USS Strength

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Fast Facts:

Avg Rating:

Avg Depth: 65 ft. / 20m

Max Depth: 76 ft. / 23m

Skill Level: Advanced

Features:

• Artificial Reef

• Wreck Site

The USS Strength was commissioned by the United States Navy in 1944 as a tender with the minesweeping fleet. The Strength participated in mine-sweeping operations off Iwo Jima, Kerama Retto, and Okinawa. The ship successfully fought off separate attacks by a Japanese midget submarine and a kamikaze plane and was awarded three battle stars for her service in World War II.

After being decommissioned in 1967, the Strength was assigned to the Navy's Salvage Diver School who sank and re-floated the ship several times for training. In 1987 the Strength was sunk for the last time in an explosive test conducted by the Navy Diving and Salvage Training Center at Panama City.

The ship is 184 feet in length with a 33-foot beam. At her sinking, she came to rest on her side in about 76 feet of water. The ship was pushed upright by Hurricane Opal in 1995. The profile rises to within 40 feet of the surface. A plaque on her side tells the history of the ship.