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An unidentified German submarine was discovered on September 2, 1991 by John Chatterton in 230 feet of water 65 miles east of Point Pleasant, New Jersey. It was known from the beginning that it was a submarine, but records did not indicate that a U-boat was sunk in the New Jersey area. Divers explored the wreck but no artifacts were recovered on this first trip. A total of four dive trips were made by Chatterton during 1991. During a second trip, a diver died on the wreck and was swept away. A few artifacts were recovered, but none gave a clue as to the identity of the submarine. The third boat trip produced may items, some confirming the German origin. Speculation that the U-boat was the U.869 began after researching a knife found on the fourth trip. John Chatterton found the knife with a crew members name inscribed in the handle. Records showed that the sailor served on the U.869.
Positive proof was found late in 1996 when tags bearing the U.869 numbers were found. These tags may have been used to attach to spare parts so they may be returned to the proper submarine after service.
The hull sits upright in the sand and is intact with the exception of the conning tower. It is laying in the sand next to the hull. One theory is the U-boat fired a torpedo which malfunctioned and turned back to the submarine. There is massive damage in the area of the conning tower. Another large hole is in the aft section. This submarine is an advanced technical wreck dive.