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USS Chippewa

USS Chippewa

The Chippewa was built by the Charleston Shipbuilding Company and commissioned by the United States Navy in February of 1943. The 205-foot tug served in the Caribbean with Trinidad as her home port. The Chippewa was named after the Native Americans from the Lake Superior area and was the fourth U.S. ship to bear the name Chippewa. In 1947, the Chippewa was decommissioned and placed in the reserves. In 1989 the tug was assigned to the Navy's Experimental Dive Unit for salvage and ordnance training. A short time later, the Chippewa began preparations to become an artificial reef.

To make sure that the Chippewa settled on the bottom upright, careful modifications were made to the watertight boundaries. The Chippewa was moored at the selected site about 11 miles south-southwest of the St. Andrews Jetties. A network of 37 explosive charges were set off and on February 8, 1990, the Chippewa sank to the sandy bottom in nearly 100 feet of water.

The wreck is upright and in beautiful condition. Most ships' decks are stripped before deployment, but the Chippewa has all it's deck equipment intact. There are davits, wenches, levers, stairs and companionways to explore, so be sure to bring a light. The large, open cabin is reached at 50 feet and the main deck at 70 feet. The broken mast lies on the port side. The Chippewa is one of the largest ships deployed by the Bay County Artificial Reef Program and a dive spot that should not be missed.

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