Whereas working within the Sulu Sea, Ommaney Bay was hit and finally mortally wounded by a twin-engine Japanese suicide aircraft on Jan. 4, 1945.
NHHC’s Underwater Archaeology Department used a mix of survey data supplied by the Sea Scan Survey staff and video footage supplied by the DPT Scuba dive staff, to verify the identification of Ommaney Bay. This data correlated with location knowledge for the wreck web site supplied to NHHC in 2019 by Vulcan, LLC (previously Vulcan, Inc.).
“Ommaney Bay is the ultimate resting place of American Sailors who made the last word sacrifice in protection of their nation,” mentioned NHHC Director Samuel J. Cox, U.S. Navy rear admiral (retired). “It’s with honest gratitude that I thank the Sea Scan Survey staff; Mick Stefurak, Neil “Snake” Krumbeck and Joe Brothers for confirming the placement of this wreck web site. We’d additionally prefer to thank the staff of Australian divers from DPT Scuba; David Tipping, Chris McCran, Aimee McCran, Samir Alhafith, Heeman Lee and John Wood for his or her deep diving experience and help figuring out the Ommaney Bay. This discovery
permits the households of these misplaced some quantity of closure and offers us all one other likelihood to recollect and honor their service to our nation.”
The Japanese kamikaze crashed into Ommaney Bay’s starboard facet, releasing two bombs and inflicting extreme harm. A sequence of explosions had been brought on by one of many bombs that entered the flight deck and detonated beneath, among the many fully-gassed plane within the ahead third of the hanger deck. The second bomb exploded near the starboard facet after rupturing the fireplace predominant on the second deck and passing by way of the hanger deck.
The order to desert ship was given as the opportunity of saved torpedo warheads exploding at any second elevated. A complete of 95 Sailors had been misplaced, together with two personnel from an aiding destroyer who had been killed when the torpedo warheads on Ommaney Bay lastly went off.
Ommaney Bay obtained two battle stars for her World Warfare II service.
The wreck of Ommaney Bay is a U.S. sunken army craft protected by U.S. regulation and underneath the jurisdiction of the Division of the Navy. Whereas non-intrusive actions, comparable to distant sensing documentation, on U.S. Navy sunken army craft are allowed, any exercise which will consequence within the disturbance of a sunken army craft have to be coordinated with NHHC and, if acceptable, approved by way of a related allowing program. Most significantly, the wreck represents the ultimate resting place of Sailors who gave their life in protection of the nation and needs to be revered by all events as a warfare grave. For extra data on Ommaney Bay, go to https://www.historical past.navy.mil/analysis/histories/ship-histories/danfs/o/ommaney_bay.html
For historic imagery of Ommaney Bay, please go to the next hyperlinks:
https://www.historical past.navy.mil/content material/historical past/nhhc/our-collections/pictures/alphabetical—donations0/b/ua-467-10-bob-brennan-collection-.html
https://www.historical past.navy.mil/content material/historical past/nhhc/our-collections/pictures/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-86000/NH-86336.html
https://www.historical past.navy.mil/content material/historical past/nhhc/our-collections/pictures/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-89000/NH-89350.html
https://www.historical past.navy.mil/content material/historical past/nhhc/our-collections/pictures/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-43000/NH-43063.html
https://www.historical past.navy.mil/content material/historical past/nhhc/our-collections/pictures/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-106000/NH-106820-A.html
https://www.historical past.navy.mil/content material/historical past/nhhc/our-collections/pictures/numerical-list-of-images/nhhc-series/nh-series/NH-106000/NH-106820.html
NHHC UAB is chargeable for setting coverage and managing the U.S. Navy’s practically 3,000 shipwrecks and over 15,000 plane wrecks. They maintain maritime archaeological and conservation experience and are outfitted to conduct analysis on sunken army craft; handle a conservation and curation facility that stabilizes, analyzes, and homes a group of artifacts recovered from sunken army craft; and interact in an expansive array of public outreach efforts, together with partnering with the diving neighborhood.
NHHC, situated on the Washington Navy Yard, is chargeable for preserving, analyzing, and disseminating U.S. naval historical past and heritage. It offers the data basis for the Navy by sustaining traditionally related sources and merchandise that replicate the Navy’s distinctive and enduring contributions by way of our nation’s historical past and helps the fleet by aiding with and delivering skilled analysis, evaluation, and interpretive providers. NHHC includes many actions, together with the Navy Division Library, the Navy Operational Archives, the Navy artwork and artifact collections, underwater archeology, Navy histories, 10 museums, USS Structure restore facility, and the historic ship Nautilus.
