Stern of the USS Abner Read after striking a mine
On Aug. 18, 1943, the destroyer USS Abner Read was on anti-submarine patrol near Kiska Island, in Alaska’s Aleutian chain. The Japanese had just recently evacuated the island but had left behind a minefield. At 1:50 a.m., the destroyer struck a mine, which tore off its stern, sending at least 70 sailors to their deaths. 46 more were wounded.
Last month, a NOAA-funded team of Project Recover scientists from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California San Diego and the University of Delaware located the 70-foot stern section of the destroyer USS Abner Read in 290 feet of water.
Remarkably, the damaged Fletcher-class destroyer stayed afloat and was towed to various Alaskan ports for repairs until it was sufficiently seaworthy to be towed to the Puget Sound Navy Yard in Bremerton, Washington for permanent repairs. The USS Abner Read returned to service in early 1944 and supported operations in New Guinea and the Philippines. In November 1944, the USS Abner Read was sunk in an attack by a kamikaze in the Leyte Gulf. All but 20 of the sailors aboard were saved. Her wreck lies at 10°47′N 125°22′E.
USS Abner Read is one of the few warships with two identified wreck sites.
Interesting bit of history. Thanks.