FLORIDA KEYS Shipwrecks USS Sturtevant Wreck Key West

FLORIDA KEYS Shipwrecks USS Sturtevant Wreck Key West

Historical and current Florida Keys Shipwreck Information and images for scuba divers, fisherman and marine historians.

Capt. Dan Berg's Wreck Valley Collection

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U.S.S. STURTEVANT Key West

The destroyer U.S.S. Sturtevant was named after Ensign Albert D Sturtevant, a Naval aviator who was awarded the Navy Cross for heroic action. Ensign Sturtevant was attached to the Royal Flying Corps. On February 15, 1918, while flying escort for a convoy with another plane, they were attacked by ten German planes. Sturtevant's companion escaped the heavily uneven odds, but Sturtevant decided to stay and fought heroically to save the convoy. When last seen, his plane was hit and falling toward the ocean.

The U.S.S. Sturtevant, DD-240, was built in 1918 by New York Shipbuilding Co., in Camden, New Jersey. She was 314 feet long, had a 30 foot beam and displaced 1,190 tons. The Sturtevant was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on September 21, 1920. She was powered to a top speed of 35 knots by 26,000 shp turbine engines and she was armed with four 4-inch guns, one 3-inch anti-aircraft gun, twelve torpedo tubes and 20-mm machine guns.

On April 26, 1942, while the Sturtevant was escorting a convoy, only two hours out of port a sudden explosion ripped a hole through her stern. After the explosion, her Captain thought they had been hit by a torpedo and subsequently dropped depth charges. A few minutes later, a second explosion amidships sent the destroyer to the bottom. She was the 31st U.S. ship and the eleventh destroyer lost during World War II. The NEW YORK TIMES reported that most of her crew were rescued and loss of life was small. The Navy originally speculated that the destroyer had hit a German floating mine but admitted she may have hit a U.S. mine that had broken free of its mooring. It was later learned that the Sturtevant's captain had not been informed of a U.S. mine field laid a day earlier. Out of an entire crew of 152 men, 15 went down with her.

The scattered remains of the U.S.S. Sturtevant now rest in 65 feet of water. According to Billy Deans, she is broken into two sections on a sand bottom with an average visibility in the area of 20 feet. The Sturtevant is located seven miles north of Key West.

Photo: The destroyer U.S.S. Sturtevant was built in 1918 by New York Shipbuilders Co. Photo courtesy National Archives. The Sturtevant was commissioned at the Philadelphia Navy Yard on September 21,1920. She was powered to a top speed of 35 knots by 26,N0 shp turbine engines.

Basic shipwreck information and images for this section of this site was taken with permission from the book Florida Shipwrecks by Daniel Berg. You are invited to submit your shipwreck related articles, images and information. As long as the text, photographs, sketches etc are of professional quality we will showcase them. Full credit will be provided and a same page link to your web site can be arranged.

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By Dan and Denise Berg, 180 pages. Shipwrecks are an important complement to the natural coral reefs as a sport diving attraction in Florida. From the barley discernable ballast piles of the 1733 fleet to the almost perfectly intact modern ships sunk specifically as artificial reefs throughout the state, shipwrecks inspire an aura of mystery and fascination. Florida Shipwrecks is the most comprehensive, accurate, illustrated collection of information, photographs, sketches and stories ever written about the shipwrecks around the state of Florida. This downloadable ebook contains a wealth of enlightening information that gives the readers a nostalgic glimpse into the history and present condition of over 235 shipwrecks. Florida Shipwrecks includes over 240 illustrations comprised of 151 color photos, 83 black and white historical images, 8 dynamic u/w sketches. Divers , snorkelers, marine historians, armchair sailors or anyone with a general interest in history diving or the sea will surely find this ebook fascinating, as well as indispensable.

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