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| The North Carolina Outer Banks map. Found on Google. |
If ever you get the opportunity, I would highly suggest taking a trip to the Outer Banks. The North Carolina Coast is incredible. And if you dig a little deeper, beyond the beautiful coast line, lies a ton of history.
Did you know that 30 miles off the Coast of North Carolina, at the bottom of the Atlantic, sits a War Grave that is protected by International Law?
Did you know that 30 miles off the Coast of North Carolina, at the bottom of the Atlantic, sits a War Grave that is protected by International Law?
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| The U-576 and its crew. Found on: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/21/us/north-carolina-u-boat-wreck/index.html |
Bluefields vs U-boat 576
Kapitanleutnant Hanz-Dieter Heinicke was the commander of U-Boat 576. On July 13, after not having much luck against the Allied Forces Shipping, and having considerable damage to the U-Boat, Kapitanleutnant Heinicke radioed to France (that was occupied by the Germans) and stated that he was heading back after a month-long patrol (Lendon, 2014).
Making his way back, on July 14, Kapitanleutnant Heinicke and his men ran across a 19 merchant vessel convoy traveling with five escorts. Heinicke who had had very little success on his four U-Boat patrols previously, was seeking redemption. Although U-Boat 576 was damaged, he decided to attack the convoy at all costs (Lendon, 2014).
The Coast Guard picked up the sonar contact, but Heinicke pressed forward with his attack. At 4:15, Kapitanleutnant Heinicke fired off four torpedoes.
As the NOAA release states, “The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields and severely damaged two other ships. A US Navy Kingfisher aircraft bombed the U-576 and the merchant ship Unicoi attacked it with its deck gun (Lendon, 2014).”
On July 14, 1942, both Bluefields and U-576 sunk. While the Bluefields vessel did not face casualties, all the men aboard U-576 were lost.
In 2014, 72 years after the battle, both the U-576 and Bluefields were found, 30 miles off of Cape Hatteras, just 240 yards apart. Two NOAA research vessels, the Okeanos Explorer and SRVX Sand Tiger took part in the search (Lendon, 2014).
Making his way back, on July 14, Kapitanleutnant Heinicke and his men ran across a 19 merchant vessel convoy traveling with five escorts. Heinicke who had had very little success on his four U-Boat patrols previously, was seeking redemption. Although U-Boat 576 was damaged, he decided to attack the convoy at all costs (Lendon, 2014).
The Coast Guard picked up the sonar contact, but Heinicke pressed forward with his attack. At 4:15, Kapitanleutnant Heinicke fired off four torpedoes.
As the NOAA release states, “The U-576 sank the Nicaraguan-flagged freighter Bluefields and severely damaged two other ships. A US Navy Kingfisher aircraft bombed the U-576 and the merchant ship Unicoi attacked it with its deck gun (Lendon, 2014).”
On July 14, 1942, both Bluefields and U-576 sunk. While the Bluefields vessel did not face casualties, all the men aboard U-576 were lost.
In 2014, 72 years after the battle, both the U-576 and Bluefields were found, 30 miles off of Cape Hatteras, just 240 yards apart. Two NOAA research vessels, the Okeanos Explorer and SRVX Sand Tiger took part in the search (Lendon, 2014).
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In researching, I found that instances were fairly common occurrences off of the North Carolina Coast. Who knew that WWII had hit so closely to the East Coast of the US?
Actually, only six short weeks after Pearl Harbor, around 2 a.m. on January 19, 1942, residents in Avon, NC were awoke with a start. Residents stated that it sounded much like an earthquake, with their walls and furniture shaking. The commotion was actually a German U-Boat shooting a torpedo at the US Freighter, City of Atlanta (Duffus, 2008).
Unfortunately, this became common for the residents in the Outer Banks. By July 1942, there had been at least 65 U-Boat attacks on the US’ East Coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico; 397 ships had been sunk or damaged, and more than 5,000 people had been killed. This was deemed the Battle of the Atlantic. (And while I share of the time span between January 1942-July 1942, this was taking place from 1939 until 1945. Germany had hoped that the use of the U-Boats in the Atlantic, along the US Eastern Coast, would assist in cutting off supplies and merchant ships assisting the Allied Forces in Europe.) (Duffus, 2008).
Actually, only six short weeks after Pearl Harbor, around 2 a.m. on January 19, 1942, residents in Avon, NC were awoke with a start. Residents stated that it sounded much like an earthquake, with their walls and furniture shaking. The commotion was actually a German U-Boat shooting a torpedo at the US Freighter, City of Atlanta (Duffus, 2008).
Unfortunately, this became common for the residents in the Outer Banks. By July 1942, there had been at least 65 U-Boat attacks on the US’ East Coast, and in the Gulf of Mexico; 397 ships had been sunk or damaged, and more than 5,000 people had been killed. This was deemed the Battle of the Atlantic. (And while I share of the time span between January 1942-July 1942, this was taking place from 1939 until 1945. Germany had hoped that the use of the U-Boats in the Atlantic, along the US Eastern Coast, would assist in cutting off supplies and merchant ships assisting the Allied Forces in Europe.) (Duffus, 2008).
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| A photo of the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse that I took in 2015. |
You see, the greatest instance of the U-Boat attacks happened around the Outer Banks. In fact, the waters off of Cape Hatteras took on the nickname “Torpedo Junction.”
In the article written by Kevin Duffus for Learn NC, Blanche Jolliff of Ocracoke Island states “We’d hear these explosions most any time of the day or night and it would shake the houses and sometimes crack the walls” (2008). Can you imagine the fear of the people living in the Outer Banks? Constantly afraid that WWII might literally wash up on their shores?
In that same article, Gibb Gray of Avon remembers the day the oil tanker Dixie Arrow was hit: “I remember we were walking to school one day, and the whole ground shook. We looked toward the ocean, just beyond the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, and there was another huge cloud of smoke” (Dufus, 2008).
The residents remember the summer of 1942, as the summer they had to give up their favorite pastime. Mrs. Ormond Fuller states, “That summer we had to almost give up swimming in the ocean—it was just full of oil, you’d get it all over you” (Duffus, 2008). An estimated 150 million gallons of oil spilled into the ocean and along the Outer Banks beaches during 1942 (Duffus, 2008).
It took a little while, but the Coast Guard and the US Navy increased their patrols in the area. From April 1942 and the few months that followed, a total of four U-Boats were sunk off of the North Carolina Coast. In July, after becoming discouraged, the Commander of Germany’s U-Boats decided to move all remaining ships to the Northern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea (Duffus, 2008).
For National security and so the public wouldn't worry, reports of the U-Boats near the coast were kept classified for quite some time. In fact, many people inland in North Carolina had no idea how bad it really was. But the old-timers in the Outer Banks still remember when WWII came to their coast.
Author’s Note: I’m not sure if it’s simply because I’m a history buff and LOVE these tidbits, or because I recently visited the Outer Banks, and was so close to a part of history…but I found this so interesting. I hope you have, too.
Duffus, Kevin P. (2008). When World War II was fought off North Carolina’s Beaches. Learn NC
In the article written by Kevin Duffus for Learn NC, Blanche Jolliff of Ocracoke Island states “We’d hear these explosions most any time of the day or night and it would shake the houses and sometimes crack the walls” (2008). Can you imagine the fear of the people living in the Outer Banks? Constantly afraid that WWII might literally wash up on their shores?
In that same article, Gibb Gray of Avon remembers the day the oil tanker Dixie Arrow was hit: “I remember we were walking to school one day, and the whole ground shook. We looked toward the ocean, just beyond the Cape Hatteras lighthouse, and there was another huge cloud of smoke” (Dufus, 2008).
The residents remember the summer of 1942, as the summer they had to give up their favorite pastime. Mrs. Ormond Fuller states, “That summer we had to almost give up swimming in the ocean—it was just full of oil, you’d get it all over you” (Duffus, 2008). An estimated 150 million gallons of oil spilled into the ocean and along the Outer Banks beaches during 1942 (Duffus, 2008).
It took a little while, but the Coast Guard and the US Navy increased their patrols in the area. From April 1942 and the few months that followed, a total of four U-Boats were sunk off of the North Carolina Coast. In July, after becoming discouraged, the Commander of Germany’s U-Boats decided to move all remaining ships to the Northern Atlantic and Mediterranean Sea (Duffus, 2008).
For National security and so the public wouldn't worry, reports of the U-Boats near the coast were kept classified for quite some time. In fact, many people inland in North Carolina had no idea how bad it really was. But the old-timers in the Outer Banks still remember when WWII came to their coast.
Author’s Note: I’m not sure if it’s simply because I’m a history buff and LOVE these tidbits, or because I recently visited the Outer Banks, and was so close to a part of history…but I found this so interesting. I hope you have, too.
Duffus, Kevin P. (2008). When World War II was fought off North Carolina’s Beaches. Learn NC
website: http://www.learnnc.org/lp/pdf/when-world-war-ii-was-p5908.pdf
Lendon, Brad (2014). Wreck of WWII German U-boat found off North Carolina. CNN website:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/21/us/north-carolina-u-boat-wreck/index.html
Lendon, Brad (2014). Wreck of WWII German U-boat found off North Carolina. CNN website:
http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/21/us/north-carolina-u-boat-wreck/index.html
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