US Navy validates final resting place of WWII submarine S-28

Image: US Navy
Image: US Navy – USS S-28 in 1943

The US Navy has validated an area at a water depth of approximately 2,600 metres off Oahu, Hawaii, as the final resting place of the World War II-era S-class submarine USS S-28.

The wreck was first discovered by Tim Taylor’s Lost 52 Expedition Team in 2017. However, it was only recently that the navy officially confirmed the wreck to be that of S-28, which was lost at sea along with its entire crew of 49 on July 4, 1944.

Through the use of assets such as deepwater autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), the Lost 52 Project members and the US Naval History and Heritage Command were able to confirm the identity of the submarine, the fourth World War II-era US Navy submarine to be discovered by Tim Taylor’s expedition team since 2010.

S-28 was lost while participating in an anti-submarine warfare (ASW) exercise off Oahu on July 4, 1944. The submarine last made radio contact at around 18:20 local time on that date, and all attempts to reestablish communications with it ended in failure.

The exact cause of the submarine’s loss remains unknown to this day.


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