USS Oriskany (CV/CVA-34) – nicknamed Mighty O, and occasionally referred to as the O-boat – was one of the few Essex-class aircraft carriers completed after World War II for the United States Navy. The ship was named for the Battle of Oriskany during the Revolutionary War. Commissioned in 1950, the 44,000 ton ship began its retirement in 2006, when the Navy sunk it southeast of the Pensacola pass.
The Navy announced on 5 April 2004 that it would transfer the former aircraft carrier to the State of Florida for use as an artificial reef. As was intended, the ship came to rest lying upright. The flight deck was at a depth of 135 ft (41 m), and its island rose to 70 ft (21 m). Following Hurricane Gustav in 2008, the ship shifted 10 feet deeper leaving the flight deck at 145 feet (44 m).
The island structure is accessible to recreational divers, but the flight deck requires additional training and equipment. It is now popularly known as the “Great Carrier Reef”, a reference to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef.
Obviously, any reef takes time to flourish, yet those who have dived on the wreck religiously for the last 12 years confirm a plethora of life. Mola molas, tiger sharks, barracuda, whale sharks and even manta rays occasionally circle the wreck, while octopus, moray eels and crabs commonly hide in the wreck’s many crevasses, only seen with a passing light from a diver.
According to scubadiverlife.com; en.wikipedia.org. Source of photo: internet
