The USS New Orleans was at Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, and responded to the Japanese air attack. Later, the vessel pulled USS Lexington sailors from the water during the Battle of the Coral Sea and screened the USS Enterprise aircraft carrier during the Battle of Midway.

The USS New Orleans was one of three heavy carriers that was damaged in an attack by the Japanese. It was hit by a 'Long Lance' torpedo, killing 183 sailors.

A team from the Nautilus Live expedition, part of a joint effort involving NOAA Ocean Exploration and several US research institutions, located the bow 2,200 feet (675 meters) below the surface in Iron Bottom Sound,