South Jersey’s Shipwrecks

We all know about the great historical sites that South Jersey has to offer above land, but how many of you know about the other great sites? I`m not talking about those little know towns and villages that dot the landscape throughout South Jersey. What I`m referring to are the ones that lie on the ocean floor just off the coast. From Point Pleasant to cape May, South Jersey is loaded with over 500 shipwrecks. Here are a few that I`ve had the pleasure of visiting first hand.

Most of these wrecks were sunk due to weather, collisions, equipment failure, or simple miscalculations. But some were sunk as acts of war. Yes I said war. Believe it or not German U Boats prowled the South Jersey coast during the Second World War. These U-Boats found their mark on more than one occasion.

While running the South Jersey coast on the night of February 28th, 1942, the 7,500-ton ESSO tanker R.P. Resor was struck by two torpedoes fired from the German Submarine U-578. The ensuing explosion ripped open her hull setting the flammable cargo ablaze. The crew fought to save themselves as the flames engulfed everything in site. The US Coast Guard Cutter Picket responded to the tragedy, and pulled two survivors from the oily sea. Tragically though, fifty sailors died as a result of the attack. People on the boardwalks and beaches for miles could see the massive explosion and fireball ignited by her fuel cargo. The R.P. Resor sank 35 miles off Barnegat Inlet. She now lies in 120 feet of water on the hard sandy bottom. Her stern rises about 40 feet off the bottom and is a twisted mass of steel plates. Hardly recognizable as a ship, evidence of the damage from explosions and fire is evident. At her stern a 3-inch deck gun points downward to the sand, never having fired a shot at her attacker. The R.P. Resor is considered one of the best New Jersey wreck dives.

The USS Jacob Jones arrived the following day to assist with the search for survivors. Not only were none found, but the stealthy U-578 managed to surprise the well-armed naval ship as well, and sent her to a watery grave. The first torpedo struck just aft of the bridge and caused massive damage. The strike exploded the ship`s magazine, and the resulting blast sheered off everything forward. As she lay dead in the water, a second torpedo tore away the aft part of the ship above the keel plates and destroyed the after crew`s quarters. The explosions killed all but 25 or 30 men. The Jacob Jones remained afloat for about 45 minutes, allowing her survivors to get clear of the doomed ship in four or five rafts. Within an hour of the initial explosion Jacob Jones slipped bow first into the cold Atlantic; as her battered stern slid beneath the waves, some of her depth charges exploded killing several survivors on a nearby raft.

A torpedo from U-404 struck and sank the Chilean freighter Tolten in the early morning hours of March 14, 1942, leaving only one survivor. The War Department stopped the announcement of ship`s names after the Tolten was sunk; The War Department claimed doing so gave too much information to the enemy. She now lies on the hard sandy bottom in 100 feet of water. Though it has been wire-dragged to provide a safe navigation depth, the wreck is still somewhat intact. The most recognizable section is the stern. Looking carefully at her bow you can still see one of her remaining anchors… still in the hawse pipe.

The Great Isaac, built in 1944 sank three years later on April 16th 1947 after she collided with the SS Bandeirante, a freighter, which struck her in the engine room. This steel hulled vessel was over 1000 tons and one of the larger tugs ever built during this period. She sank nine miles off Barnegat Light in 90 feet of water. The wreck is still largely intact, lying on her port side and deeply buried in the bottom.

The San Saba, was a 2,500-ton freighter built for the Mallory Line in 1879. San Saba was the victim of a mine put in place by the German Submarine U-117, which also sunk the Chappara. U-117 went on to sink a total 23 ships. The wreckage lies in two parts approx. 100 yards apart. Artifacts can often be found in her Stern. Glassware, china, brass, bullets, bone handled brushes and assortment of general dry goods cargo have all been found. The wreck lies at a depth of 80 feet on a sandy bottom, about 8 miles out of Barnegat Inlet.

On October 27th 1918, the Chappara became another victim of the mines laid by the U-177. This Cuban Freighter took on water and sank very quickly. She now rests on her port side in 75 feet of water. She was a 240-foot, steel-hulled and coal fired steam engine vessel that carried a cargo of sugar. Artifacts are hard to come by but can be found deep under the sand along her Port Side.

These are just a few of the may interesting shipwrecks sent to the ocean floor off the coast of South Jersey. The sad fact about most of the South Jersey wrecks is that they are quickly deteriorating. Some are nothing more than a pile of waterlogged lumber and metal buried in the sands. So if you want to do more than just read about these incredible wrecks, I suggest you gear up and drop over the side for the adventure of a lifetime!

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Author: Steve Kelly - Editor