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USS Osprey ship's bell to be handed to US after
mysterious return
The bell from a ship sunk the night
before D-Day is to be given back to the US Navy after it was mysteriously
returned to the authorities.
USS Osprey sank in June 1944, with
the loss of six men, when it hit a mine south of the Isle of Wight.
Pictures of the bell appeared online
earlier this year, prompting an investigation and it was subsequently
anonymously handed in.
The acting receiver of wreck said it
was a "poignant part of our history".
USS Osprey was taking part in
minesweeping operations off the south coast of England on 5 June 1944, as part
of Operation Overlord. The mine blew a large hole in the
vessel's engine room, a fire broke out and the ship had to be abandoned 45
minutes later.
The crew members killed are believed
to have been the first casualties of the D-Day operations.
The US authorities contacted the UK
coastguard when pictures of the ship's bell appeared on the internet.
An investigation was launched by the
Maritime and Coastguard Agency when it was established the bell had not been
reported to the receiver of wreck.
Acting receiver Heloise Warner said
the agency "put the word about" that it was searching for the bell
and it was subsequently left anonymously at an undisclosed location last month.
"It's absolutely fantastic that
such a poignant part of our history is back in our possession," she added.
The bell was checked and confirmed
as genuine by Historic England conservators and is set to be returned to the US
Navy.
The site of the USS Osprey wreck is not
protected, but as with any shipwreck, artefacts taken from it should have
legally been reported to the receiver of wrecks.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is worth noting that the UK is usually quite fastidious about protecting the wrecks discovered in their territorial waters. Somehow, the Osprey wreck slipped through.
Until next time,
Fair Winds,
Old Salt
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