USS Houston

This week, US Navy divers confirmed the location of the wreck of the USS Houston in Banten Bay off the Java Sea.   The heavy cruiser was nicknamed the “The Galloping Ghost of the Java Coast,” and sank along with the Australian light cruiser HMAS Perth in the Battle of the Sunda Strait during World War II, on the night of February 28, 1942.

From the various headlines in the media, the wreck confirmation sounds like a new discovery.  The Daily Mail headline reads, “USS Houston … is finally found in Java sea. ”  Likewise, NPR reported: “Wreck Of World War II-Era U.S. Ship Dubbed ‘Galloping Ghost’ Is Found.”  The BBC has a similar headline — “US Navy: USS Houston wreck found in Java Sea.”   It seems unlikely that the wreck was actually “found” as it never seems to have been lost.

The wreck of the USS Houston has been a popular dive site for at least a decade.  The Navy has only now gotten around to officially confirming that the wreck is indeed USS Houston, even though a team of divers commemorated the 60th anniversary of the sinking by diving on the wreck in 2002.  See the video below.  Since then, local and international dive companies have  offered dives on the wreck.  The recreational diving has apparently taken a toll on the wreck, which is final resting place of as many as 700 US sailors and marines.

As reported by the BBC: US and Indonesian divers discovered evidence that pieces of the hull and unexploded ordnance had been removed. The site is a popular underwater dive spot, and officials are co-ordinating its conservation.

2002 60th anniversary dive on the USS Houston WWII wreck