Teams from NOAA’s Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, began a survey of the historic wreck of Diamond Shoal Lightship No. 71, the only American lightship to be sunk by enemy action during World War I.
The archaeological survey expedition off the coast of Beaufort, North Carolina, will document the wreck site.
The sanctuary’s research vessel SRVx Sand Tiger will provide the platform for at-sea operations. Other partners for the project include East Carolina University and University of North Carolina Coastal Studies Institute.
Built in Bath, Maine, in 1897, the lightship, also known as LV-71, served as a floating lighthouse, sound signal station, and navigational beacon.
On August 6, 1918, the German submarine U-140 attacked the vessel while it was anchored off Cape Hatteras. Before it was attacked, LV-71 had reported by radio the presence of a submarine that had torpedoed the unarmed American steamer Merak.
The U-140 intercepted the warning and headed for the LV-71. The submarine fired its deck guns at the lightship and first took out the communications room. As the U-140’s shelling continued, LV-71’s 12 member crew escaped from the vessel, NOAA explained.
“A large part of our country’s history is rooted in our maritime heritage,” said David Alberg , superintendent of the nearby Monitor National Marine Sanctuary. “This expedition will provide valuable insights into the lives of this heroic crew and shed light on an important chapter of our nation’s history that is unknown to many Americans.”