NOTE: This is a 1999 news release and is maintained here for reference purposes only. Old contact information and links have been removed or updated.
NOTE: This is a 1999 news
release and is maintained here for reference purposes only. Old contact
information and links have been removed or updated.
Begun in 1996, Project Viewpoint has already uncovered solid archival evidence which documents a number of previously unreported engagements between German U-Boats and U.S. forces within New England waters in both WWI and WWII. Much of the evidence has come from newly declassified documents (U.S. and German). This research, which was spearheaded by S.C.A.N. Technologies of Portland, Maine, has allowed the Society to delineate and thus target four distinct locations of documented encounters. All four sites are within New England coastal waters.
It is the Society's belief that without on site investigation, it will be impossible to determine whether any of these hostile actions (ranging from bombs dropped by a dirigible to depth-charges deployed by a destroyer escort) resulted in the destruction of a U-Boat. Therefore, fieldwork (initially limited to remote sensing) needs to be conducted at each of these sites.
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Regardless of whether a wrecked U-Boat rests at this particular site there should be evidence of the engagement and the search will give the participants the opportunity to gain valuable experience and to further refine their skills and search techniques. Furthermore, because the overall expedition will be the subject of a documentary, and will also receive both local and national news coverage, the participants will have the opportunity to showcase their expertise and talents in a number of "popular" formats. A final project report, documenting the research and the survey work at all four sites, will be published by the Society. |
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Jack Rutledge (VP Research, S.C.A.N. Technologies) of Kittery Point, Maine has worked as the lead researcher. Mr. Rutledge is also a writer, specializing in military marine history, for the Foster Daily Democrat in Dover, New Hampshire. Rutledge's research has already been reviewed by Professor Joel Eastman, University of Maine, who will be intimately involved in the expeditions and the continuing research.
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Dr. E. Lee Spence is serving as the expedition's official leader and will set expedition policies and coordinate each of the search efforts. Spence is internationally known for his many archaeological and historical discoveries and brings a wide range of experience and expertise. He has authored more than two dozen books on shipwrecks, and has held such positions as "Chief of Underwater Archaeology for the Colombian archipelago of Providencia Y San Adres." His work has been funded by numerous private and public institutions including the National Endowment for the Humanities and the National Science Foundation, and has been written up in over a thousand periodicals worldwide, ranging from the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology to both Life and People. |
Sea Research Society is an eleemosynary (not-for-profit) organization established in 1972 for educational and research purposes. It was granted 501 (c) (3) (tax-exempt) status by the United States Internal Revenue Service in 1976, and donations to the Society are deductible under section 170 of the IRS code.
