WW2 U-boat found with ship it sank off North Carolina

[DrLeftover]

22 Oct

The wrecks of a German U-boat and a merchant vessel it sank in the Battle of the Atlantic have been found 30 miles (48 km) off North Carolina.

Researchers led by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration found U-576 within 240 yds (220 m) of the US freighter Bluefields after 70 years.

It is a "rare window into a historic military battle", the NOAA said.

The two ships met on 15 July 1942 when the German submarine attacked a convoy of merchant ships en route to Florida.

The U-576 sank the Bluefields and seriously damaged two other ships.

A US Navy Kingfisher aircraft in turn bombed the German vessel at the same time as it was attacked by the merchant vessel Unicoi.

Bluefields and U-576 were lost within minutes, the NOAA's account of the battle says.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-29721118