COORDINATES:
27032.1, 41372.9
A 6,369 ton freighter sunk in 105' on March 27, 1943 after
colliding with SS Cape Henlopen and now lies on her port
side. The bow is recognizably intact, though flattened out with
the amidships section more broken down. The superstructure is
scattered in the sand. The wreck is largely contiguous along the
centerline, though large debris fields may lure divers away from
the main part of the wreck. Tires and engine parts abound
throughout the wreck, with the remains of P-39 Aircobras buried
under wreckage. The stern rises up dramatically approximately 30'
at a break, with the starboard shaft protruding forward. The stern
superstructure, previously attached to the tilted stern, has now
slid off and is lying upside down to port.
NOTE: The bronze hubs to the stern steering station, previously suspended upside down in the stern superstructure, now lay loose inside this wreckage. However, the hubs are still connected to the large steel shaft. I conducted several dives working to cut the shaft in an attempt to remove these artifacts, but due to other commitments, was unable to complete the task.
The stern gun tubs still are evident on either side of this wreckage. Largely thought to be picked over, the Luckenbach still yields an occasional prize for an observant diver; on one dive in 1998, I recovered a cage lamp in plain view while another diver recovered a nice porthole. This a very interesting wreck but often overlooked in favor of the nearby John Morgan.