Teams study U-boats sunk off Outer Banks

navyvet · 08-01-08, 07:14 PM

Divers have stripped two, but one still is seen as mostly intact

Friday, Aug 01, 2008 - 12:09 AM Updated: 11:58 AM

RELATED The sinking of U-85

By BILL GEROUX
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER

The wrecks of two German U-boats off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks have been picked clean by treasure-hunting divers, but a third sunken U-boat is relatively intact, members of a government dive and research team said this week.
The dive team, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spent most of July exploring the three subs and cataloguing their conditions after more than 65 years on the ocean floor.
David Albaugh, director of NOAA's Monitor Marine Sanctuary, said the survey is intended as a first step toward better protecting the U-boats from slow, illegal dismantling.
The U-boats are relics of a little-known period at the outset of World War II when an unprepared U.S. Navy allowed a small fleet of German subs to ravage Allied shipping just off the coast. In early 1942, the U-boats sank an average of one merchant ship per night; the Germans preyed heavily on big oil tankers rounding the point at Cape Hatteras, N.C.
The U.S. government downplayed the sinkings at the time, but coastal residents saw the toll on shipping and lives in the debris and occasional bodies washing up on the beaches.

. . .

Each of the three Outer Banks U-boats lies relatively close to shore and represents a "first" in the battle for control of the U.S. coast.
The U-85, which sits about 14 miles east of the tourist beach at Nags Head, N.C., was the first U-boat sunk by a U.S. Navy warship after months of fruitless patrols. After it sank April 14, 1942, most of its crew were quickly and quietly buried in Hampton National Cemetery, where they remain today.
The U-352, which lies in 115 feet of water about 22 miles east of Morehead City, N.C., was sunk by a Coast Guard cutter a month after the U-85 sinking and yielded the first prisoners taken by the U.S. from a U-boat.
The U-701, located about 25 miles off Hatteras, was sunk by a patrolling U.S. bomber on July 7, 1942. But the U-701 already had managed to lay mines in the Chesapeake Bay -- the only successful mining by a sub of U.S. waters.
The wrecks of the U-85 and U-352 have been popular recreational diving sites for more than a quarter-century.
Divers have taken virtually every artifact that could be dislodged from those subs, including the U-352's 20mm anti-aircraft gun, said Joe Hoyt, a NOAA maritime archaeologist and diver who explored all three subs last month.
The U-701 escaped souvenir-hunters for years because it was mostly buried in sand and difficult to find, Hoyt said. But turbulence from Hurricane Isabel uncovered it in 2003.
Private divers have taken the U-701's hatch cover and several other small objects, Hoyt said, but most of the sub still is there, and its burial prevented the ocean from corroding the outer hull.
"The difference between the U-701 and the others is amazing," said Hoyt, who pored over documents and diagrams of the subs before diving so that he would be able to tell exactly what was missing.
At least two of the subs -- the U-352 and the U-701 -- are believed to contain the remains of crewmen.

. . .

Albaugh said a recent request by a private dive group to use a powerful vacuum to collect artifacts from the U-701 prompted the recent study, conducted by 18 divers from NOAA and several universities. The divers did not touch the subs or remove anything from them, he said. Their report will serve as an official inventory of what's left.
Alsbaugh said NOAA will seek next to enter the U-boats in the National Register of Historic Places, raising their visibility as historic objects. He said NOAA has no immediate plans to surround the subs with a marine sanctuary -- a restricted stretch of ocean similar to the one that protects the wreck of the Civil War ironclad Monitor, which also lies off Hatteras.
Alsbaugh said NOAA is not interested in barring divers from visiting the subs, which would defeat the purpose of preserving them for history.
John Figura, manager of the Outer Banks Dive Center in Nags Head, said the vast majority of recreational divers oppose souvenir-hunting on the U-boats and would welcome a higher level of protection for them.
"These are part of history, and they are war graves," Figura said of the U-boats. "The [artifacts] on them are not souvenirs to be kept in someone's garage and shown off to friends over some beers."

Uncle Goose · 08-03-08, 12:38 PM

After 65 years of being in the salt water I can imagine that the items retrieved are in not so great condition. Makes me wonder why people are stripping those boats to begin with, I can't imagine that anyone would pay a lot of money for some rusted artifacts, even if they come from an U-boat. Same thing here in Flanders, people still dig stuff up from the first Worldwar hoping to fetch some easy money only to find out nobody is interested in rusted guns or other artifacts, collectors only want pieces in top condition.

08-01-08, 07:14 PM	#1
navyvet Navyvet Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Mechanicsville, Virginia Posts: 23 Downloads: 96 Uploads: 0	Teams study U-boats sunk off Outer Banks Divers have stripped two, but one still is seen as mostly intact Friday, Aug 01, 2008 - 12:09 AM Updated: 11:58 AM RELATED The sinking of U-85 By BILL GEROUX TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER The wrecks of two German U-boats off the coast of North Carolina's Outer Banks have been picked clean by treasure-hunting divers, but a third sunken U-boat is relatively intact, members of a government dive and research team said this week. The dive team, led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, spent most of July exploring the three subs and cataloguing their conditions after more than 65 years on the ocean floor. David Albaugh, director of NOAA's Monitor Marine Sanctuary, said the survey is intended as a first step toward better protecting the U-boats from slow, illegal dismantling. The U-boats are relics of a little-known period at the outset of World War II when an unprepared U.S. Navy allowed a small fleet of German subs to ravage Allied shipping just off the coast. In early 1942, the U-boats sank an average of one merchant ship per night; the Germans preyed heavily on big oil tankers rounding the point at Cape Hatteras, N.C. The U.S. government downplayed the sinkings at the time, but coastal residents saw the toll on shipping and lives in the debris and occasional bodies washing up on the beaches. . . . Each of the three Outer Banks U-boats lies relatively close to shore and represents a "first" in the battle for control of the U.S. coast. The U-85, which sits about 14 miles east of the tourist beach at Nags Head, N.C., was the first U-boat sunk by a U.S. Navy warship after months of fruitless patrols. After it sank April 14, 1942, most of its crew were quickly and quietly buried in Hampton National Cemetery, where they remain today. The U-352, which lies in 115 feet of water about 22 miles east of Morehead City, N.C., was sunk by a Coast Guard cutter a month after the U-85 sinking and yielded the first prisoners taken by the U.S. from a U-boat. The U-701, located about 25 miles off Hatteras, was sunk by a patrolling U.S. bomber on July 7, 1942. But the U-701 already had managed to lay mines in the Chesapeake Bay -- the only successful mining by a sub of U.S. waters. The wrecks of the U-85 and U-352 have been popular recreational diving sites for more than a quarter-century. Divers have taken virtually every artifact that could be dislodged from those subs, including the U-352's 20mm anti-aircraft gun, said Joe Hoyt, a NOAA maritime archaeologist and diver who explored all three subs last month. The U-701 escaped souvenir-hunters for years because it was mostly buried in sand and difficult to find, Hoyt said. But turbulence from Hurricane Isabel uncovered it in 2003. Private divers have taken the U-701's hatch cover and several other small objects, Hoyt said, but most of the sub still is there, and its burial prevented the ocean from corroding the outer hull. "The difference between the U-701 and the others is amazing," said Hoyt, who pored over documents and diagrams of the subs before diving so that he would be able to tell exactly what was missing. At least two of the subs -- the U-352 and the U-701 -- are believed to contain the remains of crewmen. . . . Albaugh said a recent request by a private dive group to use a powerful vacuum to collect artifacts from the U-701 prompted the recent study, conducted by 18 divers from NOAA and several universities. The divers did not touch the subs or remove anything from them, he said. Their report will serve as an official inventory of what's left. Alsbaugh said NOAA will seek next to enter the U-boats in the National Register of Historic Places, raising their visibility as historic objects. He said NOAA has no immediate plans to surround the subs with a marine sanctuary -- a restricted stretch of ocean similar to the one that protects the wreck of the Civil War ironclad Monitor, which also lies off Hatteras. Alsbaugh said NOAA is not interested in barring divers from visiting the subs, which would defeat the purpose of preserving them for history. John Figura, manager of the Outer Banks Dive Center in Nags Head, said the vast majority of recreational divers oppose souvenir-hunting on the U-boats and would welcome a higher level of protection for them. "These are part of history, and they are war graves," Figura said of the U-boats. "The [artifacts] on them are not souvenirs to be kept in someone's garage and shown off to friends over some beers." Last edited by navyvet; 08-01-08 at 07:17 PM. Reason: clean up

08-03-08, 12:38 PM	#2
Uncle Goose Torpedoman Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Belgium Posts: 113 Downloads: 1 Uploads: 0	After 65 years of being in the salt water I can imagine that the items retrieved are in not so great condition. Makes me wonder why people are stripping those boats to begin with, I can't imagine that anyone would pay a lot of money for some rusted artifacts, even if they come from an U-boat. Same thing here in Flanders, people still dig stuff up from the first Worldwar hoping to fetch some easy money only to find out nobody is interested in rusted guns or other artifacts, collectors only want pieces in top condition.