USNS General Hoyt S. Vandenberg
Missile-Tracking Ship · United States · Lost 2009 · The Florida Keys
A Cold War missile-tracking ship, scuttled off Key West in 2009 to become one of the largest artificial reefs on Earth.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built during World War II as the troop transport General Harry Taylor, the ship was converted in 1963 to track missile launches from Cape Canaveral and monitor Soviet tests during the Cold War. Retired in 1983, she sat in the James River Reserve Fleet for over two decades before a decade-long community fundraising and permitting effort brought her to Key West. On May 27, 2009, she was intentionally sunk seven miles offshore, becoming the second-largest ship ever purpose-sunk as a reef. She now anchors the southern end of the Florida Keys Shipwreck Trail.
Vessel
- 1943
- Bethlehem Shipbuilding
- Sparrows Point, Maryland
- Steel
- 522.8 ft
- 71.5 ft
- 17250
- Steam turbine, single screw
- U.S. Army / U.S. Air Force / U.S. Maritime Administration
Loss
- May 27, 2009
- Intentional sinking
- About 7 miles south of Key West, Florida
- Straits of Florida
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- 0
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 45-140
- Intact, upright, largest artificial reef in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.
- Upright
- Not established
- Within Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary
Position
- 24.27° N 81.44° W
- Approximate position
- Key West, Florida
Rounded to published sinking-site coordinates.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Well documented (90/100)
Reef Environmental Education Foundation (REEF)
Sinking date, depth, dimensions.
Service history and dimensions.
