Exploring WWII Shipwreck USS Northampton

During our exploration of the maritime archeology of Guadalcanal, the Corps of Exploration aboard E/V Nautilus revisited one of Dr. Robert Ballard’s 1992 discoveries: the USS Northampton. The 176-meter long heavy cruiser was lost during the Battle of Tassafaronga which began on November 30, 1942, southeast of Savo Island. 

In a nighttime engagement as the US Navy task force attempted to surprise a convoy of Japanese destroyers resupplying shoreside troops, Northampton suffered two torpedo hits on the port side. The vessel quickly started to list before sinking from fire and flood damage. In this exploration, the team aboard Nautilus used high resolution mapping and visual surveys to better understand the ship and how it is changing over its eight decades in Iron Bottom Sound and three decades since the original survey. 

During the Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal expedition (NA173), the international team utilized the remotely operated vehicle and telepresence systems of E/V Nautilus, in combination with the mapping capabilities of uncrewed surface vehicle DriX, to conduct non-invasive archaeological surveys of maritime heritage sites in the Iron Bottom Sound. This expedition is supported by NOAA Ocean Exploration via the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute. This exploration is made possible by the expertise, support, and collaboration of many partners, including NOAA Ocean Exploration, U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command, Solomon Islands government, University of New Hampshire Center for Coastal and Ocean Mapping/Joint Hydrographic Center, University of Rhode Island, and Japanese, Australian, and New Zealand archaeological colleagues.