SShipwreck explorer Joe Mazraani is 60 meters below the surface and still diving down.

It is cold, quiet, and increasingly dark. The beams of morning sunlight that moments ago reached down around him like long, translucent fingers are now rapidly fading above his head.

Mazraani flips on his flashlight, illuminating particles of plankton that ride abreast the cold North Atlantic cur-rents. He kicks harder, flippers pumping rhythmically, flashlight probing the unknown. Given the depth, this is no novice dive. 70 meters, 80 meters, finally 90 meters.

Then, through the gloom, Mazraani’s light catches something substantial. This could be the moment he has been waiting for, the moment he has imagined through 10 years of compiling data and research.

The German U-550, all tarnished steel and rust, looms before him, tangible and surprisingly intact. He approaches the wreck and slowly runs his hand across the hull as if the sight itself does not convince him of its existence. Human eyes have not beheld this war machine for nearly 70 years.

Discovery team member Steve Gatto shines a light on the rusted surface of U-550. After the crew made the discovery, they reached out to the surviving crew members of the ship sunk by the German submarine.

Discov ery of a Lifetime

By Peter SAcco

PhotoGrAPhy By

BrADley SheArD

The hunt for the famed U-550 came to a conclusion when shipwreck explorers finally

found the infamous vessel in 100 meters of water miles off the coast of Nantucket.

38 Cape Cod Magazine June 2013 www.capecodmagazine.com

vested huge amounts of time, money and effort in this project, and it’s incredibly gratifying to have it finally pay off. We feel that we have completed our mission.”

He remembers the first clue vividly. “We first discovered it using side scan so-nar technology on July 23 [2012], around 5 or 6 in the afternoon,” he says. “We sent a camera down first and took pictures of the submarine’s torpedo loading hatch, which confirmed that it was indeed the U-550. We were hi-fiving each other on deck; ev-eryone was ecstatic. Then, the following weekend we made the dive ourselves.”

Saturday, July 28 was marked by over-cast skies and calm seas; ideal conditions for each member of the discovery team to complete two 20-minute dives to the wreck. “She’s lying about 100 meters below the surface, making for a very technical and even dangerous dive,” says Mazraani. “We had to operate within those limita-tions, but we were able to touch the hull of the craft and shoot pictures and video.”

The extreme depths and conditions have preserved the craft in one piece, and the ocean water has yet to fully eat its way through the hull. “When you’re that deep there’s no light, so we were operating by flashlight,” says Mazraani. “It was almost surreal to watch as the wreck emerged

from the blackness to loom right in front of me. I could almost feel an aura of re-spect hanging around the wreck.”

* * *

The discovery of the U-550 placed the final piece to a patchwork puzzle of sunk-en German submarines up and down the East Coast. Now, thanks to Mazraani and team, the last of 12 wrecked U-boats sunken in searchable waters has been ac-counted for. Rediscovery of the U-550 has excited historians, scientists, journal-ists and explorers alike, but for 91-year-old Merchant Marine veteran Morton Raphaelson, news of the rediscovery in-spired a resurgence of memories.

“When we discovered the wreck I made an effort to reach out to the vet-erans who were there on the day of the battle,” says Mazraani. “Morton is one of those that I was able to contact, and he shared a pretty amazing story.”

Morton was the chief radio operator aboard the Pan Pennsylvania, and he distinctly remembers being struck by the torpedo.

“It happened at 8 a.m., just as Morton was finishing up his night shift,” Mazraani

Now she lies here on the ocean floor just 70 miles off Nantucket, a solemn gravesite and memorial to the Second World War.

Fighting past the overwhelming aura of reverence, Mazraani fumbles for his camera. He takes pictures and shoots video. He swims around the wreck, not-ing the twisted steel where the submarine had been struck by depth charges. Then, his time almost up, Mazraani regrettably begins his slow ascent to the surface.

* * *

On the morning of April 16, 1944, the sun rose over the cold North Atlantic Ocean, illuminating a convoy of US ves-sels that motored across its waters. The Pan Pennsylvania, the world’s largest sea-worthy tanker and pride of the US Mari-time Commission, was laden with 140,000 barrels of Allied gasoline. Escorted by three Navy destroyers, the Pan Pennsyl-vania was bound for war-weary England.

Below the surface however lurked a German submarine that had been trail-

ing her since outside New York Harbor. On their first-ever combat mission un-der the command of ambitious Captain Kapitanleutnant Klaus Hanert, the crew aboard this German U-boat was eager for battle. Poor weather the night before had caused the Pan Pennsylvania to fall out of position, and now she lagged far behind her escorts.

Realizing their advantage the Germans prepared their assault, maneuvering into position behind the meandering tanker. Then, Captain Hanert issued the order to attack, launching a single but devastating torpedo into the hull of its exposed target. The Pan Pennsylvania instantly lurched to its side, smoke billowing from its port-holes. Crewmembers who survived the initial flames scrambled to leap overboard, leaving 25 of their own to a watery grave.

The attack on the Pan Pennsylvania invited the immediate wrath of its allied convoy, which swung around to converge on the location. Using sonar technology, the USS Joyce quickly located the sub-marine and made a depth charge attack,

bringing the U-550 to the surface. As Germans spewed from the hatch, fellow destroyers USS Gandy and USS Peterson opened fire. Realizing the fate of his sub-marine, Captain Hanert set off scuttling charges, compromising the U-boat and sending it to the depths. Of the German crew, 12 men were taken prisoner while the remaining 44 were lost at sea.

In the 69 years after the battle, no one has been able to pinpoint its resting place. Until now.

Mazraani, a member of the 7-man dis-covery team which also includes fellow explorers Steve Gatto, Garry Kozak, Tom Packer, Brad Sheard, Eric Takakjian, and Anthony Tedeschi, has spent the last 10 years narrowing down the U-550’s pos-sible location. The discovery team sur-veyed 100 square miles of ocean floor before finally pinpointing the submarine.

“We had a general idea, but ocean currents and the changing contour of the ocean floor were variables that we couldn’t exactly predict,” Mazraani tells me. “Each one of us has personally in-

Another WWII FindIn February 2012, another treasure hunter — Greg Brooks of Sub Sea Research in Gorham, Maine — says he discovered the S.S. port nicholson, sunk by a u-boat in 1942. He said his crew identified it via the hull number using an underwater camera.

Brooks said the vessel was headed for new York with 71 tons of plati-num valued at the time at about $53 million. The platinum was a payment from the Soviet union to the u.S. for war supplies, Brooks said. But a Tampa, Florida-based attorney for the British government expressed doubt the vessel was carrying plati-num. And if it had been, who owns the contents could become a matter of international dispute.

Brooks said he located the wreck in 2008 using shipboard sonar but held off announcing the find while he and his business partners obtained salvage rights from a federal judge.

Sources: Huffington Post, Bangor Daily News

the crew tows the sonar fish to search for the submarine on a flat calm ocean.

The crew who found the u-boat — Joe Mazraani, eric Takakjian, Tom Packer, Steve Gatto, Anthony Tedeschi, Garry Kozak, and Brad Sheard — hold one of the sonar fish they used to find the submarine.

Continued on page 44

40 Cape Cod Magazine June 2013 www.capecodmagazine.com www.capecodmagazine.com June 2013 Cape Cod Magazine 41

15 G.M. Winslow Tug 50’ Off Cuttyhunk Island 1904 Stranded on Sow and Pigs Reef

16 Herman Winter Freighter 20’ Off Martha’s Vineyard 1944 Grounded on Devil’s Bridge

17 Horatio Hall Passenger 35’ Off Chatham 1909 Collided in fog with freighter H. F. Dimock

18 James E. Longstreet Freighter 20’ Cape Cod Bay 1944 Deliberately grounded as target ship

19 Jennie French Potter Schooner 20’ nantucket Sound 1909 Grounded on Half Moon Shoal

20 John S. Dwight Rum Runner 85’ Vineyard Sound 1923 Scuttled by rum runners 8

21 Josephine Marie Fishing 105’ Off Cape Cod 1992 Foundered in heavy seas

22 Kershaw Freighter 85’ nantucket Sound 1928 Collision with liner President Garfield 7

23 Lackawanna Tug 50’ nantucket Sound 1915 Collided with barge 2

24 Lightship LV-58 Lightship 150’ Off nantucket 1905 Sprang a leak and sank while being towed into port

25 Lunet Schooner 60’ Off naushon Island 1898 Dragged anchor onto rocks in Portland Gale

26 Nantucket Lightship Lightship 180’ Off nantucket 1934 Rammed by British steamer Olympic 7

27 North American Passenger 250’ Off nantucket 1967 Sank while in tow to a shipyard for conversion to a training ship.

28 Pan Pennsylvania Tanker 250’ Off nantucket 1944 See story See story

29 Paul Palmer Schooner 85’ Off Provincetown 1913 Caught fire and burned to waterline

30 Pemberton Sch. Barge 35’’ nantucket Sound 1907 Caught fire

31 Pendleton Tanker 30’ Off Chatham 1952 Broke in half in storm 9

32 Pentagoet Steamer 170’ Off Provincetown 1898 Foundered in Portland Gale 18

33 Perkiomen Steamer 55’ Off Monomoy Island 1885 Rammed at night in fog by schooner Abbie C. Stubbs

34 Port Hunter Freighter 85’ nantucket Sound 1918 Collision in fog with tug Covington

35 Port Nicholson Freighter 700’ Off Provincetown 1942 Torpedoed by German submarine u-87 6

36 Portland Passenger 460’ Off Provincetown 1898 Disappeared in the Portland Gale 175

37 Pottstown Sch. Barge 60’ Off Sandwich 1944 Foundered in storm

38 Regal Sword Freighter 275’ Off Chatham 1979 Collided in fog with tanker exxon Chester

39 Republic Passenger 250’ Off nantucket 1909 Collided in fog with steamer Florida6 (3 on Republic and 3 on Florida)

40 Ruth E. Merrill Schooner 20’ Vineyard Sound 1924 Grounded on shoal in storm and broke up

41 USS S-4 Submarine 100’ Off Provincetown 1927 Rammed by Coast Guard cutter Paulding 40

42 Sagamore Schooner 80’ nantucket Sound 1907 Rammed by norwegian steamer edda

43 Seaconnet Collier 100’ Vineyard Sound 1923 Sank in storm 7

44 Somerset Frigate

Wreckage buried in nearby beach

Provincetown 1778 Struck Peaked Hill Bar (sandbar off Cape Cod)

45 USS Thresher (SSN-593) Submarine 8,400’ east of Cape Cod 1963 Imploded at 1,500’ depth during deep-diving exercises 129

46 USS Triana Tug 20’ Off Cuttyhunk 1891 Grounded due to navigation error

47 Trojan Freighter 110’ Vineyard Sound 1906 Collision in fog with passenger liner nacoochee

48 U-234 German Sub 600’ Off Truro 1947Surrendered to the u.S. navy in 1945 and deliberately sunk by the uSS Greenfish during sea trials in 1947

49 U-550 German Sub 330’ Off nantucket 1944 See story See story

50 Vineyard Lightship Lightship 65’ Buzzards Bay 1944 Sank in hurricane 12

51 Wanderer Whale Ship 20’ Off Cuttyhunk 1924 Dragged anchor onto rocks in storm

52 Whydah Pirate Ship 40’ Off Wellfleet 1717 Grounded in storm and broke up Most of crew

53 YSD Salvage Barge 30’ Off Martha’s Vineyard 1957 unknown

Sour

ce: w

ww

.wre

ckhu

nter

.net

A Watery Graveyard A guide to the remnants of wrecks around Cape Cod

MAp # NAMe Type oF Vessel DepTh locATIoN yeAr oF Wreck reAsoN For loss FATAlITIes

1 Alva Yacht 50’ Off Chatham 1892 Rammed in fog by steamer H. F. Dimock

2 Andrea Doria Passenger 235’ Off nantucket 1956 Rammed by Swedish steamer Stockholm. 52

3 Aransas Passenger 65’ Off Chatham 1905 Collided with schooner barge Glendower 1

4 Ardandhu Freighter 60’ Vineyard Sound 1900 Collided with steamer Herman Winter 2

5 Argo Merchant Tanker 60’ Off nantucket 1976 Grounded on shoal and broke up

6 Cherokee Passenger Ship 700’ Off Provincetown 1942 Torpedoed by German Submarine u-87 86

7 City of Columbus Passenger 50’ Off Martha’s Vineyard 1884 Struck Devil’s Bridge on a clear night 103

8 Col. William B. Cowin Ferry 75’ Buzzards Bay 1941 Struck Hens and Chickens Reef

9 Corvan Freighter 100’ Buzzards Bay 1940s Struck Sow & Pigs Reef

10 Dixie Sword Freighter 50’ Off Chatham 1942 Foundered in storm (may have been torpedoed)

11 Dynafuel Tanker 60’ Buzzards Bay 1963 Collided in fog with norwegian freighter Fernview

12 Edward E. Briry Schooner 50’ Off nantucket 1917 Foundered in gale

13 Exminster Freighter 50’ Cape Cod Bay 1942 Collided with steamer Algic

14 Fort Mercer Tanker 300’ Southeast of nantucket 1952 Broke in half in heavy seas

MAp # NAMe Type oF Vessel DepTh locATIoN yeAr oF Wreck reAsoN For loss FATAlITIes

2319

38

21

18

7

12

3

2

5

26

14

117

4 25

31

3034

10

2242

36

37

4650

47 4311

29

32

44

41

52

35

486

45

27

53

33

24

39 4928

2040

13

16

98

5115

AT L A n T I C O C e A n

C A P e CO D B AY

n A n T u C K e T S O u n D

B u z z A R D S B AY

42 Cape Cod Magazine June 2013 www.capecodmagazine.com www.capecodmagazine.com June 2013 Cape Cod Magazine 43

tells me. “He was headed into the mess hall to eat a biscuit before bed. In fact, he distinctly remembers sinking his teeth into that biscuit and thinking how good it tasted. Then, Mor-ton felt the ship shudder and heard the explosion.”

Chaos followed the explosion as crewmen scrambled to evacuate safely and the convoy hustled to pick floundering sail-ors from the water. Morton abandoned the tanker alongside his captain; they were the last two men to step off the ship’s deck.

Alongside his fellow veterans, Morton was thrilled to hear that the U-550 had been rediscovered. For veterans, the re-discovery of the U-550 validates the sacrifices made by sol-diers on both sides during the last world war.

There have been no plans laid to enter the U-550, but Maz-raani speculates that exploring the wreck could take several years. The U-boat belongs exclusively to the German govern-ment and is a relic strictly protected under international trea-ty. Although video can be shot and pictures taken, the U-550 will ultimately remain undisturbed on the ocean floor.

Mazraani and team have very little to gain from their dis-covery aside from personal satisfaction. However as far as the discovery crew is concerned, their investments in the decade-long quest has more than paid-off. “Anybody can go out there and find the U-550 for themselves, it’s just easier said than done,” laughs Mazraani. “Fortunately, we’re the only ones who know where it is.”

other historic WrecksThe first recorded wreck was the Sparrow-Hawk which ran aground at Orleans in 1626. even though it was repaired, it was sunk in another storm. In 1863, after storms had shifted the sands again, the skeleton of the Sparrow-Hawk reap-peared briefly. (The ribs of the ship are now on display at Pilgrim Hall in Plymouth.)

Twenty-one years after the Pamet River Life-Saving Station was built in 1872, lifesavers were unable to rescue the crew of the Jason from a violent blizzard. A sole survivor from the original crew of 25 floated to shore on a bale of jute, a natural fiber rope that the Jason was transporting from Calcutta, India. The wreckage lies just offshore in 30 feet of water.

The wreck of the Frances, which was sunk in a December gale in 1872, may still be seen at low tide from the Head of the Meadow Beach in north Truro. united States Life Saving Service men dragged a whaleboat from the bay and rescued all aboard. The captain died several days later from the effects of exposure and is buried in Truro.

Sources: www.nps.gov/caco, Cape Cod’s Oldest Shipwreck: The Desperate Crossing of the Sparrow-Hawk

120 Main Street, Orleans, MA • Full Schedule: www.apacape.orgBOX OFFICE: 508.255.1963 TICKETS: $24THE ACADEMY OF PERFORMING ARTS

A Tale of Murder,

Greed, Fame, Fortune...

And all the Jazz...

K A N D E R & E B B ’ S

JUNE 19TH– JULY 20TH • TUES – SUN 8PM

Directed by Peter Earle • Musical Direction by Chris Morris

SPONSORED IN PART BY

Continued from page 41

Fall in love with

Cape Codall over again.

To order your subscriptionor a gift for a friend

visit us online at

www.capecodmagazine.com

44 Cape Cod Magazine June 2013 www.capecodmagazine.com