USS S-16 Wreck

"The submarine S-16 was built by Lake Torpedo Boat Co., Bridgeport, Connecticut. She was laid down on March 19, 1918, launched on December 23, 1919, and commissioned on December 17, 1920. The S-16 was 231 feet long, had a 21 foot beam and a 13 foot draft. She was attached to the Subdivision 18 and operated around California, the Hawaiian and Philippine islands. The S-16 was decommissioned on May 22, 1935. She was recommissioned on December 2, 1940, and made cruises to Bermuda, St. Thomas and the Panama Canal. She was once again decommissioned on October 4, 1944, and was sunk by the Navy as an experiment on April 3, 1945, off Key West. According to diver Gary Gentile, author of the book ADVANCED WRECK DIVING GUIDE, who was one of the first divers to visit this wreck, she has a 15 degree starboard list. Otherwise she has remained upright and intact in 250 feet of water. Gary reports that the wreck is beautifully encrusted with coral. The S-16 sits 20 miles southwest of Key West, but because of her extreme depth, she is rarely visited by divers."