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WWII German submarine, freighter found 30 miles off North Carolina

The German government urged that the crew of a submarine sunk off North Carolina in 1942 be left "to rest in peace."

By Frances Burns
U-576 crew on deck. (Ed Caram/released)
U-576 crew on deck. (Ed Caram/released)

WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 (UPI) -- Two vessels sunk during a World War II battle, a German submarine and a freighter, have been found close to each other 30 miles off the North Carolina coast.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced the discovery Tuesday. The NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries spearheaded the expedition to find the U-576 and the freighter Bluefields.

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The U-576 encountered a convoy headed to Key West, Fla., from Norfolk, Va., on July 15, 1942. It sank the Nicaraguan-flagged Bluefields and damaged two other freighters, only to be sunk minutes later by Navy aircraft and a freighter's deck gun.

"This is not just the discovery of a single shipwreck," said Joe Hoyt, a NOAA chief scientist for the expedition."We have discovered an important battle site that is part of the Battle of the Atlantic. These two ships rest only a few hundred yards apart and together help us interpret and share their forgotten stories."

The vessels were only a few hundred yards away from each other on the ocean floor. The crew of the Bluefields was rescued, but the men on the U-576 went down with her.

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The German government released a statement saying it claims ownership of all Nazi-era military vessels.

"The Federal Republic of Germany is not interested in a recovery of the remnants of the U-576 and will not participate in any such project. It is international custom to view the wreckage of land, sea, and air vehicles assumed or presumed to hold the remains of fallen soldiers as war graves. As such, they are under special protection and should, if possible, remain at their site and location to allow the dead to rest in peace," the government said.

NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management became partners in 2008 in an effort to find and document World War II-era ships sunk off North Carolina.

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