A legendary US Navy submarine from World War II has been found some 80 years after it was sunk by enemy forces – along with 79 crew members.
The USS Harder was lost in battle on August 24, 1944, as the US attempted to retake the Philippines from occupying Japanese forces.
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The submarine was discovered in the South China Sea, situated 3,000 feet underwater off the island of Luzon in the northern Philippines, the U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command (NHHC) revealed this week.
It was found upright and intact except for damage behind its conning tower reportedly inflicted by a Japanese depth charge.
Harder sank two Japanese escort ships off the Bataan Peninsula on August 22, 1944, and was proceeding north along the coast of Luzon with two other submarines when arrived by the Japanese escort ship CD-22.
The missing submarine fired three torpedoes, all of which missed their target. targetbefore being sunk by the Japanese ship’s fifth depth charge attack, according to Japanese records cited by NHHC.
Retired U.S. Navy Admiral, NHHC Director Samuel Cox said, “Harder was lost in the course of the victory.
“We must not forget that victory has a price, just like freedom.”
The sinking of the Harder was confirmed by data provided by a project called Lost 52, which aims to find all 52 submarines lost in World War II.
Lost 52 has already located six World War II submarines, the NHHC said.
Cox said, “We are grateful that Lost 52 gave us the opportunity to once again honor the valor of the crew of the submarine ‘Hit ’em Harder,’” referring to the ship’s motto.
The wreck is considered by the NHHC “the final resting place of the sailors who gave their lives in defense of the nation and should be respected by all parties as a war grave.”
Formerly a US territory, the Philippines was attacked by Japan after striking Pearl Harbor in December 1941.
U.S. and Philippine forces on Luzon surrendered to Japanese forces in 1942, and Tokyo used the captured archipelago to protect its supply lines from the East Indies and Southeast Asia.
By mid-1944, the US was delaying Japanese gains in the Pacific and planned to do the same in the Philippines.
Harder’s captain, Commander Samuel Dealey, was posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor for his actions on the submarine’s fifth patrol – from March to July 1944 – during which Harder sank three Japanese destroyers in just four days, according to the National Medal of Honor Museum.
The attack on Tokyo’s destroyers forced Japan to change its battle plans and delay its aircraft carrier force, which would have contributed to the country’s defeat.
One particularly harrowing encounter saw Dealey order a shot “in the throat” in the bow of a Japanese destroyer as it advanced toward the U.S. ship, according to the museum.
The museum said: “At 1,500 yards, Dealey fired three torpedoes and ordered the submarine to dive.
“As the Harder passed 25 meters below the destroyer, two of the torpedoes struck the ship, sending shock waves through the submarine.”
Harder reportedly sank 14 Japanese warships and merchant ships in his first four patrols after being commissioned in December 1942.
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