wreck rap

Diver on LST 349 at Punta Papa on Ponza Island

Text and photos by Carlo Ravenna The sinking of USS LST 349, which was heading to Naples from Anzio, Italy, occurred in February 1944. It happened during a severe storm, in which tur- bulent seas pushed the against the cliffs at Punta Papa on Ponza Island. Even though the people of Ponza made a great effort in the rescue operations, the death toll was heavy. WWII Wreck LST 349 At Ponza, Italy

The tank landing ship (also called 7 February 1943 and was built, on coastal landings without harbor bow of the ship rests at 26m, below LST or Landing Ship, Tank) used by based on a revision of a British mod- docks or piers. Punta Papa, facing the northwest. the United States during WWII, had a el, for logistical support of military On its last voyage, the fury of the The stern is located inside the cove, flat bottom, a length of about 97m operations in the Second World War sea tore the ship into two parts, about 400m from the bow, and rests and a width of around 15m. The LST for embarking and disembarking which sank to the sandy sea floor in a north-south orientation. 349 was launched in Virginia on troops, military vehicles and supplies in an upright position. Today, the

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Diver at stern of the wreck of LST 349, located off Punta Papa on Ponza Island, Italy

Diving the wreck However, the tailgate is no longer in To explore the ship in detail, it takes at place, which, when lowered, allowed least two dives: one on the bow and the landing of soldiers and vehicles one on the stern. The front section, on the beach, so it is recommended most frequented by divers, is certainly that divers descend to the bottom to the best part of the wreck. One just explore the garage first, finding -en has to descend a few meters to get trances to different cargo holds along an overview of the wreck and see, in the way, meter after meter. crystal clear water, the two machine The walls of LST 349 are completely guns and the cannons of the ship. The covered with a thick colony of yellow winch chain and other structures on gorgonians, which benefit from the the wreck are still in a good state of nutrient-rich current that is often chan- preservation. neled inside the wreck. Among the

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THIS PAGE: Scenes from the wreck of LST 349, the stern of which rests at 20m off Punta Papa on Ponza Island, Italy; Diver at gun on deck of LST 349 (left)

various fishes at the wreck site, you can which makes the underwater environment easily find curious groupers that will follow very bright. Here, one will find a control the movements of divers. cabin, machine rooms, a piece of a pro- peller blade, wheel and engines. Finally, Tips for photographers divers ascend along the cliff wall, at the To get beautiful photographs of the end of this multi-level dive.  wreck, it is recommended that underwa- ter photographers reverse their visit and Carlo Ravenna is an Italian underwater start from the . Otherwise, bubbles photographer based in Rome, who has expelled by other divers in the group will been diving for over 25 years. A love of pass through the many cracks of the hull nature and imagery led Ravenna, a for- on their way to the surface, spoiling most mer architect, into a career in nature pho- of the shots. tography and shooting for television. He On the return ascent, given the proximi- is the author of several Italian underwater ty of the dive boat to Punta Papa, it might guide books, including Mediterraneo Vita be better to keep the cliff on one’s left- Sommersa (published by Calderini), Ven- hand side until 12m, where you will reach totene sott'acqua and Il Giglio sott'acqua a beautiful cavern with various openings (published by Guastadisegni). For more through which light is filtered. The stern information, please visit: CarloRavenna.it. rests at 20m, on a white, sandy sea floor,

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WWII HISTORY OF LSTs

The LST (also known as “landing ship, tank” or “tank land- ing ship”) was integral to the fighting forces during World War II, transporting tanks, cargo and troops directly to the battlefield. They were unique in that their flat keels al- lowed the to remain upright after beaching, without the need for docks or piers. Their twin propellers and rud- ders were specially protected from grounding.

The ship saw its combat debut in the Solomon Islands in June 1943, and also served in the and the Eu- ropean Theatre. When on a mission in the battlefield, upon reaching its destination, a large door would open up onto dry land and a ramp would be deployed, facilitating the unloading of the troops, cargo and vehicles.

The LSTs proved to be versatile. Some were converted to become repair ships and hospital ships, while others were fitted with flight decks to launch small obser- vation aircraft.

After World War II, many LSTs were demilitarized and con-

WWII SIGNAL CORPS PHOTOGRAPH COLLECTION / WIKIMEDIA COMMONS / PUBLIC DOMAIN verted into ferries, small freighters and dredges, while oth- Historical photo taken in 1944 during WWII showing the tanks of an ers were used in training or as target practice.  armored regiment disembarking from an LST in the harbor of Anzio, Italy, as reinforcements to the US armed forces on the beachhead THIS PAGE: Scenes from the wreck of LST 349, located at Punta Papa on Ponza, Italy

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Edited by WIKIPEDIA COMMONS / PUBLIC DOMAIN Peter Symes RECYCLED FROM THE SEA

OceanPositive fourthelement.com by

the armament of the Eidsvold was zard. On board the Norge, it was survivors from Eidsvold and Norge. a big threat to the much smaller clear that something was amiss. The captain of the German German , Wilhelm Hei- The ship then slipped its moor- iron-ore Bockenheim dkamp, which stopped a few ings. When the foreign thought that it was British forces ship’s lengths away. were discovered in the harbor, that were attacking, as three tor- Norge seen from port side the Norge immediately opened pedoes hit the ship. He therefore Asked to surrender fire. Again, it went terribly wrong ordered the ship to be beached It must have seemed very strange for the pride of the Norwegian and blown up. In the space of just Legendary Norwegian WWII for the commander of the Eids- navy. Norge was hit by a a short time, Narvik Harbor was vold to be requested to surrender from the German destroyer Anton under German control. All the to a German destroyer deep into Schmitt and capsized, sinking in merchant ships that weren’t Ger- and war grave looted by divers a Norwegian fjord. As the Eidsvold just two minutes. man were immediately put under prepared to open fire, theWilhelm German command, and the guns HNoMS Norge was a panserskip. The Eidsvold class was and speaking tube have been Heidkamp fired torpedoes, which Total chaos on the British cargo ships were coastal defense ship in armored to withstand battle with removed from the wreck. In con- sank the Eidsvold in just a few Out in the harbor basin, all was demounted, to be used as land- the Royal Norwegian Navy ships of a similar class, but the sultation with the Tromsø Museum, seconds. The German ships could, total chaos. The merchant ships based guns.  underwater armor and internal which is the administrative author- thereafter, sail into the harbor ba- launched lifeboats into the water, SOURCE: NORWEGIAN BROADCASTING that was torpedoed and partitioning were not designed ity for the wreck, Narvik Municipal- sin, partly hidden in a strong bliz- and thereby rescued a number of CORPORATION (NRK) sunk by German destroy- to withstand torpedo hits, which ity and Riksantikvaren (Norway’s ers in Narvik Harbor dur- caused both ships' demise. Directorate for Cultural Heritage), The remains of Norge rest at a the county will now meet to dis- ing the attack on Norway depth of about 20m (66ft), in the cuss how they can prevent further on 9 April 1940. Today, middle of Narvik Harbor. Partly looting and destruction of the the sunken warship, which salvaged in situ, it is considered shipwreck. is considered part of the a war memorial and diving on or near the wreck was banned be- Sinking of Norge Norway’s cultural heritage, tween 1999 and 2014. Shortly after The German attack on Norway is being subjected to plun- the ban was lifted in order to at- came as a surprise, and the forces dering. tract more divers, artifacts started in Narvik were quite unprepared disappearing from the wreck, the for the attack. In the morning mist, The Eidsvold class was a class NRK (the Norwegian Broadcasting the armored warship Eidsvold— of coastal defense ships, two of Corporation) reported in August. the sistership to Norge, which was which were built for the Royal anchored outside Framnesod- Norwegian Navy in 1899. The class Ban den—discovered that foreign consisted of two ships, HNoMS Officials from Nordland county naval vessels were on their way Eidsvold and HNoMS Norge. Lo- told NRK that, among other arti- to Narvik’s harbor. Even being a

cally, they were referred to as facts, the engine order telegraph 40-year-old warship at the time, ANDERS BEER WILSE / WIKIPEDIA COMMONS / PUBLIC DOMAIN Historical photo of HNoMS Norge

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Edited by The USS Indianapolis in the history of the US Navy. Command, identified a naval Peter Symes was destroyed on 30 Nearly 300 people went down landing craft that had record- with the ship, and of the 900 ed a sighting of the Indian- July 1945 when, some- who abandoned ship, only 317 apolis hours before it was sunk. where in the Philippine would survive after four to five The position was west of where of the German Sea between Guam days in the water suffering from it was presumed to be lying. Fleet at Scapa Flow— and Leyte, it was hit exposure, dehydration, drown- The search team was able the upperworks of the ing and shark attacks. It took to develop a new estimated German battlecruiser SMS by a torpedo from a the Navy four days to realize position, although it still cov- Hindenburg above the Japanese . that the vessel was missing. ered 600 square miles of open water at Scapa Flow. On 18 August 2017, a ocean. Location a mystery Microsoft co-founder Paul IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM IMPERIAL / WAR PUBLIC DOMAIN search team financed The ship's rapid sinking and the Allen, whose crew discovered by Paul Allen located lack of a distress call meant the vessel on 18 August, called WWI warships at the bottom of Scapa Flow the wreckage of the the ship's location had long the shipwreck a “significant dis- sunken in the been a mystery. The ship- covery”, considering the depth Philippine Sea lying at a wreck’s location had eluded of the water. being mapped researchers for decades. The depth of approximately coordinates keyed out in an Delivered first A-bomb Shipwrecks of the WWI of the Armistice on 11 November The British ships in the study include 5,500m (18,000ft). SOS signal were forgotten The ship is well-known for its German and 1918 at Compiègne, France, which the HMS Vanguard and HMS Hamp- by surviving radio operators final, secret mission. TheIndi - effectively ended World War I, the shire, which sank during World War The Indianapolis sank in 15 and were not received by anapolis had just completed the Scapa Flow war graves surface fleet was to sail to the Firth of I, and HMS Royal Oak, which sank minutes on 30 July 1945, in the Navy ships or shore stations, a top-secret mission to deliver of HMS Hampshire, HMS Forth and surrender to British admi- during World War II. The project has final days of World War II. The the Navy command said. The components of the atomic Vanguard and HMS Royal ral David Beatty. They would then brought together universities, com- ship was on its way to the Phil- ship’s mission records and logs bomb “Little Boy” as well as Oak, which are located in a be led to Scapa Flow and interned, mercial companies and government ippines when torpedoes from were lost in the wreck. enriched uranium fuel for its pending the outcome of the peace bodies, including Historic Environ- a Japanese submarine struck Researchers got a break last nuclear reaction to the island body of water sheltered by negotiations. On 21 , Rear ment Scotland, Marine Scotland, the ship. Of the 1,196 men on year, however, when Richard of Tinian. The bomb was later five of the Orkney Islands, Admiral Ludwig von Reuter gave the Ulster University, Heriot-Watt Univer- board, just 316 were rescued— Hulver, a historian with the dropped on the Japanese city are being surveyed. order to scuttle the 74 ships of the sity, University of Dundee and private the largest loss of life at sea Naval History and Heritage of Hiroshima.  High Seas Fleet located in Scapa company Seatronics. Using a suite of geophysical equip- Flow to prevent the ships from being Andrew Fulton, from Historic En- ment, ROV and diver survey to col- seized under the . vironment Scotland, said, "We are To be able to honor lect data that will accurately record pleased to see this next stage of sur- the wrecks as they sit on the sea floor Not all salvaged vey work on the underwater wartime the brave men of the today, Orkney Research Center for Nearly 52 wrecks were salvaged— remains of Scapa Flow. The results USS Indianapolis Archaeology is conducting surveys only seven of the vessels, and some will help update existing records of in the area to map 10 - parts of others, remain underwater. the wrecks, guide their manage- and their families wrecks at the bottom of Scapa Flow, The British Admiralty wrote off the ment and contribute to the com- through the discov- the main base of the British Grand sunken ships as complete losses and memoration of momentous events in ery of a ship that Fleet since World War I. The data sold the rights to entrepreneur Ernest wartime history." collected will be used to continue to Cox for GB£250. He spent the next It is planned that this project will played such a sig- , protect, conserve and pro- year recovering almost all of the contribute to the centenary com- nificant role in end- mote these impressive shipwrecks. smaller . Most of the steel memoration of the scuttling of the was sold as scrap. One use, which German High Seas Fleet in 2019.  ing World War II is Scuttling could not have been predicted in SOURCE: ORKNEY RESEARCH CENTRE FOR truly humbling. The High Seas Fleet was the battle 1919, was late 20th century precision ARCHAEOLOGY fleet of the German Imperial Navy scientific instruments, including those — Paul Allen in World War I. Following the signing used in satellites. US NAVY / PUBLIC DOMAIN US Navy USS Indianapolis (CA-35) underway, 27 September 1939

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