Greetings from New England! We're attempting to solve a mystery. Anecdotal evidence from several sources, points to at least one, and possibly two U-Boats sunk just off the Maine/NH coast. On the night of July 26th, 1942, a mine exploded on one loop of the system protecting Portsmouth NH harbor, and the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. Locally, it was termed "the big bang". An Army tug was dispatched from Ft Langdon in Newcastle, and the skipper, Harrison Workman, reported a large fuel slick, and chunks of bakelite on the surface. Shortly thereafter, the area was cordoned off, and USN divers were working the site for about 4 weeks. The decklog of USS Falcon (ASR-2), is 'missing' for the following month. Two local residents reported Marines patrolling Wallis Sands Beach, lots of unexplained debris, and a body in a life jacket taken away, it was said. Another report from a then-teen girl whose bedroom window overlooked Fort Stark, in Newcastle NH, related seeing bodies under blankets on the pier, subsequently being loaded into a large truck and carried away. Another Shipyard logbook entry in Sept 1942, relates another mine incident, but no further details.

A Notice-to-Mariners publication, NM 19/44 (the 19th week of 1944), states that "6 special-purpose moorings were temporarily established (at a location just off Little Boar's Head, Hampton, NH), and remained on site for 3 months. The most definitive note in the record, is hand-written, and states, "WRECK IS A SUBMARINE". That's it, and the moorings were removed in late August, 1944.

During the 70's, a handful of local divers reported diving on 'a sub', just off the coast. Local fishermen, especially draggers, marked on their charts 'hang site', where their nets became entangled in 'an obstruction' on the bottom.

A select team of local historians and underwater researchers have just renewed their interest in identifying these U-Boats, notifying family, and organizing an on-site memorial service.

Question: Of the 40+ U-Boats never located, is it plausible at least two went 'missing' during that period, operating in New England? Also,
can a U-Boat be identified by a SERIAL NUMBER on the prop? Would a serial number on any other part of the boat be identifiable?

Any insight will be most appreciated! Thx, Larry Bussey - shoalsskipper@gmail.com