A private dive team has located the last U.S. Navy warship sunk by a German submarine in World War II.
Divers found the USS Eagle PE-56, a patrol boat, a few miles off the coast of Maine, according to the Associated Press. For decades, the ship was thought to have sunk because of a boiler explosion, but Navy researchers determined in 2001 that the ship succumbed to an attack by a German sub.
The Eagle was towing a practice target for bombers before it sank on April 23, 1945. The boat was equipped with depth charges used to fight off enemy submarines, but evidently, nobody on board or nearby saw the German sub approach and fire on the boat.
The explosion tore through the Eagle and split the hull in half, according to sailor testimonials. Many died in the blast and ensuing chaos. Just 13 of 62 crew members survived to be picked up by a nearby destroyer. The Eagle was the last U.S. boat to be sunk by a German submarine before war with Germany ended on May 7, 1945.
