November 4, 2021: Coral on a Shipwreck
Image courtesy of NOAA Ocean Exploration, 2021 ROV Shakedown. Download larger version (jpg, 1.2 MB).
The wreck of the U.S. World War II-era submarine USS Muskallunge was the focus of the last dive of NOAA Ocean Exploration’s 2021 ROV Shakedown expedition aboard NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer on June 26, 2021. Launched as USS Muskallunge (SS-262) in Groton, Connecticut, in 1942, the Gato-class submarine was one of nearly 200 mass-produced American submarines that helped win World War II at sea.
On July 9, 1968, a live-fire target exercise by USS Tench sank the former Muskallunge with torpedoes off Long Island, New York. Today, the wreck of the submarine serves as habitat for the bubblegum corals (Paragorgia sp.) in this image as well as other marine animals.
From: Exploring History: Humaitá (ex-USS Muskallunge).