Scientists solve mystery of USS Conestoga, which disappeared in 1921
This article is more than 7 years oldShipwreck off San Francisco is identified as last US navy vessel to be lost without a trace in peacetime
A US navy tug missing since 1921 has been discovered sunk off San Francisco, solving a longstanding maritime mystery.
The wreck of the USS Conestoga was found near one of the Farallon Islands about 30 miles west of San Francisco, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the navy said in a statement.
“After nearly a century of ambiguity and a profound sense of loss, the Conestoga’s disappearance no longer is a mystery,” the statement said.
The ocean-going tug left San Francisco on 25 March 1921, bound for American Samoa via Hawaii, with 56 officers and sailors aboard. It was never heard from again, and its disappearance triggered an air and sea search and gripped newspapers across the United States.
The navy declared Conestoga and its crew lost in June 1921. It was the last navy ship to be lost without a trace in peacetime, the statement said.
The mystery began to unravel in 2009, when the NOAA found an uncharted likely shipwreck in 58 metres (189ft) of water about three miles (5 km) off South-east Farallon Island, in the Greater Farallones marine sanctuary.
The agency began an investigation in September 2014 and the ship was identified in October 2015.
Weather logs show that around the time of the Conestoga’s departure, the wind in San Francisco’s Golden Gate area rose to 40mph (64km/h) and the seas were rough with high waves, the statement said.
A garbled radio transmission from Conestoga relayed by a ship said the tug was “battling a storm and that the barge she was towing had been torn adrift by heavy seas”.
Investigators believe the Conestoga sank as it tried to reach a protected cove on South-east Farallon Island.
Underwater videos show the wreck lying on the seabed and largely intact. The wood deck and other upper features had collapsed into the hull due to corrosion and age, the statement said.
Marine growth covered the exterior. No human remains were found.
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