"The British armed trawler HMT Bedfordshire was looking for a German submarine near Ocracoke Island on May 11, 1942. But the submarine found the Bedfordshire first and sank the ship with one of two torpedoes it fired.

All 37 crew members died on the British ship, which had been sent to the United States in World War II's early days to protect against the devastating German U-boat activity off the Carolinas. Some of their bodies washed ashore in the following days on Ocracoke Island and are buried in a British cemetery there.


Last week, a crew of scientists from NOAA, East Carolina University, the state of North Carolina and several other organizations launched a 21-day expedition to study the wreckage of the Bedfordshire and other ships sunk during World War II. The area off North Carolina is known as the “Graveyard of the Atlantic” because there have been so many shipwrecks along the N.C. coast.


David Alberg, the expedition leader and superintendent of the USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, said the expedition is designed to “help us better understand and document this often-lost chapter of America's maritime history.”


N.C. expedition seeks WWII wrecks - CharlotteObserver.com

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"If you want peace work for justice" -Pope Paul VI

Jon

Cool expedition! I'm taking it a step further... what if these vessels could be preserved enough to allow under water excursions for the public?? at an affordable price?? I'd pay for that trip Great article Jon, thanks for sharing

special

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I approached everything, my job, my family, my romances, with intensity... Gene Tierney

That, and if you go swimming there, you'll be lucky if the rip tide doesn't get you! It's amazing the differences between NC beaches and SC beaches.

It's amazing what you can learn from your hometown newspaper!

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Those who kept silent yesterday will remain silent tomorrow"
~Elie Wiesel~

yes and thanks to you and the internet it reaches our homes too

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Interesting article - thanks for posting.