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Outdoor adventure for divers in the north east part of the United States, just off of Long Island. 

94 years before this writing, on July 19, 1918 during World War I, the German Navy was able to cross the Atlantic and successfully attack American shipping. If you were walking along the beach you might have been able to see the results of some of their attacks.

SCUBA divers are able to reach this wreck, which is in just over 100' of water.

Below is an Excerpt of an article, By Capt. Daniel Berg

Originally launched as the California on April 28, 1904, She was 503'11" long by 69'7" wide and had a displacement of 13,680 tons. The warship's armament consisted of 18 three inch guns, 14 six inch guns both mounted in side turrets, four eight inch guns and two 18 inch torpedo tubes.

On September 1, 1914, she was renamed San Diego and served as the flag ship for our Pacific fleet. On July 18, 1917, she was ordered to the Atlantic to escort convoys through the first dangerous leg of their journey to Europe. The Diego held a perfect record, safely escorting all the ships she was assigned through the submarine infested North Atlantic without mishaps. 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 ear shattering explosion tore a huge hole in her port side amidships.

At 11:51 AM the Diego sank, only 28 minutes after the initial explosion. In accordance with navy tradition, Captain Christy was the last man to leave his ship. As the vessel was turning over, he made his way from the bridge down two ladders to the boat deck over the side to the armor belt, dropped four feet to the bilge keel and finally jumped overboard from the docking keel which was then only eight feet from the water. As the Captain left his ship, men in the life boats cheered him and started to sing our National Anthem. Most survivors were picked up by nearby vessels, but at least four life boats full of men rowed ashore, three at Bellport and one near the Lone Hill Coast Guard Station. The San Diego was the only major warship lost by the United States in World War I. When the Navy eventually finalized the death toll, the official count was six.

Since her sinking, there has been much debate about whether it was a torpedo, German mine or U.S. mine that sent the cruiser to Davy Jones Locker. Captain Christy wrote in his final log that they had been hit by a torpedo. The Navy, however, found and destroyed five or six German surface mines in the vicinity, so it is generally accepted that a mine did the job.

Ironically, the U-156 which possibly laid the mines, was sunk on its homeward journey possibly by a U.S. mine. On July 26, 1918, the U.S.S. Passaio arrived over the wreck. Two divers were sent down to report on the condition of the San Diego. They reported the following; " Many loose rivets lying on the bottom.... Masts and smoke stack are lying on the bottom under and on starboard side of ship.... Ship lies heading about North depth of water over starboard bilge is 36 feet.... Air is still coming out of the ship from nearly bow to stern. It seems likely that as air escapes and she loses buoyancy, she may crush her superstructure and settle deeper". From this report the Navy concluded that the vessel was not salvageable. As quoted from their letter to the Chief of Naval Operations, " In view of the reported condition and position of the San Diego, the Bureau is of the opinion that an attempt to salvage the vessel as a whole, or to recover any of the guns, would not be warranted".

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. For the underwater photographer, this wreck provides structures, hallways and compartments which all make for beautiful photos.

Please note that it is no longer legal to remove artifacts from this shipwreck. The Wreck has been place on the National Register and is now a protected site. The artifacts shown on this site were recovered prior to this new regulation.