Hunting New England Shipwrecks
U-Boat Facts and Legends
The Facts
Throughout World Wars I and II, German U-boats prowled the east coast of the United States and Canada in search of merchant and military ships. They sank numerous ships in World War I, but were a much more deadly threat during World War II. Early in World War II, they sank many vessels. But as time went by, the U.S. and its allies developed new equipment and techniques for foiling the U-boat attacks and destroying enemy subs. By 1944, the tables were turned, and the allies were sinking U-boats in large numbers and doing their best to protect merchant ships.
U-Boat Photo Gallery
The only documented World War II sinking of a U-boat close to New England shores occurred on May 5, 1945, when the U-853 torpedoed and sank the collier Black Point off Newport, Rhode Island. When the Black Point was hit, the Navy immediately chased down the sub and began dropping depth charges. The next day, when an oil slick and floating debris appeared, they confirmed that the U-853 and its entire crew had been destroyed. In recent years, the U-853 has become a popular dive site. Its intact hull, with open hatches, is located in 130' of water off Block Island, Rhode Island.
Far to the east of Boston (about 200 miles), lies the wreck of the U-215. That boat was sunk by depth charges in 1942. The exact location of the U-215 wreck was unknown for many years, but in the summer of 2004, it was located and identified by a group of Canadian researchers. The wreck lies at a depth of 270 feet, in Canadian territorial waters.
And about 70 miles south of Nantucket, lies the wreck of the U-550. That sub was sunk by American destroyer escorts in 1944, after it torpedoed and sank the tanker Pan Pennsylvania. The U-550 wreck has apparently never been found, but should lie at a depth of about 300 feet.
When the war with Germany ended in May 1945, all German military vessels were ordered to surrender to allied forces. Soon after that order was given, a number of U-boats patrolling our east coast surrendered to the U.S. and Canadian Navies. Since the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard (at Portsmouth, New Hampshire) was the largest submarine base on the U.S. east coast, some 5 to 7 subs were towed to Portsmouth to be studied by the Navy and await their fates. The subs surrendered in May 1945 included the U-234, U-805, U-873 and U-1228, and perhaps one or two more. The U-505, captured earlier by the U.S. Navy, was later towed to Portsmouth to join the collection.
The surrendered subs remained at Portsmouth for a year or two while they were examined by the Navy. Then eventually they disappeared from the yard. Navy records of their final dispositions are lacking in details, but indicate that they were towed out to sea and scuttled in deep water somewhere off the New England coast. The only one that stayed at Portsmouth was the U-505. It remained there until 1954, when it was towed through the Great Lakes to Chicago. There it became a permanent walk-through exhibit at the Museum of Science and Industry. Today the U-505 is the only German U-boat on exhibit in North America.
The Legends
Legends about German U-boat sinkings from Rhode Island to Maine are commonplace in New England. Over the years, a number of magazine articles, newspaper stories and Web pages have been written on the subject. None of these legends have ever been verified, but if they all proved to be true, the coastal waters would be littered with subs. It's very likely, however, that some of these legends are based on facts. And if that's the case, how can we determine which ones really happened?
The Quest
With all these German U-boats reportedly sunk off the New England coast, the question on the minds of most divers is - where are they located? And the answer is - no one really knows. Most of them are probably sunk way beyond the depth limits of scuba divers. But we'll never know for sure until someone finds them!
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