Exploration of a U-boat wreck off the US coast - video

When the United States joined the Second World War on the side of the Allies, the Germans sent what was then the terror of all waters – their submarines – towards its eastern coast. The targets of the U-boats were mainly merchant ships bound for Europe. One of the Kriegsmarine ships that operated in the region was U-576.

The crew of U-576 managed to sink four and damage two large merchant ships before the vessel was tracked by the US Air Force and sunk with depth charges on 15 July 1942. The forgotten wreck rested on the bottom for another 73 years. In 2016, the vessel was again viewed with the human eye for the first time since it was sunk, when a two-man National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration exploration vehicle reached the wreck.

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This year, US scientists from NOAA revisited the wreck, using the ‘Nomad’ vehicle to conduct further exploration. Randy Holt and Mark Strassmann went down to the bottom. It takes them less than 10 minutes to reach the wreck at a depth of almost 220 metres. The sonar readings guide them until the wreck of U-576 appears in their field of view.

NOAA scientists photograph and scan the wreck in a bid to create a 3D model of it. The U-boat lies tilted on its starboard side. Its distinctive bow is a sight that cannot be mistaken for any other vessel.

A few weeks after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, the Germans launched attacks on the east coast of the USA. In 1942, they dominated the enemy and completely overran these waters, sinking some 80 vessels with the loss of over 1,600 lives. Interestingly, these figures were hidden from the public, who were unaware of the scale of the attacks.

Only the people on the coast knew what the situation was. Flashes of explosions lighting up the night sky, floating oil slicks, the remains of vessels dumped on the beaches and sometimes even human corpses. In 1942 on the east coast such things were not unusual.

The wreck of the ship U-576 rests 35 Mm off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, it is accompanied by the wreck of its last victim, the tanker SS “Bluefield”. As the researchers point out, this is the situation that makes the site special. The predator and his victim lie side by side, submerged in the depths of the sea.

Source: cbsnews.com