USS San Diego is a boat accessible salt water dive site, located in NY. This dive site has an average rating of 3.82 out of 5 from 11 scuba divers. The maximum depth is 101-110ft/31-34m.
Ship Specifications
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July 8, 1918
August 1, 1907
503’11"
69’77"
24 feet
13,680 gross tons
Armored Cruiser 6
Steel
22 knots
110 feet
Bow/mid-section intact, stern collapsed, inverted
Lying upside
13.5 miles south of Fire Island Inlet along the southern shore of NY’s Long Island
Advanced, Tech
26543.3 - 43692.9
40° 33’ 00.36" (N) / 073° 00’ 28.39" (W)
This ship is on the National Register of ships and is protected as such. There is live munitions on board so care must be exercised and DON’T bring any up.
On July 8, 1918, the San Diego left Portsmouth, New Hampshire, en route to New York. She had rounded Nantucket Light and was heading west. On July 19, 1918, she was zig-zagging as per war instructions on course to New York. Sea was smooth, the visibility 6 miles. At 11:23 AM, an explosion tore a huge hole in her port side amidships. Captain Christy immediately sounded submarine defense quarters, which involves a general alarm and the closing of all water-tight doors. Soon after, two more explosions ripped through her hull. These secondary explosions were determined later to be caused by the rupturing of one of her boilers and ignition of her magazine. The ship immediately started to list to port. Officers and crew quickly went to their stations. Guns were fired from all sides of the war ship at anything that was taken for a possible periscope. Her port guns fired until they were awash. Her starboard guns fired until the list of the ship pointed them into the sky. Under the impression that a submarine was surely in the area, the men stayed at their posts until Captain Christy shouted the order " All hands abandon ship ". In a last ditch effort to save his ship, Captain H. Christy had steamed toward Fire Island Beach, but never made it. At 11:51 AM the Diego sank, only 28 minutes after the initial explosion.
Today, the Diego lies upside down and relatively intact in 110 feet of water, 13.5 miles out of Fire Island Inlet. One of the nicest aspects of this wreck is that it can be enjoyed at various depths. Divers can reach her hull in approximately 65 feet of water while her stern ammo room is in 90 feet and her stern wash out reaches a maximum depth of 116 feet of water. Besides supporting a huge array of fish life, she is one of Long Island’s scuba diving hot spots. Divers can find artifacts such as bullets, portholes, cage lamps, china and brass valves.
http://www.northeastdiver.com/usssandiego.html
http://www.aquaexplorers.com/SanDiego.htm
http://www.ecophotoexplorers.com/sandiego.asp