At approximately 12:30 PM on April 23, 1945, the USS Eagle 56 sank while on patrol just miles from Portland, Maine.
49 Men lost their lives that day. Since the Navy initially classified it as an accidental boiler explosion, the surviving 13 crew spent the next 60+ years wondering if it was their fault.
In 2001, despite never having found the wreckage, the Navy acknowledged that a German submarine, U-853, sunk Eagle 56 and awarded Purple Hearts to most of the crew.
In 2018 and 2019, after years of searching, a team of local divers located and documented the wreckage and found the intact boilers vindicating the crew and providing closure for the families after more than 70 years.
© Ryan King Underwater Photography
