The ship
She was ordered in 1942 and launched at the New York Naval Shipyard in October 1945. She was left unfinished. She was rebuilt to a new design before being taken into service in September 1950. She flew combat missions in the Korean War and again in Vietnam. On 26 October 1966 a flare ignited in a locker at the front. The fire spread through five decks and killed 44 men. She was taken out of service in 1976. She sat in reserve for decades. A scrapping contract was cancelled in 1997. Then she was chosen for the reef program.
How she sank
Oriskany did not sink in war. The Navy sank her on purpose as an artificial reef. There were years of delay for hurricane seasons and a review of the PCBs left aboard. Then she was towed to a spot about 24 miles off Pensacola, Florida. On 17 May 2006 Navy divers fired roughly 500 lb (230 kg) of C-4 on 22 sea connection pipes.…
Dive the wreck
What divers see there month by month, how deep it goes, who can dive it and the dive centers nearby.
The USS Oriskany dive site →
