Wreck of USS Houston identified in Sunda Strait

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paulcadogan
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Wreck of USS Houston identified in Sunda Strait

Post by paulcadogan »

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article ... uston.html

Seems the wreck has been known for some time and has already been violated by souvenir hunters, but only now has been positively identified as Houston.
Qui invidet minor est - He who envies is the lesser man
Dod Grile
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Re: Wreck of USS Houston identified in Sunda Strait

Post by Dod Grile »

A non-story, really. This "confirmation" has more to do with catchy headlines for cyber-consumption & current politics than WWII naval history. But, this began when some exceptionally egregious salvage operations recently ravaged the wreck of PERTH and the same was feared would happen to CA-30...especially when newly-pilfered artifacts from her began appearing in local markets...

However, HOUSTON's last resting place has been well-established for years now--with divers visiting her frequently. Local fishermen have known of the wreck for decades and all of the really valuable metal from her was stolen many, many years ago. The ship's bell was recovered in 1973, along with other artifacts, and presented to the US ambassador in Indonesia (Francis Galbraith). That same bell has rested atop a 16' high red granite obelisk memorial in her namesake city for the past 19 years. In April 1993 the nuclear attack submarine HOUSTON (SSN-713) cruised through the Sunda Strait area & into the Java Sea and laid a wreath over the cruiser's location...and you can be certain the submarine knew precisely where both HOUSTON and PERTH were located.

As a note of possible historical interest, the Japanese located both cruisers the day after they were sunk in March, 1942 with the sonar of an old IJN minelayer that was attached to their Western Invasion convoy--and which had been inadvertently caught up in the chaotic nighttime battle off Bantam Bay.
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paulcadogan
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Re: Wreck of USS Houston identified in Sunda Strait

Post by paulcadogan »

Thanks Dod.... Your explanation makes perfect sense! But the next question is why the "non-story"? Misguided reporting or is there really some "agenda"?
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paulcadogan
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Re: Wreck of USS Houston identified in Sunda Strait

Post by paulcadogan »

Just to illustrate how crazy the Daily Mail article is, here's a description of dives on Houston and Perth by Kevin Denlay published in 2005 (scroll to P. 26)!

http://www.advanceddivermagazine.com/_P ... master.pdf

He mentions Exeter, Encounter and Pope at the end as not having been found yet. They were located in 2007 (Exeter, Encounter) and 2008 (Pope).
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Dod Grile
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Re: Wreck of USS Houston identified in Sunda Strait

Post by Dod Grile »

Hi,

The navy's story is not so crazy, even if the language used was poor (although not nearly as bad as that in the LA Times.)

Here is a major component in the ID business: the wreck is now so badly mangled by salvagers that it is actually difficult to recognize as HOUSTON...Apparently this explains some of the ID problems.

They have really done a job on her, and of course no one has been proactively guarding or watching the site---nor is it likely that they will. That's not realistic. What will become of those who are responsible for destroying the wreck remains to be seen...
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