Diamond Shoals Lightship No. 71
Lightship · United States · Lost 1918 · The Outer Banks
A navigation lightship sunk by U-140 off Cape Hatteras after broadcasting a warning in August 1918.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Diamond Shoals Lightship No. 71 served as a beacon warning mariners of the dangerous shoals off Cape Hatteras. On August 6, 1918, it broadcast a wireless report of a submarine attack on Merak. German submarine U-140 then shelled the lightship, which quickly sank. Its twelve crew members escaped in a lifeboat and rowed ten miles to shore. A reserve lightship soon replaced it.
Vessel
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- Lightship No. 71
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Loss
- August 6, 1918
- Enemy action
- Diamond Shoals, off Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
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- 12
- The state account says the twelve crew members rowed ashore; no additional casualty claim is made.
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The Wreck Today
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Position
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- Position not established
- Cape Hatteras, North Carolina
The state history names Cape Hatteras but gives no numeric wreck position; no coordinates inferred.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
Construction details, exact wreck position, depth and present condition are not established by the reviewed state account.
August 6, 1918 shelling and sinking, lightship function, wireless warning, submarine U-140 and twelve crew rowing ten miles ashore.
