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History tours: Third Reich, WW2WW2 category: Wrecks: WWII :: Latest WWII news reviews. See also 'D-Day tours', 'Nazi gold', 'U-Boats, WWII Submarines', 'Battleships'.
Sunken American World War II submarine USS Flier found honoluluadvertiser.com :: 2010-02-02
The Navy said that a sunken vessel in the Philippines' Balabac Strait has been id'ed as the WW2 submarine USS Flier. The Flier had seen a lot of action by the time it hit a mine and sank on Aug. 13, 1944. 78 crewmen were lost when the sub sank. 14 crewmen escaped, but only 8 made the swim to the shore. After travelling by raft to Palawan and being protected for several weeks by a local guerrilla unit, the sailors were rescued by the submarine USS Redfin. The last surviving crewmember Al Jacobson dedicated much of his life to finding the Flier before dying in 2008.
Treasure hunt is on for £70m silver hoard aboard SS Gairsoppa, sunk by the U-boat U101 timesonline.co.uk :: 2010-01-24 :: Nazi gold & Hidden WWII treasures
An official undertaking to find a ship containing £70 million worth of silver - and sunk during World War II - is to be announced by the UK government which has joined forces with a private treasure hunting company in the hope of salvaging the treasure. The target is the SS Gairsoppa, which was on its way from India to Britain in 1941 with a cargo of silver ingots when it was sunk by the German U-boat U101. Under the agreement, Odyssey Marine Exploration will have two years to find and salvage the silver, which will be split between Odyssey and the transport department.
Team finds Australian hospital ship AHS Centaur, torpedoed by a Japanese sub in WW2 abcnews.go.com :: 2009-12-20 :: Wrecks: WWII
An Australian hospital ship torpedoed by a Japanese submarine during World War II with the loss of 268 lives has been located near the coast of the Queensland. The loss of the Centaur in 1943 was one of Australia's great wartime disasters. Survivors have long campaigned for the search mission, fearing looters would reach it first. The wreck's location had been confirmed by a team led by American marine search expert David Mearns. The Centaur was sunk near Brisbane by a torpedo fired from a submarine commanded by Hajime Nakagawa. The sinking of the Centaur was considered a war crime, but no one was ever tried for it.
Deep-sea mission off Fujairah shores reveals new details behind sinking of WW2 Nazi submarine U-533 gulfnews.com :: 2009-12-17 :: U-Boats : Submarines
The Gulf of Oman have given up secrets of the sinking of Nazi submarine U-533 during the World War II. Several years after the discovery of the U-boat on the seabed 108 metres below by shipwreck hunter William Leeman, a new deep-sea mission to the U-boat has confirmed a fatal blast hole was ripped into her rear port side, sending the U-boat and 52 crew members to the abyss. Leeman and his team of divers discovered the 2-metre gash near her propellers, confirming reports by RAF Squadron 244 that a British light bomber (Blenheim) had scored a direct strike on the submarine on Oct. 16, 1943. Only one U-533 survivor escaped to safety from the submarine.
Two WW2-era Japanese attack subs, designed for a stealth attack on the U.S. East Coast, discovered nationalgeographic.com :: 2009-11-13
Two Second World War-era Japanese attack submarines have been discovered near Pearl Harbor. Designed for a stealth attack on the American East Coast the "samurai subs" were fast, far-ranging, and in some cases carried folding-wing aircraft, says Dik Daso, curator of modern military aircraft at the Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum, speaking in the new National Geographic documentary film "Hunt for the Samurai Subs." When the war ended the U.S. Navy took over the Japanese fleet, sinking 5 samurai submarines to keep the technology out of the hands of the Soviet Union. The military didn't record where the boats had been sunk.
Footage from the wreck of trawler YP-389, which lost a 90min surface battle with the German U-701 hamptonroads.com :: 2009-09-10 :: Wrecks: WWII
A World War II Navy patrol boat, untouched off the coast of Hatteras since it was sunk by a Nazi submarine in 1942, has been discovered. The converted trawler YP-389 was found during the leg of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Battle of the Atlantic expedition, said maritime archaeologist Joe Hoyt. The ship's discovery was made from footage taken by a diving robot and confirmed with historical records. YP-389 lost a 90-minute surface battle with the u-boat U-701 on June 19, 1942. The YP-389 used .30-caliber machine guns and depth charges, while the Germans returned fire with 20mm flak guns and 88mm deck guns.
One-of-a-kind WWII wreck near Manoel Island in Malta facing an uncertain future timesofmalta.com :: 2009-08-03
The one-of-a-kind Second World War wreck near Manoel Island is facing an uncertain future after the company responsible for building a yacht marina in the area is unwilling to give a guarantee to protect it. The wreck in question is a unique X127 Waterlighter sunk in 1942, which lies intact in the Lazzaretto Creek. It was called as a great diving site by a number of divers who wanted to make sure it was preserved. However, the plans released by the government for the yacht marina did not give any indication of how it will be protected.
5 Soviet WWII subs lie at the sea bottom in Bulgarian territorial waters focus-fen.net :: 2009-06-19
Military history expert Atanas Panayotov: We have 5 Soviet submarine wrecks in Bulgarian territorial waters. 4 of these have been explored while one has not yet been found, though we have a good hunch of its presumed location. The mission of the subs was to cut German communications between Romania and the Bosporus and Italy. Upon entering Bulgarian territorial waters the submarines faced the danger of naval mines, by means of which Bulgaria, though not involved in the war, had set up its safe zones. East of Varna is the SHT-211, and south of Varna is the SHT-204. The vessels near Shabla are SHT-210 and Л-24, which is a mine-laying submarine.
Soviet sub wreck - a Soviet S-2 class submarine - discovered near Åland islands thelocal.se/ :: 2009-06-09
The wreck of a WWII-era Soviet submarine have been discovered by a team of Swedish divers near the Åland islands (between Sweden and Finland in the Baltic Sea). The vessel, a Soviet S-2 class submarine, was sunk by mines in 1940, killing all 50 crew members. Documents from the Swedish military archives say that the S-2 sub was sunk by Swedish mines in Swedish waters, while Finnish records say the vessel sank in Finnish waters. Among the divers was Ingvald Eckerman, grandson of J.A. Eckerman, who stood watch at the Märket lighthouse on Jan 2nd, 1940 and saw the sinking. [Watch video]
The wreck of the City of Rayville, the first US vessel lost during WW2, discovered theage.com.au :: 2009-04-01
Researchers have located the rusty wreck of the City of Rayville, the first US vessel lost during World War 2, nearly 69 years after it sank off the coast of Cape Otway. Destroyed by a Nazi mine on Nov. 8, 1940, the exact location of the ship - heading via Melbourne to New York with its cargo of lead, wool and copper - had remained a mystery. However, Deakin University researchers led by Daniel Ierodiaconou used multi-beam sonar imagery and remotely operated video equipment to locate the wreck 14km south of Cape Otway Lighthouse and took the first detailed images of the ship, 70 meters below the surface.
Finding Nazi U-boat off the Jersey coast gmnews.com :: 2009-03-06 :: U-Boats : Submarines
The Nazi U-boat that once hunted near New York and New Jersey lay undiscovered for 45 years just 60 miles off the Jersey coast. It wasn't until 1991, when shipwreck diver John Chatterton surfaced from 230 feet, holding two plates with a swastika and the year "1942" engraved on them, that anyone even knew the submarine was there. It would take 6 years to id the German u-boat. The proof finally came in the form of 3 tags with the number U-869. The search was chronicled in book "Shadow Divers" by Robert Kurson, and in the PBS documentary film "Hitler's Lost Sub."
Explorers: British shipwreck, sunk by Nazi submarine U-87, holds 2.6 billion treasure telegraph.co.uk :: 2009-01-25 :: Nazi gold & Hidden WWII treasures
Salvagers claim to have found the world's richest wreck: a British freighter torpedoed by a Nazi u-boat while filled with a 2.6 billion cargo (gold, platinum, diamonds). The company has not revealed the name of the ship - laden with goods for the US Treasury under the Lend-Lease - or its location. The vessel, codenamed "Blue Baron," was sent to the bottom by two torpedoes of U-boat U87 in June 1942. Sub Sea Research, a US-based marine recovery firm, has now located the wreck 40 miles off Guyana. Historians have not credited U87 with sinking any vessels in that area in June 1942, but Greg Brooks claims to have located the u-boat's log book which proves otherwise.
Adventurer Justin Taylan focuses on World War II wrecks zwire.com :: 2008-11-29 :: Wrecks: WWII
Justin Taylan writes on his site, pacificwrecks.org, that his fascination with World War II began with war stories told to him by his grandfather, "who was a combat photographer and soldier in the Pacific." Taylan went on to write book "No Place for a Picnic," about his grandfather, after touring WWII locations with him. Yet Taylan's interest goes farther, maybe because WWII is not long gone - wrecks from the war still sit in their final resting places. "This project has brought me in contact with people from all over the world, including WWII Pacific veterans, their relatives, descendents, historians, travelers, authors and explorers."
Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory solves military mysteries Article no longer available from the original source. :: honoluluadvertiser.com :: 2008-09-16
The main mission of the Hawai'i Undersea Research Laboratory isn't to record the many military ships and planes it locates. Rather, it's to study deep-water marine processes in the Pacific. But thanks to training and trial dives in two submersibles, the Pisces IV and Pisces V, the lab has made some noteworthy historical finds, and done some pretty good detective work. The latest in a long line of notable discoveries may be a Douglas SBD Dauntless that was downed on Dec. 7, 1941. On the same day the SBD tail section was identified, the research lab came upon the S-19, a WWI-vintage submarine that was scuttled off Pearl Harbor in 1938.
Paradise island threatened by wrecked World War II oil tanker newscientist.com :: 2008-09-04
60 years on and the impacts of world war 2 are still being felt. A sunken oil tanker, one of dozens on the bottom of Micronesia's Chuuk Lagoon, is releasing purple diesel bubbles. On 31 July, the oil slick was 5km long. Corrosion experts say the 52 wrecks in Chuuk Lagoon could collapse in a few years, yet no-one knows how much fuel was inside the vessels when they went down. The problem could take on huge proportions, as over 380 other tankers lie at the bottom of the Pacific. Maritime archaeologist Bill Jeffery is seeking Japanese historians and shipping experts who could estimate the contents of the Hoyo Maru's oil storage tanks.
Thames reveals forgotten wrecks: 1665 warship, World War II gunboat thisislondon.co.uk :: 2008-08-26
The largest post-war salvage operation on the Thames has discovered 7 shipwrecks, including: warship HMS London blown up in 1665, yacht HMS Aisha that become part of "Dad's Navy" as a gunboat, and a mystery wreck that went down about 1862. The wrecks, in the Thames Estuary, are just some of about 1,100 ships which went down in the whole of the river. The salvage by Wessex Archaeology and the Port of London Authority was both historical and practical. Jagged metal from the wrecks can act as a "can-opener," splitting apart vessels. The 4-month project was filmed for the BBC, using a dozen divers who used 3D survey gear to locate the wrecks in near-zero visibility.
Surveying Nazi U-boats sunk off North Carolina during World War II sciencedaily.com :: 2008-07-10 :: U-Boats : Submarines
NOAA will lead a research expedition to probe the wrecks of 3 German subs sunk by U.S. forces in 1942 off the coast of North Carolina. The team will survey and photograph visible sections of U-352, U-85 and U-701 using non-invasive methods as the submarine wreck sites are war graves. The German U-boats are located in an area known as the "Graveyard of the Atlantic," which has shipwrecks from both sides of the Battle of the Atlantic at recreational diving depths (less than 130 feet). The wrecks are popular dive sites, but unfortunately U-352 and U-85 have been damaged by salvage operators and relic hunters.
World War II naval legend, cruiser HMS Exeter, found off Java telegraph :: 2008-05-19 :: Wrecks: WWII
The cruiser HMS Exeter, known for its role in the Battle of the River Plate when it tracked down the Admiral Graf Spee, was located by divers exploring the Java Sea. The British vessel was sunk on March 1, 1942, when, with 2 escorts, the destroyer HMS Encounter and the American destroyer Pope, it was attacked by 9 Japanese warships. All 3 Allied ships were lost in the action. The wreck of Encounter has also now been located. The two warships were found in Indonesian waters, at a depth of 200ft, 90 miles north of Bawean Island, and 60 miles from the sinking position reported by Exeter's captain Oliver Gordon.
Divers get their fix with sunken ships - Wreck Diving dailybreeze :: 2008-04-27
From oil rigs to half-frozen lakes, if it's divable, chances are that Bill Wilson has strapped a tank on and poked around. He's tallied over 4,000 dives, a couple of which were with Jacques Cousteau. As founder of California Wreck Divers, his mission is to discover and salvage artifacts because, "if we leave them down there, they will disappear." To Wilson, leaving these sunken treasures to decline in the saltwater would be a crime to nautical history. And with strong Pacific currents and heavy wave action, stuff doesn't last as long here as it would in the Caribbean.
5 sunken warships, submerged beneath the sea [photos] environmentalgraffiti :: 2008-04-10
As technology has advanced, we now have ghostly images of destroyed men-of-war. (4) The German WWII Battleship Bismarck was a terror on the high seas in the early part of WWII, sinking the HMS Hood and damaging the Prince of Wales. She was crippled by an aerial torpedo, and destroyed by a Royal Navy task force in May 1941. --- (2) In the last days of World War II, American Carrier Air Power was operating with impunity and U.S. wanted a Japanese Pearl Harbor. The place they chose was Truk, an island fortress with a major fleet. The photo is of a battle tank on the deck of a transport ship, over 60 years later.
First pictures of the wreck of HMAS Sydney thesun :: 2008-04-04
The first pictures of a long lost shipwreck which sank during the Second World War killing 645 crew have released. Photos of HMAS Sydney were being taken by a remotely operated submersible deployed from the survey vessel Geosounder. Images show a gun turret on the Sydney with a shell hole clearly visible between the two guns.
Warship HMAS Sydney found - Australia's maritime mystery solved telegraph.co.uk :: 2008-03-17 :: BattleShips of World War Two
One wartime mystery has been solved with the discovery of the wreck of the battleship HMAS Sydney. The Sydney, a cruiser, was the biggest ship from any country to be sunk with all hands lost during World War Two. It was sunk by the German naval raider Kormoran, cloaked as a Dutch merchant ship, during a battle in Nov. 1941. The fate of HMAS Sydney, and why none of its crew survived, was "Australia's major maritime mystery" said the chief of the Australian navy, Vice Admiral Russ Shalders. HMAS Sydney was last seen limping over the horizon, streaming black smoke, by the crew of the Kormoran.
Wreck of German World War II merchant raider Kormoran discovered afp :: 2008-03-16 :: Wrecks: WWII
The wreckage of a German ship thought to have sunk the HMAS Sydney during World War II has been found off the Western Australian coast, increasing hopes that a wartime mystery will soon be solved. The German merchant raider Kormoran was discovered 150km west of Shark Bay - an important clue to concluding the search for the cruiser HMAS Sydney, which went down in November 1941 with the loss of all 645 on board after a furious battle. The HMAS Sydney was sunk in battle with the Kormoran while sailing to Australia from Sumatra but the location of the wreck was unknown.
The wreck of a Royal Navy destroyer HMS Hunter found in fjord in Norway bbc :: 2008-03-06
The wreck of a Royal Navy destroyer has been discovered in a Norwegian fjord, 68 years after she sank during the Battle of Narvik. HMS Hunter has stayed untroubled since April 1940 when she sank, killing 110 people. It was detected 305m under water by Norwegian mine control vessel Hnoms Tyr on a training mission. The site will be marked as a war grave. Major General Garry Robison said discovering HMS Hunter had been a "poignant moment". HMS Hunter was one of 2 Allied destroyers lost during the first Battle of Narvik, the Germans lost 4 destroyers.
Shipwreck hunter David Mearns sets sail for HMAS Sydney thewest :: 2008-02-29
World renowned shipwreck hunter David Mearns is positive he is a month away from solving one World War II Mystery: the location of HMAS Sydney, the Australian battleship that sank with all hands in 1941 after a battle with German raider the Kormoran. Mearns set off from Geraldton aboard the SV Geosounder, loaded with equipment and 67 years of questions about the Sydney and her 645 crew. The wreck hunter said studying German naval documents had enabled his team to guess the likely resting place of the Kormoran, and locating the German vessel would enable him to use it as a reference point.
Siblings travel to dive to the wreckage of the naval cruiser U.S.S. Houston srpressgazette.com :: 2008-02-21
Jerry Ranger and Jolene Ranger-Stewart will travel to the Indonesia to dive to the wreckage of the U.S.S. Houston, a WWII naval cruiser sunk during the Sundra Strait Battle on March 1, 1942. The ship battled against a major Imperial Japanese Navy unit that bombed Pearl Harbor. The trip will be bittersweet because their dad, John W. Ranger, was a survivor of the battle. "I’ve learned about what he would never talk about. He spent 3-and-a-half years in 13 different POW camps. He also received a silver star for his bravery." No divers are allowed in the ship, but Jerry has been given permission to send in a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to photograph the interior.
Auctioned: Model of ship that did not sink after torpedoed by German U-boat 111 scarborougheveningnews :: 2008-02-19 :: Military Scale Model: Aircrafts, Vehicles
A model of one of the shortest-lived ships in Whitby's marine history may get £7,000 when it is auctioned. The 4 feet 5 inches long model is of the ill-starred steam ship Barnby, launched in 1940 - only to be torpedoed 18 months later by German U-boat 111 on May 22,1942, in one of the most unusual nautical incidents of the World War 2. This was because the Barnby did NOT sink! She was complately filled with flour, which swelled up and kept her afloat, so no one quite knows where she lies. "Builder's models of this period are particularly sought-after... Early models have fine metal fittings, often silver or silver gilt and gunmetal or brass."
Adolf Hitler's lost fleet found in Black Sea: Three German U-boats telegraph.co.uk :: 2008-02-03 :: U-Boats : Submarines
The location of 3 German U-boats (U-19, U-20, U-23), "Hitler's lost fleet", has been discovered at the bottom of the Black Sea. The vessels, including one once commanded by U-boat ace Otto Kretschmer, formed part of the 30th Flotilla of 6 submarines, taken by road and river from Nazi Germany's Baltic port at Kiel to Constanta, the Romanian Black Sea port, to attack Russian shipping. In 2 years the fleet sank dozens of ships and lost 3 own u-boats. But in August 1944, Romania switched sides, leaving the 3 last vessels stranded. Mike Williams: "...these U-boats were all scuttled, so they should be intact, like a sealed tube. They are unique survivors of the war."
Wreckage of scuttled Nazi ship Ussukuma identified off Argentine coast bloomberg :: 2008-01-31 :: Wrecks: WWII
Argentina's navy identified a wreck off the coast of Buenos Aires as the Ussukuma, a Nazi supply vessel that sank after a face-off with British warships in the early days of WWII. The Ussukuma, scuttled by its crew in Dec 1939, was carrying explosives for German warships, said historian Carlos De Napoli. "This is the first Nazi wreck to be id'd in Argentine waters in decades. We have at least 6 more Nazi ship and submarine wrecks waiting to be discovered." -- Professor of naval history Eric Grove: "Any German ship at sea after Sept 1939 could only operate as a fugitive. Standard procedure for those ships was to scuttle themselves if detected by enemy forces..."
Japanese Submarine I-52 had 2 tons of gold and other valuable cargo montgomeryadvertiser :: 2008-01-28 :: U-Boats : Submarines
"Battleground Atlantic: How the Sinking of a Single Japanese Submarine Assured the Outcome of World War II" by Richard Billings tells the story of the I-52, and the salvage efforts by Paul Tidwell. The I-52 carried with it the hopes of bringing victory to Japan. The cargo (gold and liquid opium) was to be used as payment for Nazi engineering that would help bring the Japanese submarine fleet up-to-date, and to bring back to Japan technology for a superweapon - thought to have been a radiological bomb. Billings cites decoded inventories that show uranium oxide aboard the I-52 to back up his argument that Japan was close to launching such a bomb against American targets.
U-boat U-869 discovery brings some clarity to decades-old mystery hnn.us :: 2007-11-29
Richie Kohler wanted to become an astronaut. Instead, he became a diver, helping to reveal a World War II mystery. German submarine U-869 was believed to have been sunk near Morocco in 1945, but turned up in 1991 60 miles off the New Jersey coast. The case is covered in Robert Kurson's "Shadow Divers." Kohler was one of a group of divers who became involved with the mystery boat after a trawler snagged its net on the wreck. At the beginning it was believed the ship was an American submarine. The mystery intensified when diver John Chatterton recovered an artifact marked with 1942, an eagle and a swastika. "The Navy said there was no known wreck at that location."
Approval for German World War II U-boat U534 to resurface bbc :: 2007-10-23 :: Wrecks: WWII
Wirral council has approved Merseytravel's proposal to house a German World War II submarine U-534, previously an attraction at the Historic Warships Museum at Seacombe docks, at the Woodside Ferry Terminal. The u-boat was sunk during the war when, she was attacked by an RAF Liberator aircraft in 1945. 49 of the 52 crew members survived - 5 who escaped via a torpedo hatch as the submarine lay on the sea bed. Plans include the provision of a visitor exhibition centre, which will display some of the four-and-a-half tons of memorabilia that was found on U-534: an Enigma cipher machine, ammunition, uniforms, tools, charts and maps.
An exploratory dive to assess the chances of recovering U-778 bbc :: 2007-09-18
An exploratory dive to assess the chances of recovering a sunken U-boat is to take place. U-778, which did not see any war action, sank while being towed to Londonderry to be scrapped. Derry City Council plans to raise the Nazi submarine which lies 16 miles north west of Malin Head. The aim is to house the boat in a museum where people can get a glimpse of one of the iconic WWII vessels. There are about 150 of them lying off Malin Head - all vivid reminders of the Battle of the Atlantic during World War II. Even in the murky depths the outline of the U-boat is quite clear - divers saying the aerials and periscopes are still intact.
Soviet sub SC305 found - Sank after being rammed by Finnish sub canoe :: 2007-07-06 :: U-Boats : Submarines
A research team has discovered a Soviet submarine SC305 at the bottom of the Baltic Sea. It was sunk in 1942 by the Finnish navy during a World War II battle. Bjorn Rosenlof says the 8-member team, using sonar equipment, found the vessel at a depth of 136 metres between the Swedish east coast town of Grisslehamn and the Finnish Aland Islands. The sub is "in very good condition, aside from a hole in the hull where it was hit." All 38 crew members died when the submarine sank after being rammed and hit by cannon fire from a Finnish submarine. The military has been informed of the discovery, but it's unclear whether the submarine will be raised from the seabed.
U-864's mercury cargo posing growing threat japantimes :: 2007-06-07 :: Wrecks: WWII
The fate of a Nazi U-boat that was torpedoed off the Norwegian coast hangs in the balance a debate what to do about a growing environmental threat. Japanese Tadao Yamato and Toshio Nakai were among the passengers on the U-864 en route from Nazi Germany to Japan with a toxic cargo of 1,857 flasks of mercury when the Royal Navy submarine Venturer torpedoed it on Feb. 9, 1945. When the U-boat went down, some of its mercury cargo leaked contaminating 30,000 sq. meters. The U-864 contained plans and parts various Messerschmitt aircraft, submarines and radar. Adolf Hitler hoped that boosting Japan would put greater pressure on the US and weaken Britain.
Sunken German U-boat U-352 draws divers encyclopedia.com :: 2007-05-09
When Heinz Richter visits the Olympus Dive Center in Morehead City, he talks about a wreck site that brings many divers to the area. But he stops short of taking the dive with them: His last trip to the ocean's bottom was 65 years ago, when the German U-boat on which he served was sunk off the coast of North Carolina. "One dive was enough for me." A replica of the U-352 is featured in the aquarium's 306,000-gallon Living Shipwreck exhibit. Richter was machinist aboard the sub when it met its fate on May 9, 1942. Richter willingly talks about the WWII sinking and isn't bothered by the sub artifact, a 20mm anti-aircraft gun, that sits on the dive center's deck.
WWII torpedo boat wreckage was tossed up from sea after earthquake military :: 2007-04-28
Wreckage from a World War II torpedo boat was tossed up from the sea in the Solomon Islands after a powerful 8.1 earthquake hit the area. The explosive-laden boat was exposed when reefs were pushed up 3 meters above sea level. The Solomons' coastline is still littered with military wrecks from World War II, including the torpedo patrol boat commanded by U.S. President John F. Kennedy. Kennedy's boat was sunk by a Japanese destroyer in the Blackett Strait in August 1943 off Gizo, the main town of western Solomon Islands. The Solomons' main island, Guadalcanal, was the scene of fierce WWII fighting.
US explorers, armed with metal detectors, discover WW2 wreck in Burma jungle nationmultimedia :: 2007-02-19
3 amateur explorers from the U.S. have uncovered the wreckage of a downed American World War II plane in the jungles of northern Burma. Brenda Davidson, Nancy Nenow and Don Morley heard rumours of the aircraft from tribesmen on previous trips, and set off from the town of Hkamti armed with metal detectors on Jan 13. They found the wreck, which included parts of the plane's pumps, generator and landing gear, after trekking 13 days. "We didn't find the fuselage, so we could not guess what type of plane it was." Because the wreck was too heavy to carry away, they photographed it and wrote down a brand name found on a pump.
Toxic Nazi submarine U-864 to be buried at sea guardian :: 2007-02-14 :: U-Boats : Submarines
A Nazi u-boat sunk off Norway at the end of world war II is to be buried in the sea bed so that its cargo of toxic mercury will not contaminate the coast. The U-864 submarine was sunk by allied forces off west Norway on Feb 9 1945, and is believed to hold 65 tonnes of mercury. The U-864 had been moving towards Japan with advanced weapons technology and was sunk in a battle with the British HMS Venturer sub. Despite villagers' demands for the hazard to be removed, minister said the wreck will be buried at sea, because raising it would involve risk of spreading mercury to new areas.
Sunken WWII sub USS Perch found by accident near Java starbulletin :: 2007-01-22
The wreck of WW2 diesel submarine USS Perch was discovered near Java, according to the USS Bowfin Submarine Museum, by a team hoping to photograph the wreck of the British cruiser Exeter. The news was welcome news to Robert Lents, who was a torpedoman when the Perch was sunk: "I got $35 still in my locker." On March 1, 1942, the Perch was attacked by an enemy convoy that was landing troops. Two Japanese destroyers forced the Perch to the bottom with depth charges, damaging the starboard engines. Two days later the Perch, unable to dive, was attacked by 2 cruisers and 3 destroyers. At that point, commander David Hurt ordered the Perch to be scuttled.
U-boats off the North-East - Submarine Wrecks of the UK thisishertfordshire :: 2006-12-27
Covering the entire East Coast this meticulously-researched account has separate chapters for the North-East and Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. The authors have pieced together the stories of the 16 U-boat wrecks so far located - 7 off the North-East coast, 9 off Yorkshire and Lincolnshire. They provide full technical details of the vessels, describe the events leading up to their loss, and list the victims, including, where available, those on ships attacked by the U-boats prior to their own destruction. The present state of the wreck, established by divers, completes the remarkable record.
Graveyard of the Atlantic gives up secrets [pdf] discoveryof.com :: 2006-11-12 :: Wrecks: WWII
The identities of 4 tankers sunk in World War 2 off North Carolina soon unraveled into a tangled mess. However, through the teamwork of several wreck divers, the true stories of these war casualties were revealed. The San Delfino was a 463-foot-long tanker - heavily armed at the outbreak of WWII, she boasted a 4-inch gun and a smaller 12-pound gun mounted on her stern, as well as two twin Marlin machine guns, one Lewis machine gun, and a Savage-Lewis machine gun. On April 9, 1942, the San Delfino was attacked by the u-boat U-203. A single torpedo struck the starboard side, igniting the cargo of 11,000 tons of aviation fuel.
Mystery submarine wrecks could be German U-boats cdnn :: 2006-11-09 :: U-Boats : Submarines
Wrecks of two mysterious submarines have been discovered off the coast of Orkney in an area where there were no reports of wartime sinkings. An Orkney diver speculated that the vessels might have been German U-boats sunk during World War 2. There were reports that the Royal Navy had depth-charged U-boats, but this took place several miles away. Grainy images of the submarines were captured using the latest 3-dimensional sonar device, but their identity are not known.
Divers raise wreckage of German WWII Junkers-87 Stuka bomber freerepublic.com :: 2006-10-07 :: Aircrafts of WWII
Greek military divers raised the wreckage of a German World War II Stuka bomber from the sea. The Junkers-87 dive-bomber was shot down in 1943 and will be displayed at the air force museum. Air force experts believe the plane was part of a Luftwaffe squadron operating from Rhodes that lost several Stukas to allied ships on Oct. 9, 1943. Fitted with a screaming siren for maximum shock effect, the gull-winged, single-engine Stuka was a feared symbol of Nazi military power. Out of some 6,000 aircraft produced 1936-1944, only two are intact in museums, while the wrecks of 3 more Stukas have been salvaged.
Pictures of the sunk british WWII battleship in Scapa Flow scotsman :: 2006-09-25 :: BattleShips of World War Two
Underneath the massive hull of the HMS Royal Oak, the superstructure of the battleship lies crushed, with gun barrels buried in the sand. These are the clearest images yet of one of the most terrible naval tragedies in British history. The Dreadnought class warship, one of the largest in the British WWII fleet, was sunk by torpedoes during the Second World War in a U-boat attack in Scapa Flow on Oct 14, 1939. The ghostly images created by ADUS are published for the first time and show the wreck in great detail. The wreck, an official War Grave in which more than 833 sailors died when it sank in 10 minutes, is still leaking fuel.
Pieces of WWII aircraft wreckage pulled from River in Normandy Article no longer available from the original source. :: knoxnews :: 2006-09-10 :: Wrecks: WWII
Enormous sections of a World War II aircraft that has rested on the bottom of the Duck River in Normandy were uncovered and measured by Air Force and Navy personnel. But after examination of the vintage wreckage, there are more questions than answers over exactly what type of warplane it is. U.S. Navy Cmdr. Frank Moulds heard about the crash site in Normandy and took the opportunity to take a look at it. He researched what few records there were of the time period and discovered there were as many as 50 military crash sites scattered all over 3 local counties. It's the commander's theory that the plane is a B-25 Mitchell Bomber that went down in 1943.
Battle stations over sunken Graf Spee and Nazi Eagle smh :: 2006-08-27 :: Admiral Graf Spee: Pocket Battleship
For more than 60 years the wreck of the Graf Spee, once the pride of Nazi Germany's fleet, rested undisturbed. But now a new battle has broken out over who owns recovered spoils. The group that recovered them wants to put the pieces up for auction. But Uruguayan officials, fearing that neo-Nazi groups acquire the artefacts, are threatening to suspend the permit. "There are ethical limits on the promotion of Nazi symbols in museums, so who are the potential buyers of these icons, if not neo-Nazis?" The insignia had been covered up so that the swastika was not visible. Some say collectors were willing to pay $15 million for pieces.
Nazi sailor key to Australia's battleship mystery nzherald :: 2006-07-22 :: BattleShips of World War Two
A former Nazi sailor living in South America may hold the key to solving one of Australia's greatest wartime mysteries, the sinking and disappearance of the battleship HMAS Sydney. Shipwreck hunters have tracked him down and believe he holds clues about exactly where HMAS Sydney sank after being torpedoed by a German raider, the Kormoran 1941. The latest clues come from Reinhold Von Malapert, one of the last-known survivors of the Kormoran. He was the German raider's chief communications officer.
France protects HMT Lancastria shipwreck from scuba looters cdnn :: 2006-06-26 :: Relic Hunters: Hidden Nazi & War treasures
The French Government's decided to offer protection to the final resting place of over 3,000 British servicemen who died when the HMT Lancastria was sunk in World War Two. It was lending support to the war effort, helping to rescue the British Expeditionary Force from France, when she was attacked by german Luftwaffe aircrafts off St. Nazaire on 17 June 1940. At the time she was carrying several thousand troops and RAF personnel. The ship sank rapidly with heavy loss of life. So grievous was the disaster that news of the sinking was initially suppressed by the wartime Cabinet.
An elite group of divers has found an important WW2 wreck smh :: 2006-06-03 :: Wrecks: WWII
Samir Alhafith, Michael Kalman, Mark Eaves and Tony Keen were descending onto a giant freighter no person had seen since February 8, 1943. On that terrible day, the Iron Knight was sunk by a Japanese submarine. The ship was one of 16 vessels destroyed by Japanese submarines off the NSW coast during World War II. Only 3 of these have been found. Iron Knight was the victim of one of the most infamous Japanese subs - the massive I-21, which also launched a float plane over Sydney during the midget submarine attack in 1942 and shelled Newcastle. The four men belong to the Sydney Project, which is dedicated to finding shipwrecks in deep water.
Sunken sub may end wartime mystery theage :: 2005-04-12 :: Unsolved Mysteries of WWII
Paul Tidwell, a shipwreck salvager, could be about to answer one of the most intriguing questions of WWII: was Japan seeking peace with the Allies more than a year before the war ended? He believes the wreckage of a Japanese submarine sunk by US warplanes on June 23, 1944, could contain a peace proposal from Tokyo. He plans to raise the sub, the I-52, from 5500 metres below the surface between Cape Verde and Barbados. The u-boat was carrying crew of 112, two tonnes of gold and opium. Declassified documents show that Japan's assistant naval attache had been in secret talks with Allen Dulles.
See also:
'D-Day tours'
'Nazi gold'
'U-Boats, WWII Submarines'
'Battleships'.