World War II Database

Submarine USS Albacore sank 13 ships during the war, among them two major warships, carrier Taiho and light cruiser Tenryu. In Nov 1944, she became missing, along with her crew of 85. Post-war analysis determined that she probably detonating a naval mine off Hokkaido island on 7 Nov 1944. On 25 May 2022, a team led by Dr. Tamaki Ura of the University of Tokyo made sonar contact with something at the depth of 237 meters about 7 kilometers east of Mount E near the city of Hakodate, Japan. On the next day, 26 May, the team remotely operated a underwater vehicle to photograph the wreck, which appeared to be a submarine. Preliminarily determining it to be that of the missing USS Albacore, another exploration of the wreck was conducted in Aug 2022. The data and photographs shared with the US Naval History and Heritage Command, and the staff of NHHC's Underwater Archaeology Branch spotted unique modifications made to USS Albacore (SJ radar dish and mast, row of vent holes atop the superstructure, and absence of steel plates at the upper edge of the fairwater) to identify her. NHHC announced the discovery and identification publicly on 16 Feb 2023, as well as the wreck's status as a war grave.

For more information:
CNN: One man finds closure after long-lost WWII US submarine found off Japanese coast
USNI: Wreck of WWII Submarine USS Albacore Discovered off Japan
WW2DB: USS Albacore