The heroic USS Edsall found at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean after 82 years

USS Edsall, which due to its agile maneuvers, it was called the “dancing mouse” by the Japanesesank on March 1, 1942 in a clash with the Imperial Japanese Navy. The destroyer, under the command of Lieutenant Joshua Nix, then fought against overwhelming enemy forces, destroying battleships and Japanese air forces, but despite the odds being stacked against it, it dodged over 1,400 shells before being attacked by 26 bombers, one of which finally hit it.

USS Edsall It was already an obsolete unit, introduced into service in 1920, and its armament could not be compared to modern Japanese ships. equipped with larger guns and planes carrying 226 kg bombs. However, Lieutenant Nix did not give up without a fight, and as Caroline Kennedy, the US ambassador to Australia, argues, “he and his crew fought with unparalleled courage, even though their situation was hopeless from the moment they were noticed by the Japanese.”

As Samuel Cox, director of the US Naval History and Heritage Command, reports, in the last act of resistance, Nix ordered a smoke screen and changed course, trying to avoid the missiles. USS Edsall even fired torpedoes that almost hit one of the Japanese ships, but the bomber attacks weakened the destroyer’s maneuverability. The captain, seeing the hopelessness of the situation, ordered the ship to be abandoned and then turned it towards the Japanese units, performing a symbolic resistance maneuver.

Most of the 216 people on board – including 185 sailors and 31 US Air Force pilots – died when the ship sank. Some of the survivors were caught by the Japanese and taken prisoner. After the war, the graves of six crew members were discovered on the Indonesian island of Celebes (now Sulawesi), where five unidentified bodies were also found, which probably belonged to American pilots.

As a result, the history of the USS Edsall has been described as “one of the boldest actions in U.S. naval history,” and historian Trent Hone called the 1942 battle “the most heroic independent action by a U.S. naval surface vessel.” Adm. Lisa Franchetti, chief of U.S. naval operations, also expressed her appreciation, saying that Commander Edsall implemented the “Never Give Up the Ship” principle even in the face of overwhelming odds. She emphasized that finding the wreck is not only a historic discovery, but also an important symbol of trans-Pacific cooperation.

Because it is worth noting that at least the history of the Edsall was remembered, the exact location of the ship’s sinking remained unknown until now. Only the use of advanced underwater technologies available on board the Australian support ship MV Stoker allowed it to be located, recalling the sacrifice of sailors and the dramatic events that took place at the beginning of World War II.

Source: geekweek.interia.pl

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