USS Yancey
Attack Cargo Ship · United States · Lost 1990 · The Outer Banks
A decorated WWII and Cold War attack cargo ship, named for a North Carolina county, sunk intact off Cape Lookout as a deep artificial reef.
The Vessel and Her Loss
Built in 1944 as the Andromeda-class attack cargo ship USS Yancey, the vessel took part in the Iwo Jima and Okinawa landings, supported the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis blockade, and helped evacuate civilians from the Dominican Republic in 1965. Decommissioned in 1971 and stripped of usable equipment, she was sunk as a reef off Cape Lookout in 1990 and now rests intact on her starboard side at about 160 feet.
Vessel
- 1944
- AKA-93/LKA-93
- Moore Dry Dock Company
- Oakland, California
- Steel
- 459 ft
- 63 ft
- 13910
- Geared turbine with two Foster-Wheeler boilers
- U.S. Navy
Loss
- January 1, 1990
- Intentional sinking
- Artificial Reef AR-302, off Cape Lookout, North Carolina
- Atlantic Ocean
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
- Not established
The Wreck Today
- 160 ft
- Intact, resting on her starboard side.
- On starboard side
- Not established
- North Carolina artificial reef program (AR-302)
Position
- 34.17° N 76.23° W
- Approximate position
- Cape Lookout, North Carolina
Approximate position derived from published reef coordinates for AR-302.
Evidence
Overall confidence: Documented (85/100)
NC Division of Marine Fisheries, Sunken Vessel History
Reef designation, sinking purpose.
nc-wreckdiving.com (citing Naval History and Heritage Command)
Build, dimensions, naval service history, sinking date.
