An old New England Maritime mystery has been solved. The USS Eagle PE-56 Navy warship was sunk near Maine's coast by a German submarine in April of 1945, but the wreck's location remained unknown. The Eagle has now been found.
Ryan King of New Hampshire and his civilian dive crew had been looking for the USS Eagle for more than 4 years when they found it in June 2018 off the coast of Cape Elizabeth. The discovery was announced this week.
Speaking via cell phone from a boat off Midcoast Maine, King said finding the ship had become a calling of sorts.
"I really started to think about how if it wasn't us, who was going to find it?” he said. “And as you do the research and get to know the families more, you really feel that it's important that this wreck be found."
Originally the Navy thought the ship sank due to a boiler explosion, but continued research indicated it was sunk by a German submarine. 49 lives were lost. Navy destroyers later sank the German sub off the coast of Connecticut.
The Smithsonian Channel will broadcast a documentary about the discovery this fall.
As for King and his crew? They're back at sea, already looking for another sunken ship.