The ships clashed in the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942 and were lost for more than seven decades in an area known as the Graveyard of the Atlantic.
Researchers led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries discovered the vessels about 30 miles (48 kilometres) from shore.The discovery of the German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields offers ‘a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII,’ NOAA said.
The ships were found 240 yards apart.They battled on July 15, 1942 when a convoy of merchant ships being escorted from Norfolk, Virginia to Florida was attacked by the German submarine.‘The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields and severely damaged two other ships,’ NOAA said.‘In response, US Navy Kingfisher aircraft, which provided the convoy’s air cover, bombed U-576.
Researchers led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries discovered the vessels about 30 miles (48 kilometres) from shore.The discovery of the German U-boat 576 and the freighter Bluefields offers ‘a rare window into a historic military battle and the underwater battlefield landscape of WWII,’ NOAA said.
The ships were found 240 yards apart.They battled on July 15, 1942 when a convoy of merchant ships being escorted from Norfolk, Virginia to Florida was attacked by the German submarine.‘The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields and severely damaged two other ships,’ NOAA said.‘In response, US Navy Kingfisher aircraft, which provided the convoy’s air cover, bombed U-576.