After languishing at the bottom of the Pacific for a staggering 64 years , an aircraft carrier from the Second World War has been discovered 'amazingly intact ' . Experts found the giant U.S. ship - which could incredibly still have a plane inside it - standing upright and listing only slightly . The USS Independence is resting 800m underwater off California 's Farallon Islands with its hull and deck very well preserved and clearly visible . There also appears to be a plane in the hangar bay of the vessel , scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) said on Thursday . Scroll down for video . Discovery : Features of the 'amazingly intact ' USS Independence are captured in a three-dimensional sonar image ( bottom ) of the shipwreck - 64 years after it sunk . Historic : Experts found the giant U.S. ship ( pictured in 1943 ) - which could incredibly still have a plane inside it - standing upright and listing only slightly . High tech : Experts last month used an autonomous underwater vehicle called the Echo Ranger ( pictured ) made by Boeing to survey the Independence . Ambitious : The ranger was deployed as part of a two-year mission by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA ) to find historic shipwrecks . Found : The USS Independence was found off California 's Farallon Islands ( pictured ) with its hull and deck very well preserved and clearly visible . The veteran ship even survived an atomic bomb test after being chosen as a 'target vessel ' for Operation Crossroads on July 1 , 1946 . After taking part in yet another explosion , it was eventually decommissioned in August 1946 before its highly radioactive hull was taken to San Francisco five years later . Controversy surrounds its sinking as some believe the ship was loaded with barrels of radioactive waste that subsequently contaminated the wildlife in the Farallon Islands . 'After 64 years on the seafloor , Independence sits on the bottom as if ready to launch its planes , ' said James Delgado chief scientist on the NOAA mission . He added : 'This ship fought a long , hard war in the Pacific and after the war was subjected to two atomic blasts that ripped through the ship . 'It is a reminder of the industrial might and skill of the `` greatest generation '' that sent not only this ship but their loved ones to war . ' The carrier is one of an estimated 300 wrecks in the waters off San Francisco - and the deepest known shipwreck in the sanctuary , according to NOAA . Independence operated in the central and western Pacific from November 1943 to August 1945 and later was one of more than 90 vessels assembled as a target fleet for atomic bomb tests in 1946 in the Marshall Islands . Mystery : Controversy surrounds Independence 's sinking as some believe the ship was loaded with barrels of radioactive waste that subsequently contaminated the wildlife in the Farallon Islands . Tough : The veteran ship ( pictured in 1951 ) even survived an atomic bomb test after being chosen as a 'target vessel ' for Operation Crossroads on July 1 , 1946 . 'Greatest generation ' : 'After 64 years on the seafloor , Independence ( pictured in 1943 ) sits on the bottom as if ready to launch its planes , ' said James Delgado chief scientist on the NOAA mission . Veteran : Independence ( pictured in 1946 ) was one of more than 90 vessels assembled as a target fleet for atomic bomb tests in 1946 . Damaged by shock waves , heat and radiation , Independence survived the tests and returned to the United States . It was moored in San Francisco until age caught up with her and she was towed out to sea for scuttling in January 1951 . Independence was found as part of a two-year NOAA mission to locate historic shipwrecks in the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary and nearby waters . Experts last month used an autonomous underwater vehicle called the Echo Ranger made by Boeing to survey the Independence . There are currently no plans at the moment to try and get inside the vessel , Delgado said . Independence was built by the New York Shipbuilding Corporation and commissioned in January 1943 . She took part in the attacks on Rabaul and Tarawa in Japan before being torpedoed by Japanese planes , having to be repaired and refitted in San Francisco from January to July 1944 .
3D sonar images of the massive ship revealed many features were still intact . Discovered near California 's Farallon Islands with hull , deck well preserved . It was underwater for 64 years after being used in atomic bomb tests 1940s . Controversy surrounds its sinking as some believe it contaminated waters .