The wreck of a U.S. Navy submarine that “sank the most Japanese warships” during World War II has been found in the South China Sea after being missing for nearly 80 years.
The USS Harder, which vanished on Aug. 24, 1944, with 79 sailors onboard, has been discovered off Luzon island in the Philippines with the help of data provided by Tim Taylor, CEO of Tiburon Subsea and the Lost 52 Project, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC).
“We are grateful that Lost 52 has given us the opportunity to once again honor the valor of the crew of the ‘Hit ‘em HARDER’ submarine that sank the most Japanese warships — in particularly audacious attacks — under her legendary skipper, Cmdr. Sam Dealey,” NHHC Director Samuel J. Cox, a retired U.S. Navy rear admiral, said in a statement.
The submarine, which was commissioned in December 1942, made six war patrols before its sinking. In its fifth patrol, described by the NHHC as its “most successful,” it targeted Japanese destroyers “by sinking three of them and heavily damaging or destroying two others in four days.”
During its final patrol, the submarine attacked and destroyed three escort ships off the Philippines province of Baatan, with the help of fellow submarine USS Haddo.
“Japanese records later revealed Harder fired three torpedoes at CD-22,” another escort ship in the area, on Aug. 24, 1944, according to the NHHC.
“The Japanese ship evaded the torpedoes and began a series of depth charge attacks,” it added, with the “fifth depth charge attack sinking Harder and her crew.”
Following its service in World War II, the USS Harder received the Presidential Unit Citation and six battle stars, the NHHC says.
一艘在二战期间“击沉最多日本军舰”的美国海军潜艇残骸在失踪近 80 年后在南中国海被发现。 海军历史和遗产总部宣布，根据 Tiburon Subsea 和《失踪52项目》首席执行官蒂姆·泰勒提供的数据，在 1944 年 8 月 24 日失踪的 USS Harder 号上有 79 名水手，在菲律宾吕宋岛附近被发现。海军历史和遗产总部主任、退役美国海军少将塞缪尔·J·考克斯在一份声明中说道，“我们很感激《失踪52项目》让我们有机会再次向“Hit ’em HARDER”潜艇船员的英勇致敬，这艘潜艇在传奇船长萨姆·迪利的指挥下，以特别大胆的攻击击沉了最多的日本军舰。”该机构表示，哈德号航空母舰的残骸“搁置在超过 3,000 英尺的深度”，“除了指挥塔尾部受到深水炸弹损坏外，它的龙骨上相对完好”。 这艘潜艇于 1942 年 12 月服役，在沉没之前进行了六次战争巡逻。 海军历史和遗产总部称其第五次巡逻是“最成功的”，它以日本驱逐舰为目标，“在四天内击沉了其中三艘，并严重损坏或摧毁了另外两艘”。 在最后一次巡逻中，这艘潜艇在同级潜艇哈多号的帮助下，攻击并摧毁了菲律宾巴丹省附近的三艘护航舰。 海军历史和遗产总部称，“日本记录后来显示，哈德号于 1944 年 8 月 24 日向该地区的另一艘护卫舰 CD-22 发射了三枚鱼雷。” 声明补充说：“这艘日本舰艇躲避了鱼雷，并开始了一系列深水炸弹袭击，其中第五次深水炸弹袭击击沉了哈德号及其船员。” 海军历史和遗产总部表示，在第二次世界大战服役后，哈德号获得了总统集体嘉奖和六颗战星。
