Connecticut scientists among those exploring wreck of sunken U-boat
Published 12:06 pm, Friday, September 4, 2015
PROVIDENCE, R.I. >> Scientists, some from Connecticut’s Ocean Exploration Trust and the Coast Guard Academy, are attempting to use submersibles to explore a sunken German U-boat seven miles off the Rhode Island coast.
They’re streaming the attempts online as they work to learn more about how shipwrecks affect the environment.
U-853 was sunk in May 1945 by Coast Guard and Navy ships, the day after it took down the SS Black Point and the day before Nazi Germany surrendered in World War II.
Researchers from the University of Rhode Island’s Inner Space Center joined with the Connecticut scientists to explore both wrecks during a trip that lasts through Sunday.
By Friday, they had made several attempts but were hampered by conditions and technical challenges. They planned to keep trying.
In the meantime, they’re working to explore a 1907 wreck off Block Island.