Free Republic

A team of researchers led by NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries have discovered two significant shipwrecks from World War II’s legendary “Battle of the Atlantic” just off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The German U-boat 576 and the freighter it sank, named Bluefields, were found just a few hundred yards apart from each other approximately 30 miles off the coast of North Carolina, according to NOAA.

In 1942, the Allied forces were losing a considerable amount of merchant shipping in the Atlantic Ocean, due to German submarine forces and the lack of adequate air cover in the mid-Atlantic. The range of operating aircraft was not sufficient to cover this area and aircraft carriers were in short supply to allow for shorter range flying. Plans for an Allied invasion of Europe were also underway and it was felt that large floating platforms were needed to assist the assault forces. The Second World War was also a time when many scientists were encouraged to develop weapon technology and...