SHIPWRECKS
U.S.S. INDEPENDENCE CVL-22
Launched in 1942, the INDEPENDENCE was originally going to be the light cruiser AMSTERDAM until plans changed and she was completed as the lead ship in the 'Independence Class' of light aircraft carriers and served in the Pacific theatre during World War 2. She survived the war and ended up being used, along with 95 other vessels, as a target ship for the atomic bomb tests at Bikini Atoll (called 'Operation Crossroads') in 1946.
She would survive both bomb blasts, named 'Able' and 'Baker', with damage to her stern which was crumpled and ripped apart, her flight deck was pushed upwards by the shock wave and her funnels were blown over along with anything else on deck. The battered hulk was also highly radioactive after the second bomb (Baker, and underwater burst) had coated the entire target fleet with a radioactive spray.
Following the tests, she was towed back to San Francisco for further study until she was scuttled by the Navy near the Farallon Island, off the coast of California in 1951. She now rests upright in 2600 feet (790 meters) of water.
S.S. TOGO SHIPWRECK
On the 12th of May 1918, six months before the end of the first world war, the collier TOGO (ex VILLE de VALENCE built in 1882) was part of a five ship convoy sailing along the South coast of France towards Italy with a cargo of coal. In the early hours of the morning, the convoy was spotted by the German submarine UC 35, which fired a torpedo into the lead ship, a French cargo ship named the PAX which sank almost immediately. The TOGO broke off from the convoy and headed towards the coast hoping to outrun the submarine and shelter in the bay of Cavalaire. As she entered the bay, an explosion near the stern broke her in two. The stern section immediately sank, the bow however drifted closer to the coast before finally foundering in about 50 meters of water. One crew member was lost while the other 20 made it ashore. The wreck of the TOGO would be re-discovered in 1977 and is now extremely popular site for scuba divers, widely considered one of the most beautiful wrecks of the Mediterranean, with her bow lying upright at around 50 meters and stern at around 65 meters of water.