The wreckage of a sunken US Navy submarine that sank the most Japanese warships during World War Two has been found in the South China Sea, 80 years after being taken down by enemy forces.
The USS Harder was found 3,000 feet (914 meters) below water off the Philippines' northern island of Luzon and was sunk in battle on August 29, 1944, along with its crew of 79 men, according to the BBC.
In one of its last war patrols, it sank three Japanese destroyers and severely damaged two others over four days, as reported by the US Navy's History and Heritage Command (NHHC).
This forced the Japanese to alter their battle plans and postpone their carrier force, which contributed to their eventual defeat.
"Harder was lost in the course of victory. We must not forget that victory has a price, as does freedom," said Samuel J. Cox, a retired US admiral who heads the NHHC.
The Philippines was a critical battleground in the Pacific during World War II, as the US fought to retake its former colony from the Japanese Imperial Army.
The waters in and around the archipelago are the final resting place of several famous World War II battleships.
The submarine Harder, known for its motto "Hit 'em harder," was discovered by the Lost 52 project, which searches for the 52 US submarines lost during World War II.
The US Navy revealed that it was found sitting upright on its keel or spine and still relatively intact.
The submarine and its crew later received the Presidential Unit Citation for their service during the war, which recognizes extraordinary heroism in action.
Its skipper, Commander Sam Dealey, was posthumously awarded the US's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor.
