Thursday, November 6, 2014

WWII battlefield found off North Carolina coast

576-3-hr


Researchers from NOAA has located the underwater wreckage of German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields, both sunk during a convoy battle in 1942.


A team of researchers led by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries have discovered two significant vessels from World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic. The German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields were found approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina. Lost for more than 70 years, the discovery of the two vessels, in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic, is a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII.


“This is not just the discovery of a single shipwreck,” said Joe Hoyt, a NOAA sanctuary scientist and chief scientist for the expedition. “We have discovered an important battle site that is part of the Battle of the Atlantic. These two ships rest only a few hundred yards apart and together help us interpret and share their forgotten stories.”


[Full story]


Story: NOAA| Photo: Ed Caram



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