Severed bow of famed U.S. ship torpedoed in WWII found on Pacific seafloor

The first of seven New Orleans-class heavy cruisers built during the 1930s, the USS New Orleans saw some of the heaviest fighting during the Pacific war, beginning on Dec. 7, 1941, at Pearl Harbor. The commanding officer wrote at the time that the crew helped thwart a dive-bombing attack by about 10 enemy planes, and "the action of the crew under fire was most commendable." USS New Orleans (CA-32), the flagship of the New Orleans class of heavy cruisers, was heavily damaged in the WWII Battle of Tassafarronga at Guadalcanal when hit by a Japanese torpedo, catastrophically detonating the forward magazines and tearing off nearly one-third of the ship, including the bow.

Author: Cara Tabachnick

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