David Thibodeaux
United States
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Nº167
Date: 2011-06-24 - 12:16
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Max Depth: 15.8m Duration: 40mins
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- Temp: Surf 33°C Bottom 23°C
Recent Divers in Pinsacola, FL
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Good dive saw a Tiger Shark and some Grouper. Among the largest and most advanced
ships of her time, the Massachusetts was a heavy-caliber battleship and one of the
first to be assigned a hull number by the US Navy. Officially commissioned on June
10, 1896, The Massachusetts was over 350-feet long, with a beam of 69-feet and a
displacement of over 10,000 tons. In a world still dominated by wooden ships, the
massive steam-powered Massachusetts was nothing short of awesome. She was equipped
with an impressive array of firepower, including 13-inch gun batteries, 8-inch secondary
batteries, two Colt Gatling guns, three torpedo tubes and a number of smaller weapons.
The Massachusetts saw her first battle duty during the Spanish-American War,
where she sailed to Cuba to help blockade the ports of Cienfuegos and Santiago. In
the following years, the Massachusetts performed a variety of duties, conducting
military exercises in several different ports. Despite her impressive technology
and size, the vessel had several flaws in her design. One of the most serious was
her low freeboard, which made the guns difficult to operate in heavy seas.
By
the start of World War I, she was relegated to light duty as a training vessel and
later decommissioned in 1919. In 1921, she was towed to Pensacola, scuttled in shallow
water and used as a target for coastal artillery batteries.
The site was dedicated
as an underwater archaeological preserve on June 10, 1993, on the 100th anniversary
of the ship's launching.
Today, the USS Massachusetts sits in 30 feet of water
with portions of the hull still exposed. Despite the battering of more than 100 artillery
rounds, the hull remains remarkably intact. This beautiful dive is awash in emerald-green
water, partially buried on a white sandy bottom.
Despite her shallow depth, the
Massachusetts can be an unpredictable and often difficult dive because of her close
proximity to Pensacola Pass. This area is subject to strong currents and poor visibility.
Plan your dives closely around the tides.