OT Paul Allen’s Petrel research ship finds out where USS Wasp’s WWII odyssey ended

Discussion in 'Portland Trail Blazers' started by SlyPokerDog, Mar 14, 2019.

  1. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    The USS Wasp, an aircraft carrier that saw service during World War II from Iceland to Guadalcanal, has been located lying 14,000 feet deep in the Coral Sea 77 years after its sinking.

    It’s the latest find chalked up to the R/V Petrel, a research vessel whose expeditions have been funded by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen and his estate.

    The Petrel has been plying the waters of the Pacific Ocean and surrounding seas for years, to document the resting places of historic shipwrecks and conduct scientific studies. The Wasp was found on Jan. 14 with the aid of a sonar-equipped autonomous underwater vehicle and a camera-equipped remotely operated vehicle.

    The Wasp was commissioned in 1940 and began service on the Atlantic front, providing defensive fighter cover for U.S. Army planes landing in Iceland. It also played a support role in Operation Calendar and Operation Bowery, two U.S.-British campaign aimed at defending the island bastion of Malta against German and Italian air raids.

    When the Wasp accomplished its mission and headed back to the British Isles, Prime Minister Winston Churchill messaged his thanks for the aircraft carrier’s double duty. “Who said a wasp couldn’t sting twice?” he wrote.

    The ship’s final mission was to serve as an escort for the 7th Marine Regiment, which was heading to Guadalcanal with reinforcements for the pivotal battle there in 1942.

    On Sept. 15, 1942, four torpedoes from a Japanese submarine struck the Wasp and set the ship ablaze. Within minutes, the Wasp was engulfed in flames, but Capt. Forrest P. Sherman held off on abandoning ship until he was satisfied that no survivors were left aboard.

    Forty-five aircraft went down with the ship, and some of them show up clearly in the R/V Petrel’s video of the underwater wreck site. But most of the 2,248 men of the Wasp got off safely. Fewer than 200 men died, and 366 were wounded.

    The USS Wasp is the latest addition to a long list of shipwreck discoveries by the R/V Petrel team, also including the USS Indianapolis, the USS Lexington, the USS Juneau, the USS Helena, the USS Hornet and the USS Strong.

    Each discovery revives a tale of naval valor from World War II — which is clearly what Paul Allen had in mind when he launched his search for historic wrecks in 2015.

    https://www.geekwire.com/2019/paul-allens-petrel-research-ship-finds-uss-wasps-wwii-odyssey-ended/
     
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  2. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  3. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  4. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  5. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  6. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  7. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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  8. kjironman1

    kjironman1 Well-Known Member

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    Petrel is a gift that keeps on giving. Thanks Paul.
     
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  9. julius

    julius Global Moderator Staff Member Global Moderator

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    That's awesome that even after he's passed, good things are being done in his name.
     
  10. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    Each ship was a big project to find. Paul Allen sent his money on many other science, art, and sports projects. He's my favorite rich person, and I always backed Allen on this board, against his critics, while I critiqued GMs and coaches.

    Canzano hasn't given up. He'll want to push the book "The Accidental Billionaire" again, complaining that Paul Allen was a bad businessman, because Allen's worth decreased from its peak. But Allen's goal was not to accumulate wealth; it was to reduce his wealth, by spending it on us. Every billionaire is an accidental billionaire, because no one deserves to be a billionaire, and all "earn" it through luck.
     
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  11. tlongII

    tlongII Legendary Poster

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    Talk about OT... Sheesh.
     
  12. crandc

    crandc Well-Known Member

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    Shakespeare to the contrary, the good that men do is not always interred with their bones.
     
  13. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    It's part of the growing legacy that Mr Allen has left behind. The Blazers are part of the legacy. Seems front page worthy to me.
     
  14. tlongII

    tlongII Legendary Poster

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    Not Blazers related.
     
  15. jlprk

    jlprk The ESPN mod is insane.

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    You're uncomfortable outside your ideology.
     
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  16. tlongII

    tlongII Legendary Poster

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    We have another place for OT stuff.
     
  17. Orion Bailey

    Orion Bailey Forum Troll

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    when I was young I wanted to be an oceanographer( partly because I got to sit on Shamu once) but now I look at the cool underwater vehicles and I want to be one all over again!!!!
     
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  18. SlyPokerDog

    SlyPokerDog Woof! Staff Member Administrator

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    A marine biologist or an oceanographer?
     
  19. Orion Bailey

    Orion Bailey Forum Troll

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    Well when I was young they were one in the same to me. lol. But Id actually rather be an oceanographer...exploring all the nooks and crannies. Not sure if everyone knows(they should) but the seas have mountains twice the height of the tallest mountains on land. There is still undiscovered life on this planet.
     
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  20. tlongII

    tlongII Legendary Poster

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    False.
     

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