North Carolina Wrecks · United States · Wreck
U-352
A Type VIIC U-boat lying almost intact at a 45-degree list
Photo: National Marine Sanctuaries · Public domain
A Type VIIC U-boat depth-charged by the Coast Guard cutter Icarus in May 1942 and found again in 1975, and a popular dive for advanced divers on the North Carolina charter list. She lies at a 45-degree list to starboard in about 35 m of sand, almost completely intact over her 67 m, with the surrounding debris scatter held inside a 100 m radius.
Where it is and how deep
34.2278° N, 76.5648° WPublished position for this site.
The dive
The crew hooks the wreck and ties in a line, and you go down it through open blue water with nothing under you until the hull resolves somewhere past 27 m. That same line is the way home, so the first job on arrival is to fix where it is tied. The boat is 42 km (26 miles) south of Morehead City and there is no shore fallback out here, which is why crews brief hard against being carried off the structure.
The submarine sits at a 45-degree list to starboard on flat sand, the bottom at about 35 m. The outer hull has corroded through in places but the boat remains almost completely intact along its 67 m, and the wreck scatter stays inside a 100 m radius, so the whole site is workable on a single bottom time. Penetration is strongly discouraged; the dive is an exterior circuit of the hull, working the sheltered side when current is running.
What has taken the boat over is the reason most divers come back. The hull is heavily populated with Hemanthias vivanus, schooling baitfish and amberjacks hover above the wreckage, and the plating carries smaller fish, sponges and coral. Rays and turtles are commonly sighted. Visibility generally runs 12 to 21 m, enough to hold most of the submarine in view at once on a good day.
The wreck
- Vessel
- U-352
- Type
- Type VIIC German U-boat
- Length
- 67 m (220 ft)
- Sunk
- 1942
- Cause
- Depth-charged by the US Coast Guard cutter Icarus
- Lies
- At a 45-degree list to starboard on sand at about 35 m, with the debris scatter inside a 100 m radius
U-352 sailed from St Nazaire on 7 April 1942 as part of Operation Paukenschlag, reached the North Carolina coast in early May and fired six torpedoes without success. The cutter Icarus spotted her on 9 May and attacked with depth charges and machine guns; 17 crewmen were killed and the rest captured. The wreck was found 42 km (26 miles) south of Morehead City in 1975 by George Purifoy, and the site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2015.
Marine life and season
- Reef fish swarms
- Trevally & jacks
- Stingrays
- Sea turtles
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Off-season | Off-season | Fair | Fair | Good | Good | Good | Good | Prime | Prime | Good | Off-season |
Season follows North Carolina Wrecks: Charter season runs roughly April-November; sand tiger shark aggregations peak in September-October, while December-February seas are too rough for most boats.
Know before you go
- The sand bottom is at about 35 m, so bottom time is short and no-stop margins are thin; plan gas and ascent before you leave the line.
- Penetration is strongly discouraged because the outer hull is corroded; treat the dive as an exterior swim rather than an interior one.
- Current over the wreckage varies and can arrive partway down the line, so stay in contact with structure and use the sheltered side of the hull.
Questions divers ask
How deep is the U-352?+
The sand bottom is at about 35 m and the dive typically runs between 27 and 34 m over the hull, which puts it well beyond a beginner profile and keeps no-stop bottom time short.
Can you go inside the U-352?+
No. Penetration is strongly discouraged: the outer hull has corroded, and the dive is run as an exterior circuit of the submarine.
What will I see on the U-352?+
The hull is heavily populated with Hemanthias vivanus, with schooling baitfish and amberjacks above the wreck, sponges and coral on the plating, and rays and turtles sighted regularly.
Sources
- German submarine U-352 — Wikipedia
- Dive Sites — Discovery Diving
Photo credits
- Corroded conning tower and deck gun of the U-352 wreck rising from the seabed, covered in coral growth and surrounded by schools of small fish by National Marine Sanctuaries, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
In The Logbook
- Where to dive in every month of the yearTrip planning · 14 min read
- Deep wreck diving: where recreational stopsWrecks · 8 min read
- WWII wrecks you can dive, by theatreWrecks · 7 min read
More dive sites in North Carolina Wrecks
Wreck
A cable ship broken into three pieces by Hurricane Fran
Sand tigers in numbers over a broken 1942 freighter at 26 m
Wreck
A protected war grave in three pieces, depth charges on the sand
Wreck
Bow pointing up at 8 m, two anchors still in place
Wreck
Brass wheel and a 5 m propeller (18 ft) on an upright 1918 stern
Wreck
Boilers and condenser on sand in 17 m, close to the shoals
Wreck
A dark 1942 tanker where sand tigers hang over the boilers
Wreck
Sand tigers over an upside-down 1942 tanker hull
Similar dives elsewhere
Goliath grouper inside a 56 m hull that sank under tow in 1985, upright at 27 m
A sunken tuna trawler that gathers bull sharks in season.
Drum seiner lost in 2005, now home to marine life at 34 m
.jpg){kind=link}
Bowsprit still extending from an 1852 hull at 32 m