Researchers found a wrecked Nazi U-boat and a Nicaraguan-flagged freighter about 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina this week.
The vessels, lost for more than 70 years, were involved in World War II's Battle of the Atlantic in 1942,
according to a news release from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
"Most people associate the Battle of the Atlantic with the cold, icy waters of the North Atlantic," David Alberg, superintendent of NOAA's Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, said in the release. "But few people realize how close the war actually came to America’s shores. As we learn more about the underwater battlefield, [American merchant ship] Bluefields and [U-boat] U-576 will provide additional insight into a relatively little-known chapter in American history."
The Nazi submarine, U-576, sank the Bluefields freighter on July 15, 1942, according to the release. U.S. Navy Kingfisher aircraft then bombed the U-boat.
The two vessels were found as part of an effort by NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to survey WWII ships off the coast of
North Carolina, The Huffington Post reported.
The site is considered to be a maritime grave for the crew members of the submarine and is protected by international law. Bluefields did not sustain any
casualties during the sinking, CNN reported.
The battle began when the U-boat, damaged and heading back to Germany under the command of Hans-Dieter Heinicke, came across a convoy of 19 merchant vessels and five escorts, CNN reported. Heinicke attacked, sinking the Bluefields and damaging two other ships before being sunk.
"This discovery highlights the importance of federal agencies working together to identify and protect these unique submerged archaeological resources that are of local and international importance," William Hoffman, a BOEM archaeologist, said in the news release.
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