Wreck of German U-Boat found off North Carolina

[Jolly Mon]

Wreck of WWII German U-boat found off N. Carolina - CNN.com

 

[SADS 669]

JM

What depth?

 

[ecoast]

(CNN) -- A World War II German U-boat, sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic more than 72 years ago, has been discovered off the coast of North Carolina, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Tuesday.
The German sub, the U-576, was found at the bottom of the Atlantic 30 miles off Cape Hatteras and just 240 yards from an American merchant ship, the merchant tanker Bluefields, which was part of a 24-ship U.S. convoy heading from Virginia to Key West, Florida, on July 14, 1942.
"This is not just the discovery of a single shipwreck," said Joe Hoyt, chief scientist of NOAA's Office of Marine Sanctuaries expedition, which found the vessels. "We have discovered an important battle site that is part of the Battle of the Atlantic. These two ships rest only a few hundred yards apart and together help us interpret and share their forgotten stories."
The story of U-576 was is the more tragic of the two wrecks.

U-576 sonar image from bottom of Atlantic off North Carolina coast


Bluefields did not sustain any casualties during the sinking, but all 45 crew of the U-boat were lost.
Commanding U-576 that July day was Kapitanleutnant Hans-Dieter Heinicke. According to documents from the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, where the wrecks rest, Heinicke had radioed back to commanders in occupied France on July 13 to say the U-boat was damaged and heading back to Germany after a month-long patrol without success against Allied shipping.
A U-boat and its American prey haunt Gulf of Mexico
As U-576 began that journey home, it ran across convoy KS-520, with 19 merchant vessels and five escorts, on the afternoon of July 14, according to the documents.
Heinicke, who was on his fifth U-boat patrol with relatively little success against Allied shipping, saw a chance for redemption.
"In spite of his damaged ship, Heinicke decided to attack at all costs," a history from the sanctuary reads. "However, at 4:00 pm just before he could fire his torpedoes, one of the Coast Guard cutters picked up a sonar contact. The Coast Guard crew dropped three depth charges, followed by five more 10 minutes later."
But Heinicke pressed his attack, firing off four torpedoes about 4:15 p.m.
"The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields and severely damaged two other ships. In response, U.S. Navy Kingfisher aircraft, which provided the convoy's air cover, bombed U-576 while the merchant ship Unicoi attacked it with its deck gun," the NOAA release reads. The sub sank in minutes.
Two NOAA research vessels, the Okeanos Explorer and SRVX Sand Tiger, participated in the search for the wrecks, which were found and verified in August, NOAA said.
The wreck site is considered a war grave and protected by international law.
"Few people realize how close the war actually came to America's shores," David Alberg, superintendent of NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, said in a statement. "As we learn more about the underwater battlefield, Bluefields and U-576 will provide additional insight into a relatively little-known chapter in American history."

 

[Jolly Mon]

JM

What depth?

I am not sure about the depth. I don't see it mentioned in any of the stories that have surfaced so far, but since we are only getting sonar images of the vessels, my assumption would be that it is quite deep. 30 miles off Cape Hatteras could be 60 feet or 6000 feet...hard to say. In any event, the sonar image of the sub looks spectacular:



I thought this might interest you !!!

 

[SADS 669]

Thanks JM. My assumption is real deep but you never know, as you say

 

[Peyton Manning]

amazingly intact I'd say

 

[Salvor6]

JM

What depth?

That area of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary is 240' deep.

 

[SADS 669]

Thanks 6 might get to dive it one day then.....

 

[Jolly Mon]

There may be some confusion in the story. The Monitor Sanctuary is only 16 miles from Cape Hatteras, not 30. Also, the sanctuary website does not say the newly discovered wrecks were actually in the sanctuary, only that researchers from the Sanctuary had found them in " an area known as the graveyard of the Atlantic".

The Monitor Sanctuary is very small, only 1 mile in diameter. It is possible the wrecks are located there, of course, but it would be quite a coincidence.

 

[Salvor6]

U-boat.net lists the sub as sunk at: 34.51N, 75.22W. I wonder how accurate their numbers are?

The Type VIIC boat U-576 - German U-boats of WWII - uboat.net

 

[The Rebel]

Pretty cool find and in good shape as well. Would be nice to see some underwater pic's.

 

[barney]

The U-576 rests in 720' of water (washout under hull) and the BLUEFIELDS is just offshore a couple hundred meters in 750' of water.
Cheers,
Mike

 

[SADS 669]

The U-576 rests in 720' of water (washout under hull) and the BLUEFIELDS is just offshore a couple hundred meters in 750' of water. Cheers, Mike

Thanks Barney, I'll cross it off the scuba list ha ha.......

 

[TravyLeigh]

Sweet

 

[Darren in NC]

U-boat.net lists the sub as sunk at: 34.51N, 75.22W. I wonder how accurate their numbers are?

Pretty close, Pete. AWOIS has Bluefields at 34.46N, 75.22W.

 

[barney]

Pretty close, Pete. AWOIS has Bluefields at 34.46N, 75.22W.

BLUEFIELDS is at 34 46N, 75 30W...fishermen have known about a wreck there for decades, but they just didn't know what it was.

 

[Peyton Manning]

The U-576 rests in 720' of water (washout under hull) and the BLUEFIELDS is just offshore a couple hundred meters in 750' of water.
Cheers,
Mike

guess I'll have to free dive it then

 

[Darren in NC]

BLUEFIELDS is at 34 46N, 75 30W...fishermen have known about a wreck there for decades, but they just didn't know what it was.

Thanks, Mike. AWOIS is a nice reference to get you in the ballpark, but fishermen are always more accurate! Your work on id'ing wrecks off NC prove that AWOIS may not even be close at all.