Quetzal
Contributor
William Rockefeller IS THE LOCATION OF THIS WRECK KNOWN? IF ITS SECRET I'M NOT ASKING FOR COORDINATES JUST WONDERING IF THE LOCATION IS KNOWN BY ANYONE? WOULD BE A COOL DIVE, LARGE SHIP.
William Rockefeller
- Thread starter Quetzal
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mike_s
Contributor
Google is your friend.
It appears to be somewhere off the coast of North Carolina, but doesn't give an exact location.
see http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/WRECKS/ROCKEFELLER/ROCKEFELLER.HTML
SHIP NOTES: (Gentile, Jordan)
Name: William Rockefeller Type: tanker; built 1921
Date Sunk: June 28, 1942 Cause: Sunk by U-701
Size (ft.): 572 x 75 x 31 Tonnage: 14,054
Propulsion: steam reciprocating engine/2 props; speed 11.5 kts Location - unknown; sinking reported ENE of Diamond Shoals Light Buoy
SHIP HISTORY: (Gentile, Moore, Hickham, Hoyt)
The William Rockefeller was enroute from Aruba to New York carrying over 135,000 barrels of bunker c fuel oil when she crossed paths with the U-701. A torpedo struck amidships on the port side igniting a furious inferno. The ship was abandoned approximately 15 minutes after the torpedo hit. All 50 members of its crew (44 crew members and 6 Naval Armed Guard) survived the attack and were taken to the Ocracoke Coast Guard Station by CG-470. The ship continued to drift ablaze and sunk 11 hours after the intial attack by means of a second torpedo from the U-701. The u-boat successfully avoided by aerial and naval counter attacks. [Note: At the time of its sinking, the William Rockefeller was one of the largest tankers in the world and the largest to be lost off the North Carolina coast
It appears to be somewhere off the coast of North Carolina, but doesn't give an exact location.
see http://www.nc-wreckdiving.com/WRECKS/ROCKEFELLER/ROCKEFELLER.HTML
SHIP NOTES: (Gentile, Jordan)
Name: William Rockefeller Type: tanker; built 1921
Date Sunk: June 28, 1942 Cause: Sunk by U-701
Size (ft.): 572 x 75 x 31 Tonnage: 14,054
Propulsion: steam reciprocating engine/2 props; speed 11.5 kts Location - unknown; sinking reported ENE of Diamond Shoals Light Buoy
SHIP HISTORY: (Gentile, Moore, Hickham, Hoyt)
The William Rockefeller was enroute from Aruba to New York carrying over 135,000 barrels of bunker c fuel oil when she crossed paths with the U-701. A torpedo struck amidships on the port side igniting a furious inferno. The ship was abandoned approximately 15 minutes after the torpedo hit. All 50 members of its crew (44 crew members and 6 Naval Armed Guard) survived the attack and were taken to the Ocracoke Coast Guard Station by CG-470. The ship continued to drift ablaze and sunk 11 hours after the intial attack by means of a second torpedo from the U-701. The u-boat successfully avoided by aerial and naval counter attacks. [Note: At the time of its sinking, the William Rockefeller was one of the largest tankers in the world and the largest to be lost off the North Carolina coast
OP
Quetzal
Contributor
Yes thats where I got my Info from. So thats why I was asking? Just thought someone might have some 1st hand knowledge about the wreck and tease us w/ it.
mike_s
Contributor
They don't say how far they were rescued off the coast, so I'm guessing it's too far (meaning too deep) offshore for regular diving.
This would be a good question to email to the guy on Deepsea Detectives TV show on the History Channel. See if he can find it!
This would be a good question to email to the guy on Deepsea Detectives TV show on the History Channel. See if he can find it!
OP
Quetzal
Contributor
Where is or was "Diamond Shoals Light Buoy"?
mike_s
Contributor
QUETZAL:
Due east of Cape Hatteras. To be precise, 35.06 N 75.38 W (35°03'23" N 75°22'49" W)
see http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/suppl_1/2554 and http://www.pnas.org/cgi/content/full/99/suppl_1/2554/F1
For a picture of the Bouy, see http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/images/Stations/3m.jpg
More info from NOAA here.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=41025
hope that helps.
-mike
OP
Quetzal
Contributor
The bouy is in 55' so probably the ship sunk in water that is "diveable" Anyone know anything about this wreck?mike_s:
Akyla
Contributor
During the time frame of the torpedeo attack and sinking of the Rockefeller, the Diamond Shoals light bouy was not at the same location. When looking for wrecks with information obtained from contemporary sources, you must consider the charted locations of the references at the time of the event. Historical charts are available.
Also the area of any torpedeo attack is rarely an exact location, but an estimate and then the floating wreckage was subject to the drift and set of the current. You need to do your research from source documents if possible and these are also availabe. Any location ENE of the bouy position is already in 200'+ and it gets deep quick in that direction off Hatteras...
Nobody I know is diving the Rockefeller but it would be a great dive. Maybe this is one worth searching for but it probably would only be dived by the tech crowd...
Also the area of any torpedeo attack is rarely an exact location, but an estimate and then the floating wreckage was subject to the drift and set of the current. You need to do your research from source documents if possible and these are also availabe. Any location ENE of the bouy position is already in 200'+ and it gets deep quick in that direction off Hatteras...
Nobody I know is diving the Rockefeller but it would be a great dive. Maybe this is one worth searching for but it probably would only be dived by the tech crowd...
mike_s
Contributor
QUETZAL:
re-check that web page there......
it says..... Water depth: 54.9 m <----- those are meters!
So that's about 180 feet. Excluded most recreational divers.
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