Question #42459. Asked by Gimboid.
Last updated Sep 25 2021.
"...perhaps the greatest concentration of sunken ships in the world-the passage of water off Guadalcanal known as Ironbottom Sound. It was here from August 1942 to February 1943 that some of the greatest naval battles of World War II were fought"
"The countless number of shipwrecks in Lake Huron draws thousands of scuba divers yearly, especially to the Alpena, Michigan region, which holds an underwater park preserve".greatlakescollectibles.com/Our-Great-Lakes/lake-huron no longer exists
On the Maryland side of the Potomac River just west of Chesapeake Bay, the largest shipwreck fleet in the Western Hemisphere sits half-sunk and decomposing. In the early 20th century, hundreds of U.S. vessels were sent to Mallows Bay to be destroyed and scrapped – and to this day the remains of dozens can still be seen in the shallow water ... The lack of effective oversight was realized when a Congressional report in October of 1918 revealed only 134 ships had been completed. A year and a half into the program, this was well behind schedule. Over 260 ships were less than half-completed, and hundreds more had not yet been started ... Germany would surrender on November 11th of 1918. At that time, none of the quickly-commissioned EFC vessels had yet crossed the Atlantic. To this point, the program had officially approved funding and paid for 731 wooden steamships. While over 130 ships had been completed, only 98 had actually been delivered. Of those, only 76 had been used to carry cargo as intended. Despite the war being over the shipbuilding continued building. By September of 1919 the builders had delivered 264 steamships to the government. By this time the United States had no use for the ships; they were left to rot while the powers that be determined how to re-purpose them.