NPR

Mystery Blast Sank The USS San Diego in 1918. New Report Reveals What Happened

A team of researchers had been trying to determine whether the armored cruiser was lost to sabotage, an accident or an attack.
The USS San Diego — seen here on Jan. 28, 1915, while serving as flagship of the Pacific Fleet — was sunk 100 years ago off the coast of Long Island, N.Y.

On a summer morning in July 1918, the USS San Diego was steaming off the coast of Long Island, N.Y., when it was rocked by an explosion.

Within 30 minutes, the vessel listed and sank, forcing its crew of more than 1,000 to abandon ship. Six enlisted sailors died. The armored cruiser was reportedly the to be lost in World War

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