have the status of an unincorporated territory of the United States.

Strong currents, marine vegetation and poor visibility in the area made it difficult to fully document the wreck, according to a statement from the US Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).

But several different modifications, including a radar antenna and a series of vents placed on the upper level of the submarine, helped scientists confirm that the wreckage found belonged to the USS Albacore.

Military grave

A U.S. Navy official said the loss of 85 crew members on the USS Albacore equates to the sunken ship being a war grave and therefore protected by U.S. law.

According to the same spokesman, Lt. Ian McConaughey, the depth at which the wreckage is located makes it almost impossible for divers to reach it, and the NHHC has no plans to explore the wreckage further.

According to CNN, following the discovery of the former submarine, the Pearl Harbor-based organization On Eternal Patrol was able to locate and notify the surviving families of 76 of the 85 crew members who died on the USS Albacore.