The Mighty O (Oriskany)
The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany (better known as the Mighty O.), was sunk as an artificial reef 25 miles off Pensacola in May of 2006. Soon thereafter I dove the rig, finding fish already moving in. The deck of this vessel was at 130 feet. But over the years it has settled to where today the deck, with more erosion, is at 145 feet.
The vessel was named after the Battle of Oriskany that took place in the Revolutionary War. It began construction in May 1944 in Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was designed to carry 91-103 aircraft. It was 888 feet (271 meters) with 911 feet overall length deploying 23 foot catapult extensions.
The Mighty O was launched in 1945 and commissioned in 1950 after a redesign to become the last Essex-class aircraft carrier. It served in the Korean War, earning two battle stars, and Vietnam, earning 10 battle stars, working primarily in the Pacific. In 1966, an accidental magnesium fire killed 44 people on board. See more details on Wikipedia.
In 1976 she was decommissioned and sold for scrap, only to be recovered in 1997. In 2006, the Mighty O became the largest reef ever purposely placed on the sea floor off Pensacola as an artificial reef. The ship sank in 37 minutes after detonation of charges. Her intended depth was exceeded by 10 feet in 2008 after Hurricane Gustav struck the area. To this day she still flies the U.S. flag.
On Monday, we dropped to the conning tower where the flag is still set and tied in to the railing. The ride out and back was somewhat rough but worth the 2-plus hour one-way trip. The two open circuit divers were restricted to the conning tower area while we had unlimited scope of the ship while diving rebreathers using a trimix (helium mixture) breathing gas. Our bottom time was planned at 100 minutes, but we carried 240 minutes of possible dive time. The water was a warm 70 degrees F. and almost no current present during the dive. I dove a 5 mil wetsuit and was quite comfortable.
Once oriented to the wreck, the four of us rebreather divers scaled the conning tower and hit the deck. Visibility was an awesome 100 feet. Much of the modified aluminum deck is eroded away leaving the underpinning pipes visible. We then climbed over the flight deck to the hanger deck below. There we encountered lionfish at 170 FSW. All we had was a camera, so they got their pictures taken. I noticed a window sash weight in the foreground and picked it up for our showcase. The lower flight deck was more cluttered than I recall from a decade ago, but equally spacious. Our return to the surface included required decompression stops along the way, albeit fascinating sightseeing of local fish and reef residents. We saw grouper (still out of season here) and barracuda in abundance. The Amberjack are plentiful!
The cost of the trip was $175 plus the tips we provided the crew that performed splendidly. There are many vessels providing the transport service to the Oriskany.
File Underwater Wakulla Column