May 27, 2009 10:54 pm US/Eastern
New Artificial Reef Expected To Draw Tourists
Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg Turn Into Artificial Reef
Ex-Air Force Ship Sunk Off Key West
KEY WEST (CBS4) ―
-
-
This was a close view of the Vandenberg moments before it went under water to become a new artificial reef off the coast of Key West.
CBS
-
-
This was a close view of the Vandenberg moments before it went under water to become a new artificial reef off the coast of Key West.
CBS
-
-
The Vandenburg moments before the ship sank to the ocean floor to create a new reef off the coast of Key West.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
-
-
Smoke begins to rise from the Vandenburg as the ship begins the slow process of sinking.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
-
-
Thick smokes repaces the area where large parts of the Vandenburg once sat.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
-
-
Anticipation grows on ships surrounding the Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg as demolition experts prepare to send her to the bottom of the sea.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
-
-
Spectators line the rail of a watch ship as demolition crews prepare to sink the Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg off Key West.
CBS
-
-
Camera crews get ready to film the sinking of the Gen. Hoyt Vandenberg off Key West.
Jorge Estevez/CBS
-
-
The Gen. Hoyt S. Vandenberg will be sunk to create an artificial reef.
Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau
-
-
The vessel was originally the U.S. Naval Ship Harry Taylor which transported U.S. troops fighting in World War II, but was re-commissioned as the Vandenberg in 1963.
Andy Newman/Florida Keys News Bureau
A former U.S. war ship is at the bottom of the ocean off Key West. Crews set off a series of explosions that sent the U.S.N.S. Vandenberg to its new home. It was considered a perfect sink for the former World War II ship.
It took the ship exactly one minute and forty five seconds to sink courtesy of 44 charges that detonated throughout the ship. Spectators, many of whom worked on the Vandenberg in its prime, could hear the explosions go off several at a time with just a red flare to alert nearby ships.
"That's my dad," John Gallagher said as he showed a picture of his father to CBS4's Jorge Estevez. His father was on the bridge of the Vandenberg in 1963. Gallagher came from New York to say good-bye to a ship captained by his father.
"He would have felt a lot of pride that the ship was coming to a useful end," Gallagher said. The ship will now serve as an artificial reef and serve as a place for divers to explore.
One man who watched the sink worked on the ship as a rocket scientist in the 70s, when the ship also tracked space shuttle from Florida. "I got a lot of my life in this program and it was a good life," said Malcolm Monroe, a contractor on the ship in the 70's,
The U.S.N.S. Vandenberg brought families to America from Germany after the Cold War. "It's the connection to this country. It was what made it happen. It was amazing just to be among the crowd," said Elizabeth Maves, who came to America from Germany when she was two years old.
People worked on the project and dedicated their lives to organizing this sink for 13 years. "She belongs in the sea; that is where she is," said Sherry Lohr of Artificial Reefs of the Keys. At a price of $8 million, you can't help but sit back and marvel.
As an artificial reef, the ship is expected to bring in $10 to $12 million in revenue, mostly from eager divers who can't wait to get to the bottom of this story.
The ship received its most public exposure when cast as a Russian science ship in the 1999 movie "Virus."
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
Burned Teen's Family Staying Positive
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Reporting
