Hi Everyone! >>> DATES ARE JUNE 25 AND 26 !!! <<<
The Dive Trip
The Ocean Explorer has two(2) open seats for a dive trip to the wreck of the German Submarine U-140 (270 FSW) leaving from Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Virginia (USA) on Saturday night, June 25th and returning Sunday afternoon, June 26th. Cost is $295. The trip leaves at 9:00 PM (6-25), with boarding and load-out starting at 6:00 PM. 5 to 6 hours at sea until on-site. Return time Sunday night is to the dock no later than 9:00 PM (6-26). This is a private charter organized by Bill Ripley with VBTech for eight (8) divers. Price includes bunk, meals, on-board compressor air-tops and use of the 15/30 Haskle. He and O2 on-board, but extra. Full/Advanced Trimix OC/CCR certification and significant open ocean decompression experience is required. Support diver capacity is limited.
If you are interested in making this dive, please contact Bill Ripley directly by e-mail. The trip is confirmed to go, dependent only on weather.
The Diving
The U-140 was a U-139 Type Cruisers and Merchant class boat, launched on November 4, 1917. The Boat saw significant service in WWI and was responsible for sinking seven (7) allied ships totaling 30,000 tons, including the O. B. Jennings off Virginia (1918) and the Diamond Shoals Light Ship No. 71 (also 1918) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. At the end of the war, the U-140 was turned over to the British and brought to the United States in 1919.
The U-140 was a large submarine with an overall length of more than 300 FT and a beam of 30 FT. Comparatively, Type VII WWII German boats (like the U-85 and U-352) had 216 FT of overall length and 20 FT of beam. The U-140 is similar in size to the USS Tarpon, but carried two (2) 150 MM (5.9 inch) deck guns (for surface raiding) along with six (6) torpedo tubes.
The U-140 was one of three (3) German submarines used by the US Navy for gunnery and aircraft bombardment testing off the Virginia Coast in 1921. Both the U-140 and UB-148 were sunk by naval gunfire, while the U-117 was sunk by aircraft flown by General Billy Mitchell. During this same testing, Mitchell sank the German Cruiser Frankfurt and the Battleship Ostfriesland, forever changing the usefulness of capital ships in surface warfare when aircraft were present.
Today (at last report), the U-140 sits upright at 270 FSW. The conning tower rises to 245 FSW. Both guns are still mounted, the bow torpedo tubes are exposed with the Boat's stern broken open. Fishing nets probably cover the wreck. Bottom temperature is expected in the low to mid 40s with mid-water (100 FSW and up) in the 60s. Bottom visibility may be less than 40 FT with possible dark water.
Additional dives to the Billy Mitchell Fleet aboard the Ocean Explorer are planned for August, 2011. More to follow!
The Dive Boat
The Ocean Explorer is a USCG inspected dive boat relocated to Virginia Beach from Florida for the 2011 Virginia diving season. Operated from Rudee Inlet by Captain Mark Fowler, she's 65 FT long with live aboard accommodations (10 bunks, 2 full heads with showers, full galley with refrigeration and fully air-conditioned interior), a massive dive deck (room for 16 divers with full gear, gear table, under seat stowage, on-deck fresh water hot/cold showers, full sun protection and overhead sun deck, two boarding ladders - fins on or off - big dive platform) and underway air, EAN or Trimix fills (twin 9 CFM Bauer compressors with a 15/30 Haskle booster pump and fill whips located each side of the dive deck).
Deco DOGS, soft drinks and fixings, per our Mid-Atlantic diving tradition, served for lunch by the friendly OEX crew every day offshore. The coffee pot is always full!
PHOTOS
The U-140
General Billy Mitchell
Martin NBS–1 (MB–2) Bomber
Ostfriesland Struck by Bombs
Frankfurt Struck by Bombs
The Dive Boat Ocean Explorer
The Dive Boat Ocean Explorer
LET'S GO DIVING!
The Dive Trip
The Ocean Explorer has two(2) open seats for a dive trip to the wreck of the German Submarine U-140 (270 FSW) leaving from Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, Virginia (USA) on Saturday night, June 25th and returning Sunday afternoon, June 26th. Cost is $295. The trip leaves at 9:00 PM (6-25), with boarding and load-out starting at 6:00 PM. 5 to 6 hours at sea until on-site. Return time Sunday night is to the dock no later than 9:00 PM (6-26). This is a private charter organized by Bill Ripley with VBTech for eight (8) divers. Price includes bunk, meals, on-board compressor air-tops and use of the 15/30 Haskle. He and O2 on-board, but extra. Full/Advanced Trimix OC/CCR certification and significant open ocean decompression experience is required. Support diver capacity is limited.
If you are interested in making this dive, please contact Bill Ripley directly by e-mail. The trip is confirmed to go, dependent only on weather.
The Diving
The U-140 was a U-139 Type Cruisers and Merchant class boat, launched on November 4, 1917. The Boat saw significant service in WWI and was responsible for sinking seven (7) allied ships totaling 30,000 tons, including the O. B. Jennings off Virginia (1918) and the Diamond Shoals Light Ship No. 71 (also 1918) off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. At the end of the war, the U-140 was turned over to the British and brought to the United States in 1919.
The U-140 was a large submarine with an overall length of more than 300 FT and a beam of 30 FT. Comparatively, Type VII WWII German boats (like the U-85 and U-352) had 216 FT of overall length and 20 FT of beam. The U-140 is similar in size to the USS Tarpon, but carried two (2) 150 MM (5.9 inch) deck guns (for surface raiding) along with six (6) torpedo tubes.
The U-140 was one of three (3) German submarines used by the US Navy for gunnery and aircraft bombardment testing off the Virginia Coast in 1921. Both the U-140 and UB-148 were sunk by naval gunfire, while the U-117 was sunk by aircraft flown by General Billy Mitchell. During this same testing, Mitchell sank the German Cruiser Frankfurt and the Battleship Ostfriesland, forever changing the usefulness of capital ships in surface warfare when aircraft were present.
Today (at last report), the U-140 sits upright at 270 FSW. The conning tower rises to 245 FSW. Both guns are still mounted, the bow torpedo tubes are exposed with the Boat's stern broken open. Fishing nets probably cover the wreck. Bottom temperature is expected in the low to mid 40s with mid-water (100 FSW and up) in the 60s. Bottom visibility may be less than 40 FT with possible dark water.
Additional dives to the Billy Mitchell Fleet aboard the Ocean Explorer are planned for August, 2011. More to follow!
The Dive Boat
The Ocean Explorer is a USCG inspected dive boat relocated to Virginia Beach from Florida for the 2011 Virginia diving season. Operated from Rudee Inlet by Captain Mark Fowler, she's 65 FT long with live aboard accommodations (10 bunks, 2 full heads with showers, full galley with refrigeration and fully air-conditioned interior), a massive dive deck (room for 16 divers with full gear, gear table, under seat stowage, on-deck fresh water hot/cold showers, full sun protection and overhead sun deck, two boarding ladders - fins on or off - big dive platform) and underway air, EAN or Trimix fills (twin 9 CFM Bauer compressors with a 15/30 Haskle booster pump and fill whips located each side of the dive deck).
Deco DOGS, soft drinks and fixings, per our Mid-Atlantic diving tradition, served for lunch by the friendly OEX crew every day offshore. The coffee pot is always full!
PHOTOS
The U-140
General Billy Mitchell
Martin NBS–1 (MB–2) Bomber
Ostfriesland Struck by Bombs
Frankfurt Struck by Bombs
The Dive Boat Ocean Explorer
The Dive Boat Ocean Explorer
LET'S GO DIVING!
