Despite being torpedoed by a Japanese attack in 1942, the US battleship USS New Orleans miraculously survived, with its bow sinking. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/Nautilus Live, NOAA.

In the incident, more than 180 crew members on board were killed when one of the ship’s ammunition magazines was hit by a torpedo and exploded, tearing the entire bow of the ship apart. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/Nautilus Live, NOAA.

Recently, experts announced that they had found the bow of the USS New Orleans warship discovered during the process of mapping the seabed in Iron Bottom Sound, near Guadalcanal in the Solomon Islands, at a depth of about 675m. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/Nautilus Live, NOAA.

"By all rights, the USS New Orleans should have sunk. However, thanks to the heroic efforts of her crew to control the damage caused by the torpedo, the USS New Orleans became one of the most heavily damaged American cruisers of World War II to survive," said retired Rear Admiral Samuel Cox. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust.

The USS New Orleans was torpedoed by a Japanese ship during the Battle of Tassafaronga near Guadalcanal on the night of November 30, 1942. At that time, American warships attempted to intercept Japanese destroyers delivering supplies to the island. Photo: US National Archives.

This naval battle took place a few months after US Marines and soldiers successfully landed on Guadalcanal - a major Japanese military base at the time. Photo: nationalww2museum.org.

After the Battle of Tassafaronga, the USS New Orleans was temporarily repaired with a coconut log in a nearby harbor until it could be returned to the United States for repairs. Photo: Ocean Exploration Trust/Nautilus Live, NOAA.

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