Latest news with #NavalHistoryAndHeritageCommand
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Expedition captures the first ever images of the wreck of a World War I submarine
After more than 100 years, we have the first actual image of the wreck of a sunken U.S. Navy submarine from World War I. A recent expedition to survey it and other lost military hardware has captured video and photographs of the USS F-1. This week the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Naval History and Heritage Command shared the results from a deep-sea dive conducted in February and March of this year. The ship the Atlantis carried a team of researchers, including trainees, to the waters off of San Diego, where they examined the wreck of the USS F-1 submarine and a Grumman TBM Avenger. Until this year there were only limited sonar readings showing the location of the lost submarine. The USS F-1 was originally discovered in 1975 while crews were searching for the wreck of an aircraft that crashed in the waters off of La Jolla. That discovery was conducted via sonar, with teams finding that the sub was 'completely intact' and it even spotted two periscopes. No plans were made to raise or salvage the submarine then. This expedition earlier this year was the first time archaeologists visited the wreck and the first time the USS F-1 was heavily photographed and filmed, giving the most detailed look at it yet. The team on the Atlantis conducted three dives, two at a sunken aircraft and one at the USS F-1. First they used an autonomous underwater vehicle to pinpoint the wrecks using multi-beam sonar, then a drone to examine it. Finally team members used a submersible to dive to the wreck where they took photos and video of the wreckage. The wreck is located roughly 400 meters below the surface. The USS F-1, originally laid down in 1909 as the USS Carp, entered service in 1912, and served as part of First Submarine Group, Pacific Torpedo Flotilla. The submarine had a mixed service; at one point it held the world record for the deepest dive at 86 meters, but it also ran aground shortly after it was commissioned. This was at a time where submarine warfare was becoming strategically important but submarines themselves were still dealing with several challenges. Many submarines could only dive for short periods of time and means of communication and sight were particularly hampered. The vessels themselves were much more cramped than submarines today — the F-1 was only 143-feet long. On Dec. 17, 1917, the USS F-1 was carrying out a maneuver exercise with other submarines near San Diego when it and another submarine, the USS F-3, collided. The F-3 suffered some damage, but the F-1's engine room and port side were breached, flooding the submarine. According to survivors, the submarine sank in seconds, taking on water quickly. 19 sailors of the USS F-1's 24-person crew died. 'Operating at sea has always been inherently dangerous, and even more so for early submarines. In this case, night, fog, speed, and radio miscommunications contributed to the loss of 19 men, who demonstrated great courage just by volunteering for submarine duty in those days,' Naval History and Heritage Command Director Sam J. Cox, U.S. Navy rear admiral (retired), said in a Navy release on the expedition's findings. Army to eliminate 2 Security Force Assistance Brigades, reassign experienced soldiers Why the Army's new XM7 rifle reignited a debate over volume of fire Air Force delay on separation and retirement orders isn't 'stop loss,' defense official says F-35's close call over Yemen raises questions about how it's used An Army unit's 'extreme use of profanity' was so bad, they made a rule about it
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
WWI sub captured in never-before-seen images off San Diego coast
On Dec. 17, 1917, the U.S. submarine USS F-1 was lost at sea during a training accident off the coast of California, killing 19 crew members on board. Now, just days before Memorial Day, scientists have announced they have captured unprecedented images of the final resting place of the World War I-era sub more than 1,300 feet below the ocean's surface The high-definition pictures of the USS F-1 were captured after a group of interagency teams used cutting-edge deep-sea imaging technology during an expedition earlier this year, according to news release from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. USS F-1 collided with its sister ship, USS F-3, during exercises on the oean's surface off San Diego eight days before Christmas in 1917, according to the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association. USS F-1 sank in just 10 seconds, and only five of the sub's 24 crewmen were rescued. The sub was lost for nearly 60 years until it was located by a Navy deep submersible vehicle that was out looking for a jet fighter that crashed in 1972, the association said. "It looked like a big ax had hit her," said Lt. Dave Magyar, the pilot of the submersible that spotted the USS F-1, according to a newspaper story from 1976. But a close-up survey was not possible given the depth of the submarine. Until now. With assistance from the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Naval History and Heritage Command (NHHC) and the National Science Foundation, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution team dispatched a human-occupied vehicle named Alvin as well as a remote underwater vehicle named Sentry to capture the close-up images. Using sonar systems on Sentry and the research vessel Atlantis, the team was able to successfully conduct meticulous surveys of the submarine. "Once we identified the wreck and determined it was safe to dive, we were able to capture never-before-seen perspectives of the sub," said WHOI's Bruce Strickrott, the senior pilot who helped lead the expedition. "As a U.S. Navy veteran, it was a profound honor to visit the wreck of the F-1 with our ONR and NHHC colleagues aboard Alvin." During the expedition, the team also captured images of a U.S. Navy Avenger torpedo bomber training aircraft that crashed near the same area in 1950. Scientists released video and images of the aircraft, showing a severely damaged tail and a bent front propeller. The team conducted seven dives of the F-1 wreck site and the advanced sonar systems were able to produce detailed maps of the submarine and surrounding seafloor. Scientists also used high-resolution cameras to capture close-up video of the wreck. Specialists then used all the data to stitch together "photogrammetric models capable of providing precise measurements of the sub and the animals that have colonized its wreckage over the years." That allowed experts to reconstruct the F-1 submarine and produce stunning 3-D models of the wreck. After the dives, the team held a remembrance ceremony on board Atlantis, ringing a bell 19 times—one for each crew member lost at sea. "History and archaeology are all about people and we felt it was important to read their names aloud," said underwater archaeologist Brad Krueger, who participated in the dives. "The Navy has a solemn responsibility to ensure the legacies of its lost Sailors are remembered." 4 women arrested for allegedly aiding escaped New Orleans inmates Biggest takeaways from RFK Jr.'s MAHA report Saturday Sessions: Lucius performs "Gold Rush"
