U-352

U-352 was a Type VIIC German U-boat that operated in the Battle of the Atlantic during WWII and was sunk in surface combat by the United States Coast Guard cutter USCGC Icarus on 9 May 1942 about 26 nautical miles southwest of Cape Lookout, North Carolina. Of the 46 men aboard, 13 went down with the boat and 33 were rescued and became among the first German POWs of the war held in the United States. The wreck rests upright on a sand bottom at 34 metres in the warm Gulf Stream water that pushes onto the Continental Shelf here. The conning tower has collapsed, but the pressure hull is largely intact, with the bow and deck gun in their original positions. Sand tiger sharks (Carcharias taurus) regularly patrol the wreck through the warmer months and are the main attraction. Penetration is forbidden by NOAA regulation; the U-352 is a war grave. Visibility is excellent during Gulf Stream weeks (often 18 to 30 metres) but cold dark water can move in quickly.