USS Nevada

[Subdeacon Joe]

 

 

The wreck of USS Nevada rests more than 15,000 feet below the Pacific, about 65 nautical miles southwest of Pearl Harbor. She lies upside down on the seabed, her hull plating peeled open in places and her frame showing through. The stern still bears the faintly visible painted numbers “36” and “140” from her atomic test days. Around the main hull stretches a wide debris field with fallen turrets, broken masts, bow fragments, and scattered test equipment, including an M26 Pershing tank once loaded aboard for radiation experiments. Despite deep-sea pressure and battle scars, the cold, dark water has kept parts of her structure relatively intact, slowing corrosion and preserving paint in patches.

 

USS Nevada’s long career ended after decades of service through two world wars. She survived Pearl Harbor’s attack in 1941 and later endured two nuclear blasts during the 1946 Bikini Atoll tests. Declared too damaged and radioactive to save, she was finally sunk as a gunnery and torpedo target on July 31, 1948. Her wreck remained undiscovered until 2020, when SEARCH Inc. and Ocean Infinity located her deep resting place—a battered but proud survivor that still bears the marks of fire, radiation, and war.

 

https://www.marinetechnologynews.com/news/nevada-shipwreck-located-601433

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Dr. Zook]

They built them 'VERY well" back then --- technically 'sunk' at Pearl Harbor, survived WW II, 2 Atomic bomb detonations and then wouldn't go down after being used as a 'gunnery' target until an air dropped torpedo sent her down.  

 

Interesting, while the sidescan sonar picture does show her upside down, the video appears to show her right side up *hull numbers and depth to keel markings* & the 40mm appears right side up in its mount.

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

The only thing that appeared upside down to me was the tank.  Everything else looked right side up amd all the numbers could be read correctly not upside down.

[Dr. Zook]

Absolutely, that's what I thought as well --- the sonar scans do show the keel, a very large hole thru her double bottom and her four propeller shafts at the stern in an upside-down position.  Looking at the sonar scan it shows what looks like a 40mm gun tub & mount off the starboard bow - maybe that's upright in the mud.  But I agree the hull #'s and depth to keel are right side up...

[Colorado Coffinmaker]

Apparently, the bow is/was no longer attached to the main hull.  That could account for the odd numbers and the Plimsoll numbers being right side up.  No matter, it's still a LONG way down there.