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USS Johnston

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Exploring The World's Deepest Shipwreck

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Watch video of WWII Navy ship found at bottom of Philippine Sea

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This is Deepest Shipwreck Dive Ever - USS Johnston

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The Sinking of USS Johnston - A Cardboard Ship Model

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USS Johnston: The Destroyer that Defied an Empire

USS Johnston (DD-557) was a World War II-era Fletcher-class destroyer in the service of the United States Navy. She was the first Navy ship named after Lieutenant John V. Johnston. The ship was most famous for her bold action in the Battle off Samar. The small "tincan" destroyer, armed with nothing larger than 5 inch (127mm) guns and torpedoes, would lead the attack of a handful of light ships which had inadvertently been left unprotected in the path of a massive Japanese fleet led by battleships and cruisers. The sacrifices of Johnston and her little escort carrier task unit "Taffy 3" helped stop Admiral Kurita's Center Force from attacking vulnerable U.S. landing forces, and eventually inflicted greater losses to the Japanese attackers than they suffered.
  • Construction and commissioning 

  • World War II service 

  • Legacy 

  • Wreck location