19/12/1939 Columbus SS (+1939) wreck: On a voyage from Vera Cruz to Oslo, the German liner Columbus was found by British destroyer HMS Hyperion. The US Navy confirms a wreck on the bottom of the Java sea is the USS Houston, sunk by the Japanese in World War Two with as many as 700 men aboard. The Wreck of the USS Riptide is a wreckage Location in the central area of The Commonwealth. To date, they have already uncovered the location of USS Ward (DD-139), USS Indianapolis (CA-35), USS Lexington (CV-2), and USS Juneau (CL-52), among others. Still, the pair of Perth and Houston have fared better than Dutch, British and U.S. ships that have been raided and scrapped in the last years in the Java Sea. At 17:30 Admiral Doorman turned south toward the Java coast, to attack Japanese transports. constrainInput: false, She was launched on 21 March 1981 sponsored by Barbara Bush, wife of … }); USS Houston Wreck Found in Pacific Ocean August 19, 2014 On the night of February 28, 1942, the USS Houston, nicknamed “The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast,” was engaged in a naval skirmish in the Battle of Sunda Strait off the coast of Java. “We take very seriously our obligation to remember the service of American and allied sailors who have made the ultimate sacrifice in defense of freedom. We’ll do everything we can, and work with everyone we must, to safeguard their final resting places.”. The Japanese beat back Allied forces from former colonial holdings in Southeast Asia. The Navy has officially confirmed that a wreck in the Java Sea is that of the USS Houston, which sank in 1942. A separate survey found Royal Navy cruiser HMS Exeter and destroyer HMS Encounter have been totally removed, while the destroyer HMS Electra has been picked over. … Caption: 141014-N-WZ747-087 JAVA SEA (Oct. 14, 2014 ) Naval officers from Australia, Indonesia and the United States participate in a wreath-laying ceremony aboard the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40) in honor of the crews of the U.S. Navy heavy cruiser USS Houston (CA 30) and the Royal Australian Navy light cruiser HMAS Perth (D29). US Navy Photo. '&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src= height: 1em !important; [CDATA[ !function(d,s,id){var js,fjs=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],p=/^http:/.test(d.location)? Perth, HNLMS De Ruyter, HMS Exeter, HNLMS Java plus ten destroyers, encountered a Japanese support force of four cruisers and 13 destroyers during the late afternoon. Captain Albert Rooks was killed by a bursting shell at 12:30am and as the ship came to a stop Japanese destroyers moved in machine gunning the decks. on the "Death Railway" in Thailand. [CDATA[ !function(a,b,c){function d(a,b){var c=String.fromCharCode;l.clearRect(0,0,k.width,k.height),l.fillText(c.apply(this,a),0,0);var d=k.toDataURL();l.clearRect(0,0,k.width,k.height),l.fillText(c.apply(this,b),0,0);var e=k.toDataURL();return d===e}function e(a){var b;if(!l||!l.fillText)return!1;switch(l.textBaseline="top",l.font="600 32px Arial",a){case"flag":return! changeYear: false, Location: Sam Houston Park The U.S.S. googletag.cmd.push(function() { British and Dutch officials have registered complaints with Jakarta over the salvage of the ships and implored the Indonesian government to do more to stop the illicit salvage, according to press reports. He served in the utility unit of the U.S.S. The Department of the Navy has more than 17,000 sunken ships and aircraft around the world, the majority from World War II. build(); The Dutch have also suffered loses – light cruiser HNLMS De Ruyter and cruiser HNLMS Java have had significant sections removed from the wrecks, and the destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer is completely gone. Next, HMS Exeter and HMS Electra were hit by gunfire, Electra sustaining several hits and sinking shortly after. This week, US Navy divers confirmed the location of the wreck of the USS Houston in Banten Bay off the Java Sea. Houston. /* ]]> */ The Japanese fired torpedoes sinking De Ruyter and Java. It is the scene of an annual commemoration of the sailors who died in the sinking of the Houston in the Sunda Strait, March 1, 1942, by the Japanese Navy. USS Houston, a Northampton-class light cruiser, was commissioned in June 1930. Long 106.7.55E. A recently released Navy report on the USS Houston wreck site calls for protective measures to avoid “increased risk of desecration of human remains, serious structural damage to the wreck… References If you are able, please consider supporting USNI News so we can make 2021 a fantastic year for naval news coverage. googletag.pubads().collapseEmptyDivs(); February 13, 2017 11:56 AM • Updated: February 14, 2017 8:54 AM. [CDATA[ Memorial plaque at Rockingham Naval Memorial Park in Western Australia. format = format.replace(/yyyy/i, 'yy'); //