WWII German U-Boat Found off Nantucket Coast

A privately funded group has located a sunken WWII German U-Boat off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Using side scan sonar the group located the wreck about 70 miles south of Nantucket. After covering approximately 100 square miles between last years expedition and this year the group found the U-550, which was clearly visible on sonar. The group confirmed the find with a dive to the wreck to collect photographic evidence.  On April 16, 1944, the U-550 torpedoed the gasoline tanker SS Pan Pennsylvania, which had lagged behind its protective convoy as it set out with 140,000 barrels of gasoline for Great Britain. The U-boat took cover beneath the sinking ship, but one of the tanker's three escorts, the USS Joyce, saw it on sonar and severely damaged it by dropping depth charges. The Germans, forced to surface, manned their deck guns while another escort vessel, the USS Gandy, returned fire and rammed the U-boat. The third escort, the USS Peterson, then hit the U-boat with two more depth charges. The crew abandoned the submarine, but not before setting off explosions to scuttle it. The prisoners of war, and the survivors of the American tanker, were taken to Great Britain.

The search for the wreck continued with only a general idea of where the submarine went down. The crew had to sweep a large area, and because the submarine had eluded discovery for so long, crew members did not have high hopes. The group began the search last summer after several years of planning and research. The crew would not divulge the exact location of the wreck or the depths involved, so that others would not disturb the site. But they said the wreck can be reached by expert divers. The crew plans to notify families of those involved in the battle, including the German casualties.