Divers make incredible discovery in hunt for missing submarine that has a haunting history

Daily Mail​

25-05-2025

A military submarine that crashed over 100 years ago has finally been found on the bottom of the ocean.
The huge Navy vessel was discovered off the coast of California after being lost during a training accident in 1917.
It was spotted in sand next to a training aircraft that had crashed into the sea in an unrelated incident in 1950.
Researchers released incredible images of the sunken vehicles after finding them using advanced underwater technology and expert divers.
The US Navy submarine USS F-1 collided with its sister sub - USS F-3 - during surface exercises off the coast of San Diego on December 17, 1917.
The F-3 tore a massive hole in her sister ship's port side, causing the F-1 to sink in just ten seconds, the Submarine Force Library and Museum Association says.
Nineteen out of its 24-man crew were unable to escape, going down with the vessel as it sank to the seafloor.
Underwater Archaeologist Brad Krueger said: 'It was an incredibly exciting and humbling experience to visit these historically significant wrecks and to honor the sacrifice of these brave American Sailors.
'All of us at the NHHC are grateful for this collaboration, which also enabled us to document and assess the condition of the crafts.'
He continued: 'USS F-1 was conducting a 48-hour engineering run and performance test traveling from San Pedro and San Diego, CA, when the accident occurred.
'USS F-2 and USS F-3 were alongside performing similar testing when all three vessels entered a fog bank.
'USS F-3 collided with USS F-1, and following the collision USS F-3 remained on scene to help rescue survivors from the water.'
The wreck remained undiscovered for nearly 60 years until it was located by a Navy deep submersible vehicle looking for a jet fighter that crashed in 1972.
In October of 1976, Lt. Dave Magyar took a deep-sea rescue submersible down off the coast where he found the submarine 'intact'.
'It looked like a big ax had hit her,' he said about the discovery. The 142-foot, 330-ton submarine was found lying on its right side, facing west-northwest on the ocean floor.
'It will remain the grave of 19 men,' Captain Willard Johnson, commander of Submarine Development Group I, said. 'There is no reason at this time to bring it up.'
Because the submarine rests more than 1,300 feet below the ocean's surface, a detailed survey was never possible - until now.
In February of 2025, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), working with the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the NHHC and the National Science Foundation, began their mission.
The teams deployed a human-piloted vehicle (HOV) named Alvin, along with a remote underwater vehicle (AUV) called Sentry, to capture close-up images of any discoveries.
Although the two technologies are critical for 'revealing deep-sea geologic hazards', they also offer a chance to teach future generations more advanced scientific practices.
'They also offer opportunities to train the next generation of scientists and uncover crucial moments from our nation's history', Lisa Clough, the acting division director for the NSF Division of Ocean Sciences, said in the press release.
Using these technologies, the team was able to conduct detailed surveys of the F-1 submarine for the first time in over 100 years since it sank.
'Advanced ocean technology and simple teamwork played a big part in delivering these new images,' WHOI's Bruce Strickrott, manager of the Alvin Group and the sub's senior pilot who helped lead the expedition, said.
'Once we identified the wreck and determined it was safe to dive, we were able to capture never-before-seen perspectives of the sub,' he added.
'As a U.S. Navy veteran, it was a profound honor to visit the wreck of the with our ONR and NHHC colleagues aboard.'
During the mission, the team also discovered another wreck - a US Navy Avenger torpedo bomber that crashed in the same area in 1950.
Scientists released never-before-seen video and images of the aircraft, revealing a badly damaged tail and a bent front propeller.
Strickrott explained that the bomber wreck had been known to WHOI for several years and was occasionally used for Alvin's engineering and training dives.
However, its exact location was not known to the US Navy, so the team surveyed the site to update the Navy's records.
The team carried out seven dives in total, using advanced systems to create detailed maps of the submarine wreck site and the surrounding floor, while using high-resolution cameras to capture close-up video.
Specialists then used all the collected data to create photogrammetric models, which allowed them to take precise measurements of the submarine and the marine life that has settled on it over the years.
This process ultimately enabled experts to reconstruct the F-1 submarine and produce impressive 3D models of the wreck.
'As a navy veteran, making this dive-together with another Navy veteran and a Navy historian - was a solemn privilege,' ONR Program Officer Rob Sparrock, who was in the DSV as it surveyed and analyzed the sub, said in the press release.
'Lasting nearly eight hours, there was time to contemplate the risks that all mariners, past and present, face,' he added.
'It also reminded me of the importance of these training dives, which leverage the knowledge from past dives, lessons learned and sound engineering.'
After the mission, a remembrance ceremony was held aboard the Atlantis - directly above the wreck site.
A bell rang out 19 times - once for each sailor who was lost with the USS F-1.
'History and archaeology are all about people and we felt it was important to read their names aloud,' Krueger said.
'The Navy has a solemn responsibility to ensure the legacies of its lost Sailors are remembered.'
The scientific tools and techniques used in the mission not only provided rich data but also gave researchers hands-on training for future missions, especially in navigating and mapping complex seafloor environments.
'While these depths were well within the dive capability for Alvin and Sentry, they were technical dives requiring specialized expertise and equipment,' Anna Michel, NDSF chief scientist and co-lead of the expedition, said.
'We were careful and methodical in surveying these historical sites so that we could share these stunning images while also maintaining the reverence these sites deserve.'