Diving into History
The Outer Banks of North Carolina are a world-renowned vacation destination. But what many visitors don’t know is that the beautiful blue waves also hide historic shipwrecks. Thousands of vessels rest in the Graveyard of the Atlantic, including 17th-century shipwrecks, a World War I-era lightship, and German U-boats that plied U.S. waters during World War II. Some of these wrecks can be viewed by divers, and may be protected by an expanded Monitor National Marine Sanctuary.
NOAA diver Russ Green explores the wreck of the cargo ship Liberator, which was sunk by a U-boat in 1942. Today it rests in 120 feet of water.
Photo: Joe Hoyt/NOAA
A NOAA diver documents the wreck of U-701, a German U-boat that was sunk by Allied forces off the coast of North Carolina.
Photo: Steve Sellers/NOAA
U-352 was the first U-boat sunk by the United States Coast Guard off the U.S. East Coast during World War II’s Battle of the Atlantic.
Photo: Joe Hoyt/NOAA