Between February and May 1942, U-boats sank 24 ships off Florida's two coasts, sixteen alone between Cape Canaveral and Boca Raton. Over the duration of the war, between the states of Maine to Texas on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts and on the Pacific Coast, from California to Alaska, the German submarines sank some 400 ships resulting in 5,000 deaths.
Most Americans today don't even know about the attacks on U.S. coasts. And even back then, it wasn't reported much to the public. About the only civilians who knew about the attacks were those living on the coasts.
Not only did the ships go down, but also what they were carrying, which would be oil, paint, planes, tanks and other war items. Now, 70 years later, the ships are breaking apart and what they were carrying is starting to become a problem all over again.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration wants to know potential problems. As such, they are sending out teams of divers to investigate these World War II wrecks.
GreGen
The USS North Carolina (BB-55) My all-time favorite warship. As an elementary school student in North Carolina, I donated nickels and dimes to save this ship back in the early sixties.
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