Titanic
 The
Titanic is the world's most famous shipwreck. The White Star
Line steamer sank on her maiden voyage in 1912.
The Titanic boasted a
gymnasium, swimming pools, a squash court and Turkish baths. At
11.40pm on 14 April 1912, the Titanic’s lookout rang the bell three
times and said, “Iceberg right ahead”.
The Titanic's
remains were discovered after a long search in 1985, since then
several expeditions have returned to the site and explored the
wreck. Below are links to original New York Times articles and links
to other Titanic related sites.
New York Times Article Titanic Sinking.pdf
Titanics Officers Tell
Why Appeals of Dying Were Unheeded.pdf
Blames Titanic
Captain Unwise to Speed Into Ice Field Days Capt. Moore.pdf
Discovery Channel Online's Titanic site
Titanic - Voyage of Dscovery
Lost Liners (PBS)
Andrea Doria
The Andrea Doria was built at the Ansaldo shipyards in Sestri,
Genoa, and was launched in 1951. She had accommodations for 1,241
passengers, and 575 crew. She was luxurious to the last detail of
her structure and was considered the flagship of the Italian Line.
At 11:22 PM, July 25, 1956, while navigating through a dense fog,
under the command of Captain Piero Calamai, the Andrea Doria and the
Swedish freighter, Stockholm, collided. This disaster has no logical
explanation. It could have and should have been avoided, but radar
readings aboard both vessels were misinterpreted.
Andrea Doria
Andrea
Doria Shipwreck Diving Video
Andrea
Doria New York Times article 1956.pdf
DIVERS TO SURVEY THE
ANDREA DORIA; Inspection of Sunken Liner Planned
RMS Rhone
 The
310' British steamer RMS Rhone sank off Salt Island, in the
British Virgin Islands during a hurricane in 1867. Today, the wreck
of the Rhone lies in two pieces on a sloping bottom. The
Rhone is considered one of the best wreck dives in the
Caribbean.
The British Virgin Islands Shipwreck Directory
Caribbean Shipwrecks
General
Slocum
 The
Slocum was a 264' sidewheel steamer. She caught fire and sank
with a great loss of life. Many passengers jumped overboard into the
freezing water The final death toll from the tragedy was over 1,000.
New York Times
Article General Solcom.pdf
New York Times Article 1,000 LIVES MAY BE LOST IN BURNING OF THE
EXCURSION BOAT GEN. SLOCUM; St. Mark's Church Excursion E
An estimated total of a thousand dead, besides several hundred
injured, is the record of the fire disaster which yesterday
destroyed the big excursion steamer General Slocum, which was burned
to the water's edge before her Captain succeeded in beaching
Mary Rose
Built between 1509 and 1511, the Mary Rose was one of the first
ships able to fire a broadside. King Henry VIII, described as, “the
fairest flower of all the ships that ever sailed”. The ship marked
the transition between the medieval ‘floating castles’ and the
sleeker galleons. On July 19 1545, The heavily laden Mary Rose
heeled over in a squall of wind and rapidly capsized, water pouring
into the lower gun ports. She went down with more than 90 guns on
her decks and only 40 of her 700 crew survived. Salvage work started
the same year the great warship sank, raising some guns, yards and
sails, but was halted by 1550
Monitor
When John Ericsson conceived his "impregnable battery" he had no
idea that it would still be fighting battles a hundred years after
his death. In the mid nineteenth century he struggled to have his
concepts approved by distinguished industrialists mired in the past.
But then came the War between the States, and with war always comes
technological advancement and the adoption of previously
unacceptable innovations. Word arrived in Washington that the South
was building an ironclad ram that could destroy the Union fleet with
single-handed impunity. Unwittingly, the CSS Virginia (ex-USS
Merrimack) provided the impetus to goad reluctant Northern
politicians into funding the construction of an ironclad opponent.
Thus the Monitor came into being.
Then came the battle that forever changed the way naval strategists
viewed warship design and ship-to-ship engagement. The Monitor and
the Virginia fought to a standstill, neither ship inflicting
significant damage upon the other. Each was invulnerable to the
other and to land-based batteries. Nevertheless, by the end of that
year (1862) both ironclads were gone: the Virginia was blown up by
her crew to prevent capture, the Monitor foundered in a gale off
Cape Hatteras, North Carolina.
http://www.aquaexplorers.com/garygentilemonitor.htm
Lusitania
Sailing
from New York to Liverpool, the pride of the Cunard fleet, Lusitania,
nicknamed ‘the greyhound of the seas’, was sunk by a German torpedo
off the Old Head of Kinsale, Southern Ireland on Friday 7th May,
1915. Shortly after 2:10 pm on Friday 7 May 1915, Lusitania was hit
without warning by a torpedo fired by the German Submarine U-20. She
sank in a matter of 20 minutes and 1,201 men, women and children
were lost. Of these fatalities, 128 were American citizens.
http://www.aquaexplorers.com/garygentilelusitania.htm
Bismarck
The
Bismarck was the pride of the German navy. Described by Winston
Churchill as, "a terrific ship and a masterpiece of naval
construction," she was the length of three football fields. However,
the maiden voyage of this German warship was short-lived. In May
1941, after an eight-day chase in the Atlantic, Bismarck succumbed
to attack from the British in one of the most dramatic sea battles
of the war. Crippled by heavy enemy fire, Bismarck tumbled and slid
to a halt on a steep undersea mountain. Only 115 of the 2,200 crew
survived. In 1989, Dr Robert D Ballard and his team finally
found Bismarck's remains.
Edmund
Fitzgerald
On November 10, 1975, in the most famous shipwreck in Great Lakes
history, the Edmund Fitzgerald sank in a treacherous storm on Lake
Superior. Thanks to the popular 1976 song by singer/songwriter
Gordon Lightfoot, the story of the Edmund Fitzgerald has reached and
maintained legendary status. The gigantic ore carrier, at one time
the largest ship on the Great Lakes and holder of numerous tonnage
records, was caught up in a vicious November storm on Lake Superior
and, after hours of battling high winds and 30-foot waves, suddenly
disappeared from radar without so much as a single warning or SOS
from its captain or crew.
The Great Lakes Shipwreck Directory
Belgrano
The
sinking of the warship Belgrano is one of the most dramatic
and controversial events of the Falklands War. On May 2 1982, HMS
Conqueror, the British nuclear submarine, fired two torpedoes at the
Argentine warship, General Belgrano. Some 300 men were killed on
impact.
Atocha
The Nuestra Senora de Atocha was built in Havana in 1620. She was
sunk during a hurricane in 1622. The Atocha was partially salvaged
by the Spanish in 1623, but according to John Potter's TREASURE
DIVER'S GUIDE, "Before work could be concluded the marker buoy on
the wreck was carried away in a storm, and the site was never
relocated by the Spaniards."
The Florida Keys Shipwreck Expo
HMS Victory
One of the world's greatest
maritime mysteries was solved when Odyssey Marine Exploration
discovered the shipwreck of HMS Victory, lost in 1744
under the command of Admiral Sir John Balchin. The
direct predecessor and inspiration behind Nelson's flagship,
Balchin's Victory was the mightiest and most technically
advanced vessel of her age. She was lost during a storm with
all hands and was the last Royal Navy warship to be lost at
sea with a complete complement of bronze cannon. Two of the
greatest admirals in English history, Sir John Norris and Sir
John Balchin called her their flagship. Research indicates
that Balchin's Victory sank with a substantial amount of gold
and silver specice aboard.
Odyssey has
been cooperating closely with the United Kingdom’s Ministry of
Defence (MOD) on the project, and all activities at the site
have been conducted in accordance with protocols agreed with
MOD and Royal Navy officials.
Odyssey
discovered the site nearly 100 km from where the ship was
historically believed to have been wrecked on a reef near the
Channel Islands. In an operation conducted in cooperation with
the MOD, Odyssey has completed an archaeological
pre-disturbance survey of the site, conducted limited test
trenching, and recovered two bronze cannon to confirm the
identity of the shipwreck. The cannon recovered include a
12-pounder featuring the royal arms of George II and a 4 ton,
42-pounder bearing the crest of George I. The huge 42-pounder
recovered is the only known example of a gun of this type and
size currently in existence on dry land.
For additional information
http://www.shipwreck.net/index.php
SS Republic
according to Odyssey Marine "The SS Republic was a
Civil War-era side wheel steamship that sank in 1865 while
carrying a large cargo of silver and gold coins and a stunning
variety of everyday objects. It was discovered by Odyssey
Marine Exploration in 2003.
En route from New York to New Orleans with passengers and
commercial cargo, the SS Republic was lost in a
violent hurricane on October 25, 1865. The passengers and crew
escaped from the sinking ship, yet a fortune in coins and much
needed cargo to rebuild the war-ravaged south sank to the
bottom of the Atlantic seabed 1,700 feet (518 meters) deep.
Nearly 140 years later, Odyssey discovered the shipwreck of
the Republic approximately 100 miles off the Georgia
coast. The archaeological excavation conducted during the
2003-2004 excavation seasons was accomplished entirely through
the use of advanced robotics and cutting-edge technologies and
was the first of its kind ever performed at such depths.
Over 51,000 U.S. gold and
silver coins were recovered from the Republic wreck
site, as well as nearly 14,000 artifacts - a fascinating
assortment of 19th century goods in use during the Civil War
years. In addition to the wealth of knowledge gained from the
Republic shipwreck project, the success of the
archaeological excavation has set a precedent for achieving
the highest archaeological standards essential to the emerging
field of deep-water shipwreck exploration and recovery.
Odyssey's discovery and
archaeological excavation of the SS Republic was the
subject of a National Geographic one-hour special entitled
"Civil War Gold" which aired nationally on PBS; an episode of
"National Geographic: Ultimate Explorer"; National Geographic
Magazine's September 2004 issue."
For additional information
"Lost Gold of the Republic"
"Bottles from the Deep";
Treasure
Shipwrecks
of New York and New Jersey's (Wreck Valley)
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