| Summary |
The waters off the North Carolina coast are home to a veritable graveyard of shipwrecks. Many were destroyed by the eternal enemies of all ships--storms, fire, and grounding--but many others have fallen victim to the ravages of war. Between 1941 and 1945, 87 ships were lost off North Carolina; 52 of these were casualties of the Battle of the Atlantic. Many of these wrecks have been found, and their last resting places marked for posterity. Some, however, remain lost. This thesis will explore the possibility of locating one of these missing wrecks, the oil tanker William Rockefeller. Rockefeller is historically significant for three reasons. First, from the time of its launch in 1921 to its sinking on 28 June 1942, it was one of the largest oil tankers in the world. Second, it earned the unfortunate distinction of being the largest ship lost off the North Carolina coast during the Battle of the Atlantic of WWII. Third, it is one of the last of these WWII-era wrecks whose location is not known. Ships like HMT Bedfordshire, Bluefields, Caribsea, Dixie Arrow, Papoose, and U-576 have all been found, but Rockefeller remains elusive, due to the circumstances of its sinking. Because of its cargo of heavy fuel oil, it is also a potential risk for severe pollution of the Eastern seaboard, so locating it is crucial in order to begin planning potential mitigation strategies. This thesis will seek to establish the most promising areas in which to search for the wreck through a combination of historical research, probability mapping, and computer modeling. If successful, this methodology may be of use in the creation of search models for other lost shipwrecks. |
