Gulf camera reveals site of WWII sinking of SS Robert E. Lee, German U-boat

Houston Chronicle ^ | July 14, 2014 | Heather Alexander

[Cincinatus' Wife]

........[The] SS Robert E. Lee was carrying survivors from sister ships torpedoed in the Gulf, from Trinidad to New Orleans. On the June 30,1942, as it reached just 25 miles from the mouth of the Mississippi River, a German torpedo hit.

According to historical accounts, a lookout spotted the torpedo coming in and alerted the steamer's escort, the American submarine chaser USS PC-566. The sub immediately began dropping depth charges.

The German U-boat, U-166, which launched the attack, was sunk with no survivors. Its wreck cannot be disturbed, now protected as a war grave for the 52 crew lost.

On board the SS Robert E. Lee, lifeboats were scrambled and all but 15 of the 283 passengers and crew on board survived. They had just 15 minutes to get off before the boat disappeared under the waves......

........"I didn't know World War II was fought in our backyard," said Dr. Robert Ballard, who leads the trip. Ballard is among the world's most accomplished and well known deep-sea explorers, credited with the 1985 discovery of the wreck of RMS Titanic....

.....From the SS Robert E. Lee and U-166 they will move onto the Gulf Penn, a second world war tanker taken down by a U-boat in May 1942. They will then begin a dive on the SS Alcoa Puritan, a cargo ship torpedoed and sunk the same month.....

[Charles Martel]

This seems like a good thread to mention...

PT-305 Restoration Updates (WWII Museum - New Orleans)

[ExNewsExSpook]

Residents of North Carolina’s Outer Banks saw the same thing; according to historical records, almost 400 ships were sunk in U.S. waters from January to June 1942, and the area off Cape Hatteras was known as “Torpedo Junction.” The glow of burning tankers off-shore was bright enough (legend has it) that you could read a paper on the Hatteras beaches at night.

The Brits—who depended on our shipping as a lifeline— offered sound advice, which was largely ignored. We didn’t implement a convoy system until the middle of ‘42, and it took almost as long to enforce blackout policies along the coast. At one point early in the war, there was a single, antiquated Coast Guard cutter assigned to anti-sub patrols off the Carolina coast.

The results were predictable. A lot of merchant mariners paid with their lives for our lack of preparation early in the war.

[Sequoyah101]

I kinda figured that out myself. I was pointing out that submarines don’t drop depth charges, the patrol craft did.

The article says the sub immediately began dropping depth charges.

[SoCal Pubbie]

Yeah I saw that too. Writer left out “chaser” after “sub”.

[SunkenCiv]

Wartime navy captain blamed for letting Nazi U-boat get away.... now hailed as a hero... [2015] Work completed on historic sunken Yenikapı ships in Istanbul [2013] Evidence Noah's Biblical Flood Happened, Says Robert Ballard (World Renown Underwater archaeologist) [2012] Titanic Discoverer Finds Evidence of Biblical Flood [2012] Archaeologists Uncover Europe's First Civilization [2012] Human Impact Felt On Black Sea Long Before Industrial Era [2012] Biblical-Type Floods Are Real, and They're Absolutely Enormous [2012] 'Whale ribs, meteorites and chairs' [ Robert Ballard off Cyprus ] [2012] Underwater archaeology: Hunt for the ancient mariner [2012] Intact 5th century merchant ship found in Istanbul [2011] Archaeology: Black Sea's ancient coast found - report [2011] Robert Ballard on exploring the oceans (Drill, baby, drill!!) [2010] Treasure Found Off La Manga [ Phoenician treasure ship ] [2010] Bulgarian Archaeologists Discover 7 000-Years-Old Settlement [2009] Dugout probably dating to prehistoric age discovered at Black Sea bottom [2008] Stone Age skeletons uncovered during tube tunnel excavations [2008] Exploring the blue depths of the Aegean and Mediterranean [2008] Nautical Archaeology Takes A Leap Forward [2007] Studying Evidence From Ice Age Lakes [2007] Marine Team Finds Surprising Evidence Supporting A Great Biblical Flood [2007] NOAA vessel to explore undersea unknown [2007] Ballard Chases History Again In The Black Sea [2007] Archaeologists Explore Ocean Floor For Clues To Early Coastal Settlements [2007] Ship from 8th Century Found in Mediterranean (off Dor Beach in a shallow lagoon) [2007] Scientists Seek Indian History Underwater[North America] [2006] Object off Alaska coast may be WWII sub [2006] USS Grunion: Lost submarine found off Alaska [2006] 1,500-Year-Old Byzantine Port Discovered [2006] Replica of 3,300-year-old shipwreck arrives in Bodrum [ Uluburun II ] [2006] Titanic explorer to seek shipwrecks in Aegean: Greek officials [2006] Expedition Seeks Clues To Lost Bronze Age Culture (Minoans - Robert Ballard) [2006] Why Noah's Flood was Local [2006] Explorer Ballard heads exploration of undersea volcano [2006] DIGGING TO BYZANTIUM: Turkish Tunnel Project Unearths an Ancient Harbor [2006] Treasure (Archaeology) Dig Threatens Bosphorus Rail Link [2006]

Black Sea Starts to Yield a Rich Ancient History [2006] Scientists Unveil New Discoveries At Titanic wreck [2005] Potential Origins of Europeans Found [2005] Robots take scientists into sea depths [2005] Nautical Research Group Discovers Some Significant Findings on the Wreck Site of RMS Titanic [2005] Archaeology Team Helps Find Oldest Deep-Sea Shipwrecks [2004] Quest for the Phoenicians (National Geographic special) [2004] Sailing the Wine-Dark Sea: International Trade and the Late Bronze Age Aegean [2004] Black Sea Trip Yields No Flood Conclusions [2004] Black Sea Trip Yields No Flood Conclusion (Noah's Flood?) [2004] Minoan ship to ply Greek seas for first time in 3,500 years [2004] Vast and Deadly Fleets May Yield Secrets at Last [2004] U.N. constitution for the oceans - a done deal: how scientists using Titanic to push global treaty [2004] Farming Origins Gain 10,000 Years [2004] U.S. signs treaty to protect Titanic wreck [2004] Expert Says Iraq Could Rewrite Archaeology Books [2004] Scientists Discover Lost World (8,000 Years Old) [2004] Believers In The Lost Ark (Noah's) [2003] In Search of Noah's Ark [2003] Scientists Prepare to Excavate Black Sea [2003] Explorer Who Discovered The 'Titanic' Sets Out To Prove That Noah's Flood Formed Black Sea [2003] Scientists hunt for evidence of Noah's flood in Black Sea -- [2003] Scientists hunt for evidence of Noah's flood in Black Sea [2003] New findings put Noah's epic story to the test [2003] Making Waves Over Noah's Flood. [2003] Making Waves Over Noah's Flood (Black Sea) [2003] Did U.S. shoot first at Pearl Harbor? [2002] Flood Expedition Inspires 'Noah's Ark' in Bulgaria [2002] Questions about Noah's Flood Theory [2002] A new day surfaces for deep sea archaeology [2002] Explorer Will Search for JFK's PT-109 [2002] Why I think Noah's "erets" flood occurred around 9,000 - 12,000 B.C. and ended in Turkey. [2002] Did Noah really need the Ark? [2001] Black Sea findings support Biblical legends of floods [2001] Expedition crew combs Black Sea for Noah's Ark<BR>Scientists seek habitat described in Bible b [2001]

[SunkenCiv]

Note: this topic is from 7/14/2014. Thanks Cincinatus' Wife.

and from 2015:

Best of the E/V Nautilus 2015 Exploration Season | Nautilus Live 2015 took E/V Nautilus from the Gulf of Mexico to the Galapagos to the California coast and all the way up to Canada. E/V Nautilus is exploring the ocean studying biology, geology, archeology, and more. Watch http://www.nautiluslive.org for live video from the ocean floor. For live dive updates follow along on social media at http://www.facebook.com/nautiluslive and http://www.twitter.com/evnautilus on Twitter. For more photos from our dives, check out our Instagram @nautiluslive.

[tarheelswamprat]

Of course, the S.S. Robert E Lee deserved to be sunk. After all, it was named after a Confederate hero, a defender of slavery. It matters not that it was on a humanitarian mission. All such vestiges of that part of our national history must be condemned and erased; zero tolerance is the only acceptable policy.

[Cold Heart]

I am really surprised Ballard was unaware German U-boats sank our ships off of our coast. I was taught that in junior high.

I had sailors on my ship that had fought in WWII as armed guard on merchant ships. They manned the mounted guns on merchant ships. The navy had what amounted to a hiring hall where the navy sailors (as opposed to the merchant sailors who had there own halls) would go to be assigned to merchant ships just before they sailed.

One of my sailors told me he saw a sailor, at the New York hall, assigned in the morning who then showed up in the evening soaking wet. His ship had been torpedoed, he was rescued and was then back waiting for his next assignment.

[Cold Heart]

Forgot his name but that failed policy was because of one admiral.

[jaydubya2]

"........"I didn't know World War II was fought in our backyard," said Dr. Robert Ballard"

I was a bit surprised that Ballard said this, isn't he aware of what was happening of the east coast of the US during WW2?

[colorado tanker]

Admiral Donitz planned the operation and called it Drumbeat. He flooded the East Coast with U-Boats and it turned into a turkey shoot. They could come in close at night and fire at unescorted merchantmen silhouetted by city lights still not subject to blackout. The U-Boat sailors called it their "happy time."

The American admiral you were thinking of was King, who at the time commanded the U.S. Atlantic Fleet. He has been severely criticized for failing to promptly organize submarine defenses and implement a convoy system. And for not getting blackouts organized faster. Some attribute his slowness to act to his hatred of all things English, who at the time were advising him what measures to take and even offered some patrol boats. Apologists claim that even if he wanted to act sooner King didn't have the resources, which were severely strained early in the war. In any event those were black days in a time of the war when it seemed every day was black.

[RitchieAprile]

destroying a Corvette ? that’s a war crime!