Independence 2002 S-5 III

Welcome to the dive boat Independence, a 33-foot BHM that cruises at 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. Also see the 2001 pages of the Independence trip to the S-5, which contain excellent exterior pictures of the wreck.

The following pictures (all images from video) are from the voyage of the Independence to the S-5 on Tuesday, July 2, 2002 (continued from Page II).

A mess of cables in the control room.
	I come up through the forward hatch to see Steve Lovas' rear end. He's messing around with something, and doesn't know I'm there.
I give his flipper a big, hard tug.... and he jumps 8 feet up! Hee, hee, hee.... ;-) He has a bunch of rope with him and gave me the finger (I don't have that picture here)....
	Steve goes to look in the conning tower.
This is a small, brass deadlight in the conning tower.
	Steve Lovas still looking into the conning tower. As far as I know, no one has ever been in there since it sank, as it is a very, very tight squeeze.
Looking down into the tight stern hatch.
	The port-side propeller.
A large, navy anchor right below the stern.
	Looking back at the stern during ascent.
Paul Whittaker pulled up about 100 pounds of scallops the two dives we were out there.
	A picture of some of the crowd on the way back.
The Independence back at the dock in Cape May, New Jersey.