US destroyer sunk in 1944 becomes deepest shipwreck discovered

he three-tube torpedo launcher that was part of the USS Samuel B Roberts (Caladan Oceanic/AP)

A US destroyer that engaged a superior Japanese fleet in the Philippines in the largest sea battle of the Second World War has become the deepest shipwreck to be discovered, according to explorers.

The USS Samuel B Roberts, popularly known as the “Sammy B”, was found, broken into two pieces, on a slope at a depth of 22,916ft.