In the News; Ships Lost and Found

This month, the Baltimore Sun reported a couple of stories about one ship still lost after 100

USS Cyclops: Cr: Naval Historical Foundation

years and another recently found after sinking during World War 2. We thought we'd share those stories.

MISSING FOR 100 YEARS, FATE OF SHIP REMAINS A MYSTERY

The coal carrier USS Cyclops vanished en route from Barbados to Baltimore 100 years ago this month with 309 men, the worst noncombat loss in the U.S. Navy’s history. 

   USS Cyclops (AC-4) was one of four Proteus-class colliers built for the United States Navy several years before World War I. Named for the Cyclops, a primordial race of giants from Greek mythology, she was the second U.S. Naval vessel to bear the name.

  The USS Cyclops was due to steam up the Chesapeake Bay and dock in Baltimore at what is now Port Covington. Launched in May 1910, the ship was designed to refuel the Navy fleet. The sailors steamed out of Norfolk, Va., and down the Atlantic Coast to U.S. bases in Cuba, Haiti and Puerto Rico.

FOUND USS LEXINGTON IN THE CORAL SEA

U.S.S. Lexington Attacked 

  

ow and Then: The USS Lexington has been discovered with many of its contents in excellent condition

The first torpedo hit the USS Lexington’s port side about 11 a.m. on the last day of the Battle of the Coral Sea in 1942 -  a crucial point in the United States’ war against Japan. 

   A little more than 200 crew members died — part of the price the United States paid to help protect its ally, Australia, from Japan during World War II.  

   About 2,770 survived, including Wags, the captain’s dog. Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in March 2018 announced the discovery of the USS Lexington about 500 miles off the eastern coast of Australia, 2 miles below the surface of the Coral Sea.