Ocean Zone Divers - Wrecks US

WRECKS - USS SAN DIEGO

GENERAL DESCRIPTION

The USS San Diego was a battleship of 13'680 tonnes for a length of 153.5m and 21m at the beam. Her motorization is unknown to us, but we do know that she could be propelled to a maximum speed of 22 knots. Her armament consisted of eighten 76mm canons, fourten 150mm canons mounted in side turrets, four 203mm canons and two 450mm torpedo tubes.

HISTORY

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Launched on the 28th of April 1904 as the California by Union Iron Works in San Francisco, she was commissioned on the 1st of August 1907 and served as part of Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. On the 1st of September 1914 she was renamed San Diego and served as the flag ship for the Pacific Fleet. On the 18th of July 1917, she was ordered to the Atlantic to escort convoys through the first dangerous leg of their journey to Europe. On the 18th of July 1918 she left Portsmouth, New Hampshire heading for New York. On the 19th of July 1918, she was zig-zagging as per war instructions and very likely hit a mine at 11h23 tearing a huge hole in her port side. Captain Christy immediately sounded submarine defence quarters which involves a general alarm and the closing of all water-tight doors. Two more explosions ripped through her hull caused by the rupturing of one of her boilers and ignition of the magazine. The ship immediately started to list to port and sunk only 28 minutes after the first explosion. Most of the crew was saved and the navy finalised the casualty count to 6.

DIVE SITE

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Site : the USS San Diego lies 22km off Fire Island.
Co-ordinates :
Depth : the top of the hull lies at 20m and the deepest part is on the deck at 33m.

THE DIVE

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The wreck of USS San Diego is one of dives mot to missed while visiting the East Cost. In a pretty good visibility, she lies upside down pulled over by the weight of her armament. The wreck is now pretty much alive with a large collection of the local marine life. Its not rare to encounter lobster weighing over 2kg. The site is very photogenic. The gangways and compartments make beautiful photos. Penetration is possible in many places and number of artefacts can still be found.

DIFFICULTY

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There are no particular difficulties, no fishing nets. Nitrox 36 would be the gas of choice for this dive, giving us over 30 minutes without leaving the NDL.

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	WRECKS - USS SAN DIEGO	Home

	GENERAL DESCRIPTION	Top
	The USS San Diego was a battleship of 13'680 tonnes for a length of 153.5m and 21m at the beam. Her motorization is unknown to us, but we do know that she could be propelled to a maximum speed of 22 knots. Her armament consisted of eighten 76mm canons, fourten 150mm canons mounted in side turrets, four 203mm canons and two 450mm torpedo tubes.


	HISTORY	Top
	Launched on the 28th of April 1904 as the California by Union Iron Works in San Francisco, she was commissioned on the 1st of August 1907 and served as part of Theodore Roosevelt's Great White Fleet. On the 1st of September 1914 she was renamed San Diego and served as the flag ship for the Pacific Fleet. On the 18th of July 1917, she was ordered to the Atlantic to escort convoys through the first dangerous leg of their journey to Europe. On the 18th of July 1918 she left Portsmouth, New Hampshire heading for New York. On the 19th of July 1918, she was zig-zagging as per war instructions and very likely hit a mine at 11h23 tearing a huge hole in her port side. Captain Christy immediately sounded submarine defence quarters which involves a general alarm and the closing of all water-tight doors. Two more explosions ripped through her hull caused by the rupturing of one of her boilers and ignition of the magazine. The ship immediately started to list to port and sunk only 28 minutes after the first explosion. Most of the crew was saved and the navy finalised the casualty count to 6.

	DIVE SITE	Top
	Site : the USS San Diego lies 22km off Fire Island. Co-ordinates : Depth : the top of the hull lies at 20m and the deepest part is on the deck at 33m.

	THE DIVE	Top
	The wreck of USS San Diego is one of dives mot to missed while visiting the East Cost. In a pretty good visibility, she lies upside down pulled over by the weight of her armament. The wreck is now pretty much alive with a large collection of the local marine life. Its not rare to encounter lobster weighing over 2kg. The site is very photogenic. The gangways and compartments make beautiful photos. Penetration is possible in many places and number of artefacts can still be found.

	DIFFICULTY	Top
	There are no particular difficulties, no fishing nets. Nitrox 36 would be the gas of choice for this dive, giving us over 30 minutes without leaving the NDL.

Ocean Zone Divers Best viewed 1024x768 Last Updated