U.S. warship sunk by "human-guided kamikaze bomb" during World War II found off Japan
CBSN
A shipwreck off the coast of Okinawa, Japan has been identified as that of SS Mannert L. Abele, a U.S. Navy destroyer that was sunk by a "human-guided kamikaze bomb" during World War II, authorities said Thursday.
The craft, named for a U.S. submarine commander, was the first U.S. warship to be sunk by a Japanese suicide rocket bomb, according to the Naval History and Heritage Command. It was sunk on April 12, 1945, when it was operating about 75 miles off the island's northern coast. Multiple Japanese aircraft appeared on the ship's radar, and the two engaged, with the warship damaging several aircraft until one of the planes crashed onto the warship.
That crash damaged the ship, and was followed by a "rocket-powered human-guided bomb" that hit the ship near its waterline. The resulting explosion "caused the ship's bow and stern to buckle rapidly," the Naval History and Heritage Command said.
