NORTON, Massachusetts (26 May 2006) -- Earl King of Norton "hit the jackpot" with a compass he salvaged from the wreck of a U-boat, but the German government may be gunning for the sunken booty. The former firefighter said an appraiser just told him the gyrocompass he "removed" from the submarine U-853, sunk off Block Island in 1945, is worth tens of thousands of dollars. (He wants to keep the actual figure a secret for now.) "I'm not keeping it in my car anymore, that's for sure," King added. He came upon his waterlogged treasure on July 4, 1973, with a dive partner. Both men ventured out to the wreck and King cut loose the compass from inside the vessel and lugged it to the surface. The U-853 is the only documented World War II sinking of a German submarine close to the New England shore. The Navy caught up to the sub a day after the Germans torpedoed a U.S. ship. All hands, about 60 men, perished. Now the wreck is back in the news thanks to an eagle-eyed appraiser. "I brought it in and the appraiser told me, 'You hit the jackpot,' he blew my mind," said King. King said he has written to the German embassy to see if they'll bid on this golden compass. U-853 submarine | | Liars and looters Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard. Following the lead of dive industry-endorsed shipwreck looters Bishop and Sheard, scuba diving thieves around the world are destroying wrecks for bragging rights, coffee table displays and internet auction profits that amount to a fraction of the revenue shipwrecks can generate as fully protected underwater museums. FROM THE EDITORS OF CDNN Despite dive industry 'take pictures, leave only bubbles' green-wash, a small but strident group of scuba diving looters steal artifacts from shipwrecks under the guise of 'archaeological exploration', and aggressively compete for bragging rights, product endorsements and profits from the sales of stolen artifacts that are now on a par with those from smuggling humans and drugs. "We do not care about Leigh Bishop and Brad Sheard's personality problems, their hate-mongering web sites, their chat room shenanigans nor their crude attempts to blackmail responsible, eco-friendly dive companies that support full protection of marine wildlife and shipwrecks," said CDS President Evan T. Allard. "Such unscrupulous conduct is beneath contempt and serves only to substantiate accusations that Bishop and Sheard have committed crimes and will continue to do so unless authorities step in." "The fact is that the vast majority of the global scuba diving community opposes shipwreck looting and underwater grave robbing, and with good reason," Allard added. "For scuba divers, every shipwreck is an underwater museum to be fully protected for our children, our grandchildren and all future generations of divers who will dive deeper and longer thanks to ongoing improvements in diving technology ," Allard said. CYBER DIVER ALERT | If you have information pertaining to the theft and/or sale of wreck artifacts, or desecration of underwater grave sites by Leigh Bishop, Brad Sheard, organized crime gangs or anyone else, please contact CDNN immediately and your information will be passed along to appropriate authorities. REPORT SCUBA LOOTER |
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