WWII 'Hell Ship' Found That Sank With Allied POWs

A long-lost World War II ship packed with Allied prisoners has finally been found on the seafloor off the Philippines, nearly 80 years after US planes sent it under. Researchers say they've located the wreck of the Hofuku Maru, a Japanese "hell ship" that was carrying about 1,200 British and Dutch POWs in brutal conditions when it was torpedoed in the South China Sea in September 1944. Only roughly 200 prisoners survived, reports CNN; the ship's resting place had remained unknown.

The Hellships Memorial Foundation, backed by the Netherlands and the Discovery Channel, pieced together Japanese and US military records, spoke with local fishermen, then used sonar, technical dives, and 3D imaging to zero in on the wreck near Luzon's western coast. The ship, now considered a war grave, will not be excavated; divers reported encountering human remains and avoided entering the holds where POWs were crammed with little water, food, or sanitation. The Hofuku Maru was one of 56 unmarked transports that moved more than 62,000 POWs for forced labor; at least 19 were sunk by Allied fire. The hunt for this wreck and its history anchors a two-part Expedition Unknown episode airing Wednesday on Discovery.