WWII U.S. Cruiser Identified in Java Sea

News August 22, 2014

(U.S. Navy)
SHARE:
USS-Houston-Identified
(U.S. Navy)

PEARL HARBOR, HAWAII—The U.S. Navy History and Heritage Command announced that a vessel in the Java Sea is the cruiser USS Houston, which sank during the Battle of the Sunda Strait on February 28, 1942. Over the course of 19 dives earlier this year, U.S. Navy underwater archaeologists and Indonesian Navy divers surveyed the site and collected enough data to confirm the ship's identity. Nicknamed "The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast," the vessel is the final resting place of some 700 sailors and marines. To read more about the historical legacy of WWII, go to ARCHAEOLOGY's "Archaeology of World War II." 

  • Features July/August 2014

    The Tomb of the Silver Hands

    Long-buried evidence of an Etruscan noble family

    Read Article
    (Marco Merola)
  • Letter From Scotland July/August 2014

    Living on the Edge

    Were the residents of a Scottish hillside immoral squatters or hard-working farmers?

    Read Article
    (Jeff Oliver, University of Aberdeen)
  • Artifacts July/August 2014

    Neolithic Wand

    Read Article
    (Courtesy L.C. Tiera)
  • Digs & Discoveries July/August 2014

    The Video Game Graveyard

    Read Article
    (Photo: Taylor Hatmaker, Courtesy Andrew Reinhard)