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USS Spiegel Grove Expedition
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East Coast Diving | Shipwreck Corner | Shipwreck Gallery
On May 17, 2002, a dramatic addition to the reefs
alongside Key Largo in Florida was planned: The USS Spiegel
Grove was due to be intentionally sunk to create an artificial
reef and a diver’s haven. This was to be the largest ship ever
intentionally sunk and, in the warm clear waters of the Florida
Keys. The experience of diving such a massive vessel was sure to
be an enormous attraction to the entire diving community.
However, unlike most ships that are intentionally sunk for these
types of artificial reef programs, the Spiegel Grove had one
last chapter to write in its storied history.
Sometime
during the previous night, well ahead of the planned public
sinking, the Spiegel Grove decided to surrender itself to the
sea on its own. Unfortunately, she sank vertical and stead
straight up out of the water! upside down! After years of legal
wrangling, and months of expensive cleanup efforts and
structural modifications to make the ship as safe as possible,
she was now lying deeper than intended and in the wrong
orientation. A frantic effort was mounted to find a salvage
company to assist in righting this enormous vessel. Eventually,
on June 11, 2002, the Spiegel Grove was “righted” by turning her
to her starboard side. This was to be her final resting place
and orientation: lying in 130 feet of water near the Dixie
Shoals lying on her starboard side.
The Spiegel Grove
(LSD-32) is a former Loading Ship Dock measuring 510 feet in
length and 85 feet in width. She was originally constructed in
September 1954, launched on November 10, 1955 and commissioned
on June 8, 1956. During her long and illustrious career, the
Spiegel grove participated in action throughout the Caribbean
Sea, the United States East Coast, Africa, the Mediterranean
Sea, Panama and the Middle East, including a vital role in the
original Operation Desert Storm in the Persian Gulf. For a
comprehensive history of the Spiegel Grove’s career, visit …
In 1989, she was finally decommissioned and placed in
floating storage. In September, 1998, the second phase of her
career would begin with the sale to the Key Largo Chamber of
Commerce.
In August 2003, Eco-Photo Explorers visited
Key Largo to dive the “largest ship ever intentionally sunk”.
Our intention was to spend two days diving this wreck while
documenting her condition and the marine life that presently
inhabits the site.
Key Largo in August can be quite hot,
and the morning of our first dive was no exception. With
temperatures creeping past 90 degrees Fahrenheit with oppressive
humidity, we set out for the site. By 9:45 am, we had entered
the water and were pulling ourselves down along mooring line #1
on the end of the stern of the shipwreck. With visibility
stretching towards 80 feet, the ship came into view almost
immediately. She is enormous! As we continued our descent, the
sheer size of the wreck overwhelmed us. She seemed to extend
forever and her superstructure, angled at a disorienting
sideways angle, disappeared into the distance.
We first
“landed” on the wreck at the stern and were immediately greeted
with a fairly stiff current blowing perpendicular over the
wreck. Indeed, with such a massive body lying in the sand, the
water currents play tricks on divers as upwellings, currents and
strange eddies form all over the wreck, confusing some and
causing divers to have to contend with water movement through
most of their dives.
Our immediate impression is that we
felt like insects on the side of a very large building! Dwarfed
by the huge vessel, we made our way towards the bow, swimming
along the deck and examining the huge cranes that jut out into
the blue from the wreck. As we swam along in 70 feet of warm
water, we photographed hatches and piping, deck railing and
doorways. The entire ship is largely in pristine condition, with
very little marine growth attached to the wreck at this point.
Navigation, as long as you stay outside the ship, is fairly
easy, although the angle at which she has settled into the sand
can be somewhat confusing to the first time visitor. The dive to
the Spiegel Grove is for divers of some experience, although
dives for varying degrees of skill can be constructed based on
the large variation in depth and opportunities for penetration.
Although relative novice divers can visit the wreck safely, all
divers must be prepared for strong currents in this section of
the ocean.
Our fist visit to this once proud vessel ended
with a fairly strenuous swim into a stiff current and a return
up the mooring line to the dive boat. As we approached the
mooring line, a school of Barracuda eyed us warily and
accompanied us throughout our safety stop at 25 feet. Measuring
3 or 4 feet in length, these fearsome looking creatures provided
a diversion as we waited on the mooring line to return to the
hazy, hot and humid Florida weather.
Our second visit to
the wreck the next day found us fighting very strong surface
currents and a wearying upwelling, which sapped our energy as we
began the day of diving. Still, once we reached the wreck along
Mooring Line #3, we again marveled at the ship and its beauty.
On this dive, we explored open hatchways at 90 feet and
penetrated inside a control room for one of the ship’s equipment
cranes. Divers who penetrate any shipwreck must prepare properly
for this type of diving. However, all that swim inside
shipwrecks can’t help but feel a certain attachment to the
sailors who walked those very same halls years ago when the ship
was “alive” on the high seas. Ships like the Spiegel Grove
possess such rich history, and these memories are retained
inside the corroding metal and deserted walkways of the sunken
ship. What did the operator see as he looked out the open hatch
and down the deck towards the stern of the ship? We can imagine
the open ocean rolling behind the ship as she steamed towards
her next destination, the foamy white wake spreading out behind
her. Perhaps a blue sky and puffy white clouds surrounded the
ship. Maybe a sea bird flew behind the ship, seeking to spot a
small piece of refuse to eat. Maybe the distant sound of gunfire
filled the air as combat raged on some far away shore.
Today, however, as we peer out from inside the ship, the cobalt
blue of the open ocean has replaced the sky and schools of
Yellow-Tail Snapper fill in for Sea Gulls. Scuba Divers,
swimming against the ocean currents, have replaced the sailors
who once roamed the decks of the one time military vessel.
Today, she rests in peace, an artificial reef with a story to
tell. The Spiegel Grove will live for decades to come, bathed in
the warm currents of south Florida, and attracting divers the
world over to visit her impressive structure. Some have been
quoted as saying “you could dive the Grove 100 times” and still
not see all of her. She will remain a challenge for those
explorers who wish to see this wreck and come to know her
secrets.
The Spiegel Grove rests in 130 feet of water, and rises to within 50 feet of the surface. She has been cleaned of any harmful debris and chemicals prior to her sinking. Inside, many openings were created and ropes were installed to assist divers in moving from room to room. Unfortunately, because of the angle of the sinking, many of these ropes are now useless and penetrating the wreck is actually somewhat disorienting and can be dangerous. The conditions on the wreck can be challenging and changeable. Strong currents, including upwellings and current eddies, swirl around the wreck. On the surface, currents can also be strong. Water temperatures in the summer can reach 85 degrees while dropping into the upper 70s in the winter.
There have been xx permanent mooring lines installed along
the wreck. Most of the local dive operators run trips to the
wreck several times each week. We dove with Ocean Divers, who
ran a very competent operation. When planning a visit to the
wreck, please check with the operation you plan to use for
availability on their charters and for pre-requisite experience.
In addition to the wreck itself, you can expect to see many of
the endemic species of tropical fish beginning to inhabit the
wreck: Barracuda, schools of snapper and grunt and small grouper
were all seen on our dives. As the wreck becomes overgrown with
corals and other marine life, we expect more fish to make this
place their home.
For some shipwreck divers, exploring
artificial reefs lacks some appeal due to the lack of history
surrounding the sinking and the “safe” condition of the wreck.
The Spiegel Grove, however, is different. With an unplanned
sinking, a confusing bottom orientation and a rich history, this
shipwreck should be one that entertains and challenges for years
to come.
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Ship Specifications |
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| Date Laid Down: Date Launched: Date Sunk: Date Commissioned: Date Decommissioned: Length: Beam: Draft: Displacement: Speed: Type of vessel: Hull Construction: Fuel: Boilers: Range: Armament: Men: Boat Capacity Depth of Water: Condition: Location: Skill Level: Loran C Position: Latitude/Longitude: Named For: Notes: |
September 7, 1954 -
Ingalls Shipbuilding Corp. November, 10 1955 June 11, 2002 (intentionally sunk) June 8, 1956 1989 510 feet 84 feet 6,8880 tons (light), 12,150 tons (full) 22.5 kts U.S. Navy Landing Ship Dock Steel 1,390 tons 2 Babcock & Wilcox, 40.8kg/cm² pressure 5,300/22.5; 10,00/20; 13,000 6/76.2-mm DP (II x 3)-LSD 34 also: 2/20-mm Mk 15 CIWS (I x 2) 18 officers, 325 men + 318 troops 21 LCMs 130 feet, rises to within 50 ft of the surface Lying on her starboard side, slight angle upwards Near Dixie Shoals, 6 Miles off Key Largo Advanced 25° 04.00' N; 80° 18.65' W Ohio estate of US President Rutherford B. Hayes Was due to be intentionally sunk to create an artificial reef and a diver’s haven. About 400 feet of the 510 ft length is accessible at a depth of 48-50 ft, but most of the wreck can be explored at depths of 50-85 ft. |
In The News
Divers discovered the USS Spiegel Grove had rolled upright, apparently courtesy of waves spawned by Hurricane Dennis.
Hurricane
Dennis fixes botched Florida reef
MIAMI, Florida (Reuters) -- Mother Nature tidied up a man-made
mess off the coast of the Florida Keys when the force of
Hurricane Dennis flipped a sunken U.S. Navy ship into the
perfect position to help form an artificial reef.
Powerful waves and currents generated by the hurricane flipped over the 510-foot (155-meter) USS Spiegel Grove and set it to rest on its keel on the ocean floor, reef project managers said on Tuesday.
That was the position Key Largo scuba divers and tourism promoters had aimed for when they scuttled the 6,880-tonne hulk in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary in 2002.
"I'm flabbergasted," said Rob Bleser, the volunteer project director, after diving on the reoriented wreck on Monday. "Nature took its course and put it where it belongs."
The Cold War relic was the largest vessel ever deliberately sunk to form the backbone of a coral ridge to nurture sea life and amuse scuba divers.
Work crews had planned to slowly sink it upright. But it went down prematurely and rolled over, creating a navigational hazard when it landed bottom-up with the stern on the seabed and the bow jutting above the waterline.
Salvage crews used giant airbags and steel cables to nudge it over onto its starboard side, where it was safe from passing vessels but slightly disorienting for divers to swim through.
Then Hurricane Dennis blitzed past on Saturday, staying well west of the islands of the Florida Keys but kicking up 20-foot (5.6-meter) waves.
"Waves that high in close proximity to the reef can produce unusually strong currents with tremendous force," said National Weather Service meteorologist Matt Strahan.
The Spiegel Grove carried landing craft and cargo in the Mediterranean and Caribbean and was retired in 1989. It lies in 130 feet (40 meters) of water, a few miles off Key Largo.
Source: CNN, Tuesday, July 12, 2005; Posted: 1:57 p.m. EDT (17:57 GMT)
Service Awards:
View detailed information about these service awards
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18 Jul 1958 - 6 Aug 1958 |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Lebanon) |
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23 Aug 1958 - 7 Sep 1958 |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Lebanon) |
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14 Sep 1958 - 18 Sep 1958 |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Lebanon) |
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3 Jan 1961 - 1 Mar 1961 |
Navy Expeditionary Medal (Cuba) |
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8 Feb 1962 - 5 Mar 1962 |
Navy Expeditionary Medal (Cuba) |
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10 Mar 1962 - 14 Mar 1962 |
Navy Expeditionary Medal (Cuba) |
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24 Jul 1962 |
Navy Expeditionary Medal (Cuba) |
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24 Oct 1962 - 30 Nov 1962 |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Cuba) |
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19 Jul 1965 - 21 Jul 1965 |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Dominican Republic) |
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25 Aug 1966 - 16 Sep 1966 |
Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal (Dominican Republic) |
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20 Jun 1976 |
Humanitarian Service Medal |
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1 Oct 1980 - 30 Sep 1981 |
Navy 'E' |
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8 Mar 1981 - 9 Apr 1981 |
Meritorious Unit Commendation |
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1 Oct 1981 - 30 Sep 1982 |
Navy 'E' |
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1 Oct 1982 - 30 Sep 1983 |
Navy 'E' |
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1 Oct 1984 - 31 May 1986 |
Navy Unit Commendation |
Artificial Reef Medallions
To defray the costs of cleanup, preparation, and towing, the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce Artificial Reef Committee will be selling medallions which will be required for divers wishing to visit the artificial reefs off the Upper Keys.
Annual Medallion: $10.00
Lifetime
Medallion: $250 - Purchaser's name will be engraved on the
plaque which will be installed on the USS Spiegel Grove
(only 1000 will be cast/sold).
Lifetime Medallions can be ordered by calling the Key Largo Chamber of Commerce at (305) 451-4747. Both medallions can be ordered from the Chamber of Commerce website.
Sinking Images:
For images see the
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive
Photos
courtesy of the U.S. Naval Institute
By Joe Radigan, MACM USN
Ret.
Links:
Detailed History of the USS Spiegel Grove
NavSource Online: Amphibious Photo Archive - Images of she
sinking
Key
Largo Chamber of Commerce - Diving information on the USS
Spiegel Grove.
Underwater Plaques - View pictures taken during the
underwater installation of the 3 large plaques that were mounted
to the side of the sunken USS Spiegel Grove off the coast of Key
Largo Florida.
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DAN diving insurance is
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East Coast Diving | Shipwreck Corner | Shipwreck Gallery
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