The Wreck of SMS Cormoran - Two Wrecks Together

SMS Cormoran. This ship is far less famous than her later counterpart, Kormoran with a 'K'. Despite the fact that Cormoran was directly responsible for the first American shots of the Great War.
If this ship is known for anything, it's for her shipwreck. And even then, that's only because of the other wreck that landed on top of her. Tokai Maru, a Japanese freighter from the Second World War.
Making Cormoran, and Tokai Maru, the rare case of two shipwrecks touching. And even more than that, a wreck from each World War.
In today's video, we'll be looking at Cormoran's wreck.
Cormoran Video:
• SMS Cormoran - First A...
Pictures:
www.northjerse...
www.jarrelook.c...
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[@BCaldwell]

Deep Sea Detectives is a show that I also miss a lot... John Chatterton and Richie Kohler are absolute legends. Awesome video as always and thanks for being a part of my Sunday morning routine. Merry Christmas as well 🎄

[@ironiczombie2530]

Used to love watching that show, back when the history channel was still good

[@natebartels1444]

I wish Deep Sea Detectives was available to watch

[@jamey48]

​@@ironiczombie2530yea me too. John and Richie are awesome hosts. Watching John go down the well in oak Island was nuts. Pitch black, tiny little space. No thanks !

[@leroysgamesandmore2226]

They got to be up there in age now that show was running in the 2000’s

[@jehb8945]

Ah Deep Sea detectives when the History channel actually ran shows about history as opposed to tawdry reality shows My favorite dive that they did was on HMHS Britannic were Richie Kohler nearly got into the boiler room that allegedly had the watertight door which didn't closed because of the shock wave from the mine that sank the Britannic

[@richardernsberger6147]

Dove the Cormoran/Tokai Maru for my final qualifying dive for Open Water 1 certification in 1988. Around that time a couple of divers got lost inside the Tokai Maru and amazingly were rescued several hours later by the Coast Guard. They found an air pocket inside the hull. They were not certified for wreck diving and nearly paid the price.

[@RISTRAW]

While my family was living on Guam in 1967, a high school friend of mine was told that there was a WWI "German Battle Ship" sunk in Apra Harbor and roughly where it was. He and I sailed his Sunfish sailboat out from the public marina on the harbor with our snorkeling gear. We were surprised when we did not find a Dreadnought type battle ship like we expected. But two ships and no guns. We snorkeled around on the surface and the visibility was good enough to see that they were both on their side but otherwise mostly intact. We had no idea about the whole story but later found a section of a cemetery in Agaña where the remains of some of the sailors from the Cormoran were buried. Some had died during the scuttling while most had died due to natural causes during the time that the ship was impounded before the United States entered the war.

[@codmakesmeswear3316]

I was stationed on the USS Haleakala AE-25 which was home ported in Guam in '93. One of the first things you hear about when arriving at Naval Station Guam is about the two ships sitting keel to keel in the Harbor. My division GM1 was a certified dive instructor and talked about this wreck. I was going to get certified but didn't due to an injury and it was right after that that 3 divers died on the wreck, I know 2 were Air force and I think the third was navy but I don't really remember. This is an interesting video brings back some memories.

[@hellsfirefreedomtube6984]

My dad was stationed at Guam in the early to mid 80’s. Took my mom with him then had me while there. I remember my dad said there was a couple of abandoned Sherman’s stuck on a hill somewhere? I wonder if they’re still there?

[@BucksSuperStereoWorld]

Wow, Haleakala and her sisters Nitro and Pyro were all stricken on December 10th, 1993, then sold on March 28th, 1994 according to Wikipedia. I always wanted to be part of our US Navy because I love ships, but I am a cancer survivor (as a teenager), so no part of our armed forces would touch me when I tried to enlist. I was 18 years old, 5'10", 175 lbs, and could bench 325, but they still wouldn't take me because I had terminal cancer and I was even cleared medically, but they still wouldn't take me. This was a few months prior to 9/11, and a few days after 9/11 I was getting calls from the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines, and the Army all asking me if I would reconsider. I said wait, y'all rejected me, not the other way around...

[@davidschiffer4448]

I have dived on them multiple times. Rather cool.

[@guaporeturns9472]

@@BucksSuperStereoWorldHow much you could bench has nothing to do with how good a sailor , soldier or marine you would be. You are clearly clueless

[@Ccccccccccsssssssssss]

@@hellsfirefreedomtube6984at least one was in 2010. Cheers!

[@eddrohan4461]

I was stationed in Guam from 87 to 91 and dove these wrecks many times. Fascinating dive!

[@joenewstead4848]

I remember deep sea detectives. I absolutely LOVED that show. Wanted it to continue forever

[@mikereinhardt4807]

Interesting for sure. Thanks for taking us along and Merry Christmas!...

[@AlexVanEks]

Oh man I loved deep sea detectives! That's a trip down memory lane. I always got so excited when I caught an episode on TV! Honestly it's probably on KZbin somewhere, or hidden in the depths of a streaming service.

[@MarkMayfield-d5k]

When I was stationed on Guam back in 91-93, I got to dive Cormoran. Big ship. Where I was, by the bottom of the forward hull, I couldn't see the Tokai Maru very well. It was a bit dark down there. We could only stay down for 7 minutes because of the depth.

[@BrockRuby]

Another great vid. Please keep them coming!!! You do a great job on your vids !

[@S_A_N_D]

My dad dove on these wrecks when he lived in Guam. He told me he put one foot on the Comoran and the other on the Tokai Maru. Interesting shipwrecks!

[@aliens4379]

I had never heard of deep sea detectives, but now I want to watch it now

[@jeffblacky]

My uncle’s cousin Hans served as a engineer on the raider Thor He was stuck in Japan after it blew up And then spent the next 2 years working the harbors in a tug boat

[@Ccccccccccsssssssssss]

We lived on Guam years ago and dove on the Cormoran and the Tokai many times. There's a great book on the Cormaran called "The Flight of the Cormoran" by Herbert Ward, who rediscovered the wreck in the 1960's. After escaping from Tsingtao, Cormoran briefly sailed with Von Spee and the German East Asian Squadron

[@halevans3652]

Both were fun dives, high on my list to take new troops when stationed there. That harbor was always murky. The anchor was the Tokai Maru per the local dive shops.

[@kennethhanks6712]

The propellor hub at 8:50 seems to show the attachment studs for a blade still intact rather than broken off with the blade possibly indicating a salvage removal.

[@seaboardsystemproductions9714]

Wow that was very interesting keep em coming have a good day!!

[@davidbarnsley8486]

Thank you for all your great videos this year and I am looking forward to more next year Merry Christmas and happy new year 👍👍🇦🇺

[@wendywhite4537]

I had never heard of her. Thank you

[@hillbillytrucker8347]

I've read about the Cormoran in a National Geographic article covering WW II. I don't remember when the article was written but it talks about the Tokai Maru and how they overlap each other. It's still interesting to hear about.

[@J.R.in_WV]

This Cormoran sunk during WW1, maybe you were thinking of the WW2 ship with the same name and purpose, the stealth armed merchant cruiser KMS Kormoran…..that ship actually sunk the Australian navy’s HMAS Sydney before being scuttled just as the first one was due to damage sustained from the fight with Sydney.

[@iamrichrocker]

what are the odds? incredible..thx for the content...

[@raychmielowski3038]

I dove both of those ships several times. We used to bury ourselves in the mud under the cormoran and locate the open portholes. I have alot of stuff out of that ship.

[@barrygrant2907]

I dove those wrecks about 1989-1990 while TDY at Anderson AFB.

[@Spike-sk7ql]

Used to love Deep Sea Detectives. Hell, I'm old enough to remember when the Discovery channel,and A&E were the only 2 channels that were history/science based. Let alone when the History channel had actual history on it.

[@rogerriggs6055]

There was a documentary on this several years ago, sunk at Guam, a diver died on the Cormoran looking for relics the other ship was sunk during WW2 during a air raid.

[@southwestvirginiarailfan729]

Yes, I agree. I loved watching deep sea detectives. I wish I could still find it someplace, but I've not seen it in years.

[@alephalon7849]

There's got to be something about the name Cormoran/Kormoran that makes its bearers surprisingly memorable in one way or another.

[@toddkurzbard]

There were actually THREE LUSITANIA'S. ALL of them were wrecked. There was EVEN another TITANIC (years after the famous one). She is SO obscure (and was SO tiny), I have only seen one reference even to her EXISTENCE - but THAT came in a short article of the TITANIC COMMUTATOR (journal of the TITANIC Historical Society) in the '80's, so the story can be considered legit. There is no other mention anywhere of this other "TITANIC" that I have ever see, but, considering the source, it has to be true

[@rebeccavdh4803]

What an interesting wreck!

[@tomwarner2468]

Supposedly in the English channel, there's a picture of a ww1 u-boat with a sunken ship laying on top of it! They didn't know the identity of either or how they ended up that way!

[@Tomberculosis-q1i]

Well at least shes got a friend down there

[@beboy12003]

Deep Sea detectives was an awesome show. Wish it still on the air.

[@johnschofield9496]

Deep sea detectives was a fantastic program ! Just saw Richie Kohler as a guest on another diving show recently !

[@JoshuaTootell]

13:57 I recall seeing a small bathtub in the Engineering Officers stateroom on my last ship. He had all his driving stuff in there 😂

[@yhsbu]

Shipwreck hunters value propellers a lot because they are made of bronze. I once met a guy that worked for this old crusty captain that would look for wrecks and then go cut the propellers off of them and air bag them to the surface so they could be taken to scrap. He could collect several thousand dollars per prop that way. It sounded really dangerous to do and not worth the risk of collecting a 5 or 10k in my opinion.

[@thegoodgamingdragon8523]

i wondered if something like this had ever happened

[@BlitzenSpeaks]

I suspect the Japanese salvaged the Cormoran's screws, shafts and guns during the war. Their resources were limited, and it makes sense that they would salvage and reuse everything they could.

[@chockroberty]

Nope. Back in September, on our way to Sequoia National Forest, my wife and I stayed in Lindsay California. We went for a walk in the park there and found the gun from the Cormoran. I have pictures of it and the plaque that is associated with it.

[@mikelakner5622]

Stationed on Guam. It’s amazing to dive the island. I love and miss the place.

[@HandyMan657]

Not first. Thanks again, Skynea. Take care, be safe.

[@robertsperti5926]

Talking about those old shows ,it's like dogfights and greatest tank battles.yes they dramatised it but it was interesting and entertaining.

[@mknewlan67]

Oh man. Loved dogfights. History channel was so good back then

[@toddkurzbard]

I knew nothing of this vessel myself, but I know of no other (at least, off the top of my head) instance of one wreck "landing on top" of another. ANOTHER truly remarkable thing not mentioned: that CORMORAN'S two funnels remain still attached to the wreck (and look perfectly intact, from what I can see). The only other wreck I can think of that could claim this (again, off the top of my head), was the ANDREA DORIA, and that has long since disappeared. One COULD bring up the LUSITANIA, but, before they disintegrated, they were all detached, flattened, and lying just above the ship. Likewise, the BRITANNIC (II)'S first funnel was crushed flat and lay above the ship, detached (no idea what became of the 2nd, 3rd, or 4th funnels).

[@diver6636]

Just watched this video as I came across it. I've got some amazing pictures from my dives in Guam...any chance to do a video on the Kitzagawa Maru sunk in Apra Harbor?

[@JamesBerlo]

Thats so amazing !, Of Course the propeller Blades were stolen,

[@nigelmorroll3343]

I am actually surprised with great number of ships that have sunk before ww1 during ww1 and the same with ww2 , that we don't see more ship wreaks laying close to each other. Especially any ships that wore part of any conveys.

[@redcat9436]

The oceans are enormous.

[@psychobob169]

Hi greetings from Scotland. Absolutely love your content hope you have an awesome festive period and can't wait to see what 2025 brings🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿😊

[@treystephens6166]

2025 will probably just be another disappointment 🇺🇸

[@HootOwl513]

I thought this would be about the German WWII Surface Raider Kormoran HSK-8, that sank HMAS Sydney and was mortally wounded by the Australian cruiser herself.

[@infantryattacks]

I dove on both wrecks multiple times. It is indeed a rewarding experience to touch both ships at the same time. The US Navy removed the gun from the Tokkai Maru. It's on the Navy base. I don't know what happened to the guns on the other ship.

[@chockroberty]

The gun from the Cormoran is in the park on display in Lindsay, California

[@rickmo970]

Thank you for your historic "sleuthing" of these two wrecks - WWI Cormoran and WWII Tokai Maru!! ;-] Honestly, not much of a coincidence they landed next to each other; if/when you consider the ships were in the same mooring spot - when sunk!! ;-]]

[@jimalexander8734]

Hello Skynea. For some recent high quality wreck dive videos, you may want to see Max Gleeson's YT dive on IJN destroyer Oite in Truk lagoon and several mercantile wrecks off eastern Australia

[@Burninhellscrootoob]

There was a show about u boat wrecks in the English channel,and there were 2 u boats that landed that way too at the bottom. At the time,they couldn't be identified,but,were definitely ww1 u boats as proven by the radio masts still folded on the deck. The dive crew theorized one may have still been somewhat buoyant after sinking,and drifted along the bottom until it settled atop the other...ive no idea,but that doesn't sound feasible. Has anybody done more research on them? They were not post war surrender scuttles by the royal navy,so,i find it a very curious mystery!

[@towgod7985]

Deep submerged naval minefield? Bagged both U boats at different times during the war? If no one witnessed the explosions, how would anyone know?

[@blueocean2510]

Thank you, technology could be used worldwide to bring to life , vessels on the sea bed. Onshore centres could be visited by many people to view and people who lost their loved ones, when vessels sank could hold a service of remembrance. Festive Greetings Peace and Prosperity for all in 25.

[@axelmalone]

I wonder if the bathtub still has water in it all this time later🤔

[@robotcantina8957]

Looks like it's still filled with water. It must be extremely durable in order to stay filled all these years.

[@beverlychmelik5504]

I got to view if from the tourist submarine that operated there.

[@itagil2005]

Traduzir para o portugues do Brasil, foi explendido

[@natebartels1444]

Isn’t the a uboat under a merchant ship wreck off the coast of England?

[@MrROTD]

Therea a sunken uboat near a Colier in the Irish sea

[@johnpisciotto7115]

Did anyone die on the Toki Maru. When she sank?

[@chockroberty]

The gun from the Cormoran is on display in the park in Lindsay, California. If I could I would post a picture of it and it's plaque.

[@timbonjovi]

I20 ft to the bottom, but how deep to the shallowness part of the wrecks

[@teenboy661]

Japan declared war on the Germans in the great war? I didn't know that

[@mirthenary]

I vaguely recollect the Deep Sea Detectives, it's been a while...

[@MB-nn3jw]

THE DEEP!

[@LeeBrown-b4l]

The Deep was shot on RMS Rhône. Salt island BVI

[@treystephens6166]

Peter Benchley???

[@dylansmith1364]

Yes Deep Sea Detectives is very missed.

[@Ikoraswig]

I miss the old history show that was effectively the WW2 and Mongolian empire show

[@billthibeault8447]

👋

[@fossils-z9d]

ive had to speed up the video buddy youre speaking a little to slow, great content tho as always

[@lukehorning3404]

What are the chances they would go down in the same spot 😂

[@thelastjohnwayne]

Think about what are the Statistical chances of this happening?

[@mikelakner5622]

Stationed on Guam. It’s amazing to dive the island. I love and miss the place.