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Underwater Archaeologists Are Exploring an Undisturbed WWII Battlefield

NOAA explorers are bringing the "Battle of the Atlantic" back to life.
USCG Cutter Spencer deploying depth charges during the Battle of the Atlantic. Image: National Archives and Record Administration

Two years ago, archaeologists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) discovered something incredible at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. Just off the coast of North Carolina's Cape Hatteras, a sunken German U-boat had been silently resting since the end of World War II.

What NOAA scientists found that day was an underwater graveyard created by the "Battle of the Atlantic," or the longest military campaign of World War II. The six year battle began in 1939, when war was waged between Allied merchant and supply ships, and Germany's submarines and destroyers.

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Crew of U-576 at watch in the conning tower. Image: The Ed Caram Collection

Now, the agency has announced it will visit Cape Hatteras once again, in a research expedition aimed at virtually recreating the underwater graveyard. NOAA scientists will be descending in manned submersibles to collect bathymetric data, using robots and advanced remote sensing technology. With the help of University of North Carolina's Coastal Studies Institute, they'll be able to generate three-dimensional models of the battlefield.

"This discovery is the only known location in US waters that contains archaeologically preserved remains of a convoy battle where both sides are so close together," said Joe Hoyt, the mission's chief scientist and archaeologist at the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, in a statement.

"By studying this site for the first time, we hope to learn more about the battle, as well as the natural habitats surrounding the shipwrecks."

Sonar image of U-576 wreck site. Image: NOAA/SRI

The "Battle of the Atlantic" was described by Winston Churchill as the linchpin of World War II. "Everything happening elsewhere, on land, at sea, or in the air, depended ultimately on its outcome," he once said. German forces hoped to intercept the rations and military supplies being shipped from North America to Britain on merchant ships. Had they succeeded in cutting off Britain's lifeline over the Atlantic, perhaps the war might have ended differently.

On July 15, 1942, near North Carolina, the German U-boat U-576 succeeded in destroying the American merchant tanker SS Bluefields. Within minutes, however, U-576 was overtaken by US Navy forces and another merchant ship called Unicoi. Today, it lies interred just 240 yards from Bluefields.

The wreckage will be explored using a Triton submersible, enabling research and exploration up to 1,000 feet. Image: GlobalSubDive

The mission expands on NOAA's "Graveyard of the Atlantic" project, which explores shipwrecks from World War I, World War II, and the Civil War, off North Carolina's Outer Banks. Archaeologists will be visiting the site through September 6, and their findings will help to inform whether additional environmental protections are needed in the historic area.

"The significance of these sites cannot be overstated. This area off North Carolina is the best representation of a World War II battlefield off the east coast." said David Alberg, a superintendent at the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, in a statement.

"Now, working with our partners, we have an opportunity to study it, characterize it, and, like other historic battlefields in this country, hopefully protect it."