Using ROVs to Explore WWII Wreck USS Astoria
In the summer of 2025, the Corps of Exploration aboard E/V Nautilus explored the shipwreck USS Astoria with remotely operated vehicles (ROVs). The USS Astoria was lost during the Battle of Savo Island on August 9, 1942, during World War II. After a three-part NORBIT multibeam sonar survey, we flew our ROVs over the 175-meter-long New Orleans-class heavy cruiser that suffered an estimated 65 projectile hits within 30 minutes during the battle. Visual surveys observed broken aircraft catapult systems, shell artillery and casings, and a highly damaged deck, forward superstructure, and bridge.
During the Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal: Iron Bottom Sound (NA173) expedition, our 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 cultural 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.
Maritime Archaeology of Guadalcanal: Iron Bottom Sound
Located in the Solomon Islands between the islands of Guadalcanal, Savo, and Nggela, Iron Bottom Sound was the stage of five major naval battles between August and December 1942 which resulted in the loss of over 20,000 lives, 111 naval vessels, and 1,450 planes. These underwater cultural heritage sites now rest on the seafloor offshore Honiara in a confined area less than 25 nautical miles wide, 40 nautical miles long, and 1,400 meters deep.
