On July 14, 1942, the German submarine U 576 torpedoed and sank the American motor vessel Bluefields off Cape Hatteras. The U-boat was sunk soon thereafter with all hands in an ASW counterattack. The wreck of both vessels were found earlier this year by a team led by NOAA; the discovery was announced today.

In 1942, four U-boats were sunk off the North Carolina coast. U 576 was the final of these wrecks to be located.

Obviously, I have a bit different of a perspective on this than most people would. I will say that it is outstanding to see the U.S. government take the lead in locating such significant wrecks and recognizing it as a war grave.

Bonus thought: High-quality sonar images of submarine wrecks are a true game-changer in marine archeology.