Futility Closet

A Double Mystery

Posted in History, Oddities by Greg Ross on May 29th, 2006

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:USS_Cyclops_%281810%29.jpg

A Navy collier during World War I, the U.S.S. Cyclops put to sea from Rio de Janeiro on Feb. 16, 1918, touched at Barbados on March 3 and 4, and was never heard from again. She took 306 crew and passengers with her.

In 1968, a diver off Norfolk, Va., reported finding the wreck of an old ship in about 300 feet of water. When shown a picture of the Cyclops he said he was convinced it was the same ship. But, strangely, even that wreck disappeared — further expeditions failed to find anything.