Independence 2001 S-5 II

Welcome to the private dive boat Independence, a 33-foot BHM that cruises up to 25 knots. This boat is especially outfitted for deep wreck diving expeditions far offshore.

The S-5 is a U.S. Navy submarine sunk in 1920 when she submerged with her main induction and hull valves still open, flooding the vessel. With quick thinking, the crew was able to bring the stern to the surface by pumping out ballast and fuel. They were then spotted by two passing ships and rescued by cutting a hole in the stern. Two excellent accounts of the sinking of the S-5 and subsequent attempts at recovery can be found in Gary Gentile's Shipwrecks of Delaware and Maryland, and Mud, Muscle, and Miracles: Marine Salvage in the United States Navy by Capt. C.A. Bartholomew, USN, respectively. The S-5 now sits in 160 feet of water approximately 35 miles southeast of Cape May, New Jersey.

The following pictures (all images from video) are from the voyage of the Independence to the S-5 on Monday, July 16, 2001 (continued from Page I).

Swimming back towards the conning tower.
	A close-up of the front of the conning tower.
The wide-open forward hatch. Unfortunately, I can't show you any shots of the beautiful interior, because my video lights died when I reached the bottom.
	This picture of the conning tower shows one of the small, brass deadlights (upper center). They are still there - it will take many more years before they are recoverable with ordinary tools.
Swimming back to the stern. This is the starboard propeller strut.
	A close-up of the starboard propellor.
As I swim forward again, I look down to see hundreds of ling cod congregating on the sand next to the sunken vessel.
	One more shot of the beautiful conning tower. The line you see is the original shot line we dropped when we first saw the image of the sub on the bottom finder.
A close-up of one of the small conning tower deadlights.
	A sea raven just hangs out. Sorry, no lights so I can't show you his true colors!
Looking up at the Independence from my 20-foot stop. I hope you have enjoyed this pictures of our trip to the S-5! We hope to be back here again soon.