Monitor's Famous Gun Turret Is Closer To Recovery

7/8/2002

From: David Hall of NOAA, 202-329-5827; Mike Viola of the U.S. Navy, 757-477-0571; Justin Lyons of The Mariners' Museum, 757-591-7738

HATTERAS, N.C., July 8 -- On July 5, off Cape Hatteras, N.C., the USS Monitor's famous gun turret was completely uncovered for the first time in 140 years. At 7:57 p.m. a team of U.S. Navy divers and scientists from the Department of Commerce's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) succeeded in removing a 30-ton section of hull and armor belt that has covered the turret since the warship sank on New Year's Eve, 1862.

Removal of the hull section was the first phase of Monitor Expedition 2002, with the primary goal being the recovery of the world's first armored, revolving gun turret, an innovation that can still be seen on today's warships. The Monitor's famous turret, with its two large Dahlgren cannons inside, is estimated to weigh nearly 150 tons. To gain access to the turret for excavation and recovery, a large portion of the ship's stern hull structure was removed. Before the lift could be made, Navy divers had to remove tons of debris and coal and cut through thick layers of iron and wood hull structure. Even after the turret is recovered, the site will remain an important archaeological site as the remaining artifacts are found.

"It is very gratifying for me to see the Navy's planning and training being rewarded with this success," said Captain Chris Murray, Naval Sea Systems Command representative for the expedition. "I am confident that we will return from the expedition with the turret."

With the turret exposed, divers can install the 57,000-pound lifting frame, or "claw," and begin excavating the interior of the turret, which is completely filled with silt. Following excavation, the turret will be raised, placed on the support barge, and transported to The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va., for conservation and exhibit.

"With the hull removed, we can now turn our attention to our primary reason for being here, the recovery of the turret," said Commander Bobbie Scholley, commanding officer, Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two and Officer in Tactical Command of Monitor Expedition 2002. "There is still a lot of work to do before we raise the turret, so we'll celebrate the completion of this milestone and then begin the excavation of the turret's interior."

"As the hull section lifted away from the turret, I felt that I was watching the opening of a sea chest filled with someone's keepsakes from the Monitor," said John Broadwater, manager of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary and NOAA's expedition chief scientist. "As I viewed the lift on video with Navy personnel in the dive control van, the excitement was palpable."

"The armor belt was the major hurdle in making it possible to recover the Monitor's gun turret," said John B. Hightower, president and chief executive officer of The Mariners' Museum. "Moving it early in this summer's recovery expedition dramatically raises the odds of bringing the turret to the surface and delivering to The Mariners' Museum. Three cheers, and then some, to the Navy divers as well as NOAA."

The U.S. Navy's Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two are providing the personnel and equipment for the Expedition, assisted by a $6.5 million grant from the Department of Defense Legacy Resource Management Program and $600,000 from NOAA.

The Monitor was designated as the first national marine sanctuary in 1975. The National Marine Sanctuary Program (NMSP) seeks to increase the public awareness of America's maritime heritage by conducting scientific research, monitoring, exploration, and educational programs. Today, 13 national marine sanctuaries encompass more than 18,000 square miles of America's ocean and Great Lakes natural and cultural resources. In addition, the NMSP is currently considering the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve for sanctuary designation. For more information on the Monitor Expedition, please visit the following Web sites: NOAA's Monitor Expedition 2002 Web site at http://monitor.noaa.gov, the NAVSEA Web site at http://www.navsea.navy.mil, the Mobile Diving and Salvage Unit Two at http://www.cnsl.spear.navy.mil/mdsu2 or The Mariners' Museum Web site at http://www.mariner.org.

NOAA's Ocean Service (NOS) manages the National Marine Sanctuary Program, and is dedicated to exploring, understanding, conserving, and restoring the nation's coasts and oceans. NOS balances environmental protection with economic prosperity in fulfilling its mission of promoting safe navigation, supporting coastal communities, sustaining coastal habitats, and mitigating coastal hazards. To learn more about NOS and the National Marine Sanctuary Program, visit http://www.nos.noaa.gov.

FAF (Frequently Asked Factoids)

Weights: turret (without guns, carriages).................125 tons turret -- est. lift weight (with guns, etc.).....155 tons

claw.........................57,000 pounds (about 29 tons) platform.....................33,000 pounds (about 17 tons) claw/platform together.......90,000 pounds (45 tons)

Contents of turret:

Two (2) Dalhgren smoothbore cannons, 11-inch diameter bore, two cannon carriages, cannon implements

Possible contents:

Sea bags with personal items, shells or round shot, human remains