Rare 16th-Century Shipwreck Discovered at Record Depth in French Waters
The 98-foot-long vessel was transporting ceramic jugs, ceramic plates and metal bars when it sank off southeastern France nearly 500 years ago
Untold Stories of American History
Tattered Pages Discovered in Storage Reveal an Enslaved Man’s Daring Bid for Freedom—and His Second Life at Sea
Historians are investigating the haunting handwritten manuscript, which chronicles Thomas White’s escape from slavery in Maryland and adventures around the world nearly 200 years ago
Historians Set the Record Straight on This Misidentified 155-Year-Old Shipwreck in Lake Michigan
For years, experts thought a wreck near Baileys Harbor, Wisconsin, was the “Christina Nilsson.” Recently, they realized it’s actually the “Joseph Cochrane,” which sank in 1870
The Hidden History of the Nazi U-Boats That Prowled the Gulf Coast, Bringing World War II to America’s Shores
Between 1942 and 1943, German submarines sank 56 Allied ships in the region and damaged another 14, losing just one of their own in the process
Revolutionary War-Era Gunboat Found Underneath World Trade Center Wreckage Finds a Permanent Home in Upstate New York
Researchers are reassembling the ship, which was likely built in the 1770s near Philadelphia
See a Lost U.S. Navy Submarine, Sunk During a World War I Test Run, in Digital Detail
Researchers descended to the wreck in underwater vehicles to collect data for 3-D models
Smithsonian Photo Contest Galleries
Set Sail With These 15 Scenes of Sensational Ships
These seafaring shots are harbored in the archives of the Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest
The Shipwrecks From John Franklin’s Doomed Arctic Expedition Were Exactly Where the Inuit Said They Would Be
In May 1845, 129 British officers and crew members set out in search of the Northwest Passage on HMS “Erebus” and HMS “Terror.” None returned
How Researchers Discovered a 168-Year-Old Dutch Shipwreck Off the Coast of Australia in Underwater ‘Blizzard’ Conditions
The Dutch merchant ship ‘Koning Willem de Tweede’ sank off the coast of South Australia in a violent storm in June 1857
Man Who ‘Always Fancied’ Owning a Shipwreck Buys One on Facebook Marketplace for $400
Hobbyist diver Dom Robinson jumped at the chance to purchase the S.S. “Almond Branch,” a cargo ship that’s been resting 190 feet beneath the surface of the English Channel since World War I
He Boarded the Titanic, Then Wrote a Letter: ‘It Is a Fine Ship, But I Shall Await My Journey’s End Before I Pass Judgment’
First-class passenger Archibald Gracie wrote the missive shortly after settling into his cabin on the doomed vessel. It just sold at auction for nearly $400,000
See the Rare Medieval Boat Discovered Over 18 Feet Below Sea Level in Barcelona
It could take years for archaeologists to properly excavate and preserve the delicate wooden vessel, which likely became shipwrecked
Why Was a 1940s Car Discovered in the Wreck of an American Naval Ship That Sank During World War II?
The mysterious automobile was found in a hangar on the USS “Yorktown,” which has been resting on the bottom of the Pacific Ocean since 1942
As Norway Considers Deep-Sea Mining, a Rich History of Ocean Conservation Decisions May Inform How the Country Acts
In the past, scientists, industry and government have worked together in surprising, tense and fruitful ways
The Long, Strange Trip of the Titanic Victims Whose Remains Surfaced Hundreds of Miles Away, Weeks After the Ship Sank
Rescuers only recovered the bodies of 337 of the 1,500-plus passengers and crew who died in the disaster. Around one-third of these corpses were buried at sea
See the Titanic in Remarkable Detail With a 3D Scan That Reveals New Secrets of the Doomed Ship’s Final Moments
A documentary called “Titanic: The Digital Resurrection” will unveil the most detailed digital reconstruction of the shipwreck ever created. Experts are using the model to study the vessel’s demise
A Chicago-Sized Iceberg Broke Off From Antarctica, Revealing a Hidden Ecosystem Never Seen Before
When the A-84 iceberg calved in January, it unveiled a 209-square-mile swath of seafloor. Nearby scientists rushed to the scene for the “unprecedented” look below
How Britain’s Secret Decoy Ships Outfoxed German U-Boats During World War I
Divers recently discovered the wreck of a German submarine and the Royal Navy Q-ship that sank it in February 1917
The Historic S.S. ‘United States,’ the Fastest Liner to Cross the Atlantic, Is Heading to a Watery Grave
Officials plan to purposefully sink the passenger ship off the coast of Florida, where it will become the world’s largest artificial reef
Warship Sunk by the Nazis During World War II Located Off the Coast of Brazil
A German submarine torpedoed the “Vital de Oliveira” in July 1944, killing some 100 of the 270 crew members onboard
Page 1 of 24