The Lost 52 Project is an organization dedicating its time and resources to finding these lost subs. This month, the Navy History and Heritage Command verified the discovery of the Grayback, which the Lost 52 Project found 1,427 feet below sea level on June 5 off Okinawa’s coast. It’s the first U.S. submarine to be found in waters off Japan.
Full article, HERE.
And here is the video from the Lost52Project, the organization dedicated to locating all of them!
Of note, they do not release the actual lat/longs to protect the graves of those lost. And those ships ARE considered to be graves, not to be desecrated.
Salute
+1
Hey Old NFO;
They are having problems in the JAVA sea and around Malaysia because the pirates are diving the wrecks for the metal and other items and a lot of them are “war graves”.
Back when I used to scuba in the northeast, there was a team of divers who, whenever a new wreck was discovered, especially those of military ships, would dive the wreck and carefully recover all of the human remains and have them sent back to their country of origin for a proper military funeral.
Needless to say there are a lot of ships that were sunk, coming into or going out of, NY Harbor, during WW1 and WW2. Also a lot of German submarines and other military ships.
Wreck diving is dangerous and going into a wreck is incredibly dangerous and a lot of divers are killed every year getting lost or trapped inside of wrecks. The USS San Diego used to claim about 1 diver a year back when I was actively diving (and I’ve been on that one more than once but never went inside).
Deep water wrecks might be interesting to dive on, but going inside something, especially anything over 100 feet deep, is really verging on suicide. Because the odds are good you won’t be coming out. Especially on something as small and confined as a submarine.
I started to say nearly 1500 feet was deep enough to prevent looting, but the Titanic is a grave but that doesn’t stop the ghouls.
I could be wrong but is it not so that U.S. Navy subs are never lost but “Over due”?
Grog/WSF- Thanks
Bob- Yeah, that is true, and being ‘kept quiet’ by the locals… dammit…
John- When they could, yes, recover and repatriate the remains. I was lucky enough to get to dive Truk once, but NEVER entered any wreck.
Mike- Point.
Jim- That is true.
Damn ChiComs will be down there with their ROVs to get “pre-atomic” steel.
I’ve written this before but it bears repeating-
While flying as a Helicopter Gunship Pilot in VN I’d occasionally receive letters from my enlisted submariner cousin. His letters hinted that I should think HE was special… (me, the hotshot helo pilot risking his life daily!)
He died last month. Only after my recent “education” did I realize how special he was.
GOD BLESS these warriors.
Those Pacific wrecks don’t need to be within scuba diving depth for metal theft. Articulated claws with winches can do a lot to tear apart a ship, especially with video remotes to help position it.
On Eternal Patrol…..
Stretch- Yep… dammit
GB- They are truly a different breed…
Will- I know, and I hate it!
drjim- That they are!
My dad served aboard the USS Hake, sailing from Australia. He had an interesting story, that he had been assigned to another submarine when another motormech asked if he could swap so he could serve with his buddy on the other sub. This was done. The other sub is still on patrol. The Hake survived the war and ultimately wound up in the Philadelphia Navy yard. My dad did visit his old sub there in the yard 45 years after the war.