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"The
USS O-9: The Forgotten Sub of WWII"
Premiering
on The History Channel's Deep Sea Detectives Series: Monday,
May 2nd, 2005, 1000 pm (EST)
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| Plaque
on the USS O-9 reads "SALVAGE AIR TORPEDO ROOM HIGH" |
In the fall
of 2004, NURC-NA&GL partnered with NOAA's Office of Exploration
(OE) to investigate the wreckage of the U.S. Submarine 0-9 (USS
0-9).
The USS O-9, was built in 1918, served until 1931 when she was
retired in Philadelphia, PA. She was returned to service as
a training sub following a rebuild in Groton, CT I but sank
while on her first deep test dive off of New Hampshire in 1941.
She was found by retired submariner Glenn Reem and side scan
sonar experts Gary Kozak and Marty Klein in 1997 during a side
scan search of the area. The 2004 expedition conducted additional
side scan sonar surveys of the wreck and surrounding area and
provided the first ever video and digital still documentation
of the condition of wreck and its identity as the submarine
USS O-9. OE supported the ship time on the University of Connecticut's
R/V Connecticut, while NURC-NA&GL provided its Hela remotely
operated vehicle (ROV), side scan sonar system and technicians
to conduct this expedition.
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| Side
scan sonar image of the USS O-9, the bow is to the
left and the conning tower casts a long white acoustic
"shadow" |
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| Looking
down into the conning tower of the USS O-9 |
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History
of the U.S. Submarine 0-9 (written by Rick Yorzyck of NOAA's,
Office of Ocean Exploration)
The USS O-9 was built, with 7 sister ships, in 1917-1918 at
the Fore River Shipyard, Quincy, MA, of the Electric Boat Company,
Groton, Ct. After serving in the Atlantic Fleet she was laid
up at the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard in 1931. She, with 9 other
O-boats, was refurbished and updated at the Philadelphia Naval
Shipyard in 1941 for service training submariners at the United
States navy Submarine School, Groton, Ct, as part of United
States preparations for WWII.
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The
0-7, sister ship of the O-9
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She
sailed from SUBASE Groton on 19 June 1941, with O-6 and O-10,
to Submarine Operating Area "A" east off Portsmouth,
NH, for deep diving trials. On 20 June 1941, O-9 failed to surface
from a dive to her 200-foot test depth. A search by surface
vessels and other submarines in the area found an area of surfacing
air, oil, interior cork insulation and other debris and a deck
grating from the O-9. Two Navy divers, using the then relatively
new breathing mixture of helium and oxygen, dove to the vicinity
of the wreck but were unable to positively identify the submarine.
These were the world record depth working dives at the time
at 432 feet, well beyond the 300-foot design depth of the equipment
used. In view of the extreme depth, the surfacing of material
from inside the submarine that indicated severe hull damage
and the lack of any sign of life on the wreck, rescue efforts
were terminated and a memorial service was held on 22 June 1941.
There has been no known return to or sighting of O-9 since then.
A sidescan sonar search by Klein Associates in 1997 found O-9
working with Garry Kozak and Marty Klein, the founder of Klein
Associates, Inc.
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Side
scan sonar image of the O-9 (image courtesy of Glenn
Reem, Gary Kozak & Klein Associates)
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"The USS O-9: The Forgotton Sub of WWII", will premier
on the Deep
Sea Detectives Series of the History Channel on Monday,
May 2, 2005 at 10:00 pm (EST).
*** Click
here for more information on "Exploring for the Wreck
of Submarine O-9", supported by the National Undersea Research
Center at the University of Connecticut. *** |
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