A Nazi Submarine Torpedoed a Merchant Ship Just Off the Coast of Maine in 1944. Divers Have Finally Located the Wreckage, 400 Feet Below the Surface
The SS "Cornwallis" was traveling between Barbados and Canada when it was sunk by a German U-boat that had delivered Nazi spies to American soil just days earlier
In December 1944, a Nazi submarine torpedoed the Canadian merchant ship SS Cornwallis off the coast of Maine, resulting in the death of 43 crew members. Recently, divers have pinpointed the wreckage, which lies about 400 feet beneath the surface in the northwest Atlantic Ocean near Mount Desert Rock, roughly 25 miles from the Maine mainland.
The Nomad Exploration Team, a civilian technical dive group based in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, discovered the nearly 5,500-ton vessel after years of searching. The Cornwallis was en route from Barbados to New Brunswick carrying sugar and molasses when it was struck by a torpedo from a German U-boat on December 3, 1944. Only five out of the 48 crew members survived, eventually rescued by fishing boats and a U.S. Navy rescue vessel.
The submarine had previously dropped off two Nazi spies near Hancock, Maine, as part of "Operation Magpie." The spies, William C. Colepaugh and Erich Gimpel, were eventually apprehended and sentenced to 30 years in prison. The Nomad Exploration Team began their search for the Cornwallis in 2019, narrowing their search to three potential locations.
After five trips and examining over 50 square miles of seafloor with side-scan sonar, they identified a wreck on July 11 that they believed to be the missing ship. Confirming their suspicions required overcoming challenging conditions, but they ultimately used the Cornwallis' blueprints to confirm it as the wreck they sought. The Cornwallis is one of only five ships known to have been torpedoed and sunk twice.
The wreck is situated in federal waters, meaning the state of Maine and the U.S. Navy do not have ownership claims. The divers' primary objective is to locate the wreck site, map its location, and provide closure to the families of the fallen crew. They also aim to highlight how close World War II came to the shores of New England.
Plans are underway for the team to conduct further exploration of the site using a remotely operated underwater vehicle, with a next target in the works.
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