Explorers find torpedoes, bell from U.S. destroyer that sank with 167 crew on board during WWII

Explorers on a quest to study a famed wartime shipwreck site have discovered new artifacts from one lost American destroyer. The USS DeHaven, which was sunk during an attack off the Solomon Islands in World War II, still has torpedoes and a bell that are still largely intact, according to the Ocean Exploration Trust, a nonprofit that recently surveyed and filmed the wreckage with remotely operated vehicles.

The DeHaven went down in February 1943, after operating out of Guadalcanal throughout the U.S. military campaign there, according to the Destroyer History Foundation. The ship was bombed multiple times and eventually sank, with 167 crew members on board, near Iron Bottom Sound, a section of the ocean near the Solomon Islands known for its WWII-era shipwrecks.

The Ocean Exploration Trust set out to learn more about the maritime history of Guadalcanal and Iron Bottom Sound — the site of five pivotal naval battles between August and December 1942. The team used a sonar device to locate wreckage from the surface of the sea before dispatching a pair of remotely operated vehicles down to the seabed.

Those ROVs were able to capture high-resolution footage of what remains of the DeHaven, more than 80 years after it plunged to the ocean floor. Video of the expedition has now been published online.

During their mission, explorers identified a number of relics among the wreckage of the DeHaven, including propellers, artillery and torpedo mounts, and multiple torpedo warheads, the organization said. They also spotted the ship’s bell with help from viewers watching a livestream of the deep-sea initiative, which the organization called “a very unique sighting.” 

Team leaders said the data gathered from the project can provide important frameworks for historians, as well as resource managers of heritage areas “to understand this site’s history and future.” The Ocean Exploration Trust partnered with NOAA Ocean Exploration, the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, the Solomon Islands Government and a number of archaeological centers at universities around the world to help carry out the expedition. 

The Ocean Exploration Trust has explored the wreckage of World War II warships in the Solomon Islands before. Its teams recently discovered a famed Japanese destroyer sunk by U.S. torpedoes as well as the severed bow of another well-known American warship called the USS New Orleans, which also sank in the Iron Bottom Sound.