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Ships

Cool Finds

Wreck of Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Lexington Found 76 Years After It Was Scuttled in Battle

The ship was sunk by an American destroyer so it couldn’t be captured in the Battle of Coral Sea, considered to be the first carrier battle in history

Cudjo Lewis, the last survivor transported to Alabama on the Clotilda

Cool Finds

Search Continues for Last American Slave Ship After Recent Wreck Ruled Out

The Clotilda illegally transported 110 enslaved people from present-day Benin to Alabama more than 50 years after the U.S. outlawed the slave trade

Cool Finds

Rare Scraps of Paper Unearthed in the Sludge of Famed Pirate Ship

The 300-year-old fragments found in Blackbeard’s flagship show someone on board was likely literate and interested in sea stories

Wreck of the AE1

Cool Finds

After Mysteriously Disappearing in WWI, Australia’s First Submarine Finally Found

The craft disappeared during in heavy haze early in the war

USS Indianapolis Crew Battled Sharks and Hallucinations

A Japanese torpedo attack against the USS Indianapolis leaves the men with no time to launch lifeboats. For four grueling days, the survivors float

Ships involved in the American slave trade before the Civil War.

When Enslaved People Commandeered a Ship and Hightailed it to Freedom in the Bahamas

It’s been called the most successful slave rebellion in U.S. history

A hasty 1900 pigeongram sent to H. Winkelmann by Charles Werner, a great Barrier Island resident. "Dear Mr Winkelmann," it reads, "Charlie Soborne has smashed his arm last night from the wrist to the elbow by a rifle bullet. His father says that the arm will have to be amputated at once so Ernest asked me to send you this... send a steamer at once to the Barrier... also if possible a lawyer."

This New Zealand Island’s Pigeon Mail Stamps Are Still Prized

Pigeons carried correspondence between Great Barrier Island and the New Zealand mainland for about a decade in the early 20th century

Follow the Paths of Viking Raiders from Norway to North America

Visit these preserved settlement sites

Trending Today

Virtually Explore a World War II Shipwreck in 360 Degrees

High-resolution video and 3D scanning brings the SS Thistlegorm to armchair archaeologists everywhere

The British Navy was a big deal in the 1700s.

Jane Squire and the Longitude Wars

The sixteenth-century debate over how to determine longitude had a lot of participants—and one woman

How This Ship Handles Seas Loaded With Icebergs

The Ocean Endeavour is sailing toward a famous glacier near the Arctic town of Ilulissat. It’s a route packed with dangerous icebergs

The star of this dive was the discovery of a bronze arm, mottled from centuries underwater.

Antikythera Shipwreck Yields New Cache of Treasures, Hints More May Be Buried at Site

The discovery of an ancient bronze arm is a rare archaeological find

A Cruise Ship Chef Hunts for Big Fish. Will He Succeed?

As luxury liner Europa 2 docks into port, its chef de cuisine has a major challenge ahead: prepare lunch for his very discerning clientele

How Do You Dock a Ship Into a Port That’s 200 Feet Short?

The Viking Sea is docking into the Scottish port of Lerwick. It’s a major challenge considering the port is over 200 feet shorter than the ship

3D recreation of an Roman galley found on the floor of the Black Sea

Cool Finds

Exceptionally Preserved Ancient Ships Discovered in the Black Sea

Since 2015, the Maritime Archaeological Project expedition has uncovered 60 wrecks, covering 2,500 years of maritime history

Trending Today

Intact WWI German U-Boat Found Off the Coast of Belgium

It’s possible that 23 bodies remain inside the main cabin of the submarine, which likely hit a mine

Gokstad ship at the Viking Ship Museum in Oslo

Seven Must-See Museums in Norway

Each institution celebrates a different aspect of this Scandinavian country’s history

New Research

Cargo Ships May Double Lightning Strikes in Their Path

Ship exhaust impacts cloud formation, which may influence lightning over busy shipping lanes

Peter the Great didn't wear a beard, but he did sport a groovy 'stache.

Why Peter the Great Established a Beard Tax

Between 1697-1698, the tsar visited Europe in disguise to learn about shipbuilding and Western culture. His verdict? Shave

Canadian Town’s Swastika-Adorned Anchor Causes Anger and Confusion

The anchor appears to predate the Nazi era, but an activist says it should nevertheless be removed from a public park

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