LariatAdvance

In April of 1942, Ashkhabad was traveling empty from New York to Cuba, escorted by the ASW trawler Lady Elsa. They were running a zig-zag course as ordered in an effort to avoid U-boat interference. On April 30, 1942, Ashkhabad was hit on the starboard side by a single torpedo fired by U-402 and sunk by its stern end in the shallow waters off Cape Lookout, N.C.

Dive 1 of 2 for Deep Water Diver Certification on the Wreck Spar, 30 miles out of Beaufort Inlet.

The J-37 Morse key ... During WWII, the Korean War, and even into the Vietnam era the U. S. Signal Corps designated many of their Morse keys with a "J-" and a number. The real workhorse key during those years was the J-37 "Mae West" key. There are many more glamorous wartime keys around, but the keys that carried the bulk of the action were the J-37 keys. The J-37 key is unusual because, with the addition of different bases and connections, it became part of other more special purpose keys. I found this one at a yard sale for ten bucks.

Dive 2 of 2 for Deep Water Diver Certification on the Wreck Spar, 30 miles out of Beaufort Inlet.

We broke the Guiness World Record, April 2012!

Commissioned 18 June 1945, the Aeolus began service as the attack cargo ship "Turandot". After spending the final months of WWII transporting troops and cargo throughout the Pacific, she was decommissioned on 17 April 1947. In 1954, Turandot was reoutfitted as a cable repair ship and recommissioned as the "Aeolus". In her following 20 years of service, she operated in both the Atlantic. She remained the USS Aeolus until her final decommissioning in May 1985. today Aeolus sits upright in 110 feet of water about 30 miles out of Beaufort inlet. She is home to the full array of offshore marine life, including sand tiger sharks that can often be found inside the cable storage compartment. The wreck is in 3 pieces making navigation potentially difficult, especially in lower visibility.