Pascal Henaff has the story. It measured Four boilers fed its triple-expansion engine. She was commanded by Captain D. Loaded with coal, oil and military equipment such as truck chassis and spare parts, wheels, radiators and a lot of ammunition for American troops in France it joined an offshore convoy departing from New York, which was about to cross the Atlantic that month.
On 22 June at p. In four columns of two ships each, escorted by four American yachts and two gunboats, the convoy proceeded under a light northwestern breeze and clear skies. The captain of La Belliqueuse at the end of the convoy noticed that one of the carriers was nosing down. He ordered the lifeboats to be lowered. The whole crew was transferred aboard the Corsair, a 91m-long, 1,ton frigate fitted with four 75mm cannons.
The commanding officer was Captain T. At a. Between and a. The Californian sank, prow first. The convoy then proceeded towards La Pallice. La Belliqueuse tried, with no avail, to spot a possible submarine. So, it was thought that the Californian had hit a mine. But there had been no sign of an explosionβno sound was heard, nor was a plume of water seen.
The average depth of the wreck is 44m. This large wreck is spread over a large area, with lots of nooks, corners and a varied cargo to explore. It is impossible to go all around it in just one dive. The poop deck on the port side, though destroyed, can be identified thanks to the quadrant, rudder stock and tiller. The helm is buried in the sand, as is the propeller.
.JPG "Teen girls in Les Sables-dOlonne")
A few metres away, the perfectly aligned blades of a safety propeller can be found. At a height of 3m, it towers over the sandy bottom. Next to the poop deck, the blades of the safety propeller are arranged head to toe, parallel to each other, ready to be bolted, if needed.
