COORDINATES: 26917.0, 40713.6

U-85 was a Type VII-B U-boat commanded by Oberleutnant zur See Eberhard Greger. The 85 had limited success on its three tours, and was out looking for more quarry when she was caught on the surface the night of 13 April 1942, off Oregon Inlet, North Carolina. The destroyer Roper surprised the 85, and she gave chase. The U-boat attempted to evade, firing torpedoes to thwart her pursuer. The Roper kept chase, and as the U-boat tried to turn inside the destroyer's course, opened fire on the panicked sub. Machine gun fire and 3 inch shells killed and injured many German sailors while crippling the U-boat. Intent on "shooting first, asking questions later," the Germans who abandoned ship were caught in the crossfire of guns and depth charges as the 85 sank stern-first into the Atlantic. The destroyer sealed the sub's fate by laying down several more depth charge runs on the sunken vessel. There were no survivors.

The U-85 became a popular dive site almost immediately as US Navy divers began surveys and salvage of the 85. The German sub rests in 90' of water, bathed by the southern extent of the Labrador current. The interior of the sub is accessible, though a tight fit aside from the galley hatch. Many artifacts are still recovered by alert and enterprising divers; the 88mm gun's brass manufacturer's plates were still attached in 1996. The interior of the wreck is partially filled with sediment, hiding artifacts and human remains as well. A project in 1997 by a group of Washington, D.C., divers airlifted the interior, throwing some bone shards across the sand bottom which raised the attention of domestic and foreign governments...