If anyone is interested in joining us, we are diving the Lillian Luckenbach with Lynnhaven Dive Center off the Miss Lauren on Sat. November 2. Cost is $75 and the water temps will be 65-70 by the 2nd. There are only 2 of us signed up right now.
The wreck:
A 6,369 ton freighter sunk in 105' on March 27, 1943 after colliding with SS Cape Henlopen and now lies on her port side. The bow is recognizably intact, though flattened out with the amidships section more broken down. The superstructure is scattered in the sand. The wreck is largely contiguous along the centerline, though large debris fields may lure divers away from the main part of the wreck. Tires and engine parts abound throughout the wreck, with the remains of P-39 Aircobras buried under wreckage. The stern rises up dramatically approximately 30' at a break, with the starboard shaft protruding foward. The stern superstructure, previously attached to the tilted stern, has now slid off and is lying upside down to port.
NOTE: The bronze hubs to the stern steering station, previously suspended upside down in the stern superstructure, now lay loose inside this wreckage. However, the hubs are still connected to the large steel shaft. I conducted several dives working to cut the shaft in an attempt to remove these artifacts, but due to other commitments, was unable to complete the task.
The stern guntubs still are evident on either side of this wreckage. Largely thought to be picked over, the Luckenbach still yields an occasional prize for an observant diver; on one dive in 1998, I recovered a cage lamp in plain view while another diver recovered a nice porthole. This a very interesting wreck but often overlooked in favor of the nearby John Morgan.
The wreck:
A 6,369 ton freighter sunk in 105' on March 27, 1943 after colliding with SS Cape Henlopen and now lies on her port side. The bow is recognizably intact, though flattened out with the amidships section more broken down. The superstructure is scattered in the sand. The wreck is largely contiguous along the centerline, though large debris fields may lure divers away from the main part of the wreck. Tires and engine parts abound throughout the wreck, with the remains of P-39 Aircobras buried under wreckage. The stern rises up dramatically approximately 30' at a break, with the starboard shaft protruding foward. The stern superstructure, previously attached to the tilted stern, has now slid off and is lying upside down to port.
NOTE: The bronze hubs to the stern steering station, previously suspended upside down in the stern superstructure, now lay loose inside this wreckage. However, the hubs are still connected to the large steel shaft. I conducted several dives working to cut the shaft in an attempt to remove these artifacts, but due to other commitments, was unable to complete the task.
The stern guntubs still are evident on either side of this wreckage. Largely thought to be picked over, the Luckenbach still yields an occasional prize for an observant diver; on one dive in 1998, I recovered a cage lamp in plain view while another diver recovered a nice porthole. This a very interesting wreck but often overlooked in favor of the nearby John Morgan.
