German sub found off Nantucket

Surviving crew of U-550 surrenders

On April 15, 1944, the German subamarine U-550 torpedoed the SS Pan Pennsylvania.  The Pan Pennsylvania was a large gasoline tanker that was part of a convoy headed for Ireland, but had straggled behind.  On April 16, the U-550 was located and sunk by three US Coast Guard destroyers, led by USS Joyce, escorting the convoy.

USS Joyce

Last Monday, July 23, a group of private divers located the U-550 off the coast of Nantucket.

Divers have discovered a World War II-era German submarine nearly 70 years after it sank under withering U.S. attack in waters off Nantucket.

The U-550 was found Monday by a privately funded group organized by New Jersey lawyer Joe Mazraani. It was the second trip in two years to the site by the team, some of whom had been searching for the lost U-boat for two decades.

Sonar image of U-550, July 23, 2012

German U-boats operated off the east coast of the US throughout World War II.  Beachgoers on the Jersey Shore often saw smoke from burning ships that had been torpedoed by the Germans.  Dangerous until the last day of the war, 12 U-boats still operating off the Northeast surfaced and surrendered on VE-Day.

Surrendered German subs, Lishally, Ireland, May 24, 1945