Submarines (1/2)

USS Blenny reef
World War II - USS Blenny SS-324 - 312 ft, 1,810 tons, 8 knots submerged

Everyone knows what a submarine is - a ship that can go underwater. Hardly needs any explanation. Unless you're in the US Navy. By the Navy definition, only their modern, nuclear-powered boats ( all submarines are called "boats" ) are true submarines, designed to operate beneath the surface almost indefinitely. Anything else is merely a "submersible", tied to the surface by the need for fuel and air. Whatever.

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U-151

The U-151 was the first German U-boat to operate in U.S. territory in World War I. The U-151 is not actually sunk in these waters ( it was sunk deep off Virginia after the war, ) but it did "contribute" the following six shipwrecks, all on the same day, Sunday, June 2, 1918:


Type IX U-boat
Type:
shipwreck, Type IXc/40 U-boat, Kriegsmarine, Germany
Built:
1942, Germany
Specs:
( 252 x 22 ft ) 1051 displacement tons, 48-56 crew
Sunk:
Saturday April 16, 1944
by depth charges and gunfire from destroyer escorts USS Gandy, USS Joyce and USS Peterson after torpedoing tanker Pan Pennsylvania - 44 casualties.
Depth:
300 ft

Shipwreck U-853
Type:
shipwreck, Type IXc/40 U-boat, Kriegsmarine, Germany
Built:
1943, Germany
Specs:
( 252 x 22 ft ) 1051 displacement tons, 48-56 crew
Sunk:
Saturday May 6, 1945
sunk by destroyer escort USS Atherton - no survivors
Depth:
110-130 ft

Shipwreck U-869
Type:
shipwreck, Type IXc/40 U-boat, Kriegsmarine, Germany
Specs:
( 252 x 22 ft ) 1051 displacement tons, 48-56 crew
Built:
1944, Germany
Sunk:
February 11, 1945
sunk by destroyer escort USS Howard D. Crow - no survivors
Depth:
240 ft

Shipwreck USS Bass
This photo is signed by Admiral Chester W Nimitz.
Type:
shipwreck, submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1924, Portsmouth Navy Yard, NH USA
Specs:
( 341 x 28 ft ) 2000 displacement tons, no crew
Sunk:
Monday March 12, 1945
deliberate - weapons test
Depth:
155 ft - sand ; 140 ft - deck ; 120 ft - conning tower

Shipwreck USS Blenny
The Blenny as she appeared during World War II.
Type:
shipwreck, Balao ( modified Gato ) class submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1944, Groton, CT USA
Specs:
( 312 x 27 ft ) 1810 tons, no crew
Sunk:
Wednesday June 7, 1989
artificial reef
Depth:
70 ft

Shipwreck USS L-8
Type:
shipwreck, submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1911, Newport News, VA USA
Specs:
( 161 x 13 ft ) 400 tons, no crew
Sunk:
Tuesday June 21, 1921
deliberate - weapons test

Shipwreck USS G-2
Type:
shipwreck, submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1912, Bridgeport, CT USA
Specs:
( 161 x 13 ft ) 400 tons, no crew
Sunk:
Wednesday July 30, 1919
foundered after weapons tests - 3 casualties (inspection crew)
Depth:
81 ft

Shipwreck USS L-8
Type:
shipwreck, submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1917, Portsmouth Navy Yard, NH USA
Specs:
( 167 x 15 ft ) no crew
Sunk:
Wednesday May 26, 1926
deliberate - torpedo test
Depth:
110 ft

Shipwreck USS S-5
Type:
shipwreck, submarine, U.S. Navy
Built:
1920, Portsmouth Navy Yard, NH USA
Specs:
( 231 x 21 ft ) 876 displacement tons, 37 crew
Sunk:
Wednesday September 1, 1920
flooded during test dive - no casualties
Depth:
165 ft

Submarines

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New Developments in Artificial Reefs

Pauline Marie reef
The Pauline Marie sinks slowly on the Atlantic City Reef.

By Evelyn DeWitt Myatt & Bill Figley, 1986

It's hard to imagine anything that could have looked more forlorn than the rusty old freighter whose proud seagoing days were a thing of the past. Floating idly at her berth awaiting her fate, she was a victim of nature's ravages that had left her beautiful only in the eyes of her old captain and crew. The Pauline Marie, however, was not destined to be the victim of a cutting torch that would turn her into a tangle of scrap steel. Instead, she was acquired by the New Jersey Artificial Reef Program and went down with dignity as an artificial reef in March 1985. She now provides continuing services from her watery grave in the Atlantic, some twelve miles off Atlantic City, and her appeal to marine life is undeniable. Her interior compartments now shelter fish and crustaceans; her decks now provide substrate for mussels, soft corals, and plant life; and her newfound productivity has put delicious seafood on many tables.

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