General Discussions
This is the place to discuss general issues related to the U-boat war or the war at sea in WWII.
U-boat Sunk Off Tampa Bay, Florida
Posted by:
jliller
()
Date: May 27, 2017 03:49AM
I came across a story about a U-boat sunk in the Gulf of Mexico west of Tampa Bay, Florida. According to book about Egmont Key (the island in the mouth of Tampa Bay with the lighthouse), there is a whistle buoy about 15 miles west of the island and the wreck is about 20 miles west of that. The story told was that the USS Nunzer (DE-150) sank a U-boat on Oct 31 or Nov 1, 1943 while on a shakedown cruise from New Orleans.
The DE in question is misspelled - should be the Neunzer - [en.wikipedia.org])
I found a discussion on a scuba forum where one of the members claims the wreck is about 69 miles (not 35) west of Egmont Key in 28 fathoms. Supposed location is:
N 27 34.340 W 83 53.340
The authors seem to have gotten their story from the St. Petersburg Times newspaper issue of April 19, 1963 - [news.google.com]
The newspaper article claims the Nunzer/Neunzer fired 120 hedgehogs and dropped 144 depth charges. Would a DE actually carry that many? Sounds like the information came from a man named Harris Taylor who claimed to have been on the DE when the attack was made who also claimed that two of the U-boat crew managed to escape their sinking sub and were captured in a raft.
The 1963 article references an early article on the same paper on March 4, 1962. The diver who supposedly found the wreck was named Jim Hall. He said there are two separate U-boat wrecks, one from WW1 that sank while being towed from Tampa and the other sunk nearby in WW2.
I couldn't find anything more about this.
Thoughts?
The DE in question is misspelled - should be the Neunzer - [en.wikipedia.org])
I found a discussion on a scuba forum where one of the members claims the wreck is about 69 miles (not 35) west of Egmont Key in 28 fathoms. Supposed location is:
N 27 34.340 W 83 53.340
The authors seem to have gotten their story from the St. Petersburg Times newspaper issue of April 19, 1963 - [news.google.com]
The newspaper article claims the Nunzer/Neunzer fired 120 hedgehogs and dropped 144 depth charges. Would a DE actually carry that many? Sounds like the information came from a man named Harris Taylor who claimed to have been on the DE when the attack was made who also claimed that two of the U-boat crew managed to escape their sinking sub and were captured in a raft.
The 1963 article references an early article on the same paper on March 4, 1962. The diver who supposedly found the wreck was named Jim Hall. He said there are two separate U-boat wrecks, one from WW1 that sank while being towed from Tampa and the other sunk nearby in WW2.
I couldn't find anything more about this.
Thoughts?
| Subject | Written By | Posted |
|---|---|---|
U-boat Sunk Off Tampa Bay, Florida
|
jliller | 05/27/2017 03:49AM |
|
Re: U-boat Sunk Off Tampa Bay, Florida
|
Rainer | 05/27/2017 12:28PM |