The U-Boat Buried Off Hatteras
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In 2014, a NOAA survey team found a German U-boat on the seabed about 35 miles off Cape Hatteras. Lying roughly 240 yards away was the freighter it had torpedoed minutes before it went down. Both had rested there since July 1942.
U-576 and the Bluefields are one small chapter in a much longer record. The waters off North Carolina hold wrecks from the age of sail through World War II. This guide covers why they sank, who they were, and what protects them now.
The Graveyard of the Atlantic is the stretch of ocean off North Carolina's Outer Banks where thousands of ships have wrecked, centered on Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras. World War II alone accounts for 90 ships lost off North Carolina between 1942 and 1945, according to NOAA: 78 merchant tankers and freighters, eight Allied warships, and four German U-boats. The oldest protected wreck there is the USS Monitor, lost on December 31, 1862.
In this article
- Graveyard of the Atlantic quick facts ↓
- Why so many ships sank here ↓
- Five centuries of wrecks ↓
- The U-boat, the graves, and the sanctuary ↓
- FAQ ↓
Graveyard of the Atlantic Quick Facts
Where: The Atlantic off North Carolina's Outer Banks, centered on Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras
The name: North Carolina's state-run Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum is named for the thousands of shipwrecks resting off the coast
Why ships sank: The Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Current here, building shifting sandbars miles out to sea
USS Monitor: The Union ironclad sank in a gale on December 31, 1862, about 16 miles off Cape Hatteras in more than 230 feet of water. Sixteen of 62 crew were lost
First sanctuary: The Monitor wreck was found in 1973 and became the first US national marine sanctuary in 1975
Ghost ship: The schooner Carroll A. Deering grounded on Diamond Shoals on January 31, 1921. Food sat laid out for a meal and the crew was never found
World War II losses: 90 ships lost off North Carolina from 1942 to 1945, per NOAA: 78 merchant tankers and freighters, eight Allied warships, four German U-boats
The wider toll: 397 ships sunk in American-protected waters from January to June 1942, per the National Park Service
U-boats lost nearby: U-85 on April 14, 1942, U-352 on May 9, U-701 on July 7, and U-576 on July 15
Found together: U-576 and the freighter Bluefields, located in 2014 about 240 yards apart, roughly 35 miles offshore in about 700 feet of water
British graves: HMT Bedfordshire was sunk by U-558 in May 1942. Four recovered crewmen are buried in a small British cemetery on Ocracoke Island
Protection: NOAA proposed a sanctuary boundary expansion in 2016, with four options put to the public
Why Did So Many Ships Sink in the Graveyard of the Atlantic?
The Graveyard of the Atlantic starts with geography. Off Cape Hatteras, the warm Gulf Stream runs north into the cold Labrador Current running south. Where they meet, sand piles into Diamond Shoals, a bank of shifting bars reaching miles from the beach.
Sailing ships had to pass close to make the turn around the cape. Storms formed fast over the same warm water. A vessel pushed a mile off course found the bottom where charts showed open sea.
The result is one of the densest collections of wrecks anywhere in American waters. NOAA calls the area the single greatest concentration of World War I and World War II shipwrecks in American waters. The wrecks span centuries, and many sit close to shore and close together.
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Shop Collection →Five Centuries of Wrecks Off the Outer Banks
The age of sail and a ship with no crew
The Graveyard of the Atlantic collected wooden hulls long before it collected steel ones. The strangest of them ran aground on Diamond Shoals on January 31, 1921. The five-masted schooner Carroll A. Deering sat upright with her sails set. Rescuers found food laid out as if for a meal, and the anchors, navigation equipment, papers, and personal belongings gone. The National Park Service puts the ending plainly: no trace of the crew or the ship's log was ever discovered.
The USS Monitor, lost on New Year's Eve
The USS Monitor was the Union's first ironclad and the most famous warship of its moment. A gale caught it under tow off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862. The ship went down about 16 miles offshore in more than 230 feet of water, taking 16 of its 62 crew. Divers located the wreck in 1973, and two years later it became the first national marine sanctuary in the country.
Torpedo Junction, 1942
German U-boats reached the American coast early in 1942 and found tankers running close to shore, lit up against the glow of coastal towns. Merchant captains named the stretch off Cape Hatteras Torpedo Junction. The National Park Service counts 397 ships sunk in American-protected waters in the first half of 1942. NOAA counts 90 lost off North Carolina between 1942 and 1945, including four U-boats sunk by American forces.
"honor another generation of mariners who rose to the country's defense"
David Alberg, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary superintendent, on the proposed expansion
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The U-Boat, the Graves, and the Sanctuary
U-576 and the ship it sank
U-576 attacked a convoy off Cape Hatteras on July 15, 1942 and sank the freighter Bluefields. Return fire from a Navy Armed Guard crew and an aerial depth charge attack finished the submarine the same day. Both wrecks stayed lost until a NOAA survey found them in 2014, roughly 35 miles offshore in about 700 feet of water and only 240 yards apart. NOAA describes the site as the only place off the East Coast where a World War II attacker and its victim lie together.
Four graves on Ocracoke
The Graveyard of the Atlantic left its mark ashore too. The British trawler HMT Bedfordshire was patrolling Outer Banks waters when U-558 torpedoed it in May 1942, and all 37 aboard died. Four bodies washed up on Ocracoke Island days later. Islanders buried them in a plot described as the smallest Commonwealth War Graves Commission site in the world, maintained by Coast Guard personnel. The date is reported two ways: NOAA gives May 12, and the University of North Carolina's record of the cemetery gives May 11.
What protects the wrecks now
The Graveyard of the Atlantic has one wreck with full federal protection: the USS Monitor, made the nation's first national marine sanctuary in 1975. NOAA proposed widening the boundary in 2016 and put four options to the public, because the surrounding wrecks have little or no legal protection. The sanctuary already calls this water the single greatest concentration of World War I and World War II shipwrecks in American waters.
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Shop Collection →Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called the Graveyard of the Atlantic?
The Graveyard of the Atlantic earned its name from the sheer number of ships lost off North Carolina's Outer Banks. Diamond Shoals off Cape Hatteras sits where the Gulf Stream meets the Labrador Current, and the sandbars there shift miles out from the beach. North Carolina's state-run museum in Hatteras village takes the same name, for the thousands of wrecks resting offshore.
How many ships sank off North Carolina in World War II?
NOAA counts 90 ships lost off North Carolina between 1942 and 1945: 78 merchant tankers and freighters, eight Allied warships, and four German U-boats. The National Park Service puts the wider figure at 397 ships sunk in American-protected waters from January to June 1942 alone. Merchant crews called the water off Cape Hatteras Torpedo Junction.
What happened to the USS Monitor?
The USS Monitor sank in a gale off Cape Hatteras on December 31, 1862, while under tow, going down about 16 miles offshore in more than 230 feet of water. Sixteen of the 62 crew died and 46 were rescued. Divers found the wreck in 1973, and it became the first national marine sanctuary in the United States in 1975.
What was the ghost ship Carroll A. Deering?
The Carroll A. Deering was a five-masted schooner found aground on Diamond Shoals on January 31, 1921 with nobody aboard. Food had been laid out as if for a meal, and the anchors, navigation equipment, papers, and personal belongings were missing. The National Park Service says no trace of the crew or the ship's log was ever found.
Can you dive the shipwrecks off Cape Hatteras?
Many Graveyard of the Atlantic wrecks are popular dive sites, with NOAA noting depths starting around 130 feet. Depth, current, and distance offshore make most of them advanced dives run by local charter operators. The USS Monitor is different, since NOAA manages the Monitor site as a national marine sanctuary with its own rules, so check with NOAA before planning anything there.
Why does a Graveyard of the Atlantic metal print make a great gift for maritime history lovers?
A Graveyard of the Atlantic metal print gift for maritime history lovers is a thoughtful, ready-to-display choice because it carries the salvage and shipwreck history they already read about, arrives with no framing needed, and includes a matching 5mm mouse pad for their desk. Handcrafted in North Liberty, Iowa and shipping in 3 to 5 business days, this shipwreck history wall art is meaningful maritime decor that still works last-minute.
Where can you get maritime decor like this for a desk?
X2Metal offers shipwreck and seafaring designs printed on glossy ChromaLuxe metal and sized for a desk, with matching 5mm mouse pads. Browse the Nautical collection. Everything is handcrafted in North Liberty, Iowa.
#GraveyardOfTheAtlantic #Shipwrecks #OuterBanks #CapeHatteras #USSMonitor #TorpedoJunction #DiamondShoals #MaritimeHistory #MetalPrints #DeskDecor #MadeInIowa #X2Metal
About the author: Business Alchemist | Turning Ideas into Products, Brands & Businesses | Navid Malik. Navid is the founder of X2Metal, a metal print studio in North Liberty, Iowa creating bold, durable metal prints and 5mm mouse pads.
Disclaimer: This content was researched and written with AI assistance, cross-checked against official and primary sources at the time of publishing. Facts, figures, dates, and prices can change over time, and X2Metal is not responsible for any errors, outdated information, or decisions made based on this content. Please verify anything important independently before relying on it.
Sources: NOAA, Monitor National Marine Sanctuary shipwrecks ↗, NOAA, proposed boundary expansion ↗, NOAA, U-576 and Bluefields discovery ↗, National Park Service, Torpedo Junction ↗, National Park Service, The Ghost Ship ↗, Graveyard of the Atlantic Museum ↗, and Commemorative Landscapes of North Carolina, University of North Carolina ↗. X2Metal is not affiliated with any organization mentioned in this post.
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