Wreckage of a ship from World War II has been found.

On Wednesday, October 22nd, US authorities announced the discovery of the wrecks of a German submarine and a US cargo ship, the Bluefields, off the coast of North Carolina. Both wrecks were identified as dating back to World War II, sunk during the Battle of the Atlantic in 1942 in an area known as the "Atlantic Cemetery."

Studies and searches conducted by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) found the two ships in August, approximately 48km offshore. The distance between the two wrecks when they were discovered was 220m.

Images have been captured of the German submarine U-576 and the cargo ship Bluefield on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean.

The German submarine U-576 and the cargo ship Bluefields opened "a rare window into a historic battle in particular and the underwater battlefield of World War II in general," NOAA emphasized. More precisely, the clash occurred on July 15, 1942, when a series of cargo ships sailing from Norfolk, Virginia, to Florida were attacked by German submarines.

"U-576 sank the Bluefield and severely damaged two other ships. In retaliation, US Marine Corps Kingfisher aircraft tasked with providing air protection for the convoy bombed the U-576 submarine, while the Unicoi also fired at the U-576 with its cannons."

Both Bluefield and U-576 sank, and 45 German soldiers were killed in the battle. David Alberg, who is responsible for NOAA's marine protected areas, said: "The public often thinks of battles in the Atlantic as taking place only in the cold, icy waters of the North Atlantic. But in reality, very few people know that the war took place so close to the American coast."

The site where the two shipwrecks were found is in an area that Germany considers a military cemetery and is protected by international law. At this point, Germany "is not interested in collecting the remains of U-576 and will not participate in any project related to this ship in any way," the German Foreign Minister stated. He also emphasized that "The remains of the World War receive special protection and, if possible, must remain where they fell so that those who died can rest in eternal peace."


Reishi Mushroom (According to Le Monde)