Name Papoose
Type Tanker
Size 412 x 53 x 31 (ft.)
Weight ?
Location N34°08.603'/W76° 39.139'
Date Sunk 18 March 1942
Cause Torpedoed by U-124
Depth 120 ft.

 

Description

Steaming south from Cape Lookout on the night of March 18, 1942 this big tanker was torpedoed by the U-124. Her holds were empty and she took several hours to sink. All but two of her crew manage to escape and were rescued. At one time, back in the 1960's, the wreck was sitting on its port side,
but over the years the wreck has rolled, cru shing the superstructure under the weight of the hull. Today the wreck sits virtually upside down. The highest part of the wreck is in the stern rudder area which rises some 30 feet off of the bottom. The propeller was present until the mid-1970s when it was blasted off by salvagers. The hull section steps down from there in several large sections, each lower than the other, until you come to the bow. 

The Papoose can be penetrated at several points. It is quite eerie to see boi lers and engines parts suspended above you, but when you look down, you see several of those same items laying crushed on the ocean floor.

 

Personal notes

Nice wreck, big, usually with strong or very strong current. You may want to consider diving in tot the current at the start of the dive and come back to the anchor line with the current. The marine life is very nice and you will see plenty of Amber Jacks and small tropical fish. In some periods of the year you can see sharks.

Beware, the wreck is DEEP so, plane for your second dive. You will not want to stay in deco mode at the end of your second dive for 20 - 40 minutes!

 

Pictures

Wreck (side view, picture taken toward up)

Fish (sand tiger)

 


 



Back