Best Shipwreck Dive in the Caribbean? - USS KITTIWAKE - Grand Cayman Island

USS KITTIWAKE WRECK. Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands, British West Indies.Show more

251 long ship with 5 accessible decks to dive with great VIZ.

History:
Designed as a submarine supply ship, the USS Kittiwake was built in Savannah, Georgia, USA. It launched on July 10th, 1945 and was assigned to support and rescue duty with Submarine Squadron 6. In the 1950's she was stationed in the Atlantic and served "silent service" ships. In July of 1960 the USS Kittiwake stood ready to assist the George Washington, which launched the first successful Polaris ballistic missiles.

During the 1960's she continued to support submarines in Rota, Spain, and Greece. She then assisted with search and recovery of torpedoes while stationed in Norfolk, Virginia. In late 1965 the Kittiwake assisted in the recovery of a German submarine (S-171).

In 1984 the Kittiwake collided with the the attack submarine USS Bergall. The cause was a miss-wired main drive which caused it to operate in the opposite direction than expected. The bridge personnel saw the submarine approaching and ordered an increase in speed to avoid the collision. This resulted in the stern of the Kittiwake hitting the Bergall's sonar dome.

The USS Kittiwake was decommissioned on September 30, 1994 and then purchased by the Cayman Islands government in 2004. In July 2010 she was sunk off the west coast of Grand Cayman and became an artificial reef. Come and explore this amazing historical wreck dive today!