Missing WWII submarine found with 42 entombed US sailors

By IBTimes Staff Reporter: Subscribe to IBTimes's

May 25, 2011 6:37 AM EDT

An exploration team led by Tim Taylor aboard the expedition vessel "RV Tiburon" has located and documented the wreck of the WWII submarine USS R-12.

The R-12 was lost on June 12,1943 in 600 feet of water, sinking in less than 15 seconds.

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She sank nearly 70 years ago taking 42 US servicemen to their deaths off the coast of the Florida Keys, USA. The reason for her loss remains unknown.

R-12 began its career as a World War I era sub that was re-commissioned for service in World War II. At the time of the sinking R-12 was engaged in war time patrol operations near Key West. Only two officers and 3 enlisted men survived the disaster that claimed 42 lives.

In making the discovery, the team deployed a state-of-the-art autonomous underwater robot which collected first ever imagery of the remains of R-12. They are collaborating and sharing their findings with the US Navy.

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RV Tiburon is launching an expedition in the Spring of 2012 to further investigate the possible causes of the sinking, and collect detailed archeological baseline data.

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