Explorers have discovered a US Navy vessel sunk by Imperial Japan in the largest naval battle of World War Two, in waters off the Philippines.

The destroyer escort USS Samuel B. Roberts, known as the "Sammy B," was found last week in two pieces at a depth of nearly 7,000 meters, making it the world's deepest shipwreck ever located.

The previous record was the USS Johnston, discovered last year over 6,400 meters below the Philippine Sea.
An underwater explorer crew working with team from an undersea technology company located the Sammy B.

The ship took part in the Battle of Leyte Gulf in October 1944, when the Imperial Japanese Navy suffered its biggest loss of ships to the Allied Forces.

Records show the Sammy B disabled a Japanese heavy cruiser with a torpedo and damaged another but then ran out of ammunition. A Japanese warship hit it and caused it to sink.

Explorers used the deepest side-scan sonar ever installed for their search. They said the discovery of the Sammy B offers more accurate details of the historic battle.