Legendary Submarine Discovered Off Pangasinan Coast

Pangasinan- Last 23 May, the Naval History & Heritage Command – Underwater Archaeological Branch of the United States Navy confirmed the discovery of the wreck site of the USS Harder using data collected by Tim Taylor and the Lost 52 Project with the assistance of the National Museum of the Philippines’ Maritime and Underwater Cultural Heritage Division (MUCHD) and the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

In an expedition conducted last November-December 2023 in Dasol Bay, Pangasinan, members of the Lost 52 Project, with the supervision of the MUCHD team, conducted the search, discovery, and photo-documentation of the USS Harder wreckage using a HUGIN 4500 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV).

The USS Harder (SS-257) is a Gato-class, diesel-electric submarine. She departed from Fremantle, Australia on 5 August 1944 on her sixth and final war patrol to be part of a five-boat wolfpack assigned to the West Philippine Sea off Luzon. Late in the evening of 23 August 1944, she rendezvoused with her sister boat USS Hake, outside Dasol Bay, just south of Lingayen. She was sunk by depth charges from a Japanese escort vessel CD-22, taking with her 79 officers and crew. USS Harder was declared lost on 2 January 1945.

Before the expedition, members of the MUCHD team, headed by Curator I Mr. Bobby C. Orillaneda, carried out courtesy calls in the Municipalities of Santa Cruz in Zambales, and Infanta, Dasol, and Burgos in Pangasinan.

The National Museum of the Philippines continues to work with the US Navy and the US Embassy in Manila to discover sunken World War II-era ships around the archipelago.

In all its activities in the exploration of the country’s waters, the National Museum of the Philippines acknowledges the constant support of the NCCA and the Philippine Coast Guard.(National Museum of the Philippines)