The world's deepest shipwreck has been discovered almost 80 years after it was sunk during World War II.
USS Destroyer Escort Samuel B. Roberts, known colloquially as the Sammy B, was defeated by the Japanese in a bloody sea battle east of the Philippines on October 25 1944.
It was carrying 224 crew when it sank, of whom 89 were killed.
Now the heroic ship has finally been found lying 22,621 feet (4.21 miles) below the surface of the ocean in the Philippine Sea, beating the previous record set by the USS Johnston found at 21,223 feet.
Victor Vescovo, an explorer who also found the USS Johnston last year, located the wreck on June 22 after making six unsuccessful dives searching for the wreck.
It had broken into two pieces, lying about 33 feet from each other on the sea bed.
Earlier records pointing to the ships' location had been inaccurate, but Vescovo, his company Caladan oceanic and a team from EYOS Expeditions used a custom-built sidescan solar system to track it down.
"The Sammy B is a small vessel as military ships go, and we weren't really sure that we could find her in the vast and extremely deep ocean where she went down," he told CNN.
"But with perseverance, some great historical analysis, and a whole lot of deep ocean technology and hard work, we were able to find her and provide a great opportunity to tell her amazing story," he said.
"It is unbelievably thrilling to find a wreck on the bottom of the deep ocean, given all the difficulties in trying to find them. It is such an immense privilege to be the first person to see them after they went down in battle almost 80 years ago."
The heroic crew of the Sammy B were "completely outclassed" by three Japanese battleships including one thought to be the biggest ever built, but fought on valiantly until she went down.
"The heroism of her captain and crew is legendary in the Navy, and it was a great honor to find her final resting place," Vescoco said.
"I think it helps bring closure to the story of the ship, for the families of those who were lost and those who served on her. I think that having a ship vanish into the depths, never to be seen again, can leave those affiliated with the ship feeling a sense of emptiness.
"Finding the wrecks can help bring closure, and also bring details about the battle that perhaps we didn't know before. As we say, 'Steel doesn't lie.'"
There are hopes the new Deep Ocean Search sidescan sonar will be able to go right to the very bottom of the ocean and locate more long-lost shipwrecks in future.
