Eighty Three Years Ago Today: The Sinking of the USS Reuben James – October 31, 1941

The first American naval ship lost in World War II was not sunk in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7th, 1941.  Over a month before, on October 31, 1941, the destroyer USS Reuben James, escorting a convoy bound … Continue reading

Coast Guard Extracts Oil From Coimbra, WWII Tanker Torpedoed Off Long Island Coast

At about 9AM on January 15, 1942, the British tanker Coimbra, bound from Bayonne, NJ for Halifax, laden with 8,038 tons of lubricating oil, sank after being struck by two torpedoes fired by the German submarine U-123 off the southern shore … Continue reading

Spanish Divers Find Wreck of World War II Submarine U-966

In June, three Spanish divers located the wreck of the German World War II submarine U-966 near the coast of Galicia in north-west Spain. The BBC reports that the submarine’s wreckage is spread widely in a very rocky area where rough weather often makes diving … Continue reading

Was the Lusitania Carrying Munitions in 1915? Newly Released Documents Raise Questions

When the Cunard liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German submarine during World War I, on May 7, 1915, with the loss of 1,198 passengers and crew, the Germans claimed that the ship was carrying high explosives, which the British … Continue reading

Poon Lim, Surviving a Record 133 Days at Sea — “I hope no one will ever have to break it.”

Robert Redford was recently nominated for a Golden Globe award for his remarkable one man performance in the movie, “All is Lost.” While Redford’s acting was impressive, the movie was marred by an apparent lack of even a basic understand … Continue reading

SS Port Nicholson – Sunk Off Cape Cod in 1942, a $3 Billion Shipwreck?

The Portland, ME based, Sub Sea Research (SSR) recently sent out a press release announcing that they had located what they claim to be “the worlds richest shipwreck,”  the British freighter, SS Port Nicholson, carrying a secret cargo of 71 tons of platinum, … Continue reading

Odyssey Searching for the S.S. Gairsoppa and $260 million in Silver

On February 16, 1941 the S.S. Gairsoppa was bound from India to Britain, when she was torpedoed by a German submarine and sank 300 miles southwest of Galway Bay.  In addition to pig iron and tea, she carried silver bullion … Continue reading

Robert Bourne, Radioman in the Battle Between Navy Blimp and German sub

Robert Bourne, who died on Oct. 13, at the age of 88, was the radioman on the Navy blimp, Airship K-74, on anti-submarine patrol off the southeast coast of Florida on the night of July 18, 1943.  The lookout spotted a German submarine … Continue reading