The US Navy ship USS Edsall, endearingly referred to as the ‘dancing mouse’, was sunken during World War II, only now discovered in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Australia, CNN reported on Sunday.

The destroyer, USS Edsall, went down in 1942 off the coast of Australia. At the time, it was under the command of Lt. Joshua Nix, and it was called the "dancing mouse" due to its slippery movements in the fatal fight with the Imperial Japanese Navy, CNN reported.

The Japanese later called the Edsall “the dancing mouse.” Finally, the Japanese sent in dive bombers, and the battered destroyer rolled over and sank as evening fell. A few survivors were picked up and later beheaded in an enemy prison camp,

An American World War II warship that played a key role in Allied campaigns in the Pacific has been discovered at the bottom of the Indian Ocean more than 80 years after it was sunk.

The Navy destroyer was sunk in 1942 during World War II, after facing down overwhelming odds and fighting a pitched battle.