Lost 52 Project Explained

The Lost 52 Project is a private organization founded by Tim Taylor to do research on the 52 U.S. Navy submarines lost on patrol during the Second World War, performing discovery, exploration, and underwater archeology where possible.[1] [2]

Found, so far:[3] [4] [5]

!Submarines!Date lost!Circumstances of loss!Date found
May 4, 1945May 2005
July 30, 1942Sank after torpedo and dive plane malfunction near KiskaAugust 2006
October 11, 1943Sunk after combined aerial bombing and surface depth charging in the La PĂ©rouse StraitOctober 31, 2006
March 3, 1942Depth charged on March 1, partially repaired, then scuttled after being fired upon on the surface to prevent falling into enemy hands near SurabayaNovember 23, 2006
August 13, 1944Struck a mine and sunk in the Balabac StraitFebruary 1, 2009
June 12, 1943Sank due to flooding from unknown causes in forward battery compartment near Key WestMay 25, 2011
January 24, 1942Sank after collision with Sub chaser PC-460 in the Gulf of PanamaSeptember 2014
July 4, 1944Sank under unknown circumstances near OahuSeptember 20, 2017
July 26, 1944Presumed to have struck a Japanese mine near Palawan IslandMay 2019
May 29, 1958Sank after collision with during training near HawaiiAugust 2019
February 27, 1944Sunk by aerial bomb from Japanese B5N torpedo bomber in the East China SeaNovember 10, 2019
April 4, 1946Used as a target ship and sunk by torpedo fireAugust 4, 2020
August 24, 1944Depth charged by Japanese escort ships while attacking them near Dasol BayMay 2024
The organization has not limited itself to discovery of submarines. It has also located other Navy ships:
!Ship!Date Lost!Circumstances of loss!Date found
April 12, 1945Struck by kamikaze plane and Japanese flying suicide bomb during the Battle of OkinawaDecember 2022

Notes and References

  1. http://www.lost52project.org/ Lost 52 Project
  2. https://maritime.org/pamphist/subslost.htm United States Submarine Losses
  3. https://www.bairdmaritime.com/work-boat-world/specialised-fields/marine-research-and-training/maritime-archaeology/us-navy-validates-final-resting-place-of-wwii-submarine-s-28/ US Navy validates final resting place of WWII submarine S-28.
  4. News: 7th WWII Submarine Discovered by Explorer Tim Taylor's 'Lost 52 Project' . 25 May 2023 . . . 4 August 2020.
  5. News: May 22, 2024 . Veteran ocean explorer discovers WWII submarine in South China Sea . NBC News . May 22, 2024.