The U.S.S. Mannert L. Abele, a U.S. Navy destroyer sunk in 1945 during the Battle of Okinawa, has been discovered by a group of civilian underwater explorers. The Abele was the first warship hit by a Japanese weapon called an Ohka, a flying bomb capable of reaching speeds of 600 miles per hour. The ship was broken in half by two kamikaze attacks and sank in 4,500 feet of water, killing 84 sailors.rnrnThe Lost 52 Project, which searches for Navy submarines and warships sunk during World War II, found the ship in December. The U.S. Navy’s Naval History and Heritage Command in Washington confirmed the discovery in April. The Abele and other Navy warships around Okinawa helped to draw kamikaze attacks away from troop transports and supply ships supporting the battle ashore.rnrnFamily members of former crew members welcomed the Abele’s discovery. “I think my father would have been extraordinarily intrigued and would have wanted to see every detail,” said Scott Andersen, whose father, Roy, served as a junior officer aboard the Abele. The ship’s namesake, Lt. Cmdr. Mannert L. Abele, commanded the U.S.S. Grunion, a submarine that was lost at sea. He received the Navy Cross posthumously for sinking three Japanese ships in a single day during the war.rnrnThe Abele is a reminder of the bravery and sacrifice of the sailors who served on it and the thousands of others who lost their lives in the Battle of Okinawa. The Navy considers the Abele, and others like it sunk in combat, a tomb and will leave the ship in place undisturbed.
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