USED Equipment for sale @ Underwater Works, Inc.

251-928-5550

This Equipment has either been traded in or is on Consignment.

In May of 1942 the freighter Alcoa Puritan, a 6,795-ton cargo ship owned by the Alcoa Steam Ship Co., was en route from Port of Spain, Trinidad, to Mobile, Alabama, with a cargo of bauxite and seven passengers.  The passengers were all survivors of a tanker torpedoed by a U-boat off the coast of Brazil.  On May 6, 1942, the Alcoa Puritan came into the sights of U-507, approximately a hundred and thirty miles south of Mobile, Alabama.  Just before noon, a torpedo streaked through the water and barely missed the freighter's stern.  The captain turned his vessel to present as small a target as possible to the U-boat then order full speed ahead as he attempted to outrun the submarine.  U-507 surfaced and pursued the fleeing ship at top speed.  As the U-507 overtook the slower freighter, the U-boat crew opened fire with their deck guns, scoring about fifty hits and disabling Alcoa Puritan�s steering.  The captain brought the crippled freighter to a stop and gave orders to abandon ship.  After allowing the crew leave the stricken freighter, the U-507 sank Alcoa Puritan with a single torpedo.  The crew and passengers of the freighter survived and were rescued four hours later by the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Boutwel. 

On July 30, 1942 the passenger freighter  Robert E. Lee, bound from Trinidad to New Orleans, was steaming across the Gulf of Mexico with its naval escort, PC 566.  Forty-five miles from the safety of the Mississippi River, Robert E. Lee was struck by a single torpedo launched from the German submarine U-166, which had been patrolling in the area.  As passengers and crew raced for the lifeboats and life rafts, the Robert E. Lee began to sink quickly.  As the freighter slipped beneath the waves, PC-566 made contact with the U-boat and charged in for the attack.  After dropping ten depth charges in the area where contact had been made, an oil slick was seen on the surface.  No other evidence appeared that would have indicated the U-boat had been sunk, so it was believed that the submarine had escaped. 

In January 2001, while surveying a proposed pipeline route for BP Exploration and Shell international, C&C Technologies located the wreck of the Robert E. Lee using the HUGIN 3000 AUV.  Nearby was another area of wreckage that C&C marine archaeologists thought might be the long sought after U-166.  Further investigations of this wreckage with the HUGIN 3000 AUV, sponsored by BP and Shell, revealed spectacular side scan and multibeam imagery that further supported the hypothesis that this was U-166.  On May 31, 2001 a research team comprised of individuals from C&C, the Mineral Management Service , BP, and Shell conducted an ROV investigation of the Robert E. Lee site and the additional wreckage.  This expedition not only documented Robert E. Lee shipwreck, but also verified the second wreckage as that of U-166. The discovery of U-166, 140 miles east of where it was thought to have been lost, corrected a historical error and solved one of the long-standing shipwreck mysteries in the Gulf of Mexico.

Sept.4 2010 3-coal Barges Pcola 50ft Vis.

Lots of fish