100 yo US military ship discovered off California coast (PHOTOS)
The lost US Coast Guard ship Cutter McCulloch has been found off the coast of southern California almost a century after it sank.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) confirmed the remarkable find just in time to coincide with the 100-year anniversary of the vessel’s collision with a passenger ship on June 13.
The shipwreck was discovered during a joint NOAA and US Coast Guard training mission off Point Conception in October last year.
There are no plans to resurrect the US military wreck, with officials citing strong currents and an abundance of sediment as impediments.
The ship’s armaments included four six-pounder rapid firing guns and one 15-inch torpedo tube. One of the guns was found in still mounted on a platform on the starboard bow.
The torpedo tube and the top of a bronze 11-foot propeller blade were also located 300ft (90 meters) below the surface.
Cutter McCulloch was commissioned in 1897 and considered the largest cutter of its era. The steam engine ship was called into action in the Spanish-American War and was the first cutter to sail through the Suez Canal and the Indian Ocean.
She was transferred to the Navy in April 1917 for duty during World War I and continued patrol operations along the Pacific coast until meeting its demise by colliding with a passenger ship.
The crew was rescued after the crash but the wreck disappeared under water.
When announcing the discovery Tuesday, Coast Guard Commander Todd Sokalzuk called the ship "a symbol of hard work and sacrifice of previous generations to serve and protect our nation."
