USS OZARK and USAF target tug wreck dives - July 2021
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- čas přidán 12. 07. 2021
- Footage from dives to the USS OZARK and a USAF target vessel that was originally a tugboat that is locally known as the TULLY. A summary of the OZARK's history follows:
The USS OZARK, the third ship in the history of the U.S. Navy to carry that name, was named after an Indian tribe of the Quapaw confederacy living in Missouri and Arkansas. On July 12, 1941, her keel was laid down as CM-7 (mine layer, first line) by the Willamette Iron and Steel Corporation of Portland, Oregon. She was launched on June 15, 1942, but was redesignated as troop transport AP-107 on May 1, 1943. As amphibious warfare rapidly evolved, the OZARK was again redesignated, this time to her final wartime classification as a landing ship vehicle (LSV-2) on April 21, 1944. The OZARK was eventually commissioned into the U.S. Navy on September 23, 1944. The OZARK was 458 feet long, 60 feet in beam, and was powered by twin General Electric geared turbine drives producing 11,000 horsepower and a 20-knot cruising speed.
The USS OZARK saw action in the Pacific theater of World War II, carrying troops for the invasions of Iwo Jima and Okinawa, as well as participating in other wartime operations. After hostilities ceased, she participated in carrying occupational troops into Tokyo Bay. Returning overseas troops to the U.S. after the war, the OZARK transited the Panama Canal and arrived in New Orleans on January 31, 1946, where she was placed in upkeep status. She commenced pre-inactivation overhaul in Orange, Texas on March 14, and was decommissioned June 29, 1946.
The OZARK was redesignated as MCS-2 (Catskill Class Mine Countermeasure Support Ship) in 1955, but it wasn’t until June 1963 that the conversion was conducted by the Norfolk Shipbuilding and Drydock Corporation, which took three years to complete. At her June 24, 1966 commissioning ceremony in Norfolk, the commander of the OZARK rang the ship’s bell for the first time. The bell originally adorned the monitor OZARK, which was built in Norfolk in 1902. Sometime after 1919, the bell was put on display at a Norfolk Naval Air Station Operations Building. That was until the crew of the OZARK decided it would look better on their ship. In broad daylight, Master Chief William E. Bennett led a raid to recover the bell. After successfully snatching the bell, they hid it in Admiral Thomas H. Moorer’s helicopter in a nearby hangar. At the time, Admiral Moorer served as the Commander of the Atlantic Fleet. Several days later, the bell was moved onto the USS OZARK. Eventually, the Federal Bureau of Investigation tracked the bell down and the covert operation was revealed. The commander of N.A.S. Norfolk had a good sense of humor though, and allowed the bell to remain on the OZARK.
After intermittent service in the Mediterranean and South Atlantic that included support in the recovery of Apollo 10 and Apollo 11, the USS OZARK was stricken from the Naval Vessel Register on April 1, 1974. Designated as a target ship on September 1, 1975, U.S. Air Force F-111s from Tyndall Air Force Base practiced with new laser-guided bombs that were dropped on the anchored OZARK. In 1979, a hurricane grounded the OZARK on a local beach. After a monumental effort lasting several months to complete, the OZARK was pulled free and eventually re-anchored off Destin. Her continued use as a target ship eventually led to the subsequent--but accidental--sinking of the U.S.S. Ozark in 1981. The U.S. Air Force was supposed to return the ship back to the Navy after her use as a target platform, but instead sent her to the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico.
Today, she rests upright and intact in 330 feet of water off Destin. The USS OZARK is a massive wreck, with the mast reaching to within 200 feet of the surface. The bow is heavily damaged as a result of her collision with the seabed. Ripples are also obvious in the hull from the impact of the sinking. A hole in the deck is visible at the rear starboard corner of the bow deck gun where one of the laser-guided bombs penetrated the deck. The rounded bridge is unique and is a spectacular view in good visibility. On my first visit to the OZARK, I noted the intact running lights on both the port and starboard sides, while artifacts abounded within the interior. The main deck can be found at approximately 300 feet. Marine life is abundant on the wreck, with large numbers of scamp, grouper, snapper, and amberjack swimming about. Deep-water species such as short bigeyes and snowy grouper can also be spotted on the wreck. The popularity of the wreck with fishermen is attested by the copious amounts of fishing line that covers the vessel.
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My dad served on two ships during WW2. USS Ozark was one of them. He was a Seaman 1st Class. He served as a radarman on Ozark. At the end of the war he was part of the crew during Operation "Magic Carpet" when Ozark, and many other ships, ferried our troops home from the Pacific.
Awesome…thanks for sharing!
my great grand father served on the ozark
in ww2
Very cool, loved seeing the school of sharks!
Twitching uncontrollably
What camera and lights do you use for your videos? The quality in the caves and on the wrecks looks great. I'm looking at doing Bikini next year and want to get a setup together.
Started using a Panasonic S1H in a Nauticam housing with Bigblue 10K lumen lights.
Michael, do you have a day job? Diving with Dan, Cave diving and wreck diving. Pretty awesome! Thanks
well, yeah...unfortunately I need a job to afford all this fun...LOL.