USS Johnston (DD-557) was a built for the United States Navy during World War II. She was named after Lieutenant John V. Johnston, an officer of the US Navy during the American Civil War. Johnston was laid down in May 1942 and was launched on 25 March 1943. She entered active duty in October 1943 under the command of Lieutenant Commander Ernest E. Evans and was assigned to the US Pacific Fleet. Johnston provided naval gunfire support for American ground forces during the Gilbert and Marshall Islands campaign in January and February 1944 and again, after three months of patrol and escort duty in the Solomon Islands, during the recapture of Guam in July. Thereafter, Johnston was tasked with escorting escort carriers during the Mariana and Palau Islands campaign and the liberation of the Philippines. On 25 October 1944, while assigned as part of the escort to six escort carriers, Johnston, two other Fletcher-class destroyers, and four destroyer escorts were engaged by a large Imperial Japanese Navy flotilla. In what became known as the Battle off Samar, Johnston and the other escort ships charged the Japanese ships to protect nearby US carriers and transport craft. After engaging several Japanese capital ships and a destroyer squadron, Johnston was sunk with 187 dead, including Evans. Johnstons wreck was discovered on 30 October 2019 but was not properly identified until March 2021. Lying more than below the surface of the ocean, it was the deepest shipwreck ever surveyed until the discovery of on 22 June 2022. Design and characteristics To rectify the top-heaviness and stability problems of the preceding and es, the Fletcher class was greatly increased in size over the older designs. This allowed them to accept additional anti-aircraft (AA) guns and electronic equipment as well as their operators without sacrificing guns or torpedoes as the older ships were forced to do during the war. The Fletchers displaced at standard load and at deep load, roughly 30 percent more than the Bensons and Gleaves. In early 1942, the design of the Fletchers was modified to reduce topweight and to simplify the construction of the bridge by squaring off the curves at its front. One deck was removed from the aft superstructure and the base of the fire-control director above the bridge was shortened by . The splinter plating protecting the bridge and the director was also reduced in thickness. In addition, visibility