USS Blenny SS-324

Shipwreck USS Blenny
The Blenny as she appeared during World War II.
Type:
shipwreck, Balao ( modified Gato ) class submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1944, Electric Boat Company, Groton, CT USA
Specs:
( 312 x 27 ft ) 1810 tons, no crew
Sunk:
Wednesday June 7, 1989
"Africa Queen" artificial reef, Maryland
Depth:
70 ft
Shipwreck USS Blenny
The Blenny after post-war GUPPY conversion.

The Blenny doesn't really belong here, since she is actually sunk off Ocean City Maryland, several hours drive south ( occasionally wrongly reported as Ocean City NJ. ) She lies on her starboard side, completely intact, with several large holes cut in her deck. Unlike some old submarine wrecks, which honestly resemble sewer pipes more than ships, the Blenny retains her shape and character and makes an interesting dive if you are ever down that way.

Shipwreck USS Blenny

USS Blenny

Blenny is actually a Maryland reef, but I have lumped it in with Delaware. Maryland does not publish GPS coordinates, the location is the reef, not the Blenny itself - good enough.


Comments on USS Blenny

ROBERT J KERTES:

February 18, 2025 at 10:27 AM

Served onboard and qualified on her from 1956 to 1959 and transferred to the 1st A boat Nautilus SSN571 and retired in 1964 EXcellent duty on boat boats. Would do it all over again.

Lester Scrivnor:

October 31, 2024 at 6:01 PM

My name is Les scrivnor, I've made about 8 or 10 dives on the Blenny, first one about 1 week after it was sank. Great spear fishing, I'm now 87, no more scuba for me, enjoyed every minute of it.

Questions or Inquiries?

Just want to say Hello? Sign the .

Submit a Comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


Click image to replace if unable to read.

Enter the digits from the image above, except for the last one:

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.


The heavyweight cold-water wetsuit is probably responsible for the premature demise of more nascent diving careers than any other factor. These awful things are simply uncomfortable and ineffective. For all the stiffness, squeezing, bulk, and extra weight of 5-7mm wetsuit, in the end, it really doesn't keep you warm, and most cold-water wetsuit divers are pretty miserable creatures. I have seen the constriction and topside overheating of one of these things make its poor wearer sick on dry land, never mind on a boat out at sea.

manual

For an excellent guide to drysuit use, pick up a copy of DUI's drysuit owner's manual, available at most dealers for under $10.

Or just download it.

The argument that heavy cold-water wetsuits are easier to use is patently false. A wetsuit has a mind of its own and will make wide depth-dependant swings in buoyancy over which the wearer has no control. How is that better than a drysuit, which the user can consciously trim for constant buoyancy during the descent, and which semi-automatically trims itself during ascent?