is found. It is the deepest wreck ever to be located and explored at over 22,600 feet. Previously, the Destroyer, USS Johnston, was the deepest at over 21,200 feet. Both of these vessels were lost in the Battle of Samar. The Sammy B was nicknamed the Destroyer that fought like a Battleship.
Their fates were chronicled in the book, The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors by James Hornfischer. Great read, highly recommend it.
USS Samuel B. Roberts - (
New Window )
The Associated Press story on finding the Sammy B. had three - count them - THREE errors in it.
They called the Sammy B. a Destroyer, which it was not. A Destroyer Escort is a smaller, slower, much less heavily armed and generally less powerful ship than a real Destroyer which makes what the crew of the Sammy B. accomplished even more heroic.
The AP also misspelled the name of the equally heroic Destroyer Johnston by leaving out the t, a gross error in my book.
And finally, the AP claimed that the Sammy B. was hit by gunfire from the Japanese super Battleship Yamato, which is most probably not correct. Although the Battle off Samar was a chaotic free-for-all, it is generally felt that the Japanese Battleship Kongo hit and sank the Sammy B. while the Yamato was headed away from the fight to avoid American torpedoes.
On top of the gross error that we all had a good laugh about back a few years ago when the AP claimed that the U.S. Air Force had just made the first mid-air catch of an object being returned from space (as many BBI people knew, that technique has been used more or less continually since the 1960s, but AP didn't know it), it really makes you wonder what else AP isn't getting correct.
The Associated Press story on finding the Sammy B. had three - count them - THREE errors in it.
They called the Sammy B. a Destroyer, which it was not. A Destroyer Escort is a smaller, slower, much less heavily armed and generally less powerful ship than a real Destroyer which makes what the crew of the Sammy B. accomplished even more heroic.
The AP also misspelled the name of the equally heroic Destroyer Johnston by leaving out the t, a gross error in my book.
And finally, the AP claimed that the Sammy B. was hit by gunfire from the Japanese super Battleship Yamato, which is most probably not correct. Although the Battle off Samar was a chaotic free-for-all, it is generally felt that the Japanese Battleship Kongo hit and sank the Sammy B. while the Yamato was headed away from the fight to avoid American torpedoes.
On top of the gross error that we all had a good laugh about back a few years ago when the AP claimed that the U.S. Air Force had just made the first mid-air catch of an object being returned from space (as many BBI people knew, that technique has been used more or less continually since the 1960s, but AP didn't know it), it really makes you wonder what else AP isn't getting correct.
details are important - those who’ve fallen deserve an accurate account, and their story shouldn’t be polluted by lazy inaccuracies
The Associated Press story on finding the Sammy B. had three - count them - THREE errors in it.
They called the Sammy B. a Destroyer, which it was not. A Destroyer Escort is a smaller, slower, much less heavily armed and generally less powerful ship than a real Destroyer which makes what the crew of the Sammy B. accomplished even more heroic.
The AP also misspelled the name of the equally heroic Destroyer Johnston by leaving out the t, a gross error in my book.
And finally, the AP claimed that the Sammy B. was hit by gunfire from the Japanese super Battleship Yamato, which is most probably not correct. Although the Battle off Samar was a chaotic free-for-all, it is generally felt that the Japanese Battleship Kongo hit and sank the Sammy B. while the Yamato was headed away from the fight to avoid American torpedoes.
The Roberts was hit by the Kongo, that is correct - 14 inch rounds..
The Associated Press story on finding the Sammy B. had three - count them - THREE errors in it.
They called the Sammy B. a Destroyer, which it was not. A Destroyer Escort is a smaller, slower, much less heavily armed and generally less powerful ship than a real Destroyer which makes what the crew of the Sammy B. accomplished even more heroic.
The AP also misspelled the name of the equally heroic Destroyer Johnston by leaving out the t, a gross error in my book.
And finally, the AP claimed that the Sammy B. was hit by gunfire from the Japanese super Battleship Yamato, which is most probably not correct. Although the Battle off Samar was a chaotic free-for-all, it is generally felt that the Japanese Battleship Kongo hit and sank the Sammy B. while the Yamato was headed away from the fight to avoid American torpedoes.
On top of the gross error that we all had a good laugh about back a few years ago when the AP claimed that the U.S. Air Force had just made the first mid-air catch of an object being returned from space (as many BBI people knew, that technique has been used more or less continually since the 1960s, but AP didn't know it), it really makes you wonder what else AP isn't getting correct.
The press is a small microcosm of society as a whole. We’ve gotten lazy with everything basically at our finger tips. Need a toothbrush, order it from Amazon. Need coffee just drive through a star bucks. Need to figure out a formula for a math exam just Google it. Our society as a whole, really our species as a whole, has become lazy and less detailed/inquisitive.
Hell, even investigators have trouble looking into subjects when said person doesn’t have an online presence. When I went through the interview process with one of the big 4, they did a thorough background check. By law they have to share it with you. So i decided to read mine. It was quite brief. But the portion that stood out to me was the section about social media. It said, and I’m paraphrasing, “Applicant does not have any social media presence, whether it be Facebook, MySpace, Linked In, or any other major platforms of social media. Applicant should be questioned why he does not conform to societal norms. This made it more difficult then usual to identify behaviors and habits of said applicant. We see this as a red flag and should be investigated further to determine their qualification for this position.”
When I read that background check I was floored. If someone that is truly determined to get away with something awful these days, they are going to be able to skirt investigators for longer than what it used to be like in the past. An old gumshoe knew how to find clues and a trail of a criminal/target without the internet showing them where they were at a click of a button. But it was clear this guy was frustrated because I didn’t have an online presence and it probably made him look bad because his reports are usually much more thorough. Me and a fellow new employee compared reports after I told him my experience of the review of my report. His was around 3 pages long and mine was about 3/4 of a page. Hilarious.
USS Samuel B. Roberts.
USS Samuel B. Roberts.
and
USS Johnston
USS Johnston - ( New Window )
I recall from the articles I read online about this recent discovery, that the company responsible for locating the Sammy B and the Johnston may not search for the Hoel because it’s location was not as well documented. Great big ocean, real hard to find anything even with good information available. It sounded like their next search was for the Escort Carrier Gambier Bay which is the only U.S. aircraft carrier to be sunk by warship guns and not enemy aircraft.