WWII USS New Orleans’ Lost Bow Found 80 Years After Battle of Tassafaronga

In a stunning underwater discovery, researchers have unearthed the severed bow of the USS New Orleans, a World War II U.S. Navy ship, nearly 83 years after it was blasted off during the ferocious Battle of Tassafaronga. Found 2,200 feet beneath the waves in the Solomon Islands’ Iron Bottom Sound, this relic of naval history was identified through meticulous teamwork, with experts analyzing its paint, structure, and anchor despite layers of marine growth and scattered debris.

The USS New Orleans was crippled in November 1942 when a Japanese Type 93 "Long Lance" torpedo detonated its forward magazines, tearing away nearly a third of the ship, including its bow. The explosion claimed over 180 lives, yet the crew’s heroic efforts kept the vessel afloat. Three sailors, posthumously awarded Navy Crosses, sacrificed their lives to stabilize the flooding ship. Using coconut logs, the crew jury-rigged the bow-less cruiser at Tulagi Harbor, enabling it to limp back to the U.S. for repairs.

“This ship should have sunk,” said Samuel J. Cox, Naval History and Heritage Command Director and retired Navy Rear Admiral. “But the crew’s grit made it the most battered U.S. cruiser to survive WWII.” The find, mapped by an uncrewed surface vehicle and explored by a deep-diving remotely operated vehicle, marks another chapter in uncovering WWII’s submerged stories, following last year’s discovery of the USS Edsall’s wreckage.