Atlantic Ocean « Shipwreckology

Archives For November 30, 1999

September 5, 1923 – US Planes Sink 2 Battleships off Virginia Coast in Bombing Test

September 5, 2012 — Leave a comment

89 years ago today, air power advocate General Billy Mitchell sank the battleships USS New Jersey and USS Virginia in his third demonstration of the potential of air power in naval warfare. General Mitchell proved that only a handful of bombers and airmen could render impotent 2 former crown jewels of the US Navy.

Two years earlier, in July of 1921, General Mitchell had successfully sunk the former German dreadnought SMS Ostfriesland and vindicated his theory that precision bombing could sink naval vessels. General Mitchell followed up several months later with further tests on the USS Alabama. While tactical bombing had been performed on both sea and land during World War I, no naval vessel had yet fallen prey to air power until Mitchell’s successful tests off the Virginia coast.

After World War I, General Mitchell returned to the US convinced that air power could fundamentally change the way naval warfare was waged. Facing opponents both within the military and in the halls of Congress, Mitchell’s tests on the Alabama, New Jersey, Ostfriesland and Virginia helped pave the way for the age of the aircraft carrier and the obsolescence of the big-gun battleship. General Mitchell was later court-martialed for statements he made about the competence of certain Army commanders. Although Mitchell passed away prior to World War II, his foresight proved prescient as numerous battleships succumbed to air power during the war, most notably HMS Prince of Wales & HMS Renown and the Japanese super-battleship Yamato. The North American B-25 Mitchell bomber was named for General Mitchell – 16 of which would later be launched from the USS Hornet in the Doolittle Raid against the Japanese home islands in 1942.

In 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, German Shipwrecks, US Navy, Warships, WWI, WWII

Microsoft Co-Founder Ends Expedition to Recover HMS Hood’s Bell

September 4, 2012 — 1 Comment

CC Image courtesy of Patrick McDonald on Flickr

An expedition led by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen aboard his mega-yacht Octopus has been forced to abandon their efforts to recover the ship’s bell of the Royal Navy battlecruiser HMS Hood. Allen and his team have been operating out of Reykjavik, Iceland for the last two weeks, but a combination of weather and mechanical issues with their ROV have caused the team to end its efforts on the Hood this recovery season. Named for Admiral Samuel Hood, the Hood was the second ship to bear his name. The ship entered service in 1920 and is best known for its role in the hunt for the German battleship Bismarck.

HMS Hood and the battleship HMS Prince of Wales intercepted the Bismarck on May 24, 1941 as the Bismarck and heavy cruiser Prinz Eugen attempted to break out into the North Atlantic in hunt of British merchantmen. In a running battle lasting less than 20 minutes, the Bismarck sank the Hood and damaged the Prince of Wales. The Hood took with it 1,415 of her 1,418 man crew. The engagement became known as the Battle of the Denmark Straits and was merely the opening act of a massive 3 day manhunt culminating in the sinking of the Bismarck on May 27th. The Prince of Wales went on to serve in the Pacific Theater where it, along with the battleship HMS Repulse, was sunk by a Japanese air attack. Prinz Eugen survived the war and was later used as a target ship by the US Navy for atomic bomb tests.

In 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, Conservation, Merchant Raiders, Royal Navy, UK Shipwrecks, Warships

September 3, 1939 – Royal Navy Claims First Victory of World War Two

September 3, 2012 — Leave a comment

HMS Ajax
CC Image courtesy of Charles McCain on Flickr

Only two days after the Nazi invasion of Poland on September 1, Great Britain declared war on Germany and dispatched the Royal Navy to clear the seas of Germany’s merchant fleet and warships. Within hours of the commencement of hostilities, the light cruiser HMS Ajax encountered the German merchantman Olinda off the coast of Uruguay and promptly destroyed the ship with gunfire. Shortly thereafter, Ajax found and sank another Nazi freighter, the Carl Fritzen. Ajax continued to serve on the South American Station until February 1940 when it returned to the UK for a refit. While on station, Ajax along with HMS Exeter and HMS Achilles accounted for the destruction of several more German merchant ships. Additionally, Ajax, Exeter and Achilles engaged the German pocket battleship Graf Spee which was scuttled by her crew after the Battle of the River Plate. Thus began a nearly six year struggle between the Royal Navy and the Kriegsmarine, Regia Marina, the Imperial Japanese Navy and even the Vichy French Navy.

In 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, German Shipwrecks, Merchant Vessels, Royal Navy, South American Shipwrecks, Warships, WWII

Mapping of Charleston’s Civil War Naval Battlefield Completed

August 27, 2012 — Leave a comment

The Attack on Fort Sumter, Currier & Ives

Archaeologists from the University of South Carolina just completed a 4 year long survey of Charleston, South Carolina’s Civil War naval battlefield. While many associate Charleston with the attack on Fort Sumter or the CSS Hunley, the city was the scene of multiple naval engagements and an important port for Confederate blockade runners. The archaeological team created a map of wrecks, gun emplacements and harbor obstructions in 2010 and has spent the last 2 years surveying some of those sites.

Among the sites are the wrecks of several Union ironclads that were sunk in action with Confederate land batteries or by “torpedoes” – early versions of what are mines in today’s naval parlance. The archaeologists also sought the wrecks of the “Stone Fleets” – a fleet of approximately 30 ex-whaling ships and merchant vessels purchased by the US Navy, stripped of all valuable implements, loaded with stone and then sunk as block ships in the approach channels to Charleston Harbor. Because the ships were wooden hulled and had been stripped of most of their metal fittings, the USC team had to rely on side scan sonar, further complicating the task of locating the ships. The remains of Confederate blockade runners were also surveyed by the team, including a set of three wrecks that are now buried beneath dry land due to the shifting sands of the beach. The survey will be helpful not only to historians, but also to the US Army Corps of Engineers and other planning entities for the avoidance of wrecks and other obstructions in the harbor.

In 19th Century, 21st Century, American Shipwrecks, Atlantic Ocean, Civil War Shipwrecks, Conservation, Merchant Vessels, Warships

Book Review – A Man and His Ship

August 21, 2012 — 3 Comments

Launched in 1951, the trans-Atlantic passenger liner SS United States was a triumph of American engineering. Designed for speed, safety, comfort and easy wartime conversion to a troopship, the ship incorporated numerous innovations in its construction. During her maiden voyage, she captured the speed record known as the Blue Riband for both the eastern and western crossings of the Atlantic. Commercially operated from 1952 to 1969, the SS United States carried thousands of passengers between Europe and New York City in speed and style. Among her passengers were such notables as John Wayne, Bob Hope, Salvador Dali and the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. Historian Steven Ujifusa’s recently published A Man and His Ship is a history of the SS United States and her designer, William Francis Gibbs. In his book, Ujifusa masterfully weaves together the biography of William Francis Gibbs, his quest to design the ultimate passenger liner and the construction and life of the SS United States.

Neatly divided into two parts, Ujifusa opens the book with William Francis Gibbs’ life prior to the construction of the SS United States. Gibbs had no formal training as a naval architect and yet he went on to a wildly successful career in naval architecture after designing and pitching a ship in collaboration with his younger brother. Ujifusa lays out Gibbs story in a manner compelling to any reader interested in what drives individuals to the pinnacle of success in their field. The second half of the book focuses on Gibbs’ crowning achievement – the design, construction, life and record-breaking performance of the SS United States. Ujifusa writes with a style easily accessible to a layperson and doesn’t require a knowledge of the minutiae of naval architecture.

Ujifusa concludes with the recent history of the ship including an unsuccessful attempt by Norwegian Cruise Lines to utilize the ship as a cruise liner and the current plan by the SS United States Conservancy to convert the ship to a floating hotel/conference center in Philadelphia or New York City. In sum, A Man and His Ship is a page turning tome celebrating the ingenuity, self-motivation and indomitability of the American spirit.

In 20th Century, 21st Century, Atlantic Ocean, Book Reviews, Conservation, Passenger Liners

SS Terra Nova Discovered off Coast of Greenland

August 21, 2012 — 1 Comment

Last week, researchers announced the discovery of the famous polar exploration vessel SS Terra Nova in waters off the southern coast of Greenland. SS Terra Nova was discovered during routine tests of mapping equipment aboard the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s R/V Falcor. The ship is lying in less than 160M of water, but its exact location has not been disclosed by Schmidt Ocean Institute.

Lost in 1943 after a collision with an ice pack, the SS Terra Nova was built in 1884 to withstand the rigors of operating as a whaler and sealer in polar regions. Following a ten year commercial career, the ship served the Jackson-Harmsworth Arctic Expedition from 1894 – 1897. Terra Nova is most famous, though, for its role in Captain Robert Scott’s doomed Terra Nova Expedition (1910 – 1912). Captain Scott and his team of British explorers sought to become the first humans to reach the South Pole; however they were beaten by a Norwegian team led by Roald Amundsen. Amundsen’s party reached the South Pole on December 14, 1911, beating Scott by approximately 30 days. Scott’s team perished on their return trek and their bodies were not discovered until nearly 8 months later. In death, Scott was mythologized throughout his native Britain and has been the subject of numerous books and articles. Historians continue to debate his legacy – historian Roland Huntford’s The Last Place on Earth is a stinging critique of Captain Scott while polar explorer Sir Ranulph Fienne’s Captain Scott defends Scott and the choices he made during the expedition.

In 19th Century, 20th Century, Atlantic Ocean, Maritime Exploration, Polar Regions, Royal Navy, UK Shipwrecks

Potential Odyssey Marine Shipwreck Targets

August 16, 2012 — Leave a comment

As this year’s recovery season winds down, noted exploration company Odyssey Marine is wrapping up two deep water recoveries (the SS Gairsoppa and SS Mantola) and currently on hold with the excavation of HMS Victory. The 2012 season marked several firsts for Odyssey – the completion of a shipwreck salvage under government contract, the validation of their deepwater recovery methods and the beginnings of legitimacy for their role in “academic” archaeology with their efforts on the HMS Victory. What lies ahead for Odyssey is a question of much debate. Below are five of the most discussed targets for Odyssey along with pros and cons for each.

1. Merchant Royal – widely believed to be the target of Odyssey’s “Atlas” search, the Merchant Royal went down in a storm off Great Britain in 1641 with a cargo of gold and silver valued around ~1 billion in current dollars. This is the Holy Grail of shipwrecks and would be an incredible find both for the monetary and publicity windfall. Apart from the difficulty involved in locating the wreck, there are no significant cons to recovering the Merchant Royal.

2. Prins Frederik – sunk in 1890 after a collision with the Marpessa in the Bay of Biscay, this Dutch mail steamer carried 400,000 silver rijksdaalders in its bullion room. Disputes over the actual location of the ship (and thus who was to blame for the collision) have created a wide search area and significantly affect the depth of water it could be located in – 500 feet if where the captain of the Prins Frederik claimed or 6,000 feet if where the captain of the Marpessa claimed. A British company claimed to have found the wreck in shallow water in 1994 which could generate legal issues for Odyssey if it is indeed the Prins Frederik. Odyssey could also face legal claims from insurers who paid out on claims or the Dutch government as the cargo was for payment of colonial forces in Indonesia. The Prins Frederik would be an excellent target for an arrangement similar to the Gairsoppa and Mantola where the Dutch government receives a portion of the proceeds after expenses.

3. I-52 – re-discovered in 1995 by Paul Tidwell, the I-52 was sunk by American naval forces in 1944 while en route from Japan to Nazi Germany. The I-52 was carrying 2.2 tons of gold and now sits in 17,000 feet of water. While Odyssey’s deepwater recovery methods would enable recovery of the wreck, apart from a multi-party agreement on salvage rights between Tidwell, the Japanese government and Odyssey no recovery is possible. Tidwell has also stated he is pursuing recovery of the sub and it is doubtful Odyssey would be brought in on the deal.

4. Port Nicholson – a British freighter loaded with $3 billion in platinum, the Port Nicholson was torpedoed off the coast of Massachusetts in 1942 and was located in 2008 by Sub Sea Research. Sub Sea Research gained title to the ship in 2009 and planned recovery in 2012. No word has emerged on whether or not the group has been successful in their salvage and there are doubts as to whether the platinum even exists onboard. If Sub Sea is unable to recover the wreck due to a lack of expertise or funding, then a collaboration with Odyssey would benefit both parties and be the most valuable recovery yet, surpassing even Odyssey’s Black Swan recovery (and subsequent loss).

5. Bonhomme Richard – John Paul Jones’ famous flagship went down after his epic battle with HMS Serapis. The past few years have seen renewed efforts to find the ship, but any recovery would be limited by the doctrine of sovereign immunity. Because the Bonhomme Richard was an American warship it cannot be salvaged without the permission of the US government. An arrangement with the US government similar to that of the HMS Victory one is a possibility, but doubtful because the upside isn’t nearly as high as it is for other wrecks.

There are dozens of other wrecks Odyssey could be pursuing – the company claims to have dozens of high value shipwreck targets in its proprietary database. Based on Odyssey’s stated business model of pursuing high value targets with easily ascertainable legal ownership and inaccessible to normal salvors, Odyssey will most likely pursue deepwater commodity shipwrecks where the cargo can be quickly monetized and not the storied Spanish Galleons of treasure hunting lore.

Disclosure: I am an Odyssey Marine shareholder.

In 17th Century, 18th Century, 19th Century, 20th Century, American Shipwrecks, Atlantic Ocean, Japanese Shipwrecks, Odyssey Marine, Revolutionary War, Royal Navy, Russian Shipwrecks, Treasure Hunting, UK Shipwrecks, WWI, WWII

SS Central America Still Making Waves

August 15, 2012 — Leave a comment

Lost in an Atlantic hurricane in 1857, the SS Central America took with it ~550 passengers and several tons of gold. For more than a century it remained lost to the sea until an enterprising Ohioan named Tommy Thompson assembled a team to find and recover the ship. Utilizing cutting edge technology Thompson and his team located the wreck in 1987. The group salvaged approximately $50 – 100 million in gold from the wreck, however, the conclusion of recovery operations was just the beginning of the story for Thompson. Two days ago, nearly 25 years since the discovery of the wreck, Thompson was to appear in a federal district court to reveal the location of millions of dollars from the recovered gold due to a payment dispute filed by former employees. Unfortunately for salvors, lengthy legal proceedings are not unusual in the realm of admiralty law – another recent example is that of Odyssey Marine’s Black Swan epic court battle which involved the US State Department, sunken Spanish treasure, artwork looted by the Nazis and WikiLeaks.

Thompson’s search for the SS Central America was well documented in Gary Kinder’s Ship of Gold in the Deep Blue Sea as well as several television programs. Although an ingot from the SS Central America is expected to garner $140,000 at auction on September 2 and another ingot sold for a record breaking $8.1 million, Forbes reported in 2006 that Thompson’s last known address was a Florida trailer park.

In 19th Century, American Shipwrecks, Atlantic Ocean, Legal Disputes, Merchant Vessels, Odyssey Marine, Passenger Liners, Treasure Hunting

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